The most reassuring part of the Murray performance was the apparent ease with which he moved and his movement never showed any sign of problems. Win the win he has benefitted with an easy quarterfinal contest against the unseeded Juan Ignacio Chela.  Murray can expect to advance to the semifinals with relative ease.

Roger Federer made his way back into the French Open semifinals. He will get an opportunity to end Novak Djokovic’s perfect season. The 16-time Grand Slam champion made it in five straight-set wins in a row at Roland Garros. He made it to the next round by beating Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

In 2009, Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open. However, last year he lost to Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals, which ended his streak of 23 straight major semifinal appearances.

Defending champion Francesca Schiavone came back to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. She could not even lie down on red clay, as her legs were so weary. On Thursday, France’s Marion Bartoli will be Schiavone’s opponent in the semifinals. Bartoli is currently performing at her best at the French Open. She defeated 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

2011 French Open odds have seen some exciting results. The best odds are Novak Djokovic 19/20, Rafael Nadal 233/100, Roger Federer 36/5 and Andy Murray18 . For the women Victoria Azarenka 2, Maria Sharapova 323/100, Francesca Schiavone 10/3, Marion Bartoli 8 and Na Li 12.

In Premier League Betting US odds, Manchester City is a -185 moneyline favorite, Stoke City is a +525 underdog, and a Draw is at +280.

For their surge this season, Manchester City can thank Joe Hart. By making him one of the top goalies in the Premier League, the stellar goalie has allowed just 33 goals this year. Though the team can still score offensively, Manchester City has not been as impressive. Carlos Teves is the clear offensive threat on this team as he leads the club with 19 goals and nobody else has half of that goal total.

In the top ten of the league, Stoke City is looking to secure a finish. By coming off a 3-1 win over Arsenal, they are playing well. By making Stoke City a tough team to score against, Goalie Asmir Begovic has improved. The team has no double digit goal scorers offensively. Even though other players are capable of hitting the net as well, Kenwyne Jones leads the team with nine goals.

Both offensively and defensively, Manchester City has an advantage and they are also playing at home. Earlier this season the two teams played to a draw. To decide the FA Cup, they will also meet three days before this game at Wembley Stadium. Over the course of those days, there should be plenty of drama between the two teams and the EPL duel figures to be as intense as ever.

In Soccer Betting Odds, Manchester United is a +140 favorite and Chelsea a +200 underdog.

In contention Chelsea has won their last five EPL matches to get back. With goalie Petr Cech regaining his edge they have looked scary lately. In his 35 starts he has allowed just 28 goals. Chelsea has found rhythm as well offensively. Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda have carried the offense. Fernando Torres has adjusted to the team in addition. Chelsea looks unbeatable with the way they are playing in all phases.

All season Manchester United has played consistently well. Goals will be at a premium as Edwin van der Sar has been solid in goal all season for the team. By leading the team in goals, Dimitar Berbatov has been the big star. Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney have also made large contributions on offense in addition. In the soccer world the team is among the most explosive.

It will say a lot about who wins the championship as this is a huge showdown. With the lead in the standings Manchester United has the advantage. Between the two in league play though, Chelsea won the first match. By winning both legs of their Champions League quarterfinal, Manchester United defeated them twice since then. Both teams will be playing hard for it as this game is all about the EPL title.

In baseball picks, the Phillies are among the top favorites to win the World Series at 3-1.

Even though the Mets have shown signs of resurgence recently, they have definitely struggled to start the season. The Mets have now won 4 games in a row as after starting the season 5-13, they have bounced back.

For the Mets much of the turnaround has been centered on the fact that their team finally is getting healthy. The New York Mets had been without Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay at full strength. Bay is activated from the Disabled List and both hitters have looked fantastic since their return as Beltran is finally playing every day again. David Wright has certainly looked great since they’ve been back as their return has given more protection to him in the lineup.

It is no secret that the Phillies’ success is based on their pitching staff as they are atop the National League with a 15-7 record. At 73, they are tied with Oakland for the fewest amount of runs allowed this year. In almost every game, the Phillies have 3 ace-caliber pitchers and another solid pitcher in Cole Hamels that allows them to throw a top notch player.

For this series, the Phillies are scheduled to have Blanton, Halladay and Lee on the mound. Before two of the Phillies’ aces take the mound the Mets will need to jump on Blanton and try to get momentum in the series.

In MLS Betting Odds, the Galaxy is a slight +172 moneyline favorite and the Fire is a +180 underdog.

The Los Angeles Galaxy certainly hopes to repeat such a performance as they compiled the most points last season. Ending games with ties has been the biggest nuisance for the Galaxy so far though. Los Angeles played the most games than any other team in the league by early April. With only 1 point in three of six total games played though the Galaxy were able to leave the pitch. Actually with ties, L.A. finished the last two games.

As it appears the Galaxy can’t quite conquer the area that separates draws from victories. The last game ended against Toronto F.C. was a scoreless tie, which had to do with the absence of captain Landon Donovan due to a knee injury as for example. David Beckham will not be in the lineup against Chicago as he was given a yellow card at BMO Field. On Sunday, the Fire can take advantage of the absences of the Galaxy’s leading players. By failing to create any productive scoring opportunities in the last game against Toronto, additionally, L.A.’s striker Juan Pablo Angel hasn’t been as effective lately.

Even though Chicago Fire started April with a 2-1 loss against the Sounders, they finished March with two solid wins (one U.S. Open Cup victory). Especially from striker Diego Chaves, who has scored three goals this season, coach Carlos de los Cobos will want his team to bring an aggressive game on the field on Sunday.

In NHL betting odds, the Flyers are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, at 7-1.

The Flyers look like they will walk out of the season with the best record in the Eastern Conference as they have been dominant all season. They have played one game less than Washington has with only a few games left to play as they are currently 3 points ahead of 2nd place Washington. In the playoff race the Flyers would need an absolute melt down to lose their position.

As every team below them has already been mathematically eliminated from the playoff race, the New Jersey Devils are on the brink of mathematical elimination. They are 12 points behind the Buffalo Sabres for the last playoff spot with three other teams in line ahead of them as they are 29 points behind first place Philadelphia in the standings.

At this point the Devils can only play for pride. If they were able to win some games to finish the season it would be very good for their franchise. If they are able finish strong this season they may be able to establish some momentum and expectations for their fans entering next season.

So long as the Flyers play their normal style of game they should be able to win this game. They should be able to take care of business in New Jersey as they are a great team.

19th-seeded Ana Ivanovic will face 15th seed Bartoli in the quarterfinals. Ivanovic beat fellow Serb and the defending champion Jelena Jankovic by 6-4 6-2.

Roger Federer barely broke a sweat and Novak Djokovic extended his match win streak to 16, powering their way into the Indian Wells fourth round with straight-set wins.

With back-to-back aces, Djokovic capped his 6-0, 6-1 flattening of Ernests Gulbis. In the $9 million WTA and ATP Masters Series 1000 tournament, against Juan Ignacio Chela, Federer had an equally easy time winning by 6-0, 6-2. Djokovic has won all 14 of his matches this year, the aces were an ideal exclamation point to a perfect season. It has been an unstoppable year for Djokovic and he is looking to secure his second Indian Wells title.

Fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy was defeated by No. 10 seed Shahar Peer of Israel by 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3). No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus got by No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Other men’s winners were No. 12 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych, and No. 16 Viktor Troicki. Richard Gasquet overwhelmed No. 10 Jurgen Melzer by 6-1, 6-3.

Sports betting odds for Indian Wells WTA tournament have Caroline Wozniacki at 81/50, Ana Ivanovic at 10/3, Victoria Azarenka at 13/2, Maria Sharapova at 9, Yanina Wickmayer at 11.

