Motorsports - F1 - World Drivers Championship 2011 @ 12BET.com

 Sebastian Vettel should stay with Red Bull for many years to come if he wants to win multiple world championships, according to his former boss Franz Tost.

The Toro Rosso team principal ran the German to his maiden grand prix win in Italy in 2008 before seeing Vettel leave for Red Bull the following year.

He believes that keeping a consistent line-up of drivers and team personnel is crucial to any outfit challenging for race wins and titles and thinks that Vettel, who is committed to Red Bull until at least the end of 2014, is in the best position possible.

Tost believes that Vettel has become the best driver in F1 and that he is central to any Red Bull success over the coming years.

"There will never be another Sebastian Vettel, just as there will never be another Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna," he added.

"Sebastian Vettel has become world champion because he has discovered himself - his own capacity and ability.

Djokovic made it!!!

Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Spain's Rafael Nadal, right, hold their trophies after Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in the men's singles final at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, Sunday, July 3, 2011.

Petra Kvitova wins Wimbledon title

Petra Kvitova won her first Grand Slam title Saturday by defeating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon, finishing with an ace and dropping to her knees in disbelief. 

Kvitova was playing in her first major final, but it was three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova who showed her nerves. The 2004 Wimbledon winner double-faulted six times, including twice to get broken to 4-2 in the first set

The 21-year-old Czech is the first left-handed woman to win Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1990. Using a fast and accurate forehand, Kvitova did little wrong on Centre Court as Czech greats Navratilova and Jana Novotna sat in the Royal Box with other former Wimbledon champions..

Nadal beats Murray to reach Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Defending champion Rafael Nadal reached the Wimbledon final for the fifth time with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Andy Murray on Friday.

After Murray won a close first set, the match turned dramatically in Nadal’s favor early in the second set. The fourth-seeded Briton was leading 2-1 and over-hit an easy forehand that would have given him two break points.

Instead, Nadal won the next seven games before easing to victory and a place in Sunday’s final against second-seeded Novak Djokovic.

Murray appeared to be slowed by a hip problem as he tried to become the first British man since 1938 to reach the final.

Nadal, who himself has a left foot injury, is unbeaten in 20 matches at Wimbledon since losing to Roger Federer in the 2007 final.








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Roger Federer Upset in Wimbledon Quarterfinals

Six-time champion Roger Federer was upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second straight year Wednesday, squandering a two-set lead for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament and losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Federer barely looked challenged while winning the first two sets against the 12th-seeded Frenchman. But the Swiss star, who had been 178-0 in matches in which he had won the opening two sets at a major tournament, was broken one time in each of the last three sets.

Roger Federer

Andy Roddick Upset at Wimbledon

Three-time Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick was eliminated in straights by Feliciano Lopez in the third round on Friday, the American's first loss to the Spanish left-hander in eight matches.

The 44th-ranked Lopez served 28 aces and piled up 57 winners to beat Roddick 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Centre Court, the biggest upset of the men's tournament so far.

In a surprise on the women's side, second-seeded and 2010 runner-up Vera Zvonareva was knocked out 6-2, 6-3 by 33rd-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. The Russian converted only one of seven break points and had 18 unforced errors, compared to five for Pironkova, who upset Venus Williams here in the quarterfinals last year.

Williams Returns to Wimbledon With Title to Defend and Ground to Make Up

The last time Williams played at Wimbledon, she was on top of her power game: No. 1 in the world rankings and No. 1 on the All England Club lawns, too, after sweeping to the 2010 title without dropping a set.

A year later, she finds herself trying to reclaim lost ground and form after two surgeries on her right foot, blood clots in her lungs and a hematoma that required emergency treatment in Los Angeles in February. After 11 months away from the game, she returned in Eastbourne this month and lost in the second round in three sets to Vera Zvonareva, the Russian she defeated in last year’s Wimbledon final.

Wimbledon 2011 prize-money upped to £1.1m for singles champions

Wimbledon's singles champions will each receive a record £1.1million this year.

 

The All England Club have increased the winners’ pot by £100,000 on last summer with the total prize fund up to £14.6m – a rise of 6.4 per cent.

‘Leading international sports events such as Wimbledon are all about the quality of the players on show,’ said All England Club chairman Philip Brook.

‘In the competitive world of top-level sport, it’s important we offer prize money which suitably rewards the players for the box-office appeal they bring to the event and for their supreme performances on court.’
Wimbledon will unveil the new No.3 and No.4 courts at this year’s tournament, which will increase the overall capacity by 1,000 to 38,500.

