sportsbook.com
Sportsbook . (http://www. Known for The Harris Poll(R) and for pioneering Internet-based
research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research
to help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.com), Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan,
through newly acquired WirthlinWorldwide , a Reston, Virginia-based research
and consultancy firm ranked 25th largest in the world, and through an
independent global network of affiliate market research companies.

Press Contacts:

Nancy Wong
Harris Interactive
585-214-7316

Kelly Gullo
Harris Interactive
585-214-7172

schnyder testud

The list demonstrates how women's sports overall have permeated the
national consciousness with five different sports (tennis, soccer, ice
skating, golf, and basketball) each contributing at least one player to this
year's top-10 list . They are followed by figure skater Michelle Kwan (#4),
tennis player Anna Kournikova (#5), and golfer Annika Sorenstam (#6). EOE
M/F/D/V

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online (SM) and be invited to
participate in future online surveys, visit http://www.

schnyder tathiana

In fact, Federer has an incredible record of 138-9 over the past two
years and has won 22 straight tournament finals .

Favorite female sports stars
Last year no women made it into the top-10 listing of favorite athletes.

Methodology
The Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States between
January 11 and 16, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 2,209 adults aged
18 and over.
They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and
question order, and weighting.

dinara schett

Venus, a US Open winner in 2000 and 2001 is a 6-1 favorite followed by
Serena, US Open champion in 1999 and 2002 at 7-1.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet,
offering numerous products including sports betting, horse racing, poker,
casino and virtual games.

safina callens

On the men's side, defending champion Roger Federer is an overwhelming
favorite at 1-2 odds. Federer has only captured one Grand Slam this year,
compared to three in 2004, but has been dominant with a total record of 54-3
in 2005. For
example, while Jordan remains the favorite among young adults aged 18-29 and
among women, Tiger Woods or Peyton Manning are the favorite among men, and
among those aged 30-39, 40-49, and 50 and over.
In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95
percent certainty that the results for the overall sample have a sampling
error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

schaul schnyder

Roddick Agassi and Williams Sisters among US Open favorites according to Sportsbook.com

com.com. Others
in the top-10 are: basketball player Lisa Leslie (#7), former tennis
superstars Billie Jean King (=#8) and Martina Navratilova (=8), retired
gymnast Mary Lou Retton (=#9), former tennis star Chris Evert (=#9) and the
teenage golf phenomenon Michelle Wei (#10).

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National
Council on Public Polls.

arantxa callens

, Once again Michael Jordan is
America's favorite sports star even though he has been retired since 2002 and
Mia Hamm is the country's favorite female sports star. However, when one looks at different groups within
the population, Jordan is not the universal favorite that he once was.

safina kirilenko

US Open Odds - Men
------------------
Roger Federer (Switzerland) 1-2
Rafael Nadal (Spain) 3-1
Andy Roddick (United States) 5-1
Andre Agassi (United States) 10-1
Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 12-1
Marat Safin (Russia) 12-1
David Nalbandian (Argentina) 25-1
Guillermo Coria (Argentina) 60-1
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) 60-1
Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 60-1
Carlos Moya (Spain) 60-1
Andrew Murray (England) 60 -1
Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) 75-1
Greg Rusedski (England) 75-1
Taylor Dent (United States) 80-1
Tommy Haas (Germany) 80-1
Tim Henman (England) 80-1
Thomas Johansson (Sweden) 80-1
Mario Ancic (Croatia) 100-1
Sebastien Grosjean (France) 100-1
Field (any other player) 5-1

US Open Odds - Women
--------------------
Kim Clijsters (Belgium) 2-1
Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 11-5
Maria Sharapova (Russia) 4-1
Venus Williams (United States) 6-1
Serena Williams (United States) 7-1
Lindsay Davenport (United States) 12-1
Amelie Mauresmo (France) 12-1
Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 20-1
Mary Pierce (France) 25 -1
Anastasia Myskina (Russia) 30-1
Elena Dementieva (Russia) 50-1
Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 50-1
Shuai Peng (China) 60-1
Nadia Petrova (Russia) 60-1
Alicia Molik (Australia) 100-1
Field (any other player) 10-1

