2008 Davis Cup Betting Odds: On September 19-21, the 2008 Davis Cup semis serves off from Madrid, at Spain’s Las Ventas Bullring. This event will be played on clay-surface. And is there someone who’s better at competing against the world on clay than the world’s No. 1? Doubtful. The 2008 Davis Cup Betting Odds are now available at SportsBook.com.

Today, it was announced by captain, Emilio Sanchez Vicario, that the top-seeded, Rafael Nadal will lead Team Spain when they host defending champion the United States, in the 2008 Davis Cup semifinals.

The USA and Spain will play a best-of-five series against each other. Strangely enough, neither the United State, nor Spain is betting odds favorites to win the 2008 Davis Cup. Argentina currently has the best betting odds to win the 2008 Davis Cup by +120.

Nadal, who just a few days ago was defeated by Andy Murray in the 2008 U.S. Open semifinals, appeared exhausted after a very grueling season.

Nevertheless, Rafa will give it a go: “He lost a match but the tiredness and stress are within the usual limits,” said Sanchez Vicario. “He is very enthusiastic about this tie,” he added. The Spanish captain also pointed out that Nadal might not be at the start of training this Saturday.

Besides the Wimbledon and French Open champ, Sanchez Vicario also selected: David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, and Feliciano Lopez. 16th seeded, Tommy Robrero, was left off the team and Nicolas Almagro was listed as a reserve for Spain. Spain has the second best betting odds to win the 2008 Davis Cup at +150.

Team United States captain, Patrick McEnroe, has chosen: Andy Roddick, James Blake, Mark Bryan, and Bob Bryan. To which Spain’s captain had this to say: “they’re a very compact team… all of the matches will be very complicated.” The United States betting odds to win the 2008 Davis Cup are currently last, at +800.

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UFC Evan Tanner Dies at 37: Today, the world of MMA has lost a true warrior. The former UFC middleweight champ, Evan Tanner, was found dead in the Palo Verde area in SO CAL today. The 37-year-old was a prominent figure for many years in the world of mixed martial arts, from his battles in the UFC octagon, to his expertise offered in HDNet’s “Inside MMA” show.

The cause of his death has yet to be disclosed, but reports state that an Imperial County Sheriff’s Officer initially found Tanner’s motorcycle in a campsite.

Tanner’s body was later found (by another officer), near the mountain’s Clapp Springs area.

Tanner, who had an MMA record of 32-8 (12-5 in the UFC), was originally a state high-school champion in his junior and senior year in Texas.

Tanner began his stellar MMA career by going 19-1 since turning pro in 1997. His first UFC title-fight came in 2001, but suffered a 1st round KO to (then) light-heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz.

After his loss to Tito, Tanner drooped to the middleweight class, where he thrived going 7-1. In February of 2005, Tanner became the UFC middleweight champion by defeating David Terrell.

On his Website, Tanner had posted a message (on August) stating his desire to camp out in a California desert, in sort of a spiritual journey:

“I’ve been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature… being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.”

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Roger Federer Wins U.S. Open 2008 : On Monday, under the bright lights of New York, Roger Federer made history once again by claiming his 5th consecutive U.S. Open title, and his first Grand Slam tournament of the year. At 27-years-old, this (13th major) win places Federer just 1 shy of Pete Sampras ’ all-time record of 14 Grand Slam championships won.

The Swiss accomplished this feat by avoiding the No. 1 seeded, Rafael Nadal , whom has defeated him in two other Grand Slams this season. Instead, Federer took on the No. 6 seed, Andy Murray.

For the first time all season long, Federer showed his championship form, as he played like his old self, and overwhelmed Murray in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

Federer breezed in his US Open finals match against Murray, by winning 36-16 in winners.

A (much) humble Federer (than the one we are used to), spoke after his victory:

“I feel like a New Yorker, whatever that is... I always knew that if I were to get one Slam under my belt, especially the last one, things weren’t looking that bad, like everybody was talking about… One thing’s for sure I’m not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible… It’s nice to compare five U.S. Opens to five Wimbledons. Not many—nobody can do that.”

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