11/21/2008 - Mar del Plata, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2008 Davis Cup World Group final commenced Friday, as visiting Spain and host Argentina are knotted at 1-1 following the opening singles rubbers.
The best-of-five championship round got underway when Argentine star David Nalbandian spanked Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, but Feliciano Lopez surprisingly pulled Spain even with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over rising world No. 9 Argentine slugger Juan Martin del Potro at Mar del Plata.
The world No. 11 Nalbandian outclassed the 12th-ranked Ferrer in just under two hours on the indoor hardcourt here at Estadio Islas Malvinas.
Ferrer failed to take a lead at any point on Day 1 and was under constant pressure due to some solid serving and tremendous net play by Nalbandian.
The former Tennis Masters Cup champion and former Wimbledon runner-up Nalbandian whipped Ferrer with the help of seven aces, and the gritty Argentine broke the Spaniard's serve a whopping seven times, compared to only two breaks for the eventual loser.
Nalbandian improved to 4-6 lifetime against Ferrer, including wins now in three of their last four encounters. This marked their first meeting this year and their first-ever Davis Cup matchup.
"I don't think it was one of my best matches, but I played very well," Nalbandian said. "I played very solid from the first point, so that gave me confidence point by point. I think I played a match of very high level, not much on the time, very short, and that's very good for the whole weekend."
The 26-year-old Nalbandian is now 17-4 in his career Davis Cup singles.
The 27-year-old lefthanded Lopez then stunned the 6-foot-5 del Potro in 3 hours, 19 minutes, despite a 24-ace barrage from the tall Argentine. Lopez fired 19 aces of his own on his way to victory. Both players could manage only two breaks apiece over four sets of tennis.
Trailing 2-3 in the final set, del Potro doubled over in pain and called for a trainer. After play resumed, the lanky Argentine was unable to overcome the game Lopez.
The 31st-ranked Lopez is now 2-2 lifetime against the 20-year-old del Potro, including a perfect 2-0 mark this year.
Saturday's pivotal doubles bout currently calls for an Argentine duo of Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri to meet a Spanish tandem of Lopez and fellow southpaw Fernando Verdasco, while Sunday's reverse singles currently pit del Potro against Ferrer and Nalbandian versus Lopez.
The Spaniards, captained by Emilio Sanchez, also have Davis Cup rookie Marcel Granollers at their disposal. 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 formidable Argentine squad, captained by Alberto Mancini, is seeking its first-ever Davis Cup title, while the Spaniards already own two championships, with both coming this decade, in 2000 and 2004. Argentina was the runner-up 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.
<< Hull leads; Sorenstam's career ends with missed cut
West Palm Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katherine Hull posted a one-under 71
Friday to maintain a one-shot lead after two rounds of the ADT Championship.
Hull completed 36 holes at five-under-par 139.
However, the big story was Annika S
<< Making a run at LeBron
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every time LeBron James wears a New York Yankees cap, the
basketball fans in Gotham smile.
I guess the reasoning is simple and goes something like this...Since the
Cleveland Cavaliers' superstar loves baseball's most stori
<< Hoffenheim eyes top spot against Koln
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoffenheim's Jan Schindelmeiser admitted he
never "would have thought it possible" the promoted club would be near the top
of the Bundesliga, "just as no one here would have."
But Hoffe, promoted to the
<< Packers Can Badly Injure Saints' Playoff Hopes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monday night could represent something of a last stand for
the New Orleans Saints.
Despite being picked by many to win the NFC South prior to the season, Sean
Payton's team finds itself at a disappointing 5-5 heading into
U.S. men to open 2009 schedule against Sweden >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States men's national team will kick
off a busy 2009 schedule when they face Sweden on Jan. 24.
The game, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., follows a training camp
that begins the first
Griffins' Wilson recalled by Dallas >>
Grand Rapids, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grand Rapids Griffins left winger Landon
Wilson was recalled by the Dallas Stars on Friday, the American League Hockey
club announced.
Wilson, 33, leads the AHL with seven power-play goals and rank
Jets QB Ainge suspended four games by NFL >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets rookie quarterback Eric
Ainge has been suspended by the NFL for four game on Thursday for violating
the league's policy on steroids and related substances.
Placed on injured reserve
Stars' Morrow to miss six months >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow is
expected to miss up to six months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament
in his right knee, the club announced on Friday.
The 29-year-old Morrow skated in
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting