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06/21/2010 - Springfield, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Missouri State has extended the contract of men's head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin.
The deal was approved by the University Board of Governors on Friday.
Martin will earn a base salary of $140,000 and his total compensation package could reach an estimated $300,000 through income generated from television and radio shows and promotional compensation.
The 38-year-old Martin became the Bears head coach on April 1, 2008 and originally signed a five-year contract. The extension locks him up through the 2014-15 season.
Missouri State and Martin authored the fifth best turn around in the country last season, going from 11-20 in 2008-09 to 24-12 and matching Kansas for the national lead in home victories.
"Cuonzo and his family have been great additions to the community, the University and certainly to the program," said athletic director Kyle Moats. "Under his leadership, we feel our basketball program is in good hands and on the right track."
The school also announced that all three of Martin's assistant coaches will receive pay raises.
<< Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Draft Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You name it and the Minnesota Timberwolves likely need it.
Kurt Rambis' Wolves are among the very worst in the NBA at both ends of the
floor. Outside of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love up front and a solid
developmental point
<< Milwaukee Bucks 2010 Draft Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Bucks hit a home run with the 10th overall pick in
last year's draft, taking dynamic point guard Brandon Jennings.
Jennings teamed with the improving Andrew Bogut and veteran John Salmons to
get Milwaukee over the hum
<< Zenyatta continues to lead national poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Undefeated mare Zenyatta remains atop the NTRA
Thoroughbred Poll for the week ending June 20. The six-year-old champion has
never lost in 17 career starts.
Zenyatta, who won the Vanity Handicap on June 1
<< Greece faces huge challenge against Argentina
Polokwane, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greece was impressive in the final
57 minutes of its victory over Nigeria, scoring twice to overturn a deficit in
its first-ever FIFA World Cup victory.
Dimitris Salpigidis notched Greece's first-e
Harman and Clemson handle Arizona State >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey Harman worked six-plus solid innings and
five different players drove in a run, as Clemson knocked off Arizona State,
6-3, in first round action at the College World Series in Omaha.
Clemson tallied t
Mauer still leads AL All-Star balloting >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer remained the
top vote-getter among American League players in the latest fan balloting
results for this year's All-Star Game, which will be played July 13 at Angel
Stadium
In the FCS Huddle: App State QBs under microscope >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is hard to imagine that there are bigger
shoes to fill in the FCS than what Appalachian State's starting quarterback
faces in replacing Armanti Edwards this season.
What Jamal Jackson and DeAndre Presle
Federer survives; Roddick rolls at Wimbledon >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six-time champion Roger Federer was on
the ropes but managed to avoid an opening-round shocker against game Colombian
Alejandro Falla at Wimbledon. Last year's runner-up Andy Roddick joined
Federer in the s
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.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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