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Arsenal Match Odds

Arsenal F.C. was formed in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich south east London and originally known as Dial Square. To this day the club crest features a cannon and the teams nickname is “The Gunners.” The club was promoted to the First Division in 1904 but after suffering dire financial problems was relegated to the Second Division . In 1913 they moved to the new Arsenal Stadium at Highbury where they remained for 93 years.

Arsenal F.C. are one of the most successful clubs in English football holding the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight. They are the only team to have completed a Premier League season unbeaten. Their list of achievements include 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 F.A. Cups.

Arsene Wenger was appointed Arsenal’s manager in 1996 and is credited with introducing new training regimes and foreign players, all contributing to the clubs success. In 2006 they moved to the Emirates Stadium and in the same year they set a Champion’s League record going ten matches without conceding a goal. They became the first London club to reach the Final of the Champion’s League, in which the record ended and they were beaten by Barcelona.

Arsenal Ladies F.C., a semi professional team, are the most successful team in English womens football having won all three major trophies in 2008/9 and they are also the only English side to have won the UEFA Women’s Cup.

For all of the latest and best Arsenal odds check out below…

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Amazon Wild Slot Game

Are you feeling adventurous? Then try Amazon Wild, from Paddy Power Games, and explore the jungle in this exciting on line slot machine. Venture into the jungle to find the gold and bring home a fortune. This 5 reel, 4 row game, is a 100 compulsory pay line slot with stakes starting at a mini 1p and rising to

BMW PGA Golf At Wentworth

Championship golf returns to Wentworth on May 26th 2011. The competition, which is held on the West Course at the famous Surrey club, is the European Tour’s flagship event. Golfing history will be made when, for the first time, all four holders of the Major Championships will tee off. The quartet of champions Charles Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer will all take part, much to the delight of Championship Director Jamie Birkmyre not to mention the fans.

Schwartzel became the third South African to claim a coveted Green Jacket at Augusta in April and said, ” Winning at Augusta was a dream come true and, without question, the highlight of my career, and I am really looking forward to coming to Wentworth next month as the Masters champion,

Britains Got Talent Superstar

We’re very excited about Mecca Bingo‘s newest exclusive slot game, Britain’s Got Talent Superstar, which launched on their site on Friday 13th of May, so not so unlucky for some!!

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If you’re a fan of the show then you’ll going to love playing the five reel, twenty line slot, featuring all the best-loved characters from the show, a progressive jackpot and exploding reels. Reveal a winning combination and they’ll explode to reveal more symbols and even more chances to win.

If that isn’t enough then you can also play our popular Britain’s Got Talent Bingo game and win up to six cash prizes!

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Sajjhaa Targets Windsor Forest Stakes

Godolphin’s Sajjhaa delighted connections with a fine run at York last week when finishing a highly creditable runner-up to the outstanding mare Midday in the Group 2 Middleton Stakes and could next be seen at Royal Ascot in June where she has a number of entries at the five-day showcase fixture, writes Elliot Slater.

Trained until the start of this term by the now retired Michael Jarvis, the daughter of King’s Best ran above most expectations on the Knavesmire, leading until the furlong pole under Frankie Dettori before Midday came by to score by two-lengths. Such an effort on her seasonal reappearance suggests that the Saeed bin Suroor-trained filly has done very well indeed from three to four and could be worth following this term, even if you usually just keep an eye on the Epsom Derby betting.

Bin Suroor has been fulsome in his praise of Sajjhaa who he expected to come on plenty for her York run and whose effort against a high-class international performer clearly exceeded expectations. She has a number of Royal Ascot entries, including in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, but it seems most likely that she will be kept to competing against her own sex and tackle the Group 2 Windsor Forest Stakes having returned from the Knavesmire in fine form and is understood to be very much pleasing connections. Those tracking the Royal Ascot betting should bear this in mind.

Last term Sajjhaa won in listed company at Bath in August before being beaten just a nose by Aspectoflove in a competitive listed handicap at Ascot’s QEII fixture a month later. She then excelled when putting in a much improved display to reverse the form with Aspectoflove in beating that rival a length-and-a-half in the Group 3 Premio Sergio Cumani at San Siro in October.

Tags: Godolphin Racing, Middleton Stakes, Sajjhaa horse, Windsor Forest StakesShare

Jacqueline Ready In Quest For Top Honours

Henry Cecil’s classy filly Jacqueline Quest looks set to make her seasonal return to action at Leicester next week as the four-year-old bids to gain some compensation this term for her controversial disqualification after ‘winning’ last season’s 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, writes Elliot Slater.

An unconsidered 66/1 shot when getting the better of a tremendous tussle with French filly Special Duty on the Rowley Mile last year, the daughter of Rock of Gibraltar was demoted from first place after the stewards determined that she had hung right and interfered with the runner-up who was denied by a nose. The stewards reversed the placings, denying Cecil another classic success and shattering the elation of the filly’s quadriplegic owner Noel Martin, who named Jacqueline Quest after his late wife.

Following the devastation of her disqualification at HQ, Cecil’s charge then headed to Royal Ascot where she ran a solid race to finish third to Lillie Langtry in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes before ending her season with a below-par effort in coming home just fifth of the seven runners in the Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. Those following the horse race betting would have been disappointed.

Connections of Jacqueline Quest have been waiting for the much promised but rarely sighted rain that has been long absent from British racing this spring, but following a few showers in recent days hopes are being raised that the ground might be suitable for her to make her seasonal bow at Leicester next week, or later on at Haydock in the John ‘O Gaunt stakes.

Her main target in the first half of this term is the Group 2 Windsor Forest Stakes at Royal Ascot, but all plans will relate to prevailing ground conditions, Cecil being determined to be patient with Jacqueline Quest and not risk his talented filly and jar her up on a fast surface.

Tags: henry cecil trainer, Jacqueline Quest horse, NewmarketShare

Carlton House Injury Scare

Derby horse betting favourite Carlton House will be forced to miss any heavy training in the build up to the Derby this weekend after a joint problem was discovered just four days before the big race.

The colt, owned by the Queen, had been placed as the clear favourite for the race after an impressive win at the Dante Stakes last month, but his odds lengthened considerably to 13-8 with some bookmakers when news of the injury filtered through.

The Queen’s racing manager John Warren played down the incident, claiming that the injury wouldn’t affect his ability to run in the classic.

Derby Hope Carlton House Back On Track

Carlton House, the red hot favourite for this weekend’s Investec Derby at Epsom, is reported to be over the worst of the injury scare that caused such a panic in the ante-post market yesterday when word leaked out that The Queen’s horse had suffered a setback, writes Elliot Slater.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt galloped six furlongs on Sunday with a stable companion and reportedly pleased connections with the way he went. The trouble began when Stoute checked the son of Street Cry at evening stables on Monday and the legendary trainer noticed a small amount of swelling on the horse’s near-fore joint. After having the horse X-rayed it was found that the Dante Stakes winner had a little filling in the joint the first sign of a potential injury and Stoute decided to immediately ease off the work for his charge and only allowed him to be trotted yesterday.

News of the slight setback soon filtered out to the Epsom Derby betting markets and resulted in Carlton House drifting from being a solid 6/4 market leader to as big as 2/1 in places. It is likely that the swelling was caused by nothing more than a slight strain, so if the it subsides as is anticipated there is no obvious reason why the big race favourite shouldn’t take his chance on Saturday afternoon and attempt to give The Queen a first winner of the world’s greatest horse race after 60 years of trying as an owner/breeder.

