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08/21/2010 - Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR driver Brian Vickers said he expects to return to racing next season, but revealed he underwent open heart surgery on July 12 to repair a hole in his heart, as part of his treatment for blood clots.
Vickers spoke with the media on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway on the status of medical condition. The Sprint Cup Series is running a 500-lap race here tonight.
In May, Vickers was diagnosed and treated for blood clots in his left leg and both lungs at a Washington, D.C. hospital. Doctors later discovered he had a blood clot in one of the fingers on his left hand. The 26-year-old announced later that month he would miss the remainder of the 2010 season, while he underwent treatment until the end of the year.
Vickers also said he was diagnosed with May-Thurner Syndrome (MTS), which causes compression of blood vessels in the legs and increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis in the lower extremities. Vickers continues to be treated with the anticoagulant (blood thinner) medication Coumadin and stroke-prevention drug Plavix.
One day after his open heart surgery, Vickers underwent another operation to have a stent placed in a vein in his left leg.
"I had heart surgery, and I never thought I would never have that at 26," Vickers said. "I've had a stent put in, and I never thought I would have one of those. But they both went extremely well. I am on Coumadin and Plavix still, and I will be for the rest of the year, so I'm still out of the car.
"They gave me full clearance for next year. I will be back next season, and I will be racing in January. I'm really excited about that."
Vickers has spent recent time getting himself in better physical condition. He said a few weeks after the surgery, he went biking in the mountains of Colorado.
"This has given me an opportunity to step back and really take a look inwards, and look at what's going around me, but a look inside and figure out what I really want," he said. "Sometimes you don't know how much you really love something until you don't have it, and I can tell you, I really love driving race cars, now that I don't have it.
"I think that my edge is going to be increased, and my drive and determination is only going to increase when I come back next year."
Vickers said he expects to be back in the No.83 Toyota for Red Bull Racing in 2011. However, Kasey Kahne will join RBR next season before he heads to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. RBR team manager Jay Frye said Kahne will drive of the team's two cars next year. The team might add a third car to its stable. Scott Speed drives the No.82 Toyota.
"As far as Kasey, I'm excited to work with him," Vickers said. "As far as how that all goes down, honestly, I read about it online. I didn't even know about it. Jay told me something was going to happen, but he didn't tell me what."
<< Cubs hold on to edge Braves
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Gorzelanny turned in seven strong innings
and Aramis Ramirez finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, as Chicago escaped with a
5-4 victory over Atlanta in the middle contest of a three-game set from
Wrigley
<< Virginia Tech extends Beamer's contract
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Virginia Tech has extended the contract of
head football coach Frank Beamer through the end of 2016.
Beamer, whose current contract ends at the end of 2012, is entering his 24th
season as the Hokies' hea
<< Debussy upsets Gio Ponti for Arlington Million crown
Arlington Heights, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - European invader Debussy upset
defending winner Gio Ponti to capture Saturday's 28th running of the Arlington
Million at Arlington Park. The four-year-old colt's win of the 1 1/4-mile
grass r
<< Bell, Orioles tee off on Lee
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Bell hit the first two home runs of his
career in a four-homer barrage, as Baltimore staved off a late rally to down
Texas, 8-6, in the third installment of a four-game series.
Bell finished 3-for-4
Diamondbacks sign veteran P Hampton >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to
terms with pitcher Mike Hampton on a minor league contract.
The 37-year-old southpaw will report to Triple-A Reno to begin his comeback
attempt to the big leag
Federer, Fish to meet in Cincy final >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer will meet wild card
American Mardy Fish in the final of the $3 million Western & Southern
Financial Group Masters after each won his respective semifinal matchup.
Federe
Bucs QB Freeman exits Saturday's game >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman left
Saturday's pre-season game against Kansas City with an injured thumb.
Freeman led the Buccaneers on a seven-play, 28-yard drive on their opening
possession th
Nats P Strasburg leaves with arm injury >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals rookie phenom Stephen
Strasburg left Saturday's game against Philadelphia with an apparent injury to
his throwing arm/elbow.
In the fifth inning, Strasburg's third pitch to Philadelphi
Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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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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