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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

NFL : Super Bowl XLVI : Tom Brady Props Popular

The New England Patriots set out to exact revenge on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

There is recent history between the two sides as the New England Patriots were huge favourites when the Pats faced the Giants in 2008 in SuperBowl XLII, going in with an 18-0 season record and seeking to emulate the perfect season of the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

But the previously unbeaten Patriots fell to a surprise 14-17 defeat at the hands of the pumped up NY Giants - a result that Sports Illustrated called "one of the greatest upsets in sports history."

That was a bit much - after all in 2008 the New York Giants were 13-6 coming into the SuperBowl and despite being WildCard qualifiers were clearly a form team themselves - but the public and the bookmakers all bought into the hype of the unbeatable Pats and had the Giants as 12 point underdogs.

It simply goes to show that the NFL is a very competitive league, and that when it comes to a SuperBowl anything is possible on game day.

Super Bowl XLVI: Claim Your $100 Free Bet! Join Bovada Now.

This time New England is being touted as the early -3 point favorite on the NFL betting line at Bovada, a victory in the season finale is far from guaranteed - all despite their AFC East-leading 13-3 mark. In fact, one of New England’s three losses came at the hands of these very Giants.

Player "prop" betting is proving popular again this year with New Englands star QB Tom Brady getting a lot of early focus from punters.

Brady throws well, and Brady earns a lot of yardage, even in that loss to the Giants Brady threw for over 340 yards, but a pair of interceptions proved fatal.  Bovada Sportsbook have set the over/under on Brady’s passing yardage for Super Bowl XLVI at 320.5. Does the 34-year-old have enough in the tank to show up big when it matters most yet again?

The NFL prop for Brady’s passing interceptions is set at 0.5, with the majority of bettors expecting the Giants to get at least one "pick" and taking the over.

Bovada’s prop line also features the MVP award, with both Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker poised to factor in to the match. Currently Brady leads the MVP props list as well with +140 odds of winning the award. Gronkowski and Welker sit further down at +1000 and +15000.

With all eyes on the Pats as they set out to accomplish this Sunday what they failed to do in 2008, Super Bowl XLVI is shaping up to be one of the best.

Super Bowl XLVI : It’s All On The Line at Bovada

Monday, January 30, 2012

Football : Midweek spreadsheet for England and Italy online now

The Gooners Numb3rs betting spreadsheet has been updated with the midweek round of games for the English Premier League and Italian Serie A being played on Tuesday, Wedneday and Thursday.

There are some interesting games in store with Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all having tricky away games to manage in England, while in Italy we see Lazio hosting AC Milan and Parma playing Juventus.

In England the spreadsheet sees wins for : TOTTENHAM v Wigan, MANCHESTER CITY @ Everton, MANCHESTER UNITED v Stoke and ARSENAL @ Bolton.

In Italy the home sides hold the advantage with ATALANTA v Genoa, INTER MILAN v Palermo, NAPOLI v Cesena and UDINESE v Lecce all games that the home side should win.

Check out the midweek betting spreadsheet now.

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Tennis : Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in longest Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in five sets to retain his Australian Open title in the longest grand slam final of all time - almost six hours of play.

The Serbian won an epic match 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7(5/7) 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes, beating the previous record of four hours and 54 minutes set by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander at the 1988 US Open.

The win means that Djokovic has now won the last three grand slam titles following his victories at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

You can read all the news at the official Australian Open website.

Friday, January 27, 2012

AC Milan end chase for Carlos Tevez - loan Maxi Lopez instead

AC Milan have have dropped out of the running to sign Argentina striker Carlos Tevez from Manchester City.

The Italian club, who set a 1800 GMT Friday deadline to secure a deal, have instead signed Maxi Lopez from Catania on loan.

Tevez has not played for City since they beat Birmingham on 21 September. Man City boss Roberto Mancini alleged he refused to come off the substitutes' bench in September's Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich, while the player maintained there had been a misunderstanding.

