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02/11/2012 - Nis, Serbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweden stayed alive in its first-round Davis Cup tie with Serbia after the doubles team of Johan Brunstrom and Robert Lindstedt pulled out a five-set victory over Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic on Saturday.
The Serbs, playing without world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, needed only a win Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals after Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki won singles matches on Friday for a 2-0 lead.
Brunstrom and Lindstedt had other ideas, however, and earned a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 10-8 win in four hours and nine minutes to force Sunday's reverse singles to become relevant.
Tipsarevic will get the first chance on Sunday against Michael Ryderstedt, while the second reverse singles match currently calls for Troicki to face Filip Prpic.
Djokovic, along with Serbian captain Bogdan Obradovic, decided that the reigning Australian Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion should rest this week following the No. 1's most recent championship run in Melbourne.
The Serbia-Sweden winner will meet the Czech Republic in April's quarterfinals after the Czechs advanced past Italy on Saturday.
Serbia captured the Davis Cup title two years ago, while Sweden, captained by Thomas Enqvist, owns seven championships, but none since 1998.
The Serbs defeated the Swedes, 4-1, in the quarterfinals last year.
<< Celtic claims 13th-straight league win
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic continued its stunning run of form
Saturday, defeating Inverness, 1-0, at Parkhead to extend its winning streak
in Scottish Premier League play to 13 games.
The Bhoys have not dropped points in
<< Czechs bounce Italy out of Davis Cup
Ostrava, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych
followed up their singles victories from Friday with a doubles triumph
Saturday to send the Czech Republic past Italy and into the Davis Cup
quarter
<< Spain eliminates Kazakhstan in Davis Cup
Oviedo, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain has again advanced to the Davis Cup
quarterfinals after the doubles team of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez
posted a straight-set victory over the Kazakhstan duo of Evgeny Korolev and
Yuriy S
<< Flames' Blair Jones out indefinitely
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary Flames center Blair Jones is out
indefinitely after suffering a fractured ankle.
Jones suffered the injury while blocking a shot during Thursday's game against
the Phoenix Coyotes.
In 13 games
Kerber, Bartoli to meet in Open GDF Suez final >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French crowd favorite Marion Bartoli and
German Angelique Kerber won semifinal matches Saturday at the Open GDF Suez.
The second-seeded Bartoli defeated Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic
7-6 (
Rooney bags two to lift United over Liverpool >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The intense rivalry in Northwestern
England did disappoint in entertainment value on Saturday as Manchester
United, led by a brace from Wayne Rooney, defeated Liverpool, 2-1, at Old
Traffor
Kuric lifts Louisville over West Virginia >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Kuric hit the tying three-pointer as
part of a late Louisville run, then made a critical steal in the closing
seconds to help the 24th-ranked Cardinals notch their sixth straight win
with a
Jardine, Syracuse top UConn >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scoop Jardine hit four three-pointers en route
to 21 points, leading second-ranked Syracuse to an 85-67 victory over
Connecticut at the Carrier Dome.
Dion Waiters added 18 points and Kris Joseph fol
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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