About Sportsbook . Sampling error for the various
sub-samples listed in the tables above is higher and varies.-based global research company that blends premier strategic consulting
with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and
application.com), Paris-based
Novatris (http://www.

dementieva zvonareva

novatris.

arantxa schnyder

"Wimbledon has the history behind it and the French Open is more popular
with some of the European players, but the US Open is probably seen as the
most exciting tennis tournament," says Peter Childs , Odds Maker,
Sportsbook. Unfortunately,
there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that
are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error .Y.

tathiana dechy

Americans Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion and Andre Agassi, champion
here in 1994 and 1999 are 5-1 and 10-1 favorites respectively.

Other athletes who make it into this year 's top-10 list of favorite sports
stars (after Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods) are Green Bay
Packers quarterback Brett Favre (#4), New York Yankees star Derek Jeter (#5),
the Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal (#6), New England Patriots quarterback Tom
Brady (#7), race car driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
While basketball stars have contributed many of the nation's favorite
stars in the past Harris Polls, this year, football players have five out of
the ten spots; while basketball has only two spots and one of them (Jordan) is
retired.

widjaja zvereva

Battling Federer for supremacy will be young French Open champion Rafael
Nadal (3-1) who won his first hard court event in Montreal last week. It is the flagship brand for Sportingbet PLC,
(LSE: SBT).S.com.

kirilenko navratilova

Kim Clijsters leads the way on the women's side of the draw. Headquartered in London, England, Sportingbet PLC is the world 's
largest publicly traded online betting, gambling and gaming company.

callens tathiana

Retiring Soccer Superstar , Mia Hamm, Tops the List of Favorite
Women Sports Stars

ROCHESTER, N.

TABLE 1
FAVORITE SPORTS STAR - TOP 10 RANKING
"Who is your favorite sports star?"

Base: All adults

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2003 2004 NOW
2005

Michael Jordan 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Peyton Manning * * * * * * * * 7 2
Tiger Woods * * * * * * 7 2 2 3
Brett Favre * * * 8 3 4 4 3 3 4
Derek Jeter * * * * * * * * 10 5
Shaquille O'Neal * * 7 5 * * * 5 4 6
Tom Brady * * * * * * * * * 7
Dale
Earnhardt Jr. This online sample is not a probability
sample.

tulyaganova myskina

24 - Sportsbook. Clijsters, a
2-1 favorite, is the hottest player on the women's tour having won three hard
court tournaments this summer at Stanford, Los Angeles and last weekend in
Toronto.S.

Sites about professional female tennis players.

kirilenko navratilova

adults between January
11 and 16, 2005.
Following Mia Hamm are tennis stars Serena Williams (#2) and older sister
Venus Williams (#3). * * * * * * 8 * 5 8
Donovan McNabb * * * * * * * * 9 9
Ben
Roethlisberger * * * * * * * * * 10

* Not listed in that year

Those who are new to Top 10 This Year
Tom Brady (#7), Ben Roethlisberger (#10)

Those on the 2004 List Who Have Dropped Out of the Top 10 This Year
Kobe Bryant (was #6), Allen Iverson (was #8)

TABLE 2
FAVORITE SPORTS STAR AMONG DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS

Base: All adults

Men: Tiger Woods* and Peyton Manning*
Women: Michael Jordan
Aged 18-29: Michael Jordan
Aged 30-39: Peyton Manning* and Michael Jordan*
Aged 40-49: Peyton Manning* and Michael Jordan*
Aged 50 and over: Tiger Woods

*Difference is statistically insignificant.

ivanovic kirilenko

Y.

TABLE 3
FAVORITE FEMALE SPORTS STAR - TOP 10 RANKING
"Thinking about the female sports stars you like, which ones are your
favorites?"

