Neworleanssportsreport

Best NFL Trends for ‘unders’ in Week 4 Betting

admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:18:10 +0000

Best NFL Trends for ‘unders’ in Week 4
Low scoring games are the norm for a number of teams in the NFL, and here at BetUS Sportsbook, we’re focusing in on some of those best matchups that this week has to offer. Here are the best NFL trends for ‘unders’ in the league in Week 4. Baltimore Ravens vs.

Premiership afl Betting Tips
18th -19th September 201018th September 2010 Stoke (1.91) Draw (3.5) West Ham (4.5) Terrific result for Stoke Monday. 1-0 down at half time, they fought back to win 2-1 with practically the last kick of the game. Stoke should be able to build on that after some unlucky results. West Ham will be without their manager due to Yom Kippur. That may not be such a bad thing considering their results so far this season. No wins and letting in 12 goals in just 4 games, things are already looking bleak. They are a relatively new team so will take a little more time to gel. If not, it’ll be Championship football next season for them. I don’t really give West Ham a chance in this game. Stoke opened at 2.0 and the odds have dropped. Best price is now 1.91 at most places. Aston Villa (1.83) Draw (3.6) Bolton (5) Villa outplayed Stoke first half last game but Stoked raised their game and Villa ended up losing 2-1. This could be the last game in charge for caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald with Gerrard Houllier taking over next week. They seem to be doing the exact opposite of Villa of the last few years in that they are winning their home games and losing their away games. Bolton had a good game at Arsenal only trailing 2-1 when Gary Cahill got sent off. Pretty much game over after that. He will be missing for this game which will be a big miss. In terms of betting, I’ll stick with form and just for a Villa home win. Its 1.83 at Boylesports. Blackburn (2.1) Draw (3.4) Fulham (4) Blackburn did a good job getting a point at Manchester City last week. They took an early lead and managed to hold on for the draw despite all the City pressure. Fulham scored a late goal to win against Wolves last weekend. The game was overshadowed by Booby Zamora breaking his leg. He’ll be out for at least 4 months now which will be a big loss for them. Home advantage makes this pick fairly easy. Blackburn are strong at home and Fulham are poor away from home. Blackburn win is 2.1 at Skybet. Everton (1.67) Draw (3.8) Newcastle United (6.3) Unreal game last weekend for Everton and Manchester United. Everton were 3-1 down in stoppage time and managed to score twice to level the game 3-3. Excellent character shown by Everton there. Some of it was down to Manchester United easing off thinking they had the game in bag. Newcastle could not follow up their recent form results. They lost 2-0 at home to Blackpool last week. Looking at the odds, Everton look a bit short to me. They are second bottom of the league without a win. I know they will pick up their game sometime but at 1.67 I am not willing to risk it. I think the draw at 3.8 at PaddyPower is the value bet. I’ll not trust Newcastle to get an away win here. Tottenham (1.5) Draw (4.5) Wolverhampton (8.5) Spurs disappointed last weekend at West Brom only managing a draw. In their midweek Champions League game they let a 2-0 lead slip and ended up with a 2-2 draw away in Bremen. Last time they had a Champions League game they came back and lost 1-0 at home to Wigan. Wolves gave it a good go at Fulham and could have won the game. In those last few minutes it could have gone either way. Wolves really are looking like a Premiership team. Last season, they did the double over Spurs. I think the bookmakers have put this in to the price. I was expecting Spurs to be shorter. Wolves still look tasty at 8.5 at Skybet. West Bromwich (2.38) Draw (3.3) Birmingham (3.25) West Brom have recovered well since the opening day thrashing at Chelsea. They were unlucky to lose at Liverpool and held Spurs 1-1 last week. Birmingham drew 0-0 last weekend against Liverpool in a game where they could easily won. This game will have a lot of interest in the Midlands but I can’t see myself getting excited about it. At first glance it looks like a draw to me but I wouldn’t want to put any money on this game. Sunderland (5.5) Draw (3.75) Arsenal (1.7) Sunderland played most of last weeks game against Wigan with 10 men and were only denied all 3 points by a late equalizer. Arsenal come in to this game on a high after thrashing Braga 6-0. Thats what happens to you if you try to play football against Arsenal, they will hit you on the counter and run up these scores. I am sure Steve Bruce will not make that same mistake. Sunderland won this game 1-0 last season and drew 1-1 the year before. I am still not sure about Arsenal with all those players out. Sunderland at 5.5 at William Hill looks a good bet to me. Teams generally do worse after a Champions League game and Sunderland could well take advantage of that. 19th September 2010 Manchester United (1.73) Draw (3.75) Liverpool (5.5) An extremely bad week for Manchester United, first they throw away a 3-1 lead at Everton and then they only managed a 0-0 draw against Rangers in the Champions League. To be fair I think Alex Ferguson thought he could beat Rangers with a B side. With the full side back I think they will do a lot better. Liverpool looked poor against Birmingham last weekend. Torres just looked so off the pace. In the Euopra League game they beat Steaua Bucurest 4-1. That scoreline was a bit flattering to them. Liverpool always seem to raise their game against Manchester United but this time I don’t think they have the players to do it. Manchester United at 1.73 at PaddyPower for me. Odds are rising though so you’ll probably get a better price closer to kick off. Wigan (5) Draw (3.75) Manchester City (1.8) Wigan only managed to draw against Sunderland last weekend despite having an extra man for most of the game. With Sunderlands general poor away record I would have expected better of them. I still think that the result against Spurs a few weeks ago was a fluke. Manchester City are lacking any form. If they were true title contenders then they really should have got all 6 points from their last 2 league games. Instead they drew 1-1 against Blackburn at home and lost away to Sunderland. They had a good result in Austria in the Europa League but that wasn’t Premiership standard. I still will go for a City win though. Wigan have not convinced me they are a Premiership side and City have the players to really give them a good hiding. Its 1.8 at VC Bet. Chelsea (1.11) Draw (10) Blackpool (29) Can anyone stop the Chelsea juggernaut this season? Someone will but it won’t be Blackpool at Stamford Bridge. 1.11 for a home side in the Premiership is the lowest I’ve seen. Bookies are really sure that Chelsea will win this. Hard to argue with them. Beating Newcastle and Wigan away is one thing but going to Bridge in a normal season is hard but Chelsea seem to be hammering teams like this for fun. I guess its Chelsea on the handicap then. One the Asian Handicap -2.5 its 1.82 at bet365.

