It’s the 4^th  of July Daily Sports Roundup headlined by the Wimbledon finals schedule.  The Yankees host the Blue Jays, the Sprint Cup Series races at Daytona, and the Williams sisters hit the court at Wimbledon.

In Atlanta it’s the Peachtree Road Race, though there are no betting odds.

Wimbledon final odds…

It’s Serena Williams versus Venus Williams. The Wimbledon betting odds has Venus -165 in the All-American final.

Meeting up in the Junior Circuit  . . .

The Yankees will be looking to get a second straight win from Chien-Ming Wang (1-6, 10.06 ERA) when they host the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. Righthander Wang picked up his first victory of the season in a start against the Mets last time out, allowing two earned runs on four hits in 5 1-3 innings of work. Wang will be in tough Saturday, though, as the Jays counter with ace righthander Roy Halladay (10-2, 2.56 ERA), who has allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of his past 10 starts. Toronto has won 10 of Halladay’s 15 starts this season.

Also on the American League’s holiday slate for Saturday: Seattle at Boston, the White Sox at Kansas City, Oakland at Cleveland, Tampa Bay at Texas, Baltimore at the Angels, and Detroit at Minnesota. The Tigers will send Edwin Jackson (6-4, 2.49 ERA) to the mound against the Twins’ Francisco Liriano (4-8, 5.62 ERA).

Taking the field in the Senior Circuit . . .

Tim Lincecum (8-2, 2.37 ERA) will be gunning for his third straight victory on Saturday afternoon when his Giants play host to the Astros and Russ Ortiz (3-3, 3.36 ERA). Righthander Lincecum has gone the full nine innings in three of his past four starts, allowing just four earned runs over his past 35 innings pitched. Righthander Ortiz has surrendered only seven earned runs over his past three outings (20 1-3 innings), but Houston managed to drop all three of the contests.

Rounding out the National League slate for Saturday: Atlanta at Washington, Milwaukee at the Cubs, St. Louis at Cincinnati, the Dodgers at San Diego, Pittsburgh at Florida, Arizona at Colorado, and the Mets at Philadelphia. New York’s Fernando Nieve (3-1, 2.25 ERA) will take the mound in the battle of division rivals, while Philadelphia will counter with Jamie Moyer (6-6, 6.05 ERA).

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Roaring around the track . . .

The Sprint Cup Series races under the lights on Saturday night, as Daytona International Speedway hosts the Coke Zero 400. Kyle Busch, the defending champion at this event, is pegged as the 5/1 Vegas favorite to visit victory lane again on Saturday, while Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are right behind him at 6/1. Tony Stewart rounds out the top tier of contenders to win the Coke Zero 400 at 8/1 odds; Stewart holds a 69-point lead on Gordon in the driver standings.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, the Wimbledon women’s final will be played out at the All England Club on Saturday, with Venus Williams taking on sister Serena for the title. Venus had no trouble dispatching top-seeded Dinara Safina in the semi-finals on Thursday, winning 6-1, 6-0. Serena, on the other hand, had to sweat out a 6-7, 7-5, 8-6 win over fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva. The oddsmakers like the elder Williams to get another Wimbledon title Saturday, as she’s been pegged as the -165 favorite.

The UFC 100 fight card seems a mile away, but not to worry; we can pass the time this Fourth of July weekend by betting on baseball. Let’s make some Saturday picks.

Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees

Saturday, July 4, 1:05 p.m. ET

Roy Halladay (10-2, 2.56) vs Chien-Ming Wang (1-6, 10.06)

Has sinkerballer Chien-Ming Wang turned a corner? He was a nightmare in April and May but Joe Girardi stuck with him. Now, he’s “rewarded” Girardi but returning at least to league-average numbers. Over his last three starts, he has an almost serviceable 4.76 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Can he handle the Jays on Saturday?

