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Hi Everyone Hope everyone was watching the Swimming World Championships in Rome this past week & weekend! If you missed anything,...
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I took this picture (you'll see this picture in my profile pictures) of the scoreboard during the final of the 50 Freestyle of the...
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I am once again sitting on a flight headed to an appearance. This time it’s an AT&T trade show in Dallas, Texas before I head...
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Hello, Hope everyone is doing great! Right now we are in New York getting ready for SNL. We went from NYC to Orlando...
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Part one of why you haven’t heard from me is that it’s hard to focus on the creative side of myself while I’m trying to focus on...
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That is it, I am not making predictions any more. Once again I have been proven wrong, as Natalie steps up at the most important...
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A lot has happened since I last blogged! I’m sure you’re thinking “well ya, I’d surely hope so…considering...
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So taper time is finally upon us! FINALLY! This means that I can't do a whole lot so I have been doing a lot of tv, movie, and dvd...
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So last weekend I went to a Grand Prix meet in Minneapolis. This was my first competition since Nationals back in August so I...
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It’s great to be a Boston Fan living in Tempe! Right now the Patriots are the only undefeated team in the NFL and looking like...
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We’re a week away
from the kick-off to the real 2010-2011 season, as the Minnesota
Vikings and New Orleans Saints prepare to start it all next Thursday
night. However, before those festivities take us into the new season,
there are still a few questions that need answering during the Week 4
preseason.
Let’s look at the betting action on a few of the games from the final week of the exhibition schedule.
Washington at Arizona
Who cares about
this one? Let’s start with Willie Parker and Matt Leinart…and maybe
Albert Haynesworth. Actually Albert probably doesn’t really care, but
it is worth noting that everyone on the Redskins 1st team defense is
getting the night off, but Haynesworth is expected to start and get a
lot of playing time in this one.
On offense, Willie
Parker will start at RB, but for him, this is more likely a showcase
for other teams needing depth at running back, as it looks improbable
that he will make the ‘Skins.
For the Cardinals,
rumors are swirling that they’re actively shopping QB Matt Leinart.
Look for Anderson to start behind center as they try and get a handle
on that messy QB situation.
But bettors still like the home side, with 65% of the action at the sportsbook on Arizona -6.
Carolina at Pittsburgh
Most star QBs will
not see much action in any Week 4 preseason games. The exception is if
your star QB is about to serve a four-game suspension to start the
season. That’s the current scenario for Ben Roethlisberger, who will
see his last action until his suspension is completed. Byron Leftwich
will hold down the fort until his return.
For the Panthers’
QBs, Matt Moore is expected to get a little time, followed by a brief
stint from Jimmy Clausen. The majority of the snaps will be shared
between Tony Pike and Hunter Cantwell. If you think Week 4 doesn’t mean
anything, watch this one, as it is possible whoever plays better
between Pike and Cantwell will get the #3 spot, and the loser may be
unemployed.
Bettors are all over the home team, with sportsbooks reporting 80% of the betting is on Pittsburgh -6.
Miami at Dallas
The big news out of Dallas is that Dez Bryant is back to the practice field, but will not see any action Thursday night. This is because the 1st team offense will not play in the final regular season game. Jerry Jones has stated that Bryant’s first action will be versus the Redskins in Week 1, as a starter (always love how the owner is the one announcing news like this in Dallas).
Dolphins’ coach
Tony Sparano was not pleased with the performance of his team last week
and is looking for greater focus and urgency versus Dallas. He hasn’t
indicated how long his starters will play, just that “they better be
ready to play.” Henne will start at QB, and Pennington will also see
some action.
Bettors are listening, as they think the Dolphins have an edge. A lopsided 85% of the action is on Miami -1.
Enjoy the games. You can check all the NFL Odds
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The 2010 US Open tournament begins this week and we should see plenty of action and thrills, but who should we be backing to win at Flushing Meadows?