Tevez remains sulking in Argentina and his dispute with Manchester City has so far cost the Argentine player £9.3m in wages, fines and lost bonuses. His advisor Kia Joorabchian does not expect any change until the next transfer window in June.

Monday, January 23, 2012

EPL : Manchester City beat Spurs 3-2, Man United beat Arsenal 2-1

Mario Balotelli's stoppage-time penalty lifted Premier League leaders Manchester City to a dramatic 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United remained snapping at their heels with a 2-1 victory at Arsenal.

MANCHESTER CITY 3-2 TOTTENHAM
Manchester City's 100 percent home record seemed about to end after third-placed Tottenham recovered from a two-goal deficit in a mad nine-minute spell midway through the second half in which goals from Spurs' Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale cancelled out early efforts by City's Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott.

However, after Defoe missed a chance to claim a remarkable Tottenham victory in stoppage time Balotelli struck from the penalty spot after being brought down by Ledley King.

ARSENAL 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED
Meanwhile Manchester United also claimed a late win after they went ahead a minute into first-half stoppage time when the evergreen Ryan Giggs delivered a perfect cross for Valencia to head powerfully into the net.

Arsenal were livelier after the restart and Van Persie equalised when teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's clever angled pass found the Dutchman who fired a low shot in off the far post.

But United claimed an important victory when Valencia dribbled into the area before cutting a pass back for Welbeck to seal the points for the visitors.

MANCHESTER CITY AND MANCHESTER UNITED ON TOP
The results leave the two Manchester clubs in pole position to fight for the title with London sides Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal trailing in 3th to 5th place.

Premier League Table - Top Five

22 Jan 2012
PositionTeamPGDPts
1 Man City224254
2 Man Utd223351
3 Tottenham221746
4 Chelsea221541
5 Arsenal22636

Sunday, January 22, 2012

NFL : New England Patriots reach Superbowl - beat Ravens 23-20

The New England Patriots beat the stunned Baltimore Ravens 23-20 in the AFC championship game Sunday after Baltimore's Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds remaining that would have tied the score.

New England QB Tom Brady scored the winning touchdown midway through the 4th quarter when he made a 1-yard dive over the top of the scrimmage on a 4th and goal play.

This is the Patriots fifth AFC championship in 11 seasons.

VIDEO LINK :
You can see all the video highlights of the Patriots 23-20 win over the Ravens at NFL.com now.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Africa Cup of Nations : Paddy Power Money Back Special

African Cup of Nations
Group Stages: Jan 21 - Feb 1st 

(shown live on Eurosport)
With the Ivory Coast and Ghana having outstanding players there is a quite of bit of interest in this tournament now but the group stage games are always cagey affairs and it's good to have a bit of betting insurance on your side when taking a bet.

If any group stage match ends 0-0, then Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st /last goalscorer, correct score  nd scorecast singles on that match.

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Betting Spreadsheet : Weekend Games for January 20-23rd online now

The "Gooners Numb3rs" Football Betting Spreadsheet has been updated for club football games in England, Italy, Spain and Germany for January 20th to 23rd.

The spreadsheet is broadly based on a modification of an ELO ranking system - similar to those used to ranked players in both chess and backgammon - and has been storing data on the top divisions in Europe for 12 seasons.

These ratings are then compared against the databases for similar games in the same competition and the results are displayed as potential percentage chances for a Home Win (HW), a draw (D), or an Away Win (AW).

Clicking on the "MORE" link for each match will then give a snapshot of each teams recent form, and previous head-to-head results, as well as a brief textual explanation of any betting angle.

The sheet is forecasting wins for LIVERPOOL at Bolton, MAN CITY v Tottenham, AC MILAN at Novara, PALERMO v Genoa, UDINESE v Catania, DORTMUND at Hamburg, BARCELONA at Malaga, LEVANTE v Zaragoza and REAL MADRID v Bilbao.

