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08/20/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Speaking publicly for the first time since being indicted by a federal grand jury for making false statements to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens said several times he is looking forward to having his say on the matter.
"It's not fun, but I'm not going to talk about what we have ahead of us," Clemens told Boston radio station WEEI during their Jimmy Fund Telethon. "I have a great (legal) team. Rusty (Hardin) has been fantastic. That's really all I'm going to say about it. I'm not going to get into the details. In time we'll get to have our say."
On Thursday, Clemens was charged with one count of Obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury. The U.S. Attorney's office said Clemens would likely face 15-21 months in prison with a conviction.
"I never took HGH or steroids. And I did not lie to Congress," Clemens said on his Twitter account Thursday. "I look forward to challenging the governments accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial. I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court."
In February 2008, Clemens testified before the House Committee on Oversight that he never took performance-enhancing drugs. However, Brian McNamee, Clemens' ex-trainer, testified to the contrary and has said repeatedly that he injected the seven-time Cy Young Award winner with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998-2001.
The hearings came several months after the release of the Mitchell Report, in which McNamee claimed he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH.
The 48-year-old Clemens, who has been out of baseball since 2007, has said the only thing McNamee ever injected into him was a pain-killer called lidocaine and the vitamin B-12.
During the interview with WEEI he also acknowledged that he no longer speaks with current Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, a friend of his for many years. In December 2007, Pettitte admitted to past HGH use and apologized for his actions.
<< Stockton, Prouty join Grube for Seaforth lead
Seaforth, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brady Stockton fired an eight-under 63 and
Brian Prouty shot a 64 Friday to join Rob Grube in the lead after two rounds
of the Seaforth Country Classic.
Grube, the 18-hole leader, had a 67 to end the
<< Johnson tops in qualifying at Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmie Johnson picked up his first pole of the
season by winning Friday's qualifying for the IRWIN Tools Night Race at
Bristol Motor Speedway.
Johnson, who won at Bristol for the first time in Marc
<< Rockies designate Flores, recall Herrera
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies designated left-handed
reliever Randy Flores for assignment and recalled infielder Jonathan Herrera
from Triple-A Colorado Springs to fill his roster spot Friday.
Flores has pitched
<< Favre to play Sunday vs. 49ers
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though he has officially been back for
several days, Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre will play in the Vikings'
preseason game Sunday at San Francisco.
Vikings head coach Brad Childress said Frid
UIC tabs Howard Moore as new head coach >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Illinois at Chicago has named
Howard Moore, a University of Wisconsin assistant coach, as the school's new
head basketball coach.
The 37-year-old Moore, a native of Chicago, grew up a few b
Weibring two clear in Oregon >>
Sunriver, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.A. Weibring carded his second straight five-
under 67 to take a two-stroke lead at the halfway point of the Tradition.
Weibring completed 36 holes of the season's fourth major at 10-under-par 134.
Tom Leh
Detroit's Galarraga baffles Indians again >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armando Galarraga continued his mastery of the
Indians with seven shutout innings, and the Detroit Tigers shut out Cleveland,
6-0, in the opener of a three-game set at Comerica Park.
Galarraga (4-5), whose l
Branyan, Hernandez shine in Mariners' win over Yankees >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Branyan supplied the power, belting two
home runs, and Felix Hernandez resumed his dominance of the Yankees, as
Seattle blanked New York, 6-0, in the opener of a three-game series.
Branyan hit a
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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