Hanna-Williams gets first Duramed Futures win

Golf Betting Lines

05/03/2009 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allison Hanna-Williams shot a three-under 69 in the final round Sunday to win the inaugural Texas Hill Country Classic.

Hanna-Williams picked up her first Duramed Futures Tour title at seven-under 209, beating second-round leader Alison Walshe (71) and Jennifer Ackerson (70) by one shot.

Hanna-Williams posted five birdies -- including one at the 18th -- against just two bogeys in the final round.

She escaped with the victory when neither Walshe nor Ackerson could make their own birdie at 18.

Hanna-Williams, 27, had previously posted a second-place finish on the Duramed Futures Tour in 2004. She played steadily on the LPGA Tour between 2006 and 2008, but has only made two starts this season.

She collected $17,500 for her win Sunday.

Mina Harigae and iMPACT Invitational winner Misun Cho both shot 69s to share fourth place at four-under 212, two strokes behind Walshe and Ackerson. Danah Ford (71) took sixth place at two-under 214.

Wwwharleydavidson Golf Betting News

<< Verlander sharp as Tigers rally past Indians
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Magglio Ordonez and Curtis Granderson each knocked in a run during a two-run seventh to lead the Detroit Tigers past the Cleveland Indians, 3-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Comerica Park.

<< Cueto brilliant as Reds blank Pirates
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto kept the Pirates bats silent in the finale of a three-game weekend series, throwing eight scoreless innings to lead Cincinnati to a 5-0 victory. Cueto (2-1) struck out nine, allowing just fo

<< Milan keeps title hopes alive
Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan kept its title hopes alive on Sunday with a comfortable 2-0 win over Catania at Stadio Angelo Massimino. Filippo Inzaghi scored midway through the opening half and Kaka added a second goal sho

<< Cubs' Zambrano leaves with leg injury
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano left Sunday's game versus the Florida Marlins in the fifth inning with a left hamstring strain. The Cubs ace hurt the leg while legging out a bunt single to lead off the

<< Hawks crush Heat in deciding Game 7
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson drained six of his eight attempts from three-point range, and the Atlanta Hawks finished off a series filled with blowout wins with a 91-78 drubbing of the Miami Heat in the deciding Game 7 of th

Astros' Brocail leaves game with leg injury >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros relief pitcher Doug Brocail left Sunday's game in the eighth inning versus the Atlanta Braves with an apparent left leg injury. The 41-year-old Brocail twisted his left leg while trying to cove

Espanyol tops Valencia to continue surge >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roman Martinez, Nicolas Pareja and Nene all scored in the second half, lifting Espanyol to a 3-0 win over Valencia and four points clear of the relegation zone. Espanyol spent five straight weeks in last p

Bordeaux tops Sochaux to pull even with Marseille >>
Bordeaux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gregory Sertic and Yoann Gourcuff scored in the first 14 minutes, sparking Bordeaux to a 3-0 win over Sochaux on Sunday. Marouane Chamakh also scored for Bordeaux, which moved level with Marseille for the

Hertha, Hamburg split points in key clash >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gojko Kacar scored in the 66th minute and Hertha Berlin earned a 1-1 draw at Hamburg on Sunday in the German Bundesliga. Hertha used the point to climb within one point of second-place Bayern Munich, wh

Brewers edge D'Backs to earn series split >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Duffy's run-scoring groundout in the eighth inning proved to be the game-winner, as Milwaukee bested Arizona, 4-3, earning a split of this four-game set. Milwaukee's Dave Bush was solid in a no-dec

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.

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.