Szavay stays hot; Dulgheru pulls out in Prague

Tennis Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last week's Budapest titlist Agnes Szavay was among Thursday's second-round winners, while second-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania pulled out of the draw at the $220,000 Prague Open tennis event.

The seventh-seeded Szavay handled long-time Czech crowd favorite Iveta Benesova 6-1, 7-5 on the red clay at Stvanice. The Hungarian Szavay piled up six service breaks in the 1-hour, 12-minute affair.

Szavay bested Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder in last week's Budapest finale for the second time in two years.

The 31-year-old Schnyder also won in Prague on Thursday by pasting France's Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-1.

Dulgheru, meanwhile, pulled out of her scheduled second-rounder against Slovenian Polona Hercog, citing some sore knees. Top-seeded Czech favorite Lucie Safarova pulled out of the draw here on Wednesday because of a hamstring problem.

In other second-round action on Day 4, fifth-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues whipped Colombian qualifier Catalina Castano 6-4, 6-2 and Czech Lucie Hradecka landed in the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2 dismantling of Romanian Monica Niculescu.

Friday's quarters will pit Medina Garrigues, the highest seed still standing here, against Hradecka, Szavay versus Hercog, eighth-seeded Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova against Swede Johanna Larsson, and Schnyder versus Georgian Anna Tatishvili.

Wwwroyalsports Tennis Betting News

<< Angels hope to get second half off to good start vs. Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No team was happier to see the All-Star break than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hopefully recharged, the Angels get their second half started with the opener of a four-game set with the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium

<< White Sox put win streak on the line versus rival Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An eight-game winning streak propelled the Chicago White Sox to the top of the American League Central at the All-Star break. Tonight, they put that streak on the line against a division foe, as they open a four- game set wit

<< Pierce makes it official, re-signs with Celtics
BOSTON (AP) -The Boston Celtics have re-signed captain Paul Pierce.The club made the official announcement Thursday, six days after a team official said it had reached an agreement to keep the star forward.The Boston Herald had reported that the con

<< McIlroy posts record-tying 63; Woods four back
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rory McIlory said the thought crept into his head on 17 that he could set or match the low round in a major. He missed his four-footer for birdie on 17, but closed with a three-foot birdie put

<< Golf Tidbits: Which 50-something will make a run at the British?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Open returned to the Old Course at St. Andrews this week for the 28th time. No course has hosted more Open Championships. In keeping with the vintage of the historic venue, the story of the las

Giants, Lincecum welcome a returning Beltran to the Bay Area >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum didn't help the National League break its lengthy losing streak in the All-Star Game, but the New York Mets may have wished he had. The rested two-time NL Cy Young Award honoree will take the mound when the Sa

Rangers open second half at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers enter the season's second half in good position to end an 11-year playoff drought. The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, still have some work to do in order to secure a fourth consecutive trip to the postse

First-place Braves open second half against Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have done everything possible in this season's first half to potentially make Bobby Cox's last year as manager a special one. Seeking to give their manager one more championship before he retires at sea

Phillies head to Chicago riding win streak >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies had an up-and-down first half, and it was no different for the club over the season's final week before the All-Star break. They do come out of the hiatus with some momentum, and the Phillies will

Top hurlers to clash in Dodgers-Cardinals opener >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw pitched well enough to be an All-Star, but ultimately did not join four of his teammates in Anaheim for the Mid-Summer Classic. Despite the snub, Kershaw will look to get his sec

Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.