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03/03/2009 - Signed running back Derrick Ward.

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<< Suns' Nash returns after missing three games
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash returned to the court on Tuesday vs. the Orlando Magic after missing three games with a sprained left ankle. The Suns went 2-1 without Nash during the stretch. The two

<< Nuggets sign G Hart for remainder of season
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets signed guard Jason Hart for the remainder of the season on Tuesday. Hart was waived on February 27 by the Los Angeles Clippers after averaging 11.1 minutes in 28 games this season. He po

<< Bucks' Redd has successful surgery
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Bucks sharpshooter Michael Redd had successful knee surgery Tuesday to repair a season-ending injury he suffered in a January 24 game against Sacramento. In the game, a 106-104 win for

<< Falcons re-sign nine players
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have re-signed tight end Justin Peelle, linebackers Coy Wire and Tony Gilbert, defensive tackle Jason Jefferson, offensive lineman Ben Wilkerson and safety Jamaal Fudge,

<< This Week in Auto Racing March 6 - 8
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two weeks on the West Coast, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns east to one of the fastest tracks on the circuit, Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series kicks off the Atlanta

Berenson, Michigan agree to extension >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Michigan signed fabled hockey head coach Gordon "Red" Berenson to a one-year contract extension through the 2009-10 campaign, athletic director Bill Martin announced Tuesday. Bere

Report: Oakland, Garciaparra near deal >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics are reportedly close to signing infielder Nomar Garciaparra to a one-year contract. A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed to MLB.com on Tuesday the two parties are in the

Coast Guard calls off search for missing boaters >>
Clearwater, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Coast Guard held a news conference Tuesday afternoon to announce they have suspended the search for three missing boaters, including Oakland Raiders linebacker Victor

Columbus forward Chimera out for remainder of regular season >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jason Chimera, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair his injured groin. Chimera is expected to be sidelined for the rem

Broncos: Cutler will not be traded >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos released a statement Tuesday saying quarterback Jay Cutler will remain with the team and will not be dealt, contrary to published reports. "The Denver Broncos are not trading Jay

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.

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