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07/10/2010 - Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doubles greats Todd Woodbridge, Mark Woodforde, Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva headlined this year's class enshrined at the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The Australians Woodbridge and Woodforde, nicknamed "The Woodies," piled up a record 61 doubles titles on the ATP, including a whopping 11 major championships, which is second only to fellow Aussies John Newcombe and Tony Roche's record of 12. Woodbridge and Woodforde also enjoyed stays inside the Top-20 in singles.
The Woodies were the first tandem to corral five straight Wimbledon titles and are the only team in the Open Era to win at least one major title in six straight years.
In Olympic competition, the Woodies captured gold in 1996 and silver in 2000.
The 39-year-old Woodbridge holds the ATP record with 83 doubles titles in the Open Era and played on Davis Cup championship teams for Australia in 1999 and 2003.
The 44-year-old Woodforde captured 67 doubles titles and held down the No. 1 ranking for doubles for 84 weeks during his career. He played for a Davis Cup winner in 1999, along with Woodbridge.
The 46-year-old Puerto Rican native Fernandez and Belarusian Zvereva amassed 38 doubles titles together, including 14 Grand Slam wins. From 1992-93, they tallied six straight major titles at one point.
Beatriz "Gigi" Fernandez, a mother of twins, colleted 68 doubles titles on tour, including 17 majors, while the 39-year-old Zvereva piled up 18 major doubles championships. Fernandez captured Olympic doubles gold medals in 1992 and 1996 and was a two-time Fed Cup champion for the United States (1990, 1996).
Zvereva won 20 Grand Slam doubles titles overall, including a pair of mixed ones, and also reached the Top-10 as a singles star, including a career-high No. 5 spot in 1989.
Others inducted to the Tennis Hall on Saturday were men's and mixed doubles specialist Owen Davidson, of Australia, in the Master Player category; wheelchair tennis pioneer Brad Parks, of the United States, in the Contributor category; and the late Derek Hardwick, who entered via the Contributor category as the former chairman of the British Lawn Tennis Association.
The class of 2010 now gives the Tennis Hall of Fame 218 legends, representing 19 nations.
<< Hornets agree with G Head
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hornets have reached an agreement to
sign free agent guard Luther Head, according to New Orleans general manager
Jeff Bower.
Bower told the Times Picayune that the two sides agreed to a two-year c
<< Maver's last-second FG sends Stamps past Hamilton
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Maver knocked through a 23-yard field goal
with 10 seconds remaining to give the Calgary Stampeders a thrilling 23-22 win
over the Hamilton Tigercats at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Maver nailed all three of his
<< Khedira's late goal helps Germany claim third place
Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sami Khedira's goal eight
minutes from time capped a 3-2 Germany win over Uruguay in the third-place
match of the FIFA World Cup at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
Khedira brok
<< Heat meet with Derek Fisher
MIAMI (AP) -Free agent point guard Derek Fisher has met with the Miami Heat on the day after the team lavishly introduced LeBron James and Chris Bosh as Dwyane Wade's newest teammates.Fisher has been part of all five Los Angeles Lakers' championship
Indians designate C Redmond, bring up Gimenez >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have designated
veteran catcher Mike Redmond for assignment and recalled catcher/infielder
Chris Gimenez from Triple-A Columbus.
Redmond was hitting .206 with five runs batte
Rangers activate Lee prior to debut >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers made several roster moves
prior to Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles, including the
activation of pitcher Cliff Lee, whom the team acquired on Friday.
Lee, a 2010 Al
Fish to meet Rochus in Newport final >>
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mardy Fish was a semifinal winner Saturday at
the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
The fifth-seeded Fish beat British qualifier Richard Bloomfield 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
to reach his second ATP final of the seas
Stricker sets 54-hole mark on PGA Tour >>
Silvis, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker has set the 54-hole scoring
record on the PGA Tour.
Stricker fired a nine-under 62 at the John Deere Classic on Saturday to finish
three rounds at 25-under 188. That broke the old record of 189 es
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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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.''
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