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Rockies recall Escalona among numerous roster moves

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies on Tuesday recalled right- handed pitcher Edgmer Escalona from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

The 23-year-old Escalona will look to make his debut in the majors. The Venezuelan native was 3-5 with a 6.00 earned-run average over 57 games for Colorado Springs this season. He was originally signed by Colorado as a non- drafted free agent in 2004.

The Rockies also purchased the contracts of outfielder Jay Payton and catcher Paul Phillips from Colorado Springs. In addition, Colorado designated pitcher Taylor Buchholz for assignment.

Payton hasn't played in the big leagues since 2008 when he played in 127 games with the Baltimore Orioles. The 37-year-old hit .323 with six home runs and 74 RBI in 116 games for the Sky Sox this season.

Phillips is making his second stint on the Rockies active roster this season. He was with Colorado from April 27th to May 25th, and hit .294 during that span.

Buchholz went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in seven games out of the Rockies bullpen this season.


<< Broncos ink DL Vickerson, cut Smith
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos bolstered their defensive line on Tuesday by agreeing to terms with Keith Vickerson to a contract. Details were not released per team policy. The 6-foot-5, 321-pound defensive lineman

<< Hendrick taking different approach to Chase this year
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team owner Rick Hendrick arguably had his best season in NASCAR's premier series in 2009, with Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon finishing 1-2-3, respectively, in points. That same scenario won't be un

<< Nets waive F May
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have requested waivers on forward Sean May less than a month after signing him. May had signed with New Jersey on August 9 and suffered a stress fracture in his left foot las

<< A's bring up Hermida
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics on Tuesday selected the contract of outfielder Jeremy Hermida from Triple-A Sacramento. The A's signed Hermida last week after he was released by the Boston Red Sox, and was promptly

<< Cubs' Silva activated from DL to make Tuesday start
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated right-hander Carlos Silva from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, in time to make his first start in over a month. The Cubs announced on Saturday that Silva, who hadn't

Nats recall Maya for highly-anticipated debut >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals recalled pitcher Yunesky Maya from Triple-A Syracuse among a quartet of moves on Tuesday prior to their game with the New York Mets. Maya, a right-hander, is slated to make

Alouettes QB Calvillo expected to sit vs. Ticats >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo will likely not play in his club's next game with the Hamilton Tiger- Cats on Saturday. TSN of Canada and CFL.ca both reported on Tuesday that while

Chicago's Boquete wins WPS Player of the Week >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Red Stars attacker Veronica Boquete was named Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Week for Week 21 on Tuesday. Boquete led the Red Stars to wins in their final two games of the 2010 sea

Youzhny reaches Open quarters; Querrey ousted in five sets >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny was a fourth-round winner Tuesday at the 2010 U.S. Open, while Sam Querrey, the final American in the field, was beaten in five sets by Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka

Jets bring back FB Richardson >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets re-signed Tony Richardson on Tuesday, just two days after releasing the veteran fullback. He had re-signed with the team in March after blocking last season for the NFL's t

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.