When Frank Mir and Roy Nelson tangle, two of the most recognizable names in the heavyweight MMA scene will fight at UFC 130 May 28 in Las Vegas.

Since losing to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 in a fight for the UFC heavyweight title, Mir, 14-5 in his career, has won two of three fights. He knocked out Mirko Filopovic at UFC 119 as well as he forced Cheick Kongo to submit at UFC 107. At UFC 111, his last loss was via knockout to Shane Carwin.

Including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, boxing, Kenpo Karate and wrestling, Mir is a former heavyweight champion who uses a variety of styles in the ring. Via submission, he has won eight of his 14 fights.

Even though Nelson also has quick-strike capability that has led to eight knockouts, he is 15-5 in his career, has the ability to force opponents to submit, winning five fights that way. His style is a mix of Shaolin Kung Fu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Nelson lost to Junior dos Santos by decision at UFC 117 in his last fight after beating Brendan Schaub in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter and then Stefan Struve at UFC Fight Night in March 2010.

Both fighters are moving into the late stages of their MMA careers as they are in their 30s. In this fight, a victory for either one could propel the winner to a shot at the top of the division. This fight is a -115 pick’em in UFC 130 Odds.

Rick Story boldly asked for a step up in competition after defeating Johny Hendricks in December 2010 as he wanted to fight the third ranked welterweight in the world, Thiago Alves. Story will get his wish at UFC 130 in Las Vegas May 28.

In UFC lines, Alves is a -210 favorite and Story is a +165 underdog.

By using his mix of Muay Tai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu styles, Alves, 18-7 in his career, has 11 knockouts. In his division, his quick-strike capability has made him one of the more dangerous fighters. Even though Alves had lost his previous two bouts, including a title shot against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100, he beat John Howard in his last fight at UFC 124.

Alves represents his toughest test yet in his UFC career as for Story his desire to fight Alves was simple. Story will head into his fight with Alves on a five-fight winning streak as his strength is wrestling and he has a 12-3 career record. Including names like Jon Fitch, Alves, St-Pierre and B.J. Penn, Story has been on a quest to prove he’s as good as the top competition in his division.

Story will have to give Alves as little space as possible to avoid the punishing quick strikes that Alves is known for in order to defeat Alves, who is known for his training habits. As Alves is really strong at takedown defenses, Story also will have to work to get Alves on the ground.

In the second leg of their Champions League semifinal battle, Barcelona host Real Madrid. In the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu last week, Barcelona holds all the cards following their controversial 2-0 victory. To move ahead in the final at Wembley, defending a two-goal lead at home, make the Catalans huge favorites.

Real Madrid will have to implement a more belligerent stance than they did in the Bernabeu, though they will not switch their team about in too great a fashion for this encounter. Mesut Ozil must be given a more critical role, while Emmanuel Adebayor should be deployed in attack to unsettle the home defense with his physical attributes.

Jose Mourinho will not be in the dugout following his dismissal last week, while Pepe and Sergio Ramos are both banned, posing troubles to the defensive unit. Midfielders Sami Khedira and Fernando Gago are injured.

It is worth commenting on the fact that Barcelona will have some serious injury apprehensions ahead of the second-leg of the Champions League semi-final, before mentioning the pride excitement, belligerence and stupidity of El Clasico matches. Eric Abidal, French left back is unavailable following surgery, while Skipper Carles Puyol is out. Real Madrid need to collect at least two goals against the Barca side cannot afford to be left lacking at the back. However, Andres Iniesta is likely to make an appropriate come back.

The internet sportsbooks betting sites have Barcelona as favorites. In the betting picks, Barcelona is 7/10 and Real Madrid is 21/5.

The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles meet in a three-game series this weekend. These two teams are division rivals in the AL East and it should be a solid series as these two teams have had decent starts to the season.

The Yankees are an 8-1 favorite to win the World Series in MLB Futures but don’t forget to check out live betting USA for some in play action.

The AL East is definitely one of the tougher divisions in Major League Baseball as they have a lot of talent in the division. The Yankees are atop the division with a 9-6 record on the season. They are the only team in the division with a record better than .500.

The Orioles are at 7-9 on the season, but that is actually a better start than many people thought they’d have. With so many talented teams, most people thought they would be in the cellar of the division, but they are still 2 games ahead of the Red Sox in the standings.

The Orioles have a number of veteran hitters that have been stars in the past and may have the potential to be good again. Vlad Guerrero, Andruw Jones and Derrick Lee are all former all-stars and could find their place again with the Orioles. If they do, they’ll be a tough match for any team they face this season.

The Yankees have played 11 of their 15 games at home this season and they’ll have to show that they can win on the road against the Orioles. They are just 1-3 on the road to this point in the season and they may struggle as they head out to Baltimore.

