Azarenka ousts Stosur to reach Stanford final
Tennis Betting Lines
07/31/2010 - Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka celebrated her 21st birthday by upending top-seeded Samantha Stosur in straight sets Saturday to reach the final of the $700,000 Bank of the West Classic tennis event.
The Belarusian improved to 4-0 against the Australian in her career with a thorough 6-2, 6-3 victory on the hardcourts at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Azarenka will face the winner of the Agnieszka Radwanska-Maria Sharapova match.
Sunday's winner will receive $107,000.
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers officially acquired infielder Cristian Guzman from the Washington Nationals on Saturday. The move had been in place Friday, but could not be announced until Saturday because Guzman needed t
<< Saltalamacchia heads to Boston for prospects
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox acquired catcher Jarrod
Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers on Saturday in exchange for pitcher
Roman Mendez, first baseman Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later and
cash co
<< Royals extend manager Yost through 2012
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals extended manager Ned
Yost's contract through the 2012 season on Saturday.
Yost is in the midst of his first season with the Royals after replacing Trey
Hillman earlier in the year.
<< N.Y. to reveal third designated player Tuesday
Secaucus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York, which recently added French
star Thierry Henry as its second designated player, announced Saturday it will
reveal a third designated player Tuesday at Red Bull Arena.
Juan Pablo Angel and
<< Sadler earns first truck win at Pocono
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elliott Sadler held off Kasey Kahne during a
second green-white-checkered finish to win the inaugural Pocono Mountains 125
Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway.
Just after the restart for th
Anderson, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have signed their second-round pick, linebacker Pat Angerer, and third-round choice, defensive back Kevin Thomas. No terms of the deals were announced. Angerer was the 63rd
Broncos agree to terms with rookie WR Thomas >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos on Saturday agreed to
terms with rookie wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Thomas was selected 22nd overall by Denver in this year's draft. According to
the Denver Post, the contract is
Overton keeps lead at Greenbrier Classic >>
White Sulphur Springs, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Overton shot a four-under 66
on Saturday to remain in the lead after three rounds of The Greenbrier
Classic.
Chasing his first PGA Tour win, Overton finished 54 holes on The Old White
Course
Le Toux's eighth goal helps Union tie Revolution >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Le Toux scored his eighth goal of the
season in the first half, but the Philadelphia Union settled for a 1-1 draw on
Saturday at PPL Park against the New England Revolution.
Marko Perovic equalized Le
Harden activated from disabled list >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have reinstated pitcher
Rich Harden from the 15-day disabled list to start Saturday's game against the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Harden was placed on the DL June 12, one day after
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.