Nadal advances to fourth round, Murray ousted at U.S. Open

Tennis Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed Rafael Nadal was an easy third-round winner Sunday at the U.S. Open, while fourth seed Andy Murray was given an early exit.

Nadal took the next step in his pursuit of a career Grand Slam, handling Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Spaniard, who is seeking his first U.S. Open title, will play countryman Feliciano Lopez for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The 23rd-seeded Lopez advanced to the fourth round after Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky retired in the second set because of a right toe infection. Lopez was leading 6-3, 4-0 when Stakhovsky called it quits.

Murray, meanwhile, was ousted by Stanislas Wawrinka. The 25th-seeded Swiss rebounded from dropping the first set to take a 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Scotsman.

Murray had not bowed out this early at Flushing Meadows since 2007, and was the runner-up to Roger Federer in 2008.

Wawrinka is into the fourth round at the U.S. Open for the third time in his career and first time since 2008, when he was beaten by Murray in straight sets.

Murray also thwarted Wawrinka in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2009, but the steady Swiss got some payback Sunday. He will attempt to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal when he takes on 20th-seeded American Sam Querrey.

Querrey fired 42 winners and 19 aces to power his way to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. He matched his best performance at a Grand Slam event, and has reached the fourth round at two straight majors. The American also made it through to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in 2008.

An eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco dispatched Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Spaniard was a quarter-finalist here last year, losing to Serbian Novak Djokovic in four sets.

Another Spaniard through to the last 16 was 10th-seeded David Ferrer, who cruised past compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-2. Ferrer, who has not dropped a set en route to the fourth round, will next face Verdasco.

Also on Sunday, Spaniard Tommy Robredo advanced to the fourth round after Frenchman Michael Llodra retired in the fourth set. Robredo was leading at the time, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 2-1.

Wwwasahi Tennis Betting News

<< Padres continue freefall, lose 10th in a row
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora hit a two-run single to snap a seventh-inning tie, lifting the Colorado Rockies to a 4-2 win and sending National League West-leading San Diego to a 10th straight loss. Troy Tulowitzki cl

<< Jags make several moves
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars made several roster moves on Sunday, including being awarded defensive tackle Landon Cohen off waivers from Detroit. Cohen has played 24 games over his two seasons in the N

<< Titans waive Blount, build practice squad
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans waived running back LeGarrette Blount on Sunday as they made a number of moves. The Titans waived linebacker Stanford Keglar in addition to Blount, who signed with the club as an

<< Riders nip reeling Bombers
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Cates scored twice on the ground as the Saskatchewan Roughriders took down the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 27-23, in a Labour Day contest from Mosaic Stadium. Darian Durant went 22-of-34 with 301 ya

<< Happ strong again as Astros down Arizona
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Pence's three-run home run in the first inning stood up as the deciding hit as Houston held off Arizona, 3-2, to wrap up a three-game set. Pence finished 2-for-4 and Jeff Keppinger added a hit and a ru

UNC associate head coach Blake resigns >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina associate head football coach John Blake has resigned, effective immediately, amid an NCAA investigation into possible violations. It had previously been reported by the Rale

Jets release FB Richardson >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have released veteran fullback Tony Richardson. He had re-signed with the team in March after blocking last season for the NFL's top rushing offense, which was led by ve

Abreu helps Angels get by A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Abreu drove in three runs and scored three times, as the Angels took down the Athletics, 7-4, to avoid a three-game sweep at the Oakland Coliseum. Abreu and Mike Napoli each homered for Los Angel

LaCrosse wins again; 10 earn LPGA cards >>
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cindy LaCrosse captured her third Duramed Futures Tour victory of the season, beating Jennifer Song on the first hole of a playoff Sunday at the Price Chopper Tour Championship. LaCrosse and Song both c

Geovanni leads 'Quakes past Houston >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geovanni scored a goal and assisted on another to propel the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on Sunday. The Brazilian was making his first Major League So

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.

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