Barca's Xavi would not want Ronaldo
Soccer Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona midfielder Xavi has blasted incoming Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo, saying there would be no room for him at the Camp Nou.
Ronaldo is set to complete a world record $132 million move to Real from Manchester United this week, but Xavi believes that Barcelona are better off without him, describing the Portuguese winger as "uncontrollable."
"We have won more titles than we expected and, because we have done so well, we have been rewarded with three more competitions and that makes us very excited," the Spain international told Sport.
"We have a lot of desire to continue winning. This group has a strong mentality and why shouldn't we dream about winning the treble again? I already said it last year and we managed to obtain it.
"As for Ronaldo, I wouldn't want him here. At Barca, we do not have room for players who fill gossip magazines. We are hard workers and sportsmen but he, on the other hand, is uncontrollable."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A second opinion on the injured knee of New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran reportedly remains a bone bruise. Beltran visited noted surgeon Dr. Richard Steadman in Colorado on Monday and the New
<< Bayern will not sell Ribery
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - General Manager Uli Hoeness has reiterated
Bayern Munich's stance on Franck Ribery, insisting the German giants won't sell
the French ace.
The 26-year-old winger is the subject of speculation across
<< CFL Previews - Week One - July 1-3
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (0-0) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (0-0)
DATE & TIME: Wednesday, July 1, 7:00 p.m. (et)
GAME NOTES: The 2009 Canadian Football League season kicks off Wednesday
evening, as the H
<< Chelsea closing in on Zhirkov
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reports suggest Chelsea is on the verge of
sealing an $30 million deal to acquire CSKA Moscow winger Yuri Zhirkov.
Sportsmail is reporting that Blues owner Roman Abramovich has agreed a deal
with CSK
<< Brazilian Melo extends deal with Fiorentina
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo has pledged
his immediate future to Fiorentina by signing a one-year contract extension
which ties him to La Viola until the summer of 2013.
The 25-year-old has been li
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked Dinara Safina, two-time champion Serena Williams and five-time titlist Venus Williams were quarterfinal winners Tuesday at Wimbledon. Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva also won on Tuesday, a
Jeter still leads AL All-Star balloting >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter
remained the overall leader among American League players in fan balloting for
the 2009 All-Star Game.
Jeter, who surpassed Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan L
Blues extend qualifying offers to Crombeen, five others >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have extended qualifying
offers to six players, including forward B.J. Crombeen.
Crombeen, claimed off waivers by St. Louis from Dallas last November, played
in 81 games last season, h
Pistons fire Curry >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Pistons president of basketball
operations Joe Dumars did an about face Tuesday and fired head coach Michael
Curry.
"This was a difficult decision to make," Dumars said in a statement releas
Finley to play next season for Spurs >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs announced on Tuesday
that guard/forward Michael Finley stated he will return to the team for the
2009-10 season.
Last season with San Antonio, he appeared in 81 games and averaged
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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