Concerns over the wellbeing of the favourite naturally resulted in most of his closest market rivals being trimmed in price. French challenger Pour Moi was the most notable mover in the market and is now as short as 7/2 second favourite following days of sustained support. Aidan O’Brien’s Recital is offered at 5/1, his stable companion Seville is 6/1, Native Khan is 9/1, and they go 14/1 bar.

Tags: Carlton house horse, Investec Derby at EpsomShare

Aston Villa Match Odds

Aston Villa was founded in 1874 by a group of cricketers who needed a game to occupy them during the winter. Aston Villa, nickname the Villans, soon became the Midlands dominant team and was one of the founder members of the Football League. In 1897 Villa won the League and Cup double and shortly after moved to Aston Lower Grounds which the fans named Villa Park.

In all they have won 7 First Division Championships and 7 FA Cups. Despite their early successes, by 1937 Villa were relegated and although the team was rebuilt after the Second World War their only achievement during this period was an F.A. Cup win in 1957.

The club struggled for many years and reached an all time low in 1971 when they were relegated to the Third Division. It would be 10 years before their fortunes changed and Ron Saunders would lead them to the League title. In 1982 under caretaker manager Tony Barton they won the European Cup beating Bayern Munich in the Final.

Villa suffered relegation again in 1987 swiftly followed by promotion in 1988. In 1993 with Ron Atkinson as manager they finished runners up to Manchester United in the newly formed Premier League and in 1994 and 1996 delighted the fans by winning the League Cup.

In 2006 Martin O’Neill was appointed as the new manager and during his second term in 2008, the team finished sixth in the League with the result that attendances at Villa Park soared. This was followed by two more sixth positions in 2009/10. In 2010 Villa lost in the League Cup Final and the FA Cup semi final and manager Martin O’Neill resigned.

Kevin MacDonald became the caretaker manager until the club appointed Gerard Houllier permanent manager in September 2010.

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Blackburn Rovers Match Odds

Established in 1875 Blackburn Rovers were one of the founder members of the Football League. They enjoyed considerable success in the early years and between 1884-1891 won the FA Cup five times. In 1890 Ewood Park became their permanent ground when it was bought for

Bolton Wanderers Match Odds

, in 1877. One of the founder members of the Football League they moved to Burnden Park in 1895. In 1923 they won the FA Cup in the first Final to be held at Wembley Stadium and in 1935 they began a run of 29 consecutive years as members of the old First Division.

Bolton produced one of England’s greatest forwards in Nat Lofthouse, a record goalscorer for the club, an England player and later a coach and Manager at Burnden Park. The period between 1960-1980s was one of very mixed fortunes for Wanderers and it was 1995 before they entered the Premiership.

Relegated after one season, 1996/97 was a good year for the club and saw them winning the First Division championship with the trophy being presented at the final game ever to be played at Burnden Park.

Returning to the Premier League in 1997/8 and playing at the new Reebok Stadium the club was again relegated after just one season and spent three seasons in the First Division. Sam Allardyce was appointed manager in 1999 and the team returned to the Premiership in 2000/1.

In recent years Bolton have enjoyed some sporadic success but have suffered badly from inconsistent form. They have played in the EUFA cup twice, reaching the last sixteen and becoming the first British team to beat Red Star Belgrade, in Belgrade. Owen Coyle took over as manager at the club in January 2010 and in the same year Bolton completed their tenth successive season in the Premier League.

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Wimbledon 2011 Guide

Tennis fans attention will now be turning to the most famous tournament of all, Wimbledon. In just under a month the ground will be awash with some of the most talented players in the world. Although there are plenty of other Majors to be won, this is the one everyone seems to want. Considered by many as the ‘Home’ of tennis and steeped in history and tradition there could’nt be a better place to be a player or spectator than the green, green grass of the All England Club.

Wimbledon has been host to some of the most talented Champions of all time such as Fred Perry, Billie Jean King, Bjorn Borg and Martina Navratilova. In more recent times, amongst many others, the names of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the Williams sisters have been added to the Roll of Honour.

Since 2003 the Mens Single’s has been won by either Federer or Nadal and not surprisingly they are the frontrunners and the men to beat this year. A possible contender is Novak Djokovic, the Serbian player is in great form this year and certainly one of the best players in the world.

Andy Murray will of course be a favourite with the home crowd and having lost to Nadal in the semi-final stage last year, will no doubt be hoping the fans can help spur him on to his first Wimbledon Final.

Over in the women’s camp, could it be time for a change ?. The Williams sister’s have dominated the tournament since Venus won in 2000. Venus, having won five titles and Serena just one behind her, have not had a great year. Illness, injury and a lack of games mean they are unlikely to be ranked in the World’s Top 10 when the tournament gets under way.

Although they are still favourites, there are plenty of others ready to take up the challenge if they should falter. World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki is in good form as is the experienced Kim Clijsters and with the likes of Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic nipping at their heels it looks set to be an exciting feast of tennis for the fans.

Wimbledon runs from 20th June to 3rd July 2011 and will be televised on the BBC. Improvements to the ground in recent years mean the competition is no longer at the mercy of the English weather, as used to be the case. The biggest stage in tennis is set to receive the biggest and best in the world, so sit back enjoy the strawberries and cream and enjoy everything Wimbledon 2011 has to offer.

Tags: andy murray wimbledon, wimbledon 2011, wimbledon odds, wimbledon odds 2011Share

Rebels Come Undone Against Brumbies

The Melbourne Rebels look set to end their debut Super Rugby season at the foot of the table after losing 32-17 against the Brumbies on Friday.

The game marked Danny Cipriani’s return to action after a month on the sidelines following his suspension for off-the-field incidents, but the talented fly-half could do little about the outcome of the game as the Brumbies eased to a convincing win.

In fact it was Cipriani’s opposite number Matt Giteau who did most of the damage to the Rebels, putting in a consummate performance as he guided his side to maximum points.

In his last game for the Super Rugby side before departing for Europe to join p with Top 14 side Toulon, Giteau got the ball rolling with a delightful pass to send team-mate Christian Lealifano diving over the line after just three minutes.

The Brumbies stretched their lead before the half way point when Tyrone Smith skipped past Cooper Vuna to grab his side’s second try of the game, before Giteau was involved again as his quick thinking when the Brumbies were awarded a penalty resulted in the number ten touching down.

Cipriani’s penalty was all the Rebels had to show for their efforts as the half time whistle blew, and the visitors would have been fearful of a disastrous result with 40 minutes still to play.

While the Brumbies remained on top in the second period, the Rebels did at least give them something to think about, but as they looked to get a foothold in the game were knocked to their knees as Pat McCabe scored in the opening exchanges.

Jarrod Saffy and Afusipa Taumoepeau added a layer of respectability to the scoreline when he scored for the Rebels mid-way through the second half, but fittingly Giteau had the final word on the game, as the red adizero rugby boot wearer converted after Moore touched down for the second time in the game to secure a valuable bonus point.

Tags: boots, brumbies, rebels, RugbyShare

Meehans Lady Ruled Out Of Royal Ascot

Brian Meehan’s high-class sprinter Lady of the Desert will miss her intended engagements at Royal Ascot next week having met with a minor training setback, writes Elliot Slater.

The Jaber Abdullah-owned four-year-old, who finished a fine second to Gilt Edged Girl in last season’s Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp in October, is reported “under a cloud” at present and Abdullah’s racing manager Bruce Raymond was categorical in confirming that the daughter of Rahy will not be seen in action this month. He suggested that if she recovers from her ailment then there is a chance she might well be back in time for the July Cup at Newmarket, but if not then connections will take their time with her and train the quality sprinter for an autumn campaign that could include the Haydock Sprint Cup and another crack at the big Longchamp sprint at the end of the term. Those who had placed a Royal Ascot free bet will still be very disappointed though.

Lady Of The Desert had been prominent in the ante-post markets for both the King’s Stand Stakes and the Golden Jubilee Stakes on the back of a series of fine performances over the last couple of seasons. As well as her outstanding effort in Paris in October, Meehan’s charge won the Group 2 Diadem Stakes at Ascot last September having a month earlier chased home Markab in the Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock. Those following the Royal Ascot betting tips will now have to look elsewhere.

Australian speedster Star Witness remains the 5/1 ante-post favourite for the King’s Stand Stakes, with last season’s Nunthorpe Stakes winner and recent Temple Stakes victor Sole Power next in the list at 8/1. The rejuvenated Delegator, runner-up to the mighty Sea The Stars in the 2000 Guineas of 2009 heads the betting for the Golden Jubilee Stakes on the final day of the fixture, being generally on offer at 5/1 having returned to form with a vengeance when dropped back in trip to land the Duke of York Stakes in style on the Knavesmire last month for Godolphin.

Tags: Brian Meehan trainer, Lady of the Desert horse, Royal Ascot 2011, Royal Ascot bettingShare

Chelsea Premier League Odds

Chelsea F.C. was founded in 1905 and despite their name play at Stamford Bridge in Fulham, West London. Originally elected to the Second Division they have spent most of their time in the top flight of English football. Chelsea

Birthday Honours for Cricketers

Three cricketers involved in England’s historic and decisive Ashes victory in Australia last winter, were named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. All three were involved in the teams 3-1 win which secured their first victory down under for 24 years. Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower received an OBE whilst Alastair Cook was awarded an MBE. The England captain Andrew Strauss already the holder of an MBE credited the award to his team when he spoke of his pride and sense of achievement at a press conference. “It is a great honour to receive this accolade, it’s one of the better items of post you get through the letterbox – certainly better than a gas bill”.

Strauss who envisages a bright future for the England team said “It is wonderful to receive OBEs and MBEs. We have achieved something but are nowhere near the end of the road yet, and will continue to strive to improve”. The England captain had kept news of the award under his hat as requested but admitted to telling his wife of the forthcoming honour. The Middlesex player spoke of the England teams win saying “the most satisfying thing is the players we had and how they rose to the challenges and played so well, as they can. When you are fortunate enough to be in this position, you want to make the absolute most of every opportunity.”

Alastair Cook the 26 year old Essex player who silenced doubts about his place in the England team with his match saving, unbeaten double-hundred in the second innings of the first Test in Brisbane was honoured with an MBE. Cook the man of the match and series, fufilled his early promise and has gone from strength to strength since scoring 766 runs in 7 innings to assure England’s first series win in Australia, when he exceeded 5000 test runs becoming the second youngest batsman to do so.

The third member of the cricketing trio to be honoured was coach Andy Flower. The 43 year old native South African, who played for Zimbabwe in his successful international career as a batsman and wicketkeeper, commenting on the award said, “It is a lovely surprise to receive this honour, my family and I feel very thankful to have been welcomed into this country since moving here in 2003 and I feel a great privilege and responsibility to be involved in a leadership role in English sport.

Tags: andrew strauss OBE, cricket honours, queen's birthday honoursShare

Everton FC Match Odds

Everton FC , nicknames The Blues,The Toffee’s, was founded in 1878 in response to a need for a sport local people could play during the winter months. Barker and Dobson a local sweet maker named the now famous Everton Mints after them. After a long and bitter wrangle over the Anfield ground where they had played for some time, the team eventually moved to Goodison Park. Founder members of the Football League, they won the League Championship in 1890/91. In 1925 the club signed the legendary Dixie Dean and in 1927/28 he set a record which stands to this day, scoring 60 goals in 39 league games.

The 1930s were on the whole a succesful period for the club which saw them add a second FA Cup to their tally and a fifth League Championship title in 1938/9. When football resumed after the war the team struggled to regain their pre war form and spent some years in the Second Division returning to the top flight in 1953/4, where they have remained ever since. Harry Catterick became manager of Everton in 1961 and led the team to great success, winning both FA Cup, League Championship titles and they became the first English club to spend five consecutive years in European competitions.

Everton’s most successful era came in the 1980s, under manager Howard Kendall they won many domestic honours and in 1985 the European Cup Winners Cup. They are the only club to have played over 100 seasons in the top flight of English football. In 1992 Everton became founder members of the Premier League but struggled to find the right manager, the team suffered from inconsistent form and narrowly avoided relegation a number of times. David Moyes was appointed manager in 2002 and has since signed a number of players breaking the clubs transfer fee record on four occasions. Under Moyes management some cash was recouped when Wayne Rooney was sold to Manchester United for a record club fee of

Strong Suit Set To Step Up

Champion trainer Richard Hannon is seriously considering stepping up his impressive Jersey Stakes winner Strong Suit to a mile for the first time in his career and bidding for the prestigious Group 1 Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly on July 3, writes Elliot Slater.

Hannon famously won the race 12 months ago with the smart Dick Turpin, and having seen Strong Suit return to his best to win at Royal Ascot for the second year running (he landed the 2010 Coventry Stakes as a juvenile), the veteran handler is fairly confident that the son of Rahy is ready to try an extra furlong having come through a breathing operation with flying colours prior to his defeat of Codemaster in the Jersey Stakes. Those placing horse bets will have been pleased to see him back in action.

Hannon had been convinced that his three-year-old was on the way back after seeing him work in tremendous fashion following his operation, but experience told him that the acid test would be when the horse was actually placed under pressure in a full blown race, rather than at home on the gallops. Now that he knows all is well with the winner of three of his six career starts, Hannon feels that the time is right to press on and tackle the best of the French and European milers in the Chantilly showcase event and the horse racing betting suggests it should be an intriguing contest.

Strong Suit ran four fine races as a juvenile, following his debut defeat of Neebras with a brave nose defeat of Elzaam at Royal Ascot last year. A close third to Zoffany in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh was followed by finishing a distant second to the brilliant Dream Ahead in the Group1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket last October. On his seasonal reappearance however Strong Suit was clearly struggling when last of sixth behind Frankel in the Greenham Stakes, after which his breathing problem was detected, operated on, and from which he now appears fully recovered.

Tags: horse bet, horse racing odds, Strong Suit horseShare

Warwickshire Clinch Chanderpaul Coup

Warwickshire have signed Shivnarine Chanderpaul as their overseas player for the remaineder of the 2011 season. The West Indies batsman will arrive with the county in mid-July to replace Mohammad Yousuf who had figured in the Jim Troughton-captained side earlier this year.

Chanderpaul has played county cricket in England before, having enjoyed spells with Durham and most notably Lancashire.

But the acquisition of the 36-year-old is viewed as major coup for the Edgbaston-based outfit.

“It is universally acknowledged that Shiv is a class act and has proved his worth time after time at the highest level,

Junior For Grand National 2012

David Pipe has revealed that his quality dual purpose performer Junior will be given a well earned break for the rest of the summer and autumn before being brought back during the winter term and prepared for the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree next April, writes Elliot Slater.

Junior, winner of last season’s Ascot Stakes at the royal meeting before finishing a fine runner-up to Ghimmaar at Goodwood a few weeks later, went on to complete a unique major festival double when running his rivals ragged in memorable fashion to land the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March, slamming his 23 rivals. The useful Faasel got closest to him in being beaten by no less than 24 lengths. Anyone looking for horse racing betting tips would have been impressed.

