Rafael Nadal could face a double blow from Novak Djokovic, as the latter is poised to break the Spaniard’s bid to equal Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open Tennis titles and at the same time overwhelming him as world number one.

Djokovic is a two-time semifinalist in Paris and he turns 24 on Sunday, which is incidentally the first day of Roland Garros. Nadal has only ever lost once since his 2005 debut.

In 2011, the world number two Serb has been on a super-charged record-breaking run. He is just five shy of John McEnroe’s record unbeaten season start of 42, set in 1984 and he has won all of the 37 matches he has played.

Djokovic has also won seven titles. He has claimed the Australian Open, Masters Events in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome. On all four occasions, Nadal was his annihilated challenger. Crucially, in straights sets, Madrid and Rome were on clay and the wins achieved.

Nadal will be in the unusual position of arriving at Roland Garros with the spotlight on someone else, in spite of having won five French Open titles in six years. However, he maintains that Djokovic’s astounding form cannot go on forever.

In 201 matches on the surface, the last Sunday’s defeat in the Italian capital was only Nadal’s eighth loss on clay.

Djokovic appeared to have Nadal on the end of a piece of string in the match in Rome, pulling him one way and another to his heart’s content. The former world number one and seven-time grand slam champion, John McEnroe thinks Nadal must go back to the drawing board in search of a new strategy.

The sports betting picks for few players at the French Open are Rafael Nadal – 11/10, Novak Djokovic – 179/100, Roger Federer – 19, Andy Murray – 21, David Ferrer – 39.

On Friday in the NBA Playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies will battle against the San Antonio Spurs and ESPN will broadcast the match at 9 pm ET.

To this point this series has been the most exciting series of the NBA Playoffs as these teams will be playing Game 6 of a best-of-seven series. In the series the Grizzlies are currently up 3-2 as well as have a chance to close it out at home.

The over/under total at 189.5 as basketball picks have the Grizzlies as a 3-point, -150 moneyline favorite.

In their last game it looked like the Grizzlies would close out the series. The Grizzlies led by 3 points as there were just a few seconds left. Even though the Grizzlies hit 2 free throws to reestablish their 3 point lead, Manu Ginobli hit a clutch shot to narrow the lead to 1 point. As Gary Neal got the ball with less than 2 seconds remaining, then the Spurs responded. Connecting to set the game to overtime he launched up a 3 point shot.

The Spurs collected themselves during the overtime period and ended up winning by 7 points in the extra period.

The Spurs should have a lot of confidence and momentum going into game 6 with that amazing comeback. They will still be playing on the road and they’ll need to win 2 games in a row while this is the case. Even for a team like the Spurs this will be a difficult comeback. For a team to come back from a 3 games to 1 deficit is very rare.

The game is scheduled to start at 9 pm Eastern time and will take place on Friday night.

On April 30, the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup series travels to Richmond International Raceway. The track is three quarter mile and this is hybrid between an intermediate track and a fast short track. The drivers that can master the proper arc into turn one and turn three will be up front in this race as the track is one of the most difficult to drive.

At online sportsbooks closer to race time, check out NASCAR Betting.

By taking both races on the lightning fast track, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers swept the last two years. Denny Hamlin won the race in the fall at Richmond whereas Kyle Busch won the spring race. Both drivers have learned the intricate setups that are required to keep up with changing track conditions as they have a good handle on this track.

Jimmie Johnson won three of four races before Kyle Busch and Hamlin began their dominance on Richmond. Johnson will be hungry to resume his dominance as he is still a driver everyone will have to contend with.

Even though Kevin Harvick is primed for a return, he is yet another driver that has been shut out of the Richmond Victory Lane. Richmond is one of Harvick’s favorite tracks as he has jumped out to his best start of his career.

On Richmond International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is another driver that is hungry for a win. He was taken out by Busch as Clint Bowyer cruised by for the win as in May of 2008 he was leading Kyle Busch. Dale Jr. has been up front for several other finishes as he has three wins at Richmond.

