Advocaat set to take charge of Russia

Soccer Betting Lines

05/17/2010 - Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dick Advocaat is set to be announced as the new coach of Russia, it was confirmed on Monday.

Advocaat surprisingly resigned as Belgium coach last month after he spent just six months on the job, but now he is set to replace Guus Hiddink as Russia's top man.

The 62-year-old Advocaat had two stints in charge of the Dutch national team while also coaching the United Arab Emirates and South Korea.

On the club level, Advocaat has enjoyed spells at Rangers and PSV Eindhoven, in addition to spending three years in Russia with Zenit St Petersburg.

Hiddink helped guide Russia to the semifinals of Euro 2008, but his team failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup in South Africa as they lost a playoff to Slovenia.

Wwwthriveonline Soccer Betting News

<< Texas A&M basketball signee dies
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas A&M men's basketball recruit Tobi Oyedeji died from injuries he sustained in a car accident. The 6-foot-9 power forward from Houston was set to play for the Aggies next season. "The wor

<< Milito signs Barca extension
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2012, it was announced on Monday. The 29-year-old Milito also has an option for an

<< Caps sign 2009 first-round pick
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals have signed center Marcus Johansson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Johansson was selected by Washington with the 24th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The 19

<< Manzano seeks clarification from UEFA
Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mallorca coach Gregorio Manzano has urged UEFA to respect what happens on the pitch following suggestions that his side may be denied entry into European competition next season. Mallorca have qualified

<< Redskins sign veteran DL Holliday
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have signed veteran defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday. Holliday has 12 years of NFL service, most recently suiting up for the Denver Broncos in 2009 when he accumulated five sac

Pak rises to No. 22 in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Se Ri Pak won the rain-shortened Bell Micro LPGA Classic in a playoff Sunday and vaulted 26 places to No. 22 in the world rankings for women's golf. Pak outlasted Brittany Lincicome and Suzann Pe

This Week in Golf - May 20th through May 23rd >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas, Irving, Texas - Rory Sabbatini won last year's Byron Nelson Championship for his first PGA Tour title since another Texas t

Diamondbacks acquire RHP Rivera from Indians >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired relief pitcher Saul Rivera from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations. Rivera will be added to the major-league roster. To make room

Simon withdraws from Roland Garros >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French favorite Gilles Simon will not play in the 2010 French Open. The world No. 32 Simon, who reached the third round at the French last year, said he is not in shape since returning from a knee injury

T'Wolves name Ronzone assistant GM >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Monday the hiring of Tony Ronzone as assistant general manager and director of player personnel. Ronzone spent the last nine years in the Detroit Pistons organiza

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.