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Southern Nevada's Bryce Harper wins Golden Spikes Award

Cbaseball Betting Lines

07/13/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern Nevada slugger Bryce Harper, the top overall pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, has won the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur baseball player in the nation.

Chris Duffy (Central Florida), Yasmani Grandal (Miami [Fla.]), Drew Pomeranz (Mississippi) and Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) were the other finalists for the award.

"This year's five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award presented our voting committee with another difficult challenge," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO.

Despite being just 17 years old, Harper starred for the College of Southern Nevada, hitting .443 with 31 home runs, 98 RBI, a .987 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base-percentage in 66 games.

This marks the second time in the history of the award that a junior college player has won it. Alex Fernandez (Miami Dade CC) took home the trophy in 1990.

Stephen Strasburg, who pitched for San Diego State and broke into the majors this year with the Washington Nationals, won the GSA last year. San Francisco catcher/first baseman Buster Posey won the award in 2008. Tampa Bay's David Price, the American League starter for this year's All-Star Game, won the GSA in 2007.

Arizona State's Bob Horner won the first Golden Spikes Award in 1978.


<< Current Yankees remember Steinbrenner
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yankees manager Joe Girardi spoke about a time in spring training when he and his wife were walking their dog, a white bichon, on the manicured grass when he encountered owner George Steinbrenner. He ex

<< Pittsburgh gets 2013 Frozen Four, Philly in 2014
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh will host the 2013 men's ice hockey Frozen Four, and the 2014 event will be held in Philadelphia. The Consol Energy Center will be the site of the 2013 Frozen Four, and the following year

<< Hornets, Bower part ways
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets announced Tuesday that the club and general manager Jeff Bower have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately. "We feel it is in the best interest for us and Je

<< Wizards sign C Armstrong
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards on Tuesday signed center Hilton Armstrong. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced. The 6-foot-11, 235-pounder has averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds

<< Mavs sign Dominique Jones
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks signed Dominique Jones on Tuesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard was originally drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 25th over

Griffin ahead at Publinx in second stroke-play round >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John-Tyler Griffin of Georgia Tech holds a one-shot lead after playing two rounds of the U.S. Amateur Public Links. Griffin, who is from Wilson, North Carolina, about two hours west of Greensboro

Rahal reunites with Newman/Haas Racing >>
Lincolnshire, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newman/Haas Racing announced Tuesday that Graham Rahal will rejoin the team and pilot the No. 02 Dallara/Honda/Firestone entry for six of the remaining series races. Five of those races will see Rahal s

Jazz acquire Al Jefferson from Timberwolves >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz have acquired center/forward Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for center Kosta Koufos, the Memphis Grizzlies' protected 2011 first-round pick (obtain

Oilers give Dubnyk two-year contract >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers have come to terms with goaltender Devan Dubnyk on a two-year contract. The team also agreed with defenseman Shawn Belle on a one-year deal. The 24-year-old Dubnyk appeared in 19

All-Star Game MVPs >>
2010 - Brian McCann, Atlanta, NL2009 - Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay, AL2008 - J.D. Drew, Boston, AL2007 - Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle, AL2006 - Michael Young, Texas, AL2005 - Miguel Tejada, Baltimore, AL2004 - Alfonso Soriano, Texas, AL2003 - Garret Anderson

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.