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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sunday FA Round-up : Arsenal win, Man City draw, Fulham thump Spurs

An eventful Sunday of FA Cup football saw Fulham take the headlines with a 4-0 demolition of London rivals Tottenham at Craven Cottage.

This game was over by half-time as the Cottagers had raced into a four-goal advantage by the break.

Ex-Spur Danny Murphy scored from the spot 11 minutes in after Alan Hutton barged down Clint Dempsey in the box. Murphy added a second penalty three minutes later after Michael Dawson was sent off for tugging back Moussa Dembele in the box.

Brede Hangeland stabbed home to make it 3-0 before Dembele rifled home a blistering strike just before half-time to seal the impressive win.

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Earlier, Edin Dzeko threw Manchester City an FA Cup lifeline after Notts County had come close to winning this 4th round tie.

Neal Bishop's header on the hour threatened to add City's name to the Sunderland scalp County collected in the previous round.

But Dzeko had other ideas and drilled home Micah Richards' low cross 10 minutes from time to break his own City duck, and rescue the Eastlands outfit.

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Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to net another late penalty as 10-man Arsenal laboured into the fifth round with a 2-1 win over npower League One Huddersfield at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal took the lead when Nicklas Bendtner's angled shot deflected in off Terriers skipper Peter Clarke on 22 minutes before then losing Samir Nasri with a hamstring problem, and having Sebastien Squillaci sent off for blocking Jack Hunt's surging run.

Alan Lee headed a deserved equaliser for the Terriers, but Fabregas won it from the penalty spot after Jamie McCombe pushed Bendtner over with 5 minutes remaining.

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Victor Obinna scored a hat-trick as West Ham put their Carling Cup semi-final misery behind them and marched into the fifth round with a 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest in a thrilling encounter at Upton Park.

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Robert Huth's late goal earned Stoke a first FA Cup victory over Wolves as they won 1-0 at Molineux.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Japan beat Australia 1-0 in ET to win Asia Cup Final

Japan are the Asian football champions for a record breaking fourth time, taking the crown in a thrilling battle over a gallant Australia.

A brilliant extra-time strike sealed the 1-0 win, with substitute Tadanari Lee volleying home a cross from Yuto Nagatomo in the 109th minute of a scintillating Asian Cup final.

Bodog Sportsbook has over 100 prop bets for Super Bowl XLV


Get your BBQ ready and put the beer on ice, Super Bowl XLV between Pittsburgh and Green Bay kicks off on Sunday, Feb 6th and Bodog Sportsbook is offering over a hundred props to keep us interested all afternoon.

For the dozen years that we've been online (and a few before that), Bodog has done its best to offer up the most variety in their Super Bowl props to ensure every possible bet is available for the biggest day of the year.

Bet on pregame action like the popular coin toss and the length of Christina Aguilera's National Anthem; on in-game action you can get regular props like the team to score first or the quarterback to pass for more yards; you can even bet on the Gatorade color when the winning coach gets his victory bath!

There are also cross-sports props. This is where you get the opportunity to bet Super Bowl stats against NBA and NHL action on the same day.

The Super Bowl is the biggest NFL game of the year and Bodog has the props to make every snap just a little more important.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Liverpool sign Luis Suarez from Ajax for 23m

Liverpool have agreed a fee to sign Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from Dutch club Ajax for £23m.

The deal for the 24-year-old striker is subject to Suarez passing a medical and agreeing personal terms with the Premier League club.

Liverpool initially bid £12.7m for Suarez, but Ajax told them to come back with a more "respectful" offer - which resulted in Liverpool almost doubling their offer to tempt the Dutch giants to sell the forward.

The January transfer window is proving expensive - Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko reportedly cost Manchester City £27m earlier this month - and Ajax will make a £16.6m profit on a player they bought from Groningen for £6.4m in 2007.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Carling Cup Semi : Birmingham City 3-1 West Ham AET

West Ham took an early 1-0 lead to go 3-1 up on aggregate, but Birmingham City stormed back with two goals in the second half to force extra-time, and grabbed the winner in extra time to reach Wembley.

So Trevor Brooking's boys fluff their lines, and there will be no chance of extracting revenge 30 years after 1980 from this current crop of Hammers.

I'm reading that this will be Birmingham City's first Wembley final since 1957, although I seem to remember the brummies losing to Liverpool in the Worthington Cup final on penalties within the last 10 years or so ...

(Update: apparently that was in 2001 - and was held at Cardiff's stadium)

The match will be held on Sunday 27th February 2011 - Kickoff at 3pm - and already the online ticket touts are selling Carling Cup final tickets for between GBP 250 to 300! (EUR 400 to 500)

(click on either Arsenal or Birmingham City when you get there and you'll quickly find them)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Carling Cup Semi-final - Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich

Arsenal reach Wembley after a prolonged absence - with a 3-1 aggregate win

Nil-nil at halftime - and words like "firetruck" (only smaller like f ...uck!) were being used a lot around my PC.

