12/16/2006 - Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora apologized Friday afternoon for comments he made earlier in the day during a radio interview when he said he would jump at the chance to serve as head coach at the University of Washington if the position became available.
On KJR-AM in Seattle, Mora said that regardless of his current coaching position he would be the first in line if the head coaching position with the Huskies became available. Mora was a linebacker at Washington and later served as a graduate assistant with the program.
Tyrone Willingham is currently the head coach with the Huskies, but he has come under fire lately with sub-par results. Washington finished this past season 5-7. The Huskies are just 7-16 in two seasons under Willingham.
"First and foremost, I'm sorry," said Mora in a statement released by the Falcons on Friday afternoon. "Despite my off-the-cuff intentions, what I said was not appropriate for my players, the Falcons organization and our fans, and Tyrone Willingham. I got too relaxed with the radio talk show host who is a former college roommate, and I got carried away with the banter.
"I want every fan in Atlanta to know that my heart and passion are right here with the Falcons and winning our game this weekend."
The Falcons are currently 7-6 and on the outside looking in for the final playoff spot in the NFC. Atlanta hosts the NFC East-leading Cowboys on Saturday night in an important game. A win would put the Falcons into a playoff spot because the Giants and Eagles, both also at 7-6 and holding the last two playoff positions, play each other on Sunday. The loser of that game would fall a game behind the Falcons.
"Everyone, including Jim, needs to be focused on winning [Saturday's] game," said Atlanta owner Arthur Blank in a statement. "We don't want this event to be a distraction to him, our other coaches or our players.
"Jim's passion and commitment to Atlanta has never been a question. He has apologized for inappropriate remarks and understands the broader implications of what he said and how he said it, none of which were intended.
We hope our fans will not interpret this in any way as a lack of commitment on anyone's part at the Falcons."
Mora is signed to coach the Falcons through the 2009, but Blank stated earlier this season that a second straight 8-8 season would not be acceptable.
<< Pats In Need of Rebound Against Texans
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots will be trying to get a step
closer to their fourth consecutive AFC East title on Sunday, when Bill
Belichick and company welcome the Houston Texans to Gillette Stadium.
The 9-4 Patriots can actual
<< Offensive Fireworks Probable In Colts-Bengals Matchup
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A smash-mouth, field position-defined contest is not likely
to be on the menu at the RCA Dome Monday night, when the Indianapolis Colts
play host to the Cincinnati Bengals in a battle of two of the league's best
offenses - an
<< Ravens Can Wrap up Playoff Spot Vs. Browns
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens are on the verge of clinching a
playoff berth, and will host the division-rival Cleveland Browns Sunday
afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium in a quest to get one step closer to an AFC
North title.
Baltimore
<< Cowboys, Falcons, Need Saturday Night to be Special
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons will be well
aware of the stakes when they face off at the Georgia Dome Saturday night.
Win, and the playoffs get just a tad closer. Lose, and trouble will brewing on
the postsea
Yakama (CBA) >>
Activated forward Elvin Mims; waived center Jeremy Eaton.
Cincinnati Bengals >>
Acquired rookie wide receiver Skyler Green off waivers from Dallas; placed wide receiver Kelley Washington on injured reserve.
PSV blanks 10-man Heracles to extend lead at the top >>
Eindhoven, Holland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Timmy Simons, Phillip Cocu and
Patrick Kluivert each scored as PSV extended its lead in the Eredivisie
standings to 10 points with a 3-0 win over Heracles at Philipsstadion on
Friday.
Red Sox ink Mirabelli, Romero >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Red Sox signed a pair of free agents,
pitcher J.C. Romero and catcher Doug Mirabelli, to one-year contracts on
Friday.
Financial details were not released.
Romero, a 30-year-old left-hander
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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 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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