Nadal, Djokovic move on at BNP Paribas Open
Tennis Betting Lines
03/14/2010 - Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were both second-round winners Saturday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters event.
Nadal, the reigning titlist and third seed, eased past German Rainer Schuettler, 6-4, 6-4, to move into the third round. Meanwhile, Djokovic topped American Mardy Fish 6-1, 0-6, 6-2. The second-seeded Serbian needed a little under two hours to record the win.
Additionally, fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Ernests Gulbis. Eighth-seeded Croat Marin Cilic was the highest seed to lose Saturday, as Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat him in 7-6 (7-1), 6-0 fashion.
Tenth-seeded Fernando Verdasco and 11th-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero were both straight-set winners. Verdasco took a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Ramon Delgado, while Ferrero got past Daniel Koellerer, 6-3, 6-0.
Verdasco's third-round opponent will be 19th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 winner over Florent Serra on Saturday. Meanwhile, Verdasco will get 21st-seeded Argentine Juan Monaco, who beat Fabio Fognini, 6-4, 7-5, in the second round.
Americans John Isner, seeded 15th, and Sam Querrey, the 17th seed, were also straight-set winners Saturday and will square off in the third round.
Brian Dabul of Argentina knocked off 16th-seeded Gilles Simon, 7-5, 6-4, and advanced to face Croat Ivan Ljubicic, who defeated American Ryan Harrison, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), on Saturday.
German Philipp Kohlschreiber, the 25th seed, pasted countryman Philipp Petzschner, 6-3, 6-2, Saturday to reach the third round, where he will encounter Djokovic.
Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci was a walkover winner against Carlos Moya, who withdrew with a foot injury. Bellucci is set to face Garcia-Lopez in the third round.
Also, 29th-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia advanced after Pablo Cuevas retired early in the first set of their second-rounder. Troicki will get Davydenko in the third.
Mario Ancic, who knocked off 31st-seeded Julien Benneteau on Saturday by a 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 score, gets Nadal in the third round.
This week's 32 seeds all received byes into the second round. The top seeds are three-time champion Roger Federer, 2008 titlist and 2007 runner-up Djokovic, two-time champion Rafael Nadal and 2009 Indian Wells runner-up Andy Murray. Nadal beat the U.S. Open runner-up Murray in last year's finale and also titled here in '07.
This week's winner will collect $605,500.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan reportedly underwent a procedure Saturday at NYU Medical Center to help him battle his obesity. According to the New York Daily News, Ryan was released following the sur
<< Curry and Ellis lift Warriors over spiraling Raptors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Stephen Curry finished with 35 points
and Monta Ellis had 31, as the guards helped the Golden State Warriors end a
six-game slide with a 124-112 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Curry, who was one po
<< Canucks rip Senators in return home
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikael Samuelsson scored twice, as the
Vancouver Canucks returned home to GM Place with a 5-1 win over the Ottawa
Senators.
The Canucks were forced to play 14 straight games on the road, spannin
<< Houston Baptist takes inaugural Great West title
Orem, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Thomas scored 24 points and South Dakota
earned a postseason trip with a 91-86 victory over Houston Baptist in the
championship game of the inaugural Great West Conference Tournament.
Kendall Cutle
<< New Mexico State wins WAC
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jahmar Young scored a team-high 19 points, and
third-seeded New Mexico State captured the WAC Tournament championship with a
69-63 victory over top-seeded and defending champion Utah State.
Troy Gillenwater
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Orlando Johnson finished with 20 points as UC Santa Barbara pulled out a 69-64 win over Long Beach State in the Big West Conference Tournament final. James Nunnally added 19 points for the top-seeded Gau
Red Sox prospect Westmoreland to have brain surgery >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland
is scheduled to have brain surgery Tuesday after being diagnosed with a
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Westmoreland, 19
Record-setting Ruangkit wins European Seniors event >>
Nakhonpathom, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit fired a
seven-under 65 and set multiple records Sunday in winning the Chang Thailand
Senior Masters.
Ruangkit finished three rounds on the Royal Gems course at 21-und
Taiwan's Tseng wins Women's Australian Open >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Taiwan's Yani Tseng fired a flawless
seven-under 66 on Sunday to capture the Women's Australian Open.
The two-time LPGA Tour winner finished four rounds on the Commonwealth course
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Capitals visit Blackhawks in clash of NHL powerhouses >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Capitals and Blackhawks could very well meet this year
in the Stanley Cup Finals, but neither probably feels like a championship-
caliber club right now.
Both Washington and Chicago will try to bounce back from disappo
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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