Hargreaves storms out of Old Trafford

Owen Hargreaves stormed away from Old Trafford after being left out for Manchester United's last game of the season.

Owen Hargreaves stormed out of Old Trafford on Sunday after he was left out of the Manchester United team for the final game of the season, according to reports.

The midfielder's worst fears were confirmed yesterday when he was not included in England's 30-man provisional World Cup squad.

Hargreaves, 29, hoped to get at least 30 minutes against Stoke to show Fabio Capello he could do a job at the finals.

But there was no place for him in Alex Ferguson's 18-man squad and he left 50 minutes before kick-off.

United claimed Hargreaves' exit was due to illness.

But an onlooker said: "At about 3.10pm a member of the security team got into a grey Audi and headed for Gate 4B of the Stretford End.

Spanish Grand Prix Preview

After a three week long break, Formula One returns and this weekend’s racing action comes from the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Jenson Button and McLaren top the championships, but the start of the European section of the season usually entails plenty of car development. Who has upgraded their car the best and who will take the twenty-five points for a win? BetRepublic.com previews the Spanish Grand Prix here.

Outright Race Winner Odds (supplied by William Hill):

Premier League Title Race Betting

The 2009/2010 Premier League season concludes this weekend with Chelsea leading Manchester United by one point. Will Chelsea cross the line and become the champions for the first time since 2006? Or will they fail to win at the weekend and give Man Utd the chance to claim their fourth straight title? BetRepublic.com previews both matches involving these two teams this weekend here.

Chelsea v Wigan Athletic Soccer Betting Tip:

Chelsea go into the match with a one point, and +9 goal difference, advantage over Manchester United. As a result of this, and the fact that they face a Wigan side that has lost thirteen of its eighteen away league matches this season, they are the favourites to claim the Premier League crown at odds of 1/12 with PaddyPower.com. Despite their poor away form this season, Wigan caused one of the shocks of the season by beating Chelsea 3-1 at the DW stadium last time they met. Will they cause another shock and cost Chelsea the title?

Thursday’s Tennis Betting

There are several tennis tournaments taking place around Europe this week and for today’s article we’re focusing on one match from the WTA Rome Masters tournament and one game from the ATP Estoril Open.

The women’s fixture sees two of the biggest names in women’s tennis face off as Venus Williams takes on Jelena Jankovic, while the men’s fixture sees the biggest draw in tennis in action as Roger Federer meets Arnaud Clement. Will the favourites win these matches? BetRepublic.com previews all the action here.

Venus Williams v Jelena Jankovic:

This Quarter Final match sees one of the closest rivalries in women’s tennis go another round. These two players have met on ten previous occasions, with the score tied at five wins apiece. This match promises to be a classic match and bookmaker William Hill believe it is going to be so close that they cannot separate either player and both are available at odds of 5/6.

Wednesday’s Premier League Betting

This Wednesday evening sees four teams play their games in hand before we reach the weekend and the final games of the 2009/2010 Premier League season. Fulham take on Stoke City in a mid-table battle while the big game of the night sees Manchester City host Tottenham Hotspur in a match that could decide who of the two will be playing in the Champions League next season. BetRepublic.com previews both matches and offers some great value bets here.

Fulham v Stoke City:

The first match between these two sides this season was an epic match, with Stoke leading 3-0 at half time before almost throwing the game away in the second half and just about taking the points with a 3-2 victory. However, this match is to be played at Craven Cottage rather than the Britannia Stadium and Fulham are a much better side there than on the road.

Old Firm Derby Betting

Today is a quiet day around the UK with regards to major sporting events, however there is one massive football match being played in Scotland – Celtic v Rangers at Celtic Park. Who will come out on top in the clash of the two biggest sides in Scottish football? BetRepublic.com previews the game and offers some excellent value bets here:

Celtic v Rangers:

Despite the title race being over in Scotland, with Rangers being eleven points ahead of Celtic with two games to go, this match means a massive amount to both sides and both sets of fans. Celtic will want to end their underwhelming season on a high note against their arch rivals, while Rangers will want to assert their dominance over their city rivals by winning their fifty-third title and going the whole season undefeated against them.

Mayweather vs Pacquiao Fight 2010 Boxing Scheduled

This Year 2010 – a lot of people are calling out to the boxing federation to approve the Mayweather vs Pacquiao Fight. If this would be made possible, then we are all sure that this would be a fight that the whole world would see.

This aint a world buzz just now, but a history in the making. A lot of people were sad with the cancellation of the Mayweather vs Pacquiao Fight because of a certain conflict in the Blood testing procedure that Mayweather has requested for Pacquiao to do. This was not a procedural call, THere is not need for any blood sampling test to be taken for theMayweather vs Pacquiao Fight to commence.

A lot of boxing fans are hoping for the Mayweather vs Pacquiao Fight to be scheduled this year 2010. See below for some of the latest news we got on the Mayweather vs Pacquiao possibilities.

Black Caps predict low scoring match in ICC Twenty20 Opener

Twenty20 cricket is all about the big hits but the Black Caps are not expecting a run fest in the upcoming World Cup.

After experiencing slow wickets in Guyana, The Black Caps are picking Today's tournament opener with Sri Lanka could be a low scoring affair.

Despite winning both their warm up matches the Black Caps batsmen aren't exactly full of confidence heading into the Twenty 20 World Cup.

Black Caps all rounder Scott Styris says the team are struggling to adjust to the lifeless wickets in the Caribbean

“It's the nature of the pitches here they are really difficult to bat on, it's going to be tough going I think,” says Styris.

The first six wickets fell for just 37 runs against the West Indies, prompting a rethink from the top order.

Sacramento's Tyreke Evans Wins NBA Rookie of the Year Award

Two days after word leaked of the impending announcement, Kings guard Tyreke Evans was officially named the 2009-10 NBA T-Mobile Rookie of the Year on Thursday.

Tyreke Evans has won hundreds of trophies in his young basketball career and many of them seem to have lost an arm, a basketball or some other piece in his mother's care.

Evans beat out fellow guards Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings in balloting. The Kings' rookie racked up 67 of 123 first-place votes, and appeared among the top three on every single ballot. Curry, the Warrior, finished second, earning 43 first-place votes and appearing on all but four ballots.

Jennings, whose Bucks lead Atlanta 3-2 in the first round of the Eastern Confernce playoffs, finished third. He earned 12 first-place votes, and made 112 of 123 ballots. Some combination of Evans, Curry and Jennings appeared on all but 15 ballots. The single first-place vote not claimed by that troika was given to Hornets guard Darren Collison.

Nadal, Djokovic advance to Rome Masters Quarters

Rafael Nadal improved his record at the Rome Masters to 24-1 with a methodical 6-3, 6-2 win Thursday against 39th-ranked Victor Hanescu.

The four-time winner in Rome saved all five break points late in the match, including one when he was serving for the match.

He set up match point with a long rally that included a rush to the net and back to the baseline to chase down a lob with an over-the-shoulder shot, finally setting up a volley winner into the open court.

Nadal closed it with an overhead smash on his first match point.

"I played with less intensity after 4-1 and it's impossible to play with less intensity at this level," Nadal said. "I had some problems the last two games with myself, but I saved it."

He will face Stanislas Wawrinka, the 2008 runner-up, who took out Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2.