05/21/2008 - Dusseldorf, Germany (Tennis Betting) - The United States got a doubles victory from Wayne Odesnik and Bobby Reynolds on Wednesday, as the Americans surprised the reigning champion Argentines 2-1 in round-robin action at the $2.34 million ATP World Team Championship, a clay-court French Open tuneup.
After the U.S. and Argentina split singles matches here on Tuesday, Wednesday's doubles bout decided the outcome, as Odesnik and Reynolds topped a duo of Lucas Arnold and Sebastian Prieto 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 10-7.
The Americans are now 2-0 in the four-nation Red Group and have secured a spot in the semifinals, while Argentina is 0-2 and will not compete in the final four this week.
The Argentines beat the Czech Republic in last year's World Team finale, while the U.S. hasn't won this event since 1993.
Sweden, which is also 2-0 in the Red Group and will play in the semis, finished off the Czechs (0-2) with a 3-0 decision. After winning a pair of singles matches on Tuesday, the Swedes got a 6-4, 7-5 doubles victory from Robert Lindstedt and Robin Soderling over an Czech tandem of Michal Tabara and Pavel Vizner on Day 4.
In the four-nation Blue Group, Italy (1-1) beat the host Germans 2-1 and Spain (1-1) bested Russia 2-1. Germany (1-1) took a 1-0 lead against Italy with a singles victory on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, Simone Bolelli beat German Nicolas Kiefer 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-0) in singles and an Italian duo of Bolelli and Potito Starace stopped a German pairing of Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzschner 2-6, 6-3, 10-4 to pull out the tie. Spain led Russia 1-0 following a singles victory here on Tuesday, and grabbed an insurmountable 2-0 advantage on Wednesday when Feliciano Lopez leveled Russian Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-4. The Russians (1-1) capped the matchup with a 6-3, 6-4 doubles victory by Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny against a Spanish duo of Marcel Granollers and Lopez.
The Blue Group's representatives in the semis still have to be decided.
<< Tsonga charges into Casablanca quarters
Casablanca, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga of France was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the $575,000
Grand Prix Hassan II tennis event.
The second-seeded Tsonga trounced Algerian wild
<< Draft will be the first of many tough decisions for Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls made the most of their 1.7 percent
chance of landing the top pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, winning the lottery to
claim the No. 1 overall selection on June 26.
The Bulls, who finished 33-49 and did not qua
<< Marcelino quits Racing post
Santander, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Racing Santander coach Marcelino Garcia
Toral has confirmed his decision to quit the club following the end of the La
Liga season.
The highly-rated Spanish tactician has been linked with a host of to
<< Monaco, Ljubicic post wins in Austria
Portschach, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded and defending champion
Juan Monaco was a first-round winner, while third-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic
moved into the quarterfinals at the Hypo Group International tennis
tournam
Rafa: Liverpool will be hungrier next season >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Benitez believes his Liverpool
players will return next season hungrier for success after ending this season
without a trophy.
The Reds were 11 points off the pace in the Premier League a
Yarr: NL All-Star outfield could have Pirate theme >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just like the deck of the Black Pearl, the 2008 National
League All-Star team could have a bunch of Pirates running around its
outfield.
The Pirates haven't had two outfielders on the same All-Star roster since
1992. Not
Jags sign DT McDaniel to contract extension >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars signed defensive
tackle Tony McDaniel to a contract extension, the club announced on Wednesday.
McDaniel is entering his third year after being signed as an undrafted free
agen
Bondarenko reaches quarters; Bartoli bows out in Strasbourg >>
Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Ukrainian Alona
Bondarenko moved into the quarterfinals, while top-seeded French favorite
Marion Bartoli came up a second-round loser Wednesday at the $175,000
Strasbo
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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