Biggest odds or worst odds, no matter how you slice it the Seattle Mariners don’t have a hope in hell of winning the 2008 World Series. Then again, if you think you know who will win — you had better put your money where your mouth is. The sooner the better, too.

At 9/2 odds to win the World Series, the Los Angeles Angels are looking good this season. So are the Boston Red Sox (9/2 odds), the Chicago Cubs (4/1 odds), and the New York Mets (8/1 odds). But at 9/1 odds, the Tampa Bay Rays are a good value and a good bet. (If you picked them earlier on in the season then you’ve probably got even better odds!)

But forget about the winners for a moment and consider this season’s stinkers: the Seattle Mariners (2000/1 odds to win the World Series) and the Washington Nationals (2000/1 odds to win). Both teams have been inconsistent and find themselves on the bottom of their respective divisions and conferences. Even with about 5o or so games left in the regular season they won’t be making the playoffs, let alone winning the World Series.

So what’s my point? My point is this: for teams like Seattle and Washington there’s still time to make some trades. For everyone else, there’s always the hope of making the playoffs and getting to the World Series. And for bettors, now is the perfect time to throw down some action and bet on the World Series while the odds are still hot!

With Tiger Woods out of the running, will Phil Mickelson win the British Open?

Oddsmakers are expecting to see a larger than usual number of wagers placed on the upcoming British Open, what with the No. 1 ruled out of the running. That’s good news for the sportsbooks, but even better news for pro golfers like Phil Mickelson, who feels he’s got a good chance of winning.

Currently at 14/1 odds to win, Mickelson has one top 10 finish in 15 tries at the British Open, but recent improvements in his game put him among the tournament’s serious contenders.

“It opens an opportunity for a number of players to come through and maybe win tournaments they might not have won,” said Mickelson. “Adam Scott and Ernie Els are trying to get their game sharp. I’ve watched Padraig Harrington progress and Sergio Garcia - there are so many great players. It’s going to be an exciting championship, a real shootout and a fun event to watch.”

Betting on the British Open is also great fun! Watch the British Open live from Royal Birkdale on July 17-20th.

Two days after winning the 2008 US Open, Tiger Woods announced on his website he was taking the remainder of the season off to undergo reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

“While I am obviously disappointed to have to miss the remainder of the season, I have to do the right thing for my long-term health and look forward to returning to competitive golf when my doctors agree that my knee is sufficiently healthy,” said Woods. “My doctors assure me with the proper rehabilitation and training, the knee will be strong and there will be no long-term effects.”

A date with the knee surgeon has not been set but Woods says he’ll keep his fans updated on his website.

“I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time. I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work, and make sure the focus was on the U.S. Open,” said Woods. “Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery, and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee.”

Let’s hope Woods makes a complete recovery and returns to the greens in top form as soon as possible. In the meantime, there’s plenty of great golf odds and PGA golf betting to be had throughout the 2008 season.

The Boston Celtics have a nice 3-1 series lead going into tonight’s game 5 action against the Los Angeles Lakers. If they win, it’ll be Boston’s 17th NBA Championship in franchise history. If the Lakers lose tonight, they’ll be looking back to game 4 and wishing they could take that one back. (I mean, how do you blow a 24-point lead? Before their historic meltdown, Los Angeles led, 70-50, with 19 minutes to play only to be outscored 47-21 the rest of the way.)

But enough about why the Lakers lost. Let’s talk about what they need to do tonight in order to win. According to Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, that means getting into the right mindset by watching something truly inspiring: the movie “300″. For the third time.

“It fired me up a little bit, and forced me to come to the gym,” said Vujacic, who came to the gym during his day off on Friday to work on his shot and defense by himself. “I wanted to watch that movie because I was in that kind of mood. It always gives you some kind of power.”

And what about Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant? Well, it seems he’s taken a more relaxed approach to tonight’s do-or-die matchup. Bryant spent the last two days with his family.

“We’ve got to take care of business on Sunday,” said Bryant. “So what are we going to do? How am I going to get my teammates in the right frame of mind, make sure they’re energetic, and that’s what it’s been all about.”

Get all your NBA basketball betting!

First, he put away Roger Federer at the French Open. Then, he put away his first grass-court win against Novak Djokovic Sunday in the final at Queen’s Club. The back-to-back wins make Rafael Nadal the first player to do so (in the same year) since Ille Nastase in 1973. Can the red-hot Spaniard win Wimbledon next month?