Men’s Tournament:
The reigning champion – Juan Martin Del Potro – is out of this year’s competition with injury, but will this mean that Roger Federer, last year’s beaten finalist, can reclaim the title he held for five years previous to that loss? Or will Andy Murray win his first Grand Slam? Or could Rafael Nadal finally win at Flushing Meadows and complete the set of winning all four Grand Slam events?
US Open Odds for the Top 10 Players:
- Roger Federer – 3.50
- Andy Murray – 3.75
- Rafael Nadal – 3.75
- Novak Djokovic – 11.00
- Andy Roddick – 17.00
- Robin Soderling – 17.00
- Tomas Berdych – 17.00
- David Nalbandian – 21.00
- Nikolay Davydenko – 34.00
- Mardy Fish – 34.00
Federer is the favourite to claim the title and he has looked good on the hard courts so far this season and he has reached the final of his last two tournaments on this surface. As well as this Federer has reached the US Open final in each of the last six years (winning all five titles between 2004 and 2008, dropping just two sets in those five finals). Despite this, Federer has not had his best season in 2010 and has looked off the pace at several stages. However, he seems to be getting things back in order and the Swiss legend has an excellent chance of reclaiming his US Open title.
Top seed for this year’s tournament, Rafael Nadal, has not had a good time of things at the US Open (it is the only Grand Slam that he has not won). His best results came in 2008 and 2009 when he was beaten by runner-up Andy Murray and winner Juan Martin Del Potro at the Semi Final stage. Nadal has played the same warm up tournaments as Federer, but he only reached the Quarter Finals in Cincinnati and lost at the Semi Final stages to eventual winner Andy Murray at the Rogers Cup. However, Rafael Nadal loves playing the big events and he will have saved his best efforts for the final Grand Slam of the year, so expect him to come out swinging, so to speak.
Andy Murray comes into the tournament as joint second favourite with Nadal after playing three warm up tournaments. He reached at least the final eight in each of three tournaments, notably winning the Rogers Cup by beating Roger Federer in straight sets. Murray is yet to win a Grand Slam event, but he reached the final of the Australian Open this season and he reached the final at Flushing Meadows in 2008, losing to Federer on both occasions. He has performed well in the run up to the US Open this season and seems to enjoy playing on the hard courts. I think that this tournament gives the Scotsman his best chance of winning a Grand Slam to this point in his career.
I can’t see anyone but one of the previous three winning the title, but I’m going to look at one dark horse pick for laying off later in the tournament. My pick for this is home favourite Andy Roddick. The current world number nine and 2003 US Open champion will again be looking to put on a good show for the home support. Roddick always puts in good performances on home soil and he won tournaments in San Jose and Miami as well as reaching the final at Indian Wells earlier in the year following the Australian Open. In his warm up preparations for the US Open Roddick reached two Semi Finals, at Cincinnati and Atlanta. Roddick will want to improve on last year’s third round elimination and this will make him tough to beat. He will at least want to reach the Quarter Finals like the two years previously and I can see Roddick doing at least that, but I cannot see him getting any further than the Semi Finals at best.
Our Betting Recommendations:
With Nadal never having won at the US Open and Federer having an off season, I feel that Andy Murray will claim his first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Back an Andy Murray victory at odds of 3.75.
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Formula One makes a welcome return after several weeks away, and we’re back at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Where will the teams stand after their time off? Let’s preview the weekend’s action here.
This weekend the Formula One teams visit Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and the track is one of the most fearsome circuits that the drivers have to drive upon all season long. The track rewards skill, bravery, a good aerodynamic package and a powerful engine and for these reasons I see the race being another straight fight between Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.
Last season’s race saw a victory for Ferrari as the KERS device on Kimi Raikkonen’s car allowed him to stay ahead of the clearly faster car of Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India. In fact Ferrari have won the last three Belgian Grand Prix and only McLaren and Ferrari have won at Spa since Damon Hill triumphed for Jordan in the 1998 race that saw Jordan claim their maiden victory.
