Almagro reaches Brasil Open semis

Tennis Betting Lines

02/17/2012 - Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro was an easy quarterfinal winner Friday at the $475,300 Brasil Open.

The Spanish Almagro cruised past fifth-seeded Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-2 in an hour-and-a-half at this clay-court event.

The world No. 11 Almagro, who also won this event in 2008, captured his second Brasil Open title last year by besting Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the finale in Costa do Sauipe.

The 2012 Brasil Open champion will collect $85,800.

Wcasinoonnet Tennis Betting News

<< Mertesacker out 'for a while'
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed Friday that defender Per Mertesacker will be out for unspecified period of time after undergoing surgery to repair an ankle problem. The German defender sus

<< J.R. Smith bound for New York
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Free agent swingman J.R. Smith used social media to reveal who he'll be playing for this season, tweeting on Friday, "New York Knicks It Is!" There has been no official word from the Knicks yet. Smith, who recently r

<< Hornets try to stop Lin, Knicks at MSG
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Some think New Orleans will put an end to the Lin-sanity that has engulfed New York City on Friday. Others think it will eventually be Carmelo Anthony. The thought was Jeremy Lin and Anthony could be in the star

<< Thunder welcome Warriors to OKC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder have performed quite well following a loss this season and look to keep it that way when the Golden State Warriors pay a visit to Chesapeake Energy Arena tonight. The Th

<< Team Valor calls audible for Animal Kingdom
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday marks the return to competition for 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom after eight months on the sidelines. The 4-year-old colt last raced in the Belmont Stakes in June. Owner Team Valor In

Varejao to miss at least a month >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers provided an update on the fractured wrist of Anderson Varejao on Friday and said the forward will be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks. Varejao was hurt in a February 10 game ag

Berdych, del Potro reach Rotterdam semis >>
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych and former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro were a pair of easy quarterfinal winners Friday at the $1.6 million ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournam

Valencia sidelined for a month >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United was dealt a major blow after its Europa League win over Ajax on Thursday as it was revealed that in-form winger Antonio Valencia will sit out for a month with a hamstring injury.

Duquesne opens at ODU, play five at home >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Duquesne football will try to build off a Northeast Conference co-championship last season in its 11-game 2012 schedule announced on Friday. The Dukes will play five home games, including a Nov. 10 match-up

Grey Cup rematch helps kick off historic CFL season >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canadian Football League will celebrate in 2012 the 100th Grey Cup championship, and the season will open on June 29 with a pair of games, including a rematch of the 2011 Grey Cup between Winnipeg and British

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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

Betting the NFL preseason

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.