Almagro, Nalbandian reach quarters in Brazil

Tennis Betting Lines

02/16/2012 - Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro secured a berth in the quarterfinals at the $475,300 Brasil Open.

Almagro fought his way past Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 at this clay-court event. The Spanish Almagro, who also won this event in 2008, captured his second Brasil Open title last year by besting Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final in Costa do Sauipe.

Up next for the world No. 11 Almagro will be fifth-seeded Argentine Carlos Berlocq, a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 come-from-behind winner against Italian Potito Starace on Thursday.

Second-seeded Gilles Simon would not enjoy such a fortuitous fate. The Frenchman was bested by Argentine former world No. 3 David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-2. Nalbandian faced five break points but saved each of them, while converting four of seven opportunities offered by Simon.

Third-seeded Fernando Verdasco fought off wild card and fellow Spaniard Javier Marti 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 7-5. The left-handed Verdasco will face another compatriot on Friday, Albert Ramos.

An eighth-seeded Ramos needed a pair of tiebreaks to get past Russian qualifier Igor Andreev 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), while Italian Filippo Volandri edged out Spanish qualifier Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Argentine Leonardo Mayer rounded out Thursday's action, defeating Jeremy Chardy 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

The 2012 Brasil Open champion will collect $85,800.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

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