Fabio Capello today insisted he is still happy dealing with the most important challenge of his life, despite the latest scandal to hit the England team.It is understood the Football Association are reviewing security procedures after an apparent secret recording of conversations between players and coaches before the Egypt friendly came to light. The FA have yet to make a complaint to the police about the bugging, reportedly at The Grove hotel in Hertfordshire, because they are still waiting to have access to the recording. They have, however, taken legal steps to ensure the conversations remain under wraps.

Capello refused to answer direct questions on the subject today, labelling it a “private problem”, but, speaking at the Laureus Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi, the Italian said: “It’s a challenge always to be England manager, but the challenge for me is always important because, at my age, without a challenge I stay home and can go on holiday.

“I like the challenge and this will be the most important challenge of my life. To be England manager was one of my dreams and I am really happy to be England manager. I would not swap my position with (Italy coach) Marcello Lippi, I prefer to be England manager.”

Manchester United striker Michael Owen will not play again this season after pulling his hamstring in the 2-1 Carling Cup win over Aston Villa.

The 30-year-old, who scored United’s equaliser at Wembley, pulled up while chasing a pass in the first half.

The injury all but ends Owen’s hopes of playing for England at the World Cup.

“It is more serious than we thought. I think the heavy pitch at Wembley played some part, but it’s also bad luck,” said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Owen, who will have one year remaining on his two-year contract at Old Trafford at the end of this season, was initially expected to be out for only a few weeks, but will now undergo surgery on Monday.

He said: “I have loved every minute of my first campaign with Manchester United and have already enjoyed some memorable moments.

“I am determined to come back at the start of next season in peak condition.”

Owen, who has scored 40 goals in 89 games for England, admitted in February that he was not expecting to be included in coach Fabio Capello’s 23-man World Cup squad for South Africa.

He last played for the national side in March 2008 in a 1-0 friendly defeat by France, but has not featured in a squad since.

“It’s been a long time since I was in the England squad. You never give up but it’s probably a long shot in racing terms,” Owen told BBC Sport last month.

And that call seems even less likely now, considering Capello said he would only recall Owen if he was playing regularly for United.

Owen, who has struggled with groin, ankle, thigh, hernia, metatarsal and knee ligament injuries in the past, had not missed a training session this season following his surprise move to Old Trafford on a reported pay-as-you-play deal in the summer.

But the 2001 European footballer of the year found starting chances limited, with 20 of his 31 appearances this season coming as substitute.

However, he has scored nine goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick in the Champions League win against Wolfsburg and an injury-time winner in September’s Manchester derby before Sunday’s equaliser in the Carling Cup final.

A virus has swept through the England ranks this week and Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll is determined to leave Twickenham after Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash without the sickening feeling of defeat.

Ireland’s 33-10 defeat to France not only ended the defending champions’ Grand Slam bid but it also halted an impressive 13-match unbeaten run put together by Declan Kidney’s side.

But the Irish still hold an Indian sign over England in recent years with five wins in their last six meetings and O’Driscoll, who will be facing Lions teammate Riki Flutey in the midfield, believes Saturday’s encounter will be balanced on a knife edge.

He said: “England are never a bad side. Any time I’ve played against them and beaten them it’s usually been by one score or less, whether it be one or two points or five on a couple of occasions.

“That just shows you really have to be on your game if you’re to beat them. They showed two years ago over there what they can do.

“Now they’re starting to build some confidence. They’ve got two wins from two now, so it’ll be a tough game

“There’s nothing ever in the game. The only time there was ever anything in the game was that one time when they did beat us two years ago.

“Looking back on all the games we’ve had and we’ve won, we realise that we’ve played pretty well in them and tried to cancel out any attacking options England may have had.”

Full-back Geordan Murphy returns to international action for Ireland in the absence of the injured Rob Kearney while Declan Kidney has selected Jonathan Sexton over the experienced Ronan O’Gara at fly-half.

In the pack, the suspended Jerry Flannery is replaced by Rory Best and lock Donncha O’Callaghan comes in for Leo Cullen, who drops to the bench.

While Ireland were disappointing in defeat against France, England seemed to attract more criticism for their 17-12 victory over Italy.

Statistics made grim reading for the England hierarchy with 35m gained with the ball in hand while only 126 passes were completed compared to Italy’s 138.

