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09/05/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The men's semifinals are scheduled to be staged Saturday at the U.S. Open, where top-ranked Rafael Nadal will take on sixth-seeded Andy Murray and second-seeded and reigning four-time champion Roger Federer will encounter third-seeded Novak Djokovic.
Nadal is a perfect 5-0 lifetime against Murray, including 3-0 already this year. The Spaniard topped the Scotsman in Hamburg, Wimbledon and Toronto earlier in the season and is 3-0 versus the 21-year-old Murray on hardcourts over the last two years.
Murray will appear in his first-ever major semifinal, while Nadal will perform in his first career U.S. Open semi.
The five-time major titlist Nadal is a brilliant 75-8 this season, including a tour-high eight titles, while Murray is 40-13 with three championships.
The 22-year-old Nadal is the reigning Wimbledon, four-time French Open and Olympic champion. He's trying to become only the fourth man in the Open Era (since 1968) to win three straight Grand Slam events, joining Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Federer, who has done it twice.
Meanwhile, Federer is 6-2 lifetime against the Australian Open champion Djokovic, including a win in last year's U.S. Open finale. Djokovic did, however, top the Swiss in this year's Aussie Open semis. The two have split a pair of meetings in 2008, with Federer's win coming in Monte Carlo.
The 27-year-old Federer will appear in his record 18th straight Grand Slam semifinal and is seeking his 13th major title. He's won 32 straight matches here in Flushing.
The former world No. 1 Swiss is 52-12 with two titles this year, while the 21- year-old Serbian Djokovic is 52-12 with three championships.
Inclement weather is in the forecast for Saturday in New York.
<< Molik retires from tennis
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Top-10 player Alicia Molik has
announced her retirement from professional tennis.
The 27-year-old Aussie had her career derailed by an inner ear infection in
the spring of 2005. The probl
<< D'Backs, Dodgers start critical set at Chavez Ravine
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the National League West begin a
crucial three-game September showdown tonight in Los Angeles, where the
Dodgers put their winning streak on the line against the first-place Arizona
Diamondbacks.
Los
<< Torrid Astros head to Colorado for key series
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have had to put together a pair of
lengthy winning streaks to stay in the National League wild-card race, while
the Colorado Rockies are still in the hunt due to a weak NL West.
The Astros and
<< Marlins get chance to end recent woes against Cardinals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It has been over a month since the Florida Marlins won
back-to-back games. It's been over five years since they posted consecutive
wins over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Marlins start up a three-game set with
LPGA changes tune on language requirement >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Facing substantial criticism, the LPGA
Tour announced Friday that it would rescind a recently-announced policy that
would have required players to learn and speak English.
The tour was to call for
Orioles to bring back Trembley in 2009 >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dave Trembley will manage the Orioles for at
least one more season, and maybe more.
The Baltimore Orioles have exercised their option on Trembley for the 2009
season and added a club option for 2010, the
Brewers sign veteran Lamb >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers signed veteran
infielder Mike Lamb on Friday.
Lamb, who will not be eligible to play if the Brewers reach the postseason,
batted .233 with a home run and 32 RBI in 81 g
Rumford, McIlroy share European Masters lead >>
Crans Montana, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Brett Rumford
of Australia fired a four-under 67 on Friday to tie Rory McIlroy for the lead
midway through the European Masters.
McIlroy, the 19-year-old former amateur star f
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.
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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