Fish fights back to beat Rochus in Newport final

Tennis Betting Lines

07/11/2010 - Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mardy Fish got his first title of the season on Sunday, in a three-set victory over Belgian Olivier Rochus in the final at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.

Fish dropped the first set, but came back for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win. The American fired 24 aces to Rochus' two on the way to his fourth career title and first since 2009, when he won the Delray Beach event. The fifth-seeded Fish had been in the final last month at The Queen's Club in London, but lost to fellow American Sam Querrey.

Rochus, seeded fourth, was seeking his third career title and first since 2006.

Fish is now 2-1 in his career against Rochus, and will collect $75,700 for the win.

Freeporm Tennis Betting News

<< Tomasulo wins Gretzky event with birdie run
Clarksburg, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Tomasulo birdied his last three holes Sunday to win the Wayne Gretzky Classic by one shot, closing with a spectacular 10-under 61 in the final round. Tomasulo earned his second Nationwide T

<< Stricker repeats at John Deere Classic
Silvis, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker repeated as champion at the John Deere Classic on Sunday, closing with a one-under 70 in the final round to beat Paul Goydos by two shots. Stricker captured his ninth PGA Tour title at 26-under 25

<< Red Sox take series from Jays behind McDonald, Ortiz homers
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darnell McDonald and David Ortiz hit back-to- back home runs in the sixth inning after Boston ended Jesse Litsch's no-hit bid, sending the Red Sox to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Marco Scutar

<< Santana, Mets salvage series, shut out Braves
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Santana tossed seven scoreless innings and Ike Davis supplied a solo home run, as the New York Mets beat Atlanta, 3-0, to salvage the finale of a three-game series at Citi Field. Santana (7-5) sca

<< Twins salvage series finale with Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-3 with a two-run double and scored a run, as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers, 6-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Comerica Park. Jason Kubel chipped i

Phils head into break with four-game sweep of Reds >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cole Hamels tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings, while Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge finished off the shutout and Philadelphia's four-game sweep of Cincinnati with another 1-0 decisio

Quentin homers twice as White Sox pound Royals >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Quentin hit a grand slam and solo home run, and Andruw Jones added his 400th career homer, as the Chicago White Sox slugged their way to a 15-5 win over the Kansas City Royals. The White Sox hit fi

Iniesta wins World Cup for Spain >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andres Iniesta scored in the 116th minute to help Spain claim its first World Cup title with a 1-0 win over the Netherlands at Soccer City Stadium on Sunday. Just minutes after Dutch defender

Giants take rubber match from Nationals >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Travis Ishikawa went 2-for-3 and drove in three, and rookie Madison Bumgarner tossed six-plus solid innings, as the San Francisco Giants earned a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals in the rubber match o

Holliday's blast powers Cardinals over Astros >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Houston, 4-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. St. Louis starter Blake Hawksworth (3-5) struggled

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.