American (women's) tennis well is running dry

Tennis Betting Lines

08/18/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you've been wondering if there's an American woman out there not named Serena Williams or Venus Williams that has a shot at winning a major title in the near future, well, you probably don't have to worry about it.

American tennis, especially at the WTA level, appears to be in a free fall. Just last week, the U.S. failed to place a player in the men's top 10 for the first time since the computer rankings were introduced way back in 1973, as top-10 fixture Andy Roddick dropped out for the first time in four years.

But I'm concerned about the American women in this particular article, as the mighty Williams sisters continue to be the only ones who are producing anything on the ladies' tour.

Serena is currently the standing world No. 1, which is no surprise considering she's the reigning Wimbledon and Aussie Open champ, and Venus is ranked fifth in the world and is a former No. 1. Serena boasts 13 Grand Slam singles titles, while Venus checks in with seven. That's 20 between 'em.

And that's awesome.

But after Serena and Venus, it gets pretty ugly in the contiguous 48, with Melanie Oudin (44th) coming in as the only other top-50 American. And the next-highest American woman after Oudin would be Vania King, who checks in at No. 79.

Oof.

And guess what? There are no more American women inside the top 100 after King, who is a non-factor out there. At least the spry Oudin reached a U.S. Open quarterfinal in dramatic fashion last year, stunning a bevy of Russian stars, in come-from-behind fashion, along the way.

But the 18-year-old Oudin hasn't done much on the circuit since then, and still has yet to title as a member of the WTA Tour. She failed to get past the second round at this year's first three major events, including head- shaking opening-round exits at both the Oz and French Opens.

And King (who certainly is no Billie Jean King)? Fugetaboutit! She's only ever reached the third round at a Grand Slam event once (which occurred at last year's U.S. Open). She's been a first- or second-round loser at 16 other major tournaments.

But King (Vania King), unlike Oudin, has at least titled once on the circuit (four years ago in Bangkok).

Minnesota native Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who beat her Fed Cup teammate Oudin at a tournament in Montreal just this week, is just outside the top 100, at No. 101. Which means there are only four American women inside the top 100!

Yuck.

Thank goodness we (USA) still have Serena and Venus out there, otherwise we'd be watching a whole lot of American-less women's tennis.

The last American woman not named Serena or Venus to capture a major title was Jennifer Capriati at the 2002 Aussie Open. And you'd have to dip into the '90s to come up with a non-Williams American winner at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, as Lindsay Davenport was the last to turn the trick at the All England Club, in 1999, and in New York, in 1998.

And Serena is the only American woman to capture our national title -- the U.S. Open -- over the last eight years.

And when's the last time an American not named Serena or Venus finished a season inside the top 10? Well that would be Davenport back in 2005, a year in which Lindsay finished No. 1.

Heck, in 2006 there were zero American women inside the top 10 at year's end.

Whatever happened to the good old days when American-born women dominated the top-10 landscape? Like in 1980, for instance, when five of the top 10 hailed from the U.S., including the top-two ladies in the world, Chrissie (Evert, that is) and Tracy Austin.

Will we ever see five American women inside the top 10 again? I seriously doubt it, considering how popular tennis has become all over the globe in the last quarter-century.

What's the (tennis) world coming to when there are more Belgians in the top 20 (Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer) than there are Americans (Serena and Venus)?

BELGIUM?

My native Pennsylvania, alone, is almost four times the size of Belgium.

The Russians, as a whole, dominated in recent years, but they're starting to cool off, with only one player, Elena Dementieva, residing inside the top 10 for the time being. But they certainly spread it around (in terms of success), with the likes of Dementieva, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva, and even Anastasia Myskina. Three of those women have corralled major titles; two have reached No. 1; and all have played in at least one major final.

Sure, the Williams sisters are still here, and the younger one is still a dominant force on tour, but Serena and Venus aren't going to be around forever, and the United States needs to produce at least one woman who can challenge for a top-10 spot sooner rather than later. And that woman currently does not exist (sorry, Oudin), although some have been starting to hype Coco Vandeweghe in recent weeks, despite the fact that the 18-year-old has yet to accomplish anything in "The Show."

By the way, Vandeweghe is the niece of former NBA star/executive/coach Kiki Vandeweghe.

About five years ago, California's Alexa Glatch was a "promising" American.

Was she?

Five years later...she stinks (as far as potential Grand Slam winners go).

Did You Know?: Venus has never finished as season as a year-end No. 1. And Serena's only accomplished the feat twice.

At the upcoming U.S. Open, Serena will certainly be among the favorites, as she always is. Venus...not so much. Oudin...an extreme longshot at best. And King (Vania King) and Mattek-Sands? Not in this or any other lifetime.

Dear USTA, It's time to get back to work!

Footvall365 Tennis Betting News

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.