Premiership Betting Tips
2nd – 3rd October 20102nd October 2010 Wigan (2.38) Draw (3.3) Wolverhampton (3.3) Neither of these teams have started brilliantly. They sit 17th and 18th in the league respectively. Wigan had a goalless draw last weekend at Birmingham. With no really good strikers they are struggling to score. Wolves are still underated in my opinion. They were unlucky not to get anything from Villa’s visit last weekend. Looking at the odds, its got to be X2. I will go with the away win because I think Wolve’s luck has to change at some point. Wigan look like a team that deserve to be at the bottom whereas Wolves have been unlucky. Its 3.3 at PaddyPower. Birmingham (2.88) Draw (3.3) Everton (2.7) Birmingham have drawn their last 2 home games 0-0. The don’t seem to have the ability to break teams down and their early season luck has run out. Everton are rock bottom with 3 draws. Last weekend they drew to Fulham 0-0. With no strikers I can’t see them scoring the goals needed to pick themselves off the bottom of the table. Cahill is a decent player but playing a lone strike role is tough for anyone. This games looks like a 0-0, or 1-0 either way. Unders for sure. Under 2.5 goals is 1.71 at Bodog but I am going to go for under 1.5 goals at 3.2 at VC Bet. Stoke (2.3) Draw (3.3) Blackburn (3.4) Stoke battled well from a goal down to take all 3 points from an in form Newcastle. They were outclassed first half but second half they came back and deserved the win. Blackburn beat Blackpool last weekend. It probably should have ended a draw and Blackpool sealed their own downfall by going for the win instead of settling for a point. Both teams are masters of the long throws in to the box. Its hard to separate the sides. I will go for the home win though as I am still as Stoke have been good at home in recent seasons and Blackburn poor. Normality has to return to the Premiership sooner or later. Its 2.3 for the home win at 888sport. Sunderland (5.5) Draw (3.6) Manchester United (1.83) Sunderland were unlucky to only get a point from Liverpool last weekend. That first goal should never have been. I guess its payback for last seasons beach ball incident. Darren Bent seems to be on a roll with scoring, netting both Sunderland goals. Manchester United were once again disappointing away from home in the Premiership. They had to come from behind twice to get a point against Bolton. They had a better time in Spain winning 1-0 against Valencia but both teams were really set out for the 0-0 and it was a late fortunate goal which gave Manchester United the win. I am sure Manchester United will turn their away fortunes around at some point but I’m not willing to back it at 1.83 this weekend. I think over 2.5 goals is the better bet. All 6 of Manchester United’s games have been over 2.5 goals. With their not so solid defense and Darren Bent free scoring they are bound to let on in, so they’ll need to have an overs game to win. Its even money at bet365. Tottenham (2) Draw (3.6) Aston Villa (4) Spurs had a good looking win on paper against FC Twente. They were 2-0 up, then conceded, had a man sent off, got a lucky penalty and scored a very late goal. It was one of those 4-1 games that could have been a 2-2. Last weekend they lost to West Ham 1-0. Gerrard Houllier has got off to the perfect start with 2 wins out of 2. Spurs will present a tougher test than Wolves or Blackburn though. I still am siding with the away win. Spurs had a game midweek and I am still not convinced that they have gotten used to playing in Europe then winning in the