Get in the Game USA

After weeks of speculation the 76th Annual Academy Awards is nearly upon us, and there are no prizes for predicting that Lord of the Rings will take the Best Film Award (now priced at 1/20), while Peter Jackson must already be practicing his acceptance speech for Best Director (again 1/20!). The Best Actor award, however, now appears to be wide open, after sustained support for Johnny Depp over the past week (now 11/4), behind Bill Murray (13/8) and Sean Penn (5/6). Penn has arguably put in the best performance here for his role in Mystic River, but it is common knowledge that the Academy has taken a `dislike' to him - and the feeling is mutual! Anyone who took my advice on Charlize Theron for the Best Actress award two weeks ago will be glad to know that she is now 1/4 from 1/10, while Renee Zellweger (Cold Mountain) is 1/6 from 2/5 for Best Supporting Actress. And the winner is...

Patrick Elias and the Devils are struggling to reach the heights of last season, and the defending champions face a tough trip to the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night. The Blues are in danger of missing the play-offs for the first time in 25 years, and on Tuesday fired Coach Joel Quenneville, replacing him with assistant Mike Kitchen on an interim basis. On Saturday they slide into Vancouver for a key play-off battle against the Canucks.

Join us for live betting for this and on the following games, where our markets will include: Puck Line; Game Total; Next Goal Scored; Most Shots on Goal; Who Will Win the Period; and Next Period Total:-

NJ Devils @ TOR M Leafs 29 Feb-00:00 GMT
STL Blues @ VAN Canucks 29 Feb-03:00 GMT
PIT Penguins @ NY Islanders 29 Feb-21:00 GMT

bet365 latest Stanley Cup prices...COL Avalanche 7/2, Red Wings 5/1, Senators 6/1, others on site

The NY Nets seasonal record breaking run of 14 wins finally came to an end on Wednesday night after succumbing to the Minnesota Timberwolves (68-81), but they still find themselves challenging Indiana for favouritism at the top of the Eastern Conference.

bet365 prices...Pacers 7/4, Nets, 12/5, Pistons 11/4, others on site.

Sunday night's live NBA game has the Seattle Supersonics taking on the Rockets at the Houston Arena. Join us for live betting on this and the following college games this weekend, where our markets will include: Point Spread; Game Total; and Who Will Win the Quarter:-

St Josephs @ Rhode Island 28 Feb-17:00 GMT
Florida @ Arkansas 28 Feb-21:00 GMT
SEA SSonics @ HOU Rockets 29 Feb-20:00 GMT

bet365 latest NBA Championship prices...Lakers 11/10, Kings 3/1, Timberwolves 11/2, others on site

The Florida Marlins will set out to defend their improbable World Series Championship as 25/1 chances here at bet365, when their regular season starts on April 6th. They will once again be under the care of Jack McKeon, who at 73 is the oldest manager to win a World Series! The NY Yankees will start the season as favourites at 11/4, but as their spring training kicks into gear at Legends Field, only four players remain in the side from the original 96 club that began their incredible championship run - six World Series appearances in the past eight Octobers. One of those players, catcher Jorge Posada, an American League MVP candidate last year must learn the ins and outs of four newcomers after eleven players left the Yankees over the winter.

bet365 prices...NY Yankees 11/4, BOS Red Sox 11/2, CHI Cubs 13/2, ANA Angels 11/1, others on site.

With the spring training schedule nearly upon us, bet365 have come up with some interesting Seasonal Specials:-

AL Cy Young (best pitcher) 2004...P Martinez (BOS Red Sox) 5/2, C Shilling (BOS RedSox) 3/1, J Vasquez (NY Yankees) 6/1, others on site.

AL MVP 2004...A Rodriguez (NY Yankees) 7/2, V Guerrero (ANA Angels) 6/1, G Sheffield (NY Yankees) 6/1, others on site.

NL Cy Young 2004...M Prior (CHI Cubs) 7/2, J Beckett (FLA Marlins) 5/1, K Wood (CHI Cubs) 5/1, others on site.

NL MVP 2004...A Pujols (STL Cardinals) 4/1, S Sosa (CHI Cubs) 5/1, J Kent (HOU Astros) 11/2, others on site.

Most Regular Season Home Runs...Alex Rodriguez 7/2, Sammy Sosa 4/1, Albert Pujols 9/2, others on site.

This week's Accenture World Matchplay is already under way but that doesn't mean that you cannot still get involved. Outright and match prices will be available daily after each round, with IN-RUNNING betting available on selected matches during TV coverage. A word of warning, however, last year's victory by Tiger Woods was the first by anybody seeded among the top ten of this 64-man knockout competition. In fact only 58% of the matches played over the last five years have been won by the higher seed, so don't be afraid to go for the underdog. The likes of Singh, Mickleson and Goosen do not have good records here and could be worth taking on in their matches. Last year's USPGA Championship winner Sean Micheel, although seeded to meet Tiger in the quarter-finals, may be a decent long-shot after showing glimmers of his best form recently.

The other event stateside this week is the Chrysler Classic of Tucson, but with no TV coverage planned we shall not be betting IN-RUNNING on this event. However, outright prices will be available after each round along with a selection of 2/3 balls. My pre-tournament pick this week has to be the talented but frustrating Jeff Maggert (rarely wins), who has been showing decent form of late, and who could be inspired by his imminent milestone 40th birthday on Friday. Also, expect a good showing from former University of Arizona star Rickie Barnes, 18th here last year as an amateur!

bet365 pre-tournament show...J Daly 10/1, J Maggert 18/1, R Barnes 33/1.

With NASCAR taking a week off, the main racing stateside is the Toyota Indy 300 at the Miami Speedway, the opening race of the new Indy Racing League. With an open look to this year's series it would be no surprise to see another Championship go down to the final race with five or six drivers still in contention. Roger Penske, who took his team out of the struggling cart series three years ago, is still looking for his first Indy Car Series Championship. However, his team has been strengthened by the addition of Sam Hornish Jr, champion of the 2001 and 2002 titles, and it would be no surprise to see Hornish open his account at the first attempt for his new team, ahead of team-mate Helio Castro Neves.

Bet365 prices...Hornish Jr 3/1, HC Neves 4/1, R Buhl 3/1, S Dixon 11/2, others on site.