The eight-year-old was fully expected to give a very good account of himself at Royal Ascot last week when attempting to land back-to-back runnings of the Ascots Stakes, but under top weight he ran a disappointing race, leading from flag-fall but never travelling with his usual fluency, then fading quickly when headed five furlongs from home before eventually trailing in a well beaten ninth of the 19 runners, some 29-lengths behind the winner, Veiled. It was something of a horse betting upset.

Pipe believes the son of Singspiel was almost certainly feeling the effects of some hard races over the previous 12 months and has taken the Ascot run as a message to him to ease off training for a while and give the Middleham Park Racing-owned gelding a proper break.

All roads now lead to Aintree and the Grand National, a race for which Junior missed the cut this year but should gain a place in the starting line-up in 2012. Bookmakers make him a best price 25/1 chance to add the Grand National silverware to his collection.

Tags: horse betting, horse racing betting tipsShare

Wimbledon Fever At Crown Bingo

If you’ve been whiling away the hours watching a tiny little ball get belted back and forth over a new for the last week or so then you’ve probably been watching Wimbledon in all it’s glory – at least when the sun is out or when the roof is on!

And after all of that, if you still can’t enough of it then head on over to Crown Bingo where they have a really well-timed promotion for all of it’s lovely bingo customers.

It is the last week of Wimbledon and to celebrate at Crown Bingo, Wimbledon Fever will be hitting Bingo Studio Live between Monday 27th June and Sunday 3rd July!!

Be a full house winner at Crown Bingo during the Wimbledon hours and you will have the chance to play one of our tennis themed games which include On the Line, Lucky Balls and Game Set Match! There is lots of Bingo Bonus to be won, so take your seats and enjoy a nice bowl of strawberries and cream with a week of tennis highlights brought to you by all of your favourite presenters!

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Blackjack Doubling Down

It’s twice as lucrative, or twice as costly. Doubling down in blackjack can be a risky business. There are some people who use every opportunity to double down, whatever their hand. They don’t tend to be rich people, for precisely that reason.

It is an option only available as the first decision of a hand, and allows the player to increase their bet by up to, or most often exactly, 100 per cent. Only one more card will be dealt to them, so when it goes wrong it can be a spectacular failure.

If you’ve put

Top UK Bingo Hen Nights

When it comes to making the most of those precious final moments of freedom before you tie the knot with your beloved, nothing beats heading away for the weekend to play a few sessions of bingo.

OK, maybe that’s not strictly true, there are one or two activities that have the potential to beat an evening at the bingo hall, but this is a family blog, so we’ll keep it clean.

If you’re planning your hen weekend at this very moment and incorporating the odd game of bingo is a big priority for you, as it should be, then praise the Lord for Ladbrokes Bingo Promotions, who have willingly scoured the country for their top three bingo hen weekends so you don’t have to!

So, read on, book your weekend, and then go and spend that valuable time you’ve saved by researching an outfit for your bridesmaids that won’t show you up when you walk down the aisle (oh come on, everyone knows that’s high up on the to do list of every bride)!

Number Three: Naughty Newcastle

If you like your men bare-chested, without hair on their head, and with enough stomach fat to keep a small family of snowmen efficiently insulated, Newcastle is undoubtedly the place for you and your bingo hen weekend.

With pretty much any Newcastle Hen Weekend website you happen to visit proclaiming the virtues of the local male strip show, it’s worth planning your trip well ahead of time in order to map out your evening bingo trail in a manner that avoids (or incorporates depending upon your preferences) the seedier side of the town.

There are several big bingo halls from established names to choose from in the centre of town and, with the city’s Quayside area now transformed into a futuristic hot-spot of night-time activity, with cocktails and live music very much the norm, you’re guaranteed to find somewhere fun to flash your cash after landing that bingo bonus jackpot.

Number Two: Boozy Bournemouth

Did you know that a 2007 survey conducted by a bank that shall remain nameless found that Bournemouth, the coastal town we all know and love down in Dorset, was the happiest place to live in the entire country? Yes, that’s right, a whopping 82% of those questioned revealed they were happy with their lives.

That may surprise you, but it doesn’t surprise us in the slightest, because ‘bingo’ and ‘Bournemouth’ are two words that go hand in hand as neatly as ‘Bournemouth Pier’ and ‘sunburn’.

Bournemouth used to have a reputation for being home to a disproportionate amount of people with blue rinses and perms, but now the bingo halls are more likely to be filled with hen parties and groups of girls warming up for the night before heading out to a nightclub or bar.

We’re not sure we quite agree with the estimation of a few that Bournemouth is the

Poker Amateurs To Beat The Best

One of the fascinating attractions of poker is the everyday man can pit themselves against the world’s best players and come out on top.

When you enter tournaments online you don’t exactly know who you are coming up against, reputations count for nothing. The closer you get to the higher stake games, or tournaments holding prestigious entries to major tournaments, you are always likely to find some of the best players from around the world. Most players in this year’s WSOP will be regulars online.

There are not many sports or games in the world that this could happen in. If you get the right amount of luck and play good solid poker, there is every chance of coming out on top and claiming a big scalp.

Texas Holdem poker has transformed the lives of many people. It has given them a fantastic opportunity to earn a large amount of money from their skills. If you’re good enough, you’ll be rewarded. Bankrolls can easily be increased if you play the right games and the right way.

The big tournaments have enormous amount of entries and as a result carry large prize pools. Winning one of these can change your life as your name will be soon be recognised and you will have a bankroll to go with it.

Your winnings can even provide you enough to travel to top events and meet the buy in fee.

It is fair to say that poker is one of the few games that can bring fairytale to reality and keep alive the notion that you can go from rags to riches, if you work really hard at something.

Tags: Texas Holdem poker, WSOPShare

Fulham FC Match Odds

Fulham F.C. is the oldest professional football league team to be based in London. Founded in 1879 and nicknamed ‘The Whites’ but more often ‘The Cottagers’ after the Craven Cottage ground where they have played since 1896. Admitted to the national Football League in 1907/8 season they spent their early years playing in the Second and Third divisions.

In 1949 they were promoted to the First Division and in 1950 they signed Johnny Haynes, A schoolboy at the time, he would spend 20 years at Fulham becoming their greatest ever goalscorer and earning the nickname Mr Fulham. Haynes would go on to be an England Captain earning 52 caps and was the first football player ever to earn

Liverpool FC Match Odds

Liverpool FC was founded in 1892 by local tory MP and future Mayor of Liverpool John Houlding. Houlding owned land at Anfield and after a bitter dispute with Everton FC, who relocated to Goodison Park, the new Liverpool

Crown Bingo July Promotions

1K Holiday with Crown Bingo: Every Wednesday and Friday at 9pm in Room 2 Crown Bingo will be giving players the chance to win free tickets to a big game on Friday 29th July where the full house winner will win a Holiday worth

NFL Draft Betting Odds: Final Football Score In 2011?

By Robert Ferringo

This may be our last time to bet on the NFL for awhile.

The NFL Draft’s opening round commences on Thursday, April 28 at 8 p.m. And with the present labor debacle what it is there is a decent chance that the NFL preseason will be truncated, at the very least, and that NFL regular season games could be cancelled. That means that this could be the last opportunity for bettors to build their bankrolls via the NFL.

