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03/08/2007 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Week 2 of the AFL season is "Championship Week" as three teams raise their banners in home openers throughout the weekend, and one team hosts its first home contest since the 2005 season.
The 2006 National Conference Champion Orlando Predators are in the spotlight as they host the Los Angeles Avengers during the inaugural Russell ESPN Arena Football Monday this upcoming Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Predators got off to a good start in Week 1 by defeating their long-time Southern Division rival Tampa Bay, 52-27. The Predators are led by QB SHANE STAFFORD, who completed 24-of-34 passes for 329 yards and five touchdowns last week in his inaugural game as a Predator. The Avengers look to bounce back from their 66-58 loss to the San Jose SaberCats. Avengers WR LENZIE JACKSON registered 13 receptions for 196 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
The ArenaBowl XX Champion Chicago Rush will raise its championship banner in its home opener when it hosts San Jose on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The Rush hope to improve from a 54-41 loss to Kansas City in Week 1. The SaberCats have lost three consecutive games to the Rush and have not won in Chicago since their 71-49 victory during Week 6 of the 2003 season. SaberCats QB MARK GRIEB led the way against Los Angeles last week as he threw for 258 yards and six touchdowns in their 66-58 win. In a rematch of the 2006 American Conference Championship game that saw the Rush punch their ticket to ArenaBowl XX, Chicago jumped out to a 21-7 lead early in the first, and withheld a SaberCats comeback that went down to the final on-sides kick on their way to a 59-56 victory. Rush WR BOBBY SIPPIO scored the game-winner with his fifth touchdown reception with 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Rush QB MATT DORAZIO completed 21-of-36 passes for 215 yards and six touchdowns, while GRIEB completed 28-of-36 passes for 314 yards with five passing touchdowns and one rushing.
The banner raisings continue in Dallas as the Desperados lift their Eastern Division championship banner in their home opener against the Tampa Bay Storm on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (ET) on SIRIUS RADIO channel 119. The Desperados are coming off a 60-7 victory over the New York Dragons last week. The 53-point win ranks as the largest margin of victory in a season opener in AFL history. QB CLINT DOLEZEL completed 21-of-28 passes for 249 yards and seven touchdowns. Tampa opened their season at home with a disappointing loss, 52-27 to Orlando. Storm QB JOHN KALEO completed 24-of-37 passes for 289 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in his return to the franchise. WR DEMETRIS BENDROSS posted a team-high 10 receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort.
Utah Blaze head coach DANNY WHITE returns to Phoenix looking for his first win against his former team when the Rattlers host the Blaze this Saturday at 9 p.m. ET (FSN Rocky Mountain- 12:30 a.m. ET and FSN Arizona- 10 p.m. ET). White, who coached Arizona from 1992-2005, lost all three meetings last season against the team he led to two ArenaBowl Championships in 1994 and 1997.
The New Orleans VooDoo return to the New Orleans Arena for their first home game since May 5, 2005, after missing the 2006 campaign due to Hurricane Katrina. All eyes will be on the VooDoo (0-1), who boast a 12-4 all-time regular season record at home. The VooDoo have sold more than 12,000 season tickets to date and the New Orleans Arena is also the site of ArenaBowl XXI on Sunday, July 29, at 3 p.m. on ABC.
The VooDoo host the Columbus Destroyers (1-0), who defeated the Nashville Kats, 58-56, in Week 1 action on Friday, March 9, at 8 p.m. on SIRIUS RADIO channel 119. The Destroyers are led by QB MATT NAGY, who threw for 245 yards and seven touchdowns in his Columbus debut. WR DAMIEN GROCE led the Destroyers with 11 catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns in the win. VooDoo QB ANDY KELLY threw for 285 passing yards, and eight touchdowns in their last second, 63-61, loss to the Utah Blaze.
This weeks games also include: Las Vegas at Grand Rapids on Thursday (AFL Net); Philadelphia at Nashville on Friday (AFL Net); Kansas City at Colorado on Saturday (AFL Net); and Austin at Georgia (FSN Southwest- 12 a.m. ET, FSN Midwest- FSN Sports South- Live) on Sunday.
<< FC Dallas to host '08 Men's College Cup
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer's FC Dallas has been
selected to team up with the SMU Athletic Department to host the 2008 NCAA
Division I Men's College Cup. The event will be held at the home of FC Dallas,
Pizza H
<< Craybas, Krajicek among first-round winners at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran American Jill Craybas and
Michaella Krajicek were straight-set winners during first-round action at
the $2.1 million Pacific Life Open.
Craybas downed Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-
<< Warriors down Nuggets
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony celebrated the birth of his
son, but his teammates didn't have much to celebrate, as Baron Davis scored
22 points to lead Golden State past Denver, 110-93.
Anthony didn't suit up becaus
<< DiPenta's fluke goal lifts Ducks over Coyotes
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe DiPenta scored a fluke goal with 8:02
remaining in the game to lift the Anaheim Ducks over the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-1,
at the Honda Center.
Ric Jackman also scored while Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned a
United's Silvestre suffers dislocated shoulder >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English Premier League's Manchester
United learned that defender Mikael Silvestre suffered a dislocated to his
right shoulder in their 1-0 Champions League win over Lille, Wednesday.
The injury
Henry suffers another setback >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English Premier League squad Arsenal
suffered injury to insult when it learned star striker Thierry Henry faces
more injury troubles after suffering stomach and groin aliments in Wednesday's
UEFA Ch
Ravens acquire McGahee from Bills >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Jamal Lewis out of the picture, the
Baltimore Ravens completed a trade on Thursday with the Buffalo Bills to
obtain the rights to running back Willis McGahee.
The trade is pending a physical
Miami resigns Traylor; signs Chicago safety Worrell >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins re-signed defensive tackle
Keith Traylor to a two-year contract and signed free agent safety Cameron
Worrell to a two-year contract on Thursday.
"Re-signing Keith was an important obje
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
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