Red Bull have the aerodynamic efficiency to be able to get the car around the track well but fall down on the engine power area, meaning they could struggle at the ends of the long straights and getting the car up Eau Rouge, which is one of the greatest corner complexes in motor racing. Ferrari have the power but their aerodynamics are lacking slightly in comparison to both Red Bull and McLaren. However, McLaren have the perfect balance for this race and with their F-duct, powerful engine and smooth aerodynamics I see the race win going to either Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button. With Button’s lack of speed on Saturday ensuring that he has only out-qualified Hamilton four times in this year’s twelve races so far, I see Hamilton getting the advantage against his team-mate from the start and going on to win the race. At odds of 6.00 Hamilton is excellent value to win this weekend too.
Prior to the race, we have qualifying but can Red Bull continue their dominance of this session in 2010 and record their twelfth pole position from thirteen races? As I explained above, I feel that this race weekend will belong to McLaren, with Lewis Hamilton taking all the spoils, including pole position. He is the only man not in a Red Bull car to start from the front of the grid and I’m sure that he will repeat Canadian Grand Prix pole position start. At odds of 10.00 for Hamilton to be on pole, Bet365 clearly do not agree with me, but this is where my money is going this weekend.
To finish off, we’ll be looking at the best value prices on people to finish on the podium and in the top six places. I could very easily back Hamilton again for a top three finish as he is available at 2.25 to stand on a step of the podium with some online sportsbook, but I like the look of his team-mate, Jenson Button, to find himself on the podium at the end of the race as McLaren are going to dominate this race. He is available at odds of 3.75 to finish in the top three and this is where my money is going.
The top seven drivers – both Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari drivers along with Adrian Sutil – are all available at worse than evens odds, so sportsbooks are covering the bases that all three of the big teams this season are going to get their drivers to the chequered flag and claim the top six spots. They’re also are covering Adrian Sutil after last year’s excellent performance by Force India, but Force India have not performed as well this season as they had done up to the same point last season. As a result I’m going with the team that are using the same engine as McLaren to grab a top six place – Mercedes GP. Michael Schumacher may have won this race on six occasions, but he is being out performed by his team-mate Nico Rosberg this season and I see Rosberg claiming a place in the top six in this race. I will be backing him to do so at odds of 2.50.
For further bets over the course of the race weekend, please visit BetRepublic.com, where resident expert Anto will be providing a selection of bets for Saturday’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race. We look forward to seeing you providing your own bets and joining in the chat with Anto.
Recommendations:
• Lewis Hamilton to start the Belgian Grand Prix on pole position @ 10.00
• Lewis Hamilton to win the Belgian Grand Prix @ 6.00
• Jenson Button to finish the Belgian Grand Prix on the podium @ 3.75
• Nico Rosberg to finish the Belgian Grand Prix in the top six @ 2.50
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NFL betting handicappers are used to betting against the Oakland Raiders and taking it to the bank each year as they lose 10+ games. This year, things are different. They had a decent finish to 2009 (by their standards) and then picked up quarterback Jason Campbell to solidify a position that has been their Achilles heel. Campbell will move the ball and more importantly, he won’t cripple the team like JaMarcus Russell did.
The defense is tough and the offense will be more effective; that’s enough for an 8-8 season. For the Raiders, that would be a huge success.
Team On The Decline: Denver Broncos
Sportsbook were shocked when this team started 6-0 in 2009 but boy does that look like a distant memory now. The Broncos finished the year with just two wins in their last 10 contests and then put in an ugly offseason. They traded away stud wideout Brandon Marshall, then traded for quarterback Brady Quinn, drafted Tim Tebow and signed Kyle Orton to an extension. Their running backs are already injured and after signing their best defensive player, Elvis Dumervil, to a long term contract, he tore his pectoral muscle and will miss about half the season.
