Posted on 29 Apr 2011 at 13:30 PM by
Ruck Driver
The city of Dublin is warming up nicely for the visit of Heineken Cup specialists Toulouse and while most rugby followers will be glued to their screens tomorrow afternoon, from a betting perspective, the more interesting Heineken Cup semi final could be the meeting of Northampton and Perpignon on Sunday. The standard of the Aviva Premiership has rightly been pilloried in recent years for lacking the quality of the competition in France and at the top end of the Magners League, however Northampton have defied that status this year and have played some excellent rugby in this tournament. They've ridden their luck at times too and there is no doubt that reviewing the game film of their quarter final meeting with the Saints will have been painful viewing for Ulster, who could easily have sneaked a win in that fixture, but the quality of the Northampton tight five simply isn't appreciated widely enough in the general public. This group has ismply been outstanding this year and if Northampton
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Posted on 29 Apr 2011 at 17:55 PM by
Lone Shark
The plethora of club games taking place this weekend should be a veritable feeding frenzy for online punters, but just as the improvements in online information have helped the punters, it's notable that the pricing for club matches has got quite good as well, to the point that it's clear that the compilers have developed a strong knowledge base of club GAA all across Ireland, or at the very least, a good network of information sources. Nonetheless, this writer can still remember when national league games were offered on a "minimum trebles" basis, unless they were televised live, so there will certainly be no complaints from here about the concept of round robin games in club championship being offered, even if there isn't a huge volume of ricks out there. Of course there will be those with the inside track reading this column and if there are, please don't be shy about adding a comment and sharing the wealth with everyone! A few bets stand out to this writer
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Posted on 30 Apr 2011 at 11:24 AM by
Formex
With a two goal lead and the second-leg to come at Old Trafford next Wednesday Man United look assured of a place in the Champions League Final at Wembley next month. If they get anything from Sundays feature against Arsenal at the Emirates the Premier League will also look to be in the bag. The Red Devils have won the last four meetings with the Gunners and with the home side once again squandering their chance of taking the title by regularly pressing the self- destruct button a victory here would only assist Chelsea in their quest to retain their crown. The defeat at Bolton last Sunday hammered the final nail into Wenger’s title hopes following the late goal conceded against Liverpool and failing to hold a two goal lead at White Hart Lane. We have come to rely on Arsenal to waste opportunities and once again they have not disappointed as they settle for another season without silverware. United can lose this and still take the title with nearest pursuers Chelsea due to visit Old
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Posted on 05 May 2011 at 18:40 PM by
Ruck Driver
The organisers of the Magners League can consider themselves very fortunate that as they head into the final weekend, so many fixtures on the card involve at least one team with something to play for. Unfortunately this is not true in every case and the meeting of Munster and Connacht looks highly likely to turn into one big festival of goodbyes, with Munster bidding farewell to Alan Quinlan while Connacht go through their usual end of year routine of losing all their most promising players. A somewhat unorthodox Munster backline sees Danny Barnes selected at centre and Simon Zebo once again selected out on the wing, however it's quite a strong Munster team generally with key men such as Paul O'Connell, Marcus Horan and ageless John Hayes set to take their place in the tight five. Connacht are understandably lining out with their strongest team for the last game of the season, however they have a terrible record in Munster and have only won once down here in the last 35 years, albeit
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Posted on 06 May 2011 at 10:16 AM by
pjmar
Popular online poker room RedKings.com has increased the total race money in May to $100,000. The Knock' em Down Race is for 5 days at a time and players can start any day of the week entering a maximum of six times in the month. In a break from the traditional monthly online poker points races RedKings the Knock' em Down Race first launched this April proved to be a successful series of 5 day poker races. Now with over $100,000 to win and players starting to Race daily throughout the month RedKings will be targeting new depositing players everyday and encouraging all existing players to spend just five days at a time competing for the huge cash prizes. Commented Jani Kontturi, RedKings VIP Marketing Manager, '' most poker Races never seem to cater for the millions of players who have no chance of winning the big prizes. The RedKings 5 day Knock' em Down race structure is brand new and innovative, the key to this Race is that players can start whenever it suits them
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Posted on 06 May 2011 at 16:39 PM by
Formex
Will history repeat itself at Old Trafford this Sunday? It was in April last year that Chelsea, through a controversial Didier Drogba goal, won 2-1 at the Theatre of Dreams to leapfrog Man United at the Premier League summit. This time round Chelsea would only take top spot on goal difference but with only two games to play after this weekend it is a position you can bet they would be unlikely to relinquish. Such an outcome was more than fanciful only a month ago but with Ancelotti’s men finding a rich vein of form and United stuttering and finally losing at the Emirates last Sunday it is now most certainly possible, albeit perhaps not probable. Unfortunately for the visitors and current Champions the home form of Ferguson’s side is outstanding 16-1-0 in the league and yet to lose a game at home in any competition this season. The Blues can take heart from their 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in which David Luiz had such a memorable game. He was ineligible for the Champions
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Posted on 06 May 2011 at 17:56 PM by
Lone Shark
It's club action to the fore again this week as the clock continues to tick down towards the start of the provincial and All Ireland championships, notwithstanding New York's exit some weeks ago. Yet again Dublin, Offaly, Galway and Tipperary have games down for decision, while Kildare, Clare and Cork are counties that are also getting campaigns underway. Flicking through the country in no particular order, the standout bet in Offaly is Belmont tonight at 12/5 with Ladbrokes. Tullamore have the better reputation due to contesting two county finals in a row, but it's notable that their form in the round robin stages in both of those years was deplorable, doing only the minimum required to qualify for the knockout stages. On the evidence of their first round fixture against Kilcormac/Killoughey when only one starting midfielder or forward scored, they are on course for a similar performance this year. Tullamore centre back Benny Dagg is suspended and they'll need all the help
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Posted on 06 May 2011 at 18:50 PM by
Big Man with Football
The dust has finally settled on the 2011 NFL draft, with all 32 franchises and their fans currently analysing their performances to assess how well fixed they are for depth in each of the key areas of their offense and defense for next season. If you look hard enough, you'll find every club pitched as either a winner or a loser in some column somewhere in the aftermath of it all, however looking strictly from a betting perspective, then it becomes a lot easier to take a definitive view in favour of a few ball clubs. First and foremost, the Atlanta Falcons made it very clear that they are all about winning the Super Bowl next year as they essentially traded away most of next year's draft to get Julio Jones onto their roster. With a respectable offensive line, a very solid young quarter back in Matt Ryan, two Pro Bowl targets in Roddy White and Anthony Gonzalez and a beast of a running back in Michael Turner, this has to be the best offense in the NFL now. There is no question that
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Posted on 10 May 2011 at 14:11 PM by
Ruck Driver
Three of the four Irish privinces succeeded in extending their season last Friday night by securing their places in the Magners League playoffs, however the odds on offer from the various bookmaking firms in Ireland and the UK suggest that for Ulster, the end of the 2010/11 road is coming next Friday night. Certainly on form, it's hard to argue with that assessment since Leinster seem to be going from strength to strength. Their demolition of the Glasgow Warriors, as predicted here on Betting.com, was a ruthlessly efficient performance with several supposedly "fringe" players really playing their part. Perhaps the most impressive aspect was the fact that they only conceded three points, a huge boost to a team that prides itself on defensive solidity and a massive endorsement of their structure and approach. Certainly it's hard to see Ulster breaking down that Leinster defence with any kind of regularity. In thirteen out of their last seventeen fixtures, including ties
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Posted on 12 May 2011 at 21:21 PM by
Lone Shark
It's a somewhat low key start to the provincial and All Ireland hurling championships this weekend, with Saturday night's meeting of Laois and Antrim in O'Moore Park likely to escape the attention of all but the most dedicated hurling supporters. On last year's championship form Antrim would be the more likely winners here, but manager Dinny Cahill has named a very fresh looking team. Four championship debutants is a fair amount of inexperience in an away championship hurling match, particularly with two lining out in the corner back positions. Antrim enjoy slight favouritism with the bookmakers, if it could ever be said that any GAA team "enjoys" being favourites, however the odds of 10/11 and 5/6 that are most common with the various betting concerns suggests that no result would be a huge surprise here as both sides are considered quite evenly matched. Laois have also suffered a few key losses this year but the naming of Brian Campion at full back is a huge
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