The No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference was secured by the Chicago Bulls by defeating Cleveland Cavaliers 93-82 with the assist of a 24-point and 11-rebound performance from Carlos Boozer.

Derrick Rose added 11 points and eight assists for the Bulls, while Ronnie Brewer had 12 points. For the first time, the Bulls won all the games in the season series from Cleveland, ever since winning all four meetings in the 1995-96 regular season.

Through the first three rounds of the National Basketball Association playoffs, the Bulls will have home-court benefit. Chicago has now won 18 of the last 20 games. This was their six successive win. From the time when the Michael Jordan-led team of 1997-98, the Bulls had not finished with the best record in the East.

With 22 points and 15 rebounds, J.J. Hickson led the Cavaliers. For the league’s most awful record, Cleveland Cavaliers dropped into a tie with Minnesota.

Point guard Derrick Rose had a quiet game with 11 points and eight assists, while Boozer had 24 points and 11 rebounds Friday. Rose remains the desired one to capture the league’s MVP Award.

Chicago will have home-court benefit through the first three rounds of the playoffs, which has won six straight and 18 of 20.

The Bulls has six players score in double figures and they are winners of 9 of 10 on the road.

On 10 April 2011, Chicago Bulls will face Orlando Magic. NBA betting lines have received a ton of action these last few weeks. The best betting odds for the Bulls are 7/19 and for the Magic 22/19.

With hopes of duplicating the success they had in 2010 the Texas Rangers will enter the 2011 season. After winning the American League West with a 90-72 record the Rangers qualified for the playoffs. They had an amazing run through the playoffs and managed to become the representatives for the American League in the World Series and truly had a dream season after the regular season.

This season baseball picks have the Rangers at +2000 odds to win the World Series.

There is reason to believe that they will struggle to duplicate last year’s success, while you might think that they should be on track for having another great season. Cliff Lee is a main contributor to that reason. Lee carried the Rangers through the postseason as he had a fantastic season. The Rangers may struggle with their starting pitching without Lee.

In Vladimir Guerrero the Rangers also lost one of their best hitters. Guerrero drove in more runs than anyone on the team as he was a force in the middle of the lineup. With Adrian Beltre they did manage to replace him. Beltre has shown flashes of potential that are unmatched by all but a few players in Major League Baseball while he has been inconsistent over his career.

If Brandon Webb is able to return to form the Rangers may be able to overcome the loss of Cliff Lee. Even though he has been forgotten following an injury, he was formerly the ace of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Although it may not be enough if they can’t stop their opponents from scoring runs the Rangers have all of the talent in the world on offense. In MLB betting odds the Texas Rangers are favorites to win World Series.

Top seed Rafael Nadal endured to post a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) triumph into the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters by resisting a barrage of 23 aces off the racket of Croatian strongman Ivo Karlovic.

Spain’s Tommy Robredo had to pull out the match against Argentine Juan Del Potro. He experienced an adductor muscle strain in two places, which will also compel him to miss the forthcoming Miami Masters.

On Friday, the two other quarterfinals will be staged. 12th-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka will face second-seeded former No. 1 Roger Federer and high-flying Novak Djokovic will take up the challenge against 18th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet. On Wednesday, the Frenchman overwhelmed American favorite Andy Roddick.

This year has been an ideal one for Djokovic. He has won titles at the Australian Open and Dubai. In December, he led Serbia to it’s first-ever Davis Cup championship and in 2008, he was the Indian Wells champion and runner-up in 2007.

Marion Bartoli reached the BNP Paribas Open semi-finals with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over former world number one Ana Ivanovic. Maria Sharapova managed to grasp out a painful 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win over China’s Peng Shuai for a semi-final place, even though she fell short to convert on eight of 10 break points and committed 13 double-faults.

Tennis betting lines have received a lot of action these last few weeks for the on-going Indian Wells championship. The odds for Stanislas Wawrinka 33, Novak Djokovic 19/10, Roger Federer 21/5, Rafael Nadal are 44/25 and Juan Martin Del Potro 7.

In the women’s singles, the odds are Marion Bartoli 7, Yanina Wickmayer 11/2, Maria Sharapova 4 and Caroline Wozniacki 73/100.

This weekend, the Dallas Mavericks will battle against the Los Angeles Lakers. In the Western Conference, these two teams are two of the top teams. At 46-17, the Mavericks have the 2nd best record in the conference. At 45-19, the Lakers are a game and a half behind the Mavericks in the standings.

Both teams each have high hopes going into the playoffs as they have been great as of late. Even though the Lakers have now won 7 games in a row and look like a championship contender, they were counted as dead by a lot of experts. The Mavericks have now won 9 of their last 10 games and also many people thought that the Mavericks were on their way out.