Base: All adults
2004 NOW
2005
Mia Hamm 3 1
Serena Williams 2 2
Venus Williams 1 3
Michelle Kwan 4 4
Anna Kournikova 6 5
Annika Sorenstam 5 6
Lisa Leslie 7 7
Billie Jean King * =8
Martina Navratilova * =8
Chris Evert 9 =9
Mary Lou Retton * =9
Michelle Wei 8 10
* Not listed in that year

Those who are new to Top 10 This Year
Billie Jean King (=#8), Martina Navratilova (=#8), Mary Lou Retton (=#9)

Those on the 2004 List Who Have Dropped Out of the Top Ten This Year
Sheryl Swoopes (was #10)

TABLE 4
FAVORITE FEMALE SPORTS STAR AMONG DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS
Base: All adults

Men: Mia Hamm
Women: Mia Hamm
Aged 18-29: Mia Hamm
Aged 30-39: Mia Hamm
Aged 40-49: Mia Hamm
Aged 50 and over: Mia Hamm

*Difference is statistically insignificant.harrisinteractive.hieurope.

dementieva sportseport

No athlete today seems to transcend the game as
Michael Jordan once did. offices and wholly owned
subsidiaries: London-based HI Europe (http://www.

dechy schett

American stars Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Venus and Serena
Williams and Lindsay Davenport are all listed among the pre-tournament
favorites, but competition will be tough as they try to keep the crown on US
soil. Defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova is a
20 -1 long shot to repeat."
Below is a list of odds for both the men's and women's tournament.
However , for the second time, Harris Interactive also asked the public to name
their favorite female sports stars.

zvereva dechy

"Fans and players really get behind this event in the
United States, whether it's the New York crowd or the fact that it's the last
chance of the year to win a Grand Slam, there's something electric and a
little different about this tournament. For
more information please visit http: //www.
Jordan is comfortably in first place though there are hints that others,
including Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, in second place, and
golfer Tiger Woods, in third place, are perhaps knocking on the door to
replace Jordan as America's favorite.
Harris Interactive has asked this question of the public almost every year
since 1993, and Michael Jordan has been the nation 's favorite sports star on
every occasion. (#8), Philadelphia Eagles
quarterback Donovan McNabb (#9) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger (#10) This is the first time that Tom Brady and Ben
Roethlisberger have made it into the Harris Interactive top-10 listing.

dechy schnyder

Lleyton Hewitt ,
the 2001 champion is listed at 12-1 as is 2000 champion Marat Safin. After a poor 2003 season,
both Serena (Australian Open) and Venus (Wimbledon) won Grand Slam events this
year and seem to be back in form.

zvereva widjaja

Michael Jordan Remains Nation's Favorite Sports Star Closely Followed by Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods

Manning has shot up to second place
(from last year's 7th spot) after his record -breaking performance in this
year's professional football season.

J23069
Q1151 , Q1160

The Harris Poll(R) #17, March 2, 2005
By David Krane, senior vice president of Harris Interactive Public Policy
Research and editor of The Harris Poll.

About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive Inc.

dinara dechy

com has posted
odds on the US Open, the final Grand Slam event of the tennis season which
starts Monday, August 29 at the USTA National Tennis Centre in Flushing
Meadows, New York. However, Clijsters has never won a Grand Slam event and will be in
tough against fellow Belgian and 2003 US Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne
(11-5), Maria Sharapova (4-1) and the Williams sisters. Propensity score weighting was also used to
adjust for respondents ' propensity to be online.

tulyaganova tathiana

It will be interesting to see how long this truly remarkable
run will continue. Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household
income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual
proportions in the population.com), the 15th
largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world, is a Rochester,
N.
Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and
technology to advance market leadership through U.

zvereva arantxa

Odds maker posts odds on season's final Grand Slam

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY, Aug .
These are the results of a Harris Poll conducted online by Harris
Interactive(R) among a nationwide sample of 2,209 U.
Michael Jordan's reign at the top of the list (long after his string of
championships in the 1990s) speaks to the absence of big stars among this
generation's athletes . Soccer superstar, Mia Hamm, tops the list
reflecting not only her popularity but also the recent accolades she been
receiving as she announced her retirement. It is impossible to quantify the errors that
may result from these factors.harrispollonline.