re: Sports betting question

Most professional books will always list the favorite's spread (the minus) for bettors to use. If its someone's personal list then it's likely that they are listing the points spreads that they like and are indicating the team they will bet on by using the plus or minus. For example the sports books might list Detroit as -3 1/2 versus Green Bay. A bettor that thinks Green Bay will cover the spread would likely say "I like this line: Green Bay + 3 1/2 against Detroit." Another scenario might be when teams from specific conferences or divisions are being discussed. For example an article or discussion about the NFC North might talk about the Bears +16 versus the Giants and the Lions are -3 1/2 against the Seahawks. A lot of the time it's all about the context of the discussion or list.