In the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open, a rising 23-year-old German, Andrea Petkovic completely outplayed Caroline Wozniacki by 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. In the humid heat of south Florida, the match went 2 hours, 24 minutes. The German displayed an attentive but dynamic game against Wozniacki.

Disrespecting Wozniacki’s serve, Petkovic never discontinued slashing her groundstrokes by her incisive backhand and dangerous forehand shots. Petkovic broke Wozniacki five times, in spite of the fact that she had committed 45 unforced errors. The Dane had a relatively shocking 41 unforced errors. Against Wozniacki, Petkovic said her approach was to mix things that made her defeat her competitor.

At the Sony Ericsson Open, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer got big cheers for their custom victories. Federer defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 and he will now play against longtime buddy Olivier Rochus. In the third-round contest, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia beat German Philipp Petzschner. Spanish 11th seed Nicolas Almagro was brought to a standstill by Germany’s Florian Mayer with 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win.

Working her way back from shoulder surgery, Maria Sharapova dictated Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-1. Against the Australian, she progressed her record to 7-0. Sharapova said the time away from the sport has given her more gratitude for the same. At this year’s Indian Wells, Sharapova produced her best result by playing in her first semi-final since last August.

Pole Agnieszka Radwanska won the first eight games in a 6-0, 6-2. She knocked out Roland Garros winner Francesca Schiavone. Serb sixth seed Jelena Jankovic beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-3.

Tennis betting lines have received a ton of action these last few weeks. Odds for some of the upcoming matches are – Roger Federer (1/33) will face Olivier Rochus (18) in the next round. Novak Djokovic (1/16) will battle out against Viktor Troicki (12), while Juan Martin del Potro (1/4) will be playing against Mardy Fish (19/5). Maria Sharapova (1/5) will lock horns with Alexandra Dulgheru (4); Kim Clijsters (5/18) will bout against Ana Ivanovic (31/10), while Jelena Jankovic (4/7) will contest against Andrea Petkovic (13/8).

The WGC-Cadillac Championship was holdup by intense storm. Tiger Woods was due to tee off and the storm arrived just minutes before, thereby causing widespread harm. Organizers shelved play after just a handful of early starters had completed a hole, with dark clouds neighboring the Blue Monster course and lightning forecast.

At 11:45 a.m. EST, the interruption began as heavy rain and strong winds hammered the course. Tournament officials said that winds reached speeds of 52mph (84 km/h) ripping 17 trees out of the ground by winds, television support and leader board were airborne and wrecked.

More than American Hunter Mahan, nobody took advantage of conditions. After 11 holes to stand atop the leader boards that remained standing, Mahan birdied his first four holes and advanced to seven-under. Over a group of seven players, including fellow citizen Charley Hoffman, he enjoyed a two-stroke lead. Carding a five-under 67, Hoffman was one of the fortunate few to finish.

Kaymer and Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa were also five-under and completed 12 holes. After the turn to end in a levelheaded position, former world No. 1 Tiger Woods struggled earlier but picked up two birdies shortly. World No. 6 Phil Mickelson is 2-under par.

Mahan made it four in a row with a tap-in birdie at the par-three 13th and his third uninterrupted birdie came from a little over seven feet at the 12th. He got back to making birdies at No. 16, although he parred the next two holes. At 17 found the bottom of the cup, he made it back-to-back birdies after his 11- footer and he transformed a 15-foot birdie try.

At the par-five first to reach seven-under par, Mahan parred the 18th and made a 13-foot birdie putt. To keep his two-stroke cushion, he parred the second in the fading light.

According to various betting odds Martin Kaymer  has  57/10, Matt Kuchar 12, Hunter Mahan 13, Nick Watney 13 and Luke Donald 14.