Below is a list of NFL prop wagers available for betting the NFL draft, courtesy of Bodog.com:

Which side of the ball will Mr. Irrelevant play
Offense (-120)
Defense (-120)

How many QB’s will be selected in the 1st round
Over 3

Betting On The Brits: Royal Wedding Odds

Contributed By Vegas Sports Informer

If you guys don’t know me by now then you don’t know that I love to bet the Little League World Series, American Idol, and yes my favorite sport: the WNBA. But this Friday I can’t wait for my next random betting opportunity - the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. My alarm clock is already set, the coffee will be brewing, and I will probably have an English Muffin.

Our friends over at Bodog have odds for the Wedding of the Century:

Royal Wedding 2011 - What Color Hat will the Queen wear at the Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton?
Yellow    2/1
Blue    3/1
Pink    5/1
Purple    6/1
Cream/Beige    7/1
White    9/1
Apricot    10/1
Green    10/1
Red    12/1
Orange    14/1
Brown    16/1
Black    20/1
Grey    20/1

Royal Wedding 2011 - Will Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first child be a boy or a girl? (Must have a child for action)
Boy    -105
Girl    -105

Royal Wedding 2011 - Will Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first pregnancy result in twins? (Must have a child for action)
Yes   

2011 NFL Draft Grades

By Robert Ferringo

It was a busy weekend for the NFL. There was plenty to be excited about, including a new set of pros being drafted into The League. But there was also the pall cast by an unfavorable ruling against the players that has reinstated the lockout that is plaguing this offseason. In the end, the weekend’s developments were merely a distraction and an oasis in an offseason that is going to be a bitter and anxious one for fans and gamblers alike.

But the show must go on. And as such I spent the weekend with one eye on the developments in NYC and have put the results of my findings into a neat, easy-to-read format: my . Though no games were played there were plenty of winners and plenty of losers this weekend. And considering that the lockout has frozen free agency that put even more onus on what teams did while “on the clock” last week.

Here are Doc’s Sports :

Arizona

2011 Preakness Stakes Post Draw Results

By Robert Ferringo

The 2011 Preakness Stakes post draw was just announced by Pimlico Race Horse officials, and the field for the 136th Preakness Stakes is set.

The 2011 Preakness will be run at 6 p.m. EST on Saturday, May 21 at Pimlico. This is the second round of the Triple Crown.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom drew the No. 11 post for Saturday. Animal Kingdom raced from the No. 16 post at the Derby, so starting from the outside hasn’t really bothered this stalking horse. Derby favorite (and eighth place finisher) Dialed In will race from the No. 10 slot, while third-place Derby finisher Mucho Macho Man will race in the No. 9 position.

Here is the official Preakness Stakes post draw results and for full Preakness analysis CLICK HERE:

1. Astrology
2. Norman Asbjornson
3. King Congle
4. Flashpoint
5. Shackelford
6. Sway Away
7. Midnight Interlude
8. Dance City
9. Mucho Macho Man
10. Dialed In
11. Animal Kingdom
12. Isn’t He Perfect
13. Concealed Identity
14. Mr. Commons

Posted at 4:48 pm

MLB Scoring Numbers: Can Anyone Hit Any More?

By Robert Ferringo

Over on The Mothership I have written the first of what I hope will be a weekly article entitled MLB Betting By The Numbers. The idea is that baseball, more than any other sport, is a construct of mathematical principles and that winning money betting on baseball is based on understanding these numbers. So each week I’m goign to poke around some of the random, obscure, quirky numbers that present themselves in the baseball betting market and bring them to you with my usual wit and wisdom.

This week’s version has a foundation in a simple premise: without steroids, everyone sucks.

It has been five years since baseball enacted “real” steroid legislation and it has been two years since Manny Ramirez, the first big “star” to be suspended, derailed the Dodgers by getting busted on the juice. Using those two incidents as bench marks we can see that the MLB landscape has completely changed. And, frankly, now no one can score. All of the basic scoring metrics - batting, runs, and home runs - are down dramatically this year compared to previous seasons. Here are the numbers that I used for the research in my story:

2011 Runs Per Game

NBA Draft Early Entry Pool Leaves Quite A Wake

By Robert Ferringo

One of the most important days of the college basketball season takes part in May with no ball, no basket, no fans, and no hardwood. May 8 is the deadline for underclassmen to declare their intentions for the NBA draft and the decisions that these kids make have drastic ramifications on the entire college hoops landscape.

Every year there are the top tier players that everyone knows are one-and-done or are leaving early. Below them are the true NBA prospects and those players are the focus of Doc’s Sports NBA Mock Draft. But then beyond that are the NBA wannabes; the players that are making terrible decisions and will be shooting free throws through a smoky cloud in some Turkish gym within five months.

Just like anything in college hoops there are clear winners and losers. The winners are a little bit more difficult to completely nail down when it comes to the NBA early entrants. For instance, is Kentucky a

VSI Gives Odds To Win WNBA Title

Contributed by Vegas Sports Informer

It’s that time of year again as the NBA season is getting ready to end and the ladies take center court.

The WNBA tips-off their 14th season of play tonight and the Seattle Storm look to post back-to-back WNBA Championships. The West will be tough and again I believe the West will produce the 2011 WNBA Championship.

If you need a sleeper and a team that could make some early noise look out for the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx at 8-to-1 is great value and yes they are young but these young legs could produce some early wins.

This season we are looking for another big year in the WNBA and so far we have cashed four straight WNBA seasons. People make fun of me every year when I tell them that I bet the WNBA but making money is making money and if I make money with women’s basketball who cares? All that means is that my clients have extra summer cash in their wallets.

My prediction this season to win it all will be a team in the West and this year we will have a repeat as the Seattle Storm win the 2011 WNBA Championship over the Atlanta Dream.

Here are the odds to win the 2011 WNBA Championship

Seattle Storm    11/4
Atlanta Dream    6/1
Los Angeles Sparks    8/1
Minnesota Lynx    8/1
Phoenix Mercury    8/1
Connecticut Sun    10/1
New York Liberty    10/1
Washington Mystics    10/1
Chicago Sky    12/1
Indiana Fever    12/1
San Antonio Silver Stars    14/1
Tulsa Shock    18/1

You can follow me on both Twitter and Facebook as VSIdocsports.

Posted at 9:15 am

NCAA Football – How amateur College Football really is?

On a previous article we posted at our sports betting blog, we had mentioned that the NCAA was working on some sort of contingency plan to try to keep Division I sports at an amateur level. NCAA President Mark Emmert doesn’t believe colleges should pay athletes, and he wants university leaders to help him. Emmert announced he would hold a two-day retreat with about 50 school presidents or chancellors to discuss the future of Division I sports. The meeting is scheduled for Aug. 9-10.

Perhaps the main issue here is that every day it becomes more evident that college sports are not really as amateur as the organization that rules them all would like them (or at least make us believe) to be. Perhaps the only reason why we understand college sports as amateur is because of the fact that there are two bigger and professional leagues, the NFL and the NBA, that use this 4 year program as a filter to bring out the best of the best in a yearly multimillion dollar draft. That exclusion is in appearance the mayor distinction between both. Until you consider the money factor.

Truth is, that the educational component to College Football, and by extension we could add, College Basketball, is almost a non-factor. If we semantically consider amateur back in its original classical Latin, the word meant lover. Now its understood as something that is done for the love of it, and not for money. I can

MLB – Los Angeles Dodgers File for Bankruptcy Protection

Things are not going too well for the Dodgers. Many are wondering why Frank McCourt decided to file right now for Bankruptcy protection, considering that they have been dragging this issue for quite a while. It seems only appropriate to guess that it has something to do with the soon to be expired deadline. Some reporters have come to believe that the Dodgers would fail to make payroll this next month, something that would give the MLB the power to overrun the Dodgers.

