Bellucci bows out in Chile

Tennis Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - Vina del Mar, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Thomaz Bellucci was upset on Thursday as Federico Del Bonis of Argentina knocked off the 2010 VTR Open champion in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.

Del Bonis broke Bellucci four times from five opportunities and dropped serve just once to claim the win in one hour and 31 minutes

He moves on to face seventh-seeded countryman Carlos Berlocq, who defeated Diego Junqueira 6-1, 6-0 in 62 minutes.

Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Juan Ignacio Chela defeated Horacio Zeballos, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to advance to the quarterfinals. Chela will face Joao Souza of Brazil, who defeated local wild card Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

Also on Friday, top-seeded Juan Monaco will look to advance to the semifinals as he takes on fifth-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain. Monaco made it all the way to the finals in 2010 but was ousted by Bellucci in Santiago.

Frederico Gil will square off with Jeremy Chardy on Friday in the final quarterfinal matchup.

The 2012 Vina del Mar champion will collect $71,900.

Onlinesportdbook Tennis Betting News

<< Maryland routs Boston College
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Laurin Mincy and Brene Moseley netted 16 points apiece as No. 9 Maryland routed Boston College, 86-44. Alyssa Thomas added 14 points and eight rebounds for Maryland (19-3, 6-3 ACC), which snapped a two-g

<< Duke continues dominance over Wake Forest
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Haley Peters had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils beat Wake Forest for the 37th straight time in a 75-43 victory Thursday night. Elizabeth Williams added 16 points and nine boa

<< Palmer leads delayed Phoenix Open
Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Palmer fired a seven-under 65 Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead with the first round of the Phoenix Open suspended due to darkness. Palmer earned his third PGA Tour title at the 2010 Sony Open.

<< Padres agree to terms with P Owings
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Micah Owings on a one-year contract. "Micah will compete for a spot on our staff," said executive vice president/general manage

<< Magic's Howard to start All-Star Game in Orlando
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic was the leading vote-getter with 1,600,390 votes and will start for the Eastern Conference in front of his home crowd at Amway Center in this month's All-Star Game. The star

Gamecocks down Lady Vols for first time in 32 years >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Markeshia Grant had 27 points as South Carolina defeated No. 8 Tennessee for the first time since 1980 in a 64-60 victory. La'Keisha Sutton had 12 points and six rebounds for the Gamecocks (18-5,

Parise scores twice as Devils down Canadiens >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Parise scored his second goal of the game with 2:44 to play to give the New Jersey Devils a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. David Clarkson had two goals and an assist while Dainius Zubrus added

Rivers leads Duke over Virginia Tech >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Rivers scored 18 points to lead the way for No. 5 Duke as it defeated Virginia Tech 75-60 at Cassell Coliseum on Thursday. The Blue Devils (17-3, 5-1 ACC) got great efforts off th

Simmonds leads Flyers over Predators >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wayne Simmonds scored twice and Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves as Philadelphia came away with a 4-1 decision over Nashville on Thursday. Matt Read also tallied and Claude Giroux saw a lengthy

Gay leads Memphis past Atlanta >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay led all scorers with 21 points and added six rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies dominated the Atlanta Hawks, 96-77, at Philips Arena. The Grizzlies had five players in double figures includ

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.