Montanes takes Stuttgart crown

Tennis Betting Lines

07/18/2010 - Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Alberto Montanes won the Mercedes Cup on Sunday when Gael Monfils of France retired in the second set of the final because of an ankle injury.

Montanes earned a 6-2, 1-2 triumph for his second title of 2010 and his fifth career ATP singles crown. He also won in Estoril in May, beating Roger Federer in the semifinals on the way to the championship.

The fifth-seeded Spaniard breezed through the opening set Sunday in a mere 33 minutes, and Monfils appeared to turn his ankle in the last game. After the trainer taped up the ankle, Monfils took the court for the second set, but decided to call it quits after the third game despite a 2-1 edge.

This was just the second meeting between the two and the second victory for Montanes, who also prevailed in a three-setter back in September 2005 in Bucharest.

Montanes became the sixth different Spaniard to win this tournament and first since Rafael Nadal did it for a second time in 2007. Nadal also won it in 2005. David Ferrer (2006), Alex Corretja (1997), Alberto Berasategui (1994) and Jose Higueras (1983) are the others.

Monfils was appearing in his first final of 2010 and was gunning for his third career ATP singles crown. He fell to 2-8 all-time in title matches.

Breeederscup Tennis Betting News

<< Woods, Mickelson finish well back at St. Andrews
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two players in the world were unable to make a charge Sunday at the British Open. Tiger Woods, a three-time Open champion, could only muster an even-par 72 in the final round Sunday. He fini

<< Indians recall Gomez to make ML debut on Sunday
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians recalled pitcher Jeanmar Gomez from Triple-A Columbus on Sunday to make his major league debut in a spot start against the Detroit Tigers. Gomez, who pitched a perfect game l

<< Marlins designate Lamb, recall OF Petersen
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins designated veteran infielder Mike Lamb for assignment on Sunday. The team will have 10 days to trade, waive or release Lamb. If he clears waivers, he can be outrighted to the minor leag

<< Oosthuizen four ahead at the turn
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South African Louis Oosthuizen rolled in an eagle putt on the ninth hole Sunday to take a four-stroke lead to the back nine in the final round of the British Open Championship. Oosthuizen, who is

<< Almagro denies Soderling in Sweden
Bastad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Nicolas Almagro denied Robin Soderling a second straight title in his native country with a three-set win in Sunday's final of the Swedish Open. Almagro earned a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory ove

Burnett apologizes to Yankees for outburst >>
NEW YORK (AP) -A.J. Burnett says he has apologized to his New York Yankees teammates for a clubhouse fit that left him with cuts on both hands.Sporting a bandage on each palm, Burnett said he had no trouble playing long toss Sunday and the laceratio

Oosthuizen cruises to first major title >>
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There was little drama Sunday at the British Open Championship. Louis Oosthuizen eagled the ninth and after a birdie on the 12th, he was eight strokes clear of the field. The South African cruise

Toronto activates Marcum to make Sunday start >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays activated pitcher Shaun Marcum from the 15-day disabled list. Marcum went on the DL July 2 with inflammation in his throwing elbow. The right-hander started Sunday's game agai

Yankees' Pettitte leaves game with strained groin >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Andy Pettitte has left the New York Yankees' game against Tampa Bay in the third inning because of a strained left groin.Making his first start since pitching in the All-Star game Tuesday night, the 38-year-old left-hander never appea

Heat agree to bring back James Jones >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat have reportedly agreed to bring back forward James Jones at the veteran's minimum. Miami requested waivers on the seven-year veteran in June, buying out the final three years of his previou

NFL Football Office Pools : NFL Football Contests

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules

Welcome to our free football office pool page. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

Football Pickem Pools: Your basic office pool format, where you pick the winner of each game, either against the spread or straight up. Spice up your pool by using confidence ranks, key picks, and other options. Pick 5 pools available. You can print NFL Football Office Pools here. Custom ranks available. Custom point spreads. Use Pro and/or College games, even D1AA games can be included. Many many other options.

Football Survivor Pools: Also known as Knockout, Suicide, Eliminator, Survival and Loser pools. Pick one team each week. If they win you advance to the next round. If they lose, you're out. The catch: You can only pick a team once. Many options like Pick a Team Only [Once,Twice,Unlimited], [1,2,3,4,5] Strikes and You're Out, Double Picks, Bye Weeks, Alias Entries and more. Very easy to set up and manage.

Football Share Pools: Pick college and/or pro football game winners using Vegas odds in our own unique Share Pool format. Accumulate points by picking pointspread and over/under winners. Risk as many points as you want on any game. The person with the most points (shares) at the end wins. Perfect for the Playoffs and Bowl Seasons.

Fantasy Football Pools: Fantasy football pool managers love our easy to use interface and custom settings. Points and head to head leagues, custom points, offline drafts, live scoring, waiver wire, trades and more. Live customer service by email or phone. $50 flat fee.

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

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

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