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01/17/2009 - Sydney, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian of Argentina gutted out a three-set victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen to capture the Medibank International title on Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Nalbandian posted a 6-3, 6-7 (9-11), 6-2 triumph for his 10th career ATP singles crown. It was also his first in Australia, giving him some momentum heading into the year's first Grand Slam.
"It's very good. Winning a tournament before [the Australian Open] is almost perfect," said Nalbandian. "So very happy for the week that I had here."
Nalbandian knocked off four-time Sydney champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the quarterfinals and cruised to a straight-set win over France's Richard Gasquet in the semis before his tussle with Nieminen.
The unseeded Finn had a much tougher route to the final -- name-wise, as he beat 2008 Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic in the semifinals after a walkover victory against last year's Aussie Open runner-up, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Nalbandian appeared in control and was serving for the match in the second set, but Nieminen broke to make it 5-5 and it eventually went to a tiebreak. Nieminen blew four set points in the tiebreak before converting the fifth to send the match to a decisive third set.
The final set was all Nalbandian, who broke for a 4-2 lead and broke serve again to finish the match.
"The tiebreak was very long," said Nalbandian. "I was a little unlucky some points. But that's the way it is. Then I started playing very good again, and then third set I was in control. It was a good match. A good win."
Nalbandian evened his record in ATP finals to 10-10 and also improved to 7-4 lifetime against Nieminen.
"Today it was a tough match," added Nalbandian. "I feel that I'm going to arrive [in] Melbourne with a lot of confidence. So that's good."
Nalbandian, whose best Grand Slam finish was a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2002, will play in his eighth Australian Open. He has been a quarterfinalist three times and in 2006 reached the semifinals. His first-round opponent next week will be France's Marc Gicquel.
Nieminen, meanwhile, fell to 1-8 all-time in ATP finals. His lone crown came at Auckland in 2006 and last year he was a finalist in Adelaide, a run that propeled him to a quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open -- matching his best Grand Slam result.
"I got a lot confidence from this week," said Nieminen. "I really feel good, and I don't feel physically tired."
Nieminen's first-round foe in Melbourne will be Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Saturday's victory was worth a first prize of $78,500 for Nalbandian.
The doubles crown went to the American tandem of Bob and Mike Bryan, who earned a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) victory over the top-seeded duo of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.
<< Magic Trick: Nelson, Howard power Orlando past Lakers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jameer Nelson poured in 15 of his 28 points
in the fourth quarter, including a trio of three-pointers, as the Orlando
Magic pulled off an unprecedented season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers
behind
<< Redd's 44 paces Bucks win over Kings
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Redd poured in a season-high 44
points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks in a 129-122 victory over the Sacramento
Kings at ARCO Arena.
It was the Bucks' first win in Sacramento since a 112-101 triu
<< Crawford leads Warriors past Hawks
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford scored a game-high 29 points,
and the Golden State Warriors topped the Atlanta Hawks, 119-114, at ORACLE
Arena.
Corey Maggette contributed 24 points -- including 14 in the fourth quarter
<< Jamison, Wizards end losing streak with win over Knicks
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antawn Jamison poured in a game-high 28
points to lead the Washington Wizards in a 96-89 victory over the New York
Knicks at the Verizon Center for the finale of a home-and-home set.
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Kiefer withdraws from Australian Open >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Kiefer of Germany has
withdrawn from the Australian Open because of a left ankle injury.
Kiefer was hurt last week during the Hopman Cup. His best finish in 10
previous Austral
Kings try to halt skid in test versus Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will try to avoid a fourth
consecutive loss when they visit the rival Dallas Stars for this afternoon's
Pacific Division battle at American Airlines Center.
The Kings dropped the final three tests on
'Canes hope to avoid longest losing streak of season vs Sabres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes will try to halt their longest
losing streak of the season when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for tonight's
encounter at HSBC Arena.
The Hurricanes have lost four straight contests and are in danger
Devils resume road trip against Islanders >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils continue their six-game road trip
tonight in an Atlantic Division contest with the New York Islanders at Nassau
Coliseum.
New Jersey has won two straight and three of the four contests it has played
Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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