02/04/2012 -
Vina del Mar, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Monaco and Carlos Berlocq were
both semifinal winners on Saturday at the VTR Open tennis event.
Top-seeded Argentine Monaco had little trouble in a 6-1, 6-4 win over
Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Monaco has won three career finals, but all of them came in 2007. He will be
appearing in his 11th title match and first since Valencia in 2011.
Seventh-seeded Argentine Berlocq took down his countryman and second-seeded
Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 on the clay court.
Berlocq will be appearing in a singles final for the first time in his ATP
career.
However, Berlocq will need to defeat Monaco for the first time in his career
as his compatriot has taken the three prior matches.
The 2012 Vina del Mar champion will collect $71,900.
<< Magic's Richardson ejected vs. Pacers
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Orlando Magic forward Quentin Richardson
was ejected from Saturday's game at Indiana following an altercation in the
third quarter.
Richardson came face-to-face with, and then shoved Pacers forw
<< Patriots release WR Underwood
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots released wide
receiver Tiquan Underwood on Saturday, while elevating defensive end Alex
Silvestro from the practice squad to the 53-man active roster.
The moves came on
<< Pistons rookie Knight breaks nose
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Pistons rookie guard Brandon
Knight left Saturday night's contest with the New Orleans Hornets after
breaking his nose.
Knight appeared to suffer the injury after catching an elbow
<< Detroit QB Stafford named Comeback Player of the Year
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford was
named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Saturday, as voted by the
Associated Press.
Stafford, who threw for a career-high 5,038 yards and 41 touchdow
<< Ravens center Matt Birk named Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk was
honored as the 2011 NFL Man of the Year on Saturday. The award recognizes a
player's off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence.
"I am
Dolson helps UConn dominate Rutgers >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stefanie Dolson had 16 points to lift No. 3
Connecticut to a 66-34 win over 13th-ranked Rutgers on Saturday.
Tiffany Hayes scored 14 points with seven assists for the Huskies (21-2, 9-1
Big East), who won
Oladipo helps Indiana past Purdue >>
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victor Oladipo set a career-high with 23
points to go with eight rebounds as No. 20 Indiana held off Purdue for a 78-61
win at Mackey Arena on Saturday.
The Hoosiers got impressive efforts from freshme
Vucevic leads balanced attack as Sixers drop Hawks >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a career-high 15 points, Nikola Vucevic
was one of six 76ers to score in double figures as Philadelphia took down the
Atlanta Hawks, 98-87.
Spencer Hawes returned from a 10-game absence and netted
Skinner's goal lifts Carolina over Kings >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Skinner scored a tiebreaking goal early in
the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1,
on Saturday.
Skinner battled down low and banged home the rebound of a Jussi Joki
Magic take down Pacers in feisty affair >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard scored 27 points and the
Orlando Magic pushed their win streak to three games Saturday with an 85-81
victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers never led after 7-6, but they had s
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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