08/27/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion and last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva were a pair of second-round winners Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
The third-seeded Kuznetsova was tested in the first set before cruising to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 decision against Romanian Sorana Cirstea on Day 3 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The three-time major finalist Kuznetsova captured her lone major title here in Flushing four years ago and lost to Belgian Justine Henin in last year's Big Apple finale.
Kuznetsova will meet Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik in the third round.
A fifth-seeded Dementieva ran her current winning streak to eight matches with a 6-2, 6-1 pasting of France's Pauline Parmentier. Dementieva, who lost to Kuznetsova in the 2004 all-Russian U.S. Open finale, is fresh off her gold medal-winning performance in Beijing two weeks ago.
Up next for the two-time major runner-up Dementieva will be Britain's Anne Keothavong.
A big surprise came when Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis ousted eighth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3. The Top-10 star Zvonareva was a bronze medalist in Beijing earlier this month.
Fifteenth-seeded Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder cruised into the round of 32 with a 6-3, 6-3 pasting of 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
An upset came when the aforementioned Keothavong took out 25th-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, while a 28th-seeded Srebotnik advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Austrian Yvonne Meusburger.
Additional second-round wins came for Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova, Chinese Na Li and Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
<< Instant Replay: Yay or Nay?
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball joined its other major sport
contemporaries on Tuesday by implementing instant replay on a limited basis
for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
And I, for one, applaud it. It is something that s
<< Hayes, Humphrey selected as senior nominees for Pro Football Hall
Canton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey have been selected
as the senior nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
Hayes and Humphrey will join 15 still-to-be-named modern-era candidates on the
list of
<< D'Backs take a note from music industry
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Singer/songwriter James Taylor recommends it, and the
Beatles explain how reluctant they were at one point in reaching out for it.
Right now, the Arizona Diamondbacks are getting a lot of it to maintain their
lead
<< Red Sox pick up Kotsay from Braves
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox bolstered their outfield on
Wednesday by landing veteran Mark Kotsay from the Atlanta Braves in exchange
for minor league outfielder Luis Sumoza.
Just a day after sending outfielder J.D. D
Senderos joins AC Milan on loan >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal have confirmed that Switzerland
international Philippe Senderos has joined AC Milan on a season-long loan
deal.
A brief statement on the Gunners' official website read: "Everyone at Arsena
Power outage has Marlins falling back >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In baseball's first half, the Marlins were the biggest fish
in the sea when it came to blasting home runs. However, since the break they
have become mere minnows in a pond.
Florida led the majors with 135 home runs in 95 g
Marquis, Cubs complete sweep of Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Marquis threw seven scoreless innings
and combined with two relievers on a five-hit shutout, as the Chicago Cubs
completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 2-0 victory at
PNC Par
Sharks sign D Vlasic to four-year extension >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Marc-
Edouard Vlasic to a four-year contract extension, the team announced on
Wednesday. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Vlasic,
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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