Jankovic reaches U.S. Open final
Tennis Betting Lines
09/05/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Serb Jelena Jankovic secured a berth in Saturday night's U.S. Open women's final.
The second-seeded Jankovic handled fifth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-4 in Friday's first women's semifinal match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The two-time major runner-up Dementieva, fresh off her gold medal-winning performance in Beijing, was the 2004 U.S. Open runner-up to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Jankovic, who was ranked No. 1 for only one week just last month, will meet fourth-seeded American Serena Williams or sixth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina in the final.
The 23-year-old Jankovic will now appear in her first-ever major final after going 0-4 in her previous Grand Slam semis, including 0-2 in such encounters this season. She was a semifinalist here two years ago.
Jankovic converted on her first match point after 1 hour, 34 minutes of tennis on Day 12 here when Dementieva sent one final forehand long of the court amid windy conditions at Ashe Stadium. A sloppy Dementieva piled six double faults and 42 unforced errors and had her weak serve broken on five occasions by Jankovic, who played some great defense to advance.
The Belgrade native Jankovic will appear in her 16th career final on the WTA Tour, going 6-9 in her previous ones, including 1-1 this year.
The 2008 U.S. Open champ will pocket at least $1.5 million, while Safina would collect $2.5 million with a championship by virtue of her U.S. Open Series win leading up to this fourth and final major of the year.
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez admitted on Friday he is keen to play in one of Europe's other top leagues. The 23-year-old Germany international was the subject of a failed approach from Manchester City
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with a back injury Friday.
Ferdinand, 29, missed training before England fle
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Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City midfielder Davy Arnaud didn't waste
time reflecting on last week's 2-1 loss to San Jose, instead looking ahead to
Sunday's game at two-time defending Major League Soccer champion Houston.
"We wan
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Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Mutu has filed an appeal with the
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London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roberto Mancini is the latest candidate to
be distanced from the managerial vacancy at West Ham United after claims from
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Mancini, 43, was
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rain from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Hanna have forced NASCAR officials to cancel qualifying for Friday night's Emerson Radio 250 Nationwide Series race at the Richmond International Raceway
Boston activates trio, including Beckett >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox activated starting pitcher
Josh Beckett and infielders Sean Casey and Mike Lowell from the 15-day
disabled list Friday.
Beckett is scheduled to take the mound tonight against the
Serena, Jankovic to meet in U.S. Open final >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Serena Williams and Serbian
Jelena Jankovic will square off in Saturday night's final at the 2008 U.S.
Open.
The fourth-seeded two-time champion Williams reached her fourth U.S. Ope
NASCAR postpones Richmond races until Sunday >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Due to heavy rains and winds expected from
Tropical Storm Hanna, NASCAR has postponed all track activities at the
Richmond International Raceway until Sunday.
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St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Camilo Villegas fired a five-under 65 on
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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
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