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03/06/2010 - Belgrade, Serbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A doubles team of Bob Bryan and John Isner got the United States a much-needed point on Saturday, as the last-minute pairing bested a Serbian duo of Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic in their best-of-five first-round Davis Cup tie. The Serbs' lead was cut to 2-1.
Bryan played without his twin brother Mike on Day 2, as the towering Isner, making his Davis Cup doubles debut, was a late substitute and got his first- ever Davis Cup win in a surprising 7-6 (10-8), 5-7, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3 decision against Tipsarevic and Zimonjic, the top-ranked doubles player in the world, on the red clay at Belgrade Arena. The U.S. prevailed in 3 hours, 6 minutes.
This marked Bob Bryan's first-ever Davis Cup doubles rubber without his brother Mike at his side.
The winner here will be decided in Sunday's reverse singles, as world No. 2 Serbian star Novak Djokovic meets Isner and American Sam Querrey faces Viktor Troicki. Both the 6-foot-9 Isner, who made his Davis Cup debut on Friday, and 6-foot-6 Querrey were singles losers on Day 1 to Troicki and Djokovic, respectively.
Team USA is captained by Patrick McEnroe, while the Serbs are being guided by Bogdan Obradovic. McEnroe led the U.S. to a record 32nd Davis Cup title in 2007, which ended a 12-year American title drought.
The Americans are playing without their top gun this week, Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick, who decided against playing in the prestigious international team event this year.
The U.S. and Serbia are meeting for the first time in Davis Cup play and the winner will face Croatia in the quarterfinals in July.
<< Suddenly-slumping Senators to host rival Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators will try to get back in the win column
tonight, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in a battle between Northeast
Division foes at Scotiabank Place.
The Senators have 76 points and are one back of Bu
<< Sharks aim to maintain home mastery of Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks have gotten off to a bit of a slow
start since the Olympic break. A visit from the Columbus Blue Jackets could
provide the spark they need.
San Jose continues a five-game residency tonight seeking an 11
<< Kings vie to bounce back against Canadiens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off just their second regulation loss in 14 games,
the Los Angeles Kings will try to post their first victory over the Montreal
Canadiens in seven years tonight in a meeting at Staples Center.
The Kings came out of
<< Blues hope to keep flying high in trip to Colorado
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues are in position to record their longest
winning streak in over six years, but to reach that mark they'll have to find
a way to halt their struggles versus the Colorado Avalanche this season.
St. Louis g
France handles Germany to reach Davis Cup quarters >>
Toulon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France posted a doubles victory on
Saturday to best Germany and reach July's Davis Cup quarterfinals.
The French have an unassailable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five first-round
matchup after
Chiefs re-sign WR Copper >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs re-signed wide
receiver Terrance Copper on Saturday.
Copper, 27, started two of the 15 games he played last season, his first with
the Chiefs. He finished with 68 yards on four
Freeman returns for Georgetown >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgetown guard Austin Freeman was back in
the starting lineup Saturday against Cincinnati after being diagnosed with
diabetes earlier this week.
Freeman missed last Monday's game against West Virginia
Rams sign QB Feeley, bring back S Dahl >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced Saturday they
have signed quarterback A.J. Feeley and re-signed safety Craig Dahl.
Feeley, 32, has 10 years of NFL experience while serving primarily as a
backup. He ha
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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