Can Ferrari remain dominant at Magny Cours Sunday?

Ferrari has been always dominant at Magny Cours. Does it mean Kimi Raikkonen will get things going for Ferrari at the 2007 French Grand Prix?

Ferrari President Luca Montezemolo still believes Kimi Raikkonen, their latest acquisition, can still get Ferrari back on track and is now urging the Finn to start proving why he is ''one of the most feared drivers in Formula One.''

Kimi Raikkonen WAS this young and promising talent at the McLaren - Mercedes side. He was right on the thick of the action when Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso were switching paint at Monaco and Magny Cours.

This 2007 F1 season, after making the switch from McLaren - Mercedes to Ferrari, the young Finn failed to live up to all the hype after his one and only win at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix to kick off the new season.

Since then, his second string teammate, Felipe Massa, has been keeping Ferrari afloat. Barely. STILL, Ferrari has not lost hope for their new ace driver, Kimi Raikkonen. They still believe he is the one who'll be carrying the red scarlet after the Michael Schumacher era.

''We are waiting for the real Raikkonen, the one that everyone fears,'' Ferrari President Luca Montezemolo said. ''Michael has said Kimi and Fernando (Alonso) were his toughest rivals, and Alonso has said the same about Raikkonen and Schumacher.''

''Kimi has always been in the fight, and now we are waiting for him to go back to being the one everyone fears, and we are convinced that he will do it.''

This Sunday, in the 2007 French Grand Prix at Magny Cours, Kimi Raikkonen will be hoping to do just that for the red scarlet Scuderia Ferrari.

Who will win the F1 drivers championship? Bodog has the odds.

Kimi Raikkonen 7/4

Fernando Alonso 7/4

Lewis Hamilton 9/2

Felipe Massa 5/2

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Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari

Thaksin Shinawatra now owns Manchester City

Thaksin Shinawatra is the ousted Prime Minister of Thailand who was accused of being a corrupt leader.

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra agreed to buy Manchester City football club for a whopping $162 million.

''I am delighted that the board of Manchester City has recommended my bid for the club,'' Thaksin Shinawatra said in a joint statement with the club. ''We share a determination to take the club back to its rightful place at the highest level of competition in both the FA Premier League and European football.''

Manchester City will welcome a new era in the English Premiership with a new owner and new team manager Sven Goran Erikkson.

Manchester City will now be looking to equal or even dethrone their city rivals, defending English Premiership champions Manchester United once the brand new English football season starts.

Thaksin Shinawatra is the first politician to make the transition to sports after being impeached by his own people.

Thai prosecutors filed corruption charges against Thaksin Shinawatra in the Supreme Court, in the first criminal charges ever filed against a former premier in Thailand.

Thaksin was toppled in a military coup last September and was named along with his wife Pojamarn in a case involving allegations of wrongdoing in a land deal.

Here are the odds from Bodog on who will win the 2007-08 English Premiere League title.

Manchester United +150

Chelsea FC +150

Liverpool FC +550

Arsenal FC +650

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Manchester City Thaksin Shinawatra

Is Ferrari done in Formula One?

All we see these days is two streaking McLaren - Mercedes machines finishing one-two in F1 races.

It has been all about Lewis Hamilton lately. The McLaren - Mercedes rookie has been winning so many races this 2007 F1 season that the guy is actually being compared to Tiger Woods in terms of dominance in his sport.

Where's Ferrari in this so-called ''Lewis Hamilton'' era? Will these guys from Italy just continue to take the backseat and let the young German sensation have his way on the racetrack? Well, we're definitely close to that with Ferrari slowly being left out in the race for BOTH titles. Obviously, the Italians are worried.

''We are always worried,'' Felipe Massa said. ''We don't like to be behind. When you see our competitors in front, you are always a bit worried. But we need to be together to improve and I trust my team. I know we can do it, I know we have the possibilities to do it.''

''For sure we are not comfortable, that's clear, but we keep working.''

Felipe Massa, now the guy to watch in Ferrari after the somewhat dismal performance from who should've been Schumi's successor, Kimi Raikkonen, vowed that he will close in on the streaking McLaren and catch them in both championship races.

McLaren - Mercedes is currently lording over the constructors' championship standings with 106 points. Ferrari, their closest competitor, only has 71.

In the drivers' championship standings, the two McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, sit one and two respectively with Hamilton scoring 58 and Alonso with 48.

Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen sit third and fourth with 39 and 32 respectively.

Who will win the F1 drivers championship? Bodog has the odds.

Kimi Raikkonen 7/4

Fernando Alonso 7/4

Lewis Hamilton 9/2

Felipe Massa 5/2

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Ferrari Felipe Massa

Jeff Gordon to win Toyota Save Mart 350

Jeff Gordon just became a dad but in NASCAR, he still is one of the best drivers the sport has ever seen.

That is why he will be at the Infineon Raceway to win the Toyota Save Mart 350 for the second straight time this Sunday. Jeff Gordon is leading the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers championship with 2392 points. Denny Hamlin is his closest competitor, trailing him by 264 points.

Jeff Gordon, despite becoming the face of NASCAR racing through the years, still is not regarded as ''the one'' who can bring NASCAR racing to another level. Of course, this came out yet again when Formula One found its new star after the Michael Schumacher era in Lewis Hamilton.

With F1 having a Lewis Hamilton, and the Indy Series having Danica Patrick, NASCAR racing has who?

When McLaren - Mercedes rookie driver Lewis Hamilton won the North American leg of the 2007 F1 season, winning BOTH the Canadian and U.S. Grand Prix, the United States' premiere racing spectacle began looking for their next big star that can take NASCAR to another level.

NASCAR officials say they desperately want a driver like McLaren - Mercedes rookie Lewis Hamilton who can win at the Nextel Cup level, but it's still a long way from becoming a reality. A total of 43 drivers start a 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup race every single weekend and 42 of them are white.

Who's the only black driver driving around with his Caucasian friends on a NASCAR racetrack? It's former F1 McLaren - Mercedes star, Juan Pablo Montoya.

If NASCAR is looking for their own Lewis Hamilton, then Juan Pablo Montoya could be the one. The similarities between these two guys are so identical. Both has driven for McLaren - Mercedes in Formula One, both hold the record for being the youngest driver to ever win a Formula One grand prix and both of them are African American.

But then again, if you have to pick one star among the current NASCAR drivers we have today, it has to be Jeff Gordon because, quite frankly, nobody can tell us otherwise yet.

Who will bag this year's Nextel Cup? Bodog has the odds on who will win the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

Jeff Gordon 8/1

Juan Pablo Montoya 50/1

Greg Biffle 10/1

Jimmie Johnson 5/1

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2007 NASCAR Season Jeff Gordon

Lewis Hamilton is ready for next F1 battle in Indianapolis

Lewis Hamilton is ready to establish his domination of the 2007 F1 season.

We finally have one sole owner of the F1 drivers championship lead. McLaren - Mercedes rookie driver Lewis Hamilton got his very first grand prix win in Canada last week and will now head to the 2007 United States Grand Prix with a great deal of momentum.

Lewis Hamilton has been the one making the headlines in the McLaren - Mercedes camp following the consistent finishes the rookie has been making at this point of the 2007 F1 season.

Two-time defending F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, doesn't like this impending Lewis Hamilton era. And he doesn't like his team's sudden fondness of his rookie teammate either.

After we saw McLaren - Mercedes boss Ron Dennis order Lewis Hamilton to back off and let Fernando Alonso take the win in Monaco, the two-time Spanish champion is now saying that the McLaren - Mercedes team favors his rookie teammate more and that he has been uncomfortable at the team since he joined.

Fernando Alonso, with the sudden emergence of the young Lewis Hamilton, has been under pressure to outperform his McLaren - Mercedes teammate. Especially with Lewis Hamilton being a mere rookie.

We're only six races into the 2007 F1 season and with the way Lewis Hamilton has been driving as of late, the pressure on Fernando Alonso will unfortunately get greater and greater.

Lewis Hamilton leads the 2007 drivers championship standings with 48 points while Fernando Alonso is in second place with 40. Not far behind are the two Ferrari drivers with Felipe Massa scoring 33 points in third and Kimi Raikkonen in fourth with 27 championship points.

Can Lewis Hamilton win the 2007 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday? AcesAce Sportsbook has the odds.

Lewis Hamilton +180

Fernando Alonso +140

Kimi Raikkonen +500

Felipe Massa +380

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Lewis Hamilton 2007 U.S. Grand Prix

Real Madrid, Barcelona, go for La Liga title Sunday

Barcelona needs a win on Sunday AND a loss by Real Madrid. Real Madrid only needs to win to guarantee them the La Liga championship.

