Champions Tour Golf, US Senior
Bruce Lietske defends the title he won in Ohio twelve months ago but is not in the same dominant form he was then, so his price of 33/1 is about right.
Jay Haas is our 9/2 favourite, which might seem generous considering that he is a regular contender on the regular PGA Tour, and is on the verge of a Ryder Cup place! The price does not, however, reflect the fact that he has not won a main-tour event for 11 years, nor has he ever won a Major of any description.
The ability to handle the tricked-up courses that the USGA love to inflict on golfers must be a major consideration this week, so those players who have won the real US Open must have an edge.
Hale Irwin (9/1) has won three of them so his chance is obvious, while Champions Tour rookie Jerry Pate must also come into the reckoning at a more attractive 40/1. Pate was also a rookie on the main tour when taking 1976 US Open, and has already made his mark this season with three top-tens in his last four starts. He is fresh and sure to give a good account of himself at an each way price.
The event shares live coverage with Tiger and the Buick Open which means that we will be betting in-running subject to live pictures.
MLB - PHI Phillies @ CHI Cubs
The
Chicago Cubs are literally ready to move heaven and earth to ensure their Friday afternoon game against the Phillies at Wrigley Field goes ahead as planned. After loose chunks of concrete rained down from Wrigley's upper deck three times over a six-week period, the Cubs on Wednesday started installing safety nets in the dark of night, racing to beat a 2:20 p.m. Friday deadline to protect vulnerable seating areas from falling concrete or face closing 90-year-old Wrigley Field.
Fridays' game will be the 5th game in the
Phillies 14-day, 13-game road trip through Florida, Chicago, San Diego and Los Angeles. Wednesday night's 6-3 loss to the Marlins was their third straight dropped game, leaving them 2 ½ games behind first place Atlanta in the East, with Florida only a game off in third place. The Cubs will be looking to string some wins together after also going down 6-3 to the Brewers on Wednesday night. With St Louis winning again on Wednesday, the gap in the Central is now 11 games - the largest gap yet!
On Sunday, Greg Maddox will try to become the 22nd pitcher in major league history to win 300 games when he takes on lefty Randy Wolf at Wrigley Field. He would be the first National Leaguer to accomplish the feat since Philadelphia's Steve Carlton on Sept. 23, 1983. Maddux moved within one win of No. 300, and Sammy Sosa homered and doubled in a run in the Chicago Cubs' 7-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. The 38-year-old Maddux leads Cubs pitchers in victories with 10, having won his last 3 decisions to improve to 10-7.
Join us here at
bet365 for live betting on the first and middle games of this weekend's series, where our markets will include: Game Total; Money Line; Run Line; A Score in the Innings; and Most Hits In The Innings.
bet365 national League prices... Cardinals 9/5, Dodgers 9/2, Cubs 5/1, Phillies 13/2, others on
bet365 website.
bet365 Baseball Bonus
Here at
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3-team parlay 7.5% 8-team parlay 30%
4-team parlay 10% 9-team parlay 35%
5-team parlay 15% 10-team parlay 40%
6-team parlay 20% 11-team parlay 45%
7-team parlay 25% 12/13/14-team parlay 50%
NFL Hall Of Fame Game - WAS Redskins v DEN Broncos
Mo Aug 9 - 8:00 pm EST
The
Denver Broncos will face the Washington Redskins in the 2004 Hall of Fame Game in Canton on August 9th.
Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs returns to Canton where he was enshrined in 1996.
Although many Hall of Fame coaches have coached in the Hall of Fame game, Gibbs becomes just the second Hall of Famer to coach in the game after he was enshrined.
The Broncos kick off the preseason one day after the induction of John Elway. The quarterback is the first long-time Denver player to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Washington is 3-0 in Hall of Fame games. The Redskins beat the Lions, 20-3 (1965), the Cincinnati Bengals, 17-9 (1975), and the Buffalo Bills 31-6 (1989). Denver is 1-1 in their two visits to Canton.
The Broncos beat the Lions 10-7 in 1976 and then lost to Detroit, 14-3 in 1991. Here at
bet365 we think Washington should just edge this game.
bet365 Game Lines:
Point Spread: WAS Redskins (-2.5) @ 10/11, DEN Broncos (+2.5) 10/11.
Totals: 35.0 @ 10/11.
Check out the bet365 website for a host of specials on the forthcoming NFL season including:
Total Punts Made; Total Rushing Touchdowns; Total Safeties Conceded; Total Successful 2pt Conversions Made; Total Successful Field Goals Made; and First Head Coach to be Fired or Resign.
In the latter market Marty Schottenheimer (SD Chargers) is our 9/2 favourite!
Mike Tyson v Danny Williams
Fr Jul 30
Mike Tyson returns to the ring for only the second time in twenty-five months when he takes on British heavyweight Danny Williams (31-3) on Friday night. The former undisputed champion has not held a version of the world title since losing the WBA version to Evander Holyfield in November in 1996, and will see this fight as just another stepping stone to a possible title fight with Wladimir Klitschko.
On his latest comeback in February Tyson knocked-out Clifford Memphis in 49-seconds, and will be looking for another quick win, not only to convince the boxing world that he is a serious contender again, but also to avoid any stamina doubts coming into play.
Unbackable at
1/14 to win the fight, a more betting proposition is which round Tyson will win in, with round's 2 or 3 favourite at
4/1. In our 'Total Rounds' betting under 4.5 rounds is favourite at
8/13.
Once the action gets under way we will have three
in-running markets on offer including: Fight Winner; Fight Outcome (KO, Decision etc); and Round Betting.
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series - Pennsylvania 500
Su Aug 1 - 1:00 pm EST
This is the second annual Nextel Cup race at Pocono Raceway, the first was won by
Jimmie Johnson back in June, and the result is often a good indicator to next week's Indy Brickyard 400 race.
The two tracks long straights and tight turns are unique, and not surprisingly the winners have been similar in most instances, with success at Pocono the key to success at Indy. Consequently, success in the first Pocono race often heralds success this week, which means that Johnson must have a great chance of completing the sweep. He has not won in five races since, but still has the series points lead along with three wins for the season, and in each of his first two full seasons he has swept a season of races at two separate tracks - Dover on 02, and New Hampshire last year.
Looking back to that race in June,
Jeremy Mayfield was setting Jimmie Johnson up for the perfect winning pass, just like he did to the late great Dale Earnhardt in 2000, only for the caution flag to come out with three laps remaining. History tells us that the race ended under caution with Johnson winning, but you would have to believe that Mayfield could have won the race. He did finish second, and the team must feel they can win this week based on how well the car has been performing.
Nigel's checkered flag... Jeremy Mayfield Each Way @ 20/1!
bet365 Pennsylvania 500 prices... Jimmie Johnson 4/1, Jeff Gordon 13/2, Ryan Newman 8/1, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart 10/1, Jeremy Mayfield 20/1, others on
bet365 website. Each Way 1/5 1.2.3.
Note: Odds correct at time of going to press
NIGEL RIDGWAY, an experienced punter and betting shop owner of many years, believes that “The key to successful gambling is getting value for money.” Nigel was once forced by local bookmakers, to stop writing a tipping column in a UK newspaper, because he was costing them a fortune.