UFC 130 now has a new light heavyweight bout for its main card, a change of plans brought about when Thiago Silva was removed from the show. On the UFC’s Memorial Day weekend show; former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will fight Matt Hamill, which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 28 in Las Vegas.

Heavy.com reported the news of the signing. To MMA Fighting, Hamill’s head coach, Duff Holmes, confirmed the news and said that earlier in the day, Hamill had signed the bout agreement. Originally, Jackson was scheduled to face Silva on the card. The speculation surrounds a second test on Silva’s urine sample from UFC 125 and he has been removed from the show. The results of that test are to be released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In Toronto in April, Hamill was next scheduled to fight Phil Davis at UFC 129 and now he will get an extra month before facing Jackson.

On numerous sites, Thiago Silva has stated that he has received no indication that he is out of the bout against Jackson for May 28. It appears the UFC may not want to take any chances in waiting, with a pending drug test result still coming back from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Hamill often favors standing with opponents, which could prove costly against a talented striker like Rampage. Even though Hamill is a strong wrestler, but not stronger than Evans. A submission threat from Hamill is unlikely, something that Silva certainly would have. Winning over Rampage would be considered his biggest to date. It would take him a step closer to his dream to be considered one of the top ranked light-heavyweights in the world.

Hamill will need his all-around game in full force if he has to put up a fight against the heavy handed “Rampage.”. His career has been a tale in improvement.

Evans seems the favorite in this bout. The UFC betting odds for Rashad Evans -185 and Quinton Rampage Jackson +155.

This coming Saturday night, Jan. 22, on pay-per view, Ark Promotions is the promotional outfit that is bringing back from the dead a matchup between journeyman 38-year old Sherman “Tank” Williams (34-11-2, 19 KO’s) and 48-year old former heavyweight champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield (43-10-2, 28 KO’s).

The bout had previously been scheduled but was canceled three times in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, Nov. 5, 12, and Dec 9. The major factors in the cancellations were the low-ticket sales and not having a TV contract.

If the fight actually takes place this Saturday night, and if Holyfield wins, his “Comeback Of The Century” senior tour will continue. His next opponent will be 45-plus-year-old veteran Brian Nielsen, who has not fought since 2002. The fight will be held in Denmark March 5. WBC President Jose Sulaiman has agreed verbally that for the WBC Heavyweight championship, Holyfield would fight Vitali Klitschko.

When Holyfield was asked about his critics, who favored his retirement said that he had been reading and listening to the people who are saying that he should retire. He lost to Michael Moorer and doctors misdiagnosed his heart problems, resulting in a forced retirement. He added that after beating Mike Tyson twice, fighting Lennox Lewis, winning the championship belt, he wanted another title so bad that he offered Lennox five million from a guaranteed $20 million purse to fight him.

Holyfield claims that until he is undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, he will not stop fighting. Four-times heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield still clings to what once was a brilliant career, although his claims looks difficult to imagine. Holyfield continues to land fight dates, even though his well-known rivals in the 1990s, are long retired.

Even John Ruiz, who had three close bouts with Holyfield early in the 2000s retired last year. He is nine years younger than Holyfield. Holyfield refuses to join his former rivals in retirement.

Holyfield said that he has been an athlete since he was eight and he started trying to be successful back. He added that he reached his goal and since then he has maintained his conditioning. He said that he plans to lead a long life and to become a heavyweight champion again.

For the NFL, the 1968 season would be the 49th season and featured some new alignment within the league. The Giants would be part of the Capitol Division whereas the Saints would then be part of the Century Division.

The Eastern Conference of the league featured the Capitol and Century Divisions whereas the Western Conference featured the Coastal and Central Divisions. There were four teams in each division and each team played 14 games on the season.

The Eastern Conference leading power the Cowboys would go 12-2 on the season, easily winning the Capitol Division. The Giants, Redskins and Eagles were the other teams in the Capitol Division. By winning 7 games on the season the Giants were the best of the other teams. By winning 5 and 2 games respectively, the Redskins and Eagles struggled.