Court Three will become the fourth court on the complex to be equipped with Hawkeye technology.

Wimbledon 2011 offered @ 

 

 

Wimbledon Draw

The draw for the third Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon has been released and Maria is seeded No.5 and will play Anna Chakvetadze of Russia in the first round on Tuesday.

Maria has played 50th ranked Chakvetadze six times before and leads the series 6-0 - the last meeting was in 2007 and they have never played on grass.

The first seed, Maria can meet is No.32 seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the third round.  Maria is seeded to meet No.10 seed Samantha Stosur of Australia in the fourth round.  Top seed Caroline Wozniacki is a possible opponent in the quarters.

This will be Maria's ninth Wimbledon and the highlight of course was her magical run in 2004 when she won.  Last year Maria lost in the fourth round to the eventual champion Serena Williams.
 

Vera ends Serena's comeback

After playing - and winning - her first match in 49 weeks at Eastbourne on Tuesday against the above-mentioned Tsvetana Pironkova, Serena Williams was halted on her comeback trail against the woman she defeated in last year's Wimbledon final. Vera Zvonareva, who will be No.2 seed at The Championships after the withdrawal of Kim Clijsters, came from behind to win 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 in an epic match which lasted over three hours.

Though Serena will be disappointed to have lost, the fact that she was given such a thorough test of her capabilities can only stand her in good stead for next week, where she will be now seeded No.7.

"Tennis - WTA - Wimbledon (Winner)" available at www.12bet.com

Lucky losers on red alert

The withdrawal of Kim Clijsters after she aggravated her ankle injury at 's-Hertogenbosch meant that 2010 semi-finalist Tsvetana Pironkova moved up into the top 32 and thus is one of the seeds.

In the men's draw, Sam Querrey and Benjamin Becker have been forced to withdraw, each of them suffering from elbow injuries. Their places in the main draw will be taken by lucky losers, i.e. the highest-ranked players from those defeated in the final round of qualifying. Lukasz Kubot and Flavio Cipolla, seeded No.2 and No.9 respectively, stand to benefit should they lose on Thursday, but they would obviously prefer the ranking points, prize money and of course confidence that goes with a third-round win in qualifying.

Wimbledon 2010 - REVIEW

The 124th Championships, a Royal tournament thanks to the first visit to the All England Club by Her Majesty the Queen for 33 years, was also a record-breaking occasion in many ways, most notably in that unforgettable first round men's singles between John Isner of the United States and France's Nicolas Mahut, which smashed every existing record in the sport. Then there was the wonderful weather, which ushered the tournament to a prompt conclusion and was described by the All England Club's historian, Alan Little, as "the sunniest I can remember". And finally, there were the champions, Rafael Nadal clocking up various new marks by winning the men's championship for a second time, and Serena Williams, who rounded out in thunderous fashion a decade in which she and her sister Venus have utterly dominated the women's singles.

In defeating the 12th seed, Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 Nadal confirmed his clear status as world No.1. He became the first Spaniard to win Wimbledon twice and he again matched Bjorn Borg's 1980 mark and Roger Federer (2009) by coming from triumph at the French Open on clay to capture Wimbledon on grass, just as he had done two years ago. Nadal had been unable to defend that 2008 title last summer because of knee problems but his return to action this year has been sensationally successful as he swept unstoppably through the clay court season and then won the world's premier prize and the one he covets most of all, Wimbledon.

Nadal needed only two hours 13 minutes to do the job, the quickest men's final since Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick in 2005, and Serena Williams did an even more rapid job in the women's final on the preceding day. She dismissed Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in 67 minutes to complete an astonishing decade of Wimbledon domination by the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus. Between them they have captured the women's title nine times in the 11 years since the Millennium and, says Serena, they intend to be back next year to carry on the good work.

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Wimbledon 2011: With Grass-Court Season Underway in Tennis, What May We Expect?

The move has been made, and it has happened all so quickly.

As always, tennis now pursues its annual trans-channel migration to the land of grass tennis—ye fair olde Englande.

Wimbledon awaits in just over a week, while this week, all tennis players involved are anxiously racking up ranking points and confidence in preparation for this greatest of grand slams.

Queen's in London is already underway, and we have had our fair share of shockers—grass is a more relenting, but at the same time surprising surface. In Germany, the Halle Gerry Weber Open has been giving the continental folks something to admire.

