Djokovic lifts Serbia into Davis Cup semis

Tennis Betting Lines

07/11/2010 - Split, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Novak Djokovic notched a straight-set win over Marin Cilic to lift Serbia to a Davis Cup quarterfinal victory over Croatia.

Djokovic posted a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 triumph in the first of Sunday's reverse singles matches to give the Serbs an insurmountable 3-1 edge in the best-of- five tie.

Serbia will next face the Czech Republic in September's semifinals after the Czechs had already clinched their quarterfinal matchup against Chile on Saturday.

Djokovic had won the opening singles match on Friday against Ivan Ljubicic to give Serbia the early advantage before Cilic beat Victor Troicki in the second to square the series.

The Serbs then won the pivotal doubles match on Saturday behind a straight-set triumph by Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic for a 2-1 edge, setting up Djokovic for the clincher.

Serbia, which beat the United States in the first round earlier this year, will play in the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time as an independent nation. Players from Croatia and Serbia previously competed under the flag of Yugoslavia, which had last reached the semifinals in 1991.

Worldcupbets Tennis Betting News


<< Kanemoto wins The Championship by Lexus
Bando, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Takashi Kanemoto eagled the final hole Sunday to polish off a six-under 66 and win The Championship by Lexus on the Japan Golf Tour. Kanemoto, the third-round leader, finished at 18-under 270 and won by a

<< Davydenko keeps Russia alive against Argentina
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolay Davydenko kept Russia alive in its Davis Cup quarterfinal match against Argentina with a victory over Eduardo Schwank in the first of Sunday's reverse singles matches. Davydenko rallied for a

<< Durant guides Roughriders over Lions
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darian Durant threw for 252 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in Saskatchewan's 37-18 win over the BC Lions in the first regular season game played at Empire Field in 27 years. Durant c

<< Lopez's slam in eighth boosts Mariners over Yankees
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez's grand slam in the eighth inning backed a strong start from Felix Hernandez as the Seattle Mariners took a 4-1 win over the New York Yankees in the third of a four-game set. Hernandez (7-5) wen

<< BC QB Printers leaves game
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - British Columbia Lions starting quarterback Casey Printers suffered an apparent right hamstring injury in the final minute of the first half of Saturday's game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Printers

LeBron's 'Decision' watched by nearly 10M people >>
NEW YORK (AP) -The Nielsen Co. estimates that 9.95 million people watched LeBron James announce on ESPN that he's leaving Cleveland to play for the Miami Heat, making it the third-most-watched program on cable television this year.``The Decision'' t

Yankees PA man Bob Sheppard dies >>
NEW YORK (AP) -The New York Yankees say longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard has died. He was believed to be 99.His death was confirmed to The Associated Press on Sunday by team spokesman Jazon Zillo. There were no immediate details.Sheppa

Szavay beats Schnyder again for Budapest crown >>
Budapest, Hungary (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Agnes Szavay of Hungary again thrilled the home crowd by defeating Switzerland's Patty Schnyder in the final of the Budapest Grand Prix for the second straight year. Szavay posted a 6-2, 6-4 victo

First-place Tigers set sights on sweep of Twins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have taken over first place in the ultra-competitive AL Central and will close out a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park this afternoon. Detroit maintained its half-game edge on seco

Red Sox, Blue Jays to close out first half with rubber match >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays close out a three- game weekend set in American League East action from the Rogers Centre, with the rubber match to take place this afternoon. Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka will be on

2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.