Nadal advances to fourth round, Murray ousted at U.S. Open

Tennis Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed Rafael Nadal was an easy third-round winner Sunday at the U.S. Open, while fourth seed Andy Murray was given an early exit.

Nadal took the next step in his pursuit of a career Grand Slam, handling Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Spaniard, who is seeking his first U.S. Open title, will play countryman Feliciano Lopez for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The 23rd-seeded Lopez advanced to the fourth round after Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky retired in the second set because of a right toe infection. Lopez was leading 6-3, 4-0 when Stakhovsky called it quits.

Murray, meanwhile, was ousted by Stanislas Wawrinka. The 25th-seeded Swiss rebounded from dropping the first set to take a 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Scotsman.

Murray had not bowed out this early at Flushing Meadows since 2007, and was the runner-up to Roger Federer in 2008.

Wawrinka is into the fourth round at the U.S. Open for the third time in his career and first time since 2008, when he was beaten by Murray in straight sets.

Murray also thwarted Wawrinka in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2009, but the steady Swiss got some payback Sunday. He will attempt to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal when he takes on 20th-seeded American Sam Querrey.

Querrey fired 42 winners and 19 aces to power his way to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. He matched his best performance at a Grand Slam event, and has reached the fourth round at two straight majors. The American also made it through to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in 2008.

An eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco dispatched Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Spaniard was a quarter-finalist here last year, losing to Serbian Novak Djokovic in four sets.

Another Spaniard through to the last 16 was 10th-seeded David Ferrer, who cruised past compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-2. Ferrer, who has not dropped a set en route to the fourth round, will next face Verdasco.

Also on Sunday, Spaniard Tommy Robredo advanced to the fourth round after Frenchman Michael Llodra retired in the fourth set. Robredo was leading at the time, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 2-1.

Sportsboook Tennis Betting News

<< Padres continue freefall, lose 10th in a row
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora hit a two-run single to snap a seventh-inning tie, lifting the Colorado Rockies to a 4-2 win and sending National League West-leading San Diego to a 10th straight loss. Troy Tulowitzki cl

<< Jags make several moves
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars made several roster moves on Sunday, including being awarded defensive tackle Landon Cohen off waivers from Detroit. Cohen has played 24 games over his two seasons in the N

<< Titans waive Blount, build practice squad
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans waived running back LeGarrette Blount on Sunday as they made a number of moves. The Titans waived linebacker Stanford Keglar in addition to Blount, who signed with the club as an

<< Riders nip reeling Bombers
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Cates scored twice on the ground as the Saskatchewan Roughriders took down the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 27-23, in a Labour Day contest from Mosaic Stadium. Darian Durant went 22-of-34 with 301 ya

<< Happ strong again as Astros down Arizona
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Pence's three-run home run in the first inning stood up as the deciding hit as Houston held off Arizona, 3-2, to wrap up a three-game set. Pence finished 2-for-4 and Jeff Keppinger added a hit and a ru

UNC associate head coach Blake resigns >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina associate head football coach John Blake has resigned, effective immediately, amid an NCAA investigation into possible violations. It had previously been reported by the Rale

Jets release FB Richardson >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have released veteran fullback Tony Richardson. He had re-signed with the team in March after blocking last season for the NFL's top rushing offense, which was led by ve

Abreu helps Angels get by A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Abreu drove in three runs and scored three times, as the Angels took down the Athletics, 7-4, to avoid a three-game sweep at the Oakland Coliseum. Abreu and Mike Napoli each homered for Los Angel

LaCrosse wins again; 10 earn LPGA cards >>
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cindy LaCrosse captured her third Duramed Futures Tour victory of the season, beating Jennifer Song on the first hole of a playoff Sunday at the Price Chopper Tour Championship. LaCrosse and Song both c

Geovanni leads 'Quakes past Houston >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geovanni scored a goal and assisted on another to propel the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on Sunday. The Brazilian was making his first Major League So

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.