Nadal advances to fourth round at U.S. Open
Tennis Betting Lines
09/05/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed Rafael Nadal was an easy third-round winner Sunday at the U.S. Open.
The Spaniard took the next step in his pursuit of a career Grand Slam, handling Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nadal, who is seeking his first U.S. Open title, will play countryman Feliciano Lopez for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The 23rd-seeded Lopez advanced to the fourth round after Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky retired in the second set because of a right toe infection. Lopez was leading 6-3, 4-0 when Stakhovsky called it quits.
An eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco dispatched Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Spaniard was a quarter-finalist here last year, losing to Serbian Novak Djokovic in four sets.
Another Spaniard through to the last 16 was 10th-seeded David Ferrer, who cruised past compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-2. Ferrer, who has not dropped a set en route to the fourth round, will next face Verdasco.
Sam Querrey fired 42 winners and 19 aces to power his way to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. The 20th-seeded Querrey matched his best performance at a Grand Slam event. He has reached the fourth round at two straight majors. The American also made it through to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in 2008.
Querrey's next opponent will either be fourth seed Andy Murray or Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans released veteran linebacker Danny Clark on Sunday. He had signed with the team as a free agent in May. Clark spent the 2007 season with the Texans and recorded 51 tackles and one inter
<< Dolphins place CB Allen on injured reserve
DAVIE (AP) - Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Allen was placed on injured reserve Sunday, ending any hope the 10th-year player had of returning from mid-August knee surgery in a move that removes the most seasoned player from a young secondary.Coach T
<< Orioles Tillman makes start after recall
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles recalled pitcher Chris
Tillman from Triple-A Norfolk to start Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay
Rays.
The right-hander went 5 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs on si
<< Day takes 1-shot lead at Deutsche Bank
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australia's Jason Day fired a five-under 66 on
Sunday to take a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker after the third round of
the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Chasing his second win of the season, and looking to ma
<< Davis, Tejada and Pagan help Mets crush Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ike Davis finished a triple shy of the cycle,
drove in three runs, and scored three runs, as the New York Mets dominated the
Chicago Cubs, 18-5, at Wrigley Field.
Ruben Tejada drove in five runs for the Met
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span each drove in a pair of runs and Minnesota survived a ninth-inning scare to take a 6-5 decision over Texas in the finale of a three-game series from Target Field. Orlando
Hernandez dominant again as Mariners shut out Indians >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Branyan homered and drove in two runs
to back eight scoreless innings by Felix Hernandez, as Seattle topped
Cleveland, 3-0, in the last of four between the clubs from Safeco Field.
Hernandez
Schulz hangs on to win First Tee Open >>
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champions Tour rookie Ted Schulz earned
his first win in 19 years Sunday by shooting a two-under 70 in the final round
of the First Tee Open.
Schultz picked up a birdie at the 17th hole and finished at 14-
Happ strong again as Astros down Arizona >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Pence's three-run home run in the first
inning stood up as the deciding hit as Houston held off Arizona, 3-2, to wrap
up a three-game set.
Pence finished 2-for-4 and Jeff Keppinger added a hit and a ru
Riders nip reeling Bombers >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Cates scored twice on the ground as the
Saskatchewan Roughriders took down the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 27-23, in a
Labour Day contest from Mosaic Stadium.
Darian Durant went 22-of-34 with 301 ya
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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