10/23/2008 - Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded former champion Andy Roddick and Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moved into the quarterfinals, while second-seeded former titlist Richard Gasquet was among Thursday's second-round losers at the Lyon Tennis Grand Prix.
The former top-ranked 2005 Lyon champion Roddick snuck past fellow American Robby Ginepri 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), while the 2006 titlist Gasquet succumbed to tough Belgian Steve Darcis 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) on the indoor carpet at Palais des Sports Lyon Gerland. Roddick fired 26 aces past Ginepri.
A third-seeded Tsonga outlasted fellow Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to setup a quarterfinal against former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. The 35-year-old Santoro titled here 11 years ago. The Spanish Ferrero erased eighth-seeded French crowd favorite Paul-Henri Mathieu, the 2002 Lyon champ, 6-4, 6-1.
Meanwhile, last week's Madrid Masters runner-up Gilles Simon, of France, held off Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-4. The fourth-seeded Simon is quietly up to No. 10 in the world after losing to Brit Andy Murray in this past Sunday's title bout in Madrid.
Another former Lyon titlist prevailed here on Day 4, as seventh-seeded Swede Robin Soderling subdued Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus 6-1, 6-2. Soderling titled here in 2004.
Friday's other quarterfinals will pit Roddick against his fellow former Lyon champion Soderling, Simon versus fellow Frenchman Josselin Ouanna and France's Julien Benneteau against Darcis.
French players will account for half of the quarterfinalists on Day 5.
<< Report: Daunte Culpepper un-retires
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daunte Culpepper announced the end of his
short-lived retirement on Thursday via e-mail.
In a report on NFL.com, the nine-year veteran wrote, "Now that there are some
real opportunities that match my des
<< Patriots' Morris misses practice again
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots running back Sammy Morris
did not practice with the team on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Morris, who also sat out Wednesday's practice, injured his
knee during New England's 41-7 victo
<< Federer tops Nieminen in Basel, again
Basel, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a rematch of last year's final,
hometown hero Roger Federer bested Finn Jarkko Nieminen to reach the
quarterfinals at the $1.2 million Swiss Indoors Basel.
The top-seeded/former world
<< Rams RB Jackson misses second practice with thigh injury
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson
missed practice on Thursday with a thigh injury.
Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett on Monday termed the injury a strain, and
said he did not expect Jackson
Friday News and Notes on the Breeders' Cup Classic >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casino Drive (Tr: Kazuo Fujisawa; ex. rider:
Naruhito Kasai ) - Casino Drive, the unbeaten 3yo colt from Japan, jogged 3f
on Hollywood Park's Cushion Track under assistant trainer Naruhito Kasai
before
Thursday News and Notes on the Breeders' Cup Classic >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casino Drive (Tr: Kazuo Fujisawa; ex. rider:
Naruhito Kasai ) - Casino Drive, the unbeaten 3yo colt from Japan, jogged 3f
on Hollywood Park's Cushion Track under assistant trainer Naruhito Kasai
before
Ivanovic lands in Linz quarters >>
Linz, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic was among
Thursday's second-round winners at the $600,000 Generali Ladies Linz
tennis event.
The top-seeded Ivanovic handled Austrian crowd favorite Sybille Bammer 6-4,
6-
Newcastle's Beye has one-game ban lifted >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle United defender Habib Beye is
available to face Sunderland in Saturday's Wear-Tyne derby after winning an
appeal for wrongful dismissal Thursday.
Beye was shown a straight red card during
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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