Dolgopolov, Chela win Umag openers

Tennis Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - Umag, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov and eighth-seeded Argentine veteran Juan Ignacio Chela were a pair of first- round winners Monday at the Croatia Open.

Chela charged past Spain's Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-4, 6-1, while Dolgopolov held off Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-3) on the red clay at ITC Stella Maris. Dolgopolov needed 2 hours, 36 minutes to stave off a game Lorenzi.

One other first-rounder saw Croatian wild card Franco Skugor paste Italian Filippo Volandri 6-2, 6-1.

This week's top seeds are Russian star Nikolay Davydenko, last week's Hamburg runner-up Jurgen Melzer and long-time Croatian favorite Ivan Ljubicic. The reigning Umag champion Davydenko defeated this week's fourth seed, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in last year's finale here.

Wwwjobtrack Tennis Betting News

<< Nashville signs D Parent
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Ryan Parent to a two-year, $1.85 million contract. He will be paid $850,000 in the upcoming 2010-11 season and $1 million in 2011-12. The 23-ye

<< Celtics bring back Marquis Daniels
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics re-signed veteran guard/forward Marquis Daniels on Monday. Terms of the deal were not announced, per club policy. The seven-year veteran posted averages of 5.6 points and 1.

<< Bulls' sign Kurt Thomas
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls made it official on Monday by signing veteran forward Kurt Thomas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, per team policy. The 37-year-old Thomas, a first-round draft pick by Miami in 1995

<< Toronto officially signs Kleiza
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors have signed forward Linas Kleiza to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, no details of the deal were announced. The Raptors had signed Kleiza to an offer sheet that was not m

<< Schneider, Blanton help Phils complete sweep of Rockies
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Schneider hit a two-run triple and Joe Blanton threw six solid innings, as the Philadelphia Phillies held on to complete a four-game sweep of Colorado with a 5-4 victory. Blanton (4-6) struggle

Ravens sign second-rounder DT Cody >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms with second-round draft choice Terrence Cody on a three-year contract. The 6-foot-4, 349-pounder was the 57th overall selection in April's draft. He was a con

Saints sign second-rounder OT Brown >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints have signed offensive tackle Charles Brown, their 2010 second-round draft choice, to a four-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were announced. The 6-foot-5, 2

Hawks ink free agent Josh Powell >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks bolstered their forward position on Monday by signing free agent forward/center Josh Powell. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not announced. "I look forward to joining a f

Ravens rookie Kindle to miss camp due to head injury >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Ravens rookie linebacker Sergio Kindle will miss all of training camp after suffering injuries to his head when he apparently fell down two flights of stairs at a private residence in Austin,

Report: Titans file lawsuit against Kiffin, USC >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans have reportedly filed a lawsuit against the University of Southern California and head coach Lane Kiffin in the wake of the hiring flap surrounding Kennedy Pola. On Saturday, USC

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.