Jankovic finished on top, while Williamses won some more majors

Tennis Betting Lines

11/11/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2008 WTA Tour season produced two different Serbian world No. 1s and some more major hardware for the mighty Williams sisters.

Both Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic reached the top of the women's tennis world, but it was Jankovic who finished as the year-end No. 1 for the first time in her career (despite having never won a major title).

The 23-year-old Belgrade native outdueled Serena Williams for the year-end top spot by piling up a co-tour-best 65 match wins (65-19), including four titles. She also landed in her first-ever Grand Slam final, only to lose to Serena at the U.S. Open.

Jankovic raked in over $3 million in 2008 and reached at least the fourth round at all four of the majors, including at least the semifinals in three of them.

Grade: A-

Serena, meanwhile, posted an awesome 44-8 record in '08 and actually sat atop the rankings for a spell. And, like Jankovic, she also tallied four titles, including the big one in Flushing, which gave her career major victory number nine.

Serena also captured the so-called "Fifth Major" in Miami by beating Jankovic in a marquee finale.

The 27-year-old superstar came in at just under $4 million for the year, and is just under $22 million for her outstanding career. She reached at least the quarterfinals at three of the four majors, including a pair of finals (1-1). She lost to her big sister Venus in the Wimbledon finale back in July.

FYI, Serena went 2-1 against Jankovic this year.

Grade: A

The sixth-ranked Venus capped off a strong '08 campaign by capturing the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, for the first time in her career, in undefeated fashion (5-0). That, of course, was in addition to her fifth Wimbledon title and seventh overall major championship.

The 28-year-old star was a three-time champion in 2008 and crossed the finish line with more than $3.7 million to become No. 2 on the all-time earnings list, behind only fellow American Lindsay Davenport. Venus has piled up just under $22 million on court.

The former world No. 1 Venus reached at least the quarters in three of the four majors en route to a 40-11 overall mark. She was 1-2 versus the top- ranked Jankovic for the year, and 2-2 against Serena.

Things were tight at the top.

Grade: A

Russian Dinara Safina made perhaps the biggest move this year, finishing the season at No. 3 after opening it at No. 15.

The younger sister of men's two-time major champion Marat Safin, Safina was an impressive 55-20 with four titles. The slugger reached her first-ever major final, at the French Open, and was also the runner-up at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Safina corralled just over $2.5 million in prize dough in what you could only describe as a breakthrough season, one that also included a trip into the U.S. Open semis.

The 22-year-old Safina played like a future No. 1, a perch she could definitely reach in 2009.

Grade: A-

Safina's fellow Russian Elena Dementieva quietly had a great season, going 56-17 with three titles, including an Olympic gold medal. Her prize money came in at just under $2 million, but she's still seeking that elusive first-ever major championship. The world No. 4 reached at least the quarterfinals in three of the four majors, including semifinals at Wimby and the U.S. Open.

Grade: A-

The aforementioned Ivanovic had a brilliant first half in 2008 before falling off mightily in the second. She joined Serena as the only woman to reach a pair of major finals, with a loss coming at the Australian Open and a win coming at the French, marking her first-ever major championship.

After reaching finals at the Aussie and French Opens, the currently fifth- ranked Ivanovic failed to get past the third round at the last two majors of the year, including a shocking second-round setback at the hands of unknown Frenchwoman Julie Coin (who?) at the U.S. Open.

The 21-year-old Ivanovic ultimately sputtered across the finish line at 38-15, including a winless week at the season-ending Championships, after achieving world No. 1 status for the first time in her career. She wound up with three titles and just over $2.8 million in prize money.

Grade: B+

Let's shift gears.

In what started out to be a promising season for Maria Sharapova, it turned out to be an injury-shortened one for the glamorous Russian.

Sharapova got off to a fast start by winning the Australian Open, marking her third career major title. But by late summer, she was nursing a shoulder injury that forced her to shut it down in August, thus giving her five months off.

The 21-year-old Sharapova was a dominant 31-4 in 2008, a year in which she was one of five (yes, five) different women to hold the No. 1 ranking. The mega- star nailed down three titles and collected just under $2 million before her season was cut short.

Like Ivanovic, Sharapova also suffered one of the biggest upsets of the year, when she succumbed to fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva (who?) in the second round at Wimbledon.

Grade: B+

Another Russian made a lot of noise in 2008, as Vera Zvonareva quietly co-led the tour (along with Jankovic) with her 65 match wins (65-22) and won a pair of titles. She was the surprise Sony Ericsson Championships runner-up to Venus last week in Doha, captured a bronze medal in Beijing, and is now a career- high No. 7 in the world.

The 24-year-old Zvonareva also helped Russia capture a second straight Fed Cup title this year.

Zvonareva pocketed just under $1.8 million and helps to give the powerful Russians five of the Top-10 players in the world. Unfortunately for her, she failed to get past the fourth round at any of the majors, including second- round-or-worse exits at three of the four Slams.

Perhaps we can expect even bigger things from Zvonareva in 2009?

Vera! Vera! What has become of you? Does anybody else in here Feel the way I do?

(It seemed like the right time to sprinkle in a little Floyd.)

Grade: B+

Another Top-10 star to keep your eye on is No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska. The 19- year-old Krakow, Poland native was an eye-catching 54-20, including a trio of titles, She was a quarterfinalist at the Aussie Open and Wimbledon and went as far as the fourth round and the French and U.S. Opens.

Go Aggie!

Grade: B+

Here's the part where I could talk about world No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova. But I don't think I will.

Alright...maybe a little bit.

The former U.S. Open champ went a respectable 44-21, but failed to win a title of any kind, losing five times in as many finals. She reached only one major quarterfinal and appears to be heading in the wrong direction at this point in her career.

Kuznetsova did, however, lead Russia to that second straight Fed Cup championship.

Grade: B-

But the biggest story of the year came off the court, when Justine Henin abruptly announced her retirement from the tour. The diminutive Belgian became the first-ever standing No. 1 to retire from the sport.

That would still put you in your prime.

The 26-year-old Henin was a solid 16-4, including a pair of titles, when she announced she was quitting. She was the reigning French and U.S. Open champion when she decided to leave, and was only weeks away from a defense of her title in Paris, where she would have been the three-time defending champ.

Henin appeared in only one major event in 2008, reaching the quarterfinals at the Aussie Open. She closed out her career with seven major titles and more than $19 million in prize money.

Is "Queen" Justine done for good? It's hard to say...but I'm leaning in the "I don't know" direction.

Grade: Incomplete?

In addition to Safina and Radwanska, some other big movers in the women's game were Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki (No. 12), Italian Flavia Pennetta (No. 13), Belarusian Victoria Azarenka (No. 15), France's Alize Cornet (No. 16) and Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova (No. 19). Wozniacki, Azarenka and Cibulkova definitely have plenty of upside and look like sure-fire future Top-10ers.

Note to the 32-year-old Davenport: Hang 'em up. You're the all-time money leader, your major-winning days are clearly over, and you have a child to raise.

Summary ------- Jankovic on top...Williamses won half the Slams...Lots of No. 1s...Dementieva gold...Russians everywhere...Henin quits...Davenport's old.

See you next year!

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

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Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.