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04/14/2009 - Monte-Carlo, Monaco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Novak Djokovic and U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray highlighted Tuesday's second-round winners at the $3.6 million Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year.
The former Australian Open titlist Djokovic drubbed Spanish qualifier Oscar Hernandez 6-1, 6-2. while the fourth-seeded Murray stayed hot with a 6-3, 6-2 spanking of Romanian Victor Hanescu on the red clay at the prestigious Monte- Carlo Country Club. Murray has now won his last seven matches, including a straight-set victory over Djokovic in the Miami Masters final two weeks ago.
Djokovic and Murray both enjoyed opening-round byes this week.
Two other second-rounders on Day 3 saw German qualifier Andreas Beck oust sixth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-1 and Argentine Juan Monaco upend 11th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-4.
The first round concluded with nine matches on Monday, including one between fellow former world No. 1s Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin.
The Russian Safin doused the Aussie Hewitt 6-4, 7-5. The wild card Hewitt was fresh off his first title in two years, having captured a championship in Houston last week. Safin and Hewitt are both two-time major champions.
In opening-round action involving seeds, No. 9 Gael Monfils, of France, was ousted by Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-1; No. 10 David Ferrer whipped fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-3; No. 12 Argentine David Nalbandian held off Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; and Albert Montanes upended No. 16 fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
Additional first-round wins came for wild card Jean-Rene Lisnard of Monaco, Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello, Croat Ivo Karlovic and Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini. The 6-foot-10 Karlovic knocked off last week's Casablanca runner-up Florent Serra, of France, 6-4, 6-4.
The second round will conclude with 12 matches here on Wednesday, including ones for top-ranked Rafael Nadal and second-seeded Roger Federer. The reigning Aussie Open, Wimbledon and French Open champion Nadal will meet Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, while the U.S. Open titlist Federer will encounter Italian Andreas Seppi.
Nadal, who beat the former world No. 1 Federer in the previous three Monte-Carlo finals, is seeking a fifth straight title at this event.
Other Top-10 stars slated for play on Wednesday are fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, seventh-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and eighth- seeded Russian star Nikolay Davydenko.
Monte-Carlo is one of three outdoor clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments, joining Rome and Madrid.
The 2009 Monte-Carlo winner will collect $580,500.
<< Eskimos extend Goss through 2012
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Eskimos have extended the
contract of defensive back Jason Goss through the 2012 season.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Goss was a 2008 CFL All-Star after totaling 52 tackles,
<< Rhode Island names Inglese new women's hoops coach
Kingston, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Rhode Island named Cathy
Inglese its new women's basketball coach on Tuesday.
"We are thrilled to be announcing Cathy Inglese as our new women's basketball
head coach at the University o
<< White Sox-Tigers game postponed due to rain
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday's game between the Chicago White Sox
and Detroit Tigers was postponed because of rain at Comerica Park.
A makeup date has not yet been scheduled. The teams will conclude what is now
a two-game set o
<< Flames recall veteran D Eriksson
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames recalled veteran defenseman
Anders Eriksson from Quad City of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.
Eriksson, originally selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 1993 NHL Draft
by the Red
Report: Syracuse's Flynn to hire an agent >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse sophomore point guard Jonny Flynn is
reportedly set to hire an agent, which would end speculation that he might
return to school next season.
Flynn decided to submit his name for the NBA Draft l
Settled Jol happy at Hamburg >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg boss Martin Jol has expressed his
annoyance at stories linking him with the managerial position at Manchester
City.
The former Tottenham boss has moved Hamburg into contention for the Bundes
ChiSox place Wise on DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have placed outfielder
Dewayne Wise on the 15-day disabled list with a separated right shoulder.
Wise was hurt in the fifth inning of Monday's 10-6 victory over Detroit while
making a
Beckett suspended six games >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett has been
suspended six games and fined an undisclosed amount for his actions in this
past Sunday's game against the Angels.
The league handed down the penalty agains
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
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 odds .
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