In the Century division, the Browns would take the division with a record of 10-4 on the season in the end. The St. Louis Cardinals were just behind with a 9-4-1 record on the season. The New Orleans Saints only managed to win 4 games on the season and the Steelers won 2 games.

In the Western Conference the Coastal Division featured, the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams. Both had the two best records in the Conference. The Colts won 13 of 14 games. They had the 2nd best offense in the season and only allowed 144 points on defense.

The Rams managed to come in 2nd, winning 10 games, losing 3 and tying 1. The Rams outscored their opponents by 112 points on the season. The 49ers were going 7-6-1 on the season. The Falcons went 2-12 on the season.

The Minnesota Vikings won the Central Division. They barely beat out the Bears with an 8-6 record. The Bears would finish 7-7 on the season. The Packers weren’t far behind, going 6-7-1 on the season. Detroit Lions finished 4-8-2 on the season.

By winning the NFL Championship, the Colts dominated the Browns 34-0. They would go on to play the Jets in the Super Bowl. The Colts fell to the Jets by a score of 16-7, despite being the heavy favorites.

In the first Grand Slam event of the 2011 tennis season, this week the lineup for next month’s Australian Open was announced.

By giving the Open one of it’s best-ever fields, the event will feature the top 100 men and top 98 women in the world rankings. Online betting fans are eagerly waiting for the event.

Rafael Nadal, World No.1 topped the lineup who will be attempting to win his fourth straight major. Roger Federer World No.2, who will be going for his fifth Australian Open title.

World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki will be trying for her first Grand Slam title, on the women’s side. Nursing a foot injury, two-time champion Serena Williams is the most glaring absentee from the lineup.
Both with injury-protected rankings, in the men’s draw is 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia.

At Melbourne Park the Australian Open takes place Jan. 17 to 30.
Apart from Elena Dementieva of Russia, who retired at the end of the season, and No. 37 Agnes Szavay of Hungary, who is injured, the women’s draw features 107 direct acceptances.

The Australian Open is held in world tennis, tournament director Craig Tiley said Saturday in a statement that “To have the top 104 players in the world in the men’s main draw is incredible and shows the high esteem. The women’s field also has every available top player in the world.”

In April, Hilton Head Island will host a new event along with the PGA Tour’s Heritage golf tournament.

For Hilton Head Heroes, the PGA Tour Wives Association’s next annual golf tournament, which pro golfers caddy for their wives or girlfriends will raise money and let golf fans see their favorite players.

For 2 p.m. April 19 at the Sea Pines Resort’s Ocean Course, the PGA Tour Wives Golf Classic is scheduled. At Harbour Town Golf Links, the pros will tee it up April 21-24. at an event Monday at Sea Pines to recognize the Heritage’s sponsors, organizers said that the ambiance of the association’s tournament would be a nine-hole friendly shootout, which will be decidedly less serious than the Heritage.

For this year’s tournament, Mayor Steve Wilmot thanked all sponsors and said that we need to keep looking forward to the 2012 situation. He also stressed on the fact that a great event is on cards. Since the backing out of the sponsor Verizon, the future of the tournament has been a bit uncertain.

In 2011, the Heritage will continue to thank many of the tournament’s sponsors, although the hunt will still carry on. The Town of Hilton Head Island and Beaufort County stepped up and arranged the money needed for the tournament.

As a way to thank the sponsors for their support, the Heritage held their annual Heritage Sponsors Day in Sea Pines.

During the event, Wilmot said that the support from the sponsors is highly appreciated and the whole thing could not have been a possibility without the sponsors. To the 2011 tournament, Wilmot said that the sponsors are very crucial and are also essential to the future of the tournament.

Wilmot said that they are working on a title sponsor although he also stated that the secondary sponsors are as important. Wilmot also said that it is a great way to say thank you for the continued support, since most of them are existing sponsor. He was confident that the 2011 event would be a great one.