TQ's A-Z / Tareq Quiroz / 10 June 2008 /

Betfair's Tareq Quiroz goes through the highlights of the past sporting week starting at A and ending on Z (where else?)

A is for Anderson. James Anderson was the main man as England totally outplayed New Zealand in the second Test at Trent Bridge. Anderson skittled the Kiwis out in the first innings with a superb seven wicket haul. He followed that up with two further scalps in the second innings that left New Zealand floundering. The players can now turn their attention to the Twenty20 game coming up later this week. England go into that with a lot of confidence and are trading at [1.7] in the Match Odds.

B is for Belmont Blow-out. It was all set-up for Big Brown to be crowned the new Triple Crown champion but the race did not go to script. The Belmont Stakes was supposed to be the crowning glory in what has been a fabulous year for Big Brown. The popular horse was never in the running and faded out badly in the end. It was a disappointing end and hopefully this isn'’t the last we will see of Big Brown.

C is for Chambers. The Dwain Chambers story has now taken on epic proportions and there isn'’t an end in sight. Chambers last week set the necessary qualifying time to compete in the upcoming Olympic trials for the 100m. The catch being of course that he cannot go to the Olympics as it stands due to his drug ban. Chambers will see the BOA in court but there has to be a fair chance even that won’t see the end of this tale. Stay tuned.

D is for Detroit Red Wings. After a super battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins it was the Detroit Red Wings that won the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night. A 3-2 victory in Game Six gave them a 4-2 series win and a title they fully deserved. They will be hopeful that they can retain the title next year so watch out for the Outright market coming soon.

E is for Ellis. It took a tremendous fightback on Friday night for the Leeds Rhinos to take the spoils against Super League rivals Hull. Gareth Ellis is Leeds’ 'go to man' in dire situations and he came up trumps again with two tries for the big man who is leaving Leeds at the end of the season to go to the NRL. Check out the Grand Final Winner market for all the latest odds on who will be crowned champions at the end of the season.

F is for Floyd Mayweather Jr. Money Mayweather called time on his boxing career with his shock announcement that he is retiring with immediate effect. Mayweather was last seen in the ring last December when knocking Ricky Hatton out in Las Vegas. Let’s hope Mayweather changes his minds as he will be a great miss to the world of boxing.

G is for Germany. The pre-tournament favourites got off to a winning start to Euro 2008 with a fairly comfortable 2-0 win over fierce rivals Poland. Podolski got the Germans on the way with a simple tap-in and the result was in no doubt when they added a second late on. If you think Podolski is a genuine contender for Top Goalscorer then check out that market on site where he is trading at [4.7].

H is for Honda Hero. Dani Pedrosa was the toast of Honda as he superbly rode his way to success in the Catalunya Moto GP. Pedrosa quickly hit the front and never looked like relinquishing his substantial lead. The win now has Pedrosa just seven points behind Championship leader Valentino Rossi. Check out all the latest odds on Moto GP World Champion market, where Pedrosa is available at [3.3].

I is for Ivanovic. It was a sensational week for Ana Ivanovic as she battered her way to the French Open title. The young Serb was in destructive form in the final as she dismantled Dinara Safina in the final. There are surely plenty more Grand Slam victories to come for Ivanovic and she will be a huge threat in the upcoming Wimbledon, where she is currently available at [6.6] in the Winner market.

J is for Justin Leonard. In one of the tightest finales to a PGA Tour event in a good while Justin Leonard prevailed in a three man play-off. A birdie on the second play-off hole was enough to see off Allenby and Immelman. All three players will now be in great spirits going into this week’s US Open, where predictably Tiger is the favourite at [4.5].

K is for Kubica. In an eventful Canadian GP in Montreal it was Pole Robert Kubica who took the chequered flag. With Lewis Hamilton driving straight into the back of a furious Kimi Raikonnen the way was left clear for Kubica and he took full advantage. He is now the leader in the Drivers Championship but if you fancy he will stay there then you can still back him at [10.5].

L is for Luka Modric. New Spurs signing Luka Modric was on the mark early as he slotted home from the penalty spot to give Croatia a 1-0 lead and ultimately the win. It was not an impressive performance from Croatia and they will certainly need to get better as the tournament progresses. If you fancy they will then you can currently back them at [18.5] in the Outright Winner market.

