I don't know if this will interest you, but I wrote a post about how to come out ahead on sports betting at freebitcoin. They use an uncommon odds mechanism and it offers better than fair odds to early wagers.

I've also made use of the exponentially escalating wager strategy that you describe. As long as you're patient and willing to mostly just make very small gains, it's ok. If you chase returns though, it leads to complete ruin very quickly.