08/16/2008 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red-hot Argentine Juan Martin del Potro was a quarterfinal winner Friday at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a U.S. Open tune-up, while top-seeded Andy Roddick, the defending champion, was bounced from the tournament.
The second-seeded del Potro, currently ranked 19th in the world, handled American John Isner in 6-4, 6-4 fashion on Day 6 on the hardcourts at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center. Isner was last year's D.C. runner-up to fellow American Roddick, who also titled here in 2001 and 2005.
Del Potro is now riding a scorching 17-match winning streak, having dropped only one set over that stretch, and is seeking his fourth title in his last four events. He upset Roddick in last week's hardcourt finale in Los Angeles.
The 6-foot-6 Del Potro waited out a brief rain delay on Friday before erasing the 6-foot-9 Isner. The surging Argentine committed a mere eight unforced errors on his way to victory and did not allow even one break-point chance for his American counterpart.
Up next for del Potro will be former Top-5 German Tommy Haas, an easy 7-5, 6-1 winner against Colombian Alejandro Falla. Haas, who's seeded fourth here, swatted eight aces in his 1-hour, 22-minute victory.
Roddick, meanwhile, was upset by Serbia's Viktor Troicki, who came back from losing the first seven games to defeat the top seed and three-time champ Roddick 0-6, 6-2, 6-4.
It was Troicki's second career Top 10 victory, having defeated then-World No. 4 Novak Djokovic last year in Umag. That was also the only time he advanced to an ATP semifinal before now.
Troicki will battle Russian Igor Kunitsyn for a spot in the final. Kunitsyn was a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman.
This week's titlist will collect $80,650.
<< Vaughn's last-second field goal lifts Titans over Raiders
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Vaughn kicked a 33-yard field goal as
time expired, giving the Tennessee Titans a 17-16 victory over the Oakland
Raiders in preseason action.
Vince Young struggled to get the Titans (2-0) down th
<< Calvillo tosses three TDs in Montreal's win at Toronto
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Calvillo threw for a season-high 379
yards with three touchdowns on 27-of-41 passing to lead the Montreal Alouettes
to a convincing 32-14 road victory over the Toronto Argonauts.
Avon Cobourne was t
<< What a tangled Webb we weave, D'Backs crush Astros
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Webb threw eight solid innings, Chris
Snyder hit one of Arizona's three home runs and drove in four, as the
Diamondbacks brought an end to Houston's eight-game win streak with a 12-2
throttl
<< Liriano, seven-run fourth help Twins trump Mariners
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francisco Liriano was virtually unhittable
on the mound and Jason Kubel hit a two-run homer, as the Minnesota Twins
crushed the Seattle Mariners, 9-3, in the opener of a three-game set from the
Metrodo
Giants sign top pick C Posey >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have signed catcher
Buster Posey, the fifth overall selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.
Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Posey was one of the best
Reds sign top pick Alonso >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds signed their
first-round draft pick from 2008, first baseman Yonder Alonso, on Friday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cincinnati had until midnight (et) Friday to
Rivera's wild pitch hands KC victory, continues Yanks' slide >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Esteban German had two doubles and scored twice,
including the go-ahead run in the ninth, to lead the Kansas City Royals in a
4-3 victory over the New York Yankees in the opener of a three-game set.
The Royal
Old-timer's day: Moyer, Phillies top Maddux, Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer was masterful through seven
frames of shutout ball and Pat Burrell hit the game-winning home run, as
Philadelphia edged San Diego 1-0 in the opener of a three-game set from PETCO
Park.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
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Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
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