France clinches upset of Spain at Davis Cup

Tennis Betting Lines

07/10/2010 - Clermont-Ferrand, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France rode the doubles team of Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra to victory Saturday as it clinched the win over reigning two-time champion Spain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Benneteau and Llodra took a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5) decision over the Spanish duo of Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in the decisive doubles rubber.

France had grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup Friday thanks to singles wins from Gael Monfils and Llodra.

The resounding victory is France's first over Spain since 1923, which was the first meeting between the two nations. Spain, which was without world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, had been 5-1 all-time versus France.

Early in Saturday's match it looked like Benneteau and Llodra would roll to victory, as they easily captured the first two sets. Lopez and Verdasco battled back and sent the following two sets into a tiebreak, but the Frenchmen ultimately prevailed in a little more than three hours.

France advances to September's semifinals and will meet the Argentina-Russia victor.

Sunday's reverse singles currently pit Monfils against Verdasco and Llodra versus David Ferrer.

Wwwjackpotpalace Tennis Betting News

<< Nets reach agreement with backup C Johan Petro
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -The New Jersey Nets have reached a contract agreement with center Johan Petro.The Nets did not announce the terms of the deal Saturday, but an NBA official with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press the co

<< Sadler expects to depart RPM at season's end
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elliott Sadler said he does not plan to return to Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. Sadler spoke with the media on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway. The 35-year-old driver said tha

<< Yankees seeking eighth straight win in Seattle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third of four weekend games between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners will ensue at Safeco Field tonight, but the contest seems secondary in the headlines to a trade that fell through between the teams yesterday.

<< Rockies hoping to gain further ground on sliding Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their lead atop the National League's West Division beginning to shrink, the San Diego Padres will be attempting to fend off the hard-charging Colorado Rockies in tonight's middle test of a critical three- game series be

<< Serbia wins doubles to go up on Croatia in Davis Cup
Split, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic took an easy doubles win Saturday to give Serbia an advantage over Croatia in the best-of-five Davis Cup quarterfinal between the rival nations. Tipsarevic and Zimo

Edoardo Molinari in front at Scottish Open >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edoardo Molinari fired an eight-under 63 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Scottish Open. Molinari finished 54 holes at 15-under 198 and is one stroke clear of first

West Ham lands Mexican winger Barrera >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham is set to sign Mexico international Pablo Barrera, according to his current club, UNAM Pumas. The 23-year-old winger made three appearances as El Tri reached the last 16 in South Afric

Taylor signs City extension >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goalkeeper Stuart Taylor has signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester City. The 29-year-old arrived at Eastlands on a free transfer last summer to provide depth behind regular number one S

Martins set for Wolfsburg exit >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg have confirmed that striker Obafemi Martins is set to leave the club. The Nigeria international is expected to team up with Russian champions Rubin Kazan after a less than successful first

Szavay to meet Schnyder in Budapest final >>
Budapest, Hungary (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Agnes Szavay and Patty Schnyder will stage a rematch of the finale from a year ago, after both were semifinal winners Saturday at the $220,000 Budapest Grand Prix. The Hungarian

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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


NFL Football Office Pool Printable Sheets

NFL Office Pool Sheets

MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury. Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.