Written by: Nigel Ridgway (2005-06-02 21:34:30)
GOLF
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The Memorial
Th Jun 2 4:00 pm EST (ESPN)/20:00 GMT
Fr Jun 3 4:00 pm EST (ESPN)/20:00 GMT
Sa Jun 4 3:00 pm EST (CBS)/19:00 GMT
Su Jun 5 2:00 pm EST (CBS)/18:00 GMT
Tiger Woods is a three-time winner here, but his lack of consistency and domestic worries make him a favourite to take on this week. Vijay Singh, now back in his rightful place of world No.1, is a much more reliable betting proposition, and a bigger price at 13/2 (7/1 in our Enhanced Win Only market!). His form figures of 3-2-2-1-5-21-1-3 since March, and the fact that he's made the top-10 six times on this course (winner in 1997), suggests that he'll be very hard to beat this week. Kenny Perry is a streaky player who should be backed when he's in form and, if he plays the way he did demolishing the Colonial field a couple of weeks ago, the rest may as well go home. Forget his missed cut last week as it was on a course where he has underperformed in the past, and this dual course winner will feel much more at home here. As an outsider, I like the look of Justin Rose. His performances in the States have been much better of late (13th at Colonial), while this tournament provided him with one his best finishes of last season, 4th to Ernie Els.
Nigel's Three Off The Tee Vijay Singh 13/2, Kenny Perry @ 25/1, Justin Rose @ 80/1. Each-way Ό odds, 1.2.3.4.5. Betting In-Play available throughout
NASCAR
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MBNA 400
Su Ju 5 12:30 pm EST (FOX)/16:30 GMT
The Nextel Cup's 'Chase for the Cup' continues this Sunday, as drivers go head-to-head from Dover International Speedway. Chassis and tyre management are premium at Dover, and Ryan Newman, with three victories in his last four trips to Dover (including a 2003 sweep), certainly knows his way around the 'Monster Mile'. Defending champion, Mark Martin (14/1) also looks sure to go well, on what is favourite track. Martin finished top two in both races at Dover last season, including his win here in June, and this week makes his 37th start at Dover, where he has won four times. Jimmie Johnson (13/2) swept the season here back in 2002, but has only had an eighth as his best finish since then. Last week's win came at a time when the team were slumping a bit, so look for them to have a better run this week. But, providing he can avoid any accidents, and the attrition rate is pretty high, Newman looks the driver to concentrate on this week.
For the Cup series, this will be race no.13 of the season, which marks the halfway point in the Chase for the championship. After his victory last week, Jimmie Johnson who sets the pace on 1747 points, is 2/1 favourite to take the title, followed by Jeff Gordon (1516 pts) and Greg Biffle (1676 pts) on 7/2. Ryan Newman (8/1), this week's Dover pick, is sitting in fourth place, despite not winning this season, and looks sure to be in the Chase .
Nigel's Checkered Flag: Ryan Newman @ 11/2 (Series 8/1)
bet365 MBNA 400 prices Ryan Newman 11/2, Jimmie Johnson 13/2, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle 15/2, Tony Stewart 10/1, Kurt Busch, Jeremy Mayfield 12/1, others on bet365 website.
NBA PLAYOFFS
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San Antonio, who had led the series 3-0, wouldn't have fancied going home for Game 6 the way that the Phoenix Suns were rallying in the fourth quarter of Game 5 on Wednesday night. The Suns refused to fade away, and trimmed the deficit to 93-90 with less than three minutes to play. Any hopes of a Red Sox-style comeback, however, were eventually ended with a 101-95 victory, and the Spurs must now await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat. The final round will start on June 9th, and the Spurs, who won it all in 1999 and 2003, will be the home team regardless of the result in the Eastern. The Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat are deadlocked at 2-2 in their best-of-seven series going into Game 5 on Thursday night. Game 6 is on Saturday (8.00pm ET), and Game 7, if necessary, is on Monday. Join us for live betting on these games, where our markets will include: Points Spread; Game Total and Next Quarter betting.
bet365 NBA Championship prices (prior to Thursday's game) San Antonio 1/2, Miami 10/3, Detroit 4/1,
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AFL PLAYOFFS
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ORL Predators @ GEO Force
Sa Jun 4 3:00 pm EST (NBC)/19:00 GMT
CHI Rush @ COL Crush
Su Jun 5 3:00 pm EST (NBC)/19:00 GMT
The 2005 Southern Division champions and top-seeded Georgia Force (12-5) play host to the third-seeded Orlando Predators, with the winner to face either the Colorado Crush or the Chicago Rush in Arena Bowl XIX on Sunday, June 12th in Las Vegas.
This year, Georgia and Orlando split their regular season series with the home team winning each contest, and home-field advantage for the Force could play a key role in the game. Georgia is a perfect 9-0 this season at home and riding an 11-game home winning streak dating back to last season. Expect a hard fought defensive battle as Georgia finished the regular season with the AFL's 2nd ranked scoring defense (46.6), while Orlando closed the year ranked third in the League (47.2). In the two match-ups between these teams in the regular season, the final score was decided by a combined 5 points. In the American Conference title game, Chicago will be looking to win their third game against the Crush this season (4-1 overall). Chicago (10-7) almost didn't make it to the semi-final after overcoming an 18-point deficit on Sunday to defeat Los Angeles at the Staples Center, and that game gives them the momentum to get to ArenaBowl.
Picks: Georgia @ 20/37 & Under 98.5 @ 10/11; Chicago (+3.0) @ 10/11
Get in the game and be lucky!
Nigel
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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. Find out what offers and lines are hot at bet365.com