10/19/2008 - Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Venus Williams knocked off Italy's Flavia Pennetta in straight sets Sunday to capture the $600,000 Zurich Open.
The 28-year-old Williams, who outlasted Serbian star Ana Ivanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday in the semifinals, was pushed to a first-set tiebreak by Pennetta, but took a 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker and dominated the match the rest of the way. Williams walked away with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 victory and took home $95,500 for her work.
Williams, who converted on 2-of-4 break-point chances, collected six aces to zero for Pennetta, who left Zurich with $51,000 as the runner-up. The 26-year- old Pennetta committed four double-faults in the loss to Williams and did not break Williams' serve during the match.
Pennetta earned a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Anabel Medina Garrigues in the semis of this event. She had a very solid showing in Zurich, as she also eliminated reigning world No. 1 and U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic on Thursday.
<< Boyle, Sharks come back to upend Flyers in OT
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Boyle scored 1:25 into overtime, as the
San Jose Sharks downed the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4, in the opener of a home-
and-home series at the HP Pavilion.
Boyle added two assists for the Sharks, who
<< Around FCS: What a difference a year makes
Newark, DE. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One year ago, I was in the press box at William
& Marys Zable Stadium when Delaware running back Omar Cuff scored seven
touchdowns as the Blue Hens smashed the Tribe 49-31 in the first game in
Colonial Athlet
<< Oilers edge Flames
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew Cogliano scored the game-winning goal,
as the Edmonton Oilers used a fierce second-period rally to defeat the Calgary
Flames, 3-2, and sweep the home-and-home series.
The Oilers won another close batt
<< Boston College snaps Va. Tech's five-game win streak
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Crane threw for 218 yards on 16-
of-32 passing with a touchdown and three interceptions, as Boston College
upended No. 17 Virginia Tech, 28-23, in an ACC clash.
Montel Harris gained 61 yard
NEC downs Vitesse with late flurry >>
Nijmegen, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NEC moved into the top five in the
Eredivisie table on Sunday as they scored two goals in the last seven minutes
to beat Vitesse, 3-1 at De Goffert.
The visitors grabbed the lead 17 minutes into t
Quenneville, Blackhawks host Canucks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to get their first win
under new head coach Joel Quenneville tonight, when they welcome the Vancouver
Canucks to the United Center.
The Blackhawks played their first game under Quenneville i
Ducks aim for second win in home test vs. 'Canes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After ending a four-game losing streak to begin the 2008-09
season, the Anaheim Ducks hope to continue in the right direction when they
host the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at the Honda Center.
The Ducks' 0-4-0 record gave
Hibs, Hearts play to draw in Edinburgh derby >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hibernian and Hearts shared the points
in a fast-paced 1-1 draw at Easter Road Stadium on Sunday, leaving both sides
in the top five in the league table.
Hibernian got on the scoreboard less than tw
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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