Sharapova, Jankovic roll in DFS openers

Tennis Betting Lines

06/13/2007 - Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Open semifinal losers Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic were a pair of second-round winners Wednesday at the $200,000 DFS Classic.

The top-seeded Sharapova drilled American qualifier Lilia Osterloh 6-4, 6-0, while the second-seeded Jankovic handled Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-1 at Edgbaston Priory Club. The Russian Sharapova, who lost to Serbian Ana Ivanovic in the French Open semis last week, and the Serbian Jankovic, who gave way to world No. 1 Justine Henin at Roland Garros, enjoyed opening-round byes this week.

The U.S. Open champion, Aussie Open runner-up and former world No. 1 Sharapova was the back-to-back Birmingham titlist in 2004 and 2005.

Sharapova's third-round opponent here on Thursday will be Austrian Tamira Paszek, while Jankovic will encounter 16th-seeded Russian beauty Maria Kirilenko.

Four other seeds advanced here on Day 3, as No. 5 Marion Bartoli of France whipped British wild card Naomi Cavaday 6-3, 6-1; No. 6 Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko beat Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan 6-3, 6-4; No. 8 Italian Mara Santangelo edged out Indian Sania Mirza 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6); and No. 9 Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko snuck past Slovenian qualifier Andreja Klepac 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3.

Upsets came when qualifier Ayumi Morita took out her seventh-seeded fellow Japanese Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 and Paszek drove out 13th-seeded American Meilen Tu 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

In other second-round action, German Angelique Kerber doused American Ahsha Rolle 6-4, 6-1, Ukrainian qualifier Yuliana Fedak overcame Venezuelan Milagros Sequera 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and American Vania King squeaked past Aussie Alicia Molik 7-6 (12-10), 6-4.

Birmingham serves as a tune-up for Wimbledon, which will commence in less than two weeks at the All England Club.

Wsportsbetting Tennis Betting News

<< Schilling takes hill for first time since no-no bid vs. Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off one of the best performances in his career, Curt Schilling will lead the Boston Red Sox against the Colorado Rockies tonight in the second test of a three-game interleague series from Fenway Park. In his previou

<< Cards try to give KC royal flush
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals may own the second worst record in the majors, but they've been quite good when facing National League teams so far this season. Tonight the club shoots for a second consecutive victory over the St

<< Dodgers go for rare sweep of reeling Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dodgers will try to sweep the New York Mets in Los Angeles for the first time in over 10 years tonight, when the two clubs wrap their three-game series at Dodger Stadium. The last time Los Angeles swept New Y

<< Mariners navigate Wrigley for sixth straight win
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baseball's hottest team takes aim at a sixth consecutive victory tonight at Wrigley Field, where the Seattle Mariners will try to defeat the Chicago Cubs for a second straight night. The Mariners needed additiona

<< Indians try to halt skid versus Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A three-game losing streak is the reason why the Cleveland Indians have lost ground in the American League Central and they will attempt to get back in the win column this evening in the second installment of a three-game int

Hi-yo Silva: Twins continue set with Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Silva hopes to bounce back from an abysmal start in his last trip to the hill when the Minnesota Twins continue their three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at the Metrodome. Silva was battered by the Washington

Mohawk to host North America Cup on Saturday for first time >>
Campbellville, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ten three-year-old pacers have been entered for Saturday's $1.5 million North America Cup at Mohawk Racetrack. Mohawk is hosting the 24th North America Cup for the first time. The three elimin

Oakland aims for Grade-A effort against 'Stros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After playing an 11-inning thriller on Tuesday, the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics resume their three-game interleague series this evening at Minute Maid Park. Houston overcame another blown save from its troubles

Its official, Earnhardt Jr. chooses Hendrick >>
Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On Wednesday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he would sign to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. Earnhardt Jr., son of seven-time Nextel Cup champion Dale Earnhardt and the most popular driver i

Rookie Lincecum leads San Fran in finale vs. Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phenom Tim Lincecum tries to remain undefeated this afternoon, as the San Francisco Giants try and complete a three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays at AT&T Park. Lincecum, the 10th overall pick in the 2006 d

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite.  After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.

Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

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