American wildcard Venus Williams, 31, crashed out of the Madrid Open. She went down 6-4, 6-1 to German 12th seed Angelique Kerber in round two. Williams suffered from auto-immune disease and she had pulled out of both the Malaysian Open and the Australian Open, before reaching the quarter-finals in Charleston and Miami.

Despite the “early” start time of 11:00 am, Serena Williams secured a 6-3, 6-1 win in her opening match against Russia’s Elena Vesnina. With a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic, reigning women’s champion Petra Kvitova kick-started her title defense. The third-seeded Wimbledon title-holder made it into the second round in 67 minutes, producing 28 winners and firing five aces.

China’s Li Na had a smooth progress. She beat Spanish hope Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-3, 6-1. with a tough three-set win over American teenager Christina McHale, Samantha Stosur survived another midnight encounter to reach the third round of the Madrid Masters. Second-ranked Sharapova swatted aside the 56th-ranked Begu who was making her debut in the Spanish capital. The Russian will be looking at Roland Garros starting later this month to complete her collection of Grand Slams. It is the only one of the four that she has not won.

13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic brushed by Mathilde Johansson of France 6-4, 6-1, while the 12th-seeded Angelique Kerber beat Johanna Larsson 6-1, 6-4 to advance to a second-round match with Venus Williams. In a 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-4 win over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan, sixth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki served six aces. American Varvara Lepchenko upset 11th seed Francesca Schiavone 6-4, (8) 6-7, 6-3 and Roberta Vinci of Italy defeated 14th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-2.

Other winners included Yanina Wickmayer, Nadia Petrova, Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Shahar Peer, Maria Kirilenko, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Czech qualifier Andrea Hlavackova, Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi, Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova, Italian Sara Errani and Lucie Hradecka.

The Womens Mutua Madrid Open Outrights have odds – V Azarenka-3; M Sharapova-53/10; Serena Williams-5; Petra Kvitova-7; Samantha Stosur-19.

It appears that both Danny Briere and Nicklas Grossmann will return to the Flyers’ lineup for Game 1, after missing the last three games of the regular season. On April 1, both got hurt in the Flyers 6-4 win at Pittsburgh. Ilya Bryzgalov will be making his first career appearance at Consol Energy Center. This season, Bryzgalov appeared in three games against the Penguins, but they were all at Wells Fargo Center. Last season, he did not play in Pittsburgh while with the Coyotes. Consol Energy Center is only two years old.

With the Coyotes, Bryzgalov won only three of 11 playoff games. He was 0-4 last season with a 4.36 goals-against average and .879 save percentage. He is also coming off an injury (chip fracture in his right foot) that limited him to playing in only two of the final six regular season games. However, after the All-Star break, he won 15 games and posted a 1.84 GAA.

The Penguins went into the playoffs without Sidney Crosby (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (knee) in the last season. They are now hungry and healthy with Game 1 looming. In 75 games, Malkin won the Art Ross Trophy with 109 points. Against the Flyers, he had nine points in six games.

In 14 games, Crosby has 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) since making his second celebrated return to the lineup this season. With 37 points in 22 games, he finished his regular season including four points in three games against the Flyers.

Pascal Dupuis brings a 17-game point-scoring streak into the playoffs. He will start the series on Crosby’s wing. James Neal and Steve Sullivan should be ready to go for Game 1 after each missed the last two games of the regular season.

Neal (lower body) and Sullivan (lower body) should be OK for Pittsburgh while Briere (back) and Grossman (back) should be clear for the Flyers. The Flyers are still without James van Riemsdyk (left foot) and Andrej Meszaros (back). Ben Lovejoy (knee) has been cleared, although the Penguins are not sure when Matt Niskanen (upper body) will return.

The best betting odds for the Flyers are 17/11, while for the Penguins 3/5.

The Rangers are continuing to lead the Eastern Conference by the slimmest of margins over the Pittsburgh Penguins, although the Wild are eliminated from the postseason contention. The Rangers and the Pens are separated by only one point; therefore, beating teams like the Wild is very important, if New York has any hope of staving off the blistering-hot Pens.

On Saturday, the Rangers picked up a 4-3 shootout victory in Toronto, although John Tortorella did not think it was a pretty win. In this season, the shootout victory improves to 9-2-2 in the second half of back-to-back games this season. Tortorella credited the win to the defense and penalty-killing unit, although Marian Gaborik scored twice, including a beauty off a great pass from Brad Richards.

Minnesota led the NHL on Dec. 12 with a 20-7-3 record and 43 points. Since that point, in the League’s bottom five in the standings, the Wild are 11-27-7 and in the mix for a draft lottery spot. They have won two in a row at Xcel Energy Center, although they have dropped two straight. The Wild lost in Washington on Saturday as they lost Matt Cullen to a broken finger during a 3-0 loss.

Coach Mike Yeo said that he is sick of talking about injuries and he feels it is ridiculous. He added that it stinks to lose Matt Cullen and to have guys out of the lineup. He further added that they have a job in their hands. Coach Mike Yeo said that he is sick of talking about injuries and he feels it is ridiculous. He added that it stinks to lose Matt Cullen and have guys out of the lineup. He further added that they have a job in their hands.

Coach Mike Yeo said that he is sick of talking about injuries and he feels it is ridiculous. He added that it stinks to lose Matt Cullen and have guys out of the lineup. He further added that they have a job in their hands.

The Rangers recently lost Mats Zuccarello to a broken wrist. The wild injury list is quite long. Pierre-Marc Bouchard (concussion/groin), Mike Lundin (sports hernia surgery), Guillaume Latendresse (post-concussion symptoms) and Jarod Palmer (upper body) are on Minnesota’s IR. Against the Caps, Matt Kassian, Niklas Backstrom and Justin Falk all missed the game.

This month, Wild has allowed 10 power-play goals in 12 games. They have an abysmal 74.4 percent and they have only been shorthanded 39 times. The Rangers in their past 19 chances have just two power-play goals, one of which came off an end-to-end rush by Brad Richards.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.