In the men’s singles, the betting odds are Rafael Nadal 13/8, Novak Djokovic 11/5, Roger Federer 371/100, Juan Martin Del Potro 19/2 and Andy Roddick 20.

Caesars witnessed a fourth quarter loss of $196.7 million. The company had a profit of $295.6 million in the similar period the preceding year and the fourth quarter loss signified a sharp decline. For Caesars, the main cause for distress is the Atlantic City casinos.

Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz said that for the next couple of years, Caesars revenue would be directly tied to their Atlantic City properties. Caesars will likely see their revenue numbers leap, if the AC casino industry can bounce back from the depression. He added that the recent resurrection of Las Vegas would also help them.

Following record declines from the time when Caesars was taken private in a January 2008 buyout, Las Vegas casinos are starting to recuperate. After Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman broadened maturities in a series of balance sheet streamlining, slashed debt and lessened costs, Caesars abandoned a planned initial public offering last year.

Caesars said in the statement that by the ongoing impact of the feeble economy on customers, the gains from the addition of Planet Hollywood, bought a year ago, were compensated. They added that Las Vegas has shown signs of stabilization and improving operating margin, which is a positive sign.

In the United States, Caesars’ results are indicative of the gambling market and consumers’ comfort with flexible spending. From a peak of $10.8 billion in 2007 to $8.9 billion in 2009, Harrah’s saw its revenue plummet 18 percent. As people traveled and gambled less, total gambling revenue for U.S. commercial casinos toppled 10 percent over that period.

Even though Caesars is still trying to recuperate from agonizing downswings in tourism and gambling revenue, its’ plan to search for financing indicates that its executives think now is the right time to invest in Las Vegas.

Griffin as a fighter in Season 1, and Franklin as a coach in Season 2, Forrest Griffin and Rich “The Ace” Franklin were two of the first stars to emerge from “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show. From that exposure, each of them has gone through ups and downs and they have become two of the mixed martial arts’ most popular fighters. Both the fighters favor a stand-up fighting style and they are coming off serious injuries.

A win at UFC 126 will not put the fighters immediately into title contention. As long as it is not a blowout, a loss would not be as devastating to their headliner status because of their popularity.
The result of a broken arm was Franklin’s long layoff. The incident happened in a bout with Liddell, which required several months of downtime to heal properly. “Ace” recently told MMAJunkie.com that his forced vacation might have been a good thing although Franklin admittedly became restless during his injury-induced layoff.

Forrest is stuck at the moment and after the Silva defeat, he has not been much clearer. Forrest will no doubt look to use his obvious size and strength advantages to the full, although he is desperate to get back to the form that saw him batter Rampage.

Look for Griffin to get the fight to the cage, even though Franklin is certainly the better striker. Rich will take every opportunity to use Franklin to use his muay thai skills in the close range before throwing knock out lefts and rights, although Franklin will be no slouch at the cage.

With fans, Griffin has always been popular but his chances of ever reclaiming the belt in that stacked division seemed to be dwindling because of the back-to-back losses to Rashad Evans and Anderson Silva two years ago.

In basketball betting lines, NCAAB Odds are not yet available.

The Wildcats are led by a phenomenal guard in Jacob Pullen. The problem for the Wildcats is that Pullen has not been the knockdown shooter for them that he was last season. There were times last season when it looked like Pullen was unstoppable.

This season Pullen is shooting just 43 percent overall and 33 percent on three point shots. The Aggies will need to keep Pullen off of his game in this one. If Pullen finds a rhythm the Wildcats are good enough to beat anyone.

The Aggies are not particularly good at any one thing, but they are solid at everything. Before playing against the Wildcats they will have to take on 11th ranked Texas. This game will likely have a large effect on the play of the Aggies against the Wildcats. If the Aggies win they will have a lot of momentum going into their game on Saturday. If they lose the Wildcats will have some film to look at to exploit the Aggies.

Neither team has a guy that grabs a lot of rebounds per game. If either team is able to find a player that can dominate the boards the other team will have a hard time in this one.