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Best NFL Trends for ‘unders’ in Week 4 Betting

admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:18:10 +0000

Best NFL Trends for ‘unders’ in Week 4
Low scoring games are the norm for a number of teams in the NFL, and here at BetUS Sportsbook, we’re focusing in on some of those best matchups that this week has to offer. Here are the best NFL trends for ‘unders’ in the league in Week 4. Baltimore Ravens vs.

Premiership afl Betting Tips
18th -19th September 201018th September 2010 Stoke (1.91) Draw (3.5) West Ham (4.5) Terrific result for Stoke Monday. 1-0 down at half time, they fought back to win 2-1 with practically the last kick of the game. Stoke should be able to build on that after some unlucky results. West Ham will be without their manager due to Yom Kippur. That may not be such a bad thing considering their results so far this season. No wins and letting in 12 goals in just 4 games, things are already looking bleak. They are a relatively new team so will take a little more time to gel. If not, it’ll be Championship football next season for them. I don’t really give West Ham a chance in this game. Stoke opened at 2.0 and the odds have dropped. Best price is now 1.91 at most places. Aston Villa (1.83) Draw (3.6) Bolton (5) Villa outplayed Stoke first half last game but Stoked raised their game and Villa ended up losing 2-1. This could be the last game in charge for caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald with Gerrard Houllier taking over next week. They seem to be doing the exact opposite of Villa of the last few years in that they are winning their home games and losing their away games. Bolton had a good game at Arsenal only trailing 2-1 when Gary Cahill got sent off. Pretty much game over after that. He will be missing for this game which will be a big miss. In terms of betting, I’ll stick with form and just for a Villa home win. Its 1.83 at Boylesports. Blackburn (2.1) Draw (3.4) Fulham (4) Blackburn did a good job getting a point at Manchester City last week. They took an early lead and managed to hold on for the draw despite all the City pressure. Fulham scored a late goal to win against Wolves last weekend. The game was overshadowed by Booby Zamora breaking his leg. He’ll be out for at least 4 months now which will be a big loss for them. Home advantage makes this pick fairly easy. Blackburn are strong at home and Fulham are poor away from home. Blackburn win is 2.1 at Skybet. Everton (1.67) Draw (3.8) Newcastle United (6.3) Unreal game last weekend for Everton and Manchester United. Everton were 3-1 down in stoppage time and managed to score twice to level the game 3-3. Excellent character shown by Everton there. Some of it was down to Manchester United easing off thinking they had the game in bag. Newcastle could not follow up their recent form results. They lost 2-0 at home to Blackpool last week. Looking at the odds, Everton look a bit short to me. They are second bottom of the league without a win. I know they will pick up their game sometime but at 1.67 I am not willing to risk it. I think the draw at 3.8 at PaddyPower is the value bet. I’ll not trust Newcastle to get an away win here. Tottenham (1.5) Draw (4.5) Wolverhampton (8.5) Spurs disappointed last weekend at West Brom only managing a draw. In their midweek Champions League game they let a 2-0 lead slip and ended up with a 2-2 draw away in Bremen. Last time they had a Champions League game they came back and lost 1-0 at home to Wigan. Wolves gave it a good go at Fulham and could have won the game. In those last few minutes it could have gone either way. Wolves really are looking like a Premiership team. Last season, they did the double over Spurs. I think the bookmakers have put this in to the price. I was expecting Spurs to be shorter. Wolves still look tasty at 8.5 at Skybet. West Bromwich (2.38) Draw (3.3) Birmingham (3.25) West Brom have recovered well since the opening day thrashing at Chelsea. They were unlucky to lose at Liverpool and held Spurs 1-1 last week. Birmingham drew 0-0 last weekend against Liverpool in a game where they could easily won. This game will have a lot of interest in the Midlands but I can’t see myself getting excited about it. At first glance it looks like a draw to me but I wouldn’t want to put any money on this game. Sunderland (5.5) Draw (3.75) Arsenal (1.7) Sunderland played most of last weeks game against Wigan with 10 men and were only denied all 3 points by a late equalizer. Arsenal come in to this game on a high after thrashing Braga 6-0. Thats what happens to you if you try to play football against Arsenal, they will hit you on the counter and run up these scores. I am sure Steve Bruce will not make that same mistake. Sunderland won this game 1-0 last season and drew 1-1 the year before. I am still not sure about Arsenal with all those players out. Sunderland at 5.5 at William Hill looks a good bet to me. Teams generally do worse after a Champions League game and Sunderland could well take advantage of that. 19th September 2010 Manchester United (1.73) Draw (3.75) Liverpool (5.5) An extremely bad week for Manchester United, first they throw away a 3-1 lead at Everton and then they only managed a 0-0 draw against Rangers in the Champions League. To be fair I think Alex Ferguson thought he could beat Rangers with a B side. With the full side back I think they will do a lot better. Liverpool looked poor against Birmingham last weekend. Torres just looked so off the pace. In the Euopra League game they beat Steaua Bucurest 4-1. That scoreline was a bit flattering to them. Liverpool always seem to raise their game against Manchester United but this time I don’t think they have the players to do it. Manchester United at 1.73 at PaddyPower for me. Odds are rising though so you’ll probably get a better price closer to kick off. Wigan (5) Draw (3.75) Manchester City (1.8) Wigan only managed to draw against Sunderland last weekend despite having an extra man for most of the game. With Sunderlands general poor away record I would have expected better of them. I still think that the result against Spurs a few weeks ago was a fluke. Manchester City are lacking any form. If they were true title contenders then they really should have got all 6 points from their last 2 league games. Instead they drew 1-1 against Blackburn at home and lost away to Sunderland. They had a good result in Austria in the Europa League but that wasn’t Premiership standard. I still will go for a City win though. Wigan have not convinced me they are a Premiership side and City have the players to really give them a good hiding. Its 1.8 at VC Bet. Chelsea (1.11) Draw (10) Blackpool (29) Can anyone stop the Chelsea juggernaut this season? Someone will but it won’t be Blackpool at Stamford Bridge. 1.11 for a home side in the Premiership is the lowest I’ve seen. Bookies are really sure that Chelsea will win this. Hard to argue with them. Beating Newcastle and Wigan away is one thing but going to Bridge in a normal season is hard but Chelsea seem to be hammering teams like this for fun. I guess its Chelsea on the handicap then. One the Asian Handicap -2.5 its 1.82 at bet365.

