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07/08/2010 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert delivered a fiery open letter to fans, ripping LeBron James' decision to join the Miami Heat as "selfish" and a "cowardly betrayal."
Gilbert also offered a bold statement saying the Cavs would win an NBA title before James.
In a television special on ESPN devoted to James Thursday night, the reigning two-time league MVP disclosed his free agency decision to join stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play in Miami this fall instead of remaining with the Cavaliers.
The antics by James ticked off Gilbert, so much to the point that he wrote a scathing letter directed at James' "narcissistic, self-promotional build-up" to his announcement Thursday night.
"You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal," Gilbert said in the letter to the fans. "You have given so much and deserve so much more. In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:
"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE. You can take it to the bank.
"If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our 'motivation' to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels."
Gilbert didn't stop there, continuing to rant about James, an Akron native who was Cleveland's No. 1 overall draft pick in 2003 and spent his entire seven- year career in a Cavaliers uniform, building the team into a Eastern Conference powerhouse.
"This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown 'chosen one' sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And 'who' we would want them to grow-up to become," Gilbert said. "But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio."
Fans in Lakewood, Ohio were so enraged at James' decision, they burned jerseys and t-shirts of their former idol.
It's a tough road ahead for the Cavaliers in a city that hasn't won a major sports championship since 1964, when the Browns captured the NFL crown. It's the longest drought for any city with at least three majors sports franchises. The Cavs made it to the 2007 NBA Finals before being swept by San Antonio.
"The self-declared former 'King' will be taking the 'curse' with him down south," Gilbert said in the letter. And until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.
"Just watch.
"Sleep well, Cleveland.
"Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....
"I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:
"DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....
Gilbert's name is then signed at the bottom of the letter.
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Cavs owner says LeBron James quit in playoffs >>
CLEVELAND (AP) -Angered and betrayed by LeBron James' decision to leave for Miami, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert accused the NBA's MVP of quitting during the playoffs.Gilbert, who posted a letter to Cavs fans on the team's website shortly after James
LeBron James walks away from Cleveland for Miami >>
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Kershaw, Furcal carry Dodgers past Cubs >>
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Dodgers
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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