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09/03/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia were among Thursday's second-round winners at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded former top-ranked Federer cruised past German Andreas Beck 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 at Ashe Stadium. The super Swiss moved on in 1 hour, 41 minutes by ripping 15 aces, while Beck piled up 11 double faults and 36 unforced errors.
Federer captured U.S. Open titles from 2004-08 and was stunned by big Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in last year's finale here. The Swiss great is a brilliant 53-5 lifetime here in Flushing.
The amazing 16-time major champ Federer, who will face Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the round of 32, is the reigning Australian Open titlist.
"No, it's the perfect start, sure. I played Monday, had two days off. I had another easy one physically today, and here I am in the third round feeling like I'm completely in the tournament," Federer said. "I got a sense for how the court speed is again. I got the sense of the crowd and the wind now as well. I played one night, one day. I have all the answers after two matches. Obviously they weren't the most difficult matches, you know."
Djokovic got past German Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) during the night session. Former Aussie Open champ Djokovic lost to Federer in the 2007 U.S. Open final.
Next up for Djokovic is American James Blake, who took down Peter Polansky of Canada, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling subdued oft-injured veteran American Taylor Dent 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. The fifth-seeded Soderling cruised in just over an hour-and-a-half, as the Swedish slugger uncorked 14 aces and held his serve throughout.
Talented former top-10 Frenchman Richard Gasquet posted an upset by blasting sixth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko off the Grandstand Court, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The top-10 fixture Davydenko was a back-to-back U.S. Open semifinalist in 2006 and 2007.
Another upset came when Japanese Kei Nishikori outlasted 11th-seeded Aussie Open semifinalist Marin Cilic, of Croatia, in a five-hour marathon, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
Jurgen Melzer, the 13th seed, of Austria outlasted Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.
Surging American Mardy Fish was also an easy second-round winner on Day 4. The 19th-seeded Fish recorded his 18th win in 20 matches with a comprehensive 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 two-hour victory over Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas at Armstrong Stadium. The Minnesota native popped 14 aces and broke Cuevas' serve a whopping seven times in 13 tries.
Fish owns a pair of titles this summer and was the Cincinnati Masters runner- up to the great Federer last month.
"This is the spot that I want to be in," Fish said. "You know, you want to be the favorite and winning a lot."
Up next for Fish will be former Aussie Open runner-up Arnaud Clement. The French Clement was leading Eduardo Schwank 6-3, 5-5 when the Argentine retired at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 22nd seed, defeated Ricardo Mello of Brazil 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Former French Open champion Ferrero was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2003.
Kevin Anderson of South Africa upset 26th-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).
Spain's Albert Montanes, seeded 21st, drilled Aussie Carsten Ball 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, while Mathieu bested fellow Frenchman Guillaume Rufin 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-3 on another very-hot day.
Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands was beating Croat Ivan Dodig, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-3, 3-2, when Dodig retired from the match.
<< Vikings down Denver in final preseason game
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Javon Walker caught a 63-yard touchdown
pass from Joe Webb in the fourth quarter, helping Minnesota edge Denver,
31-24, in the preseason finale for both teams.
Brett Favre took the night off fo
<< Cowboys end preseason with win over Miami
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Buehler's 31-yard field goal with time
expiring lifted the Dallas Cowboys to a 27-25 victory over the Miami Dolphins
in the teams' preseason finale.
Buehler kicked four field goals in the victory, a
<< Titans down Saints in exhibition finale
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pearman spearheaded a huge rushing
attack with 36 yards and a touchdown and Kerry Collins completed 8-of-17
passes for 89 yards as Tennessee held off New Orleans, 27-24, in the preseason
finale
<< Bucs finish preseason with win over Texans
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Carpenter threw a pair of touchdowns as
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took down the Houston Texans, 24-17, in the preseason
finale for both squads.
Carpenter was 15-for-22 for 203 yards for the Buccaneers,
Laird's homer wins it, as Tigers outlast Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Laird's 13th-inning home run was the
difference, as the Detroit Tigers pulled out a 10-9 victory over the Minnesota
Twins in the finale of a three-game series.
Laird's blast was one of five Tigers
Cardinals defeat Redskins in final preseason game >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Max Hall connected on 7-of-9 passes for
126 yards and ran for a touchdown and Jay Feely kicked a pair of field goals
to lead Arizona to a 20-10 victory over Washington in the final preseason
tuneup
49ers edge Chargers to complete unbeaten preseason >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Davis' two-yard touchdown pass to
Jehuu Caulcrick in the fourth quarter lifted the San Francisco 49ers over the
San Diego Chargers, 17-14, in the preseason finale for both clubs.
Davis completed
Raiders take down Seahawks in preseason finale >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bruce Gradkowski threw for 128 yards and two
scores on 7-of-14 passing, as the Oakland Raiders edged the Seattle Seahawks,
27-24, in the teams' preseason finale.
Kyle Boller completed 7-of-13 pass attempts
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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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.
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