In a statement given to the press little after the team had filled for Chapter 11 protection in a court in Delaware, Frank McCourt said that this wouldn’t had been necessary should the MLB commissioner, Bud Selig, had approved a multibillion dollar TV deal with FOX Sports News.

The Chapter 11 financing will buy McCourt some time, providing that he has enough evidence and financial records to convince the judge that he is still capable of overturning this situation and basically of running the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Chapter 11 financing permits the Dodgers to use $150 million for daily operations and buys time for the team to seek a media deal and ensure the team’s long-term financial stability.

McCourt didn’t hold back against his critics and threw out a full on attack against the league. He defended his work at the helm of the Dodgers and basically kept on insisting that the MLB commissioner, Bud Selig, was going to intentionally put the Dodgers in a precarious economic situation by not allowing him to seal off the TV deal with FOX. In the statement, McCourt said the following: “We turned the team around financially after years of annual losses before I purchased the team. We invested $150 million in the stadium. We’ve had excellent on-field performance, including playoff appearances four times in seven years.

This is the bottom of the issue, what it all comes down to: money. It is still uncertain on what grounds commissioner Bud Selig didn’t approve the Dodgers television deal with Fox Sports. All we know is that it has become a nightmare for the Dodgers and its fans.

McCourt said later on that his team brought the Commissioner a media rights deal that would have solved the cash flow challenge the team reported to the MLB a year ago.

Wimbledon – Williams Sisters fail to pass the 4th round

It wasn’t a great day for Serena Williams, the defending champion who had fought her way back into the Grand Slam she has been so dominant at. After almost spending a year out of the professional circuit recovering from a freak foot injury first and some life threatening blood clots in her lungs later, Serena made her way back into the immaculate grass fields of the All English Club in Wimbledon. It was an emotive and exciting comeback for a player who had fought so hard to get back into the game. But it all ended a little too soon.

Her sister, and five-time Wimbledon Champion, Venus Williams, was working her way back into the top of the sport. She was running for her sixth title at Wimbledon, but couldn’t hold up to Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova and lost in straight sets in the 4th round. Pironkova is not an unfamiliar face to Venus Williams. Truth is that she has been somewhat of a nightmare for Venus recently. Not only did she just outplay her 6-2, 6-3 earlier today, but she also defeated Williams a year ago to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. Pironkova had also won their first round match in the unexpected and odd-breaking first round win against Venus Williams in the 2006 Australian Open.

It is certainly an unfamiliar situation for the Williams sisters. Truth is that the two of them have won 9 of the last 11 titles disputed in Wimbledon. Just to put this into the right perspective you might want to consider that the two sisters have faced each other in the finals in four different occasions. After what we saw from both players in the first round, some fans and sports commentators where starting to imagine that the two sisters could once again win it all and see each other in the Final. Not many were expecting the Williams sisters to be ousted in the same day on the tournament they had dominated for over a decade.

Serena Williams was ousted by Marion Bartoli 6-3, 7-6 (6) in one very exciting game. Not exactly what we had in mind for Serena’s comeback. We had some great expectations for Serena Williams. This was somewhat of a chance to vindicate her status. She had been fighting and struggling against so many health problems that it seems quite an unexpected end to her return to Grand Slam tennis. Serena, a four-time winner at the All England Club, saved four match points before the ninth-seeded Frenchwoman closed out the contest by hitting a service winner into the corner. It was Williams’ earliest exit at Wimbledon since a third-round loss in 2005. Serena had 20 unforced errors and even though she had 29 winners she wasn’t really too focus on her game. Let’s consider that she only managed to convert one of five break points. Bartoli served 10 aces, two more than Williams, and kept down her errors to 17.

Things weren’t great for her sister either. Venus was clearly having and off day. Contrary to what we are used to see in her precise and power filled game, Venus committing 16 unforced errors and managed to convert only one of four break points. She was broken four times. The 33rd-seeded Pironkova new she had what it takes to defeat Venus. Only a year ago, Pironkova lost in the semifinals here last year to eventual runner-up Vera Zvonareva. If she really wants to make it into the final, she’ll stay focused just as she did while she played steady tennis against Venus.

:Grand Slam betting, Williams sisters ousted, Wimbledon, Wimbledon Odds, WTA tennis
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Wimbledon – The Men’s singles quarterfinals overview

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NCAA Football – Drugs, Football, Tattoos and Scandals

by Stephen Lars on Jun.29, 2011, under Football, Sports News

The title of this article sound like the ingredients for one of those college football movies that hit the box offices every two years or so, telling the grueling story of a band of young man fighting to make it to the top of their sport. Some do it for glory, others for fame, others for their love of the sport and other for money.

Players, coaches, fans, are all part of the multibillion dollar circus (show business, if you might get offended by this) that we have come to known as Division I collegiate sports. Yes, these are amateur players. Yes, these guys don’t make a dime out of the whole thing. Sure, they get a free education and technically these players are called student-athletes, or participants of the most selective and effusive training camp programs. These student athletes’ academic performance is most of the times inversely proportionate to their success on the field. And it’s not a big deal because, heck, they might eventually make it into the pros where multimillion-dollar contracts will be waiting for them.

In college football, in college basketball, everybody makes money, except for the players. And everybody seems to be fine with this. Well, most everybody. That’s perhaps why this whole Ohio State Buckeyes scandal takes a whole new distinct dimension. What sparks me as the most interesting aspect of how this whole thing went down is that it was not because of the NCAA that the scandal surfaced.

Let’s follow the story of one particular tattoo parlor owner, Edward Rife, who had a lucrative side business selling hundreds of pounds of marijuana in Columbus. Let’s consider for a moment that Rife’s guilty plea to drug trafficking and money laundering charges might have gone unnoticed had federal investigators not stumbled on another of Rife’s sidelines. And this is where it all get’s interesting from our point of view. It so happens that not only was Rife a talented drug dealer, but he also was a die-hard fan of the Buckeyes. The federal investigators discovered that he had been buying Ohio State memorabilia from football players or giving them discounts on tattoos for the items.

On a press release given out earlier today, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Kelley said the government is not assisting with either the NCAA or Ohio State investigations. But sure enough, it was this federal investigation that got all this started. If anyone was wondering, Kelley also said there was no evidence Ohio State players were involved in the marijuana operation.

There are still plenty of issues that have to be taken into consideration by the NCAA. Some believe that it is now time to start paying the players something in exchange for their talents. Some consider that getting a free education shouldn’t be enough to cover the risks that these young men undergo on every game. It is possible that all of this issues could be solved soon. But its not likely. The NCAA stands firm behind their position: college sports should stay on an amateur level. The main problem here is that the only ones expected to do something out of love are the players, everybody else is making a profit out of the most popular sporting events in the United States.

:Edward Rife, Football college tatoos, NCAA Football, Ohio State
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Wimbledon – Novak Djokovic defeats Rafa Nadal for The Championships title

So far this year, Serbian Novak Djokovic has won 48 of the 49 matches he has played this season. That goes even a little further if we take into account last year’s Davis Cup. He has won every tournament he has been into for the sole exception of the French Open, where he couldn’t outplay Roger Federer in the semifinals. Just for the sake of information, Roger Federer would eventually lose the final of the French Open to the King of Clay, one Rafael Nadal.

