Nadal will meet Berdych in Wimbledon final

Tennis Betting Lines

07/02/2010 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion Rafael Nadal straight- setted British hopeful Andy Murray, while Czech Tomas Berdych upended third- seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic in Friday's semifinals at The Championships, Wimbledon.

The second-seeded Nadal will battle the 12th-seeded Berdych in the lucrative championship match here on Sunday, as Berdych will play in his first-ever major final.

In the most-anticipated match of the day, the world No. 1 Nadal handled the fourth-seeded Murray 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 on Centre Court, as Murray was trying to give Britain its first male finalist here in 72 years (Bunny Austin). Instead, Murray came up a semifinal loser here for a second straight year.

Nadal got the key service break he needed in the opening set to go up 5-4 against Murray, and then held his underrated serve to secure the stanza.

In the second set, things were tight enough to head into a crucial tiebreak, for Murray, who blew a set point, leading 6-5 in the extra session, when Nadal popped a backhand volley winner. The Spaniard would ultimately close out the tiebreak with an unreturnable forehand.

Murray opened the third set by breaking Nadal at love, but the Spaniard was unfazed, as he replied with a pair of breaks in the stanza to move on in straights.

Nadal prevailed in 2 hours, 22 minutes, as he broke Murray's serve three times, while the Brit settled for only one break in the setback. Murray struck six more winners (37-31), including 11 more aces (15-4), but Nadal was able to come out on top on the biggest points on Day 11.

The 24-year-old Nadal is now 8-3 lifetime against the 23-year-old Murray. The Spaniard beat the Brit in the quarterfinals here in 2008, the year Nadal went on to beat Roger Federer in their remarkable final to claim his lone Wimbledon championship.

The Dunblane, Scotland native Murray beat Nadal in their last meeting, the quarterfinals at this year's Australian Open.

Nadal is now 3-2 in their career Grand Slam matchups.

The high-flying seven-time major titlist Nadal has won 30 of his last 31 matches on tour, including a fifth French Open title four weeks ago. He lost to Federer in the 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon finales, titled here two years ago, and missed Wimbledon 2009 because of knee injuries.

Nadal is seeded second here despite holding the No. 1 ranking.

The two-time Grand Slam runner-up Murray appeared in his fourth career major semifinal (2-2). The 2010 Aussie Open runner-up to Federer was hoping to give the Brits their first male Wimbledon champion in 74 years (Fred Perry).

Nadal will now perform in his 10th Grand Slam final (7-2). He's 1-2 in his Wimbledon finals, all against Federer, and has won his last 13 matches at the All England Club.

The mighty Spaniard will appear in his 53rd career final, seeking a 41st title. He's 4-1 in his 2010 title tilts, with one major title and three ATP Masters championships.

Meanwhile, Berdych ousted the former Australian Open champion Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 on Centre Court. Djokovic was also a semifinal loser on the grass here three years ago.

The 6-foot-4 Berdych stunned the defending champion and six-time Wimbledon winner Federer in four sets here on Wednesday.

Berdych captured the first set rather easily on Day 11 before Djokovic fought back in the second. The Serbian star, however, was unable to get back into the match by taking the second-set tiebreak and smashed his racquet after dropping the crucial stanza.

The third set was all Berdych, who broke Djokovic to grab a 5-3 lead when Djokovic, who was back on his heels throughout the match, came up with an untimely double fault, his eighth of the day.

Berdych, who simply crushed the tennis ball all day on Friday, set-up his first match point with a huge forehand winner, and wound up converting on his second match point by launching an unreturnable serve after 2 hours, 18 minutes of tennis.

The talented Berdych fired 11 aces among his 34 winners and broke Djokovic's serve three times, compared to only one break for the Serbian loser.

Berdych, who has now won 14 of his last 15 matches, was a semifinal loser at the French Open four weeks ago. He's into his first major final, playing in his 27th Grand Slam event.

The 23-year-old Djokovic appeared in his eight career major semi (2-6). He was the Aussie Open champ in 2008 and reached the Wimbledon final four in 2007, but was forced to retire against Nadal due to a foot injury while trailing in the third set that day.

The 24-year-old Berdych will appear in his 11th career ATP-level final, seeking a sixth title. The world No. 13 was a runner-up to Andy Roddick at this year's Miami Masters event and hasn't titled since running the table at a tournament in Munich last season.

The last Czech player to reach the Wimbledon final was the great Ivan Lendl in 1987. The lone male Czech titlist here was Jan Kodes back in 1973.

Nadal and Berdych will meet for an 11th time, with the powerful Spaniard holding a 7-3 lead in their lifetime series. Nadal beat Berdych at Indian Wells earlier this season and has won six straight in the series. Nadal beat Berdych in the Wimbledon quarters in 2007.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.