Federer, Murray, Roddick victorious at BNP Paribas Open

Tennis Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time champion Roger Federer won his second-round match Sunday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters event.

Federer captured his fifth lifetime matchup without a loss against Romanian Victor Hanescu, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1. The top-ranked Swiss Federer, who won the title from 2004-06, played his first match since capturing his 16th career Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open on January 31.

Fourth-seeded Scotsman Andy Murray also went through to the third round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi. Murray is last year's runner-up, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final.

Sixth seed Robin Soderling of Sweden advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan's Evgeny Korolev, while American Andy Roddick, the seventh seed, topped Chinese Taipei qualifier Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-4, 6-4.

Ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France defeated Australian Marinko Matosevic, 6-1, 6-3, but seeds 12 through 14 were all upset victims. Germany's Simon Greul upended 12th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3; American James Blake stopped 13th-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer, 6-1, 6-4; and Israeli Dudi Sela downed 14th-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

Tommy Robredo, the 18th seed, topped Sergiy Stakhovsky, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Jurgen Melzer, seeded No. 22, defeated David Nalbandian, 6-4, 6-1.

Three other seeded players fell on Sunday. No. 23 Ivo Karlovic was beaten by Nicolas Almagro, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). Janko Tipsarevic, the 30th seed, was down 3-2 in the first set against Thiemo De Bakker when he retired due to an abdominal strain. Igor Andreev, the 32nd seed, lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to Michael Russell.

Other second-round winners on Sunday were No. 24 seed Albert Montanes, No. 27 Marcos Baghdatis and No. 28 Feliciano Lopez.

Fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko withdrew from the tournament due to a broken left wrist. Davydenko is expected to be sidelined the next four weeks. Because of the withdrawal, Serbian Viktor Troicki will get a walkover into the fourth round of the tournament.

This week's winner will collect $605,500.

Bigno Tennis Betting News

<< George Mason, Harvard to play in postseason tournament
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - George Mason and Harvard are part of the 16-team field selected to play in the second annual College Insider.com postseason tournament. The Patriots, who reached the NCAA Final Four in 2006, will host Fairf

<< Suns down free-falling Hornets
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amare Stoudemire scored 36 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and sank all 14 of his free throw attempts, as Phoenix ran past the New Orleans Hornets, 120-106, at US Airways Center. Jason Richardson had 20 p

<< Oregon State part of CBI
Princeton, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oregon State has been chosen to return to defend its title in the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, which starts Tuesday night. Oregon State, with head coach Craig Robinson, the brother-in-la

<< Sedin twins lead Canucks past Flames
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twin brothers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin each registered a goal and an assist, as the Canucks scored three times in the opening period and turned back the Calgary Flames, 3-1, for their sixth win in eight g

<< Report: Blackhawks D Campbell out for regular season after Ovie hit
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell will reportedly miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering a broken collarbone when Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin hit him from behind in Sund

Seton Hall removes Mitchell from basketball team >>
South Orange, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seton Hall announced it has removed junior forward Robert Mitchell from the basketball team for unspecified reasons. Mitchell, a transfer from Duquesne, started in 15 of the 31 games this season and averag

Wozniacki cruises, Sharapova bows out at Indian Wells >>
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark rolled into the fourth round while former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova was a third-round loser Sunday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open tennis event. Wozniacki

Top-ranked Jayhawks draws top overall NCAA seed >>
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -Look who's lurking deep in the Midwest bracket where Kansas proudly sits as overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.It's none other than Tennessee and Oklahoma State - the ``2'' in that glittering 32-2 record that the Jayhawks

NCAA Capsules-South Regional >>
Durham, N.C., 29-5.Nickname: Blue Devils. Coach: Mike Krzyzewski.Conference: Atlantic Coast. Bid: ACC champion.Region: South. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 88-30, 33 years. Last appearance: 2009.Scoring: Team (78.4); Jon Scheyer 18.7; Kyle Singler

NCAA Capsules-East Regional >>
Lexington, 32-2.Nickname: Wildcats. Coach: John Calipari.Conference: Southeastern. Bid: SEC champion.Region: East. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 100-45, 50 years. Last appearance: 2008.Scoring: Team (79.2); John Wall 16.9; DeMarcus Cousins 15.3; Pa

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.