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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Transfer News : Bild reports Lukas Podolski to move to Arsenal

German news organisation On Tuesday, Bild reported that 26-year-old German international striker Lukas Podolski has agreed personal terms with Arsenal.

Koln coach Stale Solbakken said "Podolski is a Koln player at the moment and we know that he will be here until the end of the season. Then we will have to see what happens."

Podolski has been in blistering form this season, scoring 15 goals and providing four assists in 19 Bundesliga appearances.

Podolski is currently valued at €20 million, but with his contract set to expire in 2013, his price tag may be negotiable.

Monday, February 27, 2012

EPL : Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham - Match Report w. video

Arsenal recovered from two goals down to thrash Tottenham 5-2 in an enthralling north London derby at Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs looked to be on course for victory as an early goal from Louis Saha and Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty put Tottenham 2-0 up within 34 minutes.


But Arsenal mounted a comeback that showed character with providing 30 minutes of dazzling attacking football to score five goals to tear apart Harry Redknapp's side.

Bacary Sagna's header and a world-class strike from Robin van Persie put Arsenal level at 2-2 before the interval - and set up a second-half display that left Spurs beaten long before the end.

Tomas Rosicky put Arsenal in front just after the break and the rout was completed by a quickfire double from Theo Walcott.



Arsenal (2) 5
Sagna 40′ van Persie 43′ Rosicky 51′ Walcott 65′, 68′

Tottenham (2) 2
Saha 4′ Adebayor (pen) 34′

Friday, February 24, 2012

Another Jeremy Lin tweet - and the blogsphere over-reacts with PC response.

Another day - and another weird "story" hits the wire as a soon-to-be college sports player tweets about Jeremy Lin and asian food and gets a massive over reaction.


Maryland football recruit Stefon Diggs ripped off the following tweet after Jeremy Lin's New York Knicks side were well beaten by the Miami Heat.

Mainstream reporters have been outraged, and readers comments reaction has been one of overwhelmingly outrage in response to this tweet as well - with claims of racism and that this is incredibly offensive. Is it? Why?

Which word offends? egg? roll? dumplings? * GASP! *

Or is that they're all Asian foods and Jeremy Lin is Asian?  *GASP!!*

Or possibly that if you put two dumplings together with the egg roll you get a penis shape?!  *GASP!!!*

For goodness sake - this has to be one of the mildest tweets I've seen regarding Lin - and the tweeter isn't even putting down Lin's ability - admitting  that he's good!

I like egg rolls, I like dumplings, and I think Jeremy Lin is an outstanding talent. I reckon that there are probably several billion people on the planet that think the same way. The facts are that having an Asian player performing at elite level in the NBA is news. For that matter having a Harvard degree qualified player in the NBA is news too! ;-)

You get 140 characters on Twitter to make a point - it wasn't an essay topic - and I think that this High School recruit made his point with his tweet

So please - read the tweet again. Where is the offence? Read slowly it. How are you offended? Really?

The tweet is correct - the Linsanity hype and rolling bandwagon is all because of Mr Lin's Asian / Harvard background - and it is not because he's the most dominant player in the NBA - so perhaps the bandwagon can slow down and let the kid play.



Let's get back to basketball eh?

NHL Betting : Anaheim Ducks Host Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks hope to stay hot in a trip down to Southern California when they take on the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night in this week’s NHL spotlight matchup of the weekend.

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TALE OF TWO STREAKS FOR CHICAGO
It has been a bizarre month of hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks. Back on January 21, Chicago lost to Nashville and would go on to lose nine straight games (0-8-1). The defense and goaltending were horrific over that stretch as the Blackhawks gave up 4.2 goals per game.

But on February 16, Chicago ended its losing streak in an unlikely place - on the road against the Eastern Conference’s best team, the New York Rangers.

The Blackhawks have now won four straight, including wins over two of the best teams in the Western Conference in St. Louis and Detroit. Overall, Chicago is now 33-21-7 (33-28 straight up on the NHL betting moneyline).

It would appear that the Blackhawks have put their poor play behind them, but they’ll get a tough stretch of three games in four nights through the weekend.

The Blackhawks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday night before playing in Los Angeles against the Kings on Saturday night and then at Anaheim on Sunday night.

Chicago’s leading goal scorer, Jonathan Toews (29 goals), will miss Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury. He is expected to return by the weekend, but his status should be closely monitored by bettors.

DUCKS CONTINUE UNLIKELY BID FOR PLAYOFF SPOT
At 10-22-6 after their first 38 games, the Anaheim Ducks sat with Columbus and Carolina at the bottom of the league, and looked to be a shoo-in for a bottom five finish. But while virtually everyone was writing Anaheim off, the Ducks had other plans.

Since that low point, Anaheim has lost in regulation just three times, going an astounding 15-3-4 over its last 22 games. At home, the Ducks are 8-1-1 in 10 games during that run. The tale of two seasons brings Anaheim’s overall record to 25-25-10 (25-35 SU on the NHL betting moneyline).

Leading the Ducks in scoring is the ageless wonder, Teemu Selanne. At 41 years old, Selanne has 53 points (20 goals and 33 assists). Corey Perry has the team lead in goals with 29.

Anaheim’s recent surge put the team back in the playoff hunt, entering Wednesday’s action six points out of a playoff spot. They are still a longshot to make the postseason, but if they stay this hot it is possible. The Ducks play on the road at Carolina on Thursday before returning home to face Chicago on Sunday.

WHICH TEAM WILL COOL OFF?
Both teams enter Sunday’s game hot, but only one can leave the Honda Center with two points. Which will it be?

Chicago has owned the Ducks this season, winning all three meetings between the two teams thus far; but all three came during the Ducks' 10-22-6 start to the season, so Anaheim is undoubtedly playing at a higher level at this point in time.

Two factors could work against Chicago here; fatigue and the venue. While both teams play Thursday night, Chicago playing Saturday night while Anaheim gets an extra night of rest could play a role.

Also, as previously mentioned, the Ducks are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games at home; Chicago has been quite bad on the road this year with a 12-15-3 record (12-18 SU on the NHL moneyline). Furthermore, Anaheim needs this game to keep its playoff hopes alive, while Chicago is fairly comfortably in a playoff spot.

While many factors point to Anaheim, Chicago’s strong play against elite competition over the last four games make them a tough team to pick against. This one should be a very close game between two great hockey teams.

US Bettors accepted at this reputable sportsbook ...

Hit The Ice. Bet on NHL action as the playoff push gets underway at Bovada.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Paddy Power Online Problems - promises to sort it out

A lot of punters had problems getting our late bets placed on Saturday afternoon at Paddy Power - and the man himself has posted about it on the Paddy Power Blog.
I am sorry and mortified at the service we offered on Saturday.

All Saturday afternoon our customers had a lot of difficulty getting their bets on, either through our website or our mobile services. We were also slow to in getting winnings back into people’s accounts. This was due to serious technical problems in our systems.

There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to get your bet on and no apology from me can get around that. Rest assured, we will resolve it.
At Paddy Power, we want to provide the best sports betting service in the world with a top quality customer experience. Clearly, we were a long way from that today and for that I am truly sorry.

There is some good news, however. We will dig deep into our pockets over the next few days to make up for the problems you experienced on Saturday.

Expect lots of generous offers at Paddy Power in the coming days and weeks. While we cannot buy your loyalty, I hope that you will give us another chance to give you the service you deserve.

Paddy Power
This is the SECOND time it's happened this season to my knowledge, and it clearly is not good enough for a company that we have rated as providing a top betting experience.

However, I've been betting at Paddy Power for over 10 years now, and overall I still rate paddy as a good place to bet.

I'm prepared to give them the benefit of an "OOOPS" for last Saturday, especially if Paddy Power  do make it up with a couple of good offers .. how about you?

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Bodog88 offers 12% deposit bonus up to MYR600

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Champions League : AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal - WTF was that then ?

AC Milan have one foot in the UEFA Champions league quarter-finals after Kevin-Prince Boateng's early volley set the tone for a memorable night for the Italian side at San Siro.

A spectacular Kevin-Prince Boateng volley, strikes either side of the interval by Robinho and a late Zlatan Ibrahimović penalty condemned Arsène Wenger's side to their heaviest ever European defeat.

Arsenal were not outplayed as such - indeed the match was fairly even throughout with both sides managing 5 shots on target and Arsenal slightly ahead on the posession - EXCEPT on the scoreboard where Milan ruled the game.

