11/21/2008 - Mar del Plata, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2008 Davis Cup World Group final commenced Friday, as visiting Spain and host Argentina are knotted at 1-1 following the opening singles rubbers.
The best-of-five championship round got underway when Argentine star David Nalbandian spanked Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, but Feliciano Lopez surprisingly pulled Spain even with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over rising world No. 9 Argentine slugger Juan Martin del Potro at Mar del Plata.
The world No. 11 Nalbandian outclassed the 12th-ranked Ferrer in just under two hours on the indoor hardcourt here at Estadio Islas Malvinas.
Ferrer failed to take a lead at any point on Day 1 and was under constant pressure due to some solid serving and tremendous net play by Nalbandian.
The former Tennis Masters Cup champion and former Wimbledon runner-up Nalbandian whipped Ferrer with the help of seven aces, and the gritty Argentine broke the Spaniard's serve a whopping seven times, compared to only two breaks for the eventual loser.
Nalbandian improved to 4-6 lifetime against Ferrer, including wins now in three of their last four encounters. This marked their first meeting this year and their first-ever Davis Cup matchup.
"I don't think it was one of my best matches, but I played very well," Nalbandian said. "I played very solid from the first point, so that gave me confidence point by point. I think I played a match of very high level, not much on the time, very short, and that's very good for the whole weekend."
The 26-year-old Nalbandian is now 17-4 in his career Davis Cup singles.
The 27-year-old lefthanded Lopez then stunned the 6-foot-5 del Potro in 3 hours, 19 minutes, despite a 24-ace barrage from the tall Argentine. Lopez fired 19 aces of his own on his way to victory. Both players could manage only two breaks apiece over four sets of tennis.
Trailing 2-3 in the final set, del Potro doubled over in pain and called for a trainer. After play resumed, the lanky Argentine was unable to overcome the game Lopez.
The 31st-ranked Lopez is now 2-2 lifetime against the 20-year-old del Potro, including a perfect 2-0 mark this year.
Saturday's pivotal doubles bout currently calls for an Argentine duo of Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri to meet a Spanish tandem of Lopez and fellow southpaw Fernando Verdasco, while Sunday's reverse singles currently pit del Potro against Ferrer and Nalbandian versus Lopez.
The Spaniards, captained by Emilio Sanchez, also have Davis Cup rookie Marcel Granollers at their disposal. Granollers joined the squad last week when world No. 1 superstar Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal, citing a knee injury. The amazing Nadal is the reigning Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champ.
The formidable Argentine squad, captained by Alberto Mancini, is seeking its first-ever Davis Cup title, while the Spaniards already own two championships, with both coming this decade, in 2000 and 2004. Argentina was the runner-up two years ago and also back in 1981.
Spain is 2-0 all-time versus Argentina, which is hosting for the first time ever in this series. The Spaniards prevailed at home way back in 1926 and again in 2003.
The Spaniards, who are 2-3 in their all-time Davis Cup finals and appearing in their fourth final this decade, reached this year's final by beating the 32-time and defending champion United States 4-1 in a semifinal in Madrid, while Argentina got past Russia 3-2 in Buenos Aires, with del Potro winning a fifth and deciding rubber.
The Argentines have won 13 straight Davis Cup ties as the host.
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West Palm Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katherine Hull posted a one-under 71
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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