Nadal lands in Indian Wells semis
Tennis Betting Lines
03/15/2007 - Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal was a quarterfinal winner Thursday at the $3.285 million Pacific Life Open, the first ATP Masters Series event of the year.
The reigning two-time French Open champion Nadal, seeking his first title in nine months, got past 30th-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 7-5, 7-5 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The Wimbledon runner-up Nadal hasn't won a tournament since prevailing at Roland Garros last June.
After winning a very tight opening stanza, Nadal fell behind 1-4 in the second before charging back to stop Chela in straight sets in just under two hours. The Spaniard ultimately broke for a 6-5 edge in the second and closed out the bout on his first match point when the Argentine misfired long on one final two-handed backhand.
A red-hot Chela had won his last eight matches overall, including a title run in Acapulco two weeks ago.
The 20-year-old Nadal is now 2-1 lifetime against Chela, with the other two meetings coming back in 2004. The gritty Spanish star will appear in his second semifinal in five tournaments this season.
Nadal's semifinal opponent on Saturday will either be third-seeded American Andy Roddick or eighth-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic.
On Thursday night, the former world No. 1 Roddick will face his fellow hard- serving star Ljubicic for a 10th time, with the American holding a 6-3 lifetime advantage. Roddick is 3-1 in their career Masters Series clashes.
The other quarters will be staged on Friday, when ninth-seeded German Tommy Haas will take on 13th-seeded Scotsman Andy Murray and 12th-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic will tangle with 14th-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer.
The 2007 Indian Wells champ will collect $500,000.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers and head coach Phil Jackson were each fined $50,000 for Jackson's public criticisms of the NBA. Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been targeted with two one-game suspensions this season
<< Texas A&M rolls past Penn
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Acie Law IV poured in 20 points and grabbed
six rebounds to lead Texas A&M past Penn, 68-52, in the first round of the
South Region of the NCAA Tournament.
Dominique Kirk scored 16 points for the thir
<< Terps pull out first-round win over Davidson
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Jones netted 17 points as Maryland escaped
with an 82-70 victory over Davidson in first round Midwest Region action of
the NCAA Tournament at HSBC Arena.
D.J. Strawberry added 12 points and eight re
<< Former baseball commissioner Kuhn dies
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bowie Kuhn, who presided over
America's pastime as commissioner from 1969-84, died Thursday. He was 80 years
old.
According to MLB.com, Kuhn died at St. Luke's Hospital following a short
<< Louisville clobbers Stanford in tourney opener
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edgar Sosa and David Padgett led a balanced
Louisville attack with 16 points apiece as the Cardinals cruised past
Stanford, 78-58, in the first round of the South Region of the NCAA
Tournam
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shan Foster scored 18 points -- including four shots from three-point range -- and Vanderbilt crushed George Washington, 77-44, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Derrick Byars scored 12 points,
Sevilla pushes through with extra time goal; AZ turns table >>
Donetsk, Ukraine (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending UEFA Cup champions Sevilla
needed a dramatic 3-2 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in extra time in the
second leg of the Round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinal Thursday.
The team go
Woods tied for the lead at Bay Hill >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - By his own account, Tiger Woods is playing his
best golf of the year.
And that doesn't bode well for the rest of the field, especially at a place
where the world's top golfer has won four times before.
W
Tank Johnson sentenced to 120 days in jail >>
Skokie, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago defensive tackle Tank Johnson was
sentenced to 120 days in jail on Thursday for probation from a gun charge in
2005.
Johnson was on probation at the time when he was arrested in December o
Falcons sign free agents >>
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons signed
unrestricted free agent guard Toniu Fonoti and free agent wide receiver
Derrick Hamilton on Thursday.
Fonoti, 6-foot-4, 350 pounds, has appeared on three t
FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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