Nadal will lead Spain against U.S.; Blake out
Tennis Betting Lines
09/09/2008 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon, four-time French Open and Olympic champion Rafael Nadal will lead Spain against the visiting and defending champion United States in their Davis Cup semifinal next week.
In addition to the top-ranked Nadal, Spanish captain Emilio Sanchez also selected David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez. The Americans, captained by Patrick McEnroe, announced last week that their team would be comprised of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike. But on Tuesday, McEnroe announced that an "exhausted" Blake was being replaced by Sam Querrey, who will make his Davis Cup debut next week.
The best-of-five tie will be held from September 19-21 on a temporary clay court at Madrid's Plaza de Toros Las Ventas.
The Spain-USA winner will visit the Argentina-Russia winner in the final in November. The Argentines will host the Russians next week.
The United States and Spain will meet for the ninth time in their history and for the fifth time since 2000. The Americans are 5-3 against Spain, winning the last meeting in a World Group quarterfinal last year in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Established in 1900, Davis Cup is the world's largest annual international men's team competition, with 127 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 titles. The Americans beat a visiting Russian squad in last year's finale in Portland.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The cliche' about getting off to a fast start has been replaced by another platitude about the importance of finishing strong, as opposed to starting strong. The San Diego Chargers, just one season after a rocky 1-3 start
<< Jags place G Manuwai on IR
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars place guard
Vince Manuwai on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.
Manuwai suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during
the Jaguars' 17-10 loss to
<< Gasquet, Simon advance in Bucharest
Bucharest, Romania (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds Richard Gasquet and Gilles
Simon of France were among Tuesday's first-round winners at the $525,000 BCR
Open Romania.
Gasquet came from behind to beat Spain's Oscar Hernandez 3-6, 6-4, 6
<< Bolton's Muamba OK after injury scare
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton Wanderers manager Gary Megson has
allayed fears that Fabrice Muamba suffered a serious ankle injury while away on
international duty.
The $10 million summer signing from Birmingham City limped
<< Kobe Bryant foregoes finger surgery
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Lakers All-Star guard Kobe
Bryant has decided to forgo surgery on his right pinkie.
After seeking numerous opinions from hand specialists, Bryant expressed that
he did not want to miss a
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LSU director of athletics Joe Alleva will announce on Wednesday where the Tigers' football game against North Texas will be played Saturday. LSU officials are monitoring the progress of Hurricane Ike
Roger, Serena took bites out of the Big Apple >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple of familiar names captured titles
in New York last week (actually this week), as Roger Federer nailed down a
fifth straight U.S. Open championship, while Serena Williams landed in the
winner's circle
AFC South: Colts kick off season, new digs on sour note >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts broke the first rule of obtaining
success in the game of football on Sunday, as they could neither run the ball
or stop the run in a 29-13 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Entering the 2008 season as the f
NFC East: Division flexes its muscles in Week 1 >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After gaining the reputation over the past few years as one
of the NFL's powerhouse divisions, the NFC East did nothing to tarnish its
esteemed status during the opening games of the 2008 season.
Three of the East's four m
Nationwide Tour adds Christmas in October event >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nationwide Tour and Christmas in
October announced on Tuesday a new Nationwide Tour event beginning in 2009.
The Christmas in October Classic will be played August 20-23, 2009 at the
Nicklau
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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