Champion Russians ready for host Italians

Tennis Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - Castellaneta Marina, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reigning two-time champion Russians are prepared to battle host Italy in a Fed Cup semifinal showdown this weekend.

The best-of-five tie will open with a pair of singles rubbers on Saturday, as Russian Anna Chakvetadze will face Italy's best Flavia Pennetta, followed by a bout between Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and the host nation's Francesca Schiavone.

On Sunday, reverse singles will pit Kuznetsova against Pennetta and Chakvetadze versus Schiavone, followed by a potentially-deciding doubles encounter between Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Nadia Petrova and Italy's Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, who captured a singles title in Barcelona last week.

The tie is being staged outdoors on red clay at Nova Yardinia.

Team Russia is captained by Shamil Tarpischev, while the Italian skipper is Corrado Barazzutti.

The Russians are 4-0 all-time against Italy. They last met in the 2007 final, with Russia coming out on top 4-0 in Moscow. Their last meeting in Italy resulted in a 4-1 2005 quarterfinal victory for the Italians.

Russia has won two straight and four of the last five Fed Cup titles. The only other winner in the last five years was Italy, in 2006.

The Russia-Italy winner will meet the USA-Czech Republic victor in the final in November.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.