Well, even if his sinker works, Wang will have to be brilliant to beat Roy Halladay. Doc will likely be on a strict pitch count as he recovers from a groin injury, but he’s a bona fide Yankee killer. In 31 career starts against New York, Halladay is 16-5 with a 2.79 ERA, five complete games and two shutouts. That’s a full season worth of dominance against a powerful team. You have to pick the Jays in your MLB predictions for Saturday.

MLB betting pick: Blue Jays

Tampa Bay Rays @ Texas Rangers

Saturday, July 4, 8:05 p.m. ET
David Price (2-2, 3.93) vs Vicente Padilla (6-4, 4.75)

It’s a tough time to be a Rangers fan, as Texas has dropped precipitously in the standings since a hot May. The news probably won’t get better Saturday; the Rangers not only face the highest-scoring team in the majors, but also a pitcher seemingly designed to specifically dominate them. David Price struggles with his control sometimes and posts the occasional ugly start, but those outings come against patient offenses who exploit his wildness. The Rangers are just about the least disciplined lineup in the league, though. They’ll hack away at Price’s devastating arsenal of pitches. Sportsbook software projects a blowout win for Tampa—sorry, Vicente Padilla—and double-digit strikeouts for Price.

MLB betting pick: Rays

Wimbledon finals betting is sure to take some of the spotlight this weekend, but look out for fireworks on Saturday night, when the Sprint Cup series head to legendary Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400. Kyle Busch won last year and is one of the favorites again, but one of Daytona’s favorite sons will return for a much-needed win under the lights.

Daytona Odds - Saturday, July 4, 7:30 PM ET

Busch is rated at +700 to repeat at the Coke Zero 400, a feat last achieved by Tony Stewart in 2005 and 2006. The No.18 driver is coming off an eventful seventh-place run at New Hampshire in which he caused a big accident on one of the double-file restarts. He may have some problems finding people to draft with him, which is essential to success at restrictor-plate tracks like Daytona, as well as Talladega. However, he has three top-fives in four Daytona summer races, so betting software will obviously have his back.

Speaking of Stewart, the points leader also has Daytona odds of +700 after finishing fifth at New Hampshire. The No.14 driver has five top-10s in 10 Daytona summer races, including his back-to-back wins, and it seems that only a big wreck will derail the Stewart train.

Hendrick will be running at the front as Jeff Gordon (+800), Jimmie Johnson (+950) and Mark Martin (+1500) are all experienced plate-rack drivers. Gordon has three wins in this race, and six all-time at Daytona, and he would have beaten rookie Joey Logano at New Hampshire if not for the rain showers.

However, the Hendrick driver to watch out for when making your sports picks is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is the Daytona betting favorite at +650. Earnhardt Jr. won this race in 2001, which was the first race at Daytona since his father died in the 500 at the beginning of the season. His finishing average of 12.4 in nine Daytona summer races is fourth among active drivers, but the guys in front of him (David Ragan, Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch) have combined to make nine summer trips to the 2.5-mile superspeedway. He’s arguably the best plate racer in NASCAR, and despite a disappointing 27^th-place finish in the 500, Earnhardt Jr. won one of the qualifying duels, and he finished second at Talladega. Take “Junior’s” Daytona odds this weekend.

Wimbledon Betting – Top Four Seeds Remaining On Women’s Side

While many people are shifting their focus to NFL odds, UFC odds, Wimbledon is in the spotlight for the next few days. All of the buzz around the water cooler has been whether the Great Brit Hope, Andy Murray, will finally be able to break through and win for his fans or whether it will be Roger Federer once again. And on the women’s side, what started as a storyline is quickly becoming a reality as the Williams sisters are on a collision course for the finals.

On the men’s side, Feder, Murray, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick are all still present as they will curtail the field to a final four tomorrow. There’s a good chance Federer and Murray will be there as most handicapping software has projected that those two will be in the final.

