Pennetta advances to Palermo final against Kanepi

Tennis Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta and Estonian Kaia Kanepi both moved into the finals at the $220,000 Palermo International tennis tournament with straight-set wins on Saturday.

Pennetta of Italy rolled over Germany's Julia Goerges, 6-0, 6-4, in a little over 65 minutes on the red clay at Country Time Club.

The fifth-seeded Kanepi reached the final with a smooth 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Italian wild card Romina Oprandi.

Pennetta, a nine-time winner on the tour, is 3-2 all-time against Kanepi, though they have not met since 2008.

Cbssportslinr Tennis Betting News

<< Rockets agree to 3-year deal with C Miller
HOUSTON (AP) -Free agent center Brad Miller has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract with the Houston Rockets.Agent Mark Bartelstein said the 7-foot Miller will back up All-Star center Yao Ming, who's expected to return healthy next season a

<< Ilgauskas joins new-look Heat
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has officially joined former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James in Miami. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported earlier in the w

<< Kings sign Richardson for one year
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings signed forward Brad Richardson to a one-year contract on Saturday. The Belleville, Ontario native is coming off a career-high 27-point season (11 goals, 16 assists) while playing

<< Polanco returns for Phils
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies activated third baseman Placido Polanco off the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. Polanco has not played since June 25 due to inflammation in his left elbow. He had been playing

<< Serena to miss three events due to foot injury
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams is scheduled to undergo surgery in the near future after cutting her foot on broken glass in a restaurant. The injury will cause the No. 1 ranked player in the world to miss ev

Celtic inks Mexico international Juarez >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexico international Efrain Juarez has agreed to a four-year deal with Celtic and has met up with his new teammates in Seattle on their preseason tour of North America. The 22-year-old has been gra

Woods unable to get anything going >>
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods mixed four bogeys and three birdies in a round of one-over 73 Saturday at the British Open. Woods finished three rounds at three-under-par 213 and is currently

Martino to remain Paraguay's manager >>
Asuncion, Paraguay (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerardo Martino has agreed to a four- year contract extension to remain in charge of Paraguay's national team, although he could still leave following the Copa America tournament. Martino's new

Monfils, Montanes to battle for Stuttgart title >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France's Gael Monfils and Albert Montanes of Spain will square off in the final of the Mercedes Cup tennis event following their semifinal wins Saturday. The third-seeded Monfils was taken

Report: Brad Miller signs with Rockets >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets have agreed to a three- year deal with veteran center Brad Miller. Miller's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the pact to the Houston Chronicle and indicated it to be worth just shy of

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.

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.