05/20/2008 - Portschach, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic and fifth-seeded American Sam Querrey posted opening-round wins Tuesday at the rainy Hypo Group International tennis tournament, a final clay-court French Open tuneup. Inclement weather has affected play here over the first three days.
Ljubicic snuck past Czech qualifier Jan Hajek 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, while Querrey overcame Austrian wild card Oliver Marach 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that was suspended because of rain here on Monday. Rain completely washed out play here on Sunday and, combined with darkness, forced seven first-round matches to be either suspended or postponed on Tuesday.
Four other seeds had their first-rounders postponed on Day 3, as No. 2 Argentine Juan Monaco, No. 4 American Mardy Fish, No. 7 Croat Mario Ancic and No. 8 Dutchman Robin Haase will have to wait until Wednesday to open their weeks here. Monaco is the reigning champion here, having beaten Frenchman Gael Monfils in last year's Portschach finale.
American John Isner got in his first-rounder on Tuesday and drilled Italian qualifier Simone Vagnozzi 6-3, 6-2, with the help of 11 aces, at Werzer Tennis Arena. Isner is rewarded with a second-rounder against top-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who titled here back-to-back in 2005 and 2006.
<< FC Dallas fires coach Morrow
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas fired coach Steve Morrow on Tuesday,
two days after the Major League Soccer club was humiliated in a 5-1 to the Los
Angeles Galaxy.
The loss extended Dallas' winless streak to four games and dropped
<< Davenport withdraws from Roland Garros
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay
Davenport pulled out of the 2008 French Open on Tuesday, citing personal
reasons.
The 31-year-old former world No. 1 star has won every major event, with
<< This Week in Auto Racing May 22 - May 25
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This is the week that all racing fans have
been waiting for, particularly Sunday when there is racing around the clock.
It starts early on Sunday with the historic Grand Prix of Monaco, then returns
to the
<< Spirit of St. Louis: Pujols flying high for Cards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's business as usual this season for St. Louis Cardinals
All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols.
Pujols, a model of consistency his entire career, is marking up the stat
sheets at a torrid pace and keeping the Card
Americans, Argentines split singles matches at World Team event >>
Dusseldorf, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Blake won and Wayne Odesnik
lost on Tuesday, as the United States split its singles matches with the
defending champion Argentines in round-robin action at the $2.34 million ATP
World T
Super Bowl XLVI awarded to Indianapolis >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has awarded Super Bowl XLVI to
Indianapolis, which will open a new stadium for the Colts this August.
Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis is expected to seat about 73,000
for a Super
Drogba may stay at Chelsea >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has dropped a
major hint that he will still be at Stamford Bridge next season, following
recent talk of a big-money exit from the Blues.
The 30-year-old Ivory Coast inter
Bad news for injured Rangers duo >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers duo Steven Naismith and Chris
Burke face long spells on the sideline after being forced to undergo surgery
on Monday.
Naismith has been ruled out for the whole of next season after being to
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.
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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