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Berdych, Monfils to meet for Montpellier titleTennis Betting Lines02/04/2012 - Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament. The top-seeded Berdych had little trouble in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Germany's Philip Kohlschreiber after the third-seeded Monfils beat fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. Monfils saved a match point in his semifinal victory, as the second-seeded Simon had a break point to win it in the 12th game of the second set. Monfils was able to save it and won a tiebreaker before opening with an early break in the third. Simon battled back with a break, but quickly went down 15-40 in the 10th game and Monfils finally finished him off on his second match point to end the two- hour, 26-minute battle. Monfils, who beat Simon for the first time in three all-time meetings, is trying to win this title for the second time. He won it two years ago, the last time the tournament was contested, and on Sunday will try for his fifth career title. It's already the second final of the year for Monfils, who lost to countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open tuneup in Qatar. Monfils owns a dismal career record of 4-12 in finals. Berdych, meanwhile, is 6-6 in title matches. He made just one final in 2011, winning the crown in Beijing. The Czech opened his 2012 season with a quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open. It was a much easier semifinal for Berdych, who saved all five break points he faced and beat Kohlschreiber for the seventh time in eight all-time meetings. Berdych won the lone previous matchup with Monfils, taking a 6-3, 6-2 decision in the first round at Dubai in 2008. Sunday's winner will collect a first prize of $95,000.
<< Serbs, Belgians even after first day at Fed Cup
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia and Belgium are even after the first day of play at their Fed Cup quarterfinal. Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia the first point on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens, but Yanina
<< Azarenka withdraws from Fed Cup match
<< Italy and Ukraine even after opening day at Fed Cup
<< Kvitova, Benesova lift Czechs to lead over Germany
<< Hawks C Collins out at least 2 weeks
Georgetown cruises past South Florida >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Sims had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists, as No. 14 Georgetown cruised past South Florida, 75-45, on Saturday. Otto Porter added 12 points and Jason Clark finished with 11 for the
Syracuse thumps St. John's as Boeheim ties Dean >>
Advantage City as Citizens edge Cottagers >>
Bayern held by Hamburg at Imtech Arena >>
Florida State holds off Virginia >>
Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. |
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