Clijsters set to meet Sharapova in Cincy final

Tennis Betting Lines

08/14/2010 - Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim Clijsters eased into the final of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open on Saturday when Ana Ivanovic was forced to retire after completing just three games of their semifinal match.

The fourth-seeded Clijsters was ahead 2-1 in the first set when Ivanovic called it quits because of a left foot injury.

Ivanovic appeared to injure herself while returning a shot. After receiving treatment, she tried to continue but played just two more points before conceding.

Clijsters will try for her third title of 2010 on Sunday against 10th-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova, who outlasted fellow countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the night session.

The Belgian star captured her second U.S. Open crown last summer in her return to competitive tennis after a more than two-year absence to start a family, and this year claimed the titles at the season-opener in Brisbane and in Miami.

This is Clijsters' first tournament since a quarterfinal loss to Vera Zvonareva at Wimbledon. She sat out most of the clay-court season and missed the French Open during the spring because of a left foot injury.

On Sunday, Clijsters will try for her 38th career WTA singles crown.

Sharapova waited out a power failure in the second set of her match to improve to 5-0 in semifinal matches this year. She holds a 2-2 record in title matches this season.

The 23-year-old Sharapova will go for her 23rd career title on Sunday.

Clijsters and Sharapova will be meeting for the eighth time. Clijsters owns a 4-3 record in the series, but Sharapova has won the last three in a battle between these two former top-ranked players. However, the two stars have not met since the semifinals of the 2007 Australian Open.

This week's champ will take home $350,000.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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