It also calculates that Manchester United are the better value on their trip to Arsenal (unfortunately for me as a Gooner) and there are a couple of potential value draw bets in Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid, and Villarreal v Gijon

Take a look at my "Gooners Numb3rs" Football Betting Spreadsheet and let me know what you think!
 :-)

Spanish Cup Result : Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona

Barcelona fought back from conceding an early goal to beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of a Copa del Rey fixture.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 11th minute for Real Madrid, when he dinked his way past Gerard Pique with his trademark step-over, before hitting a left-footed strike through the legs of Barca goalkeeper Jose Pinto.
(link to video of Cristiano Ronaldo's opening goal against Barcelona)

But despite going into the half-time 1-0 down, Barcelona had the best of the first half, and Andres Iniesta squandered a decent chance inside the box that could have tied the game up.

Barcelona did equalise shortly after halftime when a Xavi corner kick was dropped deep into the box and Carlos Puyol came storming in to power home a diving header to make it 1-1.
(link to video coverage of Carlos Puyol's goal)

Both sides were unlucky not to take the lead in the next 10 minutes, with Andres Iniesta and Karim Benzema both striking the woodwork.

Barcelona's patient passing paid off in the 76th minute when Lionel Messi clipped a pass over the Madrid defence for Abidal to control the ball down on his chest before stabbing past Casillas for the match winner.
(link to video coverage of Adibal's winning goal)

The second leg of this Cup tie takes place at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium next Wednesday (January 25th 2012).

Monday, January 16, 2012

NFL Playoffs : New England Patriots now favourites to win Superbowl

The New England Patriots are the new favourites for the Super Bowl after long-standing favourites Green Bay were beaten 37-20 by the New York Giants on Sunday.

Green Bay had been favourites since early in the season but now the Pats have taken over at the head of the market - they thrashed Denver 45-10 on Saturday.

SUPERBOWL TITLE WINNING LINES :

+125 New England Patriots
+300 New York Giants
+300 San Francisco 49ers
+600 Baltimore Ravens.
(all betting lines taken from BOVADA SPORTSBOOK)

The AFC Championship game will see the New England Patriots host Baltimore Ravens in the AFC conference championship game next Sunday and New England are 7½ point favourites.

LATEST LINES at BOOKMAKER.EU ::: 
NEW ENGLAND (-7½) -110 vs BALTIMORE (+7½) -110

The NFC Championship will see the New York Giants travel to the San Francisco 49ers, who edged to a 36-32 win over New Orleans in their weekend play-off. The 49ers are -2½ point faves.

LATEST LINES at BOOKMAKER.EU ::: 
SAN FRANCISCO (-2½) -110 vs NEW YORK GIANTS (+2½) -110

bookmaker.com for US sports bettingLifetime Bonus at BetOnline

Friday, January 13, 2012

NFL Playoff : Can San Francisco beat New Orleans on Saturday? Yes.

OK - I'll say it here - I like the odds on the San Francisco 49ers to beat New Orleans Saints in the first NFL Divisional Palyyof game on Saturday.

I run an NFL rating spreadsheet and I have SF as favourites with home advantage - the Saints are not so good on the road ... 9-0 at home / 5-3 on the road - and so the price of +170 (decimal 2.70 for European punters) is too good to turn down.

Don't get me wrong - overall the spreadsheet rates New Orleans and has the Saints rated as #4 NFL team overall and a better side than San Francisco (ranked #7) both home and away - if you ignore the home advantage.

But this is a one-off playoff game where San Francisco DO have the home advantage - and the transition from playing in an indoor dome / turf surface to playing outdoors and on grass is a significant change.

SAN FRANCISCO AT HOME ARE WINNERS
San Francisco went 7-1 at home during the regular season (an early 3 point loss to Dallas Cowboys ruined their home record) and had winning margins of 16, 45, 10, 7, 16, 26 and 17. The 49ers score 221 points at 27 per game, points conceded 87 at just 11 per game.

