Nadal, Blake, Hewitt move into Aussie round of 32

Tennis Betting Lines

01/18/2007 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning two-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and Tennis Masters Cup runner-up James Blake were among Thursday's second-round winners at the 2007 Australian Open. Former Aussie Open runner-up Lleyton Hewitt also advanced here on Day 4.

The second-seeded Nadal, last year's Wimbledon runner-up, got past German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in Thursday's nightcap at Melbourne Park.

Nadal's third-round opponent will be 31st-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

A fifth-seeded Blake, off to a perfect 6-0 start this season, committed only 13 unforced errors in a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of his fellow American Alex Kuznetsov, who piled up 36 miscues on his way to defeat.

Blake's match in Rod Laver Arena was the first in the books for the men on Day 4, as brief rain delayed the start of the outdoor matches. The American already has one title under his belt this year, as he captured last week's Sydney International tournament.

The ever-improving Blake, who has never advanced beyond the fourth round in Melbourne, will face another fellow American in the round of 32, Robby Ginepri.

A 19th-seeded Hewitt moved on by handling Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 Hewitt was the 2005 Aussie Open runner-up to big Russian Marat Safin.

Some other serious contenders here notched Day-4 wins, as third-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko drubbed Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 and No. 8 Argentine David Nalbandian drove past Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Davydenko will battle crafty Frenchman Fabrice Santoro in the third round, while Nalbandian, a former Wimbledon runner-up who captured the prestigious Masters Cup in 2005, will face pesky Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean.

Tenth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez snuck past rising Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 4-0, as the Argentine retired in the fifth set. "Gonzo" will tangle with Hewitt here on Saturday.

Meanwhile, 12th-seeded German Tommy Haas handled Serbian Ilia Bozoljac 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-3; 13th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych blitzed Aussie Robert Smeets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; and No. 15 Brit Andy Murray topped Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-4. Haas, Berdych and Murray are also among the contenders here in Melbourne.

Other seeded Day-4 winners were No. 21 Russian Dmitry Tursunov, a No. 28 Grosjean and the aforementioned Wawrinka. A mild upset came when Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela took out 17th-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Additional second-round winners were German Florian Mayer, Frenchman Fabrice Santoro and Ginepri, who straight-setted German Mischa Zverev 6-4, 7-5, 6-1. Santoro erased his countryman and the 2001 Aussie Open runner-up Arnaud Clement in straight sets.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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