Udinese tops Napoli with Di Natale's late heroics
Soccer Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio di Natale scored two goals in stoppage
time to complete a hat trick as Udinese beat Napoli, 3-1, on Sunday at the
Stadio Friuli.
Di Natale put Udinese in front after seven minutes when he followed up his own
penalty miss to fire past Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis, but Cristian
Maggio equalized in the 21st minute for the visitors before he picked up a
second yellow card for diving right before halftime.
However, Udinese was unable to take advantage of the sending off until
stoppage time, when Di Natale scored twice in a two-minute span to help his
side snap a seven-game winless skid.
The win moves Udinese two points clear of the bottom three, while Napoli
suffered its first defeat in Serie A in 15 games.
Udinese started well and their pressure was rewarded after seven minutes when
Kwadwo Asamoah drew a penalty kick after he was held inside the area by
Maggio.
Di Natale had his spot kick saved by De Sanctis, but he pounced on the rebound
and put his team in front.
Napoli was level in the 21st minute when Marek Hamsik's through-ball picked
out German Denis, whose shot was saved by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, but it
followed up by Maggio to even the match at 1-1.
The visitors then came within inches of taking the lead in the 44th minute
when Fabio Quagliarella headed a cross from Denis off the crossbar, but less
than one minute later, Napoli was reduced to 10 men when Maggio received a
second booking for diving.
Neither side really gained an advantage throughout the second half, but the
game came to life again in the 89th minute when Napoli's Michele Pazienza had
his shot hit the post.
However, Pazienza was responsible for giving away a goal in the first minute
of stoppage time when his poor clearance allowed Di Natale to beat De Sanctis.
The Udinese striker then completed his hat trick minutes later when he found
the net once again on the counter attack.
Leaders Inter Milan had no trouble beating Cagliari, 3-0, while Roma moved
into second place as they downed Fiorentina, 1-0, with Mirko Vucinic scoring
the lone goal in the 82nd minute.
AC Milan dropped to third after being held to a 0-0 draw by Bologna, Sampdoria
knocked off Siena, 2-1, Catania got the better of Lazio, 1-0, Marco Rossi's
second-half goal helped Genoa beat Chievo, 1-0 and Atalanta took care of Bari,
1-0, with Simone Tiribocchi scoring eight minutes from time.
<< St Etienne eases relegation worries
Saint Etienne, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St Etienne moved seven points clear
of the bottom three on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Monaco at the
Geoffroy Guichard Stadium.
Blaise Matuidi had the home side in front after 14 m
<< Mallorca moves into top four
Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mallorca took over fourth place in the La
Liga table on Sunday as Jose Carlos Nunes scored in the 81st minute of a 1-0
win over Villarreal at the Son Moix Stadium.
Mallorca entered the match having wo
<< Syracuse thumps Cincinnati on the road
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Rautins had 20 points, as third-ranked
Syracuse downed Cincinnati, 71-54, at Fifth Third Arena.
Kris Joseph had 17 points, while Scoop Jardine and Arinze Onuaku each chipped
in with 11 points for t
<< Ohio State rallies in second half to clip Lady Lions
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis hit five three-
pointers and scored 26 points to pair with 12 assists, as No. 8 Ohio State
rallied from down 14 in the second half to secure an 86-73 win over Penn
State.
<< Ovechkin's hat trick keys Caps' OT comeback over Pens
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Knuble scored on the power-play with
2:11 remaining in overtime, and Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick, as the
Washington Capitals fought back from a three-goal deficit to edge Pittsburgh,
5-4, an
NFL Inactives (Sunday, February 7, 2010) >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, 6:25 P.M. (ET)
Saints - 3rd QB Chase Daniel, TE Darnell Dinkins, RB Lynell Hamilton, T
Freeney active for Super Bowl >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney
is listed as active for the Super Bowl despite a right ankle injury.
Freeney hasn't practiced all week due to a third-degree sprain and torn
ligament in h
Sharks get D Wallin from Carolina >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks made a trade on Sunday,
acquiring defenseman Niclas Wallin and a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft
from the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
Wallin, a
Carter leads Magic over Boston >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter led a balanced attack with 20
points and Dwight Howard logged 16 points and 13 rebounds despite battling
foul trouble, as Orlando rallied back from an 11-point halftime deficit to
beat Bo
Bruins snap 10-game skid, blank Canadiens >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuukka Rask posted 36 saves for his third
shutout of the season and Boston broke a 10-game losing streak, one game short
of the franchise record, with a 3-0 win over Montreal at the Bell Centre.
Boston,
What Is the Point Spread?
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 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
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.
Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
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