The battle for the 2007 Spanish La Liga championship has come down to this huge fixture between Real Madrid and Real Mallorca on Sunday. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are tied atop the Spanish La Liga standings with 73 points each and if Madrid beats Mallorca, they'll win the title no matter what Barcelona does.

In La Liga, a team is awarded three points after every win. If Real Madrid can beat the visiting Real Mallorca team on Sunday, that will guarantee them the 2007 Spanish La Liga title with 76 points in the championship standings. And it won't matter what FC Barcelona does when they visit Gimnastic Tarragona on the very same day.

A Barcelona win over Gimnastic Tarragona will ALSO earn Barca three more points to score 76 in the season but with Real Madrid holding the advantage in their head-to-head results, Barca will just lose to Madrid if their season ended in a tie for the title.

To make matters worse for FC Barcelona, Brazil forward Robinho, the same guy who was rumored to be joining the Brazil national team for the 2007 Copa America tournament, will play for Real Madrid on Sunday to clinch their 30th league title.

Though clubs are required to release their players 14 days before the start of a major tournament, Madrid will not have to after the Spanish football federation received word from soccer's world governing body allowing Robinho to play against Mallorca on Sunday.

As for David Beckham, it's a possibility he'll be playing too. Becks was hurt in England's 3-0 win over Estonia in qualifying for the 2008 European Championship last week, but played in Madrid's 2-2 draw at Zaragoza in the Spanish league last Saturday.

It's already a certainty that he'll be suiting up for Real Madrid in probably his last game for the Spanish side before he transfers to the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

Can David Beckham win his first major trophy for Real Madrid? Bodog has the odds on this huge La Liga fixture this Sunday.

Real Madrid -155

Real Mallorca +350

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Real Madrid FC Barcelona

Can F1 rookie Lewis Hamilton win the 2007 Canadian GP?

F1 rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton is the new star in Formula One and he has almost everyone rooting for him in the coming Canadian GP.

The 2007 Canadian Grand Prix is this Sunday with two McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, both tied atop the F1 drivers championship standings.

However, it seems it's not enough for Lewis Hamilton to compete with his more popular, not to mention the defending two-time F1 World Champion, teammate Fernando Alonso. He is tied with Alonso for the drivers championship standings and now, it looks like he is taking on Europe's football god, David Beckham.

According to a renowned publicist Max Clifford, Lewis Hamilton can easily earn £100 million a year. That's obviously outdoing David Beckham and the five-year £125 million deal he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy to play in the MLS.

''If he continues to go the way he has he will make almost as much money as Simon Cowell. Then you're talking about £100m a year,'' Max Clifford said about the rookie McLaren - Mercedes driver.

''The first year or two he needs to build up his profile worldwide. The one thing that I would try to do would be to establish him in America in some way or another. The American market is the biggest in the world so if he can become a star there the sky is the limit.''

''Simon Cowell would make £50m a year if he just did things over here, but because he has done it in America as well you can double that.''

''Beckham has taken football into showbiz and it is important for Hamilton to be in the news because that will make him megabucks. He has become a household name in five minutes and all aspects of his life are under a microscope.''

Coming to the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix on June 10, Lewis Hamilton is tied with the two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso in the drivers championship standings with 38 points. Both McLaren drivers will be going for the lead in Canada.

Can Lewis Hamilton win the F1 World Title in his rookie year? Who will win the F1 drivers championship? Bodog has the odds.

Kimi Raikkonen 7/4

Fernando Alonso 7/4

Lewis Hamilton 9/2

Felipe Massa 5/2

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2007 F1 Season Lewis Hamilton

2007 Belmont Stakes to conclude Triple Crown series

Unfortunately, the search for the next Triple Crown champion will still continue.

As you all know by now, there won't be a Triple Crown champion this year. Everybody was rooting for Street Sense to do it after winning the 2007 Kentucky Derby, but it all ended when Curlin won the next leg of the Triple Crown series when the colt won the 2007 Preakness Stakes.

Heading for the 2007 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday, Curlin will try to follow up on his success at Pimlico Race course with a win on Saturday. With Street Sense missing the final leg of the 2007 Triple Crown series, everything points to a Curlin win.

If only Hard Spun won't be there to stop the Preakness champion.

Hard Spun finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby before finishing third in the Preakness and will look like a solid threat to Curlin's party when it's all said and done at Belmont Park.

