Dad’s the word for Rocket

GANGLAND-related murders have little place on the sports pages of this newspaper, but please bear with me as this is going somewhere.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, the most talented man ever to pick up a snooker cue, is 7-2 to regain the World Championship in Sheffield next May and that is a price which really ought to be snapped up.

And here’s why . . .

The Rocket’s dad is one Ronald John O’Sullivan, who in 1992 was convicted of murdering the Kray Twins’ brother Charlie’s bodyguard in a Chelsea night club.

After the judge insisted he serve at least 18 years in jail for his crime, O’Sullivan senior is soon to be released.

O’Sullivan junior, who readily admits he suffers from bouts of depression, will have a huge weight lifted from his shoulders once his dad is out of prison.

And a happy, focused Rocket could prove unbeatable on the green baize, especially over the longer matches of the World Championship.

I admit this is a rather bizarre reason for recommending a bet, but none other than Jimmy White said the same thing recently and I have always maintained that if O’Sullivan plays to his best, he is unbeatable. And 7-2 is simply too big.

ATHLETIC have been written off by the bookies for their visit to high-flying Charlton on Saturday.

Despite three wins and a draw in their last four fixtures, Dave Penney’s men are rated 5-1 shots to win at The Valley.

Last Saturday’s goalless draw at home to Yeovil was disappointing for Athletic, but they are still well positioned in League One and Paddy Power offer a fair 11-1 about them clinching promotion.

As for the Premier League, Chelsea are back in to 11-8 to win the title following their 2-0 defeat of Liverpool on Sunday.

Manchester United have drifted to 23-10 after dropping two points at home to Sunderland, while free-scoring Arsenal are 6-1 and the vanquished Liverpool 9s.

Manchester City, who maintained their impressive form with a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Monday, are 10-1 - the lowest price they have been so far this season.

SUPER League’s Grand Final between Leeds and St Helens at Old Trafford should be a cracker and the bookies reckon the trophy will be going across the Pennines.

Leeds are 4-7 to come out on top on Saturday night, with Saints on 13-8.

A word of warning, however. Outsiders have a good record in the final so those writing off Saints may wish to think again.

CRICKET’S Champions Trophy fell into Australia’s lap, what with South Africa’s early demise, India’s lengthy injury list, England’s semi-final batting collapse and New Zealand’s late loss of inspirational skipper Daniel Vettori with a hamstring injury.

OK, I admit it, I don’t get much joy from seeing the Aussies carry all before them and much of the above reflects that.

As an England cricket follower and, being fearful of another period of domination by Australia, I tend to cling on to any crumb of comfort such as injuries to key players, the retirement of others or surprise defeats at the hands of Bangladesh (remember that one?).

But I suspect the Aussies are about to become the dominant force of world cricket once again, certainly in the one-day game.

It is surprising, then, that they are as big as 5-1 to retain the World Cup in India in 2011.

The hosts are 7-2, with Sri Lanka on 6-1, South Africa 13-2, Pakistan 15-2 and England and New Zealand on 14s.

EVEN though I am not a fan of vote-athon television shows, I do have some time for Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor.

Perhaps it’s their shared pursuit of excellence which grabs my attention.

The programmes’ aims seem to be in stark contrast to those of fellow viewer-voting shows Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, both of which have me shaking my head that a sane adult can actually watch such drivel.

I tune in to Strictly more often than the X Factor, but I know there are lots of people who watch one and video the other so, for those out there who do so and also happen to like a bet, here are the leading odds for the winners of both shows . . .

SCD - 11-8 Ricky Whittle; 7-2 Ali Bastian; 10-1 Laila Rouass; 12-1 Phil Tufnell.

XF – 7-2 Lucie Jones; 9-2 Stacey Solomon; 5-1 Danyl Johnson; 6-1 Jamie Archer; 8-1 Olly Murs.

RECOMMENDATION: Ronnie O’Sullivan to win 2010 World Snooker Championship, 7-2 (Betfred).