10/21/2008 - Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champions Andy Roddick of the United States and Richard Gasquet of France were among Tuesday's first-round winners at the $860,000 Lyon Tennis Grand Prix. Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of the host nation also advanced on Day 2.
The top-seeded Roddick erased French crowd favorite Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, while a second-seeded Gasquet fought back to beat Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) on the indoor carpet at Palais des Sports Lyon Gerland. The former top-ranked Roddick titled here in 2005, while Gasquet ran the table in 2006.
Roddick will face fellow American Robby Ginepri, while Gasquet will battle Belgian Steve Darcis in the round of 16. Ginepri drove out defending Lyon champion Sebastien Grosjean, a wild card this week, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4.
In other opening-round play involving seeds, a No. 3 Tsonga topped last year's Lyon runner-up and fellow Frenchman Marc Gicquel 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, while Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti toppled sixth-seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Gicquel gave way to Grosjean in last year's popular all-French finale here.
First-round wins also came French veteran Fabrice Santoro and Italian Andreas Seppi. The 35-year-old Santoro, who titled here 11 years ago, subdued Italian Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-1.
Santoro should have his hands full with Tsonga in the second round.
On Wednesday, last week's Madrid Masters runner-up Gilles Simon of France will face Argentine Juan Monaco in a first-rounder. Simon, seeded fourth this week, is all the way up to No. 10 in the world.
<< Blue Jackets activate Malhotra; place Modin on IR
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets activated forward
Manny Malhotra from injured reserve Tuesday, while placing forward Fredrik
Modin on IR.
Malhotra was injured in the club's final preseason game on Octobe
<< Ducks place Klee on waivers
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks placed defenseman Ken Klee on
waivers on Tuesday.
Klee, 37, was acquired by the Ducks from the Thrashers in a trade before the
season that saw defenseman Mathieu Schneider head to Atlanta.
<< Post positions drawn for 25th Breeders' Cup
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Post positions and morning-line odds have been
set for the 25th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will
be held this Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita Park.
Defending Breeders' Cup Cla
<< NFC North: Bears' offense covers for injured defense
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's not surprising that the Chicago Bears' defense gave up
a lot of points in this past Sunday's clash with the Minnesota Vikings, since
the team was playing without three of its top defensive backs. What was
surprising, how
Newcastle appeals Beye's red card >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Football Association has confirmed
they received a claim for wrongful dismissal from Newcastle United for defender
Habib Beye.
The Senegal international's appeal will be heard on Thursday after he
Browns suspend disgruntled Winslow one game >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns handed Kellen Winslow a
one-game suspension on Tuesday as a result of the tight end's negative
comments toward the organization and, specifically, team vice president and
general
Tottenham's Dawson charged with misconduct >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham Hotspur defender Michael Dawson
has been hit with an FA misconduct charge relating to the aftermath of his
sending-off against Stoke City.
Dawson was dismissed in the final minutes of t
Portsmouth's Redknapp denies inciting crowd >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has
denied suggestions that he incited the crowd before the coin-throwing incident
that marred the goalless draw at Aston Villa.
A linesman was struck on the head
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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