Back at Roland Garros I said on the subsequent blog entry that had Roger Federer not managed to defeat Novak Djokovic, it would have been Djokovic who would have won the French Open. Let’s consider that on three warm up clay court tournaments before Paris, Djokovic had won on each, including two wins in the finals against Rafael Nadal. The truth is that the Djoker had Nadal figured out, even when playing in his strongest surface. What Djokovic hadn’t figured out yet was how to defeat perhaps the greatest player to have yet to play the game, the Swiss Roger Federer.

Perhaps this is why when Djokovic finally got his chance to defeat Rafael Nadal for a Grand Slam tournament I couldn’t help but to feel extremely excited about the Djoker’s accomplishments this season. One must understand that by defeating Rafa on Sunday, Djokovic was certainly redefining his career. He was certainly taking his tennis game to a whole new level. Let’s consider that before this win, Novak Djokovic had never defeated Rafael Nadal on a Grand Slam. Certainly not when playing for a Grand Slam title. Neither had he ever won a grass-court tournament of any sort, let alone the Championships at Wimbledon. Before 2011, Novak Djokovic had been a great player. Now we can say he is quite phenomenal.

Novak Djokovic was faster, stronger, had a better swing and simply ran from side to side of the court showing his best defense up to date. This brilliant performance was enough to defeat the defending champion, Rafael Nadal by 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 at Central Court. This is his first title at the All England Club and third major championship overall. Many are already making of him the favorite to go on and win the US Open.

:Djokovic wins Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal
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Tour de France – Tyler Farrar, A Fast Paced American in Paris

It’s funny how some things work out. I’m still uncertain how I should deal with this breaking news, or if it’s even appropriate to talk about the Tour de France and about one Tyler Farrar winning a stage on the 4th of July. But I’ll go ahead and take on a couple liberties. I knew Tyler Farrar back when he was 16 and was kicking ass in Washington State’s Category I races of the United States Cycling Federation. At 15 he was already faster than any amateur racer in the Washington, Idaho and Montana racing series and whenever he would go out to defend his Junior National Championship title with the rest of us, he would just simply make it look like a joke.

Be it on a time trail, on a criterium, on a stage race, Tyler Farrar was simply faster and stronger than any racer that same age I had ever seen, I had ever raced with, or quite simply I had a chance to see live. Racing against Farrar was like taking a slap to the face. He would help you realize that only a very select few has what it really takes to make it and survive in the Tour de France. That’s when at least for me it all became clear. It was the Tyler Farrar’s of the World who made it the Champs-Elysees after more then 2200 miles of cycling in less than a month. Those of us Juniors who raced against Tyler Farrar, we all knew that he couldn’t train more than we already did. We knew that he didn’t have a better or faster bike than we all did, and even if he did, it was not about the bike. We just knew that he was build to be professional racer, and despite all our efforts we weren’t.

I’ve been following Farrar’s career for a while now, because for the few occasions I had to race against him, I knew that he was going to make it to the top. Little over ten year’s later, I’m writing about Tyler Farrar winning his first ever Tour de France stage, and the first American to win in the most prestigious and demanding race in the world since Levi Leipheimer placed first in the individual time trial in Angouleme in 2007.

Farrar is one of the world’s best sprinters and took advantage of the 123-mile flat route from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon in western Brittany. This particular stage favored sprinters like Farrar, Mark Cavendish of Britain, Italy’s Alessandro Petacchi, Tom Boonen of Belgium and Thor Hushovd of Norway. At the finish, the American barely outsprinted out of France’s Romain Feillu, who was second, and Jose Joaquin Rojas of Spain who came in third. Farrar and a pack of riders clocked the same time: 4 hours, 40 minutes, 21 seconds.

The defending champion, Alberto Contador of Spain, lost time on Saturday after getting entangled in a crash, and is currently 69th overall — 1:42 back of the Norwegian leader.

Among the other favorites to arrive to the Champs-Elysee on July 24 wearing the Yellow Jersey, runner-up Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, the leader of Leopard-Trek, is eighth overall, 4 seconds behind Hushovd. It’s still early. This first stages are for the sprinting specialist, but its not going to be until we hit the first mountains and the individual time-trails that we could start counting on the favorites to make their move.

:Farrar win Stage, Stage 3 tour, Tour de France, Tyler Farrar
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Wimbledon – Petra Kvitova wins the Championships

Maria Sharapova, the stunning blonde professional tennis placer from Russia, began her career with one heck of an accomplishment. She was only 17 when she defeated Serena Williams at the Centre Court to win her first Grand Slam. Let’s consider for a second that Serena Williams just as her sister, Venus, were dominating the tour and Serena herself had won the tournament on three previous occasions. Maria Sharapova was at her first Grand Slam final, playing at the lawn courts of the All England Club, a place were the Williams sisters seemed invincible. Sharapova still managed to outplay Serena and win her first Slam.

Petra Kvitova, on the other hand, just managed to arrive to her first Grand Slam final, and this time she was facing one Maria Sharapova, a now mature player who despite fighting with many injuries had managed to win 3 Grand Slams. In a surprisingly lopsided final, Kvitova beat the higher-seeded Sharapova 6-3, 6-4. It’s strange how this all works. For starters many believed that Sharapova would had the confidence needed to win this game. She has been here before. But it wasn’t a good game for her. She seemed distracted and insecure about her game. Kvitova was secured, and kept on pushing Sharapova until she broke down. It was quite a great way to win

Before Wimbledon in 2010, Kvitova’s career record on grass was 0-4. She is 16-2 on the slick surface since, including a run to the semifinals here last year before losing to Serena Williams. At 21, Kvitova is the youngest Wimbledon champion since what only seems appropriate one Maria Sharapova bsck in 2004 when she was only 17. Kvitova is also the first Czech to win the tournament since Jana Novotna won The Championships at Wimbledon back in 1998.

Not only that but Kvitova is only the third left-handed woman to win the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. The last was Martina Navratilova, who won her ninth Wimbledon title in 1990. Just to put that into the right timeframe, that happened just a few months after Kvitova was born.

Kvitová is known for her fast left-handed serve.  She sure enough took good advantage of her potent serve against Sharapova at the Wimbledon Final. As a matter of fact, Kvitová had 36 aces, the third-most of any woman on the All England Club. Her height is a help in the speed of her serve, there are few female players as tall as Kvitová, and her left-handedness allows unusual shots, such as the slice out wide to the backhand of right-handed players which as Sharapova discovered, can be quite difficult to return.

Sharapova is currently ranked World No. 5. Including this latest hiccup in the Wimbledon Final, Sharapova has been in 5 Grand Slam finals. Her Grand Slam final record is 3

NBA – Towards a New Collective Agreement

by Stephen Lars on Jul.06, 2011, under Basketball, Sports News

It’s time to hit the negotiation table for the team owners and the NBA players association. Time is up, the previous collective bargaining agreement has expired and we are far from arriving to a concrete negotiation on the terms on which this new collective agreement should be set up. The first delayed item, the first victim, if you will, is the free agent period, which didn’t start this July 1st.

But if things don’t move in the right direction, there is a good chance that we could be facing a shorter season. The last NBA lockout reduced the 1998-99 season to 50 games. Eventually the postseason was played without further cuts. This time around players say they’re prepared to hang in behind the lockout as long as necessary, rather than agree to the financial changes owners are seeking.

The thing here is that the smaller teams want a change. Smaller teams had been tired of losing millions in a system )the previous collective bargain agreement) that has guaranteed players 57 percent of revenues. The owners, particularly those of smaller teams, this time around are asking for an overhaul that would allow small-market teams to compete with the big spenders. If they could compete, they might just make this league even more exciting and competitive and of course, make more money.

