Roddick sneaks into Queen's Club quarters

Tennis Betting Lines

06/14/2007 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time champion Andy Roddick needed the help of instant replay in order to win his third-round match Thursday at The Artois Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.

The second-seeded Roddick snuck past Britain's Alex Bogdanovic 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 with the help of 22 aces at The Queen's Club.

In the second-set tiebreak, Roddick and Bogdanovic were tied at 5-5 when the American called for a Hawk-Eye challenge. Roddick was the beneficiary of an overturned call, which gave him a set point and took a match point away from his British counterpart.

"I've been a big supporter of Hawk-Eye and today is the reason why," Roddick said. "There's a big difference between being down match point and up set point."

Roddick captured this event back-to-back-to-back from 2003-05.

Top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal was leading Belarusian Max Mirnyi 7-6 (7-3), 5-3 when their match was suspended until Friday because of rain. The 2006 Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is fresh off capturing his third straight French Open championship.

Third-seeded Aussie Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez of Chile got past 15th- seeded American Robby Ginepri 6-2, 7-5, while 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic knocked out eighth-seeded Russian Marat Safin 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4). The former world No. 1 and two-time major titlist Safin was pelted with 22 aces by the massive-serving Karlovic, the 2005 runner-up here to Roddick.

Earlier in the day, Safin completed his second-round match by besting Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Grosjean was the Queen's Club runner-up to Roddick in 2003 and 2004.

Fourth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic had his match against 14th-seeded Frenchman Arnaud Clement postponed until Friday because of rain, while a bout between fifth-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut was suspended, with the Croat leading 4-3 in the first set.

Seventh-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov outlasted 12th-seeded Frenchman Paul- Henri Mathieu 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-3 and Croat Marin Cilic doused Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach Friday's quarterfinals. Cilic is rewarded with a match against the two-time Wimbledon runner-up Roddick, while Tursunov will encounter Gonzalez in the round of eight.

Www3sex Tennis Betting News

<< Germano, Padres down D-Rays
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Germano tossed six scoreless innings to lead the San Diego Padres past the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7-1, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series at Tropicana Field. Germano (5

<< 'Wolves acquire veteran forward F Howard
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired forward Juwan Howard from the Houston Rockets for guard Mike James and forward Justin Reed on Thursday. Howard, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 9.7 points and 5.9

<< Two share lead in France
Lumbres, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ireland's David Higgins and Australian David Bransdon each posted rounds of six-under-par 65 to share the lead after the opening round of the Open de Saint-Omer. Another Australian, Simon Nash, is o

<< Padres' Kouzmanoff leaves game with injury
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff left Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with a lower back strain. The 25-year-old left in the fourth inning after flying out to right f

<< Line of Scrimmage: Five Teams on the Rise, Five on the Decline
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you're seeking some solid tips on the bear market, look no further than this space. It was around this time last year that we referred readers to five teams on the decline, correctly asserting that 2005

Phillies' Garcia won't face surgery >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies right-handed pitcher Freddy Garcia, currently on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder troubles, has been spared from surgery. Garcia, who left his last start

Pettitte helps red-hot Yankees rout Diamondbacks >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Pettitte hurled eight brilliant innings as New York dumped Arizona, 7-1, to complete a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium. Pettitte (4-4), who turns 35 on Friday, dazzled

Sheets hits milestone, leads Brewers past Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Sheets pitched into the sixth inning, recording his 1,000th career strikeout along the way, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Detroit Tigers, 6-5, in the final installment of a three-game interle

Cubs rally past Mariners >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cesar Izturis' two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the difference as Chicago rallied to edge Seattle, 5-4, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague set at Wrigley Field.

Astros' Everett fractures leg >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros shortstop Adam Everett fractured his right fibula in Thursday's game against Oakland. Everett suffered the injury after a collision with teammate Carlos Lee in the fourth inning. Ever

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.