10/09/2008 - Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian favorites Nikolay Davydenko and Marat Safin were among Thursday's second-round winners at the $1.049 million ATP Kremlin Cup. The two stars will meet in a quarterfinal here on Friday.
The top-seeded and two-time defending champion Davydenko routed Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-1, while a seventh-seeded Safin held off Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 on the indoor carpet at Olympic Stadium. Davydenko has won this event three of the last four years and beat France's Paul-Henri Mathieu in last year's finale.
Davydenko, who is a stellar 17-2 at this event, is 4-2 lifetime against the two-time major champion and former world No. 1 Safin, including a second-round victory at the French Open this year and a win in the title bout here in Moscow two years ago.
Meanwhile, a fourth-seeded Mathieu, fresh off his runner-up finish in Metz, France last week, advanced with a 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-0) victory over Israeli Dudi Sela, who reached a final in Beijing last month. The 2007 Moscow runner-up Mathieu captured this event in 2002.
In other second-round play, Viktor Troicki upended eighth-seeded fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-4, while German Mischa Zverev outlasted Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 and Russian Igor Kunitsyn clipped American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-3.
Friday's other quarters will pit Mathieu against fellow Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, Kunitsyn versus Frenchman Jeremy Chardy and Zverev against Troicki.
The 2008 Moscow champ will collect $171,000.
<< Browns TE Winslow misses practice
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns starting tight end Kellen
Winslow missed Thursday's practice with an undisclosed illness.
The Browns, coming off a bye, are unsure of Winslow's availability for Monday
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<< Week 6 - Will NFC East Bloodbath Produce Super Bowl Winner?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants won't complain too
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the first five weeks of the season, remains tooth-and-nail well into December.
The other thre
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I have overheard more than a few Alicia Silverstone
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Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins exercised the 2009
option on catcher Mike Redmond on Thursday.
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Jankovic lands in Moscow QFs >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 and U.S. Open runner-up
Jelena Jankovic highlighted Thursday's second-round winners at the $1.34
million Kremlin Cup.
The 23-year-old Jankovic dropped the first set on Day 4
Monfils reaches quarters; del Potro pulls out in Vienna >>
Vienna, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils
was among Thursday's second-round winners, while rapidly-rising Argentine Juan
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The eighth
Trio on top in Madrid >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Broadhurst, Magnus A. Carlsson and
Marcus Fraser each posted rounds of four-under 67 on Thursday to share the
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Pablo Larrazabal, Steven Jepp
Sharks release Friesen from tryout deal >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks have released forward Jeff
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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