league. Villa win is 4.0 at most Bookmakers West Bromwich (2.2) Draw (3.4) Bolton (3.8) West Brom may have shock result of the season. Not only did they outplay Arsenal, winning 3-2, they were 3-0 up with 15 minutes to go. They knocked Man City out of the Carling Cup and beat Birmingham 3-1 in the previous home game. They are the in form team. Bolton played extremely well against Manchester United and fully deserved their 2-2 draw. Johan Elmander looks very threatening for Bolton at last. I will stick with the current form. I worry that some teams outside the top few haven’t got 3 wins in a row in them but you can’t go against a team that has just won at Arsenal 3-2. West Brom are 2.2 at PaddyPower. West Ham (2.38) Draw (3.3) Fulham (3.5) Just when I was writing off West Ham this season they get a draw at Stoke, beat Sunderland away from home (in the Carling Cup) and then beat Spurs. Grant has got them playing as a team now. I think Fulham have take a step back under Mark Hughes. Unbeaten but they have only won 1 game, drawing the other 5. They created few chances against Everton last weekend and 0-0 was a fair result. I am going to go with West Ham to carry on their resurgence. Its 2.38 at Betfred for the West Ham win. 3rd October 2010 Manchester City (1.5) Draw (4.5) Newcastle United (8.5) Great result for City last weekend against Chelsea. They outplayed them in a dull game and fully deserved the 1-0 win. On paper, they do have potentially a better team than Chelsea and it was just a case of whether they would gell at the right time. Newcastle were good against Stoke and going in to the break 1-0 they looked comfortable winners but Stoke came back and won 2-1. A little more consistency is needed. I probably could make the case for the Newcastle win. They did beat Chelsea’s (strongish) Carling Cup side 4-3. I am going to go for the home win though and put last week’s freak results behind. I think City will make top 4 this season. 1.5 is a great price for any top 4 team at home against a bottom tier team. Its 1.5 at William Hill . Liverpool (1.33) Draw (5) Blackpool (11) Liverpool’s season is going from bad to worse. In a game on paper, they should have won easily, they needed a referee’s mistake to earn them a point. There were signs of improvement but from a very bad start. Blackpool should have really settled for the draw against Blackburn last weekend. They lost because they went for the win. I know what Ian Holloway means when he says that draws don’t keep you up but better to have 1 point than 0. I really can’t see Blackpool getting anything here. They have had 2 shock away wins so far but against the big teams they have got spanked pretty hard. Liverpool win but to be honest 1.33 doesn’t appeal to me at all. I am still unsure whether Liverpool are a big team this year. Chelsea (1.75) Draw (3.75) Arsenal (5.5) Chelsea were brought crashing down to reality with the 1-0 loss at Manchester City last weekend. Many people thought they would walk the league this season (including myself) but they have shown that against strong opposition they can fail. Arsenal were humiliated last weekend by West Brom. Even Wenger, who usually defends his players or blames someone else, blamed his players. Its tough for Arsenal with all the players out though. Fabregas is very doubtful for this game and his role is vital if Arsenal are going to get anything from this. Usually, I would be saying back Arsenal at 5.5. How often does that happen? With all the injuries though, I can’t see them getting anything here. Chelsea are 1.75 at Boylesports.

