11/09/2008 - Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Venus Williams roared back from a set down to beat Russia's Vera Zvonareva for the title at the Sony Ericsson Championships.
Williams rallied for a 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-2 triumph to capture the season- ending event for the first time in her career. In her only two prior appearances, she lost in the semifinals. Five other times Williams had qualified for the event and withdrew.
The $1.34 million first prize moved Williams ahead of Martina Navratilova for fourth on the all-time earnings list. Only Lindsay Davenport, Steffi Graf and sister Serena have won more prize money on the WTA Tour.
Venus earned her 39th career title and third of 2008. She also won at Wimbledon and Zurich, and will finish the season sixth in the final rankings.
Zvonareva, who was playing in her second season-ending event, will finish the year ranked seventh. She won a pair of tournaments this year, capturing titles in Prague and Guangzhou, and Sunday's loss marked her sixth runner-up finish of 2008.
Williams improved to 6-1 all-time against Zvonareva, who won the first meeting between the two back at the 2003 French Open. Since that fourth-round win at Roland Garros, the Russian had never taken a set from the American.
That changed Sunday.
Zvonareva jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, but Williams managed to even the set at 5-5 with a break and it eventually went to a tiebreak.
After Zvonareva won the first point, Williams reeled off five straight and appeared to take total command. Zvonareva, however, rebounded with the next six points -- including one on a double-fault by Williams that gave the Russian a set point which she quickly converted.
Williams then completely dominated the second set, winning 27 of the 40 points played. She converted each of her three break points and saved the only one against her serve.
After winning the first two games of the third set, Williams dropped her serve in the third game. She immediately regrouped with another break for a 3-1 lead and allowed Zvonareva to hold only once more before completing the comeback.
<< NFL Inactives (Sunday, November 9, 2008)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for today's NFL games.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT DETROIT LIONS, 1:00 P.M. (ET)
Jaguars - CB William James, RB Chauncey Washington, CB Brian Witherspoon, LB
Mike
<< Rangers topples Killie to keep pace with Celtic
Kilmarnock, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers kept pace with league-leaders
Celtic on Sunday as the club recorded a comfortable 4-0 win over Kilmarnock at
Rugby Park.
In what has once again turned into a two-horse race in the Scottish
<< Panthers slide into Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers will try to put the brakes on a six-
game losing streak tonight, when they visit the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda
Center.
The Panthers' latest setback came Saturday evening in Phoenix. Ilya Bryzgalov
st
<< Sharks visit Phoenix, aim for eighth straight win
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not even an injury to starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov
could stop the Sharks from extending their winning streak on Saturday night.
San Jose will try to pick up its eighth straight victory this evening, when
they visit the
Chicago starts Grossman >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears started Rex Grossman at
quarterback for Sunday's game against the undefeated Tennessee Titans and
listed Kyle Orton as the third quarterback.
Orton was listed as doubtful for the
Pats' Morris, Jordan out against Bills >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots running backs Sammy
Morris and LaMont Jordan will miss Sunday's home contest against Buffalo due
to injuries.
Both were also inactive for last week's 18-15 loss at Indianapolis
Anelka on target again as Chelsea downs Blackburn >>
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Anelka continued his good run of
form on Sunday as he scored both of Chelsea's goals in a 2-0 win over
Blackburn at a rain-soaked Ewood Park.
The Frenchman has now scored six times in Ch
Saints RB Bush inactive; Shockey, Patten active >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush was
inactive for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons, as he is still
recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Bush hurt the knee in a loss to the C
2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds
The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.
Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”
“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”
MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:
Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:
Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1
Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17
Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1
Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1
Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1
Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1
Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1
Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1
Best Animated Feature Film:
"Cars": 1/3
"Happy Feet": 2/1
"Monster House": 20/1
Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:
"Water" – Canada: 22/1
"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2
"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10
Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2
"Helmer & Son": 5/2
"The Saviour": 6/1
"West Bank Story": 7/2
Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:
"Babel": 7/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1
"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20
"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4
"The Queen": 5/4
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
"Babel": 11/4
"The Departed": 1/2
"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2
"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10
"The Queen": 20/1
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1
Film To Win Most Oscars:
Dreamgirls: 2/3
Pans Labyrinth: 6/5
The Departed: 6/1
The Queen: 11/1
Babel: 15/1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1
Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1
Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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