NEW ORLEANS ARE BEATABLE AWAY FROM THE DOME
The Saints have been unbeatable at home this season, 9-0 and scoring 41 points per game, conceding 19. But that's over now and on the road, New Orleans lost 3 games at Green Bay, at Tampa Bay and St Louis (WTF?) ... and scored only 27 points per game (14 less).

HEAD TO HEAD - SAINTS RULE OK?
Looking at recent clashes between these two sides it's easy to see why New Orleans are public favourites, they've played four times in the last five years - twice in San Fran, and twice in New Orleans, and the Saints have won all four games.

But the last game was just a 25-22 win for New Orleans in 2010, a result that was predicted by the spreadsheet that had the Saints as 3-point favourites.

SOME SELECTED RESULTS FROM THIS SEASON
I mentioned that New Orleans lost to Tampa Bay (20-26) and St Louis (21-31) earlier, well by a coincidence San Francisco faced both of those two sides at Candlestick Park and had big wins - beating both Tampa Bay 48-3 and St Louis 26-0 - just underlining how well the 49ers are playing.

THE BETTING VERDICT :
I see the Saints struggling to connect with their passing game here, and the ML odds of -190 for New Orleans and +170 for San Francisco mean there is only ONE value play ... and it's not betting on the public favourite.

I reckon that SF are at least a 50-50 chance in this matchup so my bet is :
Take SAN FRANCISCO on the MONEYLINE


Best Betting Odds in Europe/UK ::: 2.71 at PinnacleSports :: 2.70 at Bet365
Best US Betting Lines ::: +170 at BetOnline, +170 at JustBet, +165 at Bookmaker.eu

Thursday, January 12, 2012

NBA Odds : Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls Battle on Friday night

The Chicago Bulls will line up against the Boston Celtics this Friday at the TD Garden in Boston in the first game of a season series between the two Eastern Conference contenders.

Though usually linked by a mutual hatred of Miami, each are well aware that early season wins like this one could lead to home-court advantage down the stretch.

The January meeting between the Bulls (9-2) and Celtics (4-4) will be the first of four on the season, giving basketball fans plenty of opportunities to see the classic Eastern Conference franchises at work before season’s end.

It didn’t take long for Derrick Rose and the Bulls to hit their stride this season as they’ve burst out in front of the Central Division, taking advantage of a schedule that's had Chicago playing more games.

But the Celtics aren’t about to just sit back and watch youth take over the NBA. Currently caught up in a messy Atlantic Division, the C’s will need to turn to Rajon Rondo if they hope to keep up.

It’s no secret that Boston’s title winning window is closing, but a more pressing question to NBA odds makers is ‘How fast?”

Was Chicago’s rise to the conference championship series last spring a fluke? Are Boston’s days of contending for the title over? Answer these question on Bovada’s NBA betting line and cash in.

MY PICK :
Personally, I think that the Bulls are good enough to win in Boston - and a margin of 4-6 points feels about right. Chicago Bulls to win 98-92

It’s a short NBA season. Play Harder. Play at Bovada

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

EPL : Spurs go joint second with 2-0 win over Everton

Tottenham moved level on points with second-placed Manchester United, just three behind leaders Manchester City, after comfortably beating Everton 2-0 at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham opened the scoring when Aaron Lennon cut in from the left to slot in after 35 minutes and doubled the lead  in the second half when Assou-Ekotto received the ball and smashed a shot into the corner from 30 yards.

Spurs started the season badly with a 1-5 home loss to Manchester City, and a 0-3 drubbing by Manchester United at old Trafford in the first two games, but since then have bounced back to win 14 of the next 18 English Premier League games and give themselves a shout of a first league title in 50 years.

