11/22/2008 - Mar del Plata, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In Saturday's pivotal doubles rubber, a tandem of lefthanders Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco topped a duo of Agustin Calleri and David Nalbandian in four sets to give visiting Spain a 2-1 lead over Argentina in their best-of-five Davis Cup final at Estadio Islas Malvinas.
Lopez and Verdasco dropped the first set on Day 2 before fighting back for a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 decision over Calleri and Nalbandian on the indoor hardcourt here in Mar del Plata. Argentine captain Alberto Mancini removed Jose Acasuso from the doubles bout and replaced him with Nalbandian, who was a singles winner here on Friday.
Spain now needs to win just one of Sunday's two reverse singles rubbers to secure its third Davis Cup title this decade, while the Argentines need to sweep the Day-3 singles in order to secure that elusive first-ever Davis Cup championship.
On Saturday, the Spaniards dropped a tough first set against Calleri and Nalbandian, but fought back to take the second and level the rubber.
In a most interesting third set, Spain jumped out to a seemingly-commanding 5-1 lead only to see the Argentines charge all the way back to forge a 5-5 tie and ultimately force a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, it was team Argentina that let things slip away, as Calleri- Nalbandian blew a 5-1 lead, as the Spaniards rattled off six straight points to stun the hosts and grab a two-sets-to-one lead.
The fourth and deciding set was never in doubt for Spain, as the visitors roared out to a 5-2 advantage and held on to secure the crucial second point.
Lopez and Verdasco needed 3 hours, 18 minutes to prevail, which they did with the help of six service breaks and 12 aces. The losers settled for four breaks and 10 aces.
Sunday's singles call for Spain's David Ferrer to take on 20-year-old rising Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro and Lopez to encounter the former Wimbledon runner-up and former Tennis Masters Cup champion Nalbandian. The world No. 9 del Potro, No. 11 Nalbandian and No. 12 Ferrer account for three of the top-12 players on the planet. Lopez is ranked 31st.
On Friday here, Nalbandian spanked Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the opening singles rubber and Lopez then pulled Spain even with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 stunner over del Potro.
The Spaniards, captained by Emilio Sanchez, also have Davis Cup rookie Marcel Granollers at their disposal on Sunday. Granollers joined the squad last week when world No. 1 superstar Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal, citing a knee injury. The amazing Nadal is the reigning Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champ.
The gritty Spaniards own a pair of Davis Cup championships, with both coming this decade -- in 2000 and 2004. Argentina was the runner-up just two years ago and also back in 1981.
Spain is 2-0 all-time versus Argentina, which is hosting for the first time ever in this series. The Spaniards prevailed at home way back in 1926 and again in 2003.
The Spaniards, who are 2-3 in their all-time Davis Cup finals and appearing in their fourth final this decade, reached this year's final by beating the 32-time and defending champion United States 4-1 in a semifinal in Madrid, while Argentina got past Russia 3-2 in Buenos Aires, with del Potro winning a fifth and deciding rubber.
The Argentines have won 13 straight Davis Cup ties as the host.
<< Canucks G Luongo leaves game vs. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo
left Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an apparent left leg
injury.
With 15:06 left in the first period, Luongo made a pad save but immediately
<< Arminia Bielefeld upsets Bayer; Hoffe takes lead
Bielefeld, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Artur Wichniarek and Daniel Halfar scored
as Arminia Bielefeld knocked Bayer Leverkusen out of first place on Saturday in
the German Bundesliga with a 2-1 win at Schuco Arena.
Hoffenheim took advantage o
<< U.S. to play Brazil, Italy in Confederations Cup
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States men's national team was drawn
into Group B on Saturday along with reigning World Cup winners Italy, five-time
World Cup winners Brazil and African Cup of Nations winners Egypt for the 2009
FIFA
<< Bears put T Miller on IR
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears placed offensive tackle
Fred Miller on injured reserve Saturday with a shoulder problem.
Miller appeared in six games this season for Chicago, playing mostly on
special teams. T
Toronto C O'Neal has strained left knee >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors center Jermaine O'Neal is
listed as day-to-day with a strained left knee, the team announced on
Saturday.
O'Neal suffered the injury early in the fourth quarter of Friday's 12
Griffin's big day carries No. 12 Oklahoma past Gardner-Webb >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin scored 35 points and grabbed 21
rebounds, as 12th-ranked Oklahoma needed a late rally to pull out an 80-76
victory over Gardner-Webb at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Griffin also led the team w
Muntari helps Inter topple Juve >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sulley Muntari's goal in the 73rd minute was
enough to lift Inter Milan to a 1-0 win over Juventus at the San Siro on
Saturday.
The result moves Inter four points clear of AC Milan at the top of the
Canucks lose Luongo, but beat Penguins >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin recorded a goal and two
assists as the Vancouver Canucks overcame the loss of goaltender Roberto
Luongo to injury to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, at Mellon Arena.
Pavol De
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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