/ Jaymes Monte / 22 June 2009 /

Despite the rain delays at Bethpage this week it has been a thoroughly enjoyable US Open, and the stop-start mixed up nature of the tournament seems to have brought a little extra excitement to proceedings.

I say I have enjoyed it, and that is true but for one aspect which now seems ingrained into golf on the west side of the Atlantic. That toe curling, blood curdling cry. One which I find hard to even bring my fingers to type, okay here goes...... 'GET IN THE HOOOOLLE'.

I have racked my brains for suitable solutions to this problem and the only fitting resolution I can fathom is death by firing squad, and even then I think these people may be getting off lightly. I know I am not alone in my distaste for these people, so get that suggestion form filled in and sent off to the USPGA. They can't ignore us forever.

A deadly trio of bets for you this week.....

Bet 1: Football - Confederations Cup

If we have learned anything from this tournament it must be that the gulf in class between European/South American teams and the rest of the world is immense. Despite great efforts from FIFA and often some sections of the media, it appears we are no closer to getting an African, Asian, Australasian or Martian winner of the World Cup and I dare say it will be a number of decades at least, before we do.

Amazingly despite some incredibly inept defending throughout the tournament we have both South Africa and USA in the semi-finals of the tournament. Spain's fervour for this tournament has been nothing short of astounding. They could certainly have been forgiven for taking the Confederations Cup lightly given the number of games their players have been involved in, in the last two years. The squad consists of four Barcelona players who were celebrating Champions League success just three weeks ago.

The FIFA rankings list Spain as the world's number one team at present, and although there can often be some ambiguity surrounding the ranking system, even the most ardent of paella haters can't argue with the current leaders. USA don't have the players in the locker to take on this side of superstars and although the price is short, they must be included in this week's selection.

Selection: Back Spain to beat USA @ [1.3]

Bet 2: Tennis - Wimbledon

Pull out that bottle of Pimms, churn your cream for those strawberries and have your umbrellas at the ready. It's the time of year that the world's best tennis players press their whites and take to the famous grass courts of SW19.

The 2009 Championship has a somewhat different feel to recent years for British fans. For the first time in recent memory they have a genuine contender to cheer on, not an almost man of the Tim Henman ilk, but a genuine challenger.

Bulgarian tennis fans will definitely have something to shout about in coming years, as the current Wimbledon and US Open Junior champion Grigor Dimitrov continues his rise through the ranks. Already touted as the next Roger Federer by none other than Peter Lundgren (Federer's coach in his formative years), it's an immense prospect to be saddled with, but accolades rest calmly on the shoulders of champions.

He has already proved he is comfortable on the Wimbledon courts and can get his first senior major off to a flyer against the Russian Igor Kunitsyn.

Selection: Back Dimitrov to beat Kunitsyn @ [1.8]

Bet 3: Cricket - Twenty20 Cup

Following the glitz, glamour, drama and passion of the Twenty20 World Cup we have the English county cricket version - the Twenty20 Cup. With e-mails from the ECB landing in my inbox at regular intervals, it seems the marketing teams are intent on riding this wave into the Ashes series. And rightly so. There may not be the superstars on show that we have come accustomed to in recent weeks, but don't doubt that the drama will be flowing.

The Sky TV cameras will be in Southampton on Tuesday night to watch Hampshire take on Middlesex. Hampshire are second in the Southern division of the competition with four wins from six matches, whilst Middlesex lie at the foot of the table with not a solitary point from their five fixtures.

The home side also come into the game on the back of a ten wicket County Championship victory over Lancashire, in which Dimi Mascarenhas scored a century and took two wickets. Match figures which had England fans screaming at the classified results section. Michael Lumb hit an unbeaten 124 in the final match before the tournament took a break for International action and can guide his side to victory again here.

Selection: Back Hampshire to beat Middlesex @ [1.6]

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