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04/24/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez upended second-seeded crowd favorite Fernando Verdasco on Friday to reach the semifinals at the $2.6 million Barcelona Open.
In an all-Fernando quarterfinal here on Day 5, the Chilean Gonzalez toppled the Spanish Verdasco 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on the red clay at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. "Gonzo" moved on in 2 hours, 17 minutes with the help of seven aces, compared to zero for Verdasco. The Chilean also recorded one more key service break (4-3) in the tight contest.
Gonzalez will face another Spaniard, David Ferrer, in Saturday's semis. The fourth-seeded and 2008 Barcelona runner-up Ferrer grounded sixth-seeded fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. Robredo titled here in 2004 and was the 2006 runner-up to Spanish stalwart Rafael Nadal, who handled Ferrer in last year's popular all-Spanish finale here.
Robredo leads the ATP World Tour with 17 clay-court victories (17-4) so far this season.
The other semi will pit the world No. 1 and four-time reigning Barcelona champion Nadal against third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko. The Russian Davydenko advanced Friday with a come-from-behind 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-2 victory over ninth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek. Davydenko hadn't beaten Stepanek since October of 2004, having dropped three straight against the tough Czech.
Nadal moved into the semis on Thursday when his scheduled quarterfinal opponent, seventh-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian, pulled out of the draw due to a right hip injury after winning his third-round encounter against 10th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
The high-flying Nadal will meet Davydenko for a sixth time, as the Spaniard holds a 3-2 advantage in their lifetime series. Davydenko has won two of the last three meetings, with the victories coming on hardcourts, but Nadal is a perfect 2-0 in their clay-court clashes.
Nadal has won 23 straight on red clay, a surface he is 140-4 on since 2005. He's 23-1 here in Barcelona.
The reigning Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic titlist Nadal is fresh off his fifth straight Monte-Carlo championship, having beaten Serbian star Novak Djokovic in last week's title tilt in Monaco.
This week's champ will pocket $370,000.
<< San Jose, Seattle hope to get back on track
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes travel to Seattle for
their first ever meeting with the expansion Sounders FC on Saturday night.
The 'Quakes will be aiming to get back in the win column after going 0-1-2 in
their l
<< Galaxy, Colorado ready for Round 3
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles
Galaxy square off in a Major League Soccer fixture on Saturday, they certainly
won't be strangers. It will be the third time in all competitions that the two
Western
<< RSL hopes to defend home turf vs. New England
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake will aim to keep their perfect
2-0-0 home record in tact when they host the New England Revolution in Major
League Soccer action on Saturday night.
The home side is coming off an 0-2 loss at
<< Columbus hosts Chicago in rematch of Eastern final
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire travel to take on the
Columbus Crew in a Major League Soccer clash at Crew Stadium on Saturday. The
fixture will be a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference final, although
the te
Breaking Down the Kentucky Derby - Part I >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 135th Kentucky Derby is approximately
one week away, and almost all the participants are settled in the Bluegrass
State. The only three unaccounted for are Mr. Hot Stuff, Colonel John's full
brother, and
Chivas aims to rebound from midweek loss vs. FCD >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA and FC Dallas square off in a Major
League Soccer Western Conference tilt on Saturday at The Home Depot Center.
Chivas USA is coming off a midweek loss at Toronto, its first loss of the
season,
Newman tops in qualifying for Talladega Nationwide race >>
Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Newman won the pole for Saturday's
Aaron's 312 Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Newman turned in the best lap around the 2.66-mile, high-banked oval at
185.877 m.p.h. in
Mavs' Terry wins Sixth Man Award >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry captured
the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award.
Terry received 576 of a possible 605 points, including 111 of a possible 121
first-place votes from a panel of sports
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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