Italy sneaks past Ukraine to reach Fed Cup semis
Tennis Betting Lines
02/05/2012 - Biella, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy got a big doubles win from Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci in Sunday's fifth and deciding rubber in their Fed Cup quarterfinal against visiting Ukraine, as the Italians won the best-of- five encounter, 3-2.
Italy headed into Sunday in a 1-1 deadlock with the Ukrainians after Sara Errani and Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko posted singles victories on Saturday.
In Sunday's first reverse singles rubber, last year's French Open runner-up and 2010 Roland Garros titlist Francesca Schiavone came from behind to beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-4 to give the Italians a short-lived 2-1 edge. The upstart world No. 121 Tsurenko, who stunned the 11th-ranked Schiavone 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday, then flattened Sara Errani, 6-1, 3-0, when Errani retired from their bout with a right knee injury on Day 2, leaving the series knotted at 2-2 at Biella's Lauretana Forum.
In the final rubber of the weekend, Pennetta and Vinci broke the deadlock by holding off a Ukrainian duo of Tsurenko and Olga Savchuk 7-5, 0-6, 6-1 to send Italy into the semifinals. Pennetta replaced Errani in the doubles match.
The powerful Italians have won three of the last six Fed Cup titles, including back-to-back crowns in 2009 and 2010. They are now 4-0 all-time against Ukraine in Fed Cup play.
Up next for Italy in April will be the reigning Fed Cup champion Czech Republic.
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic is expected to miss two weeks after taking a slap shot to the face from Buffalo Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff on Saturday. Hamonic needed help to g
<< Heat get past Raptors
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James had a game-high 30 points to go with
nine rebounds as the Miami Heat outlasted the Toronto Raptors, 95-89, at
American Airlines Arena on Sunday.
Dwyane Wade scored 25 points and Chris Bosh add
<< Rangers continue dominance of Flyers
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Artem Anisimov had a goal and two assists to
lead the New York Rangers to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist while Michael Del Zotto, Brandon
Dubinsky and R
<< Kovalchuk leads Devils past Pens
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two
assists on Sunday, leading the Devils to a 5-2 win over the Penguins.
Kovalchuk now has 10 points in his last four games -- all New Jersey
victories. Z
<< Thomas lifts Bruins over Capitals
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas stopped 35 shots to lift the
Boston Bruins to a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center.
Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley each had a goal and an assist while Milan
Lucic a
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players for Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, IN. NEW YORK GIANTS VS. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, 6:30 P.M. (ET) Giants - RB Da'Rel Scott, WR Ramses Barden, C Jim Cordle, T J
Notre Dame dominates DePaul >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Natalie Novosel led the way with 21 points
for No. 2 Notre Dame as it dominated DePaul, 90-70, at Purcell Pavilion on
Sunday.
The Fighting Irish (23-1, 10-0 Big East) had five scorers in double figu
De Rossi signs five-year extension with Roma >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi has signed a
five-year contract extension, the Italian club announced Sunday.
De Rossi, 28, had a contract through the end of the current season, but signed
a new deal to keep
Johnson lifts No. 8 Tennessee past Auburn >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glory Johnson recorded her ninth double-
double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds as No. 8 Tennessee took
down Auburn, 82-61.
Ariel Massengale added 14 points, five rebounds and four
Price, Canadiens shut out Jets >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carey Price stopped 23 shots for his third
shutout of the season as the Montreal Canadiens took a 3-0 decision over the
Winnipeg Jets.
Tomas Plekanec had a goal and an assist while Max Pacioretty and Ale
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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