WNBA champion Lynx welcome back motherly leader (The Associated Press)

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:54:12 +0000

WNBA champion Lynx welcome back motherly leader (The Associated Press)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Minnesota Lynx showed potential for years, with plenty of high draft picks for a success-starved franchise to build around. Pieces were always missing in the end. Perhaps the most important area that needed to be shored up was team chemistry, and they finally found the right mix last season on their way to the WNBA championship. Taj McWilliams-Franklin led this bonding process like only a mother could. The 41-year-old, 6-foot-2 center with three daughters of her own has returned for another year with the Lynx. Her teammates couldn’t be happier to have the lanky lady they call ”Mama Taj” back in the fold. ”I love having her back,” point guard Lindsay Whalen said. The feeling is mutual. McWilliams-Franklin took advantage of a break with her professional team in Poland to visit Whalen for a bit in Prague earlier this year. Now she can catch up with the entire team, which starts the regular season May 20 with a home game against the Phoenix Mercury. ”She’s always looking out for us,” said forward Maya Moore, who is coming off her rookie season. Star shooting guard Seimone Augustus listed the ways McWilliams-Franklin has helped foster a family-like atmosphere. ”Let’s have a barbecue. Let’s get everybody together. Let’s have movie night,” Augustus said, adding: ”We can’t stand not being around each other. Let’s go to the mall and shop. That helps us keep everything balanced.” It was coach Cheryl Reeve who worked on her center over the winter, finally persuading her to put retirement on hold for another year. It means the Lynx will bring their top nine scorers back from the 2011 squad that went a league-best 27-7 during the regular season and surged to the title by only losing one of their eight playoff games. They also add Devereaux Peters, a former Notre Dame star in McWilliams-Franklin’s mold who was the third pick in last month’s draft. This team has come a long way since those back-to-back 10-24 records in 2006 and 2007. Only two of the Lynx’s first 12 years of existence led to winning marks, prior to the title they took last October. ”My rookie season, we didn’t always have the best of times,” said shooting guard Candice Wiggins, who’s entering her fifth year. ”Sometimes I wanted to literally strangle Seimone to death. But you see the good in everyone, and you start to grow. You don’t know someone until you really get to know them. We actually take the time to get to know each other. I have to give a lot of credit to Taj. Taj really taught the whole team that in a way only a mother could probably teach.” McWilliams-Franklin is about as unique of a professional athlete as can be found. She was an English writing and rhetoric major at Division II St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, who married an Army sergeant she met while playing basketball in Italy. She’s into professional wrestling and video games, and she has a dream of starting her own clothing line. She speaks Spanish and Italian. The Lynx are her sixth WNBA team in 13 years and the fifth since leaving the Connecticut Sun after the 2006 season. With the Detroit Shock in 2008, she won her first WNBA championship. That year, and the one after, was when she forged her relationship with Reeve, who was an assistant coach there at the time. McWilliams-Franklin was the free agent Reeve wanted before last season, seeing an obvious spot on the Lynx for this coach-like leader and slick-passing, rebounding and mid-range-jump-shooting center. So she put on the full-court press again this year to get the whole group back for another run. McWilliams-Franklin agreed, though she sent her coach an email message right before the draft. ”’Coach, I’m old,”’ she told Reeve, pushing for the team to draft Peters as a replacement and a protegee. Her lobbying paid off. ”I can’t continue to play 36 minutes a game no matter how much I want to play,” McWilliams-Franklin said. So they’ll enjoy her while they can this year and see how far they can go. ”They really enjoy coming here together and being a part of this, and that’s what makes us special,” Reeve said. ”I hope that’s something we never lose. It gives you an edge.” — Follow Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP

Thunder edge Mavericks 102-99, take 2-0 lead (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:54:13 +0000

Thunder edge Mavericks 102-99, take 2-0 lead (Yahoo! Sports)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Russell Westbrook scored 29 points, Kevin Durant added 26 in an off-shooting performance and the Oklahoma City Thunder clawed out a 102-99 victory over defending champion Dallas on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. Durant hit two free throws with 50.4 seconds left to give Oklahoma City a 98-97 lead, and James Harden hit four more foul shots to close it out for the Thunder. Jason Terry missed two 3-point attempts from the left wing in the final 5 seconds that could have tied it. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 31 points and Shawn Marion scored 15. The Mavericks led in the closing minutes of both road games but couldn’t even manage a split. Game 3 is Thursday night in Dallas. Durant put the Thunder ahead to stay after salvaging two key points with Oklahoma City inbounding the ball with only 2.6 seconds left on the shot clock. He grabbed the inbounds pass from Harden while headed toward the sideline, and Terry was called for a foul for bumping him. Durant hit both foul shots, and Nowitzki missed his chance to answer with a short jumper from the left side at the other end. Marion fouled Harden on the rebound, and the league’s top scoring reserve – only eight days removed from a concussion as the result of Metta World Peace’s elbow to the head – also converted both free throws. He hit two more with 15.6 seconds left after Terry got the Mavs within one with a driving layup. After losing both of their home games to Dallas in last year’s Western Conference finals, the Thunder barely got by in the rematch. Durant hit a jumper with 1.5 seconds left to win the first game 99-98 on Saturday night. Dallas was up seven points with 2 1/2 minutes left in Game 1 and just a point in the final minute of Game 2. Beforehand, Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks downplayed a rivalry blossoming along Interstate 35. ”Right now, they beat us one time last season. I don’t know if that’s considered a rivalry,” he said. ”It takes more than one or seasons, but definitely it’s there for the making.” Maybe he spoke too soon. The tension escalated quickly after Serge Ibaka tried to block Nowitzki’s jumper midway through the first quarter and smacked him in the left eye on his follow-through, without getting called for a foul. Nowitzki hit another jumper along the baseline on Dallas’ next possession before he got shoved in the back by Kendrick Perkins while jockeying for rebounding position on a made 3-pointer by Durant. Perkins followed Nowitzki for a few steps before Nowitzki bumped him away, and Perkins responded by taking a swing at Nowitzki’s head with his open hand. Official Zach Zarba stepped in front of Perkins and backed him away, and both were assessed technical fouls. The Thunder erupted a few minutes later, scoring the final nine points of the first quarter – all within an 82-second span – to go up 32-24 and then carrying over the momentum after the break. Derek Fisher hit three jumpers and Dallas started the second quarter just 2 for 8 from the field and committed five turnovers as Oklahoma City charged to a 46-30 lead with 5:55 left before halftime to prompt Mavs coach Rick Carlisle’s third timeout in less than 3 1/2 minutes. When Nowitzki and Perkins finally got back on the court together, the Mavericks’ All-Star exacted some revenge while getting his team back in the game. He went on a personal 10-2 run, with all of the points coming while he was matched up against Perkins, to get the deficit down to 50-47. The Mavs pulled ahead in the first 5 minutes of the second half, as the game turned into a foul fest and the Thunder made only one basket in the first 7 minutes. Notes: After going back and forth responding to each other’s comments on how Oklahoma City’s defense on Nowitzki was officiated in Game 1, Brooks insisted any dispute with Carlisle wasn’t personal. Years ago, the two roomed together while playing in the Continental Basketball Association. ”He was a good roommate. He didn’t snore,” Brooks said. ”That’s all it takes. Buy me a meal every now and then and not snore, you’re a perfect roommate.” He later playfully retorted: ”If you want it to be personal, I was a better player. How many years did I play in the league? How many years did he play? I played over a decade. He played three.” … Marion hadn’t made a playoff 3-pointer since 2007 before making two in Game 1. He had another in Game 2. … Ibaka, who tied his regular season best with 22 points in the first game, got into foul trouble and scored only two.