Federer will take on Ivo Karlovic on Thursday while Murray – and his thousands of fans on Mount Murray – will take on veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero. Roddick will battle Lleyton Hewitt, which should be an exciting match. Hewitt has been another big storyline in Wimbledon as he is playing the quarter-finals for the first time in three years.

He might be a little spent facing Roddick after he needed five sets to down No. 23 seed Radek Stepanek.

On the women’s side, it looks like it will be an all-Williams sisters final as neither Venus nor Serena has even lost a set yet. Both will take on Russians in the sem-finals as Venus will take on No. 1 seed Dinara Safina while Serena will take on No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva.

Interestingly enough, all top four seeds on the women’s side are in the semi-finals, which means the system worked. The best players remain but the Williams sisters should dominate.

Those making their sports predictions know that Dementieva is a patsy and always falls short at Grand Slams. She’s never won a Grand Slam and typically fails in the semis.

On the other side of the draw, Safina will take on Venus and it might not be the matchup people expect. Safina has been pushed to her limits in her last two matches, going the full three sets with an unseeded German and No. 17 seed Amelie Mauresmo.

Safina might be a little more fatigued than Venus and considering Venus owns Wimbledon to begin with and hasn’t even lost a set either, should lead to another finals for her.

The PGA Tour is heading to Tiger Woods’ tournament: the AT&T National, which will be held over the July 4^th weekend.

The golf betting crowd will be looking to make some money but the proceeds from the actual event are just going to charity, so this event isn’t another corporate shill. The charity, of course, being the Tiger Woods Foundation, which creates and supports community-based programs that improve the health, education, and welfare of all children in America.

The field should be a little more stocked than last week’s Travelers Championship, where most of the big names skipped the event. Kenny Perry pulled out the win but the field was admittedly weak as there were a lot of golfers who passed on the Travelers after a long, rainy week at the Bethpage Black for the US Open.

Last year, those who bet on sports might recall that Anthony Kim got his second career PGA win at this event. At that point, a lot of pundits felt that the youngster was going to be a dominant force for years to come on the PGA Tour.

That has been far from the case.

Kim started the year with a bang, tying for second at the Mercedes Championship but it has gone downhill from there. Since then, he has zero Top 10 finishes and just four other Top 25 finishes.

The good news is two of those have come in the last two weeks with a tie for 16^th at the US Open and then a tie for 11^th at the US Open.

I’m betting management isn’t particularly happy with the overall field at Woods’ tournament. Obviously Tiger will be there, as will Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and US Open winner Lucas Glover, but most of those guys are brand names who were better in the past.

Woods should have an easy time dominating this field and a lot of sports predictions will put his name beside them.

Look for Woods to get on the board after a poor showing at the US Open.

Both CBS and The Golf Channel will carry coverage of this event this week. This is the third major event on the PGA Tour sponsored by AT&T.

AT&T National Previous Winners
2008 – Anthony Kim
2007 – K.J. Choi

It’s time to preview the USA’s huge soccer match against Brazil and review the NBA draft from the bettors standpoint.

In what has to be considered one of the most unlikely matches, Sunday’s FIFA Confederations Cup final finds the United States doing battle with Brazil. It was going to be either Brazil or South Africa, but in Thursday’s semifinal between the two teams Daniel Alves scored with just two minutes left to give Brazil the much needed (1-0) win over South Africa.

The Confederations Cup final goes down Sunday at 2:30 ET and if the United States hopes to win, they’re going to have to score. Plain and simple. Brazil is 13-1 in head-to-head meetings with the United States and has outscored the U.S. 26-8.

Ready to put some action down on the United States? Bodog has the odds up.

The live NBA odds may be on hiatus for now, but the NBA handicapping never ends.

This was the weakest NBA draft in recent memory, with no sure-fire superstars and a lack of depth. That meant a lot of wild action from contenders in terms of trades.

The L.A. Clippers were a winner on this night. They landed the best player in Blake Griffin and that has to help turn the franchise around - right?

