Anderson passes first-round test in San Jose

Tennis Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson outlasted Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) in first-round action at the SAP Open on Monday.

Dimitrov cruised in the first set before losing a second-set tiebreaker on an Anderson ace. The deciding set also went the distance, and the South African earned the first mini-break at 3-2 before finishing off the two-hour, 27- minute affair.

Germany's Tobias Kamke defeated Izak Van Der Merwe of South Africa in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, in Monday's only other first round match. The remainder of the opening round will conclude Tuesday.

The top four seeds -- Gael Monfils Andy Roddick, Milos Raonic and Randy Stepanek -- all received byes into the second round.

Raonic is the defending SAP Open champion while Roddick is a three-time winner of this event. Monfils is making his second tournament appearance and reached the semifinals a year ago, falling to Raonic. Stepanek won the tournament in 2009.

Nbcdports Tennis Betting News

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New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon will miss another six weeks after he undergoes arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday. Gordon first suffered the injury in the season opener against Ph

<< Butler returns to Dallas, but Mavs snag win
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caron Butler was welcomed by a standing ovation when he accepted his NBA championship ring Monday night, but the Clippers forward received a bigger hand from the American Airlines Center crowd when he missed

<< No. 2 Connecticut thumps Oklahoma
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiffany Hayes poured in a game-high 23 points to go with six rebounds, seven assists and three steals as second-ranked Connecticut easily took down Oklahoma, 73-55, on Monday. Bria Hartley had 20 poin

Hornets' Gordon sidelined six weeks after surgery >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon is expected to be sidelined for six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday. The Hornets said the procedure was performed "to clean up his r

Heat finish hectic stretch in Indy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat try to continue one of their best starts in team history this evening when they visit the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Miami kept rolling on Monday, as LeBron James scored 35 points to lead the

Spurs resume lengthy trek vs. Pistons >>
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back home after a successful and lengthy road trip, the Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls are scheduled to play their next six games on familiar territory and will host the Sacramento Kings tonight. The Bulls own an E

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

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.