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01/22/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were both straight-set winners Sunday in fourth-round action at the Australian Open.
Nadal cruised into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
The second-seeded Nadal, who is on a collision course with Federer for a possible semifinal matchup, moved to 9-2 all-time against Lopez and moved to the round-of-eight Down Under for a sixth straight year.
The last time Nadal lost before the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam was at the 2009 French Open.
"I am improving day by day," Nadal said. "But this time I felt that the first day I played well, and second, two days ago I played well. And today I played another complete match in my opinion, serious match."
Lopez, seeded 18th, is the only left-handed player to have defeated Nadal on two occasions, but he has never even won a set against his Davis Cup teammate on a hard court surface. Since the start of 2010, only three different men have defeated Nadal in Grand Slam play - Novak Djokovic (twice), David Ferrer and Andy Murray (once each).
Nadal, bidding to win his second Australian Open title (2009) and his 11th Grand Slam championship, will face No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych, who downed No. 10 seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2).
That was a contentious match, especially at the end when Berdych refused to shake Almagro's hand. During the match, Almagro raced for a return and sent a rocket right off the right arm of Berdych, who clearly didn't like being hit.
He said so during an interview after the near four-hour match.
"When somebody wants to hit you straight in your face, I don't see this as a nice moment, especially when you have the whole court free," Berdych said.
It's a good bet Nadal will advance past Berdych as he owns a 10-3 mark against the Czech.
A third-seeded Federer, meanwhile, reached his 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Aussie sensation Bernard Tomic.
"Maybe the score suggested differently, but I thought we had a lot of long games, tough points, and I thought he did actually really well," said Federer, a four-time winner in Melbourne, who has won 20 of his last 21 matches against Australian opponents and ended the dream for the 19-year-old Tomic.
The 30-year-old Federer will take on Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals. Del Potro blew past Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
The 11th-seeded Del Potro also reached the quarterfinals here as the No. 8 seed in 2009, where he suffered his worst Grand Slam defeat to date in a loss to Federer, winning just three games that entire match. He got a bit of revenge later in the year, beating Federer in the final of the U.S. Open.
The fourth round will conclude Monday with matches featuring Djokovic, the top seed, Murray, Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Djokovic will battle Aussie veteran Lleyton Hewitt, while the fourth-seeded Murray will meet Kasakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin. Murray lost to Djokovic in last year's final and was also the runner-up to Federer two years ago.
Ferrer, the fifth seed, will take on 17th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while the sixth-seeded Tsonga will face 24th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan.
<< Chattanooga's Coleman a standout at East-West Shrine Game
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No FCS player may have risen more in the
minds of NFL scouts this weekend than Chattanooga quarterback B.J. Coleman.
After suffering through an injury-plagued senior season, Coleman was a
standout in the
<< Jacksonville State signs three, loses LB Jackson
Jacksonville, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three mid-year transfers, including two
from FBS schools, have joined the Jacksonville State football program,
Gamecocks head football coach Jack Crowe announced.
Safety Desmond Brown transferred from Clem
<< Clijsters rallies into quarterfinals in Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim Clijsters kept alive her bid for a
second straight Australian Open title by rallying for a three-set victory over
China's Li Na in a rematch of last year's final.
The 11th-seeded Clijsters seemed t
<< Strong second half leads Saint Mary's over Santa Clara
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Dellavedova scored 16 of his
game-high 26 points in the second half as 24th-ranked Saint Mary's took a
93-77 decision over Santa Clara.
Jorden Page added 19 points, while Rob Jones and
Legendary Penn State coach Paterno dies >>
State College, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Paterno, the legendary coach of Penn
State who was ousted from his job in November, has succumbed to lung cancer.
He was 85.
The family announced his death Sunday morning.
More to follow...
Lakers aim to rebound with Pacers in town >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers can't worry about their struggles on
the road because they have the Indiana Pacers coming to town tonight for a
showdown at Staples Center.
Los Angeles has dropped three in a row on the road
Nets play host to Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the worst teams the Eastern Conference has to offer
get together tonight at the Prudential Center, where the New Jersey Nets will
host the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Bobcats will close out a three-game road trip toni
Heat resume homestand vs. Bucks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While it's unknown if Heat star guard Dwyane Wade will play
tonight versus the Milwaukee Bucks in the continuation of a five-game
homestand, Miami hasn't missed a beat without him.
Wade has missed the last three
American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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