They each like to run a half court offense as these teams are similar in that. Even though the Mavericks have learned to win games on the defensive side of the court, the Lakers have an offense that is a bit more potent. Between two great teams this game should be a good battle.

In this game Andrew Bynum will be a major factor. He has been rebounding the ball extremely well while he has not scored many points in the last few games. As he has a decided size advantage over Tyson Chandler, he has the potential to dominate the boards in this game.

The Lakers will need a win in this game to do it as they are really shooting to pass the Mavericks. If these teams meet in the playoffs, the Lakers will have home court advantage if they pass the Mavericks.

To win the NBA Championship this season, LA and Dallas are among the favorites in Basketball Picks.

Soccer fans at Emirates Stadium witnessed a good match between Arsenal and Barcelona. The former team grabbed a 2-1 victory and a fully deserved point. The results also indicate that in the UEFA Champions League, for the first time Arsenal bagged a successful win at home.

Barcelona failed to deal with Arsenal squad’s cross from the right. In-form Gael Clichy made full use of this opportunity by firing superbly lofted ball down the left channel. However, Barcelona played brilliantly in the first half. In the 26th minute, came the first goal. David Villa continued onside slot it into the back of the net, with Arsenal’s defense sound asleep.

Prior to this match, Barcelona was never beaten by Arsenal. David Villa scored a goal in the 26th minute. A goal by Lionel Messi was disallowed as well. On 78th minute, Robin van Persie, on the field with great pace, scored a goal from the narrowest of angles to make it 1-1. The goal that resulted in Arsenal victory came from Ashravin in the 83 rd minute. His header killed off the match for Barca. Arsenal’s remarkable comeback was aided by Szczesny, who had been smart to save a couple of solid Barca chances.

At the weekend, record of sixteen straight victories in La Liga for Barcelona was broken. In this season, this was their second significant defeat. Barcelona had been in best of forms and was alleged to be the current best squad in the world.

David Villa claims that it was unfortunate that Barcelona lost to Arsenal in their UEFA Champions League clash. He felt that Pep Guardiola’s side was the one, which with a first-leg lead should have headed home.

On 8th March, Barcelona will play against the Gunners and they will be looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit. Villa believes that his team should have made more opportunities to score in London. He is confident that Barca will book their place in the quarterfinals, succeeding over the course of the two-legged tie.

Meanwhile, Arsenal next game is with Leyton Orient in the FA cup match. The Gunners will be full of confidence after beating Barca. The best betting odds on Arsenal FC is 33/100 and Leyton Orient is 9/1, as on various betting sites.

The 22nd annual Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament has already confirmed a star-studded line-up. The event kicks off on February 8. some of the world’s top players from the European Tour, the current champion from Spain, Miguel Angel Jimenez and, of course, Tiger Woods from the US will take part in the event.

Tiger Woods looks ahead to his first competitive round outside the United States of the 2011 season. With fifteen months without a victory, rash of former sponsors and countless blows to professional and personal pride, it has been a harsh year for the Tiger.

At the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego was Woods’s last competitive appearance. At the start of every season, he had traditionally used to remind his peers of his superiority. The title was once held by Woods, back in 2008 and he wants to win it back. He added that the he would be forced to play his best game because of the quality field.

To promote a golf resort in Dubai, Tiger Woods received $55.4m from UAE developer Tatweer, just 24 days before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. To promote the Tiger Woods Dubai resort, documents seen by Arabian Business reveal that Woods was originally paid $26,250,000, following a contract first signed on 20 June 2006.

However, both Woods and Tatweer signed an “Amendment to Golf Course Design and License Agreement” on 22 August 2008 and as per the agreement Woods’ company ETW (Eldrick Tiger Woods) would be paid “the sum of $70m as a promotional fee”, on top of the $26,250,000 already paid to Woods’ company ETW.

As per the agreement within ten days of the agreement being signed, $26,166,177 would be paid to ETW and $14,583,333 would be paid to ETW within ten days of Woods appearing at the official opening of ETW.

In addition, the new deal stated that “the Parties hereto agree to keep confidential the fact that ETW has agreed to waive its right to receive the Chosen Development Unit”, although the new deal stated that Woods would no longer receive a villa on the resort.

As per the new deal if Woods agrees to develop a second golf resort with Tatweer, then Woods’ company would receive a “one-time fee of $28,800,000”. To Woods, the potential value of the new deal was worth $98.8m in total, which is more than the $92.2m he had earned in prize money up to 2008.

22nd annual Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament kicks off on February 8 and the top ten Bodog Betting Odds are Martin Kaymer 9-2, Tiger Woods 11-2, Rory MclLroy 6-1, Lee Westwood 10-1, Alvaro Quiros 16-1, Edoardo Molinari 25-1, Miguel Angel Jimenez 28-1, Ross Fisher 33-1, Sergio Garcia 35-1, Peter Hanson 40-1.