Leaf to be arraigned in Montana on May 3 (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:00:06 +0000

Leaf to be arraigned in Montana on May 3 (Yahoo! Sports)
HELENA, Mont. (AP) Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf is scheduled to be arraigned May 3 in Great Falls, Mont., on burglary and drug possession charges. Leaf remains jailed in the Cascade County Detention Center after he was arrested twice within four days on accusations that he broke into homes and stole prescription painkillers. The former San Diego Chargers quarterback faces four felonies, including two counts of burglary and two counts of criminal possession of a dangerous drug. Leaf also could be facing prison time in a 2010 case from when he was a coach at West Texas A&M. Leaf was given 10 years’ probation after being accused of burglarizing a player’s home. The Texas prosecutor who brokered that plea deal asked to have Leaf’s probation revoked after the Montana arrests.

Adam Parr resigns as chairman of Williams F1 team (PA SportsTicker)

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:18:05 +0000

Adam Parr resigns as chairman of Williams F1 team (PA SportsTicker)
GROVE, ENGLAND (AP) —Adam Parr has resigned as chairman of the Williams Formula One team. No official reason was given for Parr’s departure, which was announced in a team statement Monday. Parr came to Williams in 2006 as chief executive officer and moved up to chairman in 2010. Team principal Frank Williams says Parr “leaves us on good terms to pursue a better balance in his life for which I wish him and his family well.” Williams says Nick Rose, a non-executive director of Williams Grand Prix Holdings, will be appointed non-executive chairman, while Williams will continue to oversee the company.

Sparks hire Jim Lewis as assistant (AP)

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:00:23 +0000

Sparks hire Jim Lewis as assistant (AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Los Angeles Sparks have hired Jim Lewis as an assistant, completing the staff that will work under new head coach Carol Ross. Lewis served as an assistant on the women’s team at George Mason University this season. He previously was the program’s head coach for 14 seasons and worked on the staff of four U.S. national teams in the 1990s. Lewis was either a head coach or assistant with Washington, Minnesota and Indiana of the WNBA. The Sparks say Sandy Brondello will return for a second season as an assistant. The Sparks open the season May 18 at Seattle.

