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07/13/2010 - Bastad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion Tommy Robredo highlighted Tuesday's first-round winners at the Swedish Open.
The fifth-seeded Robredo topped Poland's Michal Przysiezny 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 on the red clay at Bastad Tennis Stadium.
The former top-10 player Robredo captured this event in 2006 and 2008.
Day-2 upsets came when Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas cut down sixth-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3) and Croatian qualifier Franco Skugor surprised seventh-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7).
Other opening-round wins came for Swedish qualifier Ervin Eleskovic, Finn Jarkko Nieminen, Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev, France's Stephane Robert and Italian Andreas Seppi.
This week's top seed in Swedish star and reigning Bastad champion Robin Soderling. The reigning two-time French Open runner-up will meet wild card and fellow Swede Andreas Vinciguerra in the second round on Wednesday after enjoying a first-round bye this week. Vinciguerra reached back-to-back Bastad finals in 1999 and 2000.
Soderling beat Argentine Juan Monaco in last year's finale here.
In addition to Soderling and Robredo, another former Bastad champion in this week's field is 2007 winner David Ferrer of Spain. Ferrer will face Italian Fabio Fognini in a second-rounder on Wednesday.
<< Stern advice for James, Gilbert and Jesse
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took the death of a true sports legend,
Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, to finally knock LeBron James and
the NBA from the top of every sportscast across the country.
Conventional wisdom sa
<< Celtics re-sign Ray Allen
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have re-signed guard Ray
Allen, the team announced Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports from last week said Allen
agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract.
"
<< Flyers sign Carcillo
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers signed left wing
Dan Carcillo to a one-year contract on Tuesday.
Carcillo, 25, had filed for salary arbitration last week.
"We are happy to have Dan under contract for the
<< Birmingham hands O'Connor new deal
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birmingham City striker Garry O'Connor
has signed a new short-term contract with Alex McLeish's side.
The 27-year-old Scotland international, who has endured an injury-ravaged
recent spell with th
Clippers sign Willie Warren >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers have signed guard
Willie Warren, the team's second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
Warren, the 54th overall selection, played two seasons at Oklahoma before
entering the draft
Palermo makes offer for Liverpool's Lucas >>
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva could be on
his way to Italy after Palermo made an offer for the Brazilian.
The Serie A side are reported to have tabled a bid in the region of six
million euros for t
Leverkusen signs striker Jorgensen >>
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayer Leverkusen has completed the
signing of striker Nicolai Jorgensen from Danish side AB.
The 19-year-old has earned himself a five-year deal with the Bundesliga club
after impressing on a
Kohlschreiber exits Stuttgart >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded German favorite Philipp
Kohlschreiber was an opening-round upset victim Tuesday at the Mercedes Cup
tennis event.
German Florian Mayer upended his compatriot Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-2 on
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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