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03/11/2010 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods may be returning to the PGA Tour in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, according to a report in the New York Post.
In a story Thursday, the Post credits "two sources in the golf community" with information that Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, is working with Woods on a game plan on how to return to the tour.
That return appears to be at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in two weeks.
"They were in his living room this week going over a strategy for how to handle Bay Hill in two weeks," said one of the Post's sources.
"I would be shocked if he didn't play the Arnold Palmer," said the paper's other source.
Woods hasn't played on tour since the fall of 2009. His early-morning accident the day after Thanksgiving led to Woods admitting marital infidelity. He has been in a self-imposed break from golf.
According to the Post, Fleischer was brought in to help with the impending media blitz. Fleischer opened Ari Fleischer Sports Communications in 2008 and helped Mark McGwire with his confession of steroid use.
Woods held a 14-minute press session on Feb. 19 where he didn't answer any questions. That will not happen upon his return to the PGA Tour.
He has won the Arnold Palmer six times, including last year, when he beat Sean O'Hair by a shot with a dramatic birdie putt on the last hole.
<< Chivas USA's Victorine retires
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA midfielder Sasha Victorine has
retired from Major League Soccer after 10 seasons, the club announced on
Wednesday.
During his MLS career, Victorine scored 32 goals and 41 assists i
<< Rockies give Helton contract extension
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies and first baseman Todd
Helton have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension that will allow
him to finish his career with the franchise.
The new deal will take Helton throug
<< Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen dies
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pro football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen
died early Thursday morning in California after a battle with cancer.
He was 69 years old.
Olsen was a two-time All-American at Utah State, playing both the
<< Nats release Guardado, Estes
Viera, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals on Thursday released
veteran left-handed pitchers Eddie Guardado and Shawn Estes.
The 39-year-old Guardado, who agreed to a minor league contract with the
Nationals on December
Reyes to rest after additional tests on thyroid >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets said shortstop Jose Reyes
will not participate in any baseball activities until his thyroid levels
return to normal.
Reyes underwent additional blood tests this week after being diag
Chiefs sign Urban >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed wide
receiver Jerheme Urban.
Urban spent the past three seasons with Arizona after playing his first three
years in the NFL with Seattle. He has 87 career recepti
Lions bring back OT Jansen >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions re-signed veteran
offensive tackle Jon Jansen and linebacker Vinny Ciurciu to one-year contracts
on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The 34-year-old Jansen signed wit
Canadian MLB players primed for impact year >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the boys of summer prepare for the
upcoming MLB season, the ones north of the border are sure to get some extra
attention.
Tracking some of Canada's top players for the MLB 2010 season:
HITTERS
JUS
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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