After just two winning seasons in 30 years and a dark history of draft futility, Griffin seems like a perfect cornerstone for the Clippers.

The Chicago Bulls improved on draft night. They are building around rookie of the year Derrick Rose, using two so-so picks to acquire athletic ability and versatility inJames Johnson and Taj Gibson.

The Denver Nuggets had no first-round pick and for a while looked content to deal away their second-rounder and take the night off. Instead they made a move to improve their team, grabbing point guard Ty Lawson of North Carolina.

Check out the sportsbook NBA futures odds.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Baseball wraps up its interleague schedule, and the drivers of the Sprint Cup Series race in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.  The Wimbledon betting odds remain hot.  So check out the Wimbledon TV schedule and crush the bookmakers.

The United States faces Brazil in the finals of the Confederations Cup. Start time is 2:30 EST and a win would be the biggest ever for the US soccer team outside of World Cup play. The USA-Brazil betting line is the United States +600 according to BetUs, the top sportsbook.  

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

Francisco Liriano (3-8, 5.88 ERA) will be looking to pick up a second consecutive victory on Sunday when the Twins finish off their road series against the Cardinals and Joel Pineiro (6-8, 3.40 ERA). Lefthander Liriano grabbed his first win since early May last time out, holding the Brewers to three earned runs on seven hits over five innings of work. Righthander Pineiro snapped a five-game skid last time out, pitching a shutout and giving up just two hits against the Mets.

The Rays will try to get David Price (1-2, 4.45 ERA) back into the win column on Sunday when they host the Marlins and Andrew Miller (2-3, 4.17 ERA). Lefthander Price is 0-2 with two no-decisions over his last four starts, and he was knocked around for 10 runs (five earned) over just 4 1-3 innings versus the Phillies last time out. Lefthander Miller was stuck with a no-decision against the Orioles in his last start despite allowing just one earned run over seven innings.

Meanwhile, the ESPN primetime matchup on Sunday is Yankees/Mets, with Chien-Ming Wang (0-6, 11.20 ERA) taking on Livan Hernandez (5-2, 4.05 ERA). Righthander Wang was tagged with his third consecutive loss last time out against the Braves, surrendering three earned runs over his five innings of work. Righthander Hernandez also picked up a loss in his last trip to the mound, despite giving up just three runs (two earned) in seven innings against the Cards.

Rounding out the MLB interleague slate for Sunday: Cincinnati at Cleveland, Philadelphia at Toronto, Washington at Baltimore, Kansas City at Pittsburgh, Boston at Atlanta, Detroit at Houston, the Cubs at the White Sox, Colorado at Oakland, Seattle at the Dodgers, the Angels at Arizona, and San Diego at Texas. The Giants and Brewers will also finish off their three-game NL set in Milwaukee.

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Roaring around the track . . .

The drivers of the Sprint Cup Series will be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Jimmie Johnson is pegged as the 6/1 Vegas favorite to take the checkered flag on Sunday; Johnson won twice at New Hampshire back in 2003. Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon both sit at 7/1 odds to visit victory lane, with each of Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, and Tony Stewart pegged at 10/1 odds. Greg Biffle, who won the Sylvania 300 on the track back in September, is tied with Carl Edwards at 12/1 odds to get the win again this week.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, there are just a pair of games on the WNBA schedule for Sunday, with Detroit hosting Sacramento, and Seattle hitting the road to take on Los Angeles. The Sparks are expected to be without center Lisa Leslie for the next couple of weeks because of a sprained knee. Los Angeles forward Candace Parker also remains out of action on maternity leave; she is expected back sometime in July.

If you like interleague baseball lines, you have to get your bet on before it’s too late, as this weekend marks your last chance for 2009. Let’s have a look at a few of the top games to bet on this Saturday.

