Clijsters, Venus win U.S. openers

Tennis Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams were both straight-set opening-round winners Monday at the U.S. Open.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Clijsters got past Hungarian Greta Arn 6-0, 7-5 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Clijsters steamrolled Arn in 18 minutes in the bagel first set, but the Belgian then fell behind 0-4 in the second before rebounding to avoid a three- set afternoon. Clijsters won seven of the last eight games to advance and capture her 26th straight first-round match at a major.

"I'm happy with the way I served, Clijsters said. "That's obviously been a stroke that I've been paying a bit more attention to during my practicing the past few weeks. Today I felt like I was hitting the ball well."

The 27-year-old Clijsters is seeking her third U.S. Open championship, She beat Dane Caroline Wozniacki in last year's finale here and has now won her last 15 matches in Flushing. She also titled here in 2005 and skipped the 2006-08 editions due to either injury or retirement. Clijsters came out of retirement last summer and captured the U.S. Open in only her third tournament back.

Clijsters, who was also the U.S. Open runner-up in 2003, will meet Aussie Sally Peers in the second round in New York.

The third-seeded Williams, meanwhile, was a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Italian Roberta Vinci. The American fired 10 aces and won 83 percent of first-serve points.

Williams, 30, is also after her third career U.S. Open title. She won this event in 2000 and 2001, but bowed out in the fourth round last year and hasn't reached the semifinals since 2007. The former world No. 1 will face Canadian Rebecca Marino in the second round.

Fifth-seeded French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur fought back to beat Russian Elena Vesnina 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, while sixth-seeded French Open champion Francesca Schiavone cruised with a 6-1, 6-0 dismantling of Japan's Ayumi Morita and former U.S. Open runner-up Elena Dementieva drubbed Belarusian Olga Govortsova 6-1, 6-2. Schiavone upset Stosur in June's Roland Garros finale. Dementieva reached the U.S. Open final in 2004.

Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, seeded 10th, got into the second round with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Romanian Monica Niculescu. Former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli, seeded 13th at this particular fortnight, moved on with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Romanian Edina Gallovits.

Sixteenth-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer handled Croat Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-4, 7-5, while 19th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta cruised past American Irina Falconi, 6-2, 6-1. Pennetta reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, seeded 20th, doused German Kristina Barrois 6-4, 6-1 and 21st-seeded Zheng Jie of China straight-setted Timea Bacsinszky in double-tiebreak fashion, 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-1).

The 24th seed, Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, humbled struggling former top- ranked star Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-4. The three-time major runner-up Safina, of Russia, was the top seed here a year ago, but has plummeted in the rankings ever since, mostly due to problems with a back injury.

Another former world No. 1, Serbian Ana Ivanovic, took an easy 6-3, 6-2 win over Ekaterina Makarova. Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, had lost in the first round at last year's U.S. Open.

Other seeded victors on Day 1 were No. 27 Czech Petra Kvitova, No. 28 Russian Alisa Kleybanova, No. 29 Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko and No. 32 Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, who was a surprise Wimbledon semifinalist last month.

Last year's U.S. Open darling, American Melanie Oudin, advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 throttling of Ukrainian Olga Savchuk. The teenage Oudin reached the quarterfinals here a year ago, including huge upset victories over the two- time Grand Slam runner-up Dementieva and former U.S. Open champ Maria Sharapova.

Oudin was first up at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Day 1.

"It's a real honor to get to start the U.S. Open off on Ashe, first match." the 18-year-old Oudin said. "I thought it was pretty cool. I didn't expect that."

Additional Monday wins came for the aforementioned Peers and Marino, Hungarian Agnes Szavay, Frenchwomen Virginie Razzano and Pauline Parmentier, India's Sania Mirza, Austrian Sybille Bammer, Aussie Anastasia Rodionova, Italians Sara Errani and Maria Elena Camerin, Brit Elena Baltacha, Luxembourg's Mandy Minella, Argentine Gisela Dulko, and American Vania King.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion will earn at least $1.7 million.

Lasveggas Tennis Betting News

<< U.S. Soccer gives Bradley four-year extension
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States men's national soccer team has announced a four-year contract extension for head coach Bob Bradley. The 52-year-old Bradley engineered the U.S. to an unbeaten mark in group play at this y

<< U.S. Soccer
Agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension with head coach Bob Bradley.

<< Pena guides Rays over Jays
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer and drove in four as Tampa Bay downed Toronto, 6-2, in the opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Field. Evan Longoria stroked a pair of hits and knocked in a

<< Chicago's Beckham departs Monday's game
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham left Monday's game against the Cleveland Indians after getting hit by a pitch on the right hand. Frank Herrmann took over for Justin Germano with runne

<< Texans bring Daniels off PUP list; put Holliday, Tate on IR
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans made a number of moves Monday, among them bringing tight end Owen Daniels off the physically unable to perform list. Daniels passed his physical and is now able to participate in

Heyward powers Braves past Mets >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Heyward finished 4-for-5 with a three-run home run, four RBI and three runs scored as Atlanta dominated New York, 9-3, in the opener of a four-game series. Martin Prado added three RBI on two hits while

Wilson superb in pitching Rangers past Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Wilson turned in 7 2/3 scoreless innings to lead Texas over Kansas City, 3-0, in the first of three between the clubs at Kauffman Stadium. Wilson (14-5) allowed just two hits and fanned six again

Happ tosses shutout as Astros beat struggling Cardinals >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.A. Happ tossed a two-hit shutout to lift the Houston Astros to a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a three-game set. Happ (5-2) walked just one and struck out four for the Astros, w

Yankees use the long ball to beat A's and keep up with Rays >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano each had three hits, including a home run, as the New York Yankees powered past the Oakland Athletics, 11-5, in the opener of a four-game series. Nick Swisher went 3-for-4 wi

Reds build lead in NL Central with win over Brewers >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jay Bruce's single in the bottom of the 10th inning scored pinch-runner Brandon Phillips, as the National League Central Division-leading Cincinnati Reds edged the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4, in the opener

Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship

(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.

MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.

FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting