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08/14/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray will have the chance to defend his Rogers Cup crown on Sunday after defeating Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the semifinal of the $2.43 million ATP Masters event.
Murray, seeded fourth in this U.S. Open tuneup, was 3-8 lifetime against the world's No.1 ranked player coming into the match. The Scot was able to put those past disappointments behind him by winning 69-percent of his service games en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the top-seeded Spanish superstar.
In the opening set, Murray broke Nadal's fourth service game to go up 5-3, then ripped three of his nine aces before pinpointing a huge forehand into the corner of the right baseline to win the set.
The first break in the second set came early on in a game featuring several long rallies. Murray once again got the upper hand for a 2-1 edge, but Nadal converted a break point three games later to make it 3-all.
Murray saved two break points on his next serve and went up 5-4 when Nadal hit a baseline shot into the net with the score 30-40. He lost only one point serving out the match, which lasted just one hour, 44 minutes.
Nadal, playing in his first tournament since winning his eighth career Grand Slam crown at Wimbledon, had titled here in 2005 and 2008.
Second-seeded Novak Djokovic, who has yet to drop a set this week, and third- seeded Roger Federer will square off in the night session.
Federer took this event in 2004 and 2006 and was the runner-up to Djokovic in 2007.
Murray is trying to become the first player to win back-to-back titles in Canada since Andre Agassi in 1994-95.
The four semifinalists account for the last seven champions at this event.
Sunday's winner will collect $443,500.
<< Jays extend Romero's contract five years
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -The Toronto Blue Jays have signed left-hander Ricky Romero to a five-year, $30.1 million contract extension.Romero is the second player to be locked up long-term by rookie general manager Alex Anthopoulos.Romero's deal runs fro
<< Rockies put LHP Francis on DL, recall INF Young
DENVER (AP) -The Colorado Rockies have placed left-hander Jeff Francis on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder soreness Saturday and recalled infielder Eric Young Jr. from Triple-A Colorado Springs.Francis, 4-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 16 starts, m
<< Saints cut RB Hamilton
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints on Saturday
waived/injured running back Lynell Hamilton and signed free agent linebacker
Harry Coleman.
Hamilton suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right kne
<< Blue Jays reward Romero with five-year extension
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday signed
starting pitcher Ricky Romero to a five-year contract extension for $30.1
million with a club option for 2016.
The left-hander is 9-7 with a 3.53 earned-
Ajax surges past Vitesse >>
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After squandering a two-goal lead
against Groningen in its opening match of the season, Ajax scored twice in the
second half to claim a 4-2 win over Vitesse at the Amsterdam Arena on
Saturda
Hunter Haas takes Price Cutter lead >>
Springfield, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Haas shot a six-under 66 to take the
third-round lead Saturday at the Price Cutter Charity Championship.
Chasing his third Nationwide Tour win, but first since 2006, Haas completed 54
holes on the Hi
Boston OF Ellsbury back on DL >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is
on the disabled list for a third time this season, now with pain in his left
side.
Ellsbury left Friday night's 10-9, 11-inning loss to the Rangers in the botto
Michigan completes hearing before NCAA >>
SEATTLE (AP) -Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez says he's glad facing the NCAA committee on infractions is over.Rodriguez made a very brief comment as he walked toward an escalator Saturday afternoon after a 7 1/2-hour hearing on violations within the M
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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