THE WEEK IN SPORTS
This time around the holidays has to be the best time of the year as football hits the halfway point in the NFL season, NBA is getting underway, and we even have the final great tennis tournament of the year getting under way on Sunday. We have alot to talk about so lets get started with a look at the last great tennis tourney of the year.
I will start off with a brief explanation of the ATP masters final and its rather odd format. The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is a tennis tournament played at the end of each year, involving the top eight players in the men’s tennis world rankings.
Unlike most of the other events on the men’s tour, the ATP World Tour Finals is not a straightforward knock-out tournament. The eight players are divided into two groups of four, and play three round-robin matches each against the other three players in their group. From there, the two players with the best records in each group progress to the semifinals, with the winners meeting in the final to determine the champion.
So who do I think is the favorite. It has to be the hottest player in tennis right now, the man from Serbia.
Novak Djokovic established himself as the form player going into the ATP World Tour Finals after securing the Paris Masters title with a 6-2 5-7 7-6 success over Gael Monfils.
While Roger Federer and Andy Murray both suffered early exits in France, the Serbian star crushed Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3 in the semi-finals on route to outright victory.
It capped a fine few weeks for Djokovic, who had previously picked up title wins in Beijing and Basel, where he beat home hope Federer in the decider, and he has every reason to head to England in a confident mood.
Odds supplied by Betus
ATP world finals futures
101 Roger Federer +250
102 Andrew Murray +350
103 Rafael Nadal +550
104 Juan Martin Del Potro +750
105 Novak Djokovic +275
106 Nikolay Davydenko +900
107 Andy Roddick +2500
108 Fernando Verdasco +2000
What a strange year in the NBA so far as the Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings explosive start to NBA life has made the Bucks relevant again and in first place in the Central division. Meanwhile, the Portland Trail blazers have quietly won six straight, and the Boston Celtics drop back-to-back games for the first time this season and even LA looks lackluster.
So who has looked the most impressive to me so far this season. The DENVER NUGGETS . While Denver only squeaked by the Bulls and then got caught up in the Brandon Jennings experience in Milwaukee, what was most impressive about them this week was how they used defense to stifle the Lakers. Offense is always more fun to watch, but defense is what wins championships.
Who else is looking good so far this year. The ATLANTA HAWKS look great in my opinion. Jamal Crawford is averaging 17 points off the bench providing the Hawks with the offensive weapon that’s been missing over the last couple of seasons. Atlanta has won three straight and begins a three game homestand on Monday night against the Blazers. I love the way Josh Smith is playing right now.
Then I would say the PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS – Portland has won six straight, but apart from against the San Antonio Spurs, none of their wins have come against playoff bound opponents. Defensively, Greg Oden’s game looks to be coming together, now if he can just provide some consistency on the offensive end, the Blazers will become even more formidable.
Lets wait until Gasol gets back to comment on the Lakers average start, this is still the best front court in basketball when everyone is healthy and he season is still young. No one is going to touch the Bulls record of wins this year by the look of things though.
Finally , as I put in my other blog, this could be one of the worst possible games for Monday Night Football that they could have picked. Will the Cleveland Browns perform better at home on Monday Night and give us a decent show?
The Browns defense needs to step up against this Ravens offense that has averaged 25.8 points per game this season? The Ravens defense has also struggled this season away from home with opponents averaging 25.7 points per game against them and 397 total yards per game.
So I guess everybody is wondering what happened to to Baltimore’s defense?
Many point at the departures of Rex Ryan, Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard and use that as the culprit for the Ravens’ defensive shortcomings. Some of the problems can be attributed to a change in philosophy and scheming by rookie coordinator Greg Mattison. The Ravens don’t attack like they once did and the more traditional approach doesn’t seem to sit well with the club’s defensive DNA.
But the real problems seem to stem from the rapid aging process of players like Trevor Pryce and Kelly Gregg along with the subpar performances of Terrell Suggs, and the entire secondary. This team needs to create more pressure and get after the quarterback otherwise they will not win when facing above average signal callers.
The Baltimore Ravens are 8-0 ATS vs. a team with a losing record and the Ravens are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after a loss. The Baltimore Ravens are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after scoring less than 15 points in their last game and the Ravens are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after rushing for less than 90 yards in their last game. The Ravens are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after failing to cover the spread in their previous game and the Ravens are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games after a bye week.
The Cleveland Browns are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog and the Browns are 3-10-1 ATS in their last 14 games after a loss by more than 14 points. The Cleveland Browns are 3-10-1 ATS in their last 14 games overall and the Browns are 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games played on grass.
Oddsmakers currently have the Ravens listed as 11-point favorites versus the Browns, while the game’s total is sitting at 39.The Ravens lost to Cincinnati 17-7 as a 3-point favorite in Week 9. The combined score fell UNDER the posted over/under total (45).Joe Flacco threw for 195 yards with two interceptions for Baltimore and Ray Rice rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
The Browns lost to Chicago 30-6 as an 11.5-point underdog in Week 8. The combined score fell UNDER the posted over/under total (40).
Derek Anderson passed for 76 yards with two interceptions and a TD run for Cleveland, while Jamal Lewis rushed for 69 yards on 16 carries.
Current streak:
Cleveland has lost 3 straight games.
Odds supplied by Betus
243 Baltimore Ravens -11 -110 -550
244 Cleveland Browns +11 -110 +425
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