Fish replaces Bob Bryan for U.S. Davis Cup semi against Spain

Tennis Betting Lines

09/16/2008 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending champion United States will play this week's Davis Cup semifinal against host Spain without one of its doubles stars, Bob Bryan, who has been replaced on the team by Mardy Fish for the best-of-five tie in Madrid.

Last week, the U.S. announced that an exhausted James Blake would not play singles in Madrid, and he was replaced by Davis Cup rookie Sam Querrey. Now, the formidable Bryan brothers doubles tandem has been split up for this week, as Bob is nursing a shoulder injury. He has an inflamed left shoulder that required a cortisone injection.

The favored Spaniards will be led by Wimbledon, four-time French Open and Olympic champion Rafael Nadal. In addition to the top-ranked Nadal, Spanish captain Emilio Sanchez has David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez at his disposal. The Americans, captained by Patrick McEnroe, will counter with Andy Roddick, Querrey and a doubles pairing of Fish and Mike Bryan. Querrey is scheduled make his Davis Cup debut on Friday.

The matchup will be held from Friday through Sunday on a temporary clay court at Madrid's Plaza de Toros Las Ventas.

The mighty twin Bryan brothers are 14-2 together in Davis Cup play and helped the U.S. win its first title in 12 years last year.

The Spain-USA winner will visit the Argentina-Russia victor in the final in November. The Argentines play host to the Russians this weekend.

The United States and Spain will meet for the ninth time in their history and for the fifth time since 2000. The Americans are 5-3 against Spain, winning the last meeting in a World Group quarterfinal last year in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Established in 1900, Davis Cup is the world's largest annual international men's team competition, with 127 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 titles. The Americans beat a visiting Russian squad in last year's finale in Portland.

Earthilnk Tennis Betting News

<< Radwanska rolls; Hantuchova, Chakvetadze ousted in Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska advanced with an easy first-round victory on Tuesday, while seventh-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova and eighth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze went by way of upsets

<< Zheng, Dulko reach second round in China
Guangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Chinese favorite Jie Zheng and fifth-seeded Argentine Gisela Dulko highlighted Tuesday's first- round winners at the $175,000 Guangzhou International Women's Open. Zheng dismantl

<< Haren tries to lead D-Backs to needed win over Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren will try to end his current winless streak when he leads the Arizona Diamondbacks against the San Francisco Giants tonight in the second test of a four-game series at Chase Field. Haren is 0-2 with a 5.57 earn

<< Nervous Mets seek a rebound in Washington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There has to be an eerie feeling in the New York Mets' clubhouse right now, as the team's lead in the National League East has dwindled down to just a half-game. Tonight, New York will try to solve the Washing

<< Red Sox, Rays resume duel for AL East lead
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First place in the American League East will again be on the line this evening, when the Tampa Bay Rays host the Boston Red Sox in the second of three critical matchups from Tropicana Field. Boston slugged six home r

Carolina C Brind'Amour undergoes knee surgery >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carolina Hurricanes center Rod Brind'Amour underwent successful surgery on his left knee Tuesday morning. Brind'Amour, 38, had torn cartilage in his meniscus removed from the knee, and is expected to be ba

USC - Number One for a Reason >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The battle between one and five was more like one vs. 25. The USC Trojans blew out the Ohio State Buckeyes, who played without their best player, running back Chris Wells. Even with "Beanie," it is doubtful

AFC East: Bills' Success Won't be a Secret Much Longer >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clearly, Sunday's win by the team playing in the nation's 50th-biggest television market over the team playing in the nation's 49th- biggest television market didn't cause much of a ripple on the country's sports landscape.

Sixers' Smith to undergo knee surgery >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia 76ers center Jason Smith is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Wednesday. The procedure will be performed by Dr. David A

Sox 3B Lowell has torn labrum in hip >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell has been playing with pain in his hip for more than two months, and recently revealed the injury to be a partially torn labrum. In a story on MLB.com

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .