11/05/2008 - Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The powerful Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, were among Wednesday's round-robin winners at the season-ending $4.55 million Sony Ericsson Championships.
A third-seeded former world No. 1 Serena saw her first action of the week and moved to 1-0 in the four-player Maroon Group with a 6-4, 6-1 pasting of second-seeded French Open and Olympic runner-up Dinara Safina, who is a disappointing 0-2 already this week and has all but been eliminated from semifinal contention this weekend.
In another Maroon Group bout, a seventh-seeded former top-ranked Venus snuck past fifth-seeded Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Day 2 on the hardcourts at Khalifa Tennis Complex. Venus is now 2-0 and appears well on her way to the semis, while Dementieva fell to 0-1.
On Thursday, a marquee round-robin affair will come when the nine-time major champion Serena battles the seven-time major titlist Venus in a rematch of the Wimbledon final, which was won by Venus. Serena was this year's U.S. Open champ.
Serena is 9-8 all-time against her older sister, including a 2-1 record this year. Oddly enough, the two have never met at the season-ending Championships.
The 27-year-old Serena is the only former Championships titlist (2001) in this year's field. She was also the runner-up in 2002 and 2004.
In some White Group action on Wednesday, eighth-seeded Olympic bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva outlasted fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4. A 2-0 Zvonareva is on a path to the semis here, while the 0-2 former No. 1 Ivanovic will, in all likelihood, not make it into the weekend.
An ailing Ivanovic has been battling a virus this week and required some medical attention during the second set on Wednesday.
Ivanovic was this year's French Open champion and Australian Open runner-up and whipped Zvonareva in a final in Linz, Austria just 10 days ago.
In some other round-robin action on Thursday, top-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic (1-0) will face sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova (0-1) and Safina will be opposed by her fellow Russian Dementieva, who topped Safina in the gold medal match in Beijing back in August. Jankovic has already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking.
Round-robin tennis is the order of the day here through Friday, with the top-two players from each group advancing to Saturday's semifinals and the semifinal victors moving into Sunday's lucrative finale.
The winner of this week's event will collect at least $1.34 million.
<< Broncos TE Scheffler, RB Young questionable for Thursday
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler and
running back Selvin Young are both questionable for Thursday's contest
against the Cleveland Browns.
Scheffler has 16 receptions for 259 yards and a p
<< Federer in Masters Cup group with Murray, Roddick
Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The groups were revealed Wednesday for next
week's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Roger Federer is
the two-time defending champion.
The U.S. Open champ Federer will play in the
<< Pistons meet Raptors in Toronto; Iverson unlikely to play
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Detroit Pistons visit the undefeated Toronto
Raptors at Air Canada Centre tonight.
The Pistons acquired future Hall of Fame guard Allen Iverson on Monday
from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for popular point
<< Texans release Kalu
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans announced Wednesday
that they have released defensive end N.D. Kalu and signed quarterback Craig
Nall.
The 33-year-old Kalu has played in two games for the Texans this season, an
Prince will not return to Kansas State for 2009 >>
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas State head football coach Ron Prince
will not return for the 2009 season, the school announced Wednesday.
The Wildcats are 4-5 this season and have lost three consecutive contests.
Kansas State
Raiders release CB Hall >>
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders released cornerback
DeAngelo Hall on Wednesday, just eight games into a seven-year contract worth
up to $70 million.
Hall has collected $8 million of that money and would be owed $1
Giggs saves draw for United; Juve advances >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Giggs scored in the 84th minute to
help Manchester United salvage a 1-1 draw against Celtic on Wednesday, while
Alessandro Del Piero bagged two goals as Juventus clinched a spot in the
knockou
Blue Jays' Burnett, host of Yankees file for free agency >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays pitcher A.J. Burnett
topped a list of nine players, including four Yankees, filing for free agency
Wednesday.
Burnett opted out of the final two years of a five-year, $55 million d
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere.
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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