08/27/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Russian star Nikolay Davydenko were easy first-round winners Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
A third-seeded Djokovic won his seventh match in his last eight tries in New York with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 two-hour victory over Wimbledon quarterfinalist Arnaud Clement of France.
Djokovic, who captured the Australian Open back in January, gave way to Roger Federer in last year's U.S. Open finale.
The 21-year-old Djokovic injured his left ankle while leading Clement 2-1 in the third set and had it wrapped by a trainer, but he ultimately seemed unfazed by the problem en route to the second round.
The fifth-seeded Davydenko, meanwhile, drubbed Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Davydenko, who played in the semifinals here in each of the previous two years, will meet capable Argentine Agustin Calleri in the second round.
Eighteenth-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro reached the round of 64 with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Canada's Frank Dancevic, while 19th-seeded Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga came from behind to best Spain's Santiago Ventura 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in his first match since May, and 26th-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov snuck past Argentine Eduardo Schwank 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). The oft-injured Tsonga was the Aussie Open runner-up to Djokovic and had been sidelined with a knee injury the past three months.
Former U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri eased into the second round with a 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory over fellow unseeded American Amer Delic, while former world No. 1 Carlos Moya of Spain held off Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. The former French Open champion Moya, who reached the quarterfinals in Flushing last year, will meet Tsonga in an intriguing second-rounder here.
A 28th-seeded Radek Stepanek, of the Czech Republic, rolled with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 decision against Italian Potito Starace.
Additional Day-3 wins came for American wild card Sam Warburg, Romanian Victor Hanescu and Calleri, who whipped American Austin Krajicek 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.
The U.S. Open marks the fourth and final major of the year.
<< Lakers sign second-round pick Crawford
El Segundo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers signed second-
round draft pick guard Joe Crawford on Wednesday. Per team policy, terms of
the agreement were not released.
Crawford, 22, started all six games for the Lak
<< Sakic decides to return for one more year with Avs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Sakic has decided to play at least one more
season and on Wednesday re-signed with the Colorado Avalanche.
Sakic had been deliberating about whether to return for a 20th NHL season. He
has inked a one-year
<< Warriors' Ellis undergoes successful ankle surgery
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis
underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a torn deltoid ligament in
his left ankle and will be sidelined a minimum of three-plus months.
Ellis suffere
<< Around FCS: New Name, New Teams For Missouri Valley
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no truth to the rumor that the name
of the Gateway Conference was changed to protect the innocent.
Patty Viverito is still the commissioner of the newly named Missouri Valley
Football Conference, not
Cards purchase Phelps' contract, send Garcia down >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals purchased the
contract of first baseman Josh Phelps from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, and
optioned pitcher Jaime Garcia to Memphis.
Phelps, 30, has not made a major leag
Gerut, Padres rally to complete sweep of Diamondbacks >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jody Gerut had three hits, including the
game-winning RBI single in the eighth, as San Diego defeated Arizona, 5-4, to
complete a three-game sweep of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks.
Nick Hundley hit
Buscher leads the way as Twins clip Mariners >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Buscher's pinch hit two-run single in
the eighth inning proved to be the difference as Minnesota fought back to beat
Seattle, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game set at Safeco Field.
Denard Span added
Braves obtain Dessens >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves signed pitcher Elmer
Dessens on Wednesday to a contract through the end of this season. He is
expected to be added to the club's roster later this week.
Dessens, 37, last pitche
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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