But Steve Borthwick, who captains an unchanged starting XV, says the only statistic that counts is in the win column with one more victory equalling England’s best run in the Six Nations in six years.

He said: “Our job is to win rugby matches and develop as a team

“Pressure and criticism comes on this team, but we are a tight group, we go out on the training field and we work very hard.

“Ireland have had success, they have a level of cohesion, they have traits we want but we, as an England team, are developing our own way.”

In a blow to its marketing strategy in the rapidly expanding Italian gaming market, Austria’s Bwin is to cease its sponsorship of AC Milan from next season after the Italian football giant signed a four-year deal to replace bwin with Dubai’s Emirates airline in a deal worth at least €60 million.

The AC Milan squad is full some of the best footballers in the world and the superstar players have paid a number of visits to the home of Emirates, Dubai, to escape the chill of European winter, to train and to enjoy the warmth of UAE and the airline’s in-flight and on the ground services.

“When Emirates became one of our sponsors, the relationship that linked the two companies grew and evolved, thanks to a common vision and common objectives. Today, we have reached the most important target – Emirates has become our shirt sponsor and positions its brand on the most successful club in the world. This choice shows that the global values of the AC Milan brand and the quality of our offering keeps on attracting the most dynamic and innovative international companies.”

- Executive Vice President and Managing Director of AC Milan, Adriano Galliani

Bwin were sponsoring AC Milan €15 million a season. But it would seem that the €60 million for 4 years was to

The biggest search for a singing superstar is back… and it’s just got a whole lot BIGGER!

The nation’s favourite talent show has at long last returned, but this year it’s not just The X Factorjudges the contestants will have to impress if they want to follow in the footsteps of Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke and JLS, because now the auditions are taking place in front of live audiences in packed arenas across the country.

The first act to try out the new nerve-wracking format were Lithuanian sisters, the Dreamgirls, who had moved from their homeland in east Europe just so they could audition for The X Factor.

A brave plan some might say, but one that crucially involved a glaring oversight: the Dreamgirls can’t actually sing. After murdering the Robbie Williams hit Angels, the part-time models were sent packing after Simon compared their singing to cats being squashed!

Not the best of starts, but the judges’ moods were lifted considerably when 19-year-old Stacey Solomon delivered a heartfelt rendition of What A Wonderful World.

“I didn’t expect you to be that good!” Cheryl told the Essex girl, and when these sentiments were echoed by the other three judges Stacey realised she was through to bootcamp.

Next up was the familiar figure of Emma Chawner, the teenager who had been rejected from the show on two previous occasions in 2007 and 2008… however this time the resilient young lass had a secret weapon that she hoped would make her progress to the next round a case of third time lucky – her big sister, Sam.

But when it transpired neither of them could sing, Emma found herself trudging back offstage with four resounding NOs ringing in her ears… she was however determined to come back next year and do it all again!

We were then treated to the honeyed tones of Joseph McElderry, who impressed the judges hugely with his fantastic take on Luther Vandross’ Dance With My Father.

“You’ve just made the competition very, very exciting!” Louis beamed after his excellent audition.

Cheryl agreed, telling the young man from South Shields: “I’m really proud you’re representing our city.”

Simon finished off the praise stating: “We may just have found ourselves a popstar.”

Who do you think will take the top spot this year? Who will win the coverted prize, and be crowned Winner of X factor 2009?

The betting to Win Only looks like this:

The panel of power has been reassembled and the fabulous four are ready and waiting to make and break the dreams of those brave enough to take them on… and this year they’ve enlisted some help from the great British public!

That’s right. Not only do this series’ hopefuls have to face Simon, Louis, Dannii and Cheryl but also the stage, the spotlight and thousands of screaming people, ready and waiting to voice their opinions.

Who will be the winning Manager? Who can help produce the one with the X Factor!:

“Day 47 in the big brother house…”

As Fridays evictions passes with Karly being given the boat, her boy friends gets to stay. The odds have all changed again. Freddie (aka Halfwit) is odds on favourite at 2/1, with Siavash close behind at 3/1. This week is going to be an interesting one with more surprises coming from Big Brother.

The betting as it stands looks like this:

So who do you think can take it all the way? Why not place a bet now and make eviction night a great night for you both!

AYR officials were forced to abandon racing on Monday afternoon after seven of the 12 runners came down upon entering the home straight bend during the third race.

Heavy rain had fallen before the meeting on what was good to firm ground and two of the horses slipped, while the others were brought down. Balwearie brought five horses down when being the first to slip up and fall, while Neon Blue, who was in the rear at the time, slipped independently and unseated Amy Ryan. Darfour was another horse to slip independently, but he managed to stay on his feet and finish, despite rider Daniel Tudhope losing his irons amid the chaos.

All seven horses who came down got to their feet but Joe Fanning, who was on board the brought-down All In The Red, broke his collarbone in the incident. The race was won by 12-1 chance Whaston.

An inspection and stewards’ inquiry took place afterwards, during which the track was deemed unraceable.

Ayr officials said their decision to abandon was in the interests of safety and stressed they would be “delighted” to let horses test the course before racing in the future.

Stuart Morrison, a director at the track, told Racing UK: “It is terribly frustrating, and it was an horrific incident, I’ve been going racing for 40 years and I’ve only seen one comparable and that was at Hamilton 20 years ago.

“I think it is the right decision in the end because it shoots the confidence of the jockeys as they see their colleagues fall.

“The incident was in the straight, I have to stress, and the stewards have made that quite clear – it was a fall as the horses came into the straight.

Ian Ferguson, head of public relations at the track, added: “Speaking just after the abandonment, the public probably don’t have much confidence in the racecourse atthe moment and it is up to us to give them that confidence back.

“There was rain before the first race and whether that caused the problem we don’t know, it was in the straight and it probably involved a tiring horse as well – there’s a lot of things to take into consideration.”

Those involved in the 1m2f handicap expressed their unhappiness at the outcome.

Jockey PJ McDonald, who came down on Northside Prince, said: “It’s a disgrace.”

Monday’s fiasco was also the latest in a catalogue of calamities forracing over the past three weeks, headlined by the abandonment of Worcester and Uttoxeter after just one race on July 1 and 7 respectively.

On a baking hot day, Worcester was forced to call its meeting off after it took 800 gallons of water to revive Highland Laddie and the course could not meet the demand for water for the day’s other runners. Racing at Uttoxeter was abandoned after heavy rain left two course crossings unsuitable for racing and then an ambulance got stuck in the mud. Racegoers were angry that it took nearly an hour after the first race for the decision to be taken.

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Roger Federer is still the hot favourite to win Wimbledon 2009 according to the latest betting odds but Andy Murray is still well capable of causing a minor upset by defeating him in the final. Matches are still being played and the 4th round is now in play.

Federer Looks Good For Sixth Title

The best price that Roger Federer can be backed at currently is 4/7 with Bet365. Federer has looked impressive so far but so he should given the calibre of opposition he has faced. He won Wimbledon five times in a row before being defeated by Rafael Nadal in the final last year. With no Nadal in the tournament this year it is no wonder he is such a short price.

73 Years Of Hurt For British Fans

Andy Murray is hoping to be the first British champion in 73 years and according to the odds he has a great chance. He is currently the second favourite to emerge as Wimbledon champion and he can be backed at 15/8 with Bet365.

Murray Should Reach The Final At Least

The most likely final is Federer v Murray, but there are a lot of facters still to play out. Robin Soderling vs Roger Federer are still to play out the 4th round match at 1pm today, with Federer at 1/25 and Soderling at 9/1 theres still some good odds to be had.

Check out the full list the latest prices

As for the money involved, it’s good to remember that when you place a bet, the shorter the odds the better chance of winning, but also smaller returns from a winning bet. With bigger odds, you don’t need to stake very much to win a lot.

Think of the 2nd figure in traditional odds as being what you are staking and the 1st figure as the profit you’ll get back.

For Example

So, odds of 1/3 show that for every £3 you stake, you get £1 profit back if you win. However, at 1/1 (Evens), you would double your money – £1 back for every £1 you stake.

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How to beat the bookies

Understanding odds may mean you understand betting better but how do you make better bets? Well, the idea is always to try and beat the bookmaker. Here’s how:

• Do your homework. You may know more about an event than they do which suggests their odds are wrong – a little bit of research can be very profitable.

• Shop around. You may find better odds on what you want to back elsewhere. Different bookmakers often offer different odds on the same events.

• Act fast! If you have a feeling something is going to win, then the chances are a lot of other people do too. The bookmaker’s odds change all the time according to the volume of bets coming in and new information coming to light. If you get wind of a good thing, then the favourable odds aren’t likely to last long.

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