Curlin's recent problems with ownership is not helping either.

A W.L. Carter is claiming he owns a piece of Curlin. That is obvious especially after his wife was just as ecstatic as he was when Curlin breezed past Street Sense to cross the finish line first at the Pimlico Race Course, narrating how the 2007 Preakness Stakes went over his cellphone while he drove through the horse country of Ocala, Florida.

Mr. Carter is among more than 400 plaintiffs in a civil suit who were found to have been defrauded by their lawyers out of $64.4 million. Two of those lawyers, William J. Gallion and Shirley A. Cunningham Jr., together own a fifth of Curlin and were in the Pimlico winners' circle.

W.L. Carter thinks otherwise.

''We own part of that horse, there's about 400 of us,'' Mr. Carter said. ''We may not have our names on the papers, but it's our horse. He was bought with our blood money.''

Can Curlin win the 2007 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 9? Bodog has the odds on who'll win the final leg of the 2007 Triple Crown Series.

Curlin 6/5

Hard Spun 5/2

Rags to Riches 3/1

Imawildandcrazyguy 20/1

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2007 Belmont Stakes Curlin

Brazil selects initial 34 for Copa America tournament

The 2007 Copa America tournament is only a couple of weeks away.

Real Madrid striker Robinho will join AS Roma goalkeeper Doni and midfielder Diego of Werder Bremen in the ''magic 34'' Brazil selected in preparation for the 2007 Copa America in Valenzuela.

As expected, Brazilian football icons Ronaldinho of FC Barcelona and Kaka of AC Milan were not selected for Brazil's campaign in South America from June 26 to July 15.

The 2007 Copa America will officially be Brazil's first competitive campaign with Dunga in command of the team. Dunga chose mostly young players for the Copa America and will narrow the ''magic 34'' down to the final 22-man roster which will be announced on June 5.

The 2007 Copa America will enable Dunga to analyze each player before they set their sights to China for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Despite the Brazilians' dominance over the sport, the Olympics is ONLY the major football competition they have never won.

From the list announced by Dunga, only eight players were chosen for Brazil's 2006 World Cup squad; Ze Roberto, Robinho, Fred, Cicinho, Gilberto, Mineiro, Gilberto Silva and Juan.

Most players chosen have little experience with the national team, THAT includes newcomers Anderson from Portugal's Porto and Afonso from SC Herenveen of the Netherlands.

Some of the notables selected were FC Barcelona's Edmilson, Arsenal's Julio Baptista and Gilberto Silva and Schalke's Lincoln.

Ronaldinho and Kaka wanted to be excluded from the Brazilian national team saying that they want to enjoy vacation after their grueling European season.

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Copa America Ronaldinho

Anaheim Ducks, two wins away from Stanley Cup trophy

After it looked like the Ottawa Senators are in for a Cinderella ending to the NHL season, they had to face the Ducks.

When it looked like the Ottawa Senators are destined to have a fitting end to what has been an unbelievable season and bring the Stanley Cup back home to Canada, they fell 0-2 to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Back in Game 1, the Ottawa Senators DID looked like that Cinderella team destined for greatness in the 2007 NHL Stanley Cup finals. Well, at least in the first two sessions anyway.

They started Game 1 with a blistering power play goal from Mike Fisher and although the Anaheim Ducks answered to even things up in the first period, the Senators countered with yet another power play goal this time from Wade Redden.

Then, it's in the final period when things didn't go the Senators' way. After leading 2-1 going to the third and final period of Game 1, they let the Ducks score two unanswered goals, one from Ryan Betzlaf and another from Travis Moen that gave Anaheim the lead and ultimately, the win.
The Senators had them but they just can't keep the Ducks down.

In Game 2, the Ottawa Senators we saw then was the same Ottawa Senators bathed in failure. The Senators just can't score any goals.

Game 3 is on Saturday with the Anaheim Ducks holding the 2-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators. The Senators need this game bad if they want to bring the Stanley Cup back home to Canada. If they lose this one, Stanley will be singing quack.

Can the Ottawa Senators win Game 3 and cut the Anaheim Ducks lead to 2-1 in the 2007 Stanley Cup finals? Who will win the 2007 NHL Stanley Cup? Bodog has the odds.

Anaheim Mighty Ducks 8/5

Ottawa Senators 3/2

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Ottawa Senators Anaheim Mighty Ducks