Azarenka rolls; Wozniacki falls in Doha opener

Tennis Betting Lines

02/15/2012 - Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Belarusian stalwart Victoria Azarenka was an easy second-round winner, while former top-ranked star Caroline Wozniacki was among Wednesday's second-round losers at the $2.168 million Qatar Open.

The Australian Open champion Azarenka saw her first action as the world No. 1 star and looked very bit the part on Day 3 as she pummeled rising German Mona Barthel 6-1, 6-0 in one hour on the hardcourts at Khalifa International Tennis Complex. The 21-year-old Barthel captured her first-ever WTA title in Hobart last month.

A second-seeded Wozniacki, meanwhile, played her first match since losing the top ranking to Azarenka last month and succumbed to Czech Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the round of 32. The Danish Wozniacki was last year's Doha runner-up to Russian Vera Zvonareva, who also exited the draw here on Wednesday.

Romanian Monica Niculescu was beating a sixth-seeded Zvonareva 7-5, 3-2 when the former Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up retired, citing a hip injury.

Zvonareva was also a Doha runner-up in 2008.

Two other top-five seeds reached the third round, as No. 4 Pole Agnieszka Radwanska drubbed British qualifier Anne Keothavong 6-1, 6-2 and No. 5 French slugger Marion Bartoli dismantled Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-0. The former Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli was a runner-up in Paris last week.

Two more top-eight seeds suffered upsets, as Belgian Yanina Wickmayer doused No. 7 Italian Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 and Israeli Shahar Peer erased No. 8 Serb Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. Schiavone was last year's French Open runner-up and the 2010 Roland Garros titlist. Jankovic is a former No. 1.

In other second-round action involving seeds, rising American Christina McHale overcame No. 12 Chinese Peng Shuai 5-7, 6-3, 6-2; Czech Petra Cetkovska topped No. 13 and former top-ranked Serbian star Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4; No. 14 Svetlana Kuznetsova handled fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4; and American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko upended No. 16 German Julia Goerges 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5). Kirilenko was a runner-up in Pattaya City last week. The two-time Grand Slam champion Kuznetsova was the Doha runner-up in 2004 and 2007.

Additional second-round wins came for Romanian Simona Halep, Russian Ksenia Pervak, Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko and Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, who cooled off last week's maiden WTA titlist Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-1. The German Kerber was the champion in Paris last weekend, as she downed the aforementioned Bartoli in the finale.

The 2012 Doha champion will earn a first prize of $385,000.

Wwwicasino Tennis Betting News

<< Blue Bombers re-sign OL January
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have re-signed offensive lineman Glenn January. January started every game at right tackle for the Blue Bombers last season and was named an East Division All-Star. He mis

<< Champion mare Havre de Grace works on Wednesday
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Horse of the Year Havre de Grace took to the Fair Grounds track Wednesday morning for her second workout of the year. The five-year-old mare is wintering at Fair Grounds Race Course with the rest of trai

<< Billups has successful surgery on torn Achilles
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Clippers guard Chauncey Billups underwent successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon on Wednesday. The procedure occurred a little more than a week after he was pronounc

<< Everton signs Junior
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton made a swoop on Wednesday for out-of-contract midfielder Francisco Junior, who joins the Toffees on a two- and-a-half-year deal. The 20-year-old Portuguese youngster began his career at Ben

<< Four football players arrested in TCU drug bust
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Police made a drug bust at Texas Christian University on Wednesday morning, a sting which included the arrest of four football players. The six-month investigation by Fort Worth and TCU Campus Police r

Twins sign Casilla to one-year deal >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins signed infielder Alexi Casilla to a one-year contract on Wednesday, thereby avoiding arbitration. Casilla will earn $1,382,500 million in 2012. In 97 games with the Twins last seaso

U.S. men head to Florida for key matches >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Men's National Team will be heading to Florida for two crucial matches in the coming months, it was announced Wednesday. The U.S. Soccer Federation revealed that Jurgen Klinsmann'

Sam Houston State hires Ruse as offensive coordinator >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doug Ruse helped Western Illinois to a seven-win improvement and a berth in the FCS playoffs in his first season as its offensive coordinator in 2010. It would seem hard to improve much upon Sam Houston State's

The Sixth Man: Pacers fail big test >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A moral victory in professional sports borders on being a contradiction, at least until you actually see one. There are no participation trophies when the big boys play, only the cold, hard reality of wins

Argonauts ink WR Barnes >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Argonauts inked wideout Jason Barnes, signing the fleet receiver through 2013. Barnes, who was plucked from the Edmonton Eskimos, will be reunited with former Esks quarterback and curren

How to bet pro football

There is little doubt that the NFL is where the sportsbooks see the most action and also make the most loot. The NFL possesses betting friendly attributes that are unlike any of the other major sports. First off, there are relatively few teams to keep track of in comparison to college football betting or college basketball. And second, these teams play only once a week which makes staying on top of the results much easier than it is in the daily leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB.

These dynamics, along with the sheer excitement of watching and wagering on football, brings more square action to the table than any of the other sports. Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry in America is an NFL expert in their own mind and that is precisely what the oddsmakers prey upon.

Understanding who bets the games is just as important as understanding which teams are playing the games. The market at times will dictate price, which in the betting world means the oddsmakers cater to the public rather than reality.

Knowing the market inside and out is the basis of our NFL handicapping model. That is, our approach to NFL handicapping is of the contrarian or value seeking variety. We will at times place a higher premium on public sentiment than on the fundamentals. This strategy dictates playing dogs and/or lesser competent teams, or teams the public wants nothing to do with. Or better yet, fading the teams the oddsmakers want you to bet on.