Saturday, June 27, 4:10 p.m. ET
Tim Wakefield (4.47) vs Javier Vazquez (5-6, 3.18)

Javier Vazquez’s stats look a lot like Johan Santana’s this season, don’t they? He’s especially strong at Turner Field this season, posting a 3.21 ERA and whiffing 68 batters in just 53.1 innings. He’s in tough against the Red Sox—especially against J.D. Drew, who hits .417 off him with four homers in 24 at-bats. I still like the Braves to win this game, though. Wakefield hasn’t pitched well away from Fenway park this season and he has trouble getting Garret Anderson out. Anderson has five homers and 15 RBI against him in 69 career at-bats. Go with the better pitcher here.

Sportsbook pick: Braves

Saturday, June 27, 7:05 p.m. ET
Barry Zito (4-7, 4.54) vs Seth McClung (3-1, 3.24)

Barry Zito has to be frustrating if you make MLB predictions. He pitched well in may (3.35 ERA) yet went 1-4; in June, he has a 6.10 ERA yet is 3-1. It’s thus hard to forecast San Francisco’s fate when Zito starts—at least, it usually is. On Saturday, we know what we’re getting. Zito gets lit up every time he visits Milwaukee. He has a 10.05 ERA in three starts and has lasted just 14.1 total innings over that span. Three Brewers regulars—Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Bill Hall—have a lifetime OPS over 1.000 against Zito.

You could try to argue that Seth McClung is too unproven to trust, but your typical sportsbook software should show you that the numbers are overwhelmingly against San Fran here. Go with the Brew Crew.

Sportsbook pick: Brewers

It’s time for the weekend baseball card and with the great help of super book Bodog here are some tremendous baseball handicapping previews.

Starting out with the Seattle Mariners-Los Angeles Dodgers, the MLB odds has the Dodgers and Kershaw -180 with a total of 8-over -115.

In danger of losing three straight for the first time this year, the Los Angeles Dodgers are set to activate Eric Milton from the disabled list to start the opener of a three-game interleague series with the Seattle Mariners tonight.

Los Angeles lost the last two games of a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox, dropping the finale 6-5 in 13 innings Thursday.

Milton will make his first start since facing Philadelphia on June 5, when he gave up three runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings of Los Angeles’ 4-3 win.

Milton is 1-5 with a 9.41 ERA in nine starts against the Mariners, but this will be his first appearance against them since 2002.

The Mariners are also expected to activate catcher Kenji Johjima from the DL. Johjima, who has been out since May 26, may be behind the plate to catch Jason Vargas.

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Huge pitching mismatch based on pitcher’s OPS against, an angle that is +203.0 units. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick   

Onward to the Rockies-Athletics in which Bodog has Oakland -138 with a total of 8.5 under.

Matt Holliday will face the Colorado Rockies for the first time as the Oakland Athletics and Rockies open a three-game series tonight.

Holliday is hitting .197 with no homers, two RBIs and 11 strikeouts over his last 17 games.

The Rockies have overcome Holliday’s departure and the firing of manager Clint Hurdle on May 29 to move back over .500. After winning 17 of 18 from June 4-22, however, they’ve dropped back-to-back contests.

The Rockies will be trying to get back on track against an Athletics team that’s been held to three runs or fewer in eight of its last 15 games, batting .220 and going 5-10 in that stretch.

Oakland will try to bounce back behind Dallas Braden, who is all too familiar with his team’s problems at the plate. Braden posted a 2.87 ERA in his last seven starts, but Oakland went 3-4.

Jason Hammel will start for the Rockies.

The Red Sox are at the Atlanta Braves in one of the best baseball betting games of the weekend.

After the Boston Red Sox had their four-game winning streak abruptly halted Thursday, the AL-leading club hopes that Josh Beckett can spark another string of victories when they open a three-game set against the Atlanta Braves.

The righthander is 5-0 with an 0.45 ERA in his last six starts against Atlanta, holding the Braves without a run in five of those outings.

The Red Sox still hold a four-game lead in the AL East after winning two out of three against the Nationals. They’ve won 16 of 22 overall, losing back-to-back games just once over that span.

They also took two of three from the Braves at Fenway Park last weekend, improving to 10-3 in their last 13 against Atlanta.

Jair Jurrjens will get the start for Atlanta and will try to pick up a staff that allowed a total of 19 runs in the last two games against the Yankees.

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Of course there is the Subway Series. he left arm of CC Sabathia will be in the spotlight tonight, when the New York Yankees’ high-priced ace tries to rebound from an injury-shortened outing as his team makes its first appearance at Citi Field against the New York Mets.

Sabathia left Sunday’s outing at Florida after 1 and 1/3 innings with a strained left biceps.

He’ll face a Mets team looking for revenge after the Yankees beat up ace Johan Santana en route to a 15-0 win in the deciding game of their series at Yankee Stadium on June 14.

The Mets will hand the ball to Mike Pelfrey after the righthander allowed four runs in five innings Sunday against Tampa Bay.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is close to a milestone, needing one more save to join Trevor Hoffman as the only players with 500.

The Yankees are listed as -170 favorites in this one at Bodog.

It seems most of the headlines are coming from entertainment world. Tippy Tom of Opie and Anthony infamy died. The world speculates at the cause of Michael Jackson’s death and awaits word in his funeral arrangements.

Meanwhile, the Maria Belen Chapur pictures have been found and Farrah Fawcett Playboy images are resurfacing.

Florida teams do battle as MLB’s interleague play continues.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

Cubs starter Randy Wells (1-3, 2.57 ERA) will be looking to pick up his second consecutive win late on Friday afternoon when his team begins a cross-town road series against the White Sox and Jose Contreras (2-6, 5.23 ERA). Righthander Wells beat the Indians in his last trip to the mound, holding the Tribe to two earned runs over his 6 2-3 innings of work. Righthander Contreras lost to the Reds last time out despite allowing just three earned runs over his six innings.

The other intra-city struggle on Friday has the Mets playing host to the Yankees. Mike Pelfrey (5-2, 4.74 ERA) will get the ball for the Mets in that contest; the righthander took a no-decision vs. the Rays last time out (four earned runs over five innings), and the team is just 1-3 in his last four trips to the mound. The Yankees will counter with CC Sabathia (6-4, 3.71 ERA), although the big lefthander has been dealing with a sore bicep and might end up being skipped.

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Meanwhile, the Sunshine State teams will also clash on Friday, with Josh Johnson (7-1, 2.66 ERA) and the Marlins taking on James Shields (6-5, 3.36 ERA) and the Rays in Tampa Bay.  Righthander Johnson has given up three or fewer earned runs in 14 of his 15 starts so far this season, and his team is 12-3 when he takes the hill. Righthander Shields beat the Mets in his last outing, but he gave up four earned runs on 12 hits in 6 2-3 innings vs. the Marlins on May 24.

Elsewhere around baseball on Friday it’ll be Washington at Baltimore, Cincinnati at Cleveland, Kansas City at Pittsburgh, Philadelphia at Toronto, Boston at Atlanta, San Diego at Texas, Detroit at Houston, Minnesota at St. Louis, the Angels at Arizona, Colorado at Oakland, and Seattle at the Dodgers. As well, the Giants will be in Milwaukee to take on the Brewers in an NL-only series; San Fran’s Matt Cain (9-1, 2.28 ERA) is set to meet Yovani Gallardo (7-4, 3.00 ERA).

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, the WNBA offers up four games on Friday night, with Detroit at Atlanta, Indiana at New York, Los Angeles at Seattle, and Sacramento at San Antonio. The Silver Stars got guard Becky Hammon back from the Russian national team on Tuesday night, and she tossed in 19 points in the team’s 91-87 home win over Phoenix. San Antonio improved to 2-3 straight-up but sit just 1-4 versus the line.