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<< Bergesen, Wigginton help Orioles blank Twins
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Bergesen pitched 6 2/3 scoreless frames, and Ty Wigginton's two-run homer accounted for all the scoring, as the Baltimore Orioles opened up a four-game set at Target Field with a 2-0 win over th

<< Martinez knocks in four as BoSox sweep Angels
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victor Martinez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and four runs batted in, leading the Red Sox in an 11-6 slugfest win over the Angels to sweep a four-game series at Fenway Park. Dustin Pedroia added

<< Magic pull away late, down Hawks in Eastern Conference semifinals
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard scored 29 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, and the Magic pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 112-98 win over Atlanta in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Although the

<< Eveland pitches Jays to win over White Sox
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dana Eveland hurled seven shutout frames and Fred Lewis drove home the run support necessary, as Toronto blanked the White Sox, 2-0, in the opener of a four-game set at U.S. Cellular Field. Eveland (3-1) ou

Rays move to 12-1 on road, sweep Mariners >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Niemann hurled seven scoreless innings and Carl Crawford clubbed a two-run homer, as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated Seattle, 8-0, to complete a three-game sweep at Safeco Field. Crawford finished 3-for-5 and

Mr. Clutch: Ethier's ninth-inning slam helps Dodgers avoid sweep >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ethier belted a game-ending grand slam with one out in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers topped Milwaukee, 7-3, to avert a three-game sweep. Jonathan Broxton (2-0) blew the save o

Wizards' Arenas out of halfway house for gun count >>
GREAT FALLS, Va. (AP) -Gilbert Arenas has arrived home from the halfway house where he lived for nearly a month as part of his sentence for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room.Arenas left the work-release facility in the Maryland s

UNC's Wear brothers to transfer >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina's basketball program took a hit for next season with the announcement that sophomore forward brothers David and Travis Wear are transferring. "Their father called me last night and asked f

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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