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04/25/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal continued his domination on clay with a straight-set victory over Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals of the Barcelona Open and will take on fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in a rematch of last year's title match.
A rested Nadal had little trouble in a 6-3, 6-2 victory over the third-seeded Russian on Saturday. The top seed did not have to play in the quarterfinal round after Argentina's David Nalbandian was forced to withdraw following his third-round victory Thursday with a hip injury.
The fourth-seeded Ferrer, meanwhile, had to rally from a set down to post a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez.
Nadal will now play for his fifth straight Barcelona title. He improved to 24-1 all-time in the tournament, losing only to countrymate Alex Corretja in the second round of the 2003 event, when he was making his tournament debut at age 16.
The now-22-year-old Nadal will take a 24-match winning streak on clay into Sunday's final. He is an astounding 141-4 on the surface since 2005, which includes a title last week at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Nadal, already a three-time ATP Tour winner this year with crowns at the Australian Open and Indian Wells in addition to last week's title, is 34-9 all-time in finals. A staggering 23 of those title victories have come on clay.
One of those came last year against Ferrer, who battled Nadal to three sets. Nadal pulled out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win last year to claim the Barcelona crown and owns a 6-3 lifetime mark against Ferrer. The two also played in the 2007 Barcelona semifinals, a 7-5, 6-1 triumph for Nadal.
Ferrer last beat Nadal in the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win in round-robin play.
The 27-year-old Ferrer has seven career ATP singles titles, with two coming last year at Valencia and 's-Hertogenbosch. This will be his second final of 2009, having previously lost to Novak Djokovic at Dubai in February.
Sunday's winner will pocket a first prize of $370,000.
<< Carver steps down at TFC
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC announced Saturday that head coach
John Carver has tendered his resignation with the club for personal reasons.
His resignation will take effect immediately.
Carver was hired as head coach on Feb
<< Jazic added to Goat's disabled list
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defender Ante Jazic has been added to Chivas
USA's disabled list, making the player ineligible for at least six league
matches.
Jazic, 33, suffered a concussion during preseason training on March 11 and
<< 'Quakes Cochrane undergoes ankle surgery
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Jose Earthquakes defender Ryan Cochrane
has undergone successful arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle and is
expected to be out of action for 10-12 weeks.
Cochrane, who missed time in prese
<< Glatch pulls U.S. even with Czechs in Fed Cup semis
Brno, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Alexa Glatch steamrolled
Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic in the second of two singles matches
Saturday to pull the United States even with the Czechs after the opening day
of play
Altintop's header leads Schalke past Bayern >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Halil Altintop's goal in the 21st minute
was enough to lead Schalke to a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich at the Allianz
Arena on Saturday.
Bayern was the more dangerous team over the course of the mat
Mets ink Figueroa to minor league deal >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets signed right-hander Nelson
Figueroa to a minor league contract on Saturday and assigned him to Triple-A
Buffalo.
The 35-year-old lost his lone outing for the Mets this season, a spot s
Australia won't go to India for Davis Cup >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennis Australia has decided not to
travel to India for next month's Davis Cup zonal matchup in Chennai because of
security concerns.
The International Tennis Federation rejected Tennis Australia's
Mets sign Lamb to minor league deal >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have signed infielder Mike
Lamb to a minor league contract.
Lamb is expected to report to extended spring training before heading to
Triple-A Buffalo.
The 33-year-old veteran is a
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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