Broncos fire Shanahan after team's collapse

Football Betting Lines

12/30/2008 - Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longtime Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan was fired Tuesday, just two days after Denver missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

The Broncos held a three-game lead in the AFC West with three games to play, but Denver proceeded to drop its last three games, while the San Diego Chargers won their last three -- including a 52-21 drubbing of the Broncos in Week 17 -- to claim the division title.

"After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos," said team owner Pat Bowlen. "This is certainly a difficult decision, but one that I feel must be made and which will ultimately be in the best interests of all concerned."

Shanahan had just completed his 14th season as Broncos head coach, also serving as the team's vice president of football operations. He led Denver to two Super Bowl titles -- in 1998 and 1999 -- with Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway at the helm.

"I appreciate the 21 years that Mike Shanahan has given to the organization as an assistant and head coach, and the two Super Bowl wins in that time," Bowlen added. "His contributions hold a special place in Broncos history.

The 56-year-old compiled a 138-86 record with the Broncos from 1995-2008, capturing three division titles in that span. He was 8-5 in seven postseason appearances and had lost four of his last five playoff games.

Shanahan has served in the NFL's coaching ranks since 1984, and previously was the head coach of the Los Angeles Raiders from 1988-89. He had been with the Broncos two previous times, as the quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator from 1984-1987 and as the quarterbacks coach from 1989-91. He also coached with the 49ers from 1992-94 as the offensive coordinator.

He held several college coaching positions, with Oklahoma, Northern Arizona, Eastern Illinois, Minnesota and Florida from 1975-83.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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:

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.

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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.

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