On 20 Jan 97, after being hired as WNBA commissioner, Greg Caliri said:
 GC> What does determine the odds?  Two important factors -
 GC> 
 GC> 1) The obvious one - they think that Green Bay is a better
 GC> team than New England and believe that the Packers will win
 GC> the game by a substantial margin.
Not really.
 GC> 2) One thing most people forget - the "spread" is not always
 GC> a reflection of the difference in strength between the two
 GC> teams.  It is first and foremost, a mechanism to balance or
 GC> hedge, if you will, the betting.  A large spread will
 GC> encourage bettors to take the underdog and the points.  If
 GC> there is too much action on the underdog, the Vegas books
 GC> change the spread.
That's closer.  The books almost always want equal action on both teams, 
because that ensures they'll make money.
 GC> Is Green Bay REALLY 14 points better than New England?
 GC> Probably not on the field, but in betting terms, yes.
As it turned out, BOTH turned out to be true.  And the books LOST money. 
... Feud Standings:  Marcus 7 - Davis 1; Shell/Cunningham 3 - Davis 1
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