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<< 6 on the coaching hot seat
It might not be a wise choice for several NFL coaches to sit down this season. Their seats are going to be awfully hot.Winning records are advised for John Fox, Jack Del Rio, Eric Mangini, Tom Cable, Raheem Morris and Lovie Smith, or else their tenu

<< McNabb: Ankle not 100 percent, will start Sunday
WASHINGTON (AP) - Donovan McNabb says his sprained ankle won't keep him from starting for the Washington Redskins on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.McNabb told ESPN980 that his left ankle still isn't 100 percent after hurting it 2 1/2 weeks ago i

<< Boise State gains ground in AP Top 25
Boise State has gained seven first-place votes to close in on No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State as the top three in the first regular season Associated Press football poll.The Broncos remained third after a thrilling 33-30 victory against Virginia

<< White undergoes surgery on torn right Achilles
DENVER (AP) - Broncos tailback LenDale White has undergone surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles' tendon that will sideline him for the season.His uncle, Herman White, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the operation ``went as expected'

Bonus program announced for Black-Eyed Susan Stakes >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following on the heels of the establishment of 'Preakness 5.5', MI Developments (MID) announced Tuesday the creation of a similar program for the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The 1 1/8 mi

Jays still have a lot to play for >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pride, spoiler status, and individual accolades. That's about all the Toronto Blue Jays have left to play for in the 2010 season. With the Jays now equipped with a 40-man roster at their disposal, youngsters c

Roughriders trade OL Bates to Edmonton >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders on Tuesday sent offensive lineman Kelly Bates to the Edmonton Eskimos for an undisclosed 2014 draft pick. Bates came to the Roughriders as a free agent in February, but was pl

Lithuania tops China to reach FIBA quarters >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linas Kleiza poured in 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds, leading Lithuania to a 78-67 win over China and a berth in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Martynas Gecevicius add

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.