English Premier League - Top Six Standings

Wednesday, 11 January 2012
PositionTeamPGDPTS
1Man City204048
2Man Utd202945
3Tottenham201845
4Chelsea201437
5Arsenal20836
6Liverpool20634

Monday, January 09, 2012

FA Cup : Thierry Henry scores winner as Arsenal beat Leeds 1-0

Thierry Henry made the perfect return to Arsenal when he emerged as a substitute to score the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory over Leeds United in the FA Cup third-round.

Henry scored his 227th goal for the club with 12 minutes remaining amid emotional scenes at the Emirates.

The 34-year-old - back at the London club on a two-month loan from New York Red Bulls - had only been on 10 minutes when the magical moment arrived.

Henry took a pass from Alex Song in his stride in the area before steering a composed, angled, right-footed finished tantalisingly out of the reach of Leeds United keeper Andy Lonergan.

It finally broke the stubborn resistance of Leeds and was the signal for an outpouring of emotion as Henry pumped his chest in celebration after racing to hug his mentor Arsene Wenger on the touchline.

UPDATE :
Match highlights video clips and player interviews from this game should be online now on our Arsenal football videos page.

NFL : Denver Broncos beat Pittsburgh 29-23 with OT 80 yard strike

The Denver Broncos scored on an 80 yard TD pass in the first play in overtime to eliminate the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.

Denver QB tim Tebow came alive in the 2nd quarter with 17 points in just 6 minutes to give the Broncos a 20-6 HT lead, but Pittsburgh fought their way back to tie the game 23-23 late in the 4th.

Tebow connected with Demaryius Thomas with a short pass on his own 20 yard line with the first play of overtime and Thomas then scampered 80 yards to the endzone to win.

The play took 11 seconds and was the quickest ending to an overtime in NFL history.

The Broncos (9-8) are heading to New England for a second-round game against the top-seeded Patriots on Saturday night.

NFL : New York Giants flatten Atlanta Falcons 24-2 to win wildcard playoff

The New York Giants recovered from a slow start to flatten the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 and earn their first play-off win at home since 2000.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Falcons actually took a 2-0 lead in the wild-card encounter when Manning, under pressure from James Sanders, was penalised for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety.

However, that proved to be the only points Atlanta would put up, meaning for the second season in a row they fail to win a play-off game.

Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes as the Giants set up a showdown with the Green Bay Packers, a team that beat them 38-35 during the regular season, in the next round of the post season.

Sunday, January 08, 2012

FA CUP : 4th Round Draw - Liverpool to host Manchester United

Manchester United beat Manchester City 3-2 in Sunday afternoon's feature 3rd round game and have earned a fourth-round trip to Anfield to face bitter rivals Liverpool.

Manchester United have won the FA Cup 11 times, while Liverpool have triumphed on seven occasions.

There are two other definite all-Premier League ties with West Brom hosting Norwich and Everton welcoming Fulham to Goodison Park.

There are two other potential top flight ties as Arsenal will be at home to Aston Villa if they can overcome Leeds at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night, while Bolton will take on Swansea at the Reebok Stadium if they see off Macclesfield in a replay having drawn 2-2 at Moss Rose on Saturday.

QPR will host west London neighbours Chelsea if they can overcome the MK Dons in a replay at Loftus Road.

Full 4th Round draw

Brighton or Wrexham v Newcastle
Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Dagenham or Millwall v Southampton
Hull v Crawley
MK Dons or QPR v Chelsea
West Brom v Norwich
Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday
Arsenal or Leeds v Aston Villa
Stevenage v Notts County
Watford v Tottenham
Liverpool v Manchester United
Derby v Stoke
Everton v Fulham
Macclesfield or Bolton v Swansea
Sheffield United v Birmingham or Wolves
Nottingham Forest or Leicester v Swindon

NFL : Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints win Saturday Wildcard games

The Houston Texans won on their first ever NFL play-off game, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 31-10 in Saturday's AFC wild-card game.

