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03/08/2010 - Coquimbo, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fernando Gonzalez straight-setted Dudi Sela on Monday, sending Chile into the 2010 Davis Cup quarterfinals. The Chileans have an insurmountable 3-1 lead over Israel in the best-of-five first-round affair.
The former Australian Open runner-up Gonzalez handled Sela 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours on the red clay in Coquimbo on Day 3 here.
On Sunday, doubles specialists Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram kept the Israelis alive, at 1-2, with a 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (11-9), 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over a Chilean tandem of Jorge Aguilar and Paul Capdeville.
On Saturday, Nicolas Massu got the Chileans going with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sela and the world No. 10 Gonzalez doubled the hosts' advantage by overcoming Harel Levy 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Chile will host the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals in July.
This week's matchup started a day late -- Saturday instead of Friday -- because of the tragic earthquake and tsunami that struck Chile two weeks ago, killing about 800 people. The Enjoy Tennis Center was unaffected by the disaster and the local airport was open, but transportation problems delayed the arrival of players and officials.
Chile is now 2-1 all-time against Israel, a surprise Davis Cup semifinalist last year, with the other victory coming way back in 1960.
The Chileans are captained by Hans Gildemeister, while Eyal Ran is serving as the Israeli skipper.
<< 2010 Great West Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The inaugural Great West Conference
Tournament takes place at the McKay Center in Orem, Utah from March 10-13. The
champion of this event receives an automatic bid to the Collegeinsider.com
Tournament, as the
<< Mowbray hopeful of keeping Keane
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic manager Tony Mowbray retains some
hope of being able to convince loan striker Robbie Keane to remain with the
club beyond the end of the season.
The 29-year-old has scored five times in sev
<< Fabregas to miss return leg against Porto
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will miss the
second leg of his side's Champions League Round of 16 tie against FC Porto due
to a hamstring injury.
The 22-year-old Spain international midfielder limped out
<< Di Maria continues to ponder future
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benfica winger Angel Di Maria has played
down rumors linking him with a certain exit from the Portuguese giants in the
summer.
The 22-year-old Argentina international is attracting interest from a num
UMass to seek new women's hoops coach >>
Amherst, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Massachusetts is in the
market for a new women's basketball coach after the school decided not to
retain Marnie Dacko for next season.
Dacko's contract is set to expire April 10.
Two tours, two wins for Villegas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before Camilo Villegas arrived at the first tee Sunday, he
called his mother in Colombia. "Tell the little bro congratulations and keep
it up," he told her.
More than 1,500 miles away, Manuel Villegas was signing his score
A's come to terms with P Bailey, 28 others >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey was one
of 29 pre-arbitration players to agree to contracts for the 2010 season.
Bailey made 68 appearances for Oakland last season, posting a 6-3 record with
26 saves
Stewart leads NHL's Three Stars >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Avalanche right wing Chris Stewart,
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos and Florida Panthers defenseman
Bryan McCabe have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending March
7.
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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