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Sister Act 4: Serena, Venus to meet in fourth Wimbledon final

Tennis Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Serena Williams and third- seeded Venus Williams will square off in Saturday's ladies' final at Wimbledon, where Venus topped Serena in last year's third all-Williams finale at the All England Club.

In one of the best women's matches played here in some time, the two-time champion Serena snuck past Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 8-6 on Thursday, while the other semifinal was one of the most-lopsided played here in a while, as the five-time titlist Venus destroyed world No. 1 Russian Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0 in a laughable 51 minutes.

Venus topped Serena 7-5, 6-4 in last year's final, as Venus nailed down a second straight and fifth overall Wimbledon title. Saturday will mark the fourth all-Williams Wimbledon final, with Serena holding a 2-1 edge thus far.

This marked the first time since 2006 that all four top-seeded women reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam event. Serena and Venus are former world No. 1s, which means three of the four semifinalists have held the coveted top ranking.

In Thursday's first semi, Serena outlasted the fourth-seeded Dementieva in a three-set thriller. The reigning Australian Open and U.S. Open titlist Serena also topped Dementieva in a semifinal at the Aussie Open back in January.

Serena and Dementieva traded breaks in the first two games of the match on Day 10 and Serena appeared on the verge of another break in the eighth game with a 40-15 lead. Dementieva, however, dug out of the hole to hold serve and the set eventually went to a tiebreak on yet another hot, sunny day here.

A pair of Serena errors gave Dementieva the advantage in the tiebreak. The American ripped a forehand wide and netted another forehand on consecutive points to give the Russian a 6-3 edge. Dementieva quickly gave one back with a double fault and misfired on her next serve, but Serena blasted a forehand wide on the second serve to give Dementieva the opening set.

In an equally-as-tight second set, Dementieva eventually had opportunities to break Serena to knot the stanza at 6-all, especially on one particular point when the athletic Russian swatted a two-handed backhand out despite having a wide-open court. Serena would wind up with a hold to force a deciding third set.

In the dramatic final set, Dementieva appeared to assume some control when Serena double-faulted and then netted a forehand to give the Russian a break and a 3-1 lead. But Dementieva was unable to consolidate the break, as her American counterpart broke right back and then held her serve to level the third at 3-3.

The two stars then stayed on serve over the next several games, trading monster forehands and backhands from the baselines. Following a Dementieva hold, the Russian got herself to a match point in the 10th game of the stanza, but a gutsy Serena staved it off by following up a net approach with a clutch backhand volley winner.

Serena wound up with a hold to make it 5-all, and three games later, the powerful American recorded a huge service break with a backhand winner for a 7-6 edge.

In the next game, Serena set-up her first match point with a forehand winner and converted on it when Dementieva misfired wide with one final backhand after 2 hours, 49 minutes of spectacular tennis on the famed Centre Court.

Serena launched 20 aces among her 45 winners, while Dementieva recorded 27 winners and had her serve broken five times. The two-time major runner-up from Russia settled for three breaks in the gut-wrenching setback.

The 27-year-old Dementieva reached the French and U.S. Open finals in 2004 and won the gold medal in Beijing last year. She has lost in the Wimbledon semis the last two years, with last year's setback coming against the Wimbledon queen Venus.

The 10-time major champion Serena will now appear in her 14th career Grand Slam final (10-3). She captured Wimbledon titles in 2002 and 2003 by beating her big sister in finals and was the runner-up here in 2004 and last year.

The 27-year-old Serena owns 33 career singles titles, including this year's Aussie Open crown.

Meanwhile, Venus crushed a helpless Safina by breaking the Russian's weak serve five times in six tries. The American great also tallied 16 winners, including fives aces, compared to only six winners for a stunned Safina. And while Safina was piling up 16 unforced errors, Venus committed only one in 13 games.

The 23-year-old Safina came here having reached three of the last five major finals. She was upset by fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in last month's French Open finale and dismantled by Serena in January's Aussie Open title tilt.

Venus, who hasn't lost on Centre Court since 2004, has won 35 straight sets at the world's most prestigious tennis event. The tall American is now 68-9 all- time on grass overall, including 64-7 at Wimbledon.

The 29-year-old seven-time major champion Venus, like Serena, will also appear in her 14th Grand Slam final (7-6), including her eighth at the All England Club (5-2). She owns 41 career titles, including ones in Acapulco and Dubai this season.

The mighty Williams sisters have combined for seven of the last nine Wimbledon titles.

Serena and Venus will meet for a 21st time, as the superstar siblings have split their first 20 matchups. Serena is 4-3 when they've met in Grand Slam finals.


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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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