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Saturday, December 31, 2011

EPL Roundup : Blackburn win at Man United, Aston Villa win at Chelsea

Manchester United and Chelsea suffered home defeats in the Barclays Premier League on the final day of 2011.

Blackburn Rovers lifted themselves from the foot of the table after scoring three times, to earn a famous 3-2 victory at Old Trafford at odds of 28-1 at Victor Chander.

Didier Drogba scored his 150th goal for Chelsea from the penalty spot but it was not enough as Chelsea lost 1-3 to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. Stephen Ireland hit back for Villa five minutes later before Stiliyan Petrov gave Villa the lead in the 83rd minute and Darren Bent scored Villa's third three minutes later.

Tottenham drew 1-1 against Swansea at the Liberty Stadium to reduce the gap to second-placed United to six points.

Robin Van Persie's second-half strike gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over QPR at the Emirates after the Gunners missed several chances in an entertaining match.

Results from Dec 31st 2011
Arsenal 1-0 QPR
Bolton 1-1 Wolves
Chelsea 1-3 Aston Villa
Man Utd 2-3 Blackburn
Norwich 1-1 Fulham
Stoke 2-2 Wigan
Swansea 1-1 Tottenham

English Premier League - Top 6 Standings

Saturday, 31 December 2011
PositionTeamPLGDPts
1 Man City183845
2  Man Utd193245
3 Tottenham181539
4 Arsenal19936
5 Chelsea191334
6 Liverpool19934

Ladbrokes close doors to Greece and Cyprus bettors

Ladbrokes betting group have announced that they will not longer be accepting wagers or bets from any customers based in Greece and Cyprus from 1st January 2012 - due to legislative changes.

Greek players looking for a solid bookmaker should take a look at Bet365 (€200 as 100% matched joining bonus) and Stan James (£150 in free bets over 5 stages) both of which are still accepting players from both countries and offering good odds and bonuses.

Read our Bookmaker Review Directory and Guide for more details on a dozen quality bookmakers.

Friday, December 30, 2011

David Beckham to move to French club Paris Saint Germain in 2012?

David Beckham might be 36, but it's possible that Beckham will be playing football in France soon with a £160,000 weekly pay packet.

Beckham's five year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy ends on 31st December 2011, and it appears that newly installed manager Carlo Ancelotti is looking to bring some big names in to boost the star power of the Parisian club.

As well as Becks, its rumoured that Chelsea forward Florent Malouda and Real Madrid's Kaka are other potential targets.

PSG are sitting on top of the French Ligue 1 standings with 40 points from 19 games, but could certainly use more strike power in attack.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

NBA Friday : LA Clippers host Chicago Bulls

Two of the NBA’s hottest young teams will tip off this Friday as the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the visiting Chicago Bulls in a quality early season match-up.

Can Blake Griffin captain his squad to a victory over reigning MVP Derrick Rose? We will find out on Friday with the game being covered live on NBA TV - and around the world via ESPN.

Though the Bulls may have the advantage of having played in the conference finals last spring, there’s no denying the emergence of the "other team" in Los Angeles as a legitimate contender on the NBA betting scene.

Bovada Sportsbook has the LA Clippers at +1200 odds of winning the NBA championship, a mark not to differenet to the competitive Bulls, and slightly better than reigning title winner Dallas Mavericks.

Current Lines to win 2012 NBA Championship at Bovada Sportsbook.
+190 Miami Heat
+600 Chicago Bulls
+650 Oklahoma City Thunder
+750 Los Angeles Lakers
+1200 Los Angeles Clippers
+1400 Dallas Mavericks

In the Friday bout, fans will see not only two of the brightest young franchises in the NBA, but a handful of MVP candidates on full display. After a standout rookie season, power forward Griffin has proven his transition from college superstar to NBA wunderkind a success.

Will it be enough to trump Rose and the Chicago Bulls? And where does Chris Paul fit in to all of this?

It may be easy to overlook the two clubs at this point in the season, but given the sheer depth of talent on each roster, don’t be surprised to see these two squads playing deep into the postseason.

Get all your NBA odds for individual games and long-term futures at Bovada Sportsbook


RESULT UPDATE : (after the Game)
Derrick Rose had 29 points and 16 assists, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 114-101 Friday night.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Betfair allows £21m LAY bet in Leopardstown Horse race.

Voler la Vedette (red jockey) in lead
Betfair have been hit by a system failure (or a hack?) during a Christmas Hurdle race at Leopardstown this week.

The winner, Voler La Vadette, was the 13-8 second favourite on-course and ran the race well always in contention and looked the obvious winner even before the final flight which it cleared to win easily.

Betfair allowed a punter to place a LAY at odds of 28-1, for a staggering £21,000,000+, of which £1,642,094 was matched.

The total lay bet had a liability of £600 million, and is clearly a hack, or a major system malfunction.

Betfair suspended the market in order to investigate, and then confirmed that in-running bets would be void, probably because the punter didn't have £50 million to pay the matched bets.

A statement posted on the Betfair forum read "An investigation has revealed that this was due to an obvious technical failure which allowed a customer to exceed their exposure limit. "

Monday, December 26, 2011

BetOnline Sportsbook - Taking big limits on NFL and College Bowl games

New Parlay Odds at BetOnlineThis week is the final week of the NFL regular season - and the NFL Playoffs loom large for 2012 so hopefully you are prepared for the action. Also, the College Bowls really kick into gear this week with games every day.

If you fancy a sizable football bet then check out BetOnline Sportsbook.

BetOnline covers all sports and their online betting limits are some of the biggest around – up to $25,000 for NFL and up to $15,000 for the College Bowls.

Read our full page BetOnline Sportsbook Review on the GoonersGuide.com website or visit BetOnline Sportsbook now.

EPL Boxing Day : Man United close gap as Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool all draw

Dimitar Berbatov smashed a hat-trick as Manchester United grabbed a 5-0 win over 10-man Wigan to move level with Manchester City at the top of the Barclays Premier League. (Man Utd video clips)

Manchester City were left frustrated with a 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns, where Mario Balotelli had an effort chalked off for offside after 33 minutes as West Brom battled to a well-deserved point. (recent Man City video clips)

Chelsea's third successive 1-1 draw this time at home to Fulham meant that title hopes suffered another heavy blow. (Chelsea video)

Bottom club Blackburn Rovers earned a 1-1 draw at Liverpool, where stand-in Rovers goalkeeper Mark Bunn produced an outstanding display. (see video of Liverpool game)

Sunderland drew 1-1 against Everton, who equalised with a controversial second-half penalty at the Stadium of Light.

Two goals in as many minutes from Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba earned Newcastle a 2-0 win against struggling Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

NBA : Miami Heat demolish Dallas Mavs in Xmas matchup 105-94

The NBA finally got underday for the 2011-12 season on Christmas Day, and the first game was well worth tuning into as the NY Knicks held on to beat the Bostic Celtics 106-104 (although Boston fans got the statisfaction of a betting cover with a +3.5 point start).

You can read the ESPN recap of  Boston Celtics at New York Knicks here

The second game on Xmas day is looking like a snore-fest as the Miami Heat are pulverising the Dallas Mavericks by 30 points heading into the end of the 3rd quarter - the Heat are leading 91-60 - get your Xmas nap in now!

UPDATE : Miami Heat win 105-94 - easily covering the -4 point spread.
Read the ESPN Report of Miami Heat @ Dallas Mavericks

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Could Thierry Henry be back playing for Arsenal in the New Year?

As incredible as it sounds - it's possible that Thierry Henry might be back at Arsenal on loan for a couple of months via the January transfer window.

Henry, left Arsenal in 2007 for Barcelona before moving to the United States where he currently plays for the New York Bulls.

But Henry will not be required back in the United States until March and Arsenal will lose two strikers, Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh, for up to a month at the end of January due to the African Nations Cup.

This leaves Arsenal very short of experienced strikers, and with the 34-year-old Henry training with the Londoners since the close of the MLS season in November - an opportunity arises.

For that reason, Wenger is considering the possibility of a potential two-month loan deal for the star. "January 1 is the vital date for us. We have seven days to make decisions and I will make a decision in the next seven days on players."

