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01/08/2012 - East London, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen's final birdie on the 17th hole on Sunday was enough to propel him to a second straight Africa Open title over upstart Tjaart Van Der Walt.
Oosthuizen finished the final round with his second straight six-under 67, giving him a tournament-record 27-under 265 over 72 holes at East London Golf Club. It's the fourth title overall for the South African, becoming the first player to repeat at this event in its brief five-year history.
The top two finishers were neck and neck all afternoon, even with only two holes to play. Oosthuizen finally squeaked ahead with a birdie on the par- three 17th, while Van Der Walt's bogey on the same hole all but decided the tournament.
Both parred the last to give Oosthuizen the title.
Van Der Walt (69) still put together a fine runner-up performance at 25-under 267, but he was denied his first European Tour title. Retief Goosen, who won the 2009 Africa Open when it was sanctioned by only the Sunshine Tour, shot a four-under 69 Sunday and finished third at minus-24.
Jaco Van Zyl (66) was fourth at 23-under, while Alastair Forsyth (67) was fifth at minus-22.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
<< Ivanovic ousted in Sydney
Sydney, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lucie Safarova, the last direct entrant
into the $637,000 Apia International Sydney tennis tournament, ousted Serbian
Ana Ivanovic in straight sets in a first-round matchup Sunday.
Thanks to a No. 25 r
<< Iginla'a 500th the difference as Flames beat Wild
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla scored the 500th goal of his
career to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at
Scotiabank Saddledome.
Iginla became the 42nd player in NHL history to achieve the
<< Sharks continue home success against Caps
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Marleau had a goal and two assists, as
the Sharks rolled to a 5-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday.
Jason Demers, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Torrey Mitchell also scored
for the Sharks, who
<< Clippers edge Bucks for third straight win
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin totaled 22 points and 14
rebounds, as the Los Angeles Clippers held off Milwaukee, 92-86, at Staples
Center.
Caron Butler contributed 20 points in the third consecutive win for
Red Wings visit Blackhawks for Central battle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Central Division showdown is on tap tonight in the Windy
City, as the Chicago Blackhawks welcome the rival Detroit Red Wings to the
United Center.
St. Louis is currently on top of the crowded Central Division with 53 poi
Ducks welcome Blue Jackets to Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to post consecutive victories
for the first time since October when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at
the Honda Center in tonight's clash between the Western Conference's bottom-
two teams.
Top-25 foes meet in Big Ten brawl >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers try to
avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2008-2009 as they visit the
16th-ranked Michigan Wolverines for a Big Ten Conference showdown at Crisler
Center.
This
Hoosiers tangle with Nittany Lions in Big Ten action >>
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Penn State Nittany Lions have a
tough test today as they host the 12th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers at the Bryce
Jordan Center for a Big Ten Conference matchup.
This will be the 38th all-time meeting bet
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.
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting