Friday, December 3, 2010
Sports World |
- Can France’s brilliance defeat the hopes of a nation?
- Can anyone switch off the Power in the PDC World Championship?
- Wenger wants focus from Gunners
- Betting points towards a competitive ICC World Cup in 2011
- Could coaching errors cost Serbia?
| Can France’s brilliance defeat the hopes of a nation? Posted: 03 Dec 2010 06:52 AM PST This weekend, Serbia are hoping to secure their first Davis Cup victory, whilst France are looking to pick up their tenth title but, for a clash that appears so mismatched, it seems strange that the odds are now strongly tipped in the Serbs' favour, perhaps for the sole reason that the home support is bound to be of the highest order. Tennis betting odds aside, with France displaying terrific form in the run-up to the final (losing only one rubber in total in their previous ties against defending champions Spain, as well as against Argentina and Germany), the French will be hoping that a strong start can silence what is likely to be a very enthusiastic crowd and provide the players with the opportunity to allow their tennis to do the talking. Although quietening the crowd will certainly go some way towards giving the French a decent chance of victory, they will also need to make sure that they put up a good performance against the number three player in the world, Novak Djokovic, who has emerged as one of the leading symbols of hope for a Serbian nation that has endured a tough time bouncing back from the wars in the 1990s that left the country in ruins. That said, a strong early performance from the French could mean that Djokovic is only able to perform in one meaningful match, something that once again would help swing those looking to bet on tennis this weekend to back a French victory. Whatever the outcome, the fact remains that the French will be looking above all else to avoid a similar defeat to that which the Czech Republic endured in last year's final against Spain. If they can do that against a crowd which will be making life as difficult as possible for them, then they can go home with their heads held high.  |
| Can anyone switch off the Power in the PDC World Championship? Posted: 03 Dec 2010 06:36 AM PST It has to be said that Sky Sports have done a wonderful job promoting and developing a sport that has one man who dominates it so profoundly. The sport of course is darts and the man is the phenomenon known as Phil 'the Power' Taylor. Taylor holds so many records that it will be almost impossible for any other player to equal or even come to close to equalling. With 15 world titles to his name and no sign of letting up, Taylor has become a living legend in a sport that grows continually and has become increasingly more lucrative for the top players. Taylor in fact has become the first darts millionaire and now commands plenty of extra revenue from TV appearances and media interest in general. Taylor's road to darts stardom began earnestly in 1988, when he selected to play for his County after initiating his interest in the sport at his local pub, the Crafty Cockney, owned by none other than Eric Bristow, who had by that time been crowned world darts champion five times. Bristow, clearly spotting the potential of Taylor in those early years decided to sponsor him, while at the same time encouraging him to take the sport up professionally on a full time basis. Little did Bristow realise that it would be he that was on the receiving end of Taylor's first world championship triumph in 1990, when the newcomer beat his mentor by six sets to one. Taylor showed even more of his potential by winning a host of tournaments in 1990, which included winning the prestigious Winmau Masters. 1991 however proved to be a much leaner year, where he lost his world championship to Dennis Priestley in the quarter final and failed to live up to past performances. He soon realised that with more dedicated practice he could soon be at the top again, proving this the following year when winning the world crown for a second time, this time defeating Mike Gregory in the final. The well reported split in organised darts took place in 1993, which led to the creation of the World Darts Council (WDC) later becoming the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) which attracted many of the top players who had previously been, like Taylor with British Darts Organisation (BDO). However, the darts politics of that time ruled that the PDC were only able to set up their own version of the world championship in 1994, which, with much support from Sky Sports, has grown considerably more quickly and financially than the BDO. It is during his time with the PDC that Taylor has established himself as the player he is today, his record is simply staggering. Although he lost the inaugural final to Priestley, he has gone on to win the PDC title 13 times, including eight consecutively between 1995-2002, he was also runner up in 2003, where he lost to John Part and in 2007 where he was beaten by Raymond Van Barneveld. In fact the only year that Taylor failed to make the PDC world final was in 2008, when Part won it for a second time beating the little known Kirk Shepherd in the final. Just to prove to the darts world that he was not finished, Taylor has bounced back winning the title for the last two years, with wins over Van Barneveld in 2009 and Simon Whitlock earlier this year. In addition to his world crowns, Taylor has won the World Matchplay 11 times, the World Grand Prix, 9 times, the Grand Slam of darts , 3 times. The Darts Premier League, 5 times, the Desert Classic, 5 times, European Championship, 3 times, UK Open, 4 times, US Open, 4 times, as well as host of Players Championships up and down the country, plus a multitude of international events, which has seen him play his sport all over the world. If all that is not enough, he holds the record of 9 for the largest amount of 9 dart finishes, which includes two in the 2010 Premier Darts League final against James Wade. The worrying thing for the other players on the PDC circuit is the fact that Taylor seems to be getting better as each year goes by. He is now aged 50, which is considerably older than most of his leading rivals and unless he suffers from an abrupt loss in form, sometime very soon, then there is no chance that any younger players coming through the ranks will get anywhere near to his astonishing achievements. The darts odds on Taylor winning a 16th world championship at Alexander Palace over Christmas see the Power as the 8/15 favourite with Paddy Power to win, suggesting just how big a task is at hand for all on comers, the best of which according to the odds is James wade at 8/1 and the remaining players are all 16/1 or bigger to cause what would be a big upset!  |
