11/07/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ATP's season-ending $4.45 million Tennis Masters Cup will get underway on Sunday with a pair of round-robin matches on the indoor hardcourt at Qi Zhong Stadium.
The first match of the week will pit second-seeded Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia against seventh-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, while the second bout on Day 1 will see fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko take on sixth-seeded Aussie Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. Tsonga was last week's surprise titlist at the Paris Masters, a title that enabled him to reach his first-ever Masters Cup. Del Potro will also make his Masters Cup debut.
Swiss great Roger Federer is a four-time overall and the two-time defending Masters Cup champion. He beat Spaniard David Ferrer in last year's finale here in Shanghai.
Federer will open defense of his title against eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon on Monday, while another Monday bout will be an all-Andy affair between third-seeded Brit Andy Murray and fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick. Murray was the U.S. Open runner-up to Federer, who has won the last five U.S. Opens and 13 major titles since 2003.
Murray and Simon, like Tsonga and del Potro, will also make their Masters Cup debuts next week.
Round-robin tennis will be the order of the day from Sunday through next Friday in Shanghai. The four-player Red Group features Federer, Murray, Roddick and Simon, while a four-man Blue Group boasts Djokovic, Davydenko, Tsonga and del Potro.
The former top-ranked Federer, who went 1-2 in three Grand Slam finals this season, became the top seed for the event when world No. 1 Rafael Nadal pulled out due to a knee injury and fatigue. Nadal's withdrawal gave Simon a spot in the exclusive field.
The Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion Nadal will still finish the year at No. 1. He supplanted Federer atop the rankings back in August.
Federer is an awesome 26-3 lifetime at the Masters Cup and one of only four players to capture the event four or more times (Ilie Nastase, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras). The super Swiss is the only former champion in this year's field.
This prestigious eight-man tournament will shift to London next year.
<< Hot Hawks welcome Raptors to Atlanta
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will try to stay unbeaten on the season
when they host the Toronto Raptors tonight at Philips Arena.
Atlanta has won its first three games and recorded an 87-79 road victory over
the high-scoring New
<< Pacers visit LeBron and Cavs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers shoot for their third straight win
when they host the Indiana Pacers tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs notched their second straight win with Wednesday's 107-93 victory
over the Chicag
<< Iverson set to make Pistons debut in New Jersey against Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allen Iverson has been patiently waiting to make his
Detroit debut and the new Pistons guard is expected to hit the floor tonight
against the New Jersey Nets at the Izod Center.
Iverson was acquired Monday from
<< Hornets return to Charlotte to face Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets will try to rebound from their
first loss of the season tonight, when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats at
Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Hornets opened the season with three straight wins, t
Kings continue homestand vs. T'Wolves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You have to forgive the Sacramento Kings if they are
kicking their collective heels together in celebration of returning home.
The Kings, who continue a four-game homestand Friday when they welcome the
strugglin
Billups, Nuggets take on Mavericks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver fans will finally get a look at their revamped team
when the Nuggets play host to the Dallas Mavericks at Pepsi Arena Friday.
The Nuggets on Monday traded nine-time All-Star guard Allen Iverson to the
Detroit
Sens head to Carolina >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Ottawa Senators will aim for a third
consecutive victory tonight, when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes at the
RBC Center.
The Senators have won two straight and four of their last five contests
(4-0-1). The
Winless Clippers host Rockets in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Things don't get any easier for the winless Los Angeles
Clippers as they begin a five-game homestand by welcoming the talented Houston
Rockets to the Staples Center.
The Clips, who have lost their first five contest
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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