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Bosh powers Raptors to win over KingsBasketball Betting Lines02/07/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Bosh poured in 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, helping Toronto to its seventh consecutive win at Air Canada Centre, 115-104, over the Sacramento Kings. Andrea Bargnani contributed 22 points and eight boards, while Hedo Turkoglu returned to the court and added 16 points after missing time with a fractured orbital bone. Antoine Wright donated 16 points as well off the bench for the Raptors, who have won seven of the last eight games overall. Kevin Martin had 24 points and Spencer Hawes posted 14 with 11 rebounds for the Kings, who have dropped 11 straight on the road and 13 of 14 games overall. Donte Greene chipped in 13 points, while Tyreke Evans and Andres Nocioni each had 11 in defeat.
<< Cilic defends Zagreb crown
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seed Marin Cilic outlasted Germany's Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 to retain the title at the Zagreb Indoors tennis event. Cilic beat Mario Ancic in last year's All-Croatian final, and now
<< Turner leads Ohio State over Iowa
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Russia outlasts Serbia in Fed Cup quarters >>
Belgrade, Serbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alisa Kleybanova and Svetlana Kuznetsova booked Russia's ticket in the Fed Cup semifinals after winning the decisive doubles rubber on Sunday. Kleybanova defeated Ana Ivanovic in the second reverse si
UConn rolls on with 46-point win >>
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Ohio State rallies in second half to clip Lady Lions >>
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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." 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. |
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