Rookie JJ Watt was a stand-out performer in defence, with Houston 17-10 ahead at halftime before second-half TDs from Arian Foster and Andre Johnson sending the Texans clear in the .

The victory - in front of a sell-out crowd of 71,725 at Reliant Stadium was the first post-season game in the franchise's 10-year history - and earned Houston a second-round game in Baltimore against the Ravens next Sunday.



Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints stormed to a 45-28 NFC wild-card victory over the Detroit Lions at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns on 33-of-43 passing as the Saints overturned a 14-10 half-time deficit.

New Orleans will next head to San Francisco on Saturday for their divisional-round clash with the 49ers.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

FA Cup – Manchester City v Manchester United Preview

Back-to-back league defeats wouldn’t constitute a crisis at most ordinary clubs. But Manchester United are no ordinary club and the alarm bells are definitely ringing at Old Trafford after conceding six goals in recent games against Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United writes Paddy Power.

Wednesday’s 0-3 defeat to Newcastle United at the Sports Direct Arena (that's St James's Park to you and me) will have been of particular concern to manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was able to recall Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand on Tyneside yet saw his side again look vulnerable at the back and hesitant in attack.

Manchester United had won their three previous games in the Premier League without conceding a goal so the transformation is puzzling, though can be partly explained by a run of injuries.

A couple of the ManYoo wounded could be fit for the coming weekend but it certainly doesn’t get any easier for the Red Devils as they renew acquaintances with arch-rivals Manchester City, who have again opened up a gap at the top of the Premier League following the busy holiday period.

Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City side didn’t have the best Christmas themselves, having been held by West Brom and then sucker-punched at Sunderland on New Year’s Day. However, they got back to winning ways against Liverpool at the Etihad on Tuesday and still have a one hundred per cent home record, averaging three goals a game in front of their own fans.

Those supporters are still celebrating Man City’s 6-1 win at Old Trafford in October and they’ll be expecting their team to confirm their superiority over their arch-rivals this weekend, though the Blues may have to cope without Yaya and Kolo Toure who are both due to fly out to the African Cup Of Nations shortly.

Manchester City, however, are hardly short of options though will have to make changes for the Manchester derby with Gareth Barry suspended. Former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves would have been a natural replacement but isn’t yet fit enough for first-team duty while Italian forward Mario Balotelli is also likely to be an absentee. Jolean Lescott could return after starting on the bench against Liverpool, however, and Adam Johnson may get a rare start.



PADDY POWER's BEST BET
Man City’s magnificent home record and United’s recent woes suggest the 11/10 for a home win is the bet in this one.

Man City to win by exactly two goals is 5/1, while United to score no first half goals is 8/15.

Remember, that if there is a red card at the Etihad, Paddy Power will refund all losing first/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast singles on the match.

GoonersGuide now on Facebook

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

NFL : Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos in AFC Wild Card Battle

It’s almost not fair that the Pittsburgh Steelers have to hit the road for their Wild Card weekend game with the Denver Broncos.

After all, Pittsburgh ended the season at 12-4, compared to Denver’s 8-8, but Denver won the weak AFC East division so that’s the situation the two sides find themselves in this weekend in NFL playoff action.

So how will the game at Mile High Stadium pan out?

Well - Pittsburgh defend against the pass well. No team in the NFL allowed fewer total yards or passing yards than the Steelers, which, combined with Tim Tebow’s below-average passing arm, virtually eliminates Denver’s aerial game.

But that doesn’t mean Tebow won’t rush for 100-plus yards. Tebow led his team with six rushing touchdowns – the same team that’s No. 1 in the NFL on the ground.

On the other side of the ball, Ben Roethlisberger is angling for a return to the Super Bowl, which he and the Steelers won in 2005 and 2008.  Big Ben passed for 4,077 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, although his 70 rushing yards pale in comparison to Tebow’s 660.

