11/11/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and rising Argentine Juan Martin del Potro were Tuesday's round-robin winners at the $4.45 million Tennis Masters Cup.
The second-seeded Djokovic reached the semifinals here by outlasting fourth- seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7-3), 0-6, 7-5 on Day 3 on the indoor hardcourt at Qi Zhong Stadium.
Djokovic topped Davydenko in 2 hours, 18 minutes by breaking the Russian on four occasions and firing eight aces. Davydenko could manage only two breaks in defeat.
The 21-year-old Djokovic is 2-0 and leads the four-player Gold Group, while Davydenko dropped to 1-1 for the week. The Serb is 1-1 lifetime against the gritty Russian, with both meetings coming this season.
Up next for Djokovic will be sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Aussie Open runner-up to the Serb back in January, while Davydenko will face the seventh-seeded del Potro. Tsonga and del Potro are making their Masters Cup debuts this week.
Thursday's Davydenko-del Potro winner will join Djokovic in the semis from the Gold Group.
The 6-foot-5 del Potro edged out Tsonga 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) on Tuesday. Del Potro is now 1-1, while Tsonga is out of semifinal contention at 0-2.
Del Potro topped Tsonga in 1 hour, 50 minutes and withstood a 17-ace barrage from the talented Frenchman. The lanky Argentine is now 2-0 all-time versus Tsonga.
Red Group action will be staged here on Wednesday, as top-seeded Swiss Roger Federer (0-1) takes on fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick (0-1) and third- seeded Brit Andy Murray (1-0) meets eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon (1-0). Simon shocked Federer here on Monday, while Murray got past Roddick on Day 2.
Murray and Simon, like Tsonga and del Potro, are Masters Cup rookies. The U.S. Open runner-up Murray has won 15 of his last 16 matches overall, including titles in St. Petersburg and Madrid.
The 13-time major champion Federer has won this event four times, including the last two years. He topped Spain's David Ferrer in last year's finale in Shanghai.
Federer is a lopsided 15-2 lifetime against his fellow former world No. 1 Roddick, but the American is 1-0 this year, with the surprising victory coming in Miami back in April. The Swiss is a perfect 3-0 in their Masters Cup encounters.
The reigning five-time U.S. Open champion Federer is the only former Masters Cup champ in this year's field.
Murray and Simon will meet for a fourth time, with the Brit holding a 2-1 career advantage. Murray is already 2-0 against the Frenchman this year.
<< Nuggets hit the road to Charlotte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets open a three-game road trip in Charlotte
on Tuesday when they take on the Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Nuggets reached the .500 mark (3-3) on Sunday when Carmelo Anthony scored
24 points and
<< Slumping T'Wolves take on Warriors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will attempt to halt a five-game
skid Tuesday as they conclude a three-game West Coast road swing in Oakland
versus the Golden State Warriors.
Portland All-Star Brandon Roy scored 24 points,
<< Knicks pay a visit to San Antonio
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surprising New York Knicks open a quick two-game road
trip Tuesday when they travel to San Antonio to face the injury-ravaged Spurs.
The Knicks won their third straight game when Jamal Crawford had a game-high
32
<< Kobe leads unbeaten Lakers into Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The undefeated Los Angeles Lakers kick off a short two-game
road swing Tuesday when they travel to North Texas to face the Dallas
Mavericks.
The Lakers improved to 5-0 on the young season on Sunday when reigni
Hawks swoop into Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surprising Atlanta Hawks will try to remain unbeaten
Tuesday and snap a seven-game skid in the Second City as they continue a four-
game road swing in Chicago against the Bulls.
The Hawks opened the trip with a h
Iverson, Pistons aim for a win at Kings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit has dropped two straight games since making a
blockbuster trade to acquire nine-time All-Star Allen Iverson last week. The
Pistons will try and stem that tide Tuesday when they arrive in California's
capital
Habs try to halt skid, take on Senators >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to avoid a third
consecutive loss when they welcome the Ottawa Senators for a Northeast
Division clash at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens have dropped back-to-back games for the first time th
Islanders host Flyers in New York matinee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders will host a Veterans Day matinee
when they welcome the Philadelphia Flyers for this afternoon's matchup at
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Flyers and Islanders are the bottom two teams in the
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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