Along these same lines, we carry a similar notion that the first week of the NFL season presents one of the ripest opportunities for the astute gambler. This conflicts with conventional wisdom and/or handicapping lore, as most would say it is better to watch a few games and assess each team before jumping in with both feet. That’s all fine and dandy, but there are some interesting trends to exploit in Week 1 and we’d be remiss to ignore them. Let us quickly explain.

Gone are the days of dynasties, where the same core players stay intact and dominate the league year after year. Free agency and player movements can completely transform teams from one season to the next. In today’s parity-driven NFL, poor teams typically don’t stay poor for all that long and excellent teams must constantly reinvent themselves to stay on top.

The temptation might be to assume prior year results are the best indicator of who is going to cover in Week 1. To Joe Public, playoff teams from the prior season, home teams, favorites, and so one, look even more enticing than usual since there is no current season performance to judge them against. But the question begs: are the oddsmakers setting a trap?

To find the answer, we culled five years worth of Week 1 NFL data. As always, all of our analysis is done from an ATS perspective. The purpose here is to share the most important angles we unearthed and try to explain the logic behind them. So strap on your helmet, throw on your shoulder pads, and follow our lead as we expose some rare holes in the oddsmakers’ line of defense.

Home vs. Away Teams

Over the past five seasons, NFL home teams in Week 1 are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). This of course implies that roadies are a 58 percent winning proposition during this time. The public at large has a tendency to overvalue home teams and this is especially true in Week 1 when there is no current season data to make predictions from. Consequently, the oddsmakers almost surely shade the home teams, by and large making road teams the choice for the value player.

Conclusion: Look long and hard at road teams first when handicapping the opening week.

Price ranges

Favorites are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent) in the opening week over the past five NFL seasons (Coincidentally, home teams hold the same ATS record as noted above). This means that underdogs bark at a 58 percent clip. Mid-range favorites performed the worst among our specified price ranges. In particular, favorites priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 are only 8-15 ATS (35 percent) during this time.

The same basic pattern holds true when looking at home favorites (road favorites gravitate towards a 50 percent mean). Home favorites indeed are just 21-32-3 ATS (40 percent) in the first week of NFL action since 1999. Again, mid-range favorites are similarly the poorest performers when we look at home teams. Consider that home teams priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 have stumbled to a 6-13 ATS (32 percent) mark in Week 1 games the past five seasons.

Conclusion: Like home teams, favorites and particularly mid-range favorites are generally overvalued in Week 1.

Playoff teams

It might surprise you to learn that playoff teams from the prior year versus non-playoff teams from the prior year are a mere 16-23-3 (41 percent) ATS in NFL Week 1 games over the past five seasons. Home teams which made the playoffs versus teams which did not make the playoffs from the prior season drop to a meager 7-14-1 ATS (33 percent) during this time.

Why are playoff teams, and in particular those at home, such bad bets the past five openers? Just as the case with home teams and with favorites, oddsmakers intentionally overprice playoff teams in the opening week to compensate for the public’s propensity to over bet them.

This theory holds true just looking at straight-up records from the past season as well. That is, home teams with winning records from the prior season vs. road teams with losing records from the prior season are just 8-13 ATS in Week 1 NFL games since 1999.

Conclusion: Playoff teams from the prior year and in particular, home playoff teams, are overvalued in Week 1 NFL games.

Scoring defense and scoring offense

Do good defenses and for that matter good offenses from the prior season fare better against the number the following year in Week 1 games? Well, sort of. Generally speaking, teams with a solid offense or defense from the prior season tend to do well in the opening week so long as they are on the road. As a host, however, the best offenses and best defenses from the prior year tend to be overvalued in Week 1.

Consider that the top five scoring defenses (i.e. points allowed) from the prior season are a nice 8-4 ATS (66 percent) on the road in NFL openers the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the top five scoring defenses from the prior season are just 3-8-2 ATS (27 percent) as a host in Week 1 during the same time period.

There is no discernable advantage or disadvantage for teams with a top five scoring offense (i.e. points scored) in Week 1 games. However, when we look at scoring offenses from the bottom up (isolating the five worst offenses from the prior season), the results are rather interesting. In particular, teams ranked in the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are 9-4-1 ATS (69 percent) when on the road in Week 1.

The logic is simply that the public perception is a poor scoring offensive unit from the year prior will have little chance of winning on the road in Week 1. In turn, the oddsmakers compensate for this perception and these poor offensive teams from the year prior carry extra line value on the Week 1 trail.

Conclusion: Teams with top-ranked defenses from the previous season are good bets when playing on the road, but poor bets when playing at home. Also, teams ranked among the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are generally a good value in their Week 1 openers, provided they are playing on the road.

Scoring margin

An exceedingly straightforward way of measuring scoring offense and scoring defense together as a whole is to look at a team's “margin." Margin is simply scoring offense minus scoring defense, which is a fairly clear-cut measure of how a team does on both sides of the ball. Typically, the higher the margin, the better the team.

In this regard, it might seem counterintuitive that teams carrying the higher margin from the prior season in week one matchups are merely 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). Furthermore, road teams with the higher margin are 14-20-6 ATS (41 percent), while home teams with the higher margin are 17-22-1 ATS (44 percent). Once again, these results line up with the theory that better teams from the prior year are overvalued come opening day of the following season.

Conclusion: “Better” teams, which often boast a higher margin than their opponent, are overvalued the following season in NFL openers.

In sum

Oddsmakers cater NFL betting lines to match public perception and also to bait the public into poor bets. The temptation to use the prior year’s success as a buy sign for how a team will perform against the spread in Week 1 of the following season is an enormous trap.

The fact is, isolating road teams, road dogs, non-playoff teams vs. playoff teams, teams with a losing record or low margin vs. playoff teams or ones with a high margin from the previous year is where the line value resides. Quite simply, taking the road less traveled is your surest path to NFL betting profits.

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

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting