Berdych, Baghdatis advance to Halle final

Tennis Betting Lines

06/16/2007 - Halle, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and eighth-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis were semifinal winners Saturday at the $900,000 Gerry Weber Open, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.

Berdych, who was last year's Halle runner-up to Roger Federer, defeated unseeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to advance to the final here for the second straight year.

In the other semifinal match, Baghdatis ousted German favorite Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 to advance to Sunday's final against Berdych.

The 23-year-old Kohlschreiber, who was the hometown favorite in the tournament, advanced to Saturday's semis after downing third-seeded American James Blake in Friday's quarterfinal action.

On Sunday, Berdych and Baghdatis will meet for just the second time in their careers as Baghdatis holds the edge after defeating Berdych at Indian Wells last year.

Wwwsportnews Tennis Betting News

<< Dodgers shoot for second straight win over rival Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers take aim at their fifth win in a row today, as they tangle with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the latest edition of the Freeway Series from Dodger Stadium. Last night Derek Lowe outdueled

<< Woe Canada: Nationals try to end struggles in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Levale Speigner hopes to duplicate the best outing of his brief big-league career when he takes the mound today for the Washington Nationals, who play the second of three straight interleague games with th

<< Smoltz ready to go as Braves resume set with Tribe
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Smoltz returns to the hill today following a missed start due to shoulder soreness as the Atlanta Braves take on the Cleveland Indians in the second contest of a three-game interleague series at Jacobs Field.

<< Bonds-Dice K matchup to highlight Giants-Red Sox tilt
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After nearly homering in his first-ever plate appearance at historic Fenway Park last night, Barry Bonds continues his assault on Hank Aaron's all-time record when his San Francisco Giants play the middle test of a three

<< Padres to take swings against Cubs' refocused Zambrano
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After generating little offense against Ted Lilly on Friday, the San Diego Padres will now have to deal with a rejuvenated Carlos Zambrano when they continue a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs this afterno

Reeling Orioles face Randy-less Diamondbacks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles will try to put the breaks on a season-high six-game losing skid tonight, when they tussle with the Arizona Diamondback in the second tilt of a three-game series at Camden Yards. In Friday's

Bucs attempt to extend White Sox' road misery >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox will try to snap a six-game road losing streak when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in the second contest of a three-game interleague series at PNC Park. The White Sox, who haven'

Twins' Bonser attempts to cool Brewers' hot bats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boof Bonser attempts to slow down a resurgent Milwaukee offense when the young righty takes the mound tonight for the Minnesota Twins in the middle matchup of a three-game interleague set with the Brewers. Milwaukee's

Royals aim for another interleague win over Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals hope to maintain their strong season record against National League teams in tonight's middle test of a three-game series with the visiting Florida Marlins from Kauffman Stadium. Although the Roya

White Sox sign first-round pick >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox signed left-handed pitcher Aaron Poreda on Saturday, the team's first-round selection in this year's draft. The Sox selected the 20-year-old Poreda with the 25th overall pick o

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.