BOVADA BETTING LINES

Pittsburgh Steelers -9 (-105)
Denver Broncos +9 (-115)

SEASON FORM  

TEAMSUATSOUOFFDEF
Pittsburgh Steelers12-47-96-1020.3114.19
Denver Broncos8-87-8-19-719.3124.38

Denver were just 3-5 at home straight-up, while Pittsburgh were 5-3 on the road. Overall, this one looks like being a low scoring game - with Pittsburgh having the edge - perhaps 17-13 to the Steelers?

Is it crunch time for Denver? or is it Tebow Time?



Bet on the NFL with Bovada. Be there for every victory.

Monday, January 02, 2012

NFL Playoff Schedule - AFC & NFC Wildcard Dates and Times

The regular season is complete and twelve teams have the playoffs to look forward too - starting with the Wild Card round on January 7th and 8th.

The TV channels have done their negotiations - so here are the dates, times, and TV coverage for the four wild card games.


AFC WILD-CARD ROUND

SATURDAY, JAN. 7th, 2012

No. 6 Cincinnati (9-7) at No. 3 Houston (10-6), 4:30 ET (NBC)
Reliant Stadium
SUNDAY, JAN. 8th, 2012

No. 5 Pittsburgh (12-4) at No. 4 Denver (8-8), 4:30 ET (CBS)
Sports Authority Field at Mile High

NFC WILD-CARD ROUND

SATURDAY, JAN. 7th, 2012

No. 6 Detroit (10-6) at No. 3 New Orleans (13-3), 8 ET (NBC)
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
SUNDAY, JAN. 8th, 2012

No. 5 Atlanta (10-6) at No. 4 N.Y. Giants (9-7), 1 ET (FOX)
MetLife Stadium

2012 NFL Playoff Scenarios - AFC and NFC picture clears

It's all over as the dust settles on the round 17 games - ending at the MetLife Stadium as the New York Giants pummelled the Dallas Cowboys 31=14 to take the final playoff spot tonight.

AFC Results and Playoff Seedings

In the AFC, the New England Patriots beat Buffalo 49-21 to claim the #1 seed, while the Denver Broncos lost 3-7 at home to the Kansas City Chiefs but have snuck into the playoffs as the San Diego Chargers beat the Oakland Raiders 38-26 to end the Raiders playoff hopes.

Denver now host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round next week, and will have to be hoping for a lot more divine inspiration from QB Tim Tebow - as he completed just 6 of 22 passes for 60 yards and an INT against Kansas City for a QB rating of 20.6 (ugh!)

Cincinnati will go to Houston in the other game, while the New England Pats and Baltimore Ravens get a well earned weeks rest as the top two seeds.

AFC Playoff Seedings

1. New England Patriots (13-3)
2. Baltimore Ravens (12-4)
3. Houston Texans (10-6)
4. Denver Broncos (8-8)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (9-7)

NFC Results and Playoff Seedings

In the NFC, the Green Bay Packers beat Detroit Lions 45-41, with backup QB Matt Flynn setting Packer franchise records with 6 TD passes and 480 yards!

Elsewhere San Francisco 49ers beat St Louis 34-27 to claim the #2 seed, while New Orleans dumped on Carolina winning 45-17, and the Atlanta Falcons beat Tampa Bay 45-24.

And in the final regular season game, the Dallas Cowboys flopped in the first half going into HT 0-21 down, as the New York Giants won 31-14 to claim the NFC East divisional title.

As a result, the Detroit Lions will have to travel to face the New Orleans Saints (who are perfect 8-0 this season at home), while the Atlanta Falcons will go to meet the New York Giants.

NFC Playoff Seedings

1. Green Bay Packers (15-1)
2. San Francisco 49ers (13-3)
3. New Orleans Saints (13-3)
4. New York Giants (9-7)
5. Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
6. Detroit Lions (10-6)

That's all folks - until next week.