Bigger questions lie ahead and hidden are the subtexts to the humble openings of this year's grass season. Will Nadal win a third title? Or Federer, a record-equalling seventh? Will the Williams sisters really be back?
These and more, but for the now, the viewing pleasure of all, from London and Halle.

Dallas Heats at Game 2

In an instant, these NBA Finals went from being a potential sleeper to a possible classic.

When the Miami Heat took a 15-point lead with 7:13 remaining in last night's Game 2, you were thinking sweep. Miami already had a 1-0 series lead, and the Heat looked unstoppable. Dwyane Wade had 36 points, and both he and James seemed to be dunking at will. In the second-half, Dallas starting throwing the basketball around like a bunch of Little Leaguers — you know, the ones no dads want on their teams. Dallas turnovers led to a slew of easy Heat baskets.

Then, everything turned. The Mavericks finished the game with a stunning 22-5 run, and won the game, 95-93, on a crafty Dirk Nowitzki layup with 3.6 seconds left. One moment, we were asking if anyone could wrestle a title away from the Heat over the next five years. Now: can Miami recover from this implosion?

Game 3 is Sunday night, in Dallas. Here are three things we learned from one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history, a game that will be remembered as a classic.

Shane Mosley Promised to Knock Out Pacquiao

On May 7, Showtime PPV will offer a clash between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley, both future Hall of Fame boxers. For many boxing fans, the winner of this fight is almost certain and it is only a matter of time before the current welterweight champion and 8 time world champion Manny Pacquiao is declared a winner.

Fans are almost sure about this such that Dan Rafael of ESPN made a comment that Shane Mosley has little chances of winning the title. In reply to this, Mosley said that he will prove the doubters wrong. He even promised to deliver a knockout against the fan favorite Manny Pacquiao. Mosley called Dan Rafael a puppet, a puppet for Golden Boy Promotions and HBO.

Visit www.12bet..com for match update of "Pacquiao-VS-Mosley" fight.

Ronnie O’Sullivan nearly pulls out of 2011 World Snooker Championship

Check out  "World Snooker Championship 2011 (Winner)-Outright"  @ 12bet.com

It appears that Ronnie O’Sullivan came close to pulling out of the 2011 World Snooker Championship last week, with the player verbally informing World Snooker last Thursday that he intended to pull out of the tournament.

Sportinglife has reported that O’Sullivan didn’t feel he was in the right frame of mind to appear at The Crucible, although the three-time champion has since decided to play his first round match against Dominic Dale, something which will delight his hoards of fans.

It appears that the Rocket will visit Dr Steve Peters ahead of the tournament in a bid to improve his mindset ahead of Monday’s clash with Dale, in the hope that he can restore some enthusiasm for the game.

 

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Blake Griffin jumps a car to take the Dunk Contest 

Sat Feb 19 11:55pm EST       By Eric Freeman

Los Angeles Clippers rookie forward Blake Griffin(notes) has overshadowed all others on the highlight reels of this NBA season with his powerful dunks and general dominance of opponents at the rim. 12bet.com com When he was announced as a participant in this year's Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, he became the instant favorite. 12bet.com

Not surprisingly, Griffin came away victorious on Saturday night, defeating Wizards' center JaVale McGee(notes) 12bet.com  in the finals by way of an online vote from the fans. Above, watch the dunk that clinched it, a flying slam over the hood of a Kia Optima with a pass from teammate Baron Davis(notes) through the sunroof. 12bet.com

12bet.com Truth be told, this wasn't even the best dunk of the finals by Griffin, let alone the best of the night overall. But when "coach" Kenny Smith brought out the Crenshaw Select Choir to sing R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," it became a memorable moment, 12bet.com one that will be tied to Griffin for the rest of his career. 12bet.com Griffin appears to be on his way to a great deal of his accolades in his career -- including this season's Rookie of the Year trophy -- and this dunk contest will always be remembered as the first.

Related: 12bet.com Baron Davis, JaVale McGee, Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

Check NBA matches on www.12bet.com 

 

Fans file suit against NFL and Cowboys over Super Bowl seating 

By Chris Chase

12bet.com Fans whose Super Bowl plans were altered by seating problems at Super Bowl XLV have filed a lawsuit against the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices.