Head Coach Josh McDaniels continues to act like he knows more than anyone else but usually this type of arrogance leads to plenty of losses and a pink slip. The Broncos are squarely on that track.
Predicted Winner: San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are the biggest division favorite out there (by a long shot) and the reason is simple: they are the only team in the division that is not rebuilding. Beyond that, they are a definite Super Bowl contender. They have some question marks with Pro Bowl holdouts Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill, but outside of that, this team has been the epitome of consistency in the division.
There’s no reason to bet against them here. The Chiefs are a wreck, nobody knows what the Broncos are doing and while the Raiders are getting better, quantify that with the fact that they lose double-digit games every year. The Chargers no-brainer pick in the West.
Good luck this season.
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This Monday evening sees the final game of the Premier League and the action comes from Eastlands as Manchester City take on Liverpool >Let’s have a look at this one and give out a couple of picks.
The first week of the Premier League held a
lot of things in common for these two sides as they both drew their first
matches and then won 1-0 in their Europa League playoff games in midweek, but
who will take the honours in this match? Sportsbook make
Last weekend Man City were on the back foot against Spurs at White Hart Lane and only came away with a draw thanks to the Man of the Match performance from goalkeeper Joe Hart. They looked disjointed and they were unable to fashion many chances to score, however they were away from home and Roberto Mancini will be hoping for a better performance in their first match at Eastlands this season. Roy Hodgson, on the other hand, will have been happy with the vast majority of the performance against Arsenal, with only the red card of Joe Cole on his debut and the own goal from Pepe Reina putting a damper on proceedings.
Both sides put the Premier League
disappointments behind them in midweek as they both recorded 1-0 wins in the
Europa League as
I happen to think that it will and my play
on the outright market for this game will see my putting my money on the draw.
I also feel that this game will be a low scoring match, and not just because
there have been just four goals in the four games that these two sides have
played so far this season. With the form that Joe Hart is in and with the way
that
·
Under 2.5 goals in the
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The second week of pre-season ball serves up a full schedule of games for bettors. Let’s look at a few of the games that have caught the sports betting public’s attention from this weekend’s NFL lineup.
Saturday, August 21
Steelers at Giants
Both teams are fresh off preseason Week 1 wins. Coach Tomlin has acknowledged that Big Ben will see some playing time during this game, but was non-committal with respect to how he will be used, or for how long. On the other side of the ball, Eli Manning has already been ruled out by Coach Coughlin following the head wound he suffered versus the Jets last week.
That news likely has something to do with the fact the betting action has been pretty one-sided so far. 83% of the money is currently on Pittsburgh -3.5.
You can check the latest NFL Odds
Sunday, August 22
Vikings at 49ers
He’s baaaaaaack – but it is unconfirmed to date if he will see any reps versus the 49ers in this game. It is safe to assume that speedster Percy Harvin will be sitting it out after his migraine scare Thursday.
For the ‘Niners, it’s out with Coffee and in with Westbrook, who joins Gore for a pretty potent one-two punch at RB. Both teams put their 1-0 preseason records on the line in this sole Sunday game.
61% of the action is on San Francisco -3.
Monday, August 23
Cardinals at Titans
Life after Kurt begins this season. The Cards won their preseason home opener 19-16 over the Texans. Leading the way statistically were Derek Anderson and Beanie Wells.
Conversely, the Titans lost their game 20-18 on the road in Seattle. The betting public feels that these teams will both be 1-1 after this Monday nighter as 86% of the money is currently on the Titans -3.5.
Enjoy all the NFL Betting action
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This Wednesday sees the second five Champions League playoff first leg matches being played. Who will take an advantage into the second leg ties?
Let’s look at the Champions League preview brought to you by Sportsbetting.com
Sporting Braga v Sevilla:
Portugal faces Spain in this match and sportsbook make Sevilla the favourites to claim the win, just like the national side did at the World Cup. Sevilla can be backed at odds of 2.40 for the victory, with Braga available at 2.90 with the odds for the draw being the outsider of the three outcomes at 3.30.
