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02/10/2012 - Hyogo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatia and Japan split the opening singles matches in their first-round Davis Cup tie on Friday.
Japan picked up the first point of the day when Go Saeda made a stunning rally for a 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ivan Dodig, but Ivo Karlovic quickly halted the host nation's momentum with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Kei Nishikori.
The best-of-five will continue on Saturday with the doubles match that is scheduled to feature the Japanese tandem of Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita versus a Croatian duo of Karlovic and Lovro Zovko, while Sunday's reverse singles currently call for Nishikori to battle Dodig and Karlovic to take on Soeda.
Dodig appeared to have control of the opening match, as he raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first-set tiebreaker and picked up a late break of serve in the second set.
Soeda, though, broke Dodig in the 10th game to win the third set and carried the momentum into the fourth by winning the first three games. After Dodig broke back in the fifth game, Soeda broke serve again for 4-2 and went on to square the match.
Each player broke serve once midway through the fifth set, which went to 5-5 before Soeda set up another break point with a backhand. Dodig then sent a forehand long and Soeda cemented the incredible comeback with a hold at love in the final game of the more than four-hour match.
"I think it was my best win ever," said Soeda, who also beat Dodig last month in the second round of the Chennai Open en route to a semifinal appearance.
Karlovic, much like Dodig, also won the first two sets in the second match of the day, but he didn't allow Nishikori a chance to get close. He closed out the third by winning the final four games with a pair of breaks.
"I tried to mix a lot and not rally a lot with him," said Karlovic, who used his booming serve to his advantage. "I try to win as quickly as I can on every point and I was trying to be as aggressive as I could."
The 6-foot-10 Karlovic banged out 18 aces and didn't face a break point during the match. Nishikori won a mere 12 points on Karlovic's serve.
Team Croatia is captained by Zeljko Krajan, while Japan is led by Eiji Takeuchi. This marks the first-ever meeting between the two nations.
Croatia captured its lone Davis Cup title in 2005, while Japan has only ever reached one final, and that resulted in a loss against the 32-time champion United States way back in 1921.
The Croatia-Japan winner will meet the Argentina-Germany victor in the quarterfinals in April.
<< Pangos helps Gonzaga roll past Saint Mary's
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Pangos is new to the Gonzaga-Saint Mary's
rivalry. With performances like Thursday's, he could be an integral player for
years to come.
The freshman was 5-for-6 from long distance as part of a 27-po
<< Evans, Cousins lead Kings past Thunder
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyreke Evans scored 22 points, DeMarcus
Cousins added 19 and the Kings made enough free throws down the stretch to
take down the Thunder, 106-101.
Marcus Thornton finished with 15 points, includi
<< Illinois tops Ohio State on Moore's basket
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amber Moore's bucket with two seconds
remaining gave Illinois a 66-65 victory over No. 10 Ohio State.
The Buckeyes went ahead by one on Tayler Hill's driving layup with 19 seconds
to play, but Moore
<< Coyotes edge Flames on Doan's OT winner
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Doan scored the game-winner in overtime
to give the Phoenix Coyotes a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Taylor Pyatt scored in regulation for the Coyotes, who extended their season-
high
McNeese State-Texas A&M game canceled >>
Lake Charles, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - McNeese State's scheduled football game at
Texas A&M on Sept. 1 has been canceled, both schools announced.
Texas A&M initiated the cancellation after it entered into an Aug. 30 match-up
with Louisi
Hantuchova advances, Zvonareva retires in Pattaya City >>
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Daniela
Hantuchova was among the quarterfinal winners Friday at the Pattaya Open,
while two-time winner Vera Zvonareva was forced to retire from her match
because
Harvard battles Penn in pivotal Ivy League tussle >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Harvard Crimson will try
to maintain their spot atop the Ivy League standings, as they head to
Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers tonight at The Palestra.
Harvard is enjoying the best
First meets worst when Bulls visit Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two streaks will be on the line this evening at Time Warner
Cable Arena, as the Chicago Bulls go after their fifth straight win, while the
Charlotte Bobcats attempt to avoid matching the longest losing streak in
franchise his
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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