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07/26/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Zakuani of Seattle Sounders FC was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 17 of the 2010 MLS season on Monday.
Zakuani scored both of Seattle's goals in a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on Sunday night at Qwest Field, giving him a team-leading seven goals on the season, with both strikes coming inside of 17 minutes.
The 22-year-old was the first to react to a ball in the box in the 8th minute and sent a shot that ricocheted off the post and then deflected off goalkeeper Matt Pickens and into the net to give the Sounders the early lead.
Omar Cummings scored one minute later to equalize for Colorado, but Zakuani restored the Sounders' advantage by finishing off a cross from Sanna Nyassi in the 17th minute.
"It's a case we have been in every game we have played this year and we've been losing them, and now what we have been doing is turning those into wins," Zakuani told mlssoccer.com after the match. "Tonight, we didn't play great, but we get the win. We just have to keep it going."
Zakuani becomes the fifth different Seattle Sounders player to win the Player of the Week award in the club's first two seasons of existence and the first one this year.
The MLS Player of the Week award is selected each week by the North American Soccer Reporters. The group consists of members of online, print, television, radio media. More information can be found at soccerreporters.com.
2010 MLS Player of the Week winners:
Week 1: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake)
Week 2: Kenny Mansally (New England Revolution)
Week 3: Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union)
Week 4: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 5: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC)
Week 6: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 7: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 8: Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake)
Week 9: Emilio Renteria (Columbus Crew)
Week 10: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC)
Week 11: Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
Week 12: Chris Pontius (D.C. United)
Week 13: Juan Pablo Angel (Red Bull New York)
Week 14: Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake)
Week 15: Justin Braun (Chivas USA)
Week 16: Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union)
Week 17: Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders)
<< Rachel Alexandra gains spot in poll after Monmouth victory
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra
moved into third in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll. The four-year-
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Owned b
<< Vick cleared to play by NFL
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Vick is clear to play this season,
the NFL announced Monday.
Posting on his Twitter account, league spokesman Greg Aiello said in regard to
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<< NHLPA files grievance on behalf of Kovalchuk
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk's free agency saga took another
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<< Lightning name Tod Leiweke CEO
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Lightning chairman and governor Jeff
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Aggies' WR coach Kragthorpe resigns to tend to family issues >>
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas A&M wide receivers coach Steve
Kragthorpe has resigned to tend to family medical issues, the school announced
Monday.
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Haren to make Angels debut Monday >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren will make his Angels debut Monday
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Orioles' Scott earns AL weekly honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott has
been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending July
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Cubs' Ramirez earns NL weekly honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has
been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending July
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The 32-year-old slugger hit .360 and his four home runs tied for the lead in
Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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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