The continued absence of Tiger Woods again gives golf punters the chance of landing some big priced booty at this week’s WGC Invitational at Firestone.

The Ohio course is an uncomplicated par 70 lay out that generally favours long drivers who find a hot week with the putter.

Last year’s top five - Woods, Justin Rose, Rory Sabbatini, Peter Lonard and Chris Di Marco all averaged over 300 yards off the tee and less that 1.78 putts per GIR that week.

Due to its mid summer location in the calendar the course generally plays bone hard and fast which could well explain the presence of three players in the top five (Rose, Sabbatini and Lonard) who learnt their trade in the southern hemisphere.

An Aussie well used to dry and fast conditions we like this week is Stuart Appleby. Apples’s wife’s family actually hail from Akron and if our man doesn’t cop too much grief from the mother-in-law we fancy him to go close at nice odds of 66/1.

He finished 14th last year (4th after three rounds) and has a handful of top 10s to his name here.

Par 4 performance is often a key stat at Firestone with 12 par 4s. The player who tops that list this year is in-form Kenny Perry who has already won three times this season.

Perry was vilified for shunning the Open Championship but at odds of 18/1 the Kentucky home boy could well have the last laugh.

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Today’s totejackpot meeting – GOODWOOD

£37,415 rollover

(before deduction)

Today’s totetrifecta race(s)

GOODWOOD,          RACE 1 – 2.15 PM

GOODWOOD,          RACE 3 – 3.30 PM

GOODWOOD,          RACE 4 – 4.05 PM

GOODWOOD,          RACE 5 – 4.40 PM

GOODWOOD,          RACE 6 – 5.15 PM

GOODWOOD,          RACE 7 – 5.50 PM

LATEST BIG DIVIDENDS

totejackpot paid

£60,839.90 to a £1 stake

Leicester, Wednesday 23rd July 2008

toteplacepot paid

£1,363.40 to a £1 stake

Ascot, Saturday 26th July 2008

These days it’s never been easier to try your hand at a sporting flutter with online sports betting. An every growing number of online bookies are offering punters the chance to bet on just about any sporting event.

For those who enjoy more than just cheering their favorite team there is now online sports betting that offers additional thrills from sports events.

Although sports betting has been around for a long time these days online sports betting is rapidly becoming one of the most popular methods of wagering on sports. Some estimates put the total online sports betting industry as having an annual turnover of over $50 billion a year.

Online sports betting sites, or sportsbooks, as they are known, offer all of the same wagers that are available with land-based bookmakers. You place moneyline or point spread bets just as in more traditional forms of sports betting, as well as more complex wagers.

The advantages to online sports betting are what has helped boost the industry and this is felt most of all with regards to location. In many locations around the world sports betting is not legal but punters can easily go online and place their bets over the web. This has given many sports fans the opportunity to wager on sports that was denied them in the past. Even for those who have used land-based bookmakers in the past online sports betting holds many advantages. You can place a bet anytime you want from the comfort of your own home without the need to stand in line to place your wager, or for that matter, to collect your winnings. Online sport betting also has an international element to it in that bookies will accept bets and pay out in a variety of currencies.

Online bookies usually cover a very wide range of sports from around the world so you can explore other sports as well as your favorites.

In parallel to the development of online bookmakers a multitude of sports handicapping and pick sites have also sprung up. These sites offer tips and picks on anything from teams to horses and can greatly help you decide which bet to place. Of course, if you are already online you can do your own research as well as joining a sports forum to discuss bets with other punters and share ideas.

Online betting is becoming ever more popular especially with so many bookmakers available on the Internet. These days there are many different kinds of bet that you can place however there are some standard wagers that most bookmakers offer.