US DOJ says -1961 Wire Act does not apply to poker

The United States federal government appears to have changed its long-held position on Internet gambling, asserting that the federal Wire Act of 1961 applies only to sports betting.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote in a letter Friday that "the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has analyzed the scope of the Wire Act, 18 U.S.c § 1084, and concluded that it is limited only to sports betting."

A 13-page legal opinion written by Assistant Attorney General Virginia Seitz in September was released today - and appears to be a tip-toe attempt to provide support for New York and Illinois online lottery plans.

Business webiste Forbes called the shift a big win for state lotteries that hope to use the Internet to sell lottery tickets to adults.

But it's also a major boon for online poker as the US government's previous position played a big role in the recent crackdown on online poker sites. But now, Internet poker isn't barred by any federal statute.

Forbes.com notes "the Justice Department ... has long relied on the law (Wire Act) when asserting that all forms of Internet gambling, especially online poker, are illegal."

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The NBA finally returns on Christmas Day

After a two month delay with the players and owners arguing about who gets to make the most cash, the NBA betting season finally gets underway on Christmas day with a five star quintuple header.


MIAMI HEAT (-4) @ DALLAS MAVERICKS

The game that is getting the most basketball betting action is the rematch of last year’s NBA Finals as the Dallas Mavericks host the Miami Heat. Despite winning their first championship in franchise history, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs are four-point home underdogs to LeBron James and the much hyped Miami Heat.


BOSTON CELTICS (+3½) @ NEW YORK KNICKS

The first game of the day pits the Boston Celtics against the new-look New York Knicks. This game opened close to a ‘pick em’, but the boys from the Big Apple are now 3.5-point chalk. The Knicks added veterans Tyson Chandlers and Mike Bibby over the offseason. Meanwhile, the Celtics are getting older by the minute.


GOLDEN STATE (+5) @ LOS ANGELEES CLIPPERS

Thanks to the blockbuster deal that brought Chris Paul to Tinsel Town, the Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors is the game that had the biggest line move. Before Paul was traded to the Clippers, Golden State was a slight favorite in the NBA Christmas nightcap. Now with visions of endless Paul to Blake Griffin alley-oops, the Clippers are five-point chalk.

OTHER GAMES
In addition to the three games mentioned above, the Chicago Bulls visit the Los Angeles Lakers while and the Orlando Magic travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder.


WHERE TO PLAY ON THE NBA
?

BetOnline will allow you to bet up to $10,000 on the NBA and players get up to $900.00 in bonuses on EVERY qualifying deposit.

Head over to BetOnline to check all of the latest NBA Christmas Day betting lines.

Lifetime Bonus at BetOnline

EPL Thursday : Tottenham 1 - 1 Chelsea

Title hopefuls Tottenham and Chelsea had to settle for a point apiece in a fiercely contested London derby - a result which did little to help either teams title chances.

Spurs started brightly and took the lead when Emmanuel Adebayor knocked in Gareth Bale's driven cross after Petr Cech appeared to miss it.

Chelsea improved though and deservedly pulled level when Daniel Sturridge turned in Ashley Cole's low cross from close range. Cole looked to have inadvertantly handled the ball during the move.

In the second hald Didier Drogba hit the post and Ramires headed wide for the Blues, while Spurs almost snatched victory when John Terry hacked Adebayor's goalbound shot clear.

The result means Spurs stay in third place in the Premier League, two points ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea, but nine points behind leaders Manchester City.

English Premier League

Thursday, 22 December 2011 - Top 6 Standings
PositionTeamPGDPts
1 Man City173844
2 Man Utd172842
3 Tottenham161335
4 Chelsea171533
5 Arsenal17832
6 Liverpool17730

EPL Wednesday Results : Wins for Man City, Man United and Arsenal

Sergio Aguero scored two goals in a Manchester City 3-0 victory against Stoke to send Man City top of the table on Christmas Day for the first time since 1929.

Manchester United kept the gap to two points after flattening Fulham 5-0 at Craven Cottage.

A late header from Arsenal substitute Yossi Benayoun earned the visitors a 2-1 victory at Villa Park after Robin van Persie score from the penalty spot and Marc Albrighton equalised in the second half.

Charlie Adam missed a penalty as Liverpool's disappointing run against Wigan continued with a goalless draw at the DW Stadium.

Wes Brown's last-minute header earned Sunderland a 3-2 victory over QPR at Loftus Road while Leon Osman scored the only goal to earn Everton a 1-0 home win over Swansea.

Match Results :
Man City 3-0 Stoke
Fulham 0-5 Man Utd
Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
Wigan 0-0 Liverpool
Newcastle 2-3 West Brom
Everton 1-0 Swansea
QPR 2-3 Sunderland

English Premier League Table

Top 10 Standings as 21 Dec 2011
PositionTeamPGDPts
1 Man City173844
2 Man Utd172842
3 Tottenham151334
4 Chelsea161532
5 Arsenal17832
6 Liverpool17730
7 Newcastle17127
8 Stoke17-1024
9 Norwich17-421
10 West Brom17-721

College Football Odds Favor Boise State win at Maaco Bowl

After an impressive season toward the top of the BCS Standings, mid-major favorite Boise State will look to add some hardware for their efforts this year when they kick off at the 2011 Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas against Arizona State.

Get all your college football betting lines at Bovada’s online sportsbook.

The Boise State Broncos were 11-1 during the regualr season and are ranked #7 nationwide in the year-end standings, and are 14 point favorites on the NCAA football lines. Will senior quarterback Kellen Moore be able to pick up where he left off when the teams take the field this Thursday?

Boise State were always a possible contender on the national scale, but a November loss 35-36 to TCU - after a missed 39-yard field goal - set them back a step.

Now, Bosie State come to the Maaco Bowl as MWC champions, and the most formidable mid-major entry in the country.

Lining up against the Broncos will be the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-6) whose early season successes against ranked Missouri and USC came crashing to a halt with a four-game losing streak that stained the end of their season.

With a 6-6 record and four stright losses the punters think that it’s not likely that the Pac-12 entry will have what it takes to keep up.

Can Boise State, who started the season as high as #5 in the AP polls, win their second consecutive Maaco Bowl?

The Stage is Set. Bet the Bowls with Bovada Sportsbook.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

EPL Tuesday Results - Bolton beat Blackburn to get off the bottom

Bolton Wanderers moved off the bottom and left Blackburn propping up the table with a 2-1 win at Ewood Park.

Mark Davies and Nigel Reo-Coker gave Bolton a two-goal lead at the interval and despite Yakubu throwing Blackburn a lifeline after the break, Bolton held on for a vital win in this relegation "6-pointer".

Elsewhere, Wolves twice came from behind to salvage a draw against Norwich and edge two points clear of the relegation zone on 15 points while Norwich are well positioned in 9th place with 21 points.

FINAL RESULTS :
Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
Wolverhampton 2-2 Norwich City

English Premier League - Bottom Five

Tuesday, 20 December 2011
PositionTeamPGDPts
16 Wolves17-1315
17 Sunderland16-114
18 Wigan16-1513
19 Bolton17-1712
20 Blackburn17-1410

Sunday, December 18, 2011

EPL Sunday : Favourites win - Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool and Spurs

It was an easy accumulator bet for favourites punters in the English Premier League on Sunday as all four favoured sides landed victories without conceding a goal.

Manchester City returned to the Premier League lead as they beat Arsenal 1-0 in a thrilling game. David Silva pounced after Mario Balotelli's shot was saved to score the only goal of the match.

Earlier Manchester United had scored an easy 2-0 win over QPR, boosted by a first minute goal from Wayne Rooney. And after United missed a succession of chances and were denied by QPR keeper Radek Cerny, Michael Carrick settled an entertaining encounter and gave them the winning margin their vast superiority deserved.

Tottenham edged to a 1-0 home win over Sunderland, while Liverpool won 2-0 away at Aston Villa to complete the quad for backers of the big sides.

English Premier League Top 7

Sunday, 18 December 2011
PositionTeamPGDPTS
1Man City163541
2Man Utd162339
3Tottenham151334
4Chelsea161532
5Arsenal16729
6Liverpool16729
7Newcastle16227

NFL : Perfect no more - Green Bay Packers lose at Kansas City

The Green Bay Packers' perfect season came to a crashing halt on Sunday, losing 14-19 to the struggling Kansas City Chiefs, who had just fired their coach and were starting a new quarterback.

If anything - this game was proof that NOTHING can be taken for granted in NFL betting - as the +650 moneyline underdogs took a big bite out of punters profits.

Kansas City QB Kyle Orton threw for 299 yards to outduel Aaron Rodgers, and the Chiefs rallied behind interim coach Romeo Crennel for a shocking 19-14 victory on Sunday that ended the Packers' 19-game winning streak.

Read the full match report on ESPN now.

EPL Saturday : Wigan 1-1 Chelsea

Jordi Gomez's late equaliser halted Chelsea's charge up the Premier League table and gave Wigan a vital point in  1-1 draw.

Chelsea took the lead after halftime when Daniel Sturridge fired home from Ashley Cole's pass. But Wigan refused to give up and denied the Blues victory when Petr Cech's fumble gifted Gomez a simple tap-in with 3 minutes remaining.

Elsewhere, there was frustration for Newcastle United after failing to convert their dominance into a goal in a 0-0 home draw with Swansea City while Fulham (2-0 winners over Bolton) and West Brom (2-1 winners at Blackburn) grabbed important wins to move into mid-table.

English Premier League results

Saturday 17 Dec 2011 

Friday, December 16, 2011

UEFA Champions League - Round of 16 Draw - AC Milan v Arsenal

The draw has been made for the Round of 16 in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League, and it's thrown up a bundle of interesting fixtures.

Lyon v APOEL
Napoli v Chelsea
Milan v Arsenal
Basel v Bayern Munich
Leverkusen v Barcelona
CSKA Moskva v Real Madrid
Zenit St Petersburg v Benfica
Marseille v Inter Milan

This round will be played over February and March of 2012 ... allowing plenty of time for all the hype and hoopla to build up.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Europa League - 32 teams move to knockout draw - seedings announced.

FC Rubin Kazan, Club Brugge KV, AZ Alkmaar and Udinese Calcio qualified for UEFA Europa League round of 32 after the group stage concluded on Thursday night.

There will be two pots for the draw ceremony, staged in Nyon on Friday : the 12 group winners and the four best third-ranked teams in the UEFA Champions League group stage will be drawn against the 12 group runners-up and the remaining third-placed UEFA Champions League sides.

No team can play a club from their group or a side from the same association.

Pot 1 ) Group winners :
PAOK FC, R. Standard de Liège, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Beşiktaş JK, Athletic Club, FC Metalist Kharkiv, Club Brugge KV, Club Atlético de Madrid, FC Schalke 04, FC Twente, RSC Anderlecht

Plus best four UEFA Champions League ranked sides : Manchester City FC, Manchester United FC, Valencia CF, Olympiacos FC

Pot 2) Group runners-up :
FC Rubin Kazan, Hannover 96, Legia Warszawa, S.S. Lazio, Stoke City FC, FC Salzburg, AZ Alkmaar, SC Braga, Udinese Calcio, FC Steaua Bucureşti, Wisła Kraków, FC Lokomotiv Moskva

Plus bottom four UEFA Champions League ranked sides : Trabzonspor AŞ, AFC Ajax, FC Porto, FC Viktoria Plzeň

Europa League - Group K - Wisla Krakow progress as Fulham held by Odense

Odense substitute Djiby Fall scored with the final move of the match draw 2-2 with Fulham a result which sees the London club crash out out of the Europa League.

Wisla Krakow beat Twente 2-1 to move to 9 points behind the Dutch club who were already assured of qualification as group winners.

That meant that Fulham also needed to win to progress, and with the late goal Fulham, who were 2010 finalists, found that their Europa League campaign that started 14 matches ago at the end of June, had come to a sudden end.

Europa Group K Final Table

14 Dec 2011
PositionTeamPGDPts
1FC Twente6713
2Wisla Krakow6-59
3Fulham638
4Odense BK6-54