Pennetta, hot Rezai, Errani move on in Palermo

Tennis Betting Lines

07/13/2010 - Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Italian favorite Flavia Pennetta, last week's Bastad champion Aravane Rezai and 2009 Palermo runner-up Sara Errani of the host nation posted first-round victories Tuesday at the $220,000 Palermo International tennis tournament.

The reigning Palermo champion Pennetta leveled German Kathrin Woerle 6-3, 6-1, while the second-seeded Rezai won her sixth straight match by outlasting Romania's Simona Halep 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 on the red clay at Country Time Club. The French Rezai is fresh off a clay-court championship in Sweden.

Up next for Pennetta will be Czech Renata Voracova, while Rezai will take on Colombian Mariana Duque Marino.

Pennetta beat Errani in last year's all-Italian finale here and was the Palermo runner-up back in 2004.

A third-seeded Errani, meanwhile, blew past Ukrainian Mariya Koryttseva 6-2, 6-3. Errani has reached the last two finals here, titling in 2008 and losing to Pennetta in last year's title tilt.

Errani's second-round opponent will be Croatian qualifier Mirjana Lucic.

A mild Day-2 upset came when Slovenian Masa Zec Peskiric took out seventh- seeded Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja 7-5, 6-3.

Two other seeds avoided upsets, as No. 8 Julia Goerges of Germany grounded Italian qualifier Martina Caregaro 6-3, 6-2 and No. 9 Italian Alberta Brianti topped Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus 7-6 (7-0), 6-2. Brianti became a seed this week when No. 6 Chinese Peng Shuai pulled out of the field, citing an ankle injury.

Other Day-2 wins came for the aforementioned Voracova and Lucic, Italians Corinna Dentoni, a qualifier here, and Romina Oprandi, a wild card, Spanish qualifier Nuria Llagostera Vives, and Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru. Dentoni leveled fellow Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 6-3.

Wwpogo Tennis Betting News

<< MLS announces First XI for All-Star Game
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States star Landon Donovan highlighted a list of four Los Angeles Galaxy players named to Major League Soccer's All- Star First XI on Tuesday. L.A.'s Edson Buddle, Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts

<< George Steinbrenner's best chance in Kentucky Derby
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday the sports world lost one of its most recognizable figures when a heart attack claimed the life of George Steinbrenner. The owner of the New York Yankees passed away at the age of 80. While best kn

<< Celtic's Boruc set to join Fiorentina
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic has agreed to sell goalkeeper Artur Boruc to Italian side Fiorentina. The 30-year-old Poland international made more than 150 appearances since arriving from Legia Warsaw in 2005 but

<< Tottenham's Bentley suffers injury setback
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Midfielder David Bentley will miss Tottenham Hotspur's preseason tour to the United States with ankle ligament damage. Bentley limped out of Saturday's friendly against Bournemouth after land

<< Ilgauskas follows LeBron to Miami
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has apparently decided to join former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James in Miami. The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported Tuesday afternoon that Ilgauskas will sign with the Hea

Carr to retire from Michigan athletic department >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Michigan head football coach and current associate athletic director Lloyd Carr will retire from the school's athletic department in September. Carr will officially retire September 1, endin

Sydor calls its a career >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defenseman Darryl Sydor announced his retirement Tuesday after 18 seasons in the NHL. Sydor, 38, played in 47 games for the Blues last season, posting eight assists. "I've known Darryl fo

Judge sets Aug 4 auction of Texas Rangers >>
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -A federal bankruptcy judge has decided that the Texas Rangers will be auctioned off after all.U.S. Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn set the date for Aug. 4.Major League Baseball endorsed its preferred buyer - a group led by t

Bobcats trade Chandler to Mavericks in five-player deal >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats traded center Tyson Chandler to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday in a five-player trade. Along with Chandler, the Mavericks acquired center Alexis Ajinca, while the Bobcats receiv

Spurs re-sign Bonner >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs re-signed center/forward Matt Bonner on Tuesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bonner just finished his sixth season in the NBA and fourth with Sa

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.