Murray reaches semis at Australian Open
Tennis Betting Lines
01/25/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray is back in the Australian Open semifinals after beating Kei Nishikori in straight sets Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Murray needed just 29 minutes to win the third set at Rod Laver Arena and finish off his 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Nishikori.
He moved on to face the winner of Wednesday's other quarterfinal match between world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and fifth-seeded David Ferrer.
Djokovic beat Murray in the final last year, and Roger Federer topped him in the championship match in 2010.
So Murray, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, is still looking to break through for his first major victory.
Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in almost 17 years, provided little more than a speed bump Wednesday although he showed a little fight in one of the match's most entertaining points.
Down 30-40 in the game and 1-5 in the third set, Nishikori scrambled to win a long rally with Murray, who was forced to chase down a ball in the backcourt that he could only send harmlessly to the net.
Nishikori was there for the easy volley, forcing deuce, but Murray followed with a service winner and captured the match on the next point.
The 24-year-old Scotsman hit 36 winners in the match and won nearly 80 percent of his first serve points, while Nishikori had 39 unforced errors.
Nishikori was also the first Japanese man in 80 years to advance to the Aussie Open quarters.
Wednesday's buzz on the men's side was about the two quarterfinals matches, but also about Thursday's upcoming semifinal between second-seeded Rafael Nadal and the third-seeded Federer.
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Hodgson scored the winner in the fifth- round of the shootout to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. In the fifth round, Hodgson buried a wrister between the pads of
<< McMillan helps Wild edge Avalanche
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carson McMillan's third-period goal was the
difference as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, at
Pepsi Center.
Justin Falk and Dany Heatley also scored for the Wild, who won bac
<< Coyotes trim Senators
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Radim Vrbata scored the deciding goal early in
the third period, as Phoenix slipped by Ottawa, 3-2.
Gilbert Brule and Shane Doan also lit the lamp to back a 32-save performance
by Mike Smith for the Coyotes,
<< Bargnani returns, lifts Toronto over Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrea Bargnani returned from a prolonged
absence to net a season-high 36 points as the Raptors downed the Suns, 99-96,
on Tuesday.
Bargnani, who missed the previous six games with a strained left calf,
<< Niemi helps Sharks blank Flames
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antti Niemi made 25 saves to record his third
shutout of the season as the San Jose Sharks blanked the Calgary Flames, 1-0,
at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Niemi, who backstopped the Chicago Blackhawks all the w
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points, including four during a 22-2 run that vaulted the Portland Trail Blazers to a 97-84 win over the streaking Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. The Trail Blazers held Me
Djokovic, Murray to meet in Aussie semis >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 and defending champion
Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray will meet in a marquee semifinal
Friday in a rematch of last year's final at the Australian Open.
The reigning Auss
Italians, Russians reach women's Aussie doubles final >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday's women's doubles final at
the Australian Open will pit an 11th-seeded Italian tandem of Sara Errani and
Roberta Vinci against a strong unseeded Russia duo of Svetlana Kuznetsova and
Vera Zv
Serena, Venus will play Fed Cup next week >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Williams sisters, Serena and
Venus, will play Fed Cup tennis in Massachusetts for the United States next
week.
The sisters will lead the U.S. against Belarus in a best-of-five Group I
Steelers' Clark added to Pro Bowl roster >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steelers safety Ryan Clark has been added to
the AFC's Pro Bowl roster, the team announced Wednesday.
Clark, a 10-year veteran, will make his first trip to the Pro Bowl. The 32-
year-old recorded 100
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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