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06/13/2007 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal posted a second- round victory, while defending champion Lleyton Hewitt came up a loser Wednesday at The Artois Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.
The reigning three-time French Open champion Nadal made a smooth transition to grass with a 6-4, 6-4 win against promising Argentine Juan Martin del Potro on Day 3 at The Queen's Club. The Spanish Nadal won 40-of-46 points on serve en route to victory.
The 2006 Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is fresh off his championship at Roland Garros, where he defeated the great Roger Federer in the final for a second straight year.
The sixth-seeded Hewitt, meanwhile, was stunned by big-serving French qualifier Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2). The former world No. 1 and former Wimbledon champion Hewitt topped American James Blake in last year's Queen's Club finale and also captured this event back-to-back-to-back from 2000-02.
Three other stars avoided Day-3 upsets here, as third-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez snuck past Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), fourth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic overcame American Robert Kendrick 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and seventh-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov doused Canadian Frank Dancevic 7-5, 6-1. Gonzalez was January's Aussie Open runner-up to Federer, while Djokovic was a semifinal loser against Nadal at Roland Garros last week.
A mild upset came when Frenchman Nicolas Mahut topped 11th-seeded Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3.
In other second-round action involving seeds, No. 12 Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu got past his countryman Michael Llodra 7-6 (7-4), retired; No. 14 Frenchman Arnaud Clement bested Aussie Chris Guccione 6-4, 6-4; and No. 15 American Robby Ginepri beat Frenchman Florent Serra 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
Additional second-round wins came for Belarusian Max Mirnyi, Croats Ivo Karlovic and wild card Marin Cilic and British wild card Alex Bogdanovic. The 2005 Queen's Club runner-up Karlovic overcame American qualifier Alex Kuznetsov 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).
A bout between eighth-seeded and former world No. 1 Marat Safin and two-time Queen's Club runner-up Sebastien Grosjean was suspended until Thursday. The Russian Safin was tied with the French Grosjean at 3-6, 6-4, 4-4 when play was halted for the day because of rain. Grosjean was the 2003 and 2004 runner-up here to American Andy Roddick.
The third round will be staged here on Thursday, including matches for Nadal, a second-seeded Roddick, Gonzalez and Djokovic. Nadal will encounter Mirnyi, while the three-time Queen's Club champion Roddick (2003-05) will take on Bogdanovic.
<< Inter snatches Suazo from Cagliari
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serie A champions Inter Milan signed
Honduran striker David Suazo from Cagliari on Wednesday.
Suazo joins Inter after scoring 14 goals in league play this past season while
helping Cagliari avoid rel
<< Opposites attract as Dallas visits RSL
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First meets worst at Rice-Eccles
Stadium on Thursday night as league-leading FC Dallas takes on bottom-feeding
Real Salt Lake for the third time this season.
After playing to a draw in the s
<< Redskins' Thomas undergoes surgery
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins offensive lineman Randy
Thomas underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Thomas will miss Washington's mini camp this weekend, but is
expected to be
<< Devils sign trio of players
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils signed
defensemen Andy Greene and Matthew Corrente Wednesday, as well as forward Jari
Viuhkola.
The 24-year-old Greene played in 23 regular-season games last season fo
DE McCray signs tender with Jaguars >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Bobby
McCray signed his tender offer with the team on Wednesday.
McCray posted a career-high 10 sacks to lead Jacksonville this past season.
The 25-year-old started
Pletcher has two in Stephen Foster Handicap >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belmont Stakes winning trainer Todd Pletcher
has the expected morning-line favorite for Saturday's $750,000 Stephen Foster
Handicap at Churchill Downs. Master Command, undefeated this year, is the
probabl
Rowand haunts old team with grand slam as Phils sweep ChiSox >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In Jim Thome's return to Philadelphia, it
was the player for whom he was traded who stole the show, as Aaron Rowand
smacked a grand slam in the seventh inning for the Philadelphia Phillies, who
downed
Blue Jays designate C Fasano for assignment >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays designated
catcher Sal Fasano for assignment on Wednesday.
Fasano hit just .178 with a home run and four RBI in 16 games for the Blue
Jays this season.
Toronto also
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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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 .
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