Ferrer sends two-time champs into Davis Cup quarters

Tennis Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Logrono, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ferrer whipped Stanislas Wawrinka in Sunday's first reverse singles match, sending Spain into the Davis Cup quarterfinals with a first-round victory over Switzerland. The two-time defending champion Spaniards beat the visiting Swiss 4-1.

Ferrer gave the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead by blasting Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in 2 hours, 34 minutes to send the champs into the quarterfinals against France.

A dead rubber on Sunday saw Nicolas Almagro dust Swiss Marco Chiudinelli 6-1. 6-3 to put the finishing touch on the Spanish win.

Spain grabbed a 2-1 lead here on Saturday when its doubles tandem of Tommy Robredo and Marcel Granollers defeated a Swiss pairing of Wawrinka and Yves Allegro 7-6 (10-8), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 on the red clay at the Plaza de Toros de la Ribera.

On Friday, Wawrinka gave the Swiss a 1-0 lead with a marathon 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Almagro before Ferrer leveled the tie for Spain with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory over Chiudinelli.

Switzerland played without world No. 1 superstar Roger Federer, while Spain did not have its great star, Rafael Nadal, in the lineup. Federer had previously announced that he would not play this week, while the former No. 1 oft-injured Nadal is nursing a bad knee.

Powerful Spain is captained by former French Open champ Albert Costa, while the Swiss was led by Severin Luthi.

The Spaniards are now 5-1 all-time against the Swiss, in a series that dates back to 1946.

Spain beat the Czech Republic in last year's final and won four Davis Cup titles in the 2000s, including two straight to close out the decade. The Spaniards are now unbeaten in 19 home ties stretching back to 1999.

Footballfantasybetting Tennis Betting News

<< Slumping Devils attempt to rebound against hard-luck Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils conclude a string of four consecutive road games with tonight's matchup with an Edmonton Oilers team that'll be gunning for a rare winning streak. New Jersey has gone just 1-2-0 thus far on the stretc

<< Ducks to open crucial homestand with visit from Habs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks haven't helped their cause for inclusion in the playoffs with their performance following the Olympic break. They'll have a chance to improve those chances with a critical seven-game homestand that starts up

<< Flyers head back home to take on Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers return to the Wachovia Center for an important four-game homestand that begins with tonight's encounter with the road-challenged Toronto Maple Leafs. Philadelphia just completed a stretch of four co

<< Sabres visit Rangers seeking to stop road slide
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres hope to put their road woes to an end when the Northeast Division co-leaders pay a visit to historic Madison Square Garden tonight for a matchup with the New York Rangers. Buffalo heads to the Big Apple

<< Thrashers, Canes to face off in clash of surging Southeast squads
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing at home has been good as of late for the Atlanta Thrashers, who head back to Philips Arena tonight to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in a Southeast Division showdown. Atlanta has won its last three tests as the ho

Twente climbs to top of Eredivisie >>
Waalwijk, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenneth Perez scored midway through the second half and Twente moved atop the Dutch Eredivisie with a 1-0 win over last-place RKC Waalwijk at Mandemakers Stadion on Sunday. PSV Eindhoven dropped it

Croatia rips Ecuador 5-0 in Davis Cup first-rounder >>
Varazdin, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatia put the finishing touches Sunday on a 5-0 sweep of visiting Ecuador in a best-of-five Davis Cup first-round matchup. In a pair of dead rubbers on Day 3, Antonio Veic vaulted past Julio-C

Boonchu Ruangkit claims European Seniors event >>
Brunei (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boonchu Ruangkit defeated Frankie Minoza in a playoff Sunday to claim the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters. Ruangkit and Minoza closed with five-under 66s to finish at 14-under-par 199. Ruangkit won with a pa

Twins lock up P Blackburn, sign 20 others >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins on Sunday signed pitcher Nick Blackburn to a four-year, $14 million contract. The deal also includes a club option for the 2014 season worth $8 million. Blackburn started 33

Nalbandian sends Argentina into Davis Cup QFs >>
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian defeated Andreas Vinciguerra to give visiting Argentina a 3-2 victory over Sweden in their first-round Davis Cup matchup in Stockholm. The former Wimbledon runner-up Nalban

FOOTBALL BETTING : Braylon Edwards Traded to the New York Jets

Sportsbook Betting

After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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