Federer, Murray reach Rogers Cup quarters
Tennis Betting Lines
08/12/2010 -
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former top-ranked superstar Roger Federer and
reigning champion Andy Murray posted third-round victories Thursday at the
$2.43 million Roger Cup, an ATP Masters event.
The third-seeded Federer got past tough French lefthander Michael Llodra 7-6
(7-2), 6-3 on the hardcourts at Rexall Centre. The 16-time major champ moved
on in 79 minutes.
Federer captured this Canadian Masters event in 2004 and 2006 and was the
runner-up in 2007.
Up next for Federer will be Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych, who has beaten
the super Swiss in their last two meetings, including a quarterfinal one at
the All England Club last month.
A fourth-seeded Murray had a hiccup in the second set on Day 4 en route to a
6-2, 0-6, 6-3 victory over 15th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils. The Scotsman
broke Monfils to end the match, which lasted just over two hours.
Murray, the Australian Open runner-up to Federer back in January, beat
Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro in last year's Rogers Cup finale in
Montreal, as this event shifts between Montreal and Toronto each year.
The two-time major runner-up Murray should have his hands full with red-hot
Argentine David Nalbandian here in Friday's quarters.
Frenchman Jeremy Chardy posted an upset by toppling sixth-seeded Russian
Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Nalbandian and a seventh-seeded Berdych marched on. Nalbandian won
his 11th straight match with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 upset victory over fifth-seeded
French Open runner-up Robin Soderling, while Berdych held off rising Ukrainian
Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4. The 2003 Rogers Cup runner-up
Nalbandian was last week's hardcourt titlist at the U.S. Open Series event in
Washington, D.C. Berdych lost to Rafael Nadal in last month's Wimbledon
finale.
This week's big winner will collect $443,500.
<< NBA and players' union meet to discuss CBA
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Basketball Association and its
players' union met on Thursday to discuss the league's collective bargaining
agreement.
Both sides issued a joint statement after discussions concluded.
"The
<< Steelers place LB Frazier on IR
Latrobe, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Steelers placed veteran linebacker Andre
Frazier on injured reserve Thursday with a knee injury.
Frazier was entering his sixth pro season and saw time in 14 games last year
for Pittsburgh while tota
<< Top seeds Jankovic, Wozniacki exit Cincy; Sharapova reaches QFs
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded and defending champion Jelena Jankovic
and U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki were third-round upset victims
Thursday at the $2 million Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, a
hardcourt
<< Bears put Unga on IR
Borbonnais, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears placed running
back Harvey Unga on injured reserve Thursday with a hamstring injury.
Unga was selected in the seventh round of the NFL's supplemental draft and
subsequently
<< Serena, Venus will play in Fed Cup final
White Plains, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The mighty Williams sisters, Serena and
Venus, have committed to play for the United States in the 2010 Fed Cup final
against Italy in November.
The world No. 1 and 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena and w
Bengals RB Leonard diagnosed with mid-foot sprain >>
Georgetown, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals and running back
Brian Leonard received some good news on his injured left foot, as tests ruled
out a season-ending situation.
Leonard suffered what was originally diagnosed as a
Knicks sign second round pick Rautins >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks have signed guard
Andy Rautins, the 38th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft.
The 6-foot-4 Rautins averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 35
games for Syracuse
Twins place P Mijares on DL, promote Manship >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins placed left-handed pitcher
Jose Mijares on the 15-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Jeff
Manship from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday.
Mijares suffered the injury in the
Browns LB Jackson out "weeks" with chest injury >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson will
rest for the next few weeks and then be re-evaluated after suffering a serious
injury to his right pectoral muscle.
Jackson had his 2009 season cut short after
McGehee leads Brewers over D'Backs >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee finished 4-for-4 with a homer,
three RBI and scored three times as Milwaukee snuffed out Arizona, 8-4, in the
finale of a four-game set from Miller Park.
Craig Counsell had a pair of hits a
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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Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
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