2007 Tennis Rankings

2007 ATP Men's Singles
1 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2 Rafael Nadal (Spain)
3 Andy Roddick (United States)
4 Nikolay Davydenko (Russia)
5 Novak Djokovic (Serbia-Montenegro)
6 Fernando Gonzalez (Chile)
7 Tommy Robredo (Spain)
8 Andrew Murray (Great Britain)
9 James Blake (United States)
10 Tommy Haas (Germany)
11 Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)
12 Richard Gasquet (France)
13 Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia)
14 Mikhail Youzhny (Russia)
15 David Ferrer (Spain)
16 Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus)
17 Guillermo Canas (Argentina)
18 Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain)
19 Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)
20 Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina)


2007 WTA Ladies' Singles
1 Justine Henin (Belgium)
2 Maria Sharapova (Russia)
3 Jelena Jankovic (Serbia-Montenegro)
4 Amelie Mauresmo (France)
5 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
6 Ana Ivanovic (Serbia-Montenegro)
7 Serena Williams (United States)
8 Anna Chakvetadze (Russia)
9 Martina Hingis (Switzerland)
10 Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia)
11 Nadia Petrova (Russia)
12 Elena Dementieva (Russia)
13 Dinara Safina (Russia)
14 Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic)
15 Patty Schnyder (Switzerland)
16 Shahar Peer (Israel)
17 Tatiana Golovin (France)
18 Na Li (China)
19 Vera Zvonareva (Russia)
20 Marion Bartoli (France)

Check out the Wimbledon 2007 odds.

Technorati tag(s): tennis ranking, wimbledon 2007

Spurs claim 4th NBA championship

No NBA team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the final to claim a championship.

In fact, Cleveland was the eighth of 12 finalists to be swept.

"We are a beautiful team," Spurs owner Peter Holt said. "This is a great, great team."

Manu Ginobili led all scorers with 27 points and Tony Parker contributed 24 points as the Spurs took the best-of-seven series 4-0.

"It is like a dream," said Parker, who averaged 24.5 points in the championship final and was named the most valuable player.

Clutching the Larry O'Brien Trophy, Duncan quipped: "That boy took my other trophy," referring to the fact that he was chosen MVP in each of San Antonio's previous title runs.

The Spurs knocked off the New York Knicks in five games in 1999, New Jersey Nets in six games in 2003, and Detroit Pistons in seven games in 2005, with Duncan voted MVP every time.

"This one is sweeter," he said. "The road that we took to get here was as tough as we ever had it.

"Guys persevered. We had great performances from one to 12."

"Tim is the common denominator," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "It doesn't matter what championship year.

"He had a different cast around him from '99, '03 and '05. He has welcomed them all, he has found a way to help them all fit, feel comfortable in their roles — and not many players can do that."

The Spurs, who were vanquished in seven games by the Dallas Mavericks in last season's Western Conference final, breezed into this year's championship final by eliminating the Denver Nuggets in five games, dispatching the Phoenix Suns in six games and jolting the Utah Jazz in five games.

"I think I'm going to play one more year and try to repeat," added Spurs forward Robert Horry, now a seven-time NBA champion.

LeBron James misfired on 20 of 30 shots, but he posted 24 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Cavaliers, competing in the championship final for the first time in franchise history.

"He had some great looks and they just didn't go in," Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown said.

"Their defensive intensity and some of the things that they did, definitely, kept me off guard," James said. "It was a lot of unforced things.

"Me losing the ball or me making bad passes. All things I can control and I wasn't able to do that."

Asked to assess his performance, James replied: "It definitely could have been better. It could have been better in order for us to win.

"If I don't play well, our team isn't going to have a good chance to win. I have got a lot of things to work on to get better for next year."

Drew Gooden finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while rookie Daniel Gibson also reached double digits in scoring with 10 points in a losing cause.

NBA Finals: Cleveland vs. San Antonio Game 3

The Cavaliers return to Cleveland down 0-2 to the San Antonio Spurs, the same position they were in for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons. But with the Spurs playing great basketball right now, Cavs coach Mike Brown is going to have to find a way to turn his club around if Cleveland wants to extend this series past Game 4.

The Spurs have lost seven of their last nine games when up 2-0 in a playoff series; if you think Brown will see the light, you can get Cleveland as high as +105 on the moneyline for Game 3. The total is sitting around 178½-179. Tip-off is at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ABC.

Rags to Riches Makes Belmont History

Rags to Riches became the third filly in history and the first since Belmont Park opened in 1905 to win the longest and oldest leg of the Triple Crown when she got a head in front of favored Preakness winner Curlin on Saturday afternoon and won the 139th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes – the 1 ½-mile “Test of the Champion.”

She took the monkey off the back of her trainer, Todd Pletcher, and jockey, John Velazquez, who finally got their first Triple Crown race winner. She put herself in the leading role as Horse of the Year for her wealthy owners, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, adding to her future value as a broodmare.

And, she paid $10.60 for every $2 win ticket among the feminists in the crowd of 46,870.

“As a rule, we’re probably the one everyone is rooting against,” said Pletcher, who set single-season records for stakes wins (100) and graded stakes wins (57) in 2006 and earnings ($26,820,243) with his powerhouse stable. “We’re the underdog today; that was kind of sweet. The reception was kind of unbelievable.

“After we made the decision to run this filly, the reaction from the racing community was very enthusiastic. If nothing else, it was great for racing. Obviously, the end result, it was great for the filly.”

Preakness Champ Curlin Ready for Belmont

There may not be a Triple Crown on the line Saturday, and Street Sense isn't running, but Curlin is poised to become racing's latest sensation if he can capture the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown races.

An imposing 3-year-old chestnut colt, Curlin is the 6-5 favorite in a seven-horse field that includes the filly Rags to Riches and Hard Spun, runner-up at Churchill Downs and third in the Preakness.

"He's a big , strong horse and for all those muscles to keep firing going a mile and half, it's not easy," Jones said. "But if he does do it, my hat's off to him."

The weather report for Saturday afternoon calls for partly cloudy skies, temperatures in the mid- to upper 70s with a 10 percent chance of rain.

The $1 million Belmont will be televised by ABC, with post time at 6:25 p.m. The winner's share is $600,000.


Technorati tag(s): belmont odds, curlin

Belmont Post Positions and Belmont Odds

Odds to win the 2007 Belmont Stakes - Saturday (6:25 p.m. ET)

* Imawildandcrazyguy 20/1
* Tiago 10/1
* Curlin 6/5
* C P West 12/1
* Slew’s Tizzy 20/1
* Hard Spun 5/2
* Rags to Riches 3/1

Rags to Riches confirmed for Belmont Stakes

Leading three-year-old filly Rags to Riches will be entered in Saturday's 139th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. Trainer Todd Pletcher made the announcement Tuesday morning.

"We're going in because we think we have a chance to win," Pletcher said Tuesday morning outside his barn at Belmont Park. "The filly is doing very well."

The addition of a filly in the Belmont spices up a race that will be run without Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense.

"It should make it interesting," Pletcher said. "I'll be as excited as anyone else."

Rags to Riches has won her last four starts, taking the Santa Anita Oaks before her impressive win in the Kentucky Oaks on May 4.

Rags to Riches will be the lone female in the field for the final leg of racing's Triple Crown. She will attempt to become the third filly to win the Belmont Stakes. Ruthless won in 1867 and Tanya was victorious in 1905.

technorati tags:rags to riches, belmont contenders