Murray wins SAP Open for second straight year

Tennis Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray defeated Ivo Karlovic in an exciting final at the SAP Open on Sunday to successfully defend his title in San Jose.

In their first-ever meeting, Murray battled back to down the big-serving Karlovic, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to take home the $65,850 first-place prize.

Murray had to overcome 26 aces by Karlovic, who dropped his serve remarkably just once in 51 games and had a tournament-best 87 aces heading into the final.

Murray topped Lleyton Hewitt in the final last year here to secure his first title. With the impressive victory, Murray became just the fourth active player on the ATP Tour to successfully defend his first-career title, joining Mario Ancic, Ronald Gasquet and Paradorn Srichaphan as the only players to achieve this feat.

The third-seeded Murray surpassed the top-seeded Andy Roddick, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 to reach the final of the $416,000 event.

Karlovic, who was seeking his first-career title, downed sixth-seeded German Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 to advance to Sunday's final.

Despite the loss in the final, this week was a remarkable turnaround for Karlovic, who turns 28 at the end of this month. He's coming back strong from a left knee injury that sidelined him for most of the second half of last year. His ranking of No. 103 will rise sharply next week.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

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 .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards

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NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules

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