It all adds up to Rebecca

IS it just me, or is Gary Lineker getting more smug and irritating as he gets continued exposure on the Beeb?

I’m all for the odd laugh or two, but Gazza’s gags — delivered with a self-satisfied smirk — are beginning to get on my nerves.

So I hope the front man for Sunday’s BBC Sports Personality Of the Year plays a straight bat and lets the stars of the show take their deserved place in the spotlight.

Recently-crowned World F1 champion Lewis Hamilton was odds-on to win this time a week ago, but the money has come pouring in for Rebecca Adlington and she is down to even money to lift the prestigious trophy.

The dual gold-medal heroine at the Beijing Olympics is a winner and a nice lass so no-one would begrudge her the award.

Hamilton can be backed at 9-4, while the only other person who appears to be in the running is Chris Hoy, the cyclist who collected three golds in Beijing.

Olympic sprinting sensation Usain Bolt is 2-5 to win the overseas personality award, with swimming superstar Michael Phelps second favourite at 3-1.

I would have voted for Irishman Padraig Harrington, the winner of two of golf’s majors this year, but he is only third best in the betting at 25-1.




AFTER the atrocities of Mumbai, cricket seems almost an irrelevance so it’s anyone’s guess how India and England will react when the first match in a two-Test series gets under way in Chennai at 4am tomorrow.



England’s preparations for this series have been badly affected by a will-we-go-or-not mentality and I have no doubt they will be under-prepared for just about the toughest challenge in the Test arena.

Playing a superb Indian team on their own soil is hard enough without the distractions associated with the build-up to this series, but it won’t be much easier for India to focus as their players must have been deeply affected by what happened on their own doorstep.

That said, India are justifiably hot favourites to win the series at 4-9, with England almost dismissed on 15-2 and the draw an 11-4 chance.

As for the first Test, the hosts are evens to triumph, with England a huge price at 9-1 and the draw 6-4.

Under normal circumstances, I would not be able to resist selecting England at those insulting odds, but with Mumbai still fresh in the memory, the last thing I feel like doing is betting on a cricket match.




POOL fans will be tuning into Sky Sports for the annual Europe v USA battle which is the Mosconi Cup.



This year’s competition will be held at the Hilton Hotel, St Julians, Malta, starting tomorrow and finishing on Sunday, and the odds-layers can hardly split the two teams.

Europe won 11-8 in Las Vegas a year ago, but the Yanks generally get the better of these contests and are a bit of value at even money to come out on top again.

Playing in front of his home fans, Tony Drago looks a decent bet at 4-1 to be top European points scorer, while my annual wager on Rodney Morris to be the top American will be going on again at the same price.

And if you can get evens about Earl Strickland losing his temper with his opponent and the crowd, get your mortgage on. The American is a volcano waiting to erupt.


RECOMMENDATIONS: Mosconi Cup, Tony Drago to be top European points scorer, 4-1 (Coral), Rodney Morris to be top American points scorer, 4-1 (Coral).






HOT favourite Austin Healey’s eviction from Stricting Come Dancing came as something of a shock and the bookies reckon it has paved the way for Tom Chambers to take the title.



The ex-Holby City actor is the new favourite at 8-11, with Rachel Stevens 9-4 and Lisa Snowdon 6-1.

Incidentally, with speculation mounting over the future of presenter Bruce Forsyth, a book has been opened on the identity of the next host.

Graham Norton (pictured) is the favourite at 7-2, while the rank outsider is Ken Livingstone at 500-1. I can’t decide whose appointment would dismay me more.

As for the X Factor, Alexandra Burke seems to have a steely grip on the competition and has been backed down to 8-13 favourite ahead of Eoghan Quigg (7-2) and boy band JLS (4-1)