Berdych, Monfils to meet for Montpellier title
Tennis Betting Lines
02/04/2012 -
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils were
semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Open Sud de
France tennis tournament.
The top-seeded Berdych had little trouble in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Germany's
Philip Kohlschreiber after the third-seeded Monfils beat fellow Frenchman
Gilles Simon, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Monfils saved a match point in his semifinal victory, as the second-seeded
Simon had a break point to win it in the 12th game of the second set. Monfils
was able to save it and won a tiebreaker before opening with an early break in
the third.
Simon battled back with a break, but quickly went down 15-40 in the 10th game
and Monfils finally finished him off on his second match point to end the two-
hour, 26-minute battle.
Monfils, who beat Simon for the first time in three all-time meetings, is
trying to win this title for the second time. He won it two years ago, the
last time the tournament was contested, and on Sunday will try for his fifth
career title.
It's already the second final of the year for Monfils, who lost to countryman
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open tuneup in Qatar. Monfils owns a
dismal career record of 4-12 in finals.
Berdych, meanwhile, is 6-6 in title matches. He made just one final in 2011,
winning the crown in Beijing. The Czech opened his 2012 season with a
quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open.
It was a much easier semifinal for Berdych, who saved all five break points he
faced and beat Kohlschreiber for the seventh time in eight all-time meetings.
Berdych won the lone previous matchup with Monfils, taking a 6-3, 6-2 decision
in the first round at Dubai in 2008.
Sunday's winner will collect a first prize of $95,000.
<< Serbs, Belgians even after first day at Fed Cup
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia and Belgium are even after the
first day of play at their Fed Cup quarterfinal.
Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia the first point on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-5 win
over Kirsten Flipkens, but Yanina
<< Azarenka withdraws from Fed Cup match
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Australian Open champion Victoria
Azarenka withdrew from her Fed Cup match with a lower back injury on Saturday.
She will be replaced by teammate Anastasiya Yakimova, but she is still
elig
<< Italy and Ukraine even after opening day at Fed Cup
Biella, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy and the Ukraine are surprisingly even
after Saturday's opening singles matches of their Fed Cup quarterfinal.
The matchups and home court clearly favored the Italians and Sara Errani gave
the hosts
<< Kvitova, Benesova lift Czechs to lead over Germany
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petra Kvitova and Iveta Benesova each
won three-set thrillers to give the Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over
Germany in its Fed Cup quarterfinal.
Benesova gave the defending Fed Cup champions
<< Hawks C Collins out at least 2 weeks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins will miss a
minimum of two weeks with a sprained left elbow, the team announced Saturday.
Collins was injured in the first quarter of Thursday's loss to the Grizzlies.
He i
Georgetown cruises past South Florida >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Sims had 13 points, nine rebounds and
five assists, as No. 14 Georgetown cruised past South Florida, 75-45, on
Saturday.
Otto Porter added 12 points and Jason Clark finished with 11 for the
Syracuse thumps St. John's as Boeheim ties Dean >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fab Melo returned to the Syracuse lineup after
a three-game absence and the sophomore center paid immediate dividends with 14
points, as the second-ranked Orange controlled the paint and rolled to a 95-70
victory
Advantage City as Citizens edge Cottagers >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City went top of the Premier
League on Saturday after defeating Fulham, 3-0, on a snowy night at the
Etihad.
The Citizens take a three-point lead in England's top tier as riv
Bayern held by Hamburg at Imtech Arena >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich fell two points off the pace
of first-place Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after it was held to a 1-1 draw
at the Imtech Arena by Hamburg.
Borussia Dortmund claimed sole possession of first
Florida State holds off Virginia >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Okaro White scored 13 points and pulled
down five rebounds off the bench as No. 21 Florida State held off 16th-ranked
Virginia to earn a 58-55 victory at Tucker Center.
Xavier Gibson added 10 points
Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
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Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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