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08/31/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former runner-up Novak Djokovic and surging American Mardy Fish were a pair of hard-fought opening-round winners Tuesday at the U.S. Open.
Djokovic outlasted fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Djokovic, as he has in the past, struggled mightily amid some very hot conditions here on Day 2, as on-court temperatures soared well over 100 degrees.
But the third seed held on and prevailed in 3 hours, 40 minutes, despite a 23- ace barrage from the capable Troicki.
This marked Djokovic's 11th career five-set win.
The former Australian Open champion Djokovic was the 2007 U.S. Open runner- up to Roger Federer.
Up next for Djokovic will be talented German Philipp Petzschner.
The 19th-seeded Fish needed all five sets to get past game Czech Jan Hajek 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 on the grounds at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The Minnesota native Fish moved on in 2 hours, 36 minutes on the Grandstand Court.
"I was lucky to turn it around and play a little more aggressive," Fish said. "I was playing a little too defensive. You know, lucky enough to turn it around."
Fish has now won 17 of his last 19 matches, including a pair of titles and a runner-up finish against the great Federer in Cincinnati.
The first eye-catching upset of the fortnight came when French veteran Arnaud Clement cut down 16th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in five sets, 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Clement advanced in 3 hours, 27 minutes against his fellow former Australian Open runner-up Baghdatis. who swatted 22 aces, but also tallied 48 unforced errors in a losing effort.
Baghdatis reached a U.S. Open Series final in Washington, D.C. just a few weeks ago.
In other action involving seeds, No. 23 Feliciano Lopez of Spain handled Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and France's Jeremy Chardy took out No. 24 Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4.
Argentine Eduardo Schwank dismissed former U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3.
Additional first-round wins came for Petzschner, Spaniard Tommy Robredo, Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas, Frenchman Benoit Paire, and Spaniard Daniel Gimeno- Traver.
The 2010 U.S. Open champion will collect at least $1.7 million.
<< Lions sign Boiman
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions signed free agent
linebacker Rocky Boiman on Tuesday.
Boiman has been in the NFL since 2002 and has played for Tennessee,
Indianapolis, Kansas City and Pittsburgh.
Ov
<< NCAA denies Masoli eligibility to play for Ole Miss
Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has
been denied eligibility by the NCAA to play for Ole Miss this season, the
school confirmed Tuesday.
The school released a statement saying it would appeal th
<< Cal Poly receiver to sit out season opener
San Luis Obispo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cal Poly senior wide receiver Dominique
Johnson will sit out Saturday's season opener against Humboldt State per an
NCAA rule.
Johnson earned Great West Conference second-team honors in his first season
<< Barca signs Keita to contract extension
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona signed Mali midfielder Seydou
Keita to a contract extension Tuesday through the 2013-14 season.
Keita's old deal was set to expire at the end of the 2011-12 season. Keita has
become a key piec
Wolfsburg sends Misimovic to Galatasaray >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg, which signed Diego last week,
sent attacking midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic to Galatasaray on Tuesday.
Misimovic, 28, had 17 goals in 65 league matches for Wolfsburg and was a real
creator in
Real Madrid loans Drenthe to Hercules >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid loaned defender Royston Drenthe
to promoted Hercules on Tuesday for the rest of the La Liga season.
Drenthe, a Netherlands international, joined Real in 2007 from Feyenoord, but
has struggled t
Titans DT Brown back at practice >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Tony Brown
returned to practice on Tuesday after being removed from the physically unable
to perform list.
Brown, who had offseason surgery on his right knee, is expected to
Gophers suspend two for opener >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota has reportedly suspended senior
safety Kyle Theret and senior offensive lineman Dom Alford for Thursday's
season opener for a violation of team policy.
According to the St. Paul Pioneer
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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