| Wenger wants focus from Gunners Posted: 03 Dec 2010 03:04 AM PST Arsene Wenger reckons the spirit among his Arsenal squad is in perfect shape for going on a good run and winning the Premier League title this season. The Gunners manager is looking to end a six-season wait for a trophy and knows his side are lucky to still be in the Premier League title race after their indifferent start to the season. Arsenal have lost four out of their opening 15 games, and three out of seven at home, yet still sit third in the table. Wenger knows this is not the typical Arsenal form, but he has been struggling with a host of injuries to key players so far. The Premier League best odds suggest they can push on from here. They still have a tough run in the Premier League and Champions League in the coming weeks, but Wenger is confident if the squad keep focus they can be successful this season. "We are in a strong position in every single competition - that means overall the attitude is right, the spirit of the squad is right," he said. "I am confident we have the needed quality, so let's continue to improve." One key component of Arsenal's successes this season, and a key addition to the squad, is striker Marouane Chamakh. The Moroccan has scored ten goals since arriving during the summer and the Premier League betting predictions indicate he will be able to net some more. He has added a new dimension to Arsenal's attacking and has set himself a target of between 15-20 goals, which would be a great aid to the club's ambitions of winning the Premier League title.  |
| Betting points towards a competitive ICC World Cup in 2011 Posted: 03 Dec 2010 02:23 AM PST Looming large on the 2011 international cricket calendar is the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup, which will take place on the Asian continent between 19th February and 2nd April. The host nations this year will be India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with Bangladesh hosting the opening ceremony and India the final. Pakistan, who was also elected to be a host, lost that right following the terrorist attacks that took place in Lahore during the 2009 Sri Lankan tour. This will be the tenth time that the tournament has taken place, but it will be the first time that it will be hosted in Asia. The defending champions are Australia, who has won the tournament on the last three occasions and on four occasions since the tournament came into being in 1975. Other tournament winners have been the West Indies twice with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all winning once. The Australians should, in theory at least, come into the tournament well prepared as they will arrive in the wake of their ODI series against England, which has followed the Ashes series played between the two countries. England too will be well set and looking to add the crown to their Twenty20 World Cup victory which they achieved earlier this year. The nearest England has come to winning the ODI World Cup was finishing runners up three times, in 1979, 1987 and 1992. The format for the 2011 tournament has change from that of 2007; The 2011 ODI World Cup will see 14 competing teams, divided into two groups of seven, who will play each other on a 'round robin' basis. The top four teams from each group will go through to the quarter finals from which time the tournament will be decided on a straight knock out basis. The two groups of seven have been drawn as follows: Group A Australia Canada Kenya New Zealand Pakistan Sri Lanka Zimbabwe Group B Bangladesh England India Ireland Netherlands South Africa West Indies The World Cup has many startling records and record holders, none more so than that of Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian master batsman, is the highest run scorer of the tournament, with 1796 runs scored between 1992-2007. He also holds the record for the total number of runs scored in an individual tournament with 673 runs scored in 2003. The highest individual score however goes to South African, Gary Kirsten who scored a magnificent 188 in 1996 when playing against the UAE. The Highest average record however lies with Sir Vivian Richards of the West Indies, who averaged over 63 runs per match between 1975 and 1987. As far as the bowling records are concerned it is Glenn McGrath, Glenn McGrath, Glenn McGrath and Glenn McGrath. The brilliant Australian seamer holds the record of most wickets taken with 71, he has the lowest average of 19.21 runs per wicket, he has the best bowling figures of 7/15, which he took against Namibia in 2003 and he also holds the record of taking most wickets in an individual tournament, which was 26 in 2007. Adam Gilchrist, the former Australian wicket keeper, holds the record for the most dismissals with 39, while current Australian captain, Ricky Ponting holds the record of most catches with 24. The highest team score in the World Cup was recorded by India in 2007, who smashed their way to 413 in 2007 against Bermuda, with Virender Sehwag top scoring with 114 of just 86 balls. The lowest score however was the embarrassing 36 that Canada scored in their match against Sri Lanka in 2003. The cricket world cup odds ahead of the tournament have India as the clear favourites with Australia, Sri Lanka, England and South Africa not far behind. Only two point in the betting separate the the top five with India a 4/1 chance and South Africa and England 6/1. Add Pakistan to the mix at 8/1 and this promises to be a competitive tournament, one of which any of those teams will fancy their chances.  |
| Could coaching errors cost Serbia? Posted: 03 Dec 2010 02:07 AM PST The French may well be missing the services of their top two players, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Julien Benneteau, who have both been forced to miss out on the Davis Cup final as a result of injury problems, but their chances of winning their tenth Davis Cup may have been handed a boost by the decisions of the Serbian coach, who has opted to leave Novak Djokovic's second game until the Sunday of the final, by which time the destination of the trophy could well have been decided. Although davis cup betting pundits believe it is understandable that the Serbian coach was always going to have a tough time choosing when he was going to use the man who represents his trump card, the fact remains that by the time Djokovic gets the chance to play his second game, the tie could be dead and buried if he has endured a slip-up of any kind in his first match. However, the thinking behind the Serb coach's decision seems to be focusing upon using Djokovic as the man to help bring the trophy home on Sunday in front of a hugely partisan crowd. If this does happen, then instead of talking about the mistake of risking his best player missing out on playing a competitive game, Serbian fans could be talking about the tactical masterstroke that saw their nation pick up the Davis Cup for the first time. With tennis still very much floundering in the shadow of football in Serbia, it may just be the case that a Djokovic-inspired victory could be the spark that sees tennis start to take off well and truly in the country. If this does happen, then davis cup tennis betting pundits may suggest that this wont be Serbia's only chance to contest a Davis Cup final.  |
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