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LAS VEGAS -- Training camps are weeks away, but Las Vegas legal bookmakers are already making bets on what the NFL season will look like. Nike Free 3.0 v4 Homme . Turns out it could be a lot like the last, with the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos favoured to meet again next February in Arizona. Seattle is a 9-2 favourite at the LVH sports book, while the Broncos are next at 5-1 to win the Super Bowl. Both teams are favoured to win more regular-season games than any other team, with oddsmakers putting the over/under for wins at 11 games. "The Broncos have a real tough schedule so it wont be an easy task," said Jeff Sherman, part of a team that sets the odds at the LVH. "They have some tough early games outside their division, including the Super Bowl rematch with the Seahawks in Week 3." The Seahawks are 3 1/2-point favourites to beat the Broncos at home in that game, a line that figures to draw some early action even before either team puts on the pads this summer. Denver was a 2-point favourite in the Super Bowl, which Seattle won 43-8. Sherman said there is more parity than ever in the NFL, with 19 teams expected to win between seven and nine games and only five expected to win 10 or more. At the bottom of the pack is Jacksonville, with a 4 1/2-win line, and Oakland at five games. Despite the parity, teams in the NFC are favoured more than teams in the AFC. Bettors can wager on which conference wins the Super Bowl, with the NFC a 3 1/2-point favourite. "The one thing that really stood out when we sat down and went through this game by game was how many good teams are in the NFC," Sherman said. NFL games are by far the biggest attraction for sports bettors, who placed a record $119.4 million in legal wagers in Nevada on the last Super Bowl alone. Nevada is the only state where full betting on games is allowed, though bettors in Delaware can wager on parlays of more than one team. Sherman said most of the so-called "wise guys" who can move the lines at sports books wait until the exhibition season to begin making wagers, though some might pounce on the early numbers if they think the oddsmakers have made an error evaluating a team. "Once the preseason games start and you can see what the coaches are thinking it becomes more clear," he said. "But they will move in if they think there is a weakness in a line." The LVH is traditionally one of the first to post over/under win totals for the season, which were put up Sunday afternoon. Sherman said there was a small flurry of wagers made by bettors who thought teams might either be undervalued or too highly regarded by the oddsmakers. This years draft didnt change many opinions on win totals, he said, because rookies rarely have a big impact on seasons. That was particularly true with the Cleveland Browns, who are listed at 6 1/2 wins despite the addition of Johnny Manziel at quarterback. "He doesnt have an effect on what we do," Sherman said. "We like the Browns overall as a team, their defence is good and theyve gotten better even if the results dont show it. But in a tough division we just couldnt go any higher." Nike Air Max Femme Solde .J. -- If people were looking for Richard Sherman to get the weeklong hype for the Super Bowl started with another rant, the Seattle cornerback disappointed them. Nike Air Max 90 Pas Cher . The new Romo deal, which is being reported by the Dallas Morning News, will save the team another $10 million. According to the report, the new deal drops Romos salary-cap figure from $21. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Top-seeded Rafael Nadal reached the semifinals of the Rio Open, showing no problems with a sore back in defeating Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 6-0 on Friday. No. 1-ranked Nadal, in his first tournament since losing the Australian Open final, played his best match in Brazil and will face fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the semifinals. Andjuar ripped through Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-1, 6-1. In the other semifinal, second-seeded David Ferrer will meet unseeded Alexandr Dolgopolov. Ferrer defeated Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Dolgopolov of Ukraine advanced against third-seeded Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-1. Ferrer has won 21 ATP singles title and will be the favourite to reach the final on Sunday against Nadal with 61 titles including 13 Grand Slams. "I think I have improved in everything," Nadal said. "I think I played a complete match. I had my best game of the tournament, and not just that but I played at a very high level. Really, I did things I wasnt able to do a few days ago. I moved better. I was more intense, more aggressive." Asked about the back, Nadal backed off. "Were not going to talk every day about the back," he said. "Im in the semifinals." Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the final in Melbourne, eventually losing to Stanislas Wawrinka in a match he was favoured to win. He took several weeks off and is using Rio to tune up for three months of clay-court play leading to the French Open. Ferrer and Bellucci had to wait for more than an hour with the Spaniard leading 2-1 in the third set when the lights went out at the outdoor stadium. "It was really tough," Ferrer said. &"When the match was stopped it was practically in my hands. Nike Air Max 90 Camo France. It was bad luck with what happened with the lights." Dolgopolov was asked if he planned to return to Ukraine, perhaps pulling out of the tournament to go to a country bordering on civil war. "I dont think its going to change a lot at this point if I just finished playing and come back to my country," said Dolgopolov, who lives in the wealthy European enclave of Monte Carlo. "Its still going to be the same situation. I will just be closer. But I am not considering that at this moment." In the combined ATP-WTA event, top-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic reached the semifinals, defeating Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-0. Zakopalova will face Brazilian Teliana Pereira, who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-4, 6-4. Pereira is a home favourite and the first Brazilian woman in 23 years to crack the WTA top 100. "She (Zakopalova) is the favourite, the top-seeded player," Pereira said. "I have to play like I did today and keep my good rhythm. But I have a lot of confidence and I will have the Brazilian fans behind me." Brazils most famous female player is still Maria Bueno, who won seven Grand Slam singles titles, the last in the 1966 US Open. Zakopalova will be looking for her third WTA singles title. None of the other semifinalists has won a WTA singles title. Japans Kurumi Nara also advanced. She won the first set 7-6 (5), and was leading the second 2-0 when Spains Lourdes Dominguez Lino withdrew with a left leg injury. She will face Nastassja Burnett of Italy, who defeated Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