Girardi confirms Chamberlain injured on trampoline (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:54:04 +0000

Girardi confirms Chamberlain injured on trampoline (Yahoo! Sports)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain had surgery after dislocating his right ankle while with his son at a play area. There is no timetable for his return. General manager Brian Cashman said Friday the operation was Thursday night and Chamberlain will be hospitalized for at least a few days. “He’s facing a lot right now,” Cashman said. “I can’t tell you, really, anything more than something unfortunate happened. We’re in the very early information side of this thing.” Cashman said the accident happened Thursday afternoon while Chamberlain and his son were at a Tampa-area spot that has trampoline equipment. The team did not say whether the 6-foot-2, 240-pound pitcher was using any of the equipment. Bone broke through the skin during the dislocation. Chamberlain is scheduled for an MRI exam and CT scan Friday. He is already returning from elbow ligament replacement surgery. When asked if the injury could threaten the career of the 26-year-old reliever, Cashman said: “I’m not in position to say. Right now it’s too early for that. He’s in very good hands. He’s a healer. He’s a tough guy.” Chamberlain went 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 27 relief appearances last season before elbow surgery on June 16. He had been expected to rejoin the Yankees this season, possibly before the All-Star break. “From the baseball stuff, he was doing great,” Cashman said. “I feel bad because I know how much he loves his game, and how much he was looking forward to coming back ahead of schedule. It’s clearly derailed that, but what more does that mean, I don’t know. A lot of things must be running through his mind.” Cashman said Chamberlain’s son was not hurt. Yankees manager Joe Girardi visited Chamberlain on Friday. Cashman, who was informed about the injury Thursday night while the Yankees were playing a night game in Fort Myers against Boston. He was planning to stop at the hospital later Friday.

Serena Williams wins opening match at Key Biscayne (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:00:16 +0000

Serena Williams wins opening match at Key Biscayne (Yahoo! Sports)
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP)—Alisa Kleybanova of Russia won the first match she’s played since being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last May at the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday. The 248th-ranked Kleybanova, who received a wild card into the tournament, dropped the first set to Johanna Larsson of Sweden before rebounding to secure a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. “I’m really happy I won the match, but I really enjoyed playing,” Kleybanova said. “It’s not like if I didn’t win it today I would be all mad. “Just to feel again all those emotions was really great and something I missed the most from tennis.” It had been 10 months since the 22-year-old Kleybanova played a professional match. “For me, it’s not like I won the tournament,” Kleybanova said. “For the rest of us, in normal conditions, I just won the first round. For me, inside, it was really emotional, and for my coach and friends who were out there.” Kleybanova said she was constantly getting sick last year with flu-like symptoms and fatigue that would go away for a while and come back. Finally, after she lost to Shahar Peer of Israel in the second round of the 2011 Rome tournament in May, she decided to undergo complete medical testing. The diagnosis came as a shock. But her competitive instincts went into overdrive as she prepared to battle cancer. “Doing professional sport you always have something, some pain,” Kleybanova said. “You have so much fatigue every day. “No one was expecting something like that, but on the other hand I knew something was wrong and I wanted to figure out what was wrong. “I knew it was going to be a very tough time for me, another big fight and take a long time, so I had to be focused.” She underwent chemotherapy treatment until December. She was treated in Rome where her boyfriend, Italian professional volleyball player Giacomo Rigoni, lives. Kleybanova, who will play fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko in the second round, looked rusty in the first set. But she picked up her play to take care of the 64th-ranked Larsson. “It’s amazing but it’s not just about the win,” she said. “I was always trying to be positive and even though I lost the first set I tried to stay out there. “If today I’m not winning, it’s OK because I was enjoying myself. And I think that’s why I was able to stay out there and change the match.” By the time Kleybanova went 4-1 up in the second set, Larrson was losing her cool. She threw her racket to the court at the end of that fifth game, and had further meltdown moments throughout the match. The Russian failed to take advantage of three match points at 0-40 with Larsson serving at 1-5 in the third set. She closed out the match on her own serve in the next game, but it took some serious effort. She went down 30-40, but fought back for the win, taking the match when Larsson netted a forehand. “I’m happy I was there for three sets which is a good test for me, I think, for the first match,” Kleybanova said. “I’m happy for the way it went because I didn’t know what to expect.” Tuesday’s schedule only featured 12 women’s first round matches. The rest of the matches played were qualifying matches. Heather Watson of Great Britain, another wildcard recipient, won a tough 6-3, 3-, 7-6 (4) winner over Sorana Cirstea of Romania. Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, the player who upset Serena Williams at this year’s Australian Open, outlasted Jelena Dokic 6-1, 7-5. Mona Barthel of Germany defeated Greta Arn of Hungary 6-1, 6-0.