“Wimbledon is a very, very important tournament, and the motivation is 100 per cent,” Nadal said. “Doesn’t matter if I am tired mentally. Physically is a little bit more important but I think physically I’m fine.”

The thing is, Federer has won the last five Wimbledon titles, beating Nadal in the last two finals.

Get all your tennis odds!

Who needs Shaquille O’Neal? Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are doing just fine, thank you very much.

The Los Angeles Lakers have not been to the NBA Chamionship since 2004. Thanks in large part to a determined Kobe Bryant and an impressive team effort, the Lakers are heading back to The Finals and are looking to reignite their rivalry with the Boston Celtics, should the Celtics win their game tonight against the Detroit Pistons.

“I think it is a tremendous accomplishment,” Bryant said. “I think it started for us in training camp, when there was a lot of talk swirling around. We were always together, eating together, on the bus, joking around together. We built that unity from the first day, and we carried that on throughout the season.”

In Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant scored 39 points and helped his team finish off the Spurs with a 100-92 win at home.

“He was unbelievable again,” teammate Manu Ginobili said of Bryant’s MVP performance on the night. “When his team couldn’t score, he just took over, made some crazy shots.”

The NBA Finals start next week. The Lakers are at 1/2 odds to win the NBA Championship.

Derrick Rose will likely get picked first on NBA Draft Day

You have to know that the entire Chicago Bulls management is looking forward to June 26th: NBA Draft Day in New York. See, the Bulls won the NBA’s draft lottery held on Tuesday night and that gives them first dibs on the cream of the college crop. My thinking is that they’ll either go with Kansas State forward Michael Beasley or Memphis Tigers point guard Derrick Rose.

“We’ll have an opportunity to get close to those guys. We’ll really take a long look at what makes the most sense for our basketball team,” executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson told ESPN on a conference call. “Having the pick puts you in a unique position to make your team better. I certainly understand this was pure luck. Now it’s our job to make the most of it.”

The Miami Heat gets to pick second, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who will pick third. Seattle gets fourth pick; Memphis gets fifth; New York goes sixth; Los Angeles Clippers get seventh; Milwaukee gets eighth; Charlotte goes ninth; New Jersey gets the 10th pick; Indiana gets 11th; Sacramento goes 12th; Portland goes 13th; and Golden State gets 14th pick. The remainder of the first 14 picks are determined by the teams’ records, with the first-place team picking last.

If you like betting on the NBA playoffs you should check out these cool NBA player props.

It took 50 races, but Danica Patrick has finally taken the checkered flag on the Indy Racing League circuit. She won last month’s Indy Japan 300 and currently sits in fifth place in the drivers’ standings for Andretti Green Racing.

Good thing Patrick won that race, because her legacy was being driven by the media into the same ditch as Anna Kournikova’s. Patrick is a sexy woman. She’s in this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. In 2004 and 2005, so was Kournikova, who still has it held against her for looking good in a bikini without winning a singles tennis tournament.

Now Patrick has a victory and the respect of her peers. But why did that respect take so long? She was the IRL 2005 Rookie of the Year, fourth at the 2005 Indy 500 and the first woman to ever lead a lap at the most prestigious race on the continent. It must have been the sexy woman thing.

Selection Sunday came and went without a hitch. Or did it? No matter who you thought should have been included in this year’s NCAA Tournament, the selection committee has finalized their picks. What’s done is done.

So…who do you think will go all the way to the National Championship? North Carolina (32-2), Memphis (33-1), Kansas (31-3) and UCLA (31-3) each took the NCAA March Madness No. 1 seeds on Sunday.

These teams will each have their own dance card, along with 60 others, with every team vying for the NCAA championship to be decided when the tournament finishes on April 7 in San Antonio.

If you don’t have your March Madness bracket filled out yet…what are you waiting for?

Arsenal vs. Birmingham: An easy win for the leaders?

On Saturday (6:45 AM EST) English Premier League leaders Arsenal take on Birmingham, who have not won a game in their last eight league outings. Arsenal, on the other hand, have lost only one game all season. On the surface it looks like a sure thing for Arsenal, but for bettors there is still value to be had in terms of props.

For “first player to score” you can look to Emmanuel Adebayor. He’s scored six goals in the last four league wins and has netted 10 times in his last nine games. Arsenal has also been known to score late, which is something to keep in mind if you’re looking to wager on late goals.

Something tells me that this one could be a blowout. Get in on the fun by placing your soccer bets today!