Delaware casinos to begin sports betting next week
DOVER, DEL. » Delaware will begin full-scale sports betting next week, wasting no time after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for states to implement wagering schemes.
Full-scale sports betting will begin at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Delaware’s three casinos, officials said Thursday. The offerings will include single-game and championship wagering on professional baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, golf and auto racing.
“Obviously the key is going to be the football season because the bulk of betting in America is on football,” state Finance Secretary Rick Geisenberger said Thursday. “We’ll learn a little bit in June and July, but we’ll learn a lot more in September.”
Delaware was able to get a quick start because of prewritten sports betting legislation that was passed in 2009 and a pre-existing wagering system that offers multigame parlay bets on National Football League games.
Washington tops Oklahoma in WCWS
OKLAHOMA CITY » Washington freshman Gabbie Plain threw 5.2 shutout innings, and the Huskies defeated two-time defending national champion Oklahoma 2-0 in the Women’s College Softball World Series.
Oklahoma senior pitcher Paige Parker, who had an 8-0 career record in WCWS play, got the loss after giving up three hits and one run in six innings. The Sooners (55-4) had won 16 straight games but will now play Arizona State in an elimination game on Saturday. OKLAHOMA CITY »Shannon Rhodes’ three-run homer in the sixth inning helped topseeded Oregon (53-8) defeat Arizona State (48-12) 11-6.
Samba’s 400 hurdles fastest in a decade
ROME » Abderrahman Samba of Qatar ran the fastest 400-meter hurdles in nearly a decade, surging ahead of a stellar field to set a Diamond League record at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet Thursday.
Samba trailed world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway before bursting into the lead around the final turn at the Stadio Olimpico to clock 47.48 seconds.
It was the fastest time in the event since Angelo Taylor ran 47.25 to take gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Zidane quits as Real Madrid coach
MADRID » Zinedine Zidane quit as Real Madrid coach, less than a week after leading the team to its third straight Champions League title, saying the club needed a change in command.
The 45-year-old Zidane, who was coach for two and half seasons, said he felt it was the right moment — for him and for the team — to make the move.
“This club needs a change to keep winning,” Zidane said. “With me it would have been complicated to keep winning.”
It was a surprising announcement by Zidane, who won nine titles as Madrid coach, including the three Champions League titles.