The action at Euro 2008 has ranged from outstanding to sleep-inducing. At least we haven’t been short of surprises. That seems to be good news for the bookies.

The quarterfinal between Portugal and Germany, for example, saw the Germans pull off the upset at 15-8 (Portugal was 6-4, the draw was 2-1). The punters reportedly took a bath when Germany won 3-2 after a lackluster 1-0 performance against Austria in the Group Stage.

Much of that money will apparently go back to the betting public if Spain continues its historic romp. The Spaniards are 3-2 co-favorites with Germany as Euro 2008 enters the semifinals; Spain has a date with Russia on Thursday, one day after Germany tangos with Turkey. Both matches are 2:45 p.m. Eastern starts.

Spain’s David Villa has also been getting support to win the Golden Boot for most goals in the tournament. Villa is an 8-15 chalk with four goals, one more than Germany’s Lukas Podolski (7-2).

Sic Bo is a game that you’ll often only find in Asian-themed baccarat pits. But like most games, it’s easy to find in online casinos. Sic Bo is a simple dice game where you can make different wagers to predict the outcome of a particular roll. There are seven Sic Bo bets to choose from, each giving different odds.

Dice Face: players may bet that any one of the six dice sides will show.
Two Faces: this is a bet that a combination of two particular numbers will appear.Totals: players can wager on the total of all three dice.
Small or Big: this wager is a bet that the total of the three dice will fall in a specific range.
Triple: Here you’re betting that all three faces will come up with a specific number.
Any Pair: Betting that a pair of any particular number will come up.

Larry Bird goes for the jump shot.

Not everyone looks good in a tank top – myself, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to name three. But everything else about the NBA Finals looks perfect.

The Los Angeles Lakers vs. The Boston Celtics. This was the NBA’s leading rivalry up until 20 years ago, when Michael Jordan took over the league. Now it’s back, and television ratings are the highest since the last time the Lakers were in the Finals, four years ago.

Home-court advantage continues to be the critical factor in these playoffs. The Celtics won the first two games of the Finals at the Garden; Los Angeles replied 87-81 at the Staples Center Tuesday night, although Boston cashed in as 9-point underdogs to go up 3-0 ATS. No surprise that the Lakers had 34 free throws and the Celtics just 22. But it was unusual to see Paul Pierce shoot 2-for-14. That’s not something David Stern can control, is it?

Roland Garros was a French aviator and a fighter pilot during World War I. He was shot down and killed a month before the end of the war, but his name lives on with the Tournoi de Roland-Garros, known better on these shores as the French Open.

We associate the French Open with its clay courts, but when the first tournament was held in 1891, there was only one kind of tennis: lawn tennis. It wasn’t until 1912 that red clay was first used. And it wasn’t until 1968 that the tournament became a true Open, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete.

France’s Max Decugis won eight men’s singles titles between 1903 and 1914; Bjorn Borg of Sweden holds the record with six championships during the Open Era. Chris Evert has seven women’s titles on her resume – she didn’t lose a singles match on clay for six years between 1973 and 1979. Now that’s a solid betting trend.

Get your French Open odds here!