11/16/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic defeated Russian star Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets on Sunday to capture the championship at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup.
The second-seeded Djokovic handled the fourth-seeded Davydenko 6-1, 7-5 on Day 8 at Shanghai's Qi Zhong Stadium.
The 21-year-old Djokovic prevailed in 1 hour, 42 minutes, as he broke Davydenko's serve four times, compared to only one break for the 27-year-old loser.
Djokovic raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and never looked back.
Davydenko actually saved some match points while trailing 3-5 in the second set and would eventually pull even in the stanza, but the inspired Serb was just too much for him on Day 8 and Djokovic ultimately closed out the match with an unreturnable serve.
"For me I think was today a very difficult day," said Davydenko. "He played very good."
"Against Djokovic you need to be perfect, also play very fast and very good. That's what he did, and I didn't. I really had no chance."
Djokovic, who won this week's four-player Gold Group, went 4-1 for the week, including a victory over Davydenko in the round-robin portion of the event. Davydenko wound up 3-2 for the week, with both losses coming against Djokovic.
The world No. 3 Serbian Djokovic is now 2-1 lifetime against the world No. 5 Davydenko, with all three meetings coming this year. The speedy Russian prevailed in a Davis Cup bout earlier in the season.
The Belgrade native Djokovic now owns 11 career titles in 17 finals and went 4-3 in his 2008 title tilts. Davydenko went 3-2 in five finals this season, including a big Masters Series title in Miami. He dropped to 14-5 in his career ATP finals.
Djokovic captured his first-ever major title at the Aussie Open back in January. He went 64-17 this year and captured a bronze medal at the Olympic Games here in China.
The 6-foot-3 Djokovic pocketed $1.24 million this week, while Davydenko settled for $615,000 at this exclusive $4.45 million tournament.
Swiss great Roger Federer won this event the last two years, but was eliminated from semifinal contention by Scottish star Andy Murray here on Friday. Davydenko upset a weary Murray in Saturday's semis.
In Sunday's doubles final, the second-seeded tandem of Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking by dousing the top-seeded duo of American twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. The 2003 and 2004 Masters Cup champion Bryans had been the year-end No. 1 team the previous three years.
Nestor-Zimonjic went 3-1 against the Bryans this season.
The 36-year-old Nestor, paired with Bahamian Mark Knowles, also captured the Masters Cup doubles title last year.
This prestigious event will shift to London next year.
<< Dumont's late tally helps Predators top Kings
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.P. Dumont scored the go-ahead goal on the
power play with 2:28 remaining in the third period, boosting the Nashville
Predators to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Shea Weber was credited with a
<< Tucker leads Avs past Oilers
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darcy Tucker scored the game-tying goal in
the last minute of regulation, as well as the game-winner in the fifth round
of the shootout, as the Colorado Avalanche pulled off a stunning 3-2 win over
the Edm
<< Stunning comeback: LSU scores 30 in fourth to beat Troy
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charles Scott's four-yard touchdown run
with 4:50 remaining in the game climaxed an incredible comeback, as 19th-
ranked LSU avoided a monumental upset by scoring 30 fourth-quarter points to
beat the Troy Troj
<< Johnson keeps Utah unblemished with rout of SD State
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Johnson threw for 283 yards and a
career-high five touchdowns as eighth-ranked Utah remained unbeaten with BCS
aspirations following a 63-14 pounding of San Diego State.
Johnson connected on 2
Orlando wraps up trip at Charlotte >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to close out a three-game road
trip with a perfect mark when they take on the Charlotte Bobcats tonight at
Time Warner Cable Arena.
Orlando has won the first two tests of the trek and six of
Mavs try to stop skid in Big Apple >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks will try to stop a five-game losing
streak tonight, when they open a three-game road trip against the New York
Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Dallas is coming off a 102-100 loss to the Orland
Pistons pay a visit to Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of conference powerhouses get together tonight in
the desert, where the Detroit Pistons pay a visit to the Phoenix Suns at US
Airways Center.
The 7-2 Pistons have won the first three tests of their four-gam
Nuggets, T-Wolves square off at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets will welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves
to town this evening for a showdown at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets have won four of their last five games, including Friday's 94-85
victory over the defending
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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