Glossary: Abbreviations and Lingo
At times, I have my own vocabulary.
further suggestions?Abbreviations Used on the Site
AD: Away Dog
AF: Away Favorite
AFD: Away Field Disadvantage
AG: Away Game
ATS: Against the Spread
BC: Back Court
BF: In CFB, a Big Favorite ( >21 points)
BL, BW: Bogus Loss/Bogus Win; a game in which the statistically better team lost
BR: Bankroll
B2B: Back-to-Back
C: Center
CB: CornerBack
DC: Defensive Coordinator
DD: Double Digit
DE: Defensive End
DL: Defensive Line
DNP: Did Not Play
DT: Defensive Tackle
Fair Line: The line I would make if I ran a Sportsbook
FBS: Football Bowl Subdivision
FCS: Football Championship Subdivision
FC: Front Court
FD: First Down
FG: Field Goal
GBP: General Betting Public
GOY: Game-of-the-Year; In CFB, the game for a team that year
HC: Head Coach
HD: Home Dog
HF: Home Favorite
HFA: Home Field Advantage
HG: Home Game
IQ: NBA stat which measures a team's "smarts" with the ball. It's (Steals + Opponent's TO's)/(TO's + Opponent's Steals)*100
JC: Junior College
LA: Look-Ahead
LD: Let-Down
LOS: Line of Scrimmage
LW: Last Week
LY: Last Year
MLF: MisLeading Final; a game in which the Final score did not accurately reflect the actual play of the teams
Monitor: This means to keep an eye on the line as I think there's a better than even chance it will get more favorable
"NFL" line: A single digit CFB line
NSBF: In CFB, a Not-so-big Favorite (10 to 21 points)
NT: Nose Tackle
OC: Offensive Coordinator
OG: Offensive Guard
OL: Offensive Line or Opening Line
OT: Offensive Tackle, Opening Total or Over-Time
PG: Point Guard
PPG: Points Per Game
PPS: Points Per Shot. In basketball, a global measure of offensive/defensive efficiency = (Points - FT Made)/FG Attempts
PSPR: Point Spread Power Rating
Push Score: The final score that would result in a push (i.e. tie) for both the side and total
rFr: Redshirt Frosh
RRHD: Rested Revenging Home Dog
RS: Returning Starter
RZ: Red Zone
SD: Single Digit
Sloppy Win: an NFL game in which the winning team had at least 3 TO and more than their opponent
SU: Straight Up
SW: Sandwich; a less important game "sandwiched" between two more important ones
TO: Turnover (not Terrell Owens)
TW: This Week
TY: This Year
YPC: Yards Per Carry
YPP: Yards Per Point
Y/P: Yards per Pass
1, 2, 3, 4Q: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Quarter
1, 2H: 1st, 2nd Half
Accountant from Sheboygan
The actual occupation of all NFL officials; as in "I'm going to lose my bet on a garbage touchdown because some accountant from Sheboygan thinks that was pass interference!?"
Against-the-Spread
How bread usually lands on the floor when you drop it. See Straight Up.
Bad Beat
What most sports bettors call a losing bet. See "Wonderous Win".
Bankroll
Money that you have, that you can afford to lose, in an attempt to win.
Butt Nugget
A semi-precious gemstone sometimes formed under the extreme pressures of a prolonged Sphincter Spasm (see below).
Down and Distance
A shorthand method used to rate the current state of any romantic relationship. As in "Tiffany and I are at Third and 25 so I can't meet you guys for Monday Night Football this week". See Punt
Even
What you were before you started betting.
Gambling
A conscious act that involves the risk of material or psychological loss.
LAST
see Three Week Tour.
Lemming Line
A non-stop one-way line move that takes it's bettors over the cliff.
MOTO
An acronym for "Master-Of -The-Obvious", this is a type of sports bet made on the basis of what everyone knows. E.g. Baltimore in Super Bowl 3. MOTO bets usually lose.
NEXT
see Three Week Tour.
NOONAN!
A verbal jinx first used against the movie's protagonist of the same last name in
"Caddyshack" in an attempt to influence a putt. It is now primarily used by sports bettors against placekickers and free throw shooters. The term is also a noun. If you don't think "NOONANS" can lead to noonans, then you've never seen a Florida State - Miami game.
Ohnosecond
The brief instant of time in which one play can turn what looked like a winning bet into a loser.
Punt
What you do when your relationship is at Fourth and Forty.
Push Score
The final score that would result in "pushes" (ties) on the side and total of a given game.
Seven Watt Light Bulb
A hologram that briefly appears above the head of a bettor during the ohnosecond in which he realizes that he's made a MOTO bet.
Sphincter Spasm
The "posterior" muscle contraction that accompanies the psychological stress of sweating out a close bet (see Butt Nugget).
Sphinctometer
Pronounced "sfink-tom-i-ter", it's a device used to grade the degree of sphincter spasms: Mild, Moderate and Severe.
Straight Up
How I like my "Maker's Mark".
The Three Hour Tour
What you take when you make a bet on a football, basketball or baseball game.
THIS
see Three Week Tour.
Three Week Tour
What I take every week to assess motivation in College Football. For each team every week, one of three games will be the most important; either THIS game, LAST game or NEXT game. I only bet THIS game teams and look to bet against LAST and NEXT teams.
Tier 1
The "Perennial Powerhouse"; a BCS conference team that begins every year in contention for the NC (e.g. LSU, Ohio St, USC). They usually offer excellent value as an underdog of 3 or more because they never expect to lose. On the flip side, they're often a BF and if not fully focused (e.g LA, LD, SW) are too complacent to cover.
Tier 2
The "Part-time Powerhouse"; a middle-of-the-pack BCS team having a great year (e.g. Boston College 2007) or a mid-major team having an exceptional year (e.g. Boise St 2006). A rare BF, they have trouble covering these spreads because of over-confidence. Value is as a Not-so-Big (or rarely Big) Underdog; although not expecting to win all the time, they are insulted when "predicted" to be blown out.
Tier 3
The "Wanna-Be's"; bottom-half BCS (e.g. Vanderbilt, Kansas St) or good mid-major and small conference teams (e.g. Nevada, Navy, C Michigan). Usually bad news as > SD favorites. Good value as TD or less favorite over a team they expect to beat or as Big Underdog because they at least expect to be competitive.
Tier 4
The "Charlie Brown" Teams: Robert Ross' term for the "lovable losers"; these are BCS and mid-major also-rans (e.g. Baylor, UAB) or all but the very best of the smaller conference teams (e.g. Sun Belt, MAC, WAC). With a history of losing, often terrible as almost any kind of favorite because they can find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In the right circumstances, great value as David vs Goliath - remove any pressure of actually winning and they'll fight to the bitter end to avoid being embarrassed.
Turnover
A type of dessert. Any half-decent sports bar will have them on the menu so that you can order one in the 4th quarter when it looks like your bet might be going south. A successfully delivered order will cause a dramatic fall in sphinctometer readings.
Wonderous Win
Like matter and anti-matter, this is the other side of the coin of reality from Bad Beat. Most sports bettors deny its existence; all their wins are the result of brilliant handicapping.
