TQ's A-Z / Tareq Quiroz / 11 February 2008 /

The ever-resourceful TQ brings you his alphabetical round-up of the sporting week

A is for Andrea Henkel. The Biathlon World Championships are underway in Ostersund and it is Germany's Andrea Henkel who has made the most impressive start. She won Gold in both the Sprint and Pursuit events with some superb shooting and will be hoping to further add to her tally over the next week. Check out the markets for all the World Biathlon events currently on site.

B is for Benjani. It has been something of a bizarre and protracted signing but it was all worthwhile as Benjani scored on his debut for Man City. His goal helped City to a surprise win over their Manchester rivals and keep up their quest for European action. There is still a chance they could qualify for the Champions League and if you think they can then they are available at [14.5] in the Top Four Finish market.

C is for Chambers. He has been making the headlines in Athletics for the last few years for all the wrong reasons but now Dwain Chambers is back on the track doing what he does best. He was in scintillating form as he won the World Indoor Trials in the 60m and has now given the UKA a selection headache as they have made it clear they oppose his comeback. Watch out for markets for the World Indoor Champs in March.

D is for Denman. It was a fairly routine outing for Denman in what was a perfect warm-up for Cheltenham. He gave a sound display of jumping before powering away for an emphatic win. In what promises to be a fabulous Gold Cup Denman is now trading at [3.05] in the Antepost market.

E is for Egypt. They were not well fancied at the start of the tournament but that did not stop Egypt from retaining the African Cup of Nations. They beat some great teams on the way to the final in which they beat Cameroon 1-0. A world force now, Egypt are worth following for the World Cup 2010.

F is for Florent Sinama-Pongolle. He didn't quite make the grade in the Premiership but since being given a prolonged stay in the team Sinama-Pongolle has been in good form for La Liga side Recreativo de Huelva. Two more goals at the weekend secured a valuable win at high-flying Espanyol and they are now just outside the bottom three. It's really tight at the bottom of La Liga so take a look at the Relegation market if you think you can work out who is going down.

G is for Galatasaray. It's tight at the top of the Turkish Super League with only five points separating the top four teams. Galatasaray are currently the league leaders and they further emphasized their place on Saturday with a thumping 6-3 win over Manisaspor. A team in form they will be hard to beat, but will their nerve hold? Check out the league Winner market where they are currently available at around [1.92]

H is for Hull KR. It has been a tough opening to the Super League season for Hull KR. After last weeks narrow loss at Leeds they managed to get the better of St Helens in their first home game. Hanging on at the end they prevailed 24-22 and can now aim for the play-offs.

I is for Indian Master. Chiv Chowrasia is certainly not a household name in the world of golf but he made his name on the European Tour on Sunday with his maiden tour win. Ranked at 388 in the world he was surprisingly the one that held his nerve with a superb final round to get the better of his more illustrious opponents. This week the tour heads off to Indonesia where the market leader is likely to be Darren Clarke.

J is for John Carew. Aston Villa hitman John Carew was in unplayable form in the second half of Villa's clash with Newcastle on Saturday. A powerful display from the big Norwegian saw him bag his first hat-trick in seven years. Europe is certainly on the cards for Villa and if you think they can make it then check out the Premiership Top Six Finish market where they are currently trading at [1.9]

K is for Kristan Bromley. Britain's Kristan Bromley claimed his second bob skeleton World Cup title with a solid performance in the final race of the season. It is great reward for a quality season and he will be keen to keep this kind of form up on the approach to the next Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

L is for Lloyd. Jaws is back! Colin 'Jaws' Lloyd has dropped down the world darts rankings in the last year or two but he was back with a bang at the weekend as he claimed the UK Open South-West Regional Final. He beat Wade, King and Hamilton on his way to the title and in this form will be threat in tournaments to come.

