05/15/2008 - Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newly-appointed world No. 1 Maria Sharapova and former top-ranked star Serena Williams were a pair of third-round winners Thursday at the $1.34 million Italian Open, a clay-court French Open tuneup.
The second-seeded Australian Open champion Sharapova got past Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), while a fifth-seeded Serena drilled Italian wild card Sara Errani 6-4, 6-3 on Day 4 at Foro Italico.
Sharapova will become No. 1 when the newest rankings are released on Monday, following Justine Henin's stunning retirement announcement on Wednesday. It will mark the fourth time the Russian has ascended to the top of the rankings.
The 25-year-old Henin became the first-ever reigning women's world No. 1 to retire from the sport.
Serena captured this Roman event in 2002, while her big sister Venus, who's also in action on Thursday, titled here in 1999 and was the runner-up in 1998.
A big Day-4 upset came when French qualifier Alize Cornet cut down third- seeded 2007 Rome runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-4. The U.S. Open runner- up Kuznetsova, of Russia, gave way to Serbian star Jelena Jankovic in last year's finale here.
A fourth-seeded Jankovic avoided an upset on Thursday by dismantling Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-1.
In other third-round action, sixth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze snuck past 12th-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, ninth-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder overcame eighth-seeded Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli, of France, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), and Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova was leading Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 1-0 when the Belarusian wild card retired with a left knee injury.
This year's Rome titlist will collect $196,900.
<< Scoreless streak over, but Tribe clip A's
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Laffey threw seven solid innings and
the Indians continued their mastery on the mound until holding on in the ninth
during a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics to complete a three-game
sweep.
<< Green, Singh share Irish Open lead
Adare, Limerick, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Green and Jeev Milkha
Singh opened with matching rounds of six-under-par 66 Thursday to share the
lead after the first round of the Irish Open at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf
Res
<< Federer, Nadal, Djokovic ease into Hamburg QFs
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The world's top-three stars --
Swiss Roger Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic -- were
all straight-set third-round winners Thursday at the $2.955 million
Masters
<< Shoulder injury to sideline Cavs' Gibson
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson will
miss the next 1-2 weeks of action due to a shoulder injury, possibly keeping
him out the remainder of the playoffs.
Gibson left Wednesday's 96-89 loss at Bost
Celtic legend Burns dies at 51 >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic legend Tommy Burns, 51, died on
Thursday morning after losing his long battle with cancer.
The former Scotland international, who played more than 400 games for Celtic
between 1975 and 1989, h
United's Ferdinand officially signs five-year deal >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United defender Rio
Ferdinand has finally signed a new five-year contract which will effectively
keep him at Old Trafford for the rest of his career.
The 29-year-old England inte
Rockies' Cook, Francis on opposite ends >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook is responsible
for 40 percent of his team's wins this season. Now raise your hand if you
thought that would be the circumstance by mid-May.
If you did raise your hand then
Energie signs coach Prasnikar to extension >>
Cottbus, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Energie Cottbus coach Bojan Prasnikar has
signed a new contract running until the summer of 2010 after guiding the club
to Bundesliga survival.
The Slovenian was drafted in by Cottbus in September to ta
2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds
The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.
Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”
“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”
MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:
Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:
Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1
Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17
Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1
Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1
Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1
Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1
Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1
Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1
Best Animated Feature Film:
"Cars": 1/3
"Happy Feet": 2/1
"Monster House": 20/1
Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:
"Water" – Canada: 22/1
"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2
"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10
Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2
"Helmer & Son": 5/2
"The Saviour": 6/1
"West Bank Story": 7/2
Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:
"Babel": 7/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1
"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20
"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4
"The Queen": 5/4
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
"Babel": 11/4
"The Departed": 1/2
"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2
"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10
"The Queen": 20/1
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1
Film To Win Most Oscars:
Dreamgirls: 2/3
Pans Labyrinth: 6/5
The Departed: 6/1
The Queen: 11/1
Babel: 15/1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1
Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1
Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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