Nadal wins in straight sets in New York

Tennis Betting Lines

08/31/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal was a straight-set winner over Teymuraz Gabashvili in the opening round of the U.S. Open, while former runner-up Novak Djokovic and surging American Mardy Fish were a pair of hard-fought winners.

Nadal, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion who is seeking his third straight Grand Slam title and first-ever trip into the U.S. Open final, needed just under three hours to advance into the second round to set up a match with Denis Istomin, who beat Maximo Gonzalez, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1.

The eight-time major champion Nadal was able to dominate Gabashvili's second serve, winning 51 percent of the points on his opponent's lesser serve. He fired 30 winners and seven aces in the 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory.

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."

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.

Other top-10 seeds who advanced were eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco, who topped Fabio Fognini 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, and 10th-seeded David Ferrer, who beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

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. several weeks ago.

Also advancing was American James Blake, who has made it to the third round in each of the last seven times he's participated in this tournament. Blake beat Kristof Vliegen 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Canadian Peter Polansky knocked out 30th-seeded Argentine Juan Monaco 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Additionally Julien Benneteau defeated 28th-seeded Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

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. No. 31 David Nalbandian beat Rik De Voest 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 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, Pablo Cuevas, Benoit Paire, Florent Serra, Adrian Mannarino, Benjamin Becker, Istomin and Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion will collect at least $1.7 million.

Wwcdnow Tennis Betting News

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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