Sporting Selections

Last updated Tuesday, January 3, 2007 7:58 PM

Date & Time
of entry

Oscars - Best Picture

This film is gaining in momentum and is gradually catching up the two favourites of Aviator and Million Dollar Baby - sure to be a lot lower in the coming weeks.

When bookmakers price up markets like top 10's - they sometimes make the mistake of simply dividing the outright odds - this to our mind is flawed. A player like Magee maybe a 100/1 shot to win but bearing in mind he is at his best in desert tournaments and having had all of 2004 off has come out and finished 7th and 8th in his 2 events this year then he is certainly not 10/1 to repeat the feat this week!

Simple selection really - one of the most in form players about playing in his own backyard on a course where he has invariably played well and won in the past.

We will go with another big server here. Carraz got the semi finals here last year and Pavel is no form at all at present.

Fastest surface on tour and Hanescu can put his serve to good use here. Beck not the greatest at finishing off rivals and this price is a little high.

This young player has ben recruited by the ISM stable after a very promising American college career. Although he only turned pro in 2003 he won an event in SA last year.He was the joint lowest scorer on the host course and could surprise a few over the wekend.

After 2 of the 5 rounds Durant lies tied for 9th - 1 shot out of a place.He is a previous winner here and this week is 1st for GIR and has hit 12 birdies and no dropped shots - he should really be half these odds.

1/2 pt ew 50/1 Betinternet 1/4 4

Nalbandian to bt Hewitt

Two of the games greatest fighters in this mouth watering quarter final clash. Hewitt has been very lucky to get this far. He is carrying the weight of a nation and this is far as it goes.

Not a person we would normally bet on - but he is at his best in his home state of California and with a 6th place finish at the weekend combined with top 10's here in 99 and 01 he is worth a small bet at the odds.

A bet for the simple reason that the price is completely wrong. A regular on the PGA tour for several years Chalmers is now forced to play on the smaller tours - however a 2nd place finish in the Australian Masters on his last start before Christmas clearly shows he retains a certain amount of skill.

Open Qualifying - Australia

Buckle was joint winner of this qualifying section last year and obviously has an affinity for the Kingston Heath course as he led the Australian Open here after rd 1 in 2000 (eventually finishing 7th). He is quite often a fast starter in events - he was 3rd after rd 1 of the Australian Masters before Christmas and in a 36 hole event we feel he stands a better chance than his odds imply.

Mens Downhill - Kitzbuehel

Whilst he may be getting on in years the Italian did finish 2nd at Chamonix a few weeks ago - his best result for some time. He has the experience to cope with this famous hill (he is a previous winner) and was fastest in training on Thursday.

We are happy to support Gaudio again against a more dangerous opponent. He has to overturn a heavy loss to Hrbaty here last year but we are confident Gaudio is a more stable player these days

We were waiting to back Lehman as we wanted to make sure he was out on the easy course first - which he is. He has carried on the form of the end of last season with a solid top 10 in Hawaii. One week he will get the putter working - and it could be at Torrey Pines where he has a solid record over the years.

The ex F1 test driver is a new signing for Subaru but comes with excellent credentials. Last year he won the French Championship - finishing on the podium in all 8 races, he also competed in 3 WRC races - with finishes of 9th,6th and 4th. He could be a surprise package and whilst a win is a tall order - a place finish is well within range.

We were very impressed with the young player from Sheffields' first outing on the main Euro tour - a 3rd at the Dunhill. He showed real class when needing an eagle at the last to make a play-off he hit his approach shot over water to within 8 feet - only to see his putt lip out. That to us shows signs of a true competitor and he could go well again this week.

Just a couple of small plays in SA. Tjaart qualified well for the British Open at the weekend and the golfer from Durban should feel at home here. A regular performer on the US PGA tour he could perform well back in his home country where he has a solid record.

Mentally fragile but immensely talented. At home on a slow red surface but still able to hold his own (when he can be bothered) on a fast surface. It could be argued that Gaudio should be favourite for this matchup. The American has shown some very average form these last few months and taking 5 sets to overcome Monaco is not good form.

This could be one of our strongest bets of the season (and we are only in week 3!). Donalds' form here reads 18/7/2 - last year he lost in a playoff. We believe he is just short of world class and was in imperious form in Europe in the second half of last season. He had a good run out last week and played very well after a poor opening round - we expect him to play very well this week.

Mens Slalom - Wengen

The Croatian has gradually been getting his fitness back and won a small FIS race on Thursday. Not off the podium in the last 3 seaons here - Ladbrokes are too big

Womens Downhill - Cortina d´Ampezzo

The Italian is probably past her best these days but still managed a win last season. However in her own back yard she could still be a force to reckon with, she was 5th and 6th in training and would love to add to her four victories on this hill.

Mello made great strides end of last year. He continued by winning Sao Paulo challenger last week and having beaten Chela their last two times, we cannot believe this price.

Nieminen to bt Pavel

Nieminen has not started the year with any great form. He was opposed by almost everyone v Melzer in round one here only to succeed and with that confidence boost he can run Pavel close. The Romanian has already lost to a qualifier this year and losing 11 games v Bourgeois!! is not exactly solid form.

Sony Open - Top Australasian

The young Australian has excellent course form with finishes of 2nd and 15th. We feel the best way to back him is in this category where he has won in each of those 2 years.

Parnevik finished last season well with a 2nd place finish in the Chrysler - a pleasing end to a season which he started 15/5/49/7/4. He has a solid long term record here including a 3rd place finish and is worth a speculative wager at these odds.

Rusedski to bt Johansson

Two players who rely tremendously on their serves. Late last year Rusedski won in 3 tiebreak sets v Johansson. No reason to believe this wont be tight either.

Womens Biathlon - Oberhof

With the strong winds set to make the shooting a bit of a lottery it is best to side with one of the faster skiers and they don't come much faster than Wilhelm

A bizarre choice - being the rank outsider - but those who have won the Las Vegas have played very well here in the past - including Appleby and Furyk (both winners), Sabbatini also has a very good record in LV and nearly won here on his debut as the total rag a few years ago.We would be kicking ouselves if Stolz - greeted again by wide forgiving fairways turned it on again without our cash on him!

Verdasco to bt Nadal

These two are sure to share many battles over the years ahead. Nadal certainly wins the mental battles at present to our eyes but this price does offer a shade of value. They met less than a month ago in Spanish Championships with Nadal edging a tight one

Santoro to bt Monfils

We are very impressed with the physical presence of Monfils. He will no doubt be top notch but Santoro brings many things to a tennis court and at this stage we strongly fancy the elder statesman

Winning Score - under 274

Over the 6 years the event has been played here the winning score has been 270,261,274,274,276,266 - so the odds should indicate under 274 as a strong favourite. Given that the weather is also set fair for most of the 4 days then this price is too good to miss.

The young Czech was the surprise winner of this event in 2001. He played well on the Challenger tour last year winning three times and is worth a speculative punt at such large odds