What is a dog in sports betting?

What is a dog in sports betting? Here's David Tyree. Manning lobs it. Burress alone. Touchdown New York! That was Super Bowl forty-two. New England came in eighteen and oh and closed a twelve-and-a-half-point favorite; the Giants just won the game outright — which cashes plus twelve and a half without needing a single point. The underdog. The team expected to lose. In plain terms: the dog is the side the market expects to lose, so it pays more when it does win. The other side is the favorite. Upsets happen, which is why underdog prices pay more. “Joey Jacoby is so square he's never bet a dog in his life.” Let's use this example. New York won it outright, 17 to 14. Now look at what that does to the ticket. The Giants closed plus twelve and a half, and they did not need a single one of those points — winning the game covers any spread. That is the whole idea of the underdog: it has two ways to cash, lose by less than the number, or just win. New England minus twelve and a half needed a thirteen-point win and was dead the moment the Giants took the lead. Lines move and books differ. Nothing here is a guarantee or a command to bet — it's how the number works.