Eagles' Sheppard and Lewis questionable for Falcons game

Football Betting Lines

12/27/2006 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard and strong safety Michael Lewis are both listed as questionable for Philadelphia's game against Atlanta this Sunday.

Sheppard, who recorded three tackles and a key interception in the Eagles' impressive 23-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas night, is suffering from a back injury and missed Wednesday's practice.

Lewis, who lost the starting strong safety job to second-year player Sean Considine earlier this season, was inactive for the Dallas game and is battling a lingering knee injury.

Also listed as questionable on the team's injury report are cornerback William James (calf) and linebacker Dedrick Roper (knee).

Wwpogo Football Betting News

<< Vikings place Smoot on IR following car accident
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Vikings cornerback Fred Smoot was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, five days after being involved in a single-car accident in his home state of Mississippi. Vikings head coach Brad Chi

<< Buffalo extends Lindell
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo placekicker Rian Lindell signed a contract extension that will keep him with the Bills though the 2011 season. Since joining the Bills before the 2003 campaign, Lindell has connected on 83 percen

<< Braham set to call it quits
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Bengals center Rich Braham is apparently ready to call it a career. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis made the announcement at his Wednesday news conference. Braham suffered a knee injur

<< Angels' Rivera has surgery for broken leg
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Juan Rivera underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a broken left leg. Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Michael Abrahams inserted a rod into Rivera's left tibia and screws

<< Jackson, Kampman and Gould earn NFC's weekly awards
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson, Green Bay Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman and Chicago kicker Robbie Gould have been selected as the NFC's top players for Week 16 of the season. Jackson ear

Colts' Freeney listed as questionable >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney is listed as questionable for Sunday's regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins with a shoulder injury. Freeney, the Colts' career sack leade

Giants' Seubert doubtful; Shockey questionable for Saturday >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guard Rich Seubert is doubtful and tight end Jeremy Shockey questionable for the Giants' Week 17 game at division-rival Washington on Saturday night. Seubert is nursing a shin problem,

Bucs ink QB Simms >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms signed a multi-year contract with the team on Wednesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Simms, who has missed the majority of the season

Jaguars' S Grant listed as doubtful >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville Jaguars safety Deon Grant is listed as doubtful on the team's injury report for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Grant, who left last Sunday's 24-21 loss to the New Engl

Panthers' Delhomme questionable >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme is listed as questionable on Wednesday's injury report due to the same sprained right thumb that has forced him to miss the past three games. Delhomme, w

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.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Sheets

NFL Office Pool Sheets

MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. 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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.