Djokovic-less Serbs leads Swedes 2-0 in Davis Cup

Tennis Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - Nis, Serbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing without its world No. 1 superstar Novak Djokovic, Serbia jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead over visiting Sweden in a best-of-five opening-round Davis Cup affair.

World No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic handled unheralded Swede Filip Prpic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 and 22nd-ranked Viktor Troicki got past Michael Ryderstedt 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 Friday on the indoor hardcourt at Hala Cair.

Serbia can clinch a victory here on Saturday when its doubles tandem of Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic takes on a Swedish duo of Johan Brunstrom and Robert Lindstedt.

Djokovic, along with Serbian captain Bogdan Obradovic, decided that the reigning Australian Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion should rest this week following the No. 1's most recent championship run in Melbourne.

The Serbia-Sweden winner will meet the Czech Republic-Italy victor in the quarterfinals in April.

Serbia captured the Davis Cup title two years ago, while Sweden, captained by Thomas Enqvist, owns seven championships, but none since 1998.

The Serbs defeated the Swedes, 4-1, in the quarterfinals last year.

Nflventureonline Tennis Betting News

<< Kvitova pulls out of Qatar Open
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will not play in next week's Qatar Ladies Open due to an unspecified injury. The world No. 2 Kvitova was slated to be the second seed in Doha, behind world No. 1 and Austr

<< Kerber ousts Sharapova in Paris
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Capable German Angelique Kerber upset top- seeded Maria Sharapova in Friday's quarterfinal action at the Open GDF Suez. The ninth-seeded Kerber upended the Australian Open runner-up Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 at St

<< NCAA proposals would enhance player safety
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA Football Rules Committee wrapped up three-day meetings Thursday by recommending several rules proposals for the 2012 season that are intended to enhance player safety. The proposed changes include:

<< Report: West Virginia, Big East to settle lawsuit
Charleston, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Virginia and the Big East have reportedly agreed to end their legal issues in a move that will enable the university to leave the conference and join the Big 12 in July. According to the Ch

<< Milan hopes to end poor run of form at Udinese
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan will try to return to the win column on Saturday at Udinese after a dip in form has left the Rossoneri staring up at Juventus in the Serie A standings. A run of seven wins in eight matches in all

Gronkowski has successful ankle surgery >>
Burlington, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski reportedly underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle. Comcast SportsNet New England confirmed the procedure took place on Frid

Nalbandian, Monaco give Argentines 2-0 lead over host Germans >>
Bamberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's runner-up Argentina got opening singles wins from David Nalbandian and Juan Monaco on Friday, as the host Germans trail their South American counterparts 2-0 in a best-of-five opening

Lifetime achievements awards behind this season's All-Star snubs >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the most part, the NBA's coaches do an outstanding job picking the reserves for the NBA All-Star Game. With so few slots available there are always a number of players who are going to feel slighted bu

Cavs' Irving out at least two more games >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Kyrie Irving will miss at least the next two games as he continues to recover from a concussion. Head coach Byron Scott said Irving is getting better, but will be held

Lifetime achievement awards behind this season's All-Star snubs >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the most part, the NBA's coaches do an outstanding job picking the reserves for the NBA All-Star Game. With so few slots available there are always a number of players who are going to feel slighted bu

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

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.

Bet on NFL Football

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

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.