Lopez out, Gasquet moves on at Rotterdam

Tennis Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Feliciano Lopez was a first-round loser, while fifth-seeded Richard Gasquet moved on Monday at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

Lopez suffered a 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 defeat at the hands of French qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu, who is coming off of a knee injury which kept him out of play last season. Lopez fell to 3-5 all-time against Mathieu.

France's Gasquet defeated Italian Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 in the first- ever meeting between the two, while sixth-seeded Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov was surprised by Poland's Lukasz Kubot, who rallied for a 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2 win.

Also a winner Monday was Dutchman Jesse Huta Galung, who got past veteran Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Ljubicic was a runner-up at this event in 2005 and '07.

Wwwthehuddle Tennis Betting News

<< Bulls' Rose has no structural damage in back
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bulls guard Derrick Rose has no structural damage in his back, according to the results of an MRI performed Monday. A team spokesman said the reigning NBA MVP, who has missed two straight games with a sor

<< Bears LB Thomas arrested for marijuana possession
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bears linebacker J.T. Thomas was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana after he was pulled over early Monday morning going the wrong way on a one-way street. Thomas w

<< Hobbled Comrie finally retires
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Comrie, who hasn't played in the NHL yet this season due to multiple hip surgeries, retired on Monday. Comrie's agent. Ritch Winter, made the announcement earlier in the day on his Twitter account.

<< Bryant to play six home games in 2012
Smithfield, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryant University football will play six home games as part of its first season of FCS playoff eligibility, Bulldogs head coach Marty Fine said Monday. Bryant has posted a combined 26-18 record in first four

<< Johansson loses in first round at Bogota
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Mathilde Johansson was a first-round loser at the XX Copa BBVA Colsanitas on Monday. Johansson fell to Russia's Valeria Savinykh 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-5 on the red clay at the Centro d

Flyers C Rinaldo suspended two games >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League suspended Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo for two games without pay on Monday. Rinaldo was given the ban for an illegal check on Red Wings defenseman Jonath

Harvard wins Beanpot consolation game >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Greiner notched the game-winner late in the third period as Harvard topped Northeastern, 3-2, in the Beanpot consolation contest on Monday evening at TD Garden. Alex Killorn and Alex Fallstrom also tal

Blue Jays ink P Janssen to 2-year deal >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays signed pitcher Casey Janssen to a two-year contract on Monday. The deal, which is worth $5.9 million, includes a $4 million club option for the 2014 season. Janssen, 30, appeare

Mountain West, C-USA to form new conference >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A new superconference consisting of the remaining members of the Mountain West Conference and Conference-USA, plus others, will be formed in time for the 2013-14 academic year. The MWC and C-USA h

Former 49ers, Dolphins WR Solomon dies >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddie Solomon, a wide receiver and punt returner for the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers in the 1970s and 80s, has died. Solomon, 59, died Monday, the 49ers said in a statement. He had been bat

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.