M is for Meireles. From the first two days it is probably Portugal who have been the most impressive team. For most of the match they dominated against Turkey and two second half goals were enough to give them all three points. The goal that wrapped it up came from Raul Meireles and he will be hopeful of getting on the scoresheet again in their next game against the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

N is for New Approach. It was probably the most controversial Derby winner in history as New Approach stormed to success on Saturday afternoon. Trainer Jim Bolger was not the most popular person amongst the punters after he initially stated that New Approach would not run in the Derby. You can’t take anything away from the winner however as he was a worthy winner. Keep an eye out for a market on the next race in which Bolger chooses to run the Derby winner.

O is for Oaks Shock. Look Here was the surprise winner of the Oaks at Epsom on Friday. Seb Sanders gave the outsider a terrific ride and once she hit the front there was no doubt that she was going to win. It will be interesting to see where she goes from here so keep an eye out for her next race and of course all the available markets.

P is for Pierce. The NBA finals are really taking shape with Boston Celtics taking an early 2-0 lead in the series following excellent home wins against the LA Lakers. Paul Pierce has been the man of the moment after he was carried off in the first game with what initially looked like a bad injury. He was back and looking great in the second game with a haul of 28 points. They now head to the West coast for the third game, where the LA Lakers are favourites in the Match Odds market at [1.2].

Q is for Quality. It takes a player of great quality to come back from a difficult patch like Chinese superstar Ding Junhui has endured. Following a masterclass lesson from Ronnie O’Sullivan Ding has not been the same but he finally got a tournament win under his belt with victory in the Jiangsu Classic last week. Ding beat Mark Selby 6-5 in the final and will now be pretty confident heading into next season.

R is for Rafael Nadal. It was something close to the perfect game of Tennis on a clay court as Rafael Nadal simply destroyed world number one Roger Federer. Seemingly nothing or no one can stop Nadal on clay. It will be interesting to see how the Spaniard gets on during the grass court season. He is currently trading at [5.5] in the Wimbledon Winner market and that I am sure will tempt some people.

S is for Singh. It was an extraordinary final day in the Austrian Open as Jeev Milkha Singh sat on his four shot lead and recorded a rare feat of 18 straight pars. It was enough in the end to fall over the winning line with a one shot victory over Simon Wakefield. The European Tour's top players will now be off to the US Open, with Padraig Harrington looking to add to his Open success of last year.

T is for Too Easy. Bangladesh are a full Test playing nation but they are going to need to improve again if they are to challenge the big boys. Once again they were on the wrong end of a decent thrashing from Pakistan in the first of the ODI Triangular series matches that will also involve India. The next match in this series is the big match-up between India and Pakistan on Tuesday. India are current favourites at odds of [1.67].

U is for UK Open Champ. The UK Open always throws up lots of great stories and this one was no different. James Wade was the eventual winner as he outclassed Gary Mawson in the final but there was plenty of excitement on the way. Phil Taylor banged home a superb nine-darter before departing the tournament in a brilliant match with Van Barneveld. The next big televised event is the Las Vegas Desert Classic and as usual there will be plenty of market to get involved in.

V is for Vaclav Sverkos. The opening match of Euro 2008 wasn’t the greatest game of football but the Czech Republic won’t mind as they came away with maximum points with a hard fought 1-0 win against co-hosts Switzerland. Sverkos was the hero as the sub made a vital contribution with the only goal of the game. The well fancied Czechs will certainly need to play better than that if they are to get anything out of their next match against Portugal.

W is for Warrington. Warrington recorded a much needed win for stand-in boss James Lowes. Following the departure of Paul Cullen the Wolves are in a rebuilding phase and will be helped by the 40-24 win over Harlequins at the weekend. They still hold sixth place in the table and will be hoping to maintain that as they push for a much needed play-off place.

X is for X-Rated. The x-rated clash this week comes from the world of Rugby Union and it is simply for the dreadful conditions in which the New Zealand v Ireland match was played in on Saturday. The wind and rain made quality rugby a difficult proposition but eventually the All Blacks stamped their class on the game and ran out 21-11 winners. The players were so cold at the end they were shivering whilst being interviewed. England players will be hoping for better conditions when they take on the All Blacks later this week. Check out all the latest markets for that encounter.

Y is for Yani. Taiwanese teenager Yani Tseng was the sensational winner of the LPGA Championships at the weekend. She finished one shot ahead of top players Sorenstam and Ochoa which was enough to take her into a play-off with Maria Hjorth. It was the fourth extra hole before she finally prevailed and without a doubt she is a potential world star.

Z is for Zapped! Wales were obliterated in Bloemfontein as a rampant South Africa put the Welsh to the sword in a 43-17 victory. Wales had no answer to the Springboks and they will have to improve considerably next Saturday when the two teams meet again if they are to have any chance of success. Check out all the markets available for that match, where South Africa are clear favourites in the Match Odds market.

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