Roddick, Tsonga reach QFs; Gasquet ousted in Lyon

Tennis Betting Lines

10/23/2008 - Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded former champion Andy Roddick and Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moved into the quarterfinals, while second-seeded former titlist Richard Gasquet was among Thursday's second-round losers at the Lyon Tennis Grand Prix.

The former top-ranked 2005 Lyon champion Roddick snuck past fellow American Robby Ginepri 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), while the 2006 titlist Gasquet succumbed to tough Belgian Steve Darcis 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) on the indoor carpet at Palais des Sports Lyon Gerland. Roddick fired 26 aces past Ginepri.

A third-seeded Tsonga outlasted fellow Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to setup a quarterfinal against former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. The 35-year-old Santoro titled here 11 years ago. The Spanish Ferrero erased eighth-seeded French crowd favorite Paul-Henri Mathieu, the 2002 Lyon champ, 6-4, 6-1.

Meanwhile, last week's Madrid Masters runner-up Gilles Simon, of France, held off Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-4. The fourth-seeded Simon is quietly up to No. 10 in the world after losing to Brit Andy Murray in this past Sunday's title bout in Madrid.

Another former Lyon titlist prevailed here on Day 4, as seventh-seeded Swede Robin Soderling subdued Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus 6-1, 6-2. Soderling titled here in 2004.

Friday's other quarterfinals will pit Roddick against his fellow former Lyon champion Soderling, Simon versus fellow Frenchman Josselin Ouanna and France's Julien Benneteau against Darcis.

French players will account for half of the quarterfinalists on Day 5.

Wwwdonbest Tennis Betting News

<< Allan Houston's comeback over, again
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allan Houston's second comeback attempt ended on Thursday, and his career with the New York Knicks may take on a new role in the near future. The sweet-shooting but oft-injured guard signed back wit

<< Report: Daunte Culpepper un-retires
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daunte Culpepper announced the end of his short-lived retirement on Thursday via e-mail. In a report on NFL.com, the nine-year veteran wrote, "Now that there are some real opportunities that match my des

<< Patriots' Morris misses practice again
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots running back Sammy Morris did not practice with the team on Thursday. The 31-year-old Morris, who also sat out Wednesday's practice, injured his knee during New England's 41-7 victo

<< Federer tops Nieminen in Basel, again
Basel, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a rematch of last year's final, hometown hero Roger Federer bested Finn Jarkko Nieminen to reach the quarterfinals at the $1.2 million Swiss Indoors Basel. The top-seeded/former world

<< Rams RB Jackson misses second practice with thigh injury
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson missed practice on Thursday with a thigh injury. Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett on Monday termed the injury a strain, and said he did not expect Jackson

Hibernian's Paatelainen has four-game ban upheld >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hibernian manager Mixu Paatelainen has failed to overturn a four-game touchline ban. Paatelainen attended a Scottish FA disciplinary hearing on Thursday in a bid to overturn the punishment which dat

Friday News and Notes on the Breeders' Cup Classic >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casino Drive (Tr: Kazuo Fujisawa; ex. rider: Naruhito Kasai ) - Casino Drive, the unbeaten 3yo colt from Japan, jogged 3f on Hollywood Park's Cushion Track under assistant trainer Naruhito Kasai before

Thursday News and Notes on the Breeders' Cup Classic >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casino Drive (Tr: Kazuo Fujisawa; ex. rider: Naruhito Kasai ) - Casino Drive, the unbeaten 3yo colt from Japan, jogged 3f on Hollywood Park's Cushion Track under assistant trainer Naruhito Kasai before

Ivanovic lands in Linz quarters >>
Linz, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic was among Thursday's second-round winners at the $600,000 Generali Ladies Linz tennis event. The top-seeded Ivanovic handled Austrian crowd favorite Sybille Bammer 6-4, 6-

Newcastle's Beye has one-game ban lifted >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle United defender Habib Beye is available to face Sunderland in Saturday's Wear-Tyne derby after winning an appeal for wrongful dismissal Thursday. Beye was shown a straight red card during


Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.









Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.