Odds or moneyline betting is a simple way of betting on the winner of a contest. These bets payout if the team or horse that you backed wins. In sports such as boxing that is clear-cut and in other sports such as soccer matches the final result is usually quite close with no more than a few goals scored. However, in football, basketball or baseball a stronger team can win by a large difference in points. This creates a problem for bookmakers because everyone will bet on the teams that they feel are sure to win. During the 1940’s bookmakers came up with the idea of ‘point spreading’. This means that a certain number of points are either added or taken away from a team to try and even up the final result. Bets are place on by how much better one team can play better than the other. For example, in a basketball game a stronger team may have a point spread of 15 meaning that to win the bet that team must beat their weaker opponents by over 15 points. On the hand, those who bet on the opposing weaker team will win their bets if that team wins or loses by less than 14 points. You will find this style of bet used on any contest where there is room for a wide margin in points for the final result and one of the contestants is clearly stronger.

Another bet that many online betting bookies offer is a totals bet. This is a bet that is placed on the total number of points or goals scored in a match. This kind of bet is not placed on one team but rather on the match as a whole and on the final result. Punters will try this kind of bet if they think a match will end without any goals scored, for instance.

With a wealth of talent at their disposal there’s no doubt Argentina and Brazil will be the top two fancied sides to win Olympics football gold in Beijing.

Argentina are the current gold medal holders and appear to have suffered less than Brazil in terms of squad availability.

Olympic rules state that each country is permitted to name three players in their squad over the age of 23. The rules also state that there be automatic club release for players of 23 and under.

However, AC Milan´s Kaka has been denied permission to play for Brazil as has Werder Bremen´s brilliant Diego.

Argentina´s Lionel Messi could also miss out due to Barcelona´s reluctance to release their man but the defending champions will still be able to field a midfield pairing of Liverpool rottweiller Javier Mascherano and Boca Juniors playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme.

That’s some central pairing.

But with club/country politics at play for the big guns it´s worth noting that the likes of South Korea and China won’t have such problems. As we saw at the 2002 World Cup in Japan/Korea the host nations punched above their weight, particularly South Korea who made the semi-finals.

As that tournament proved, huge home support and experience of atmospheric conditions can go a long, long way in Asia.

With that effort in mind we fancy hosts China and neighbours South Korea to give us a run at far bigger odds than the top two in the outright market.

Click here for football betting

Take Roger Federer to bounce back from recent disappointment in Canada by winning this week’s Masters Series event in Cincinnati.

The Swiss suffered a shock second round defeat to Gilles Simon in Toronto but we’re willing to overlook that loss as a complete one-off.

It was Federer’s first outing since his momentous Wimbledon final defeat to Rafael Nadal so we can excuse him lacking match sharpness.

A week on in Cincinnati it should be a different story for the defending champion (he beat James Blake in a straight sets final in 2007 and also won this event in 2005). Federer has been drawn in a very weak looking first quarter that features a much faded Andy Roddick.

Rafael Nadal is again Federer’s main challenger but with an energy sapping run all the way to the Toronto final against Nicolas Kiefer it is asking a lot of the Spaniard.

Novak Djokovic would appear another credible candidate but he looked lacklustre in losing to Andy Murray in Toronto quarters and is probably best overlooked this time.

In terms of outsiders Scotland’s Andy Murray makes appeal. Murray famously beat Federer here in 2006 and he has been drawn in a very winnable second quarter of the draw.

His form in Canada last week was excellent – reaching the semis before falling to Nadal.

Click here to bet on tennis

Having successfully tipped Padraig Harrington for Open glory we are delighted to see a sporting 20/1 on offer for the Dubliner to win the 2008 USPGA Golf Championship.

Oakland Hills, Michigan, is the venue for the season’s final Major, a course that a now supremely confident Harrington will have fond memories of having won the Ryder Cup with Europe there in 2004.

For those who took our advice and backed the Irishman at Royal Birkdale, go back to the well and have another drink.

With Tiger Woods absent it is possible to make a reasonable case for most of the top 10 in the betting.

But on a par 70 that measures a beastly 7,400 yards it is clear that length will be a factor.

