Posted on 31 Dec 2010 at 15:22 PM by
Ruck Driver
It's difficult to truly assess how Connacht will react after their devastating loss last Monday, however it looks as if the bookmakers are expecting them to struggle to repeat that level of performance against Leinster at the RDS tomorrow evening. Handicaps of between twelve and fourteen points have been posted for a fixture in which Connacht have played quite competitively in recent seasons. They were desperately unlucky to lose out on a 17-14 scoreline last year at the same venue, while the previous season they led by 18-14 in the first game of the 2008 calendar year, only to concede two late tries to Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald and go down by 26 points to 18. Those two Ireland internationals are just two of the star names that will be absent from Leinster's starting lineup tomorrow, as will Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan, who featured in Leinster's 30-13 win over Ulster earlier this week. It's a strong Leinster pack that will will line out, however Connacht
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Posted on 31 Dec 2010 at 13:12 PM by
Big Man with Football
After making a spectacular misread of the state of the Minnesota Vikings last time around, readers of this blog on Betting.com could be forgiven for losing a little faith in the soothsaying powers of the Big Man with Football. Rest assured that a few sleepless nights were had on this side too, mainly spent wondering how the Eagles could have thrown away a great shot at a bye through wild card weekend. The conclusion drawn was that it's a safer ploy sticking with games where both teams should be playing to their usual form with everything on the table. The obvious such fixture this week is the meeting of the St Louis Rams and the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, where the winner will secure the NFC West title and the fourth seed in the National Conference. Much debate has focussed around a structure that would allow the Seahawks to get a home playoff game if they finish the season on 7-9, however these theological debates are best left to those charged with the development of the gridiron
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Posted on 30 Dec 2010 at 20:39 PM by
Formex
The New Year’s Day programme starts with Man United travelling south to play West Brom who although beaten at home to Blackburn on Tuesday have looked a decent side under the guidance of Roberto Di Matteo and they may well stop the leaders taking all three points. Albion have a good home record this season and have coped well with the top sides including a famous 3-2 win at the Emirates and also a draw in the reverse fixture with United back in October. United have drawn seven of their eight games on the road this term and Tuesday’s point at Birmingham showed once again that they cannot be trusted to close out a game from a winning position away from Old Trafford. The away win is long-odds on and represents poor value and the call has to be a draw which will help cement the Baggies place in the top flight for another season and leave United looking over their shoulders at their neighbours City who could go top with a home win over Blackpool. Contrary to my expectations at least
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Posted on 27 Dec 2010 at 17:24 PM by
Lone Shark
The 2011 National Football and hurling leagues are soon to descend upon us, while the signs of thaw around the country are sure to see county teams getting back outdoors and resuming their preparations for the year ahead. The preseason competitions will be the first indication of which teams are going well and which are going badly, however the correlation between preseason results and national league results is often a loose one at best and sometimes the best placed bettor by the end of February is the one who ignored those formlines entirely. Instead, it's often worth looking at what teams have the most to play for at this time of year, particularly in light of last year's hurling final, where it became clear with hindsight that one team wanted the trophy a lot more than the other. For most of the genuine top flight counties, a national hurling league title would be a nice bonus, but of little real relevance. National League wins are not really the currency by which hurlers in
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Posted on 27 Dec 2010 at 16:49 PM by
Big Man with Football
The message from week 16 in the NFL has been fairly straightforward - those teams that needed to win, largely speaking, tended to do so. Jacksonville went against this trend somewhat in failing to overcome the Redskins, however the absence of Maurice Jones-Drew obviously had a big bearing in this regard. Green Bay needed a win over the New York Giants, who just would have liked one, and got it. Kansas, Baltimore, New England and Pittsburgh all overcame opposition that was playing for pride alone, while only San Diego shot themselves in the foot against a franchise who are already looking at 2011 as their focal point. Tomorrow night Philadelphia meet the Minnesota Vikings in Philly and a similar result is likely here - the Eagles just have too many offensive weapons and should win by two touchdowns or more, covering the spread in the process. Their spot at the top of the NFC East is secure due to the Packers' win over New York, however the number two slot in the NFC overall is very much
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Posted on 23 Dec 2010 at 11:00 AM by
Formex
One can only hope that Santa brings an end to the snow and icy weather this weekend and we can enjoy some much needed football cheer on Boxing Day. Festive goodwill may be thin on the ground in the Allardyce household but his old team Blackburn who host Stoke could provide us with a real Christmas cracker. When the Venky’s Group took over the Ewood Park side and ditched Big Sam declaring they wanted a top manager and would wait a couple of months to make the appointment they showed to all and sundry that they know very little about the beautiful game. It now though appears Steve Kean, who took temporary charge on Allardyce’s departure will stay as manager until the end of this season. We can put the rights and wrongs of events to one side but one thing is sure it is a mess at Blackburn and apart from a little nibble on relegation for Rovers we must lump on Stoke on Sunday. Tony Pulis’ side have already beaten Blackburn twice this year and at some very tasty prices should
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Posted on 21 Dec 2010 at 22:17 PM by
Big Man with Football
Last night the Minnesota Vikings proved that any team with little or nothing to play for is capable of putting in a terrible performance. Despite getting the best possible start when Brett Favre found Percy Harvin for the opening score, the Vikings went on to put in a dismal display, struggling in every facet of the game. Chicago backers, many of whom had piled in on the news that Adrian Peterson would not start, regained their confidence pretty quickly as Jay Cutler went to work while their defence dominated. Like the Vikings, the Carolina have also been having a dismally disappointing season, however they mustered up a decent performance last weekend against Arizona and there is reason to believe that they might not tamely roll over and die against seemingly overwhelming odds in Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Pittsburgh have been very impressive defensively this year, incredibly so against the run, limiting opponents to less than 65 yards on the ground per game. That old school Pittsburgh
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Posted on 17 Dec 2010 at 17:08 PM by
Formex
No apologies for starting with the main event of the weekend – the clash of the giants between Chelsea and Man United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. United moved to the top of the table with their narrow victory over Arsenal at Old Trafford last Monday night and although the Gunners will no doubt have beaten Stoke on Saturday to regain top spot this is the game that matters. United have a game in hand on the champions and remain unbeaten in the league following the 1-0 win over Arsenal although their form on the road is less than outstanding (1-6-0). Chelsea found some form in the second half against Tottenham and if Drogba hadn’t fluffed his injury time penalty the Blues would have taken all three points. Whilst their apparent invincibility at home has now gone (6-1-1 this season) they are sure to be difficult to beat and they have a very strong home record against the Old Trafford side. With the return of Frank Lampard to the side late on at White Hart Lane and Drogba playing
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Posted on 17 Dec 2010 at 00:57 AM by
Big Man with Football
The cliché about how the Saints are somehow managing to sneak into the playoff picture with little or no fanfare is, ironically, the hot topic of week 15 in the NFL. Their position behind the red hot Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South race means that they are in the quite odd position of looking at finishing either as a wild card team, or else top seed in the NFC with home advantage all the way to the Super Bowl. Sadly for Saints fans, the latter is still quite unlikely as they would need to win this weekend in Baltimore, win next week in Atlanta, beat Tampa Bay in the final week and still get a little help from elsewhere. It's not looking likely. However looking at the first step in that list of tasks game in isolation, and it's easy to like the Saints in Sunday's matchup with Baltimore. On the surface, with some light snow and stiff breezes forecast for M&T Bank Stadium, this is the kind of game where the smart money opposes Dome teams, even more so Dome teams from
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Posted on 16 Dec 2010 at 23:31 PM by
Ruck Driver
The importance of home advantage in Heineken Cup Rugby is difficult to overstate, and the competition is littered with teams who have won 80% or more of their home games and 20% or less of their away games, particularly when games against Italian whipping boys are discounted. As a result, when one sees a result like Ulster 22 Bath 18 from Ravenhill, it's understandable that bookmakers would chalk up Bath as 4/9 favourites for the game at the Recreation grounds this weekend. Of course Bath will be an improved outfit at home, however 22-18 was a gross understatement of the dominance that Ulster exerted in that game, and Bath will need a lot more than a vociferous home crowd to turn the tables on that result. The English club scored two first half tries in that match, one from a breakaway when it looked as if Ulster were going to go over themselves, and another when they cleared from their own 22 and full back Adam D'Arcy made a hash of gathering the subsequent loose ball. Two missed
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