Falcons' Ryan named NFL's top offensive rookie
Football Betting Lines
12/30/2008 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was selected as the NFL's top offensive rookie, as voted by the Associated Press.
Ryan was selected with the third overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft and the former Boston College star helped turn around an Atlanta franchise in disarray from the effects of the Michael Vick dogfighting case and a sudden late-season coaching change in 2007.
The 2007 season started with Vick's case making headlines and ended with Bobby Petrino leaving just 13 games into his first year as head coach.
Ryan was a major reason for the quick resurgence, as the Falcons went from 4-12 in '07 to 11-5 this year to go with an unlikely playoff berth. Atlanta nearly captured the NFC South title on the final day of the regular season, but settled for a wild card spot and a first-round matchup this weekend with NFC West champ Arizona.
Anointed the starter by new coach Mike Smith in training camp, Ryan took every snap and finished the season completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 3,440 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Falkirk, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Falkirk veteran Russell Latapy will quit the club after agreeing to take up a coaching role with the Trinidad & Tobago national side. Latapy, 40, had revealed earlier in the month that he was con
<< Top MLB stories of 2008
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top stories of the past year, in no particular order:
10) CLIFF LEE'S AMAZING TURNAROUND
After winning 46 games from 2004-06, Cliff Lee's 2007 campaign was immediately
derailed when an abdominal strain he suffered i
<< Sharks' Lemieux clears waivers
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One day after the San Jose Sharks signed
Claude Lemieux to a two-way contract, the veteran forward cleared waivers on
Tuesday.
The 43-year-old, who has not played in the NHL since the 2002-03 season,
<< Adriano wants to remain at Inter Milan
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adriano has ended speculation surrounding his
future after insisting he wants to return to Inter Milan.
The Brazil striker's future with the Serie A leaders was believed to be
uncertain following rep
<< Robinho blames City's form on fear
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City striker Robinho believes
uncertainty among the squad is behind their surprise struggles so far this
season.
The Citizens are currently languishing in the bottom half of the Premier
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan midfielder Luis Antonio Valencia would welcome a potential move to Real Madrid, according to his agent. The Ecuador international is reported to be interesting the reigning Spanish champions after
AFC West: Bottom Line is that Broncos Were Bad >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the end, any objective observer of the Denver Broncos'
descent from the brink of the playoffs to 8-8 and out of the postseason money
is left with the following hard truth: the 2008 Denver Broncos weren't a
playoff-worthy t
Jays sign C Barrett to minor league deal >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays signed veteran catcher
Michael Barrett to a minor league contract on Tuesday.
Barrett appeared in just 30 games last year with the San Diego Padres. A freak
incident in early July end
Auburn DL Marks to enter NFL Draft >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Auburn defensive lineman Sen'Derrick Marks will
skip his senior season and enter the NFL Draft, the program announced on
Tuesday.
Marks, a second-team All-SEC selection this season, has made 37 career st
Roethlisberger attends practice, doesn't participate >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
was at the team's practice on Tuesday, but did not participate in any drills.
Roethlisberger left last Sunday's 31-0 win over Cleveland on a stretcher
after
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Why Sports Betting is so much fun?
Betting Sports
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Points (or Runs) Scored
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Future Bets
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)
Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:- What team will win the coin toss
- What player will score the game’s first touchdown
- What will be the exact margin of victory
Types of Bets
Straight Bet
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
Sports Betting Parlays
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.
Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.
Round Robin Betting
Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.Betting Teasers
Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.