Djokovic, Murray, Hewitt reach fourth round Down Under

Tennis Betting Lines

01/21/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's champion Novak Djokovic and runner-up Andy Murray, as well as Aussie hero and former finalist Lleyton Hewitt, were among Saturday's third-round winners at the Australian Open.

The world No. 1 Djokovic rolled past helpless Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 on Day 6. The Serbian slugger advanced in a mere 74 minutes, piling up eight service breaks in the process and holding his serve throughout.

"I always played well in Australia. This is the only Grand Slam I won twice," Djokovic said. "The conditions are great. They're very suitable to my style of the game, day and night. I'm really looking forward to next week."

The reigning Aussie Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist has now won 35 of his last 37 Grand Slam matches and is seeking a third straight major title and a third Aussie crown. A title here would put Djokovic in select company, as only four players -- Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- have captured three straight Grand Slam championships in the Open era.

Djokovic, who beat Murray in last year's Aussie finale, will meet the former No. 1 Hewitt here on Monday.

A fourth-seeded Murray, meanwhile, improved to 15-2 in Melbourne over the last three years with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 throttling of French left-hander Michael Llodra. The Brit swatted 30 more winners (48-18) in the 1-hour, 49-minute rout on Day 6.

In addition to his loss against Djokovic in last year's finale, Murray gave way to Federer in the 2010 Aussie title tilt.

The three-time major finalist Murray, who captured a title in Brisbane two weeks ago, will face Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin in the fourth round next week.

The unseeded Hewitt thrilled the home crowd by upending rising 23rd-seeded Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

Hewitt moved on in 3 hours, 6 minutes, despite 23 aces from Raonic, who also piled up 54 unforced errors en route to defeat. The Aussie veteran managed three key service breaks, compared to two for the loser from Canada.

Raonic recently titled in India to open his 2012 season.

Hewitt is a two-time major champ and was the 2005 Aussie runner-up to retired Russian and fellow former world No. 1 Marat Safin.

Fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer took care of 27th-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 7-5, 6-2, 6-1, while France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the tournament's sixth seed, tattooed Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Tsonga lost to Djokovic in the 2008 Aussie finale.

Ferrer titled in Auckland last week, while Tsonga is fresh off his championship in Doha two weeks ago.

A top-10 upset came when sweet-swinging Frenchman Richard Gasquet, seeded 17th, dismissed No. 9 Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour, 37 minutes. A lethargic Tipsarevic exited after misfiring for 33 unforced errors, compared to only eight for an in-form Gasquet.

Gasquet should have his hands full with the gritty Ferrer on Monday.

In other third-round play, the aforementioned Kukushkin stunned 14th-seeded French star Gael Monfils 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, while 24th-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori bested France's Julien Benneteau 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. The capable Benneteau was a finalist in Sydney last week.

Nishikori will tangle with Tsonga in the round of 16.

The fourth round will commence Sunday, including matches for a second-seeded Nadal and third-seeded Federer. Nadal will take on 18th-seeded fellow Spaniard and Davis Cup teammate Feliciano Lopez, while Federer will encounter rising Aussie sensation, 19-year-old Bernard Tomic.

The former No. 1 Nadal owns 10 major titles, including last year's French Open and the 2009 Aussie, when he topped Federer in the final at Melbourne Park. The former top-ranked Federer boasts a men's record 16 Grand Slam titles, including a men's Open era record-tying four Aussie championships.

Also on Sunday, seventh-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych will meet 10th-seeded Nicolas Almagro and 11th-seeded former U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro will battle German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

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NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.

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.

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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

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