Murray, Roddick advance; Federer bows out at Indian Wells

Tennis Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer was upset by 27th-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in third-round action, while fourth-seeded Andy Murray and seventh-seeded Andy Roddick moved into the fourth round Tuesday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open.

Baghdatis of Cyprus fended off three match points to beat Federer 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours, 22 minutes on the hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The Cypriot had lost all six of his previous encounters with the great Swiss.

Federer, a three-time Indian Wells champion, lost for just the second time in 13 matches this season. Federer was playing in his first tournament since winning this year's Australian Open, his 16th major title.

Meanwhile, Murray handled American journeyman Michael Russell 6-3, 7-5 at this ATP World Tour Masters event. Murray was this year's Aussie Open runner-up to Federer and last year's Indian Wells runner-up to Rafael Nadal.

Roddick handled Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4. The American needed just one hour, 15 minutes to move on.

Sixth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling handled 28th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Soderling was last year's surprise French Open runner-up to Federer.

Ninth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France ousted 24th-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, while Spaniard Tommy Robredo, the 18th seed, drilled Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-0.

Additional wins came from Nicolas Almagro of Spain and 22nd-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer. Almagro outlasted American James Blake 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, while Melzer won via walkover due to German Simon Greul's illness.

This week's winner will collect $605,500.

Starluckcaisno Tennis Betting News

<< Tavares scores twice as Islanders handle Canucks
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie John Tavares posted two goals and three assists to lead the New York Islanders to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. Matt Moulson added a goal and an assist for the Islanders, wh

<< Bryant, Gasol help Lakers down Kings for 50th win of season
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant posted a near triple-double and Pau Gasol ended with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting, as the duo led the Lakers past the Kings, 106-99, at ARCO Arena. The win was LA's fourth straight and 50th of

<< Suns go off for 152, blow out Timberwolves
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Richardson led eight Phoenix players in double figures with 27 points as the Suns lit up the scoreboard with a 152-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center. Amare Stoudemire netted 2

<< Anthony, Nuggets hand Wizards ninth straight defeat
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as the Denver Nuggets battled back to upend the Washington Wizards, 97-87, at the Pepsi Center. J.R. Smith added 17 points off the bench and Nene

<< Stars crush Sharks in Dallas
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow each scored a pair of goals, as the Dallas Stars demolished the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks, 8-2, at American Airlines Center. Brad Richards had a goal and tw

Bell signs offer sheet with Eagles >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles signed restricted free agent running back Mike Bell to an offer sheet on Thursday. The New Orleans Saints now have seven days to match the deal, which the Philadelphia Inqui

Ark-Pine Bluff beats Winthrop in NCAA opener >>
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -When it mattered most, Arkansas-Pine Bluff turned into kings of the road.Losers of their first 11 games - all on the road - the Golden Lions turned their first trip to the NCAA tournament into one worth the extra packing. Allen Sm

Hughes, Bohannon may give Badgers tournament edge >>
MILWAUKEE (AP) -It's perhaps the most oft-repeated nugget of conventional NCAA tournament wisdom and it bodes particularly well for Wisconsin this year: Experienced guard play can be a decisive edge.The Badgers start one of the tournament's most exp

Lobos' NCAA history rife with stories of infamy >>
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -New Mexico has one of the most famous arenas in college basketball and a devoted legion of hoops-crazy fans.Something the Lobos have never had? Two straight victories in the NCAA tournament.``Never gotten out of the second ro

Red Sox prospect Westmoreland has successful surgery >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland had successful brain surgery Tuesday. The procedure, which lasted five hours, removed a cavernous malformation that was diagnosed earlier this month after he ex

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

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.