The Dallas News reports that the plantiffs are seeking $5 million from the NFL. Up to 1,000 fans may join the suit.12bet.com
Some of the complaints are legitimate (the 400 fans who didn't end up having a seat to the game, for instance) while others come off as a bit forced (some season-ticket holders weren't aware they'd be in temporary seats). 

"Unfortunately, not all of the ticket-holders to 12bet.com Super Bowl XLV got what they bargained for or what was promised to them," the lawsuit states.

Since most of my legal knowledge was accrued from watching old episodes of 12bet.com "Matlock," I can't speak on whether or not the fans have a case. (But if not getting what you bargained for at an NFL game is grounds for a lawsuit, then lawyers in Cincinnati and Detroit are going to be awfully busy soon.) 12bet.com They don't need to have a case, though. The NFL can't get into a legal battle with fans because it would be a public relations disaster. Lawyers on both sides know this, which is why it's never going to go to trial. They'll settle way before that.

The league screwed up twice: first by not having Cowboys Stadium ready, and second by its inadequate offer of repentance which would give fans $2,400 and was later amended to include a ticket to next year's Super Bowl 12bet.com or an option to take a ticket to a future Super Bowl, airfare and hotel included. This wasn't a negotiation. The NFL should have made the fans an offer they couldn't refuse up front. Now it'll end up having to pay more than they would have originally needed.

Let's not mourn for these aggrieved fans. When it comes down to it, they missed a football game and now they're trying to cash in on it. The 12bet.com NFL would be wise to refund any and all money the fans spent to get to Dallas and into the game, hook them up with tickets and VIP access to see their favorite team play a game next season, and maybe throw in some spending money for their trouble. The quicker 12bet.com this gets out of the media the better. We have a lockout to focus on, after all.

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Rugby

OMBAC Rugby 7's Team

12bet.com The sport of Rugby is often referred to as the "father" of American football. Rugby started at least 70 years before American football and football evolved with many of the same principles, strategies and tactics. However, there are several obvious differences. 12bet.com

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME

Rugby is played at a fast pace, with few stoppages and continuous possession changes.12bet.com  All players on the field, regardless of position, must be able to run, pass, kick and catch the ball. Likewise, 12bet.com All players must also be able to tackle and defend, making each position both offensive and defensive in nature. There is no blocking of the opponents like in football, and there are only five substitutions per game allowed for each team. A rugby match consists of two 40-minute halves. Finally,12bet.com rugby is considered to be a gender equity sport as approximately 25% of all players in the United States are female.

FIELD OF PLAY

Rugby is played on a field, called a pitch, that is longer and wider than a football field, more like a soccer field. A typical pitch is 100 meters (110 yards) long 70 meters (75 yards) wide. Additionally, there are 10-22 meter end zones, called the in-goal area, behind the goalposts. The goalposts are 'H'-shaped cross bars located on the goal line and are the same size as 12bet.com American football goalposts.

THE BALL

The rugby 12bet.com ball is made of leather or other similar synthetic material that is easy to grip and does not have laces. Rugby balls are made in varying sizes (3, 4 or 5) for both youth and adult players. Like  footballs, rugby balls are oval in shape, however are rounder and less pointed than footballs to minimize the erratic bounces we see in football. 12bet.com

PLAYERS & POSITIONS

A rugby 12bet.com team has 15 players on the field of play, both American football and soccer have 11 players on each team. In rugby, each team is numbered the exact same way. The number of each player signifies that player's position. Players numbered 1-8 are forwards, who are typically the larger, stronger players of the team whose main job is to win possession of the ball. 12bet.com These players are similar in size and abilities as American football linebackers and lineman. Players numbered 9-15 are backs, who tend to be the smaller, faster and more agile players. Their main role is to exploit possession of the ball that is won by the forwards, similar to the roles of 12bet.com American football's running backs, wide receivers and quarterbacks.

Check for http://www.12bet.com/ Rugby Union - Six Nations 2011 (Winner)- Outright

         

NBA

While Derrick Rose's game won't make stat-heads drool, it does exhibit MVP qualities.

Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

Case against Rose's MVP bid is case for a new kind of award

By Steve Aschburner, NBA.com
Posted Jan 28 2011 12:29PM

12bet.com There is a hole in the NBA's stable of annual postseason awards, one that needlessly complicates the task undertaken here each week by the committee and each spring by the 128 or so media types who sit down with pen, paper and DVD player, light incense, study tea leaves and consult the Magic 8-Ball when casting votes for the league's Most Valuable Player.