AC Milan showed such a ruthless efficiency in front of goal that we don't have to spend time considering the second leg ... this tie is over.

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Football : Fabio Capello resigns as England manager

The English Football Association has confirmed that Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager after a meeting with FA chairman David Bernstein and general secretary Alex Horne at Wembley.

An FA statement read: "The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager."

The FA's statement continued: "The discussions focused on the FA Board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview. In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect."

The general feeling "on the street" and in the forums seems to be one of "good riddance to Capello" as the Italian born manager has been dropping in popularity after four years in charge - but those fans might be surprised to leanr that Capello actually has the highest win% of England team managers who have taken charge for 25 games or more..


TOP SIX ENGLAND MANAGER RECORDS

PLWonDrawLostW%
Fabio Capello
42
28
8
6
66.7
Sir Alf Ramsey
113
69
27
17
61.1
Glenn Hoddle
28
17
6
5
60.7
Ron Greenwood
55
33
12
10
60
Sven-Goran Eriksson
67
40
17
10
59.7
Sir Walter Winterbottom
139
78
33
28
56.1

Capello is a proven manager, but even his abilities were not able to live up to the expectations of English football fans regarding the performance of the English side.

There seems now to be a ground swell of opinion that England will look to appoint an English born manager as a replacement with Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp the strong favourite to get the nod.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Tom Brady's wife Gisele Bundchen calls it - the Pats WRs blew it

Tom Brady's supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen has been making headlines this morning after her quotes that the Pats WRs need to @#$%#$% catch the ball.

"You [need] to catch the ball when you're supposed to catch the ball," she is heard saying. "My husband cannot [expletive] throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times."

Although Gisele mentioned no names, she almost certainly was referring to wide receiver Wes Welker -- who was judged widely to have made the costliest fourth-quarter drop -- along with a spilled catch by tight end Aaron Hernandez.

There has been a lot of comments that Gisele should keep her opinions to herself, but frankly I'm OK with the lady speaking her mind - and we are being honest ... what did you shout out when the Pats kept dropping the ball on that final drive?


Personally, I'm OK with the lovely Gisele having the passion to speak her mind about a sports game, especially when she has got it spot on.


As for the players themselves ... Wes Welker later said he "let the team down" with his fumbled play near the Giants' 20-yard-line, which came with 4:06 left on the clock and the Patriots up 17-15.

But Brady refused to publicly blame the receiver, who he described as a "phenomenal player and teammate," and offered to take a share of the blame for the throw while addressing the postgame media.

"[Welker] went up to try and make it, as he always does, and we just couldn't connect," he said.

Paddy Power pays out an extra £600,000 to punters

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power had a generous weekend - all four money back specials triggered at least one payout resulting in Paddy handing back an extra £600,000 to punters.

Bettors on English Premier League Football (Chelsea v Man Utd), GAA, Six Nations Rugby (Scotland v England and on Ireland v Wales) and the Super Bowl all benefited from Paddy's generousity ...

Super Bowl XLVI Special - PAID OUT
Paddy Power refunded all losing First Touchdown, First Team Touchdown, Anytime Touchdown, First 2nd Half Touchdown and Last Touchdown scorer bets if there is a Touchdown scored in the last 2 minutes of regular time in this match.

With Eli Manning finding Ahmad Bradshaw in the dying moments of the Super Bowl our special clicked and Paddy Power have refunded bets on selected markets!

Chelsea v Man Utd Premier League Special - PAID OUT
If a penalty is scored in this match Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st /last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles.

Not one but two Penalties means Paddy Power have refunded selected losing bets on this match!'

Rugby : Six Nations Special - PAID OUT
Scotland v England - Ireland v Wales
If the last score in the above matches is a penalty, Paddy Power will refund all losing try scorer bets on that match.

Paddy Power have refunded on Scotland v England and on Ireland v Wales

GAA : Fights Under Lights! - PAID OUT
Dublin v Kerry - Kildare v Tyrone
If there is a red card in either of these matches Paddy Power will refund all losing single 1st/last goalscorer, anytime goalscorer and first team goalscorer bets on that match!

As Eamon Fennell was sent off, Paddy Power have refunded bets on the applicable markets!

-----------------

The message for punters is clear - Paddy Power's money back special are valuable insurance if you are having a bet on a market that is covered by this bookmaker. £600,000 returned to punters this weekend alone!

