Baghdatis, Gasquet advance in France

Tennis Betting Lines

05/18/2010 - Nice, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis and French favorite Richard Gasquet were a pair of first-round winners Tuesday at the inaugural clay-court Nice Open, a final French Open tune-up.

The fifth-seeded Baghdatis handled French lucky-loser Laurent Recouderc 6-4, 7-5, while an unseeded Gasquet leveled Slovak Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-0 at Nice Tennis Club. Recouderc replaced oft-injured Croat Mario Ancic in the draw, after Ancic pulled out with a bad back.

Up next for the Cypriot Baghdatis will be German Simon Greul, while Gasquet will encounter Ukrainian Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr.

An opening-round upset came when Dolgopolov Jr. took out sixth-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-3, 7-5.

In other Day-3 action, Florent Serra topped Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) to reach the second round, while Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky downed Italian Andreas Seppi 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals here.

The top seed this week is Sweden's Robin Soderling, who stunned the world of tennis last spring at Roland Garros when he upset four-time champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round and went on to lose the title match against Roger Federer.

Soderling, who enjoyed a first-round bye this week, will meet Belgian Olivier Rochus in a second-rounder here on Wednesday.

Some other second-round matches on Day 4 will pit second-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco against Serra and third-seeded flashy Frenchman Gael Monfils versus Swiss Marco Chiudinelli.

Wwwmacauslot Tennis Betting News

<< In the FCS Huddle: Edwards, Moats still linked
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They were bonded together by season-ending awards at the end of their FCS All-America careers. What Armanti Edwards and Arthur Moats didn't know at the time was how their NFL careers would begin in similar fa

<< Divide forming between Ramirez, Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Florida Marlins signed Hanley Ramirez to a six- year contract extension in May of 2008, they expected the All-Star to be their everyday shortstop well into this decade. An incident on Monday, however, may have tri

<< Wilson, Dutton & Simpson earn weekly honors
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville wide receiver JOMO WILSON, Cleveland quarterback JOHN DUTTON and Iowa defensive back JASON SIMPSON have been named the JLS Ironman, Russell Athletic Offensive Player and Riddell Defensive Player of the

<< United's Foster close to joining Birmingham
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Foster's proposed transfer from Manchester United to Birmingham City has inched closer to a resolution after it was confirmed that the goalkeeper will undergo a medical at St Andrew's on Tuesday

<< World Cup 2010 Preview: Can Aguirre take Mexico to next level?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Believe it or not, Mexico has something in common with Brazil, Italy and Germany. And that is the fact that El Tri is one of only four teams to reach the second round in each of the past four World Cups.

Relegated Hertha hopes for Babbel boost >>
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Relegated Hertha Berlin has turned to Markus Babbel to revive its fortunes. Babel has been handed a 12-month contract at the Olympiastadion following the decision to part company with predecessor

World Cup 2010 Preview: New faces up top for defending champ Italy >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the past eight years, names like Alessandro Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi, Luca Toni and Francesco Totti have been responsible for the scoring duties of Italy's national team. Combined, they have made ove

Sturm has successful knee surgery >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Bruins forward Marco Sturm underwent successful knee surgery on Tuesday. Sturm suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee in the

World Cup 2010 Preview: Capello leads rejuvenated England >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A disappointing exit in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup was followed by a failure to qualify for Euro 2008, leaving English soccer fans to wonder how bad things could get. England's lone Wo

Barca signs Milito to one-year extension >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito has agreed to a one-year contract extension. The 29-year-old Argentina international has overcome an injury-plagued start to life at the Camp Nou to become a first-

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.