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08/01/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Believe it or not, Russian Anna Chakvetadze is all the way up to a career-high No. 6 in the women's tennis rankings, currently ahead of the likes of former world No. 1 stars Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams.
The 20-year-old Chakvetadze (pronounced chuk-veh-TAHD-zeh) is perhaps the quietest Top-10 performer of any sport in the world. She opened the year ranked 13th on the planet and has steadily been climbing the tennis ladder over the past few campaigns.
The solid all-around star has her career WTA titles up to six, including an eye-catching four already this season. Her first two titles came last year, back-to-back, including a special one at the Tier I Kremlin Cup in her native Moscow. Only world No. 1 Justine Henin (5) has won more titles than Chakvetadze in 2007. The Russian also currently leads the US Open Series standings, thanks to her hardcourt title in Stanford last week. The championship at the Bank of the West Classic marked her second title in eight days, as she also ran the table at a hardcourt event in Cincinnati a week earlier.
FYI, the US Open Series links 10 summer events to the US Open, creating a cohesive, six-week summer tennis season for the WTA and ATP professional tournaments in North America. It runs for six weeks and culminates with the US Open.
Interesting?
Probably not.
So let's get back to Chakvetadze.
Granted, she didn't exactly beat any juggernauts en route to her titles in Cincy or Stanford, but she certainly seems to win the matches that she's supposed to win.
The 5-foot-7 star is a solid 46-11 this season, including trips to the quarterfinals at both the Aussie and French Opens. Unfortunately, she came up a third-round loser at Wimbledon.
The rising Russian started to make her Grand Slam mark by reaching the fourth round at last year's US Open, and she's never lost before the third round in her three trips to New York City.
Chakvetadze is a career combined 24-12 at the four majors, starting with her first US Open appearance as a 17-year-old qualifier in 2004. She stunned her at-the-time world No. 3 fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina in the second round at that particular major fortnight.
The 128-pound Chakvetadze joined the professional ranks in 2003, a year in which she finished at No. 373 in the world. She shot up to No. 84 by the end of 2004, and was well on her way with a No. 33 finish in '05.
FYI, Chakvetadze reached the Wimbledon junior finale in '03.
Chakvetadze also helped Russia beat the host United States 3-2 in a Fed Cup semifinal in Stowe, Vermont last month and her Russian squad will now meet reigning champion Italy in the 2007 Fed Cup World Group final in mid- September.
The Muscovite took her career prize money over the $1 million mark back in January, and she's already earned more than $728,000 this season. She opened her '07 campaign by titling in Hobart and has basically been winning matches ever since, as evidenced by the aforementioned record.
She's reached at least the quarterfinals in 10 of her 14 events so far this season; has advanced to six semifinals; and is an impressive 4-0 in four finals for the year. As a matter of fact, Chakvetadze has yet to lose in six career title bouts.
Impressive.
Chakvetadze is currently the third-best Russian on the tour, behind reigning US Open champion Maria Sharapova and 2004 US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, but with the continued progress, she may be heading even higher. She succumbed to the two-time major titlist Sharapova in this year's Aussie and French Open quarters.
The determined Chakvetadze has yet to beat her fellow 20-year-old Sharapova in four career matchups, and she's 0-2 lifetime versus Kuznetsova. That's a combined 0-6 against the cream of the Russian crop.
But, if Chakvetadze's self-proclaimed goal is "to be Top 5," then I'd say she's in pretty good shape to accomplish that. Her biggest obstacle could be herself, however, as the often emotional star is prone to lapses of concentration during the biggest points.
The talented Russian is seeded third at this week's Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego. The top seeds there are Sharapova and Serbian star Jelena Jankovic.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries are forcing Philadelphia to alter things a bit in
their lineup. It didn't produce a win on Tuesday, so the Phillies will try to
get back on track tonight against the Chicago Cubs in the third contest of a
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yesterday and then went on to defeat the Houston Astros in the opener of a
three-game series. The two clubs will continue the set this evening at Turner
Fiel
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals shoot for season-best five straight
wins when they continue a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates
tonight at PNC Park.
St. Louis posted its fourth consecutive victory with Tuesday
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aging right-hander Steve Trachsel looks for his first win
since June 8 tonight when the Baltimore Orioles visit Fenway Park for the
second of three games with their American League East Division rivals, the
Boston Red Sox.
Blue Jays, Devil Rays set for rubber match in Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Towers takes the hill for the first time since
ripping his team and coaching staff when the Toronto Blue Jays play the rubber
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Field.
Towers
Rangers have new look as they continue series with Indians >>
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victory over the playoff-hopeful Cleveland Indians when the two teams resume a
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Detroit concludes road trip, series in Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers wrap up what has been a long and
challenging road trip when the current American League Central leaders finish
off a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics this afternoon at McAfee
Coliseum.
Afte
Mariners get one last chance to close gap with Angels >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two best clubs in the American League West close out a
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The Angels enter
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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