Compared to the NFL lockout, the NBA

PGA Tour – Tiger Woods announces he will miss the British Open

by Stephen Lars on Jul.06, 2011, under Golf, Sports News

A few months ago, while playing at Augusta National, Tiger Woods hit an awkward shot along the 17th Fairway. It was the last time he played this season. Little after the incident there was a report in his website stating the Woods had suffered a minor injury and had irritated his left knee and his left Achilles tendon. It didn’t seem like that much of a deal at that point, but sure enough, it was just the kind of news that some fans were waiting for. This injury was some sort of omen. Since the incident with the driving his SUV into a tree back in 2009, Tiger Woods hasn’t been the player, the star, that many of us fall for.

We knew his personal life was a mess once and the guy who apparently had it all and always kept his cool no matter the circumstances was falling apart. In a matter of months he was facing a multimillion dollar divorce, losing the custody of his children, losing millions in advertisements and endorsements, losing the top spot in the PGA Tour and quite frankly, for a moment there it seemed as if he was losing his game as well.

Woods announced Tuesday he will skip this month’s British Open. To be quite honest here, this decision is of little surprise to anyone in golf. He hasn’t played since he withdrew during the first round of the Players Championship in early May. What is hard to believe is that for the first time in a while he is sitting out two major championships. The thing here is that he always used to define his year and his career based on his performance on these tournaments. And if we look at it from a straightforward point of view, he might as well just give up coming back this year.

On his website, Tiger Woods gave out the following statement:

Uruguay vs Chile preview- Copa America

Posted on July 08th, 2011 in Copa America

Uruguay vs Chile

Copa America- Group C

In this rescheduled Group C game, Uruguay take on Chile at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza. Bet on Uruguay vs Chile with PaddyPower after reading our preview at Sportsbookie.com

Uruguay were easily expected to see off Peru in their group opener but they could only manage a 1-1 draw. Their much vaunted strike force of Cavani, Forlan and Suarez failed to click. Forlan missed a sitter to put Uruguay 2-1 up against Peru and hasn’t quite looked the player who orchestrated Uruguay’s third place finish at the 2010 World Cup.

Coach Oscar Tabarez has already said that he will ring in the changes against Chile. Young Nacional starlet Sebastian Coates will come in for Mauricio Victorino in defence while attacking Nicolas Lodeiro is set to be sacrificed for Porto’s Alvaro Pereira, who had to make do with a spot on the bench against Peru. Diego Godin missed the first game through fever and is likely to miss out against the Chileans too.

Uruguay form- last five games- most recent first- Uruguay scorers in brackets-

Uruguay 1-1 Peru ( Luis Suarez)
Uruguay 3-0 Estonia ( Cacerers, Reintam, Lodeiro)
Uruguay 1-1 Holland ( Luis Suarez)
Germany 2-1 Uruguay ( Walter Gargano)
Ireland 2-3 Uruguay ( Diego Lugano, Cavani, Abel Hernandez)

Chile produced an excellent comeback win against a young Mexican side in their group opener. Trailing 1-0 against El Tri with less than half an hour to go, Chile hit back through Esteban Paredes and Arturo Vidal to grab a 2-1 win and go top of the table.

However Matias Fernandez suffered an injury and is likely to miss this game along with Jorge Valdivia.

Mexico form- last five games- most recent first- Mexico scorers in brackets

Chile 2-1 Mexico ( Nestor Araujo)
USA 2-4 Mexico ( Barrera x 2, Guardado, Dos Santos)
Honduras 0-2 Mexico ( De Nigris, Hernandez)
Mexico 2-1 Guatemala ( De Nigris, Hernandez)
Mexico 4-1 Costa Rica ( Marquez, Guardado x 2, Barrera)

Verdict:- A tightly fought game to end in a draw.

Uruguay 0-0 Chile

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McIlroy pleased with Open plan

Posted on July 08th, 2011 in Sports Betting Blog

Rory McIlroy has hit back at critics who have question the way he has prepared for the Open Championship, by insisting it was important to have some time off.

The Northern Irishman has not played a competitive round since his emphatic US Open success at Congressional

Wiggins to benefit from Team Sky success

Posted on July 08th, 2011 in Sports Betting Blog

Bradley Wiggins’ bid for success in the 2011 Tour de France will have been boosted by Team Sky getting their maiden stage win

Brazil vs Paraguay preview- Copa America

Brazil vs Paraguay

Copa America- Group B

Brazil will aim to regroup after their draw against Venezuela and pick up all three points when they clash against Paraguay in Cordoba. Bet on Brazil vs Paraguay with PaddyPower after reading our betting preview at Sportsbookie.com

Brazil could only muster a 0-0 draw against Venezuela, a team against whom most of the Brazilian public thought three points were guaranteed. However Venezuela were clearly the happier side at the final whistle as both sides had to be content with a point each.

Brazilian coach Mano Menezes may consider reshuffling his lineup after seeing their performance against Venezuela. One such option is in midfield as well as in the striking department where Lucas and Elano could both earn a spot in the starting XI at the expense of Robinho and Ramires after having to make do with a spot on the bench against Venezuela.

Brazil form- last five games- most recent first- Brazil scorers in brackets

Brazil 0-0 Venezuela
Brazil 1-0 Romania (Fred)
Brazil 0-0 Netherlands
Brazil 2-0 Scotland ( Neymar

Venezuela vs Ecuador preview

Posted on July 09th, 2011 in Copa America

Venezuela vs Ecuador

Copa America- Group B

After denying defending champions Brazil in their group opener, Venezuela will be quietly confident of taking a steo closer to the quarterfinals when they meet Ecuador in their second game. Bet on Venezuela vs Ecuador with our recommended bookmakers after reading our preview ata Sportsbookie.com.

Venezuela’ tactical approach to the first game against Brazil paid off as they were able to keep the defending champions at bay. Brazil’s front three of Neymar, Robinho and Alexandre Pato were kept quiet. Venezuela’s midfield duo of Rincon and Franklin Lucena were in particular impressive as Brazil managed to pick up a point from which they were comfortably expected to take three.

The Vinotinto are expected to persist with their defensive mindset but their tactics will be heavily influenced by the outcome of the Brazil Paraguay match that takes place earlier in Cordoba. At present, going into this fixture, both Venezuela and Ecuador are on a point apiece.

Venezuela form- last five games- most recent first- Venezuela scorers in brackets

Brazil 0-0 Paraguay
Venezuela 0-3 Spain
Guatemala 0-2 Venezuela ( Fedor, Perozo)
Mexico 1-1 Venezuela ( Vizcarrondo)
Jamaica 1-2 Venezuela ( Fedor, Moreno)

Ecuador form- last five games- most recent first-Ecuador scorers in brackets

Paraguay 0-0 Ecuador
Ecuador 1-1 Greece ( Erazo)
Canada 2-2 Ecuador ( Benitez, Arroyo)
Mexico 1-1 Ecuador ( Arroyo)
Argentina 2-2 Ecuador ( Quintonez, Castillo)

Ecuador drew 0-0 with Paraguay in their group opener. However Manchester United winger Luis Antonio Valencia picked up an ankle injury in the game and is unlikely to play any part in the fixture against the Venezuelans.

Verdict:- Important game for both teams as it could have a huge bearing on their quarterfinal chances. Both teams will be looking at this fixture as a must win outing.

Venezuela 2-2 Ecuador ( Fedor, Arango/ Caicedo, Castillo)

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