Boston downs Philadelphia to edge closer to playoff berth

Soccer Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - West Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Breakers closed the gap on the Philadelphia Independence in the race for second place in the Women's Professional Soccer table with a 2-1 comeback win at John A. Farrell Stadium on Sunday.

Philadelphia took the lead 17 minutes into the game through Joanna Lohman as she followed up a shot from Amy Rodriguez that struck the post, but Boston answered in the 35th minute from a corner kick as Kristine Lilly rolled the ball to Stephanie Cox near the top of the box and she placed her shot inside the far post, marking her first WPS goal.

The Breakers took the lead on the hour mark from the penalty spot as Philadelphia defender Estelle Johnson brought down Lauren Cheney inside the area, which allowed Kelly Smith to send goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc the wrong way from the spot.

Both teams had a goal called back for offsides in the final 30 minutes, but the result was enough for Boston to move to within two points of second-place Philadelphia, with the Breakers having a game in hand.

FC Gold Pride has already clinched the top spot in WPS, but it didn't stop the team from pounding the Atlanta Beat, 6-1, as Marta scored two goals, while the Washington Freedom moved three points clear of Sky Blue FC for the fourth and final playoff spot with a 2-1 win courtesy of Abby Wambach's two second- half goals.

Mysportbet Soccer Betting News

<< Walcott putting World Cup snub behind him
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The biggest decisions most 16-year-old boys have to make involve a choice of which car to buy, which girl to ask to the dance, or what their Facebook status will be. But Theo Walcott was not your typic

<< Prosecutors charge Mizzou RB with assault
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -Prosecutors have charged suspended Missouri running back Derrick Washington with sexual assault.Assistant Boone County prosecutor Andrea Hayes says a single count of felony deviate sexual assault was filed Monday. She says she wi

<< Does NHL have something to Fehr?
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The revolving door to the president's office at the National Hockey League Players' Association is once again in motion and the punditocracy is foaming with rumors that former baseball players' union boss Don

<< NHL: Five burning Central Division questions
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With training camps opening Sept. 12, there is no better time than the present to begin asking the single-most important question for each of the 30 NHL teams. The first of six installments begins in

<< First-place Rangers, Royals square off in KC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Texas Rangers can get their road record to .500 and maintain a stranglehold on the American League's West Division tonight, when they visit the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series

Arena to extend schedule to 18 games >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arena Football League will extend its regular-season schedule from 16 to 18 games next season. A 16-game schedule had been in effect since 2003. "There has never been a better time for the Aren

Van Persie suffers minor ankle injury >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal and Netherlands striker Robin van Persie is set to miss a few weeks because of an ankle injury, according to the Dutch football federation. Van Persie missed five months last season because of

Arizona Cardinals 2010 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Kurt Warner having ridden off into the glorious sunset of retirement, the Arizona Cardinals were planning on once again handing Matt Leinart the keys to the Porsche. But as he has done twice before, Leinart is already

Ronaldo to miss three weeks with ankle injury >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to miss the next three weeks because of an ankle problem, the club confirmed on Monday. The 25-year-old Ronaldo sustained the injury in Real's 0-0 dr

Monty did fine, though Ryder Cup system is flawed >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monty couldn't win. There were five players vying for three spots on the European Ryder Cup team. Technically, there might have been six golfers for three spots, after Colin Montgomerie himself floated Ber

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.