Miikka Kiprusoff helps Flames beat Jets (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 11:36:18 +0000

Miikka Kiprusoff helps Flames beat Jets (Yahoo! Sports)
CALGARY, Alberta (AP)—Miikka Kiprusoff and the Calgary Flames’ power play overwhelmed the Winnipeg Jets in a showdown between teams fighting for playoff spots. Kiprusoff made 42 saves and Calgary went 3 for 3 on the power play in a 5-3 victory Friday night. Kiprusoff improved to 30-19-8, reaching 30 victories for the seventh straight season. “Kipper was great, you can’t say enough about the guy,” Flames winger Curtis Glencross said. “He’s our MVP and he saves a lot of games for us. That game could have gone either way. It was an outstanding performance.” Alex Tanguay had a goal and three assists, and Jarome Iginla added a goal and two assists for the Flames. Glencross, Mark Giordano and Matt Stajan also scored. “The atmosphere in the building was great,” Tanguay said. “The Jets fans were here and they were very loud and that helps our crowd as well as they’re trying to match up and over-cheer the Jets fans.” The Flames picked up five out of a possible six points on a three-game homestand to move into a three-way tie for ninth in the Western Conference with Colorado and Los Angeles, one point behind eighth-place San Jose. Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler and Tobias Enstrom scored for Winnipeg. The Jets, coming off a loss Thursday night in Vancouver, are tied with Washington for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Winnipeg also is three points behind Southeast Division-leading Florida. “We outshot them, we had over 40 shots, we got pucks to the net, but their goalie made some key saves,” Kane said. “We gave up three goals on the power play too, gave up five goals collectively, it’s tough to win hockey games that way.” Tanguay assisted on two power-play goals as the Flames took a 2-0 lead less than 7 minutes into the game. He then scored the only goal of the second period, giving the Flames a 4-2 lead. Tanguay’s 11th goal came at 12:53. Iginla’s shot from the slot didn’t get through the crowd in front of the net, but Tanguay, collected the loose puck, swung out wide, outwaited goalie Ondrej Pavelec, and fired the puck into the top corner on the open side. Tanguay capped off his best offensive night in nearly three years with a neat setup to Glencross on another power play at 11:28 of the third period. “The puck just kept coming back to us. I wish there was a special secret I could tell you guys but it was just working,” Tanguay said. “This time of year, especially with the amount of bodies we have out of our lineup right now, special units are going to be key and our power play was certainly the difference tonight.” Glencross matched his career high with his 24th goal, extending his scoring streak to six games. NOTES: Nineteen-year-old Flames prospect Sven Baertschi made his NHL debut. Calgary took him 13th overall in the 2011 draft. Baertschi was called up from the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League on an emergency basis due to the Flames’ injury woes. … Iginla has 28 goals this season and 512 overall. He’s tied with Gilbert Perreault for 37th on the career list. … Pavelec made 22 saves.

Fever trade Smith for San Antonio’s Hodges (AP)

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:36:41 +0000

Fever trade Smith for San Antonio’s Hodges (AP)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The Indiana Fever have acquired shooting guard Roneeka Hodges from the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for forward Tangela Smith. The Fever announced the deal Thursday. Indiana acquired Smith as a free agent in 2011. She started 32 of Indiana’s 34 games and averaged 7.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in her lone season with the Fever. The 14-year veteran has played in 448 games, the most in WNBA history. Hodges appeared in 28 regular season games with five starts for the Silver Stars in 2011. She averaged 3.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Her twin sister, Doneeka, played for the Fever at the end of the 2008 season. Fever coach Lin Dunn says the team needed to get younger and clear salary cap room.