I got on with some work - pretending not to care - and when I next checked the football livescores the Arsenal were 2-0 up!!

Cue more pretending not to care, and ignoring the game, and lo and behold I'd managed to ignore another goal for the Arse who were 3-0 up and cruising. Obviously we could only score last night if I was not actually watching.

You can catch video highlights of the good bits on the Arsenal Video Page. It's safe to do so - that game is over - we can't jinx anything now!

Who do you want as opponents in the final? Birmingham City or West Ham?

It might only be the Carling Cup final but I'd like to see West Ham get there too - that Trevor Brooking headered goal in 1980 still traumatises me - and I'm still harbouring a 30-year grudge ;-)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Green Bay Packers favourites for Superbowl XLV as we head to NFC / AFC Championship

Green Bay Packers are the new favourites for Super Bowl XLV after they routed Atlanta Falcons 48-21 and former market leaders New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets 21-28.

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes for the Packers and ran for another score as the Falcons secured their second straight post-season road victory with a stunning 48-21 hammering of the Falcons on Sunday.

And after Mark Sanchez threw three touchdown passes for the Jets to beat the Pats, it was the Packers who were installed as the new Superbowl favourites.

The Packers are 7/4 (2.75) favourites to win the SuperBowl, with Pittsburgh second favourites on 3.30

AFC Championship - Sunday 23rd January 2011
New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers

NFC Championship - Sunday 23rd January 2011
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears.

Best Odds for SuperBowl Win

2.75 Green Bay Packers @ Centrebet
3.30 Pittsburgh Steelers @ Paddy Power
5.15 New York Jets @ Canbet
6.50 Chicago Bears @ Ladbrokes

Sunday's NFL Winners provide a tasty payout for one punter

We've just received a notification from one of the sites we take advertising for - Bookmaker.com - that a sports player we sent them has successfully parleyed Sunday's two NFL games to a very tasty winning payout.

The player took two TOTALS BETS plus two ML BETS (including the NY JETS at +330) for Sunday's games and turned a $800 stake into just over $22,000 !!

I don't know how often you visit our blog mate - but TOP WORK!!!!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Manchester City go top of the Premier League on Saturday night

Manchester City moved to the top of the Barclays Premier League table after holding off a Wolves comeback to triumph 4-3 at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Avram Grant's reign as West Ham manager looked set to have ended in defeat as Arsenal romped to a convincing 3-0 win at Upton Park. The Hammers boss was widely expected to lose his job regardless of the result, with Martin O'Neill ready to step in - but nothing has been announced officially yet by West Ham.

Chelsea secured only their second win in their last 10 league games with goals from Branislav Ivanovic and Nicolas Anelka in a 2-0 victory over Blackburn at Stamford Bridge.

West Brom ended a run of six successive defeats with a 3-2 victory over Blackpool in a topsy-turvy clash at The Hawthorns.

Top and Bottom of The Premier League Table

Pos Team        Pl  GD PTS 
 1  Man City    23 +18  45 
 2  Man Utd     20 +24  44 
 3  Arsenal     22 +23  43 
 4  Chelsea     22 +19  38 
 5  Tottenham   21  +6  36 
 6  Sunderland  22  +3  33 
...
17  Wigan       22 -15  22 
18  Wolves      22 -14  21 
19  Aston Villa 21 -15  21 
20  West Ham    23 -19  20 

Sunday, January 09, 2011

FA Cup Fourth Round Draw made

The fourth round of the FA Cup was drawn on Sunday, and it's thrown up a handful of all-Premier League ties.

Holders Chelsea will have a testing game at Everton after hammering seven past Ipswich, while Fulham will host Tottenham in an all-Premier League tie.

Manchester United face a trip to League One Southampton in the fourth round of the FA Cup in a repeat of the 1976 FA Cup Final.

The winner of the third-round replay between Arsenal and Leeds will entertain Huddersfield Town.

Stevenage knocked out Newcastle in a third round upset and have been drawn at home to Reading, who beat West Brom.

League Two Burton Albion stunned Middlesbrough to make it into the last 32 and face another Championship side in Burnley in the next round, with the game taking place at Turf Moor.

League One Notts County won at top-flight Sunderland to secure their progress and will be at home in the fourth round against either Leicester or Manchester City who drew 2-2.

Full FA Cup fourth round draw :

Torquay v Crawley Town or Derby
Watford v Brighton
Bolton v Wigan
Arsenal or Leeds v Huddersfield
Fulham v Tottenham
Everton v Chelsea
Southampton v Manchester United
Swansea v Leyton Orient
Burnley v Burton
Birmingham v Coventry
Doncaster Rovers or Wolves v Stoke or Cardiff
Notts County v Leicester or Man City
Stevenage v Reading
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers
West Ham v Nottingham Forest
Sheffield Wednesday v Wycombe or Hereford

Ties to be played over the weekend of 29 and 30 January

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Roy Hodgson leaves Liverpool ... by mutual consent (yeah - right!)

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has left the club by mutual consent according to the Liverpool club website.

"Both parties thought it in the best interests of the club that he stand down," said American owner John Henry in a statement on the club's website.

Hodgson, 63, had won only seven of their 20 Premier League games since he took over from Rafael Benitez in July 2010 with the club 12th in the table.

Former player and manager Kenny Dalglish, who wanted the position initially and has been hovering around like a spectre, has now been placed in charge of Liverpool until the end of the season.

Friday, January 07, 2011

Roy Keane sacked as manager of Ipswich Town

The BBC Sport website is reporting that Roy Keane has been sacked as manager of Ipswich.

Ipswich Town have suffered seven losses in their last nine games and the 0-1 loss to Nottingham Forest on Monday left the club 19th in the Championship table.

Speaking after the home defeat by Forest on Monday the former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder, said: "I'm doing my best and if my best isn't good enough, then I'll take the consequences."

Ipswich, backed by multi-millionaire Marcus Evans, have invested £8m on players during Keane's reign. Ipswich have called a press conference for 1100 GMT.

The new manager will have a tough start as Ipswich have a FA Cup third round tie at Chelsea on Sunday, followed by the first leg of their League Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Portman Road on Wednesday, 12 January.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Italian Serie A Midweek results for Jan 6th 2011

Leonardo got off to the best possible start in his role as manager of Inter Milan, defeating second place Napoli 3-1 with Thiago Motta bagging a brace.

Latest Results

FT Juventus 1 - 4 Parma
FT AS Roma  4 - 2 Catania
FT Bologna  1 - 1 Fiorentina
FT Brescia  1 - 2 Cesena
FT Cagliari 0 - 1 AC Milan
FT Genoa    0 - 0 Lazio
FT Lecce    0 - 1 Bari
FT Palermo  3 - 0 Sampdoria
FT Udinese  2 - 0 Chievo
FT Inter    3 - 1 Napoli

Italian Serie A Top Seven

Team     Pts Pl  W D L Fr Ag
-------- --- -- ------ -----  
Milan AC  39 18 12-3-3 30:13  
Lazio     34 18 10-4-4 24:16 
Napoli    33 18 10-3-5 27:20 
Roma AS   32 18  9-5-4 26:22 
Juventus  31 18  8-7-3 33:21  
Palermo   30 18  9-3-6 32:22 
Inter     26 16  7-5-4 23:15 

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

NFL Post-season Schedule sorts itself out

The dust has settled over week 17 of the regular season in the NFL, and we now have the schedule for Wildcard weekend and divisional playoffs.

American Football Conference Seedings

1. New England (14-2, AFC East champion)
2. Pittsburgh (12-4, AFC North champion)
3. Indianapolis (10-6, AFC South champion)
4. Kansas City (10-6, AFC West champion)
5. Baltimore (12-4)
6. New York Jets (11-5)

In the AFC, New England and Pittsburgh both get the weekend off, before hosting Divisional playoffs - and the wildcard round produces a couple of good games.

Saturday, 8th January 2011 8:00 PM (ET)
- New York Jets at Indianapolis

Sunday, 9th January 2011 1:00 PM (ET)
- Baltimore at Kansas City

National Football Conference Seedings

1. Atlanta (13-3, NFC South champion)
2. Chicago (11-5, NFC North champion)
3. Philadelphia (10-6, NFC East champion)
4. Seattle (7-9, NFC West champion)
5. New Orleans (11-5)
6. Green Bay (10-6)

Over in the NFC, it's Atlanta and Chicago that claim the top two spots and a well deserved break.

New Orleans Saints will travel to face the Seattle Seahawks who at (7-9) become the first team in a long time to make the playoffs with a losing record. The Saints are double digit favourites at the bookmakers - but Seattle do have a 5-3 home record this season - so THAT might be over-stating their advantage.

Saturday, 8th January 2011 4:30 PM (ET)
- New Orleans at Seattle

Sunday, 9th January 2011 4:30 PM (ET)
- Green Bay at Philadelphia

Sunday, January 02, 2011

Latest Football Videos - see all the latest goals

We've added a new feature to the main site, with links to the latest goals and games as they're posted onto the internet via YouTube, DailyMotion and Sapo.

Currently we're scouting for four clubs, Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid, but we're adding to this list all the time.

Check it out - and post in the comments if you want a new club added to our list.