Almagro to face Volandri for Brazil title

Tennis Betting Lines

02/18/2012 - Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro and Italian veteran Filippo Volandri were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the $475,300 Brasil Open.

The Spanish Almagro beat countryman and No. 8 seed Albert Ramos 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), while Volandri rallied from a set down to post a 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.

Almagro won this event in 2008 and bested Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in last year's finale. He owns an 18-4 career tournament record, and heads into Sunday with a 10-4 lifetime mark in finals.

Volandri advanced to his ninth title match -- all on clay -- and is looking to capture his third career crown. His last title came in Palermo in 2006.

Almagro has won six of nine meetings with Volandri.

The 2012 Brasil Open champion will collect $85,800.

Sportautochance Tennis Betting News

<< Federer survives Davydenko, will face del Potro in Rotterdam final
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer needed three sets and two hours, 15 minutes, but the Swiss world No. 3 took down Russian Nikolay Davydenko to advance to the final at the ABN AMRO World tournament. Top-seeded Fed

<< Perry in command at ACE Group
Naples, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Perry fired an impressive 10-under 62 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the second round of the ACE Group Classic. Perry finished two rounds at 18-under 126 and obliterated the fo

<< Elliott, Blues shut out Wild
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday might have been the easiest shutout of Brian Elliott's NHL career. The 26-year-old netminder needed to make just 13 saves to record his sixth shutout of the season and 15th of his career as t

<< No. 3 Missouri rolls over Texas A&M
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim English had 21 points to lead four Missouri players in double figures, as the third-ranked Tigers beat Texas A&M, 71-62, on Saturday. Michael Dixon totaled 15 points and six assists for Misso

<< Louisville dominates DePaul in OT
Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Kuric scored a season-high 25 points and 19th-ranked Louisville used a dominant overtime to subdue DePaul, 90-82, at Allstate Arena. Chris Smith and Russ Smith had 20 and 16 points, respecti

Juve turns back Catania to go top >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus returned to the Serie A summit on Saturday after securing a 3-1 win over Catania at home. Juve had played to a pair of 0-0 draws in its last two matches and fell behind inside of four minutes as

Feyenoord denied by late Braber goal >>
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Feyenoord was denied three points on Saturday in the 87th minute when RKC Waalwijk's Robert Braber scored the equalizer in a 1-1 draw at De Kuip Stadion. Feyenoord was in position to claim a f

Debuchy returns Lille to the win column >>
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lille brought an end to its poor run of results on Saturday as Mathieu Debuchy's goal in the 76th minute gave the club a 1-0 win at Lorient. A 5-4 defeat to Bordeaux last time out left Lille with just

Benzema's brace helps Real cruise past Racing >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karim Benzema netted a goal in each half as Real Madrid coasted to a 4-0 win over Racing at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. The result stretches Madrid's lead to 13 points over second-place Barce

No. 1 Kentucky takes down Ole Miss >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky's offensive depth was too much for upset-minded Ole Miss. Terrence Jones posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, as the No. 1 Wildcats came away with a 77-62 win over the Rebels on Sat

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

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

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .