Will Ronnie O’Sullivan be on his best form at the Crucible?

Our friends at spread betting firm extrabet.com preview the WSC

“Even the most ardent of channel-hoppers will struggle to resist the urge to linger a little longer on the BBC over the next fortnight or so as the World Snooker Championship gets underway this weekend. Like it or not there is something mesmeric about snooker. Indeed baize-watch draws you in much like Baywatch did in the 90s - must be something to do with the colour red!

Once again this year it’s all about Ronnie. Will he turn up? Does he care anymore? Will he concede a frame after missing an easy red with 147 still available on the table?  Despite all the question-marks he is of course the jolly with extrabet.com, who price him at 39-42 on their 80 Index, (80 win, 60 runner-up, 40 losing semi-finalist, 20 losing quarter finalist, 10 lose last 16).

Stephen Maguire is second favourite at 28-31.  For those who just like watching the break builders and aren’t that fussed who wins, extrabet.com have a ‘total tournament centuries’ quote of 67-69.”

Posted: April 16th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

When did winning everything become so straight-forward?

Our friends at spread betting firm IG Sport look at Manchester United’s attempts to get their hands on every trophy going…

“When I was a kid ‘the double’ was spoken about with a sense of awe and wonder.  Some folk even doubted it had ever really been achieved; it was the stuff of legend.  Then came the 1990s and teams started doing it for fun, with the double achieved four times in the last six years of the 20th century. Then came the treble and now, well now the Holy Grail has become the quadruple, although there’s a fairly exclusive potential guest list for that one this season.

Manchester United’s next step on their way to the footballing nirvana comes this weekend against Fulham in the FA Cup.  IG Sport are offering an 80 index on that competition which awards 80 to the winner, 60 to the runner-up, 40 to the losing semi-finalists and 20 to the losing quarter-finalists.  United are priced at 53-56 with Chelsea slightly lower at 51-54 and Arsenal 42-45.

Posted: March 5th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment