05/20/2008 - Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik booked a spot in the second round, while third-seeded French crowd favorite Virginie Razzano went by way of the upset Tuesday at the $175,000 Strasbourg International tennis tournament, a final clay-court tuneup for the French Open.
Srebotnik subdued young German Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-1, while Razzano was blasted by Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan 6-1, 6-0 at Ligue d'Alsace de Tennis.
Eighth-seeded Chinese Zi Yan was trailing Mara Santangelo 5-6 in the first set when the Italian retired from their bout with a left foot injury, thus giving Zi a spot in the round of 16.
Ukrainian qualifier Tatiana Perebiynis doused American Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-1 on Day 2.
Additional wins came for Croatian qualifier Ana Vrljic, Swiss Timea Bacsinszky and Romanian Edina Gallovits. Bacsinszky took out Aussie wild card and former top-10 star Jelena Dokic 6-4, 6-2.
On Wednesday, second-round matches will come for top-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli and reigning Strasbourg champion Anabel Medina Garrigues. The 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli will face Chinese Shuai Peng, while the sixth- seeded Medina Garrigues will tangle with Vrljic. The two-time Strasbourg titlist Medina Garrigues stunned Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in last year's Strasbourg finale and also titled here in 2005.
<< Liverpool confirms addition of Swiss defender Degen
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool has confirmed that Switzerland
defender Philipp Degen will move to Anfield after the Euro finals.
The 25-year-old right-back has decided to make the move to England at the end
of his contract
<< Calleri, El Aynaoui land in Casablanca quarters
Casablanca, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Argentine Agustin Calleri
and Moroccan veteran Younes El Aynaoui were among Tuesday's second-round
winners at the $575,000 Grand Prix Hassan II tennis event.
Calleri advanced to hi
<< Ferguson rules out Ronaldo exit
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United manager Sir Alex
Ferguson has dismissed reports suggesting Portugal international Cristiano
Ronaldo is set to leave Old Trafford and move to Real Madrid this summer.
Speaking
<< Is it time to hit panic button in D.C.?
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a 3-1 loss at Chivas USA on Saturday
night, one of Major League Soccer's proudest and most popular franchises, D.C.
United, hit rock bottom with its league leading sixth loss in eight fixtures
to star
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
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
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
Karl undergoes successful surgery >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl underwent
successful surgery to replace his left hip Tuesday.
The surgery was performed at Rose Hospital by Dr. Hal Crane of Orthopedic
Associates and lasted more than
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
“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.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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