Sevilla have played just one competitive game so far this season and that was a cup game against reigning La Liga champions Barcelona. Sevilla ran out 3-1 winners in that fixture in front of their own fans, now can they travel to Portugal and bring an advantage home? Braga will be in confident form as they are impressive in front of their own fans this season, having scored six times in two matches. They first defeated Celtic 3-0 in the final qualifying round for the Champions League before winning their opening game of the season 3-1 to top the Portuguese league. Will their confidence be well placed and can the home team upset the odds to claim the win?
Sevilla had a poor away record in La Liga last season and they lost ten of their nineteen away games. They will need to improve on that this season, but I feel that they have the better squad of these two sides and will overcome their poor away form. However, Braga will not just roll over and let the Spanish side take the win and this should be an excellent match. In the end, I see the game ending level with both sides finding the net at least once each. As a result of this, my money is on the draw at odds of 3.30 and both sides to score at 2.05.
Werder Bremen v Sampdoria: Champions League Betting
This match sees two sides from the great footballing nations of Germany and Italy battle for the opportunity to represent their countries in the group stages of the Champions League. Sportsbooks make Bremen the favourites to claim the points at odds of 1.73, with Sampdoria available at odds of 4.80 and the draw can be backed at 3.50. Will the game go according to the odds though?
Werder Bremen had a great season in 2009/2010 as they finished in third place in the Bundesliga and they have played just one match so far this season, winning 4-0 away from home in the German Cup. Prior to that game, they played a pre-season friendly against Fulham and were beaten 5-1 by Mark Hughes’ men. They also had a poor home record last season, with their home form only being sixth best in Germany’s top league and their away form assisting them to their third place finish. However, their prize striker, and World Cup star, Mesut Ozil will be moving to Real Madrid and will play no part in this match to ensure he is not cup-tied. He will be a big loss to the German team.
Sampdoria placed fourth in Serie A last season, behind Inter Milan, Roma and AC Milan, to book their first Champions League spot. They will be keen to make a good impression in their first competitive match of the season and they will want to go on in this competition for as long as possible. Unfortunately for the Italian side, they were poor on the road last season and won just six of their nineteen away games, drawing four and losing nine of the other thirteen fixtures away from home. Can they turn things around with a win in Germany?
With it being early in Bremen’s season and the start of Sampdoria’s season I don’t expect much from this game. As a result of this I am going back a second draw from the previewed games and a low scoring encounter as well. My money will be on the draw at odds of 3.50 and there to be less than 2.5 goals in the match at 1.91.
Sportsbetting.com Recommends:
Sporting Braga v Sevilla to end as a draw @ 3.30
Both Sporting Braga and Sevilla to score @ 2.05
Werder Bremen v Sampdoria to end as a draw @ 3.50
Less than 2.5 goals to be scored in the Bremen v Sampdoria match @ 1.91
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Universal Sports will be providing coverage for the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships! The following coverage will be provided:
August 18 9p - 11:30p ET LIVE: TV & Online
August 21 5p - 7p ET TV & Online (NBC Re-Air)
August 22 6p - 7p ET TV & Online (NBC Re-Air)
Fans can go to http://www.universalsports.
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The demise of the Boston Celtics has been written over and over this NBA betting offseason. It seems many are giving the Miami Heat the best basketball odds to reach the NBA finals. Did we miss something here? Aren’t the Celts bringing back, essentially, the same team that was a few points away from winning the title?
Meanwhile, point guard Rajon Rondo continues to
emerge for the Celtics. Each year, he becomes more critical to the
Celtics success and his game becomes more well-rounded. If he can
develop a reliable outside jump shot,
Right now the Celtics are a 10-1 shot to win the
NBA title at the sportsbook. Now is the perfect chance to get in on
those favorable future odds. With
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