American (women's) tennis well is running dry

Tennis Betting Lines

08/18/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you've been wondering if there's an American woman out there not named Serena Williams or Venus Williams that has a shot at winning a major title in the near future, well, you probably don't have to worry about it.

American tennis, especially at the WTA level, appears to be in a free fall. Just last week, the U.S. failed to place a player in the men's top 10 for the first time since the computer rankings were introduced way back in 1973, as top-10 fixture Andy Roddick dropped out for the first time in four years.

But I'm concerned about the American women in this particular article, as the mighty Williams sisters continue to be the only ones who are producing anything on the ladies' tour.

Serena is currently the standing world No. 1, which is no surprise considering she's the reigning Wimbledon and Aussie Open champ, and Venus is ranked fifth in the world and is a former No. 1. Serena boasts 13 Grand Slam singles titles, while Venus checks in with seven. That's 20 between 'em.

And that's awesome.

But after Serena and Venus, it gets pretty ugly in the contiguous 48, with Melanie Oudin (44th) coming in as the only other top-50 American. And the next-highest American woman after Oudin would be Vania King, who checks in at No. 79.

Oof.

And guess what? There are no more American women inside the top 100 after King, who is a non-factor out there. At least the spry Oudin reached a U.S. Open quarterfinal in dramatic fashion last year, stunning a bevy of Russian stars, in come-from-behind fashion, along the way.

But the 18-year-old Oudin hasn't done much on the circuit since then, and still has yet to title as a member of the WTA Tour. She failed to get past the second round at this year's first three major events, including head- shaking opening-round exits at both the Oz and French Opens.

And King (who certainly is no Billie Jean King)? Fugetaboutit! She's only ever reached the third round at a Grand Slam event once (which occurred at last year's U.S. Open). She's been a first- or second-round loser at 16 other major tournaments.

But King (Vania King), unlike Oudin, has at least titled once on the circuit (four years ago in Bangkok).

Minnesota native Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who beat her Fed Cup teammate Oudin at a tournament in Montreal just this week, is just outside the top 100, at No. 101. Which means there are only four American women inside the top 100!

Yuck.

Thank goodness we (USA) still have Serena and Venus out there, otherwise we'd be watching a whole lot of American-less women's tennis.

The last American woman not named Serena or Venus to capture a major title was Jennifer Capriati at the 2002 Aussie Open. And you'd have to dip into the '90s to come up with a non-Williams American winner at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, as Lindsay Davenport was the last to turn the trick at the All England Club, in 1999, and in New York, in 1998.

And Serena is the only American woman to capture our national title -- the U.S. Open -- over the last eight years.

And when's the last time an American not named Serena or Venus finished a season inside the top 10? Well that would be Davenport back in 2005, a year in which Lindsay finished No. 1.

Heck, in 2006 there were zero American women inside the top 10 at year's end.

Whatever happened to the good old days when American-born women dominated the top-10 landscape? Like in 1980, for instance, when five of the top 10 hailed from the U.S., including the top-two ladies in the world, Chrissie (Evert, that is) and Tracy Austin.

Will we ever see five American women inside the top 10 again? I seriously doubt it, considering how popular tennis has become all over the globe in the last quarter-century.

What's the (tennis) world coming to when there are more Belgians in the top 20 (Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer) than there are Americans (Serena and Venus)?

BELGIUM?

My native Pennsylvania, alone, is almost four times the size of Belgium.

The Russians, as a whole, dominated in recent years, but they're starting to cool off, with only one player, Elena Dementieva, residing inside the top 10 for the time being. But they certainly spread it around (in terms of success), with the likes of Dementieva, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva, and even Anastasia Myskina. Three of those women have corralled major titles; two have reached No. 1; and all have played in at least one major final.

Sure, the Williams sisters are still here, and the younger one is still a dominant force on tour, but Serena and Venus aren't going to be around forever, and the United States needs to produce at least one woman who can challenge for a top-10 spot sooner rather than later. And that woman currently does not exist (sorry, Oudin), although some have been starting to hype Coco Vandeweghe in recent weeks, despite the fact that the 18-year-old has yet to accomplish anything in "The Show."

By the way, Vandeweghe is the niece of former NBA star/executive/coach Kiki Vandeweghe.

About five years ago, California's Alexa Glatch was a "promising" American.

Was she?

Five years later...she stinks (as far as potential Grand Slam winners go).

Did You Know?: Venus has never finished as season as a year-end No. 1. And Serena's only accomplished the feat twice.

At the upcoming U.S. Open, Serena will certainly be among the favorites, as she always is. Venus...not so much. Oudin...an extreme longshot at best. And King (Vania King) and Mattek-Sands? Not in this or any other lifetime.

Dear USTA, It's time to get back to work!

Wwwhkcyber Tennis Betting News

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.