M is for Murphy. Shaun Murphy was in good form all week as he retained the Malta Cup. After overcoming Ding Junhui in the semi-final he was never in any danger as he cruised to a comfortable win in the final over Ken Doherty. The Welsh Open starts on Monday and if you think Murphy can take this form through to that event then check out the Winner market where he is currently available at [11.5]

N is for New Zealand. The tour of New Zealand started very well for England with resounding wins in the T20 series. The first ODI was a different matter and it was New Zealand who came out firing. They skittled England out for a meagre total and quickly wrapped up a comprehensive win. The next ODI is on Tuesday and England are favourites to take that at current odds of [1.77]

O is for Olympiacos. Greek giants Olympiacos were in inspired form as they crushed Panionios 4-0 away from home and moved ominously into second place in the league. With a game in hand on top team Panathinaikos they will fancy they are still favourites for the title. Check out the latest prices on the Winner market for that league where Olympiacos head the market at odds of [2.16]

P is for Pebble Beach Pro-am. Steve Lowery claimed his third PGA Tour victory with a sudden death play-off win over Vijay Singh. The big Fijian blew a four shot lead coming down the back nine and Lowery took full advantage. It has been eight years since his last win so he will be hoping he doesn't have to wait as long for the next one. The next event on the PGA Tour is the Northern Trust Open, where a high quality field is assembled and Mickelson is the likely market leader.

Q is for Quote of the week. Having sat through the thoroughly miserable second half of England v Italy on Sunday I was astonished to hear Jonny Wilkinson refer to the teams' performance as 'fantastic'! I am not sure Jonny will find too many people who agree with him and England will definitely have to play a lot better than that if they are to trouble France in two weeks time. Markets are already available for that and England are currently [3.7] in the Match Odds.

R is for Real Madrid. Real were in great form as they smashed seven past a hapless Valladolid. It was a good weekend for Real as main rivals Barcelona could only manage a draw which allowed them to extend their lead at the top of La Liga to eight points. That is a pretty healthy lead and is reflected in the market price as Real are now available at just [1.23] to take the title.

S is for Shaq. The major story of the week in the NBA was Shaquille O'Neal's move to the Phoenix Suns. Shaq is a legend of the game and the Suns will hope that he can ignite their Championship hopes. If you think he is the key for the Suns then check out the Outright Winner market where they are trading at [7.2]

T is for The Listener. Having being just touched off last year The Listener came roaring back to claim the Hennessy Gold Cup on Sunday. The popular grey made all and finally ran away with a comfortable win. It is off to Cheltenham now for The Listener where he is available at [9.2] in the Antepost market for the Ryanair Chase.

U is for Unstoppable. Minnesota's Adrian Peterson was in fantastic form in the all-star game on Sunday. He ran for 129 yards and went over for two touchdowns in an MVP performance that will have him brimming with confidence going into next season. The Vikings are currently trading at [40.0] in the Superbowl Winner market.

V is for Vonn. American Lindsey Vonn claimed her fifth win of the season as she swept to victory in the downhill at Sestriere. She now has a large lead over her nearest rivals in the downhill event and could secure overall World Cup victory with a decent performance in Vancouver later this month. Check out all the prices for that and all alpine skiing events.

W is for Williams. Welsh winger Shane Williams is fast proving a thorn in opposition's sides. He was in his usual deadly form at the weekend as he bagged two tries in Wales' 30-15 win over Scotland. It's two wins out of two for Wales and they are now chasing the Six Nations title, if you think they can do it then the [4.4] currently available may seem tempting.

X is for X-Rated. It may have only been a mid-table clash but there was a lot of pride at stake in the Torino v Palermo game on Sunday. A bad tempered game was littered with bookings and as the game was getting away from them Palermo also had Amauri sent-off, before finally losing 3-1. Red cards are not unusual in Serie A and it may pay to check out the Sending-Off? market for next weeks big Serie A fixture.

Y is for Youngest Ever. Twenty two year old Finn Jari-Matti Latvala became the youngest ever winner of a World Rally Champs event with victory in the Rally of Sweden. With world champ Sebastien Loeb having retired earlier in the race Latvala took his opportunity well and will surely be a force to be reckoned with in all future races this season. Watch out for markets on the next rally in Mexico.

Z is for Zzzzz. If you were expecting to be entertained on Sunday afternoon by the third and fourth placed teams in the best league in the world then you were massively let down. It was a boring 0-0 draw that showed up Chelsea's inability to carve open as many goalscoring chances as the top two teams in the league. Liverpool will be happy with the point but Avram Grant will now have to rally his troops for the run in. Can they still do it? Check out the Premiership Winner market which shows Chelsea now trading at odds of around [7.2]

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