Football Betting

Browns make it official with McCoy

Football Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns made it official on Friday and signed quarterback Colt McCoy to a multi-year contract.

Terms of the deal for the former University of Texas star were not disclosed, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported it to be a four-year pact worth $4.96 million with a signing bonus of $751,000.

McCoy was selected with the 85th overall pick of the 2010 draft after a stellar career at Texas. He was a First-Team All-America in his senior season of 2009, won the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player and set an NCAA record as the winningest quarterback with 45 career victories.

In 53 career starts, McCoy threw for 13,253 yards and 112 touchdowns with 45 interceptions. He also ran for 20 touchdowns and racked up 1,571 rushing yards.

The Browns also signed offensive lineman Shawn Lauvao to a multi-year deal. The Arizona State product was chosen with the 92nd overall pick.


<< Blanc suspends French World Cup squad
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New France manager Laurent Blanc has decided to suspend the entire 23-man team that took part in this summer's World Cup for their friendly match against Norway next month. Under the direction of former

<< New England Patriots 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATES: July 25th (Rookies), July 28th (Veterans) SITE: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA CAMP OBJECTIVES: Apart from Randy Moss, the men Tom Brady will be throwing to on Week 1 are unknown. Wes Welker is unlikely t

<< Cincinnati Bengals 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 28th SITE: Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY CAMP OBJECTIVES: After making the playoffs with what was primarily a ground- control offense last season, the Bengals made a number of moves in the offs

<< Buffalo Bills 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 29th SITE: St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, NY CAMP OBJECTIVES: Chan Gailey, the only new head coach in the AFC in 2010, has some work cut out for him in his first training camp with the Bills. Fi

<< Denver Broncos 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 26th (rookies), July 31st (veterans) SITE: Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre, Englewood, CO CAMP OBJECTIVES: It's going to be a messy summer at the glamour positions for the Broncos. Kyle Orton

Canucks D Sami Salo tears Achilles' tendon >>
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo has torn his Achilles' tendon and is out indefinitely.The team said Friday that Salo was hurt ``while training'' and would not comment further. But a report in his native Finla

Cavaliers sign 2009 first rounder Eyenga >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward Christian Eyenga. Per team policy, no details of the deal were announced. The 21-year-old Eyenga was the Cavs' first-round choice and the 30th o

Bacsinszky, Meusburger advance in Bad Gastein >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland and Austrian veteran Yvonne Meusburger were among the quarterfinal winners Friday at the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament. Bacsinszky, the highest-rem

Choi takes 1-shot lead in Sweden >>
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi took the lead Friday at the Scandinavian Masters with a five-under 67 in the second round. Choi finished 36 holes on the Stadium Course at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club with a nine-under 135, movi

Dallas puts road unbeaten run on line at Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas has not lost on the road since April and puts its six-match road undefeated streak on the line Saturday at Toronto FC, which is one of three Major League Soccer teams still unbeaten at home. FC Dall

Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

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.

How to Read Point Spreads

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:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
  • 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.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    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.