Berdych, Monfils to meet for Montpellier title
Tennis Betting Lines
02/04/2012 -
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils were
semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Open Sud de
France tennis tournament.
The top-seeded Berdych had little trouble in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Germany's
Philip Kohlschreiber after the third-seeded Monfils beat fellow Frenchman
Gilles Simon, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Monfils saved a match point in his semifinal victory, as the second-seeded
Simon had a break point to win it in the 12th game of the second set. Monfils
was able to save it and won a tiebreaker before opening with an early break in
the third.
Simon battled back with a break, but quickly went down 15-40 in the 10th game
and Monfils finally finished him off on his second match point to end the two-
hour, 26-minute battle.
Monfils, who beat Simon for the first time in three all-time meetings, is
trying to win this title for the second time. He won it two years ago, the
last time the tournament was contested, and on Sunday will try for his fifth
career title.
It's already the second final of the year for Monfils, who lost to countryman
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open tuneup in Qatar. Monfils owns a
dismal career record of 4-12 in finals.
Berdych, meanwhile, is 6-6 in title matches. He made just one final in 2011,
winning the crown in Beijing. The Czech opened his 2012 season with a
quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open.
It was a much easier semifinal for Berdych, who saved all five break points he
faced and beat Kohlschreiber for the seventh time in eight all-time meetings.
Berdych won the lone previous matchup with Monfils, taking a 6-3, 6-2 decision
in the first round at Dubai in 2008.
Sunday's winner will collect a first prize of $95,000.
<< Serbs, Belgians even after first day at Fed Cup
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia and Belgium are even after the
first day of play at their Fed Cup quarterfinal.
Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia the first point on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-5 win
over Kirsten Flipkens, but Yanina
<< Azarenka withdraws from Fed Cup match
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Australian Open champion Victoria
Azarenka withdrew from her Fed Cup match with a lower back injury on Saturday.
She will be replaced by teammate Anastasiya Yakimova, but she is still
elig
<< Italy and Ukraine even after opening day at Fed Cup
Biella, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy and the Ukraine are surprisingly even
after Saturday's opening singles matches of their Fed Cup quarterfinal.
The matchups and home court clearly favored the Italians and Sara Errani gave
the hosts
<< Kvitova, Benesova lift Czechs to lead over Germany
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petra Kvitova and Iveta Benesova each
won three-set thrillers to give the Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over
Germany in its Fed Cup quarterfinal.
Benesova gave the defending Fed Cup champions
<< Hawks C Collins out at least 2 weeks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins will miss a
minimum of two weeks with a sprained left elbow, the team announced Saturday.
Collins was injured in the first quarter of Thursday's loss to the Grizzlies.
He i
Georgetown cruises past South Florida >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Sims had 13 points, nine rebounds and
five assists, as No. 14 Georgetown cruised past South Florida, 75-45, on
Saturday.
Otto Porter added 12 points and Jason Clark finished with 11 for the
Syracuse thumps St. John's as Boeheim ties Dean >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fab Melo returned to the Syracuse lineup after
a three-game absence and the sophomore center paid immediate dividends with 14
points, as the second-ranked Orange controlled the paint and rolled to a 95-70
victory
Advantage City as Citizens edge Cottagers >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City went top of the Premier
League on Saturday after defeating Fulham, 3-0, on a snowy night at the
Etihad.
The Citizens take a three-point lead in England's top tier as riv
Bayern held by Hamburg at Imtech Arena >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich fell two points off the pace
of first-place Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after it was held to a 1-1 draw
at the Imtech Arena by Hamburg.
Borussia Dortmund claimed sole possession of first
Florida State holds off Virginia >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Okaro White scored 13 points and pulled
down five rebounds off the bench as No. 21 Florida State held off 16th-ranked
Virginia to earn a 58-55 victory at Tucker Center.
Xavier Gibson added 10 points
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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Big Ten Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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