Chelsea vs. FC Copenhagen – UEFA Champions League – 22 Feb 2011

Posted on February 22, 2011 by admin | Permalink 0

Chelsea will face off against FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League on 22 Feb 2011 at 19:45. Following a dramatic FA Cup penalty defeat to Everton, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti and the squad are left to aim at only one competition this season, the Champions League. In this upcoming match Chelsea are the favorites, but with the kind of form they are currently in, it seems FC Copenhagen could edge past the Blues. In the various betting odds websites, the best bets for Chelsea are 1.76 and for FC Copenhagen are 4.90.

Last season, Ancelotti led Chelsea to the Double by winning both the Premier League and the FA Cup. Recent horror show form has dropped his side out of the title race for the Premiership and at the FA Cup. Ancelotti watched his side slump to a penalty shoot-out defeat by Everton, with the Blues having spent big money in January, but with new record signing Fernando Torres cup-tied following his participation in the competition for Liverpool. For Ancelotti’s Chelsea tenure, the Ashley Cole’s miss putting could be the last nail in the coffin.

Enigmatic Norwegian Stale Solbakken is the coach for Copenhagen. His career was abruptly ended by a heart attack on the training ground. Earlier, he played in midfield for the club. His competitive nature has remained unaffected by his heart problems.

Solbakken’s side has a distinctly South American flavor going forward, with a well-organized defense and a quick, technical passing game. Christian Bolanos augments the Brazilian pairing of box-to-box midfielder Claudemir and striker Cesar Santin.

For Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, and he only has the European Champions League to play for, a trophy which has been an obsession for him. Strong speculations and rumors suggest that he could persuade one of the club’s illustrious former strikers, Mark Hughes, to become manager, if Ancelotti fails to fire. Jose Mourinho is another possible replacement. After fallout with the club’s CEO Jorge Valdano, Mourinho is expected to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season. If Mourinho patches things up with Valdano, Marco van Basten’s name has been mentioned too.

With the club’s fans, Chelsea’s most successful manager, Mourinho is still a favorite. Last week, he attended Chelsea’s goalless draw with Fulham. Abramovich is also reported to be attempting to buy hugely talented Brazilian, Neymar. He could be lured from Santos for £30-million. The 19-year-old had rejected a £22-million bid, some six months ago.

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Chelsea Vs. Liverpool – Match Preview

Posted on February 5, 2011 by admin | Permalink 0

To this rivalry the move of Fernando Torres adds new drama. For the Spanish star, Chelsea recently completed a transfer. He could make his Chelsea debut against his old team as he has left Liverpool for Chelsea. In the EPL standings Chelsea is currently 4th in the EPL whereas Liverpool sits in 7th place.

For this matchup Soccer Odds have not yet been posted.

Chelsea decided to shake things up and sign Torres as they had been struggling lately. Even though Torres should be ready in time for the Liverpool match he didn’t play against Sunderland. In goal Petr Cech has been a consistent rock. For Chelsea he has started every EPL game. With nine goals offensively, Didier Drogba and Flourent Malouda lead the club. How Torres will play with Drogba, is one major question which Chelsea is facing.

To the Liverpool offense the loss of Torres is a major blow as he had led the team in goals and shots. In order to pick up the slack on offense, now, Liverpool will look to Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt. By allowing over 30 goals on the season, Goalie Pepe Reina has been erratic in league play, though he has led the team to consecutive shutouts.

Even though Liverpool has found some footing, they got off to a rough start. Of this traditional team still, more is expected. Chelsea saw their hot start fall apart, on the flip side. The addition of Torres figures to help as they are starting to regain their edge. Earlier in the season Liverpool pulled out a 2-0 win against Chelsea. in that contest, Ironically Torres scored both goals for Live. Chelsea should have the edge in this game as long as they can get their star players to mesh. Liverpool’s best hope is to capitalize on Chelsea’s new offensive system.

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Running Back Prop Bets – Popular Among Football Betting Fans

Posted on February 1, 2011 by admin | Permalink 0

On Feb. 6 at Cowboys Stadium in Super Bowl, sportsbooks are offering a wide arrange of proposition bets for Super Bowl XLV. Running back props bets are always popular among Football Betting fans.

Involving how well the running backs from the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers will fare on Super Sunday, many sportsbooks have a huge selection of wagers.

With over 11.5 rushing yards paying +125 and under 11.5 at -155, you can bet on how many total rushing yards Brandon Jackson of the Packers will get, as for an example.

With the over at +105 and the under at -135, the same wager for the Steelers Rashard Mendenhall has the over/under at 81.5 rushing yards.

If there is any possibility that either of the two backs will score a touchdown. A TD is worth +500 and no TD -800 for Jackson whereas for Mendenhall, scoring a touchdown is at -145 and not scoring is +115.

For Mendenhall, scoring a touchdown is at -145 and not scoring is +115 as well how long will Jackson’s first rushing attempt be. With the over at +100 and the under at -130, for Mendenhall, the over/under is at 3.5.

With the total at six yards, the over is +110 and the under -140, what will Jackson’s longest rush be. With both the over and the under at -115, for Mendenhall, the over/under is 15.5 yards.

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Friday Clash Between San Antonio Spurs And New York Knicks

Posted on January 19, 2011 by admin | Permalink 0

On Friday, the San Antonio Spurs will battle against the New York Knicks for the second time this month. The Knicks beat the Spurs 128-115 only a few weeks ago. What is expected for the upcoming game is looking back at this previous match, which is a good indicator.

For this matchup NBA Odds are not yet available.

Between both teams there is a major gap in the rankings. While the New York Knicks have been hanging around the fifth and sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, San Antonio has had the best record in the NBA for the last few months.

By beating the best team in the league, the Knicks pulled off a major upset on January 4. To their most impressive victory of the season, the home advantage at Madison Square Garden helped the Knicks, of course. Wilson Chandler, who scored 31 points while Stoudemire and Felton each put up 28 points on the scoreboard, was the star of the game. Finishing with only 14 points in 29 minutes of playing time, San Antonio’s long time star player Tim Duncan had a weak game. Even though the Knicks exploded late in the fourth quarter with a comfortable lead, it was a close game, as the score was tied 11 times.

San Antonio’s coach Popovich said it was the worst defensive effort from his team this season, after the game. The Spurs will have the home advantage for Friday’s game. While New York lost three straight games in mid January, as well San Antonio is coming off a six game winning streak.

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Super Bowl Playoff History Of Baltimore Ravens

Posted on January 5, 2011 by admin | Permalink 0

In the 2010 NFL Playoffs the Baltimore Ravens will be playing. Even though they have managed to become a perennial playoff team since the beginning of the 21st century, this team does not have a history that goes back as far as many of the other teams in the postseason

In order to win the Super Bowl in February, Baltimore is at 12-1 in NFL Odds.

The Ravens had never managed to make the playoffs, previous to the year 2000. For the Baltimore Ravens, the year 2000 changed everything.

The Ravens manage to make the playoffs that season and also advance in the playoffs. Advancing to the Super Bowl, they came out of nowhere to when the AFC Conference Championship. The Ravens were able to put forth a stellar defensive effort en route to winning their first Super Bowl Championship ever in their Super Bowl.

The Ravens have been a serious threat to make the playoffs every season, since that year. In the history of their franchise they have made the playoffs 7 times. Since the turn of the century, each one of these playoff experiences has come.

The Ravens have not managed to return back to the Super Bowl since 2000, in spite of frequenting the playoffs. For the Ravens to turn things around and gain back the winning feeling that they found in 2000, this season will be a chance. The Ravens should be ready to take on any team that crosses their path as they have a lot of players on their team that have been in the playoffs before.

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In Denver – Detroit Red Wings Will Clash With Colorado Avalanche

Posted on December 27, 2010 by admin | Permalink 0

On Monday at the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Colorado Avalanche will battle against the Detroit Red Wings.

Fans of these two franchises still like beating each other even as this game might not have the fights and bitterness between the players that it once did. With their 19-11-4 record that has them tied for the Northwest Division lead, this is especially true this year with the Avalanche being one of the more surprising teams in the NHL.

The Detroit Red Wings have been struggling lately, and obviously that is no secret. The Red Wings are hoping to get this back on track and reopen an extensive division lead again having lost six of their last nine games. The Wings need their second and third line players to start producing if they want to distance themselves from the rest of the division, with some of the Red Wings’ top scorers going into a funk.

By winning six of their last seven games, Colorado on the other hand has been red hot as of late. With an average of 3.5 goals per game, the Avalanche have also scored a ton of goals during that stretch that now has them leading the NHL. This contest could be one of the more entertaining, fast paced hockey games of the season, if the Red Wings can find their scoring ways over the next few days and the Avalanche continue their recent trend of mediocre goal tending and prolific scoring.

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Friday Clash Between Ottawa Senators And Colorado Avalanche

Posted on December 17, 2010 by admin | Permalink 0

In NHL action, on Friday at the Pepsi Center, the Colorado Avalanche will clash with the Ottawa Senators.

For this matchup NHL Betting Odds have not yet been posted. So far this season, Ottawa is 13-16-3 and Colorado is 17-10-4. Over the past 10 meetings Ottawa is 6-3-0-1 in the head-to-head series.

Of this season this is the first meeting and when the Avs beat the Senators 4-3, on Dec. 30 last season the teams last met. As a -135 moneyline home favorite what the Ottawa could not cover.

Ottawa lost 4-3 to the Atlanta Thrashers, when it last played on Monday. The score went over the over/under total as the Senators failed to cash as a -110 moneyline favorite.

Colorado beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 when it last played on Wednesday. The score went over the total of 5.5 as Colorado covered as a +150 road underdog.

Ottawa forward Alexei Kovalev is Day-to-Day (illness), on the injury front. While forwards T.J. Galiardi (broken wrist), Chris Stewart (hand injury) and Peter Mueller (concussion) are also out indefinitely, Colorado has a number of injuries: defensemen Kyle Cumiskey (concussion) and Kyle Quincey (shoulder injury) are both out indefinitely. Milan Hejduk (groin injury) and forwards Paul Stastny (sore back) are listed as day-to-day.

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FIFA President Sepp Blatter Defends Appointments Of Russia & Qatar – 2018/2022 World Cup

Posted on December 11, 2010 by admin | Permalink 0

This week, Sepp Blatter FIFA President, came out swinging in opposition to contentions the world soccer governing body is dishonest.

After Russia and Qatar were selected as World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022, Blatter said FIFA simply needs to improve its image in the face of worldwide outrage.
The organization is not corrupt and denounced England for acting like a bad loser after Russia and Qatar were voted as the host countries, the FIFA boss made a statement to a Swiss magazine.

Blatter told the Weltwoche weekly, “I’ll say it clearly: There is no systematic corruption at FIFA. That’s nonsense; we are financially clean and transparent.”

After a British newspaper printed allegations about bribe-taking and vote-rigging, the ethics court of FIFA prevented a pair of Blatter’s executive committee colleagues from taking part in the Dec. 2 vote.

Including Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron, England’s 2018 bid committee accused a number of FIFA voters of breaking promises of support they made to the committee.
Blatter called the country the “the motherland of fair play,” as he surprised at England’s reaction.

Blatter further said, “Now some of them are proving to be bad losers themselves, I sense in some reactions a little bit of arrogance of the Western, Christian kind.”

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In NHL Action – Washington Capitals Vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Posted on November 25, 2010 by admin | Permalink 0

This Friday, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals will be squaring off to play. In all of the NHL, this could be a very high scoring game as these two teams will feature two of the best offensive attacks.

With solid records the Capitals and Lightning will both come into this game. These teams have records of 14-6-2 (Capitals) and 12-7-2 (Lightning), as of Thursday morning.

Defense could be the key to winning this matchup while these teams have great offenses. Even though the Capitals have been a bit better than the Lightning, Neither team has been dominant on defense.

On the season The Lightning are allowing 3.1 goals per game. Against the Capitals, they will really need to tighten things up. On the season the Capitals have averaged 3.3 goals per game. In the NHL, this average is good for the 4th best average.

The power play is one of the reasons why the Capitals have been so good on offense. in the league, they are the 6th best team in converting on the power play. Against the power play, they have also been solid on defense. A penalty kill percentage of 84.0 what the Capitals have.

It will be the Lightning who can only stop the Capitals on the power play. In the NHL at 89.4 percent, they have the 3rd best penalty kill percentage. On the power play, they have also been great on offense. Power play percentage of 23.9 percent, they have. Between two great teams this game should be a great battle.

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Pittsburgh Steelers Vs. Oakland Raiders – At Heinz Field

Posted on November 18, 2010 by admin | Permalink 0

This weekend, the Oakland Raiders will head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. Even though this game has playoff implications, nobody would have expected this of any games that the Raiders would play this season. The Steelers have a 6-3 record as the Raiders have a 5-4 record on the season.

The Steelers will be the huge favorites in this game, while both teams have been solid. In NFL Week 11 Odds, the odds makers have the Steelers as the 7.5 point favorites. At 41, the total for the game sits.

Their ability to run the ball has been the secret to the turnaround of the Raiders. On the ground, the Raiders are averaging 162 yards per game. Emergence of Darren McFadden has been a large contributing factor to this success. McFadden has helped the Raiders win 4 of their last 5 games as he is starting to look like a pro bowl caliber running back.

However, against the Steelers, the Raiders will have a hard time running. With their run offense, the Steelers have a run defense that is even scarier than their Raiders. On the ground, The Steelers have amazingly allowed just 63 yards per game. After they build up a lead, this sort of dominance keeps teams from running out the clock.

Whether or not the Raiders can get things going in the passing game, this game will come down to conclusion. The Raiders may have a chance to get things rolling on the ground as well if the passing game opens up. If the Raiders can’t get things going through the air, the Steelers will be likely come out with the victory.

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