Fish wins U.S. opener

Tennis Betting Lines

08/31/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Surging American Mardy Fish was a hard-fought opening-round winner Tuesday on Day 2 at the U.S. Open.

The 19th-seeded Fish needed all five sets to get past Czech Jan Hajek 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 on the grounds at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The Minnesota native Fish moved on in 2 hours, 36 minutes on the Grandstand Court.

Fish has now won 17 of his last 19 matches, including a pair of titles and a runner-up finish against the great Roger Federer in Cincinnati.

The first eye-catching upset of the fortnight came when French veteran Arnaud Clement cut down 16th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in five sets, 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, on an extremely hot day here. The on-court temperatures soared well over 100 degrees.

The former Australian Open runner-up Clement advanced in 3 hours, 27 minutes against Baghdatis. who swatted 22 aces, but also tallied 48 unforced errors in a losing effort.

The former Aussie Open runner-up Baghdatis reached a U.S. Open Series final in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago.

In other action involving seeds, No. 23 Feliciano Lopez of Spain handled Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and France's Jeremy Chardy took out No. 24 Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4.

Argentine Eduardo Schwank dismissed former U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3.

Additional first-round wins came for Spaniard Tommy Robredo, Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas, Frenchman Benoit Paire, German Philipp Petzschner and Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion will collect at least $1.7 million.

Wwhitbox Tennis Betting News

<< Lloyd tears off redshirt, will start against UM
STORRS, Conn. (AP) -Connecticut's coaches have scrapped plans to make linebacker Greg Lloyd Jr. take this season off, using a redshirt year to recover from the serious knee injury he went down with in November.Lloyd, the son of the former Pittsburgh

<< Wigan adds Chelsea's Di Santo, United's Cleverley
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan acquired striker Franco Di Santo from Chelsea and signed him to a three-year contract, and also added midfielder Tom Cleverley on loan from Manchester United on Tuesday. Di Santo, 21, spent last seaso

<< Islanders bring back captain Weight
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders signed captain Doug Weight to a one-year contract on Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. "Doug has played an important role in helping to develop our young

<< Ravens' Cody sidelined after surgery
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Ravens rookie defensive tackle Terrence Cody underwent surgery last week to have torn meniscus in his knee repaired. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Cody will likely be sidelined fo

<< Schalke signs Huntelaar, Jurado, Plestan
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Schalke acquired striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from AC Milan, midfielder Jose Manuel Jurado from Atletico Madrid and defender Nicolas Plestan from Lille on Tuesday. Huntelaar, 27, was acquired for

Panthers trim roster, put two on IR >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers reduced their roster to the maximum 75 on Tuesday, in part by placing wide receiver Wallace Wright and defensive end Hilee Taylor on injured reserve. Wide receivers Dexter Jackson and O

Rockies pick up P Delcarmen from Red Sox >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies acquired pitcher Manny Delcarmen from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor-league right- hander Chris Balcom-Miller on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Delcarmen was 3-2 with a 4.

Predators sign D Johnson >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators agreed to terms with defenseman Aaron Johnson on a one-year, two-way contract on Tuesday. The 27-year-old blueliner appeared in 41 games between Calgary and Edmonton in 2009-10 an

Braves make several roster moves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves made several roster moves on Tuesday, including recalling outfielder Nate McLoouth from Triple-A Gwinnett. Also, the team recalled first baseman Troy Glaus from his rehabilitation assig

Falcons cut two injured defenders >>
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons parted ways with safety Matt Giordano by way of an injury settlement and waived/injured defensive tackle Thomas Johnson to reach the league-mandated 75-man roster Tuesday

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.

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.