Check out Paddy Power now - and by using this link you are eligible for £50 in matched free bets as a new customer as well

NFL : New York Giants win Super Bowl XLVI

Eli Manning led the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl XLVI.

The Giants opening the scoring with a safety and a touchdown in the first quarter, but New England had answered with a field goal and a touchdown by the half to led 10-9 at the break.

After the ageless Madonna had wowed the crowd with a 30 minute performance in the halftime show, Patriots QB Tom Brady came out and quickly scored a second TD early in the 3rd period to give the Patriots a 17-9 lead.

But the Giants came back with two field goals to bring it to 17-15, and when it looked as if the G-men would kick a game winning field goal with only seconds left, New England coach Bill Belichick gambled by allowing an uncontested run to concede TD and a 21-17 lead - but importantly leaving 57 seconds left on the clock.

Brady took New England to halfway, and then fired a "Hail Mary" desperation pass into the end zone on the final play of the game which fell just beyond the grasp of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

New England was done - the New York Giants are Super Bowl Champions again

Sunday, February 05, 2012

EPL : Liverpool v Tottenham - get a free in-play bet at Bet365

Liverpool take on Tottenham in Monday's big game and Bet365 are offering you a free In-Play bet on the big match.

It's easy to qualify for your free In-Play bet :
1) simply place a bet with Bet365 before kick-off
2) once the game starts place another bet on any In-Play market.

If your FIRST In-Play bet loses then Bet365 will refund this stake, up to the same value as your largest pre-match bet. (max £50)

Bet365 have a good range of pre-match markets on offer, and over 60 In-Play markets available throughout the game, so you can make the most of this exciting Premier League clash with bet365.

RELATED LINKS :
 - Our full page betting preview of Liverpool v Tottenham
 - Our review of Bet365 Sportsbook

EPL ; Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers 7-1, with the OX showing his huge potential

Seven goals for Arsenal today, RvP scores a hat-trick, The Ox grabs two goals, Arteta gets one, and Thierry Henry scores in the final minute of his last game at the Emirates for Arsenal ... just magic !!

Arsenal took an early lead through Robin Van Persie's tap-in but Morten Gamst Pedersen's free-kick levelled it for Blackburn Rovers on the half-hour.

Van Persie's side-foot and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's strike made it 3-1 before Blackburn's Gael Givet was sent off. Mikel Arteta struck from 18 yards for 4-1 before Oxlade-Chamberlain, Van Persie and Thierry Henry completed the rout in the last minute.

After the game Arsene Wenger commented on how quickly "The Ox" seems to have matured as a player - he's still just 18 years old - and you can see from this interview below that the lad has got his head right in the game with a top attitude.



AC Milan up next at the San Siro ... how hard can that be?
;-)

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Super Bowl : US government seizes 307 websites covering NFL's biggest game

While many sports fans are preparing for Sunday's Super Bowl, the U.S. government has organized "Operation Fake Sweep" to close down a huge number of websites offering pirate TV coverage or fake game merchandise.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) seized 307 different domains suspected of violating NFL copyrights. Of those, 16 websites were accused of illegal streaming while 291 sites were allegedly selling counterfeit NFL merchandise.

The seizure was conducted under U.S. civil law, not criminal law. That means the affected webmasters need to prove that the internet domains were not engaging in illegal activity to get them back — a reverse of the normal "innocent until proven guilty" approach.

Many of the domains were not being operated by U.S. organisations, but because they used U.S. domain suffixes .net, .com, and .org, however, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was empowered to act.

Visitors to any of the seized domains now only see a message from ICE explaining the takedown. According to the government, these messages have already been viewed over 77 million times yesterday alone.

And "big brother" is not restricted to the virtual world either as the operation also includes a nationwide enforcement targeting stores, flea markets and street vendors selling counterfeit game-related sportswear throughout the United States.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov.

Friday, February 03, 2012

English FA takes England Captaincy away from John Terry

BBC Sports are reporting that John Terry has been stripped of the captaincy of the England football side.

The 31-year-old Chelsea centre-back was informed of the decision by Football Association chairman David Bernstein in a phone call at 1000 GMT.

Terry was previously stripped of the captaincy when Capello removed him from the role in February 2010 following allegations he had an affair with an England team-mate's ex-girlfriend.