There is no award for Offensive Player of the Year. 12bet.com There is an honor for the other half of the court, Defensive Player of the Year. But no one ever has felt compelled to balance things -- and to clear up the annual confusion among MVP voters -- by establishing a trophy to be handed to the league's most dominant or impactful performer at the end of the floor that lights up scoreboards. 12bet.com
What happens, then, is that the MVP becomes the repository for such scoring stars -- or assists stars, or leaders in whatever other statistical measure fascinates a given voter.  12bet.com Meanwhile, others choose to wrestle with the concept of a player's "value" relative both to his team and within the league.

The Race committee doesn't want to get too bogged down here with criticism of the process -- it has been accused in the past by faithful readers of being too primer -- or manual-like in making cases for or against certain MVP candidates.12bet.com

But when think pieces start popping up around the Internet chastising those who view Chicago's Derrick Rose as the player who singlehandedly has done the most to elevate his team on the court and in the standings -- thus, 12bet.com the MVP by a very acceptable definition -- something clearly is amiss.

The case against Rose? He isn't "efficient" enough. His defense is mediocre.  12bet.com His personal "win shares" calculation isn't as impressive as some. He doesn't dominate in any one statistical category. And so on, generally using evidence that comes more from slide rules than eyewitness testimony.
12bet.com What gets neglected is Chicago's improvement, which has been in lockstop with Rose's individual development. 12bet.com Last year, he made it to the All-Star Game in Dallas as a reserve; this year he's a starter. Last year, the Bulls were 23-22 through 45 games; this year they are 31-14. Chicago didn't gain its 31st victory last season until Feb. 26 and didn't win No. 32, a likely threshold this weekend, until March 20.

The Bulls also have been doing it despite significant layoffs to its second- and third-best players.12bet.com Chicago is 7-2 with Rose, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah all available, but also 11-7 through two Boozer injuries and 15-6 since Noah went out in mid-December for hand surgery.

Rose has been toasted by opposing coaches and players all season, usually within minutes of the 6-foot-3 point guard toasting their teams. 12bet.com As for the ultimate parlor game of MVP ponderers, imagining the Bulls without Rose -- and with Boozer and Noah missing as many games as they have -- suggests an elevator-drop by Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings.

None of this would be a problem if the NBA gave out a "Most Outstanding Player" award, or an OPOY, to keep the MVP from getting cluttered up. The poor Maurice Podoloff trophy has to do double or triple duty satisfying all the demands that various voters, stats geeks and essayists place on it. 12bet.com Which is about as fair as expecting someone to average a triple-double for an entire season.
Come to think of it, that wouldn't be a bad award to have: The Oscar Robertson Offensive Player of the Year trophy. 12bet.com

That is for others to decide, though. All the committee is saying is that Derrick Rose doesn't have to be the best player in the NBA this season to be its most valuable. That's where he remains in this week's rankings.

Check on NBA : http://www.12bet.com/

Snooker

Snooker Shoot-Out
January 28 to 30, 2011. Circus Arena, Blackpool.

12bet.com The Snooker Shoot-Out is a brand new one-frame knockout event, boasting an innovative and exciting format including a ten-minute time limit on frames and a shot clock.

It will differ from traditional snooker and the action will be fast and furious! 12bet.com Here are the key rules:

Maximum ten minutes per frame 12bet.com

Shot clock: first five minutes at 20 seconds, next five minutes at 15 seconds

All fouls to result in opposing player having the ball in hand. 12bet.com Clock starts when the player takes the cueball.

12bet.com Players must hit a cushion (with the cue ball OR the object ball) or pot a ball on every shot.

Players 'lag' for who breaks (winner decides)

12bet.com Blue ball shoot out in event that points are tied in frame (winner of lag decides who goes first). 12bet.com Cueball placed in D.

Check on 12bet.com for World Snooker Shoot-out.

Maria Sharapova finds dead spot on Australian Open court

Fri Jan 21 10:48am EST
By Chris Chase

While warming up for her third-round Australian Open match, Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova noticed a bouncy spot on the court. "It was a little bit strange," she said. "I thought Nike had put some extra cushioning in my shoes!"
The ball doesn't bounce at all! It's completely absorbed by the court. There's no upward movement at all. I just tried dropping a tennis ball on a soft pillow and there was at least a little. That one simply died, like it was caught by one of those velcro paddles you see people playing with on the beach.

WTA - Australian Open Winner