11/13/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko defeated seventh-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets on Thursday to reach the semifinals at the $4.45 million Tennis Masters Cup.
Davydenko prevailed in 87 minutes in easy 6-3, 6-2 fashion against the 6- foot-5 del Potro, who made his Masters Cup debut this week. Davydenko went 2-1 in this week's Gold Group round-robin action and will now play in Saturday's semifinals, while del Potro settled for a 1-2 mark and is done for the week.
The gritty Russian jumped out to 4-1 leads in both sets and was never challenged on Day 5. Davydenko broke del Potro no less than four times, while allowing only one break against, and the big-hitting Argentine failed to record even one ace in defeat, compared to five for the winning Russian.
Davydenko is now 2-1 lifetime against del Potro, including a 1-1 mark this year. The Argentine beat the Russian in a Davis Cup semifinal tie back in September.
The 20-year-old del Potro will represent Argentina in next week's Davis Cup final against visiting Spain in Mar del Plata. His fine ATP season featured four straight tournament titles at one point just before the U.S. Open.
In another Gold Group match on Day 5, sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga picked up his only win of the week by overcoming second-seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 in 1 hour, 38 minutes on the indoor hardcourt at Qi Zhong Stadium. Tsonga popped seven aces and broke Djokovic on three occasions.
The bout marked a rematch of January's Australian Open final, which was won by Djokovic. Tsonga, however, wound up winning three of their four encounters for the year, including three straight and a victory at the Paris Masters just two weeks ago.
The 23-year-old Tsonga, like del Potro, was also making his Masters Cup debut this week. He went 1-2 in the Gold Group, while the group-winner Djokovic was 2-1 and had already booked a spot in Saturday's semis. The Serb was 0-3 in last year's round-robin portion.
The ever-improving Tsonga went 8-5 against Top-10 competition this season.
Red Group round-robin play will wrap up here on Friday when top-seeded Swiss Roger Federer (1-1) meets third-seeded Brit Andy Murray (2-0) and eighth- seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon (1-1) battles Czech alternate Radek Stepanek (0-1), who joined the field on Wednesday when fifth-seeded American star Andy Roddick (0-1) pulled out due to an ankle injury. Federer and Simon are still trying to secure a semifinal berth, while Murray has already qualified for the final four. Stepanek will not play here beyond Friday.
The 13-time major champion Federer, who has won the last five U.S. Opens, is a four-time overall and two-time defending Masters Cup champion. The Wimbledon and French Open runner-up beat Spaniard David Ferrer in last year's finale here in Shanghai and is the only former Masters Cup champion in this year's field.
Federer and Murray will meet in a rematch of the U.S. Open final, which was won by the super Swiss. Murray, however, is 3-2 lifetime against Federer, including a 2-1 record this season.
The red-hot 21-year-old Murray has won 16 of his last 17 matches overall, including titles in St. Petersburg and Madrid.
Murray and Simon, like Tsonga and del Potro, are Masters Cup rookies.
<< Udrih leads Kings to win over Clippers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Beno Udrih poured in a career-high 30
points and doled out seven assists to lead the Sacramento Kings past the Los
Angeles Clippers, 103-98, from Staples Center.
Jason Thompson and Brad Miller both
<< Shoving match overshadows Houston's rout of Suns
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tracy McGrady scored 27 points -- including 15
in the third quarter -- leading the Houston Rockets to a 94-82 win over the
Phoenix Suns in a game marred by a fracas toward the end of the third quarter.
With
<< Seahawks QB Hasselbeck back at practice
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck
practiced Wednesday and was awaiting clearance to start Sunday's home game
against Arizona.
Hasselbeck has been out the last five games due to a continued wea
<< UCLA routs Prairie View
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Collison began his senior season on
a solid note, plugging in a team-high 19 points to go with four assists in
fourth-ranked UCLA's 82-58 drubbing of the Prairie View Panthers in opening
round a
Iverson leads Pistons into Oakland to face Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons continue a four-game Western road swing
Thursday when they visit Oakland and the Golden State Warriors.
Allen Iverson posted a terrific all-around effort in getting his first win in
a Pistons uniform, l
Mavs try to get back on track vs. Bulls in Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Dallas Mavericks will try and halt a three-
game skid when they make the trek to the Windy City Thursday to face the
Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
Los Angeles' Pau Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds,
Pats-Jets Grudge Match for First Place This Time >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The residue of the Spygate controversy and the simmering
bad blood between head coaches Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini will have to
take a back seat on Thursday night.
The headline in the primetime tilt between the New En
Habs try to win 13th straight test versus Bruins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle for first place in the Northeast Division is on
tap tonight in Boston, as the Bruins welcome the Montreal Canadiens for a
matchup between Original Six teams at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins and the Buffalo Sabre
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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