Ferrer wins; Safin loses in Barcelona

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04/21/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's runner-up David Ferrer posted a second-round win, while former world No. 1 Marat Safin came up a first-round loser Tuesday at the $2.6 million Barcelona Open.

The fourth-seeded Ferrer held off Kazakhstani qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on the red clay at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. Ferrer was last year's runner-up here to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Ferrer was joined in the third round by 12th-seeded Russian Igor Andreev, who flattened Spanish wild card Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-2 on Day 2.

The 2000 Barcelona titlist Safin, meanwhile, lost to gritty Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-1 in the big Russian's last appearance here. The two-time major champion Safin announced months ago that this would mark his final season on the ATP World Tour.

Four other seeds avoided opening-round upsets, as No. 9 Czech Radek Stepanek snuck past Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, No. 13 Frenchman Richard Gasquet overcame Czech Jan Hernych 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, No. 14 Swede Robin Soderling subdued Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1, 6-4, and No. 16 Spanish favorite Feliciano Lopez leveled Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-1 at this French Open tuneup.

Former French Open champ Gaston Gaudio, playing in only his second ATP match of the year, reached the second round by outlasting fellow Argentine Diego Junqueira 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The wild card Gaudio was the 2004 titlist at Roland Garros and captured the Barcelona title in 2002.

In some other first-round play, Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver whipped Italian and fellow qualifier Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3; Spaniard Oscar Hernandez humbled Argentine Eduardo Schwank 6-2, 6-4; Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti topped Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; Frenchman Arnaud Clement doused Argentine Guillermo Canas 7-6 (7-0), 6-3; and Russian Mikhail Youzhny edged out Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

This week's top seeds are Spanish favorites Nadal and Fernando Verdasco and Russian Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal is the reigning four-time Barcelona champ.

The reigning Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic titlist Nadal is fresh off his fifth straight Monte-Carlo championship, having beaten Serb Novak Djokovic in this past Sunday's finale in Monaco.

Nadal will open defense of his Barcelona title against Portuguese Frederico Gil here on Wednesday, while Verdasco will encounter the qualifier Lapentti and Davydenko will battle Clement.

The Day-3 schedule will also feature second-rounders for fifth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, sixth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo and seventh-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian. The 2004 Barcelona champion Robredo will take on his fellow former champ Gaudio.

This week's champion will pocket $370,000. The top-eight seeds all received first-round byes.

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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