08/19/2008 - Forest Hills, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova was among Tuesday's opening-round winners at the $74,800 Forest Hills Tennis Classic, a final U.S. Open tune-up.
Benesova edged out Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 on the hardcourts at The West Side Tennis Club, the one-time home of the U.S. Open.
In other Day-1 action, Russian Vera Dushevina pasted Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-2, Russian Ekaterina Makarova handled American wild card Gail Brodsky 7-5, 6-2 and German Martina Muller mauled Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-2, 6-3.
Argentine Gisela Dulko topped France's Virginie Razzano in last year's Forest Hills finale, but neither player made the trip here this year.
This week's champion will collect $22,000. The top seeds at this small 16- player event are France's Pauline Parmentier and New Zealand's Marina Erakovic.
<< Around FCS: Big South Looking To Build Respect
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Looking at the Big South Conference heading
into the 2008 season, it's hard to see a resemblance to the fledgling league
that began playing football in 2002.
The changes and competitiveness in the Big South ha
<< Schrader in the No.96 car for HOF at Bristol
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader will drive the
No.96 Toyota in place of Brad Coleman for Hall of Fame Racing in this
weekend's Sharpie 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Schrader h
<< Falcons release Joe Horn
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Falcons released veteran wide receiver
Joe Horn on Tuesday, Atlanta head coach Mike Smith confirmed.
"I'm disappointed that Joe didn't get an opportunity to compete because of his
(hamstring) injury i
<< Maddux re-joins Dodgers for stretch run
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired future
Hall-of-Fame pitcher Greg Maddux on Tuesday from the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers, who entered the day's action in a first-place tie with Arizona in
the Nationa
Andreev reaches third round in New Haven >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev was an
easy second-round winner Tuesday at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a
final U.S. Open tune-up.
Andreev erased Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-4 on the hardcourt
Boston's Beckett to miss Saturday start >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett
will miss his scheduled start against the Blue Jays on Saturday because of
numbness in the pinky and ring finer on his right hand.
The 28-year-old righty conf
Report: Sixers bring back Ratliff >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly
agreed to bring back forward/center Theo Ratliff with a one-year contract.
According to a report Tuesday in the Philadelphia Daily News, the 35-year-old
Ratliff
Yankees get Matsui back, lose faith in Christian >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees activated
outfielder/designated hitter Hideki Matsui from the 15-day disabled list on
Tuesday and optioned outfielder Justin Christian to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-
Barre.
Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back
With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.
"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."
Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .
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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.
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