Englishman Lee Westwood has never struggled for distance off the tee and his accurate driving will give him an edge on what is predicted to be a tough set up. Like Harrington, “Westy” has course experience from the 2004 Ryder Cup.

His American Major form this year has been fantastic with 3rd at the US Open and 11th at the Masters. At 40/1 he is a massive each-way prospect.

Our final selection is exciting young Colombian Camilo Villegas. The long hitting yoga expert shot an astonishing 65 at Royal Birkdale and will relish the length of the Michigan track.

9th place at this year’s US Open demonstrates how well he performs on Major lay outs and a 23rd at last year’s USPGA augurs well. Take some of that 50/1.

Click here for golf betting

Today’s totejackpot meeting – SOUTHWELL

£22,907 rollover

(before deduction)

Today’s totetrifecta race(s)

YARMOUTH, RACE 3 – 3.30 PM

YARMOUTH, RACE 4 – 4.00 PM

YARMOUTH, RACE 5 – 4.30 PM

YARMOUTH, RACE 6 – 5.00 PM

LATEST BIG DIVIDENDS

totejackpot paid

£60,839.90 to a £1 stake

Leicester, Wednesday 23rd July 2008

toteplacepot paid

£1,363.40 to a £1 stake

Ascot, Saturday 26th July 2008

SATURDAY 26TH JULY

Today’s totejackpot meeting – ASCOT

£10,000 guaranteed

(before deduction)

Today’s totetrifecta race(s)

ASCOT         RACE 2, 2.35 PM   YORK                    RACE 1, 2.10 PM

ASCOT         RACE 3, 3.05 PM* YORK                    RACE 2, 2.40 PM

ASCOT         RACE 4, 3.40 PM# YORK                    RACE 3, 3.15 PM

ASCOT         RACE 5, 4.20 PM   YORK                    RACE 4, 3.45 PM

ASCOT         RACE 6, 4.55 PM   NEWMARKET         RACE 2, 2.25 PM

ASCOT         RACE 7, 5.30 PM   NEWMARKET         RACE 3, 2.55 PM

NEWMARKET         RACE 4, 3.30 PM

*£1,088 toteswinger rollover (before deduction)

# £5,559 totetrifecta rollover (before deduction)

SUNDAY 27TH JULY

Today’s totejackpot meeting – ASCOT

Today’s totetrifecta race(s)

ASCOT         RACE 2, 2.15 PM

ASCOT         RACE 3, 2.50 PM

ASCOT         RACE 6, 4.35 PM

Every sports fan knows that in addition to just watching the game for the fun of it there is another whole aspect to the entertainment that comes in the form of sports betting.

Sports betting takes place on just about every contest and in every sport. Those who are interested in adding this thrill to their sports enjoyment have a large number of choices to fulfill the need. There have never been more bookies available to choose from and the bookmakers are covering an ever-growing spread of sports.

If you are new to sports betting then before you begin your adventures with the bookies you should familiarize yourself with all aspects of the process. Many people enjoy a quick flutter now and then on a horse or a game but the inexperienced will often place the simplest bet on the favorite. There are in fact a multitude of bets that can be placed on sporting events covering everything for the eventual winner to the total number of goals or points scored or even which player will be most successful. Much of the fun in sports betting is in the thrill of seeing if your prediction is accurate so make the most out of your wager by placing a bet that you really feel can win. There are many books on the subject and endless information is available on the Internet.

Once you are confident that you have a good grasp on the ins and outs of wagering on your chosen sport you will need to find a suitable bookmaker.

In areas where betting is legal bookmakers can usually be found quite easily on the local high street. If you live in an area where sports betting is illegal you may still be able to place bets via the Internet where there are many online bookmakers to choose from. These online bookie sites are known as ‘sportsbooks’ and this is a much better advised direction to go in than placing bets with illegal land-based bookmakers. However, you should still take your time when selecting and online sportsbooks. Generally, the longer an online sportsbook has been operating, and in particular if it is connected to a land-based bookmaker, the better.