Premiership Betting Tips
2nd – 3rd October 20102nd October 2010 Wigan (2.38) Draw (3.3) Wolverhampton (3.3) Neither of these teams have started brilliantly. They sit 17th and 18th in the league respectively. Wigan had a goalless draw last weekend at Birmingham. With no really good strikers they are struggling to score. Wolves are still underated in my opinion. They were unlucky not to get anything from Villa’s visit last weekend. Looking at the odds, its got to be X2. I will go with the away win because I think Wolve’s luck has to change at some point. Wigan look like a team that deserve to be at the bottom whereas Wolves have been unlucky. Its 3.3 at PaddyPower. Birmingham (2.88) Draw (3.3) Everton (2.7) Birmingham have drawn their last 2 home games 0-0. The don’t seem to have the ability to break teams down and their early season luck has run out. Everton are rock bottom with 3 draws. Last weekend they drew to Fulham 0-0. With no strikers I can’t see them scoring the goals needed to pick themselves off the bottom of the table. Cahill is a decent player but playing a lone strike role is tough for anyone. This games looks like a 0-0, or 1-0 either way. Unders for sure. Under 2.5 goals is 1.71 at Bodog but I am going to go for under 1.5 goals at 3.2 at VC Bet. Stoke (2.3) Draw (3.3) Blackburn (3.4) Stoke battled well from a goal down to take all 3 points from an in form Newcastle. They were outclassed first half but second half they came back and deserved the win. Blackburn beat Blackpool last weekend. It probably should have ended a draw and Blackpool sealed their own downfall by going for the win instead of settling for a point. Both teams are masters of the long throws in to the box. Its hard to separate the sides. I will go for the home win though as I am still as Stoke have been good at home in recent seasons and Blackburn poor. Normality has to return to the Premiership sooner or later. Its 2.3 for the home win at 888sport. Sunderland (5.5) Draw (3.6) Manchester United (1.83) Sunderland were unlucky to only get a point from Liverpool last weekend. That first goal should never have been. I guess its payback for last seasons beach ball incident. Darren Bent seems to be on a roll with scoring, netting both Sunderland goals. Manchester United were once again disappointing away from home in the Premiership. They had to come from behind twice to get a point against Bolton. They had a better time in Spain winning 1-0 against Valencia but both teams were really set out for the 0-0 and it was a late fortunate goal which gave Manchester United the win. I am sure Manchester United will turn their away fortunes around at some point but I’m not willing to back it at 1.83 this weekend. I think over 2.5 goals is the better bet. All 6 of Manchester United’s games have been over 2.5 goals. With their not so solid defense and Darren Bent free scoring they are bound to let on in, so they’ll need to have an overs game to win. Its even money at bet365. Tottenham (2) Draw (3.6) Aston Villa (4) Spurs had a good looking win on paper against FC Twente. They were 2-0 up, then conceded, had a man sent off, got a lucky penalty and scored a very late goal. It was one of those 4-1 games that could have been a 2-2. Last weekend they lost to West Ham 1-0. Gerrard Houllier has got off to the perfect start with 2 wins out of 2. Spurs will present a tougher test than Wolves or Blackburn though. I still am siding with the away win. Spurs had a game midweek and I am still not convinced that they have gotten used to playing in Europe then winning in the league. Villa win is 4.0 at most Bookmakers West Bromwich (2.2) Draw (3.4) Bolton (3.8) West Brom may have shock result of the season. Not only did they outplay Arsenal, winning 3-2, they were 3-0 up with 15 minutes to go. They knocked Man City out of the Carling Cup and beat Birmingham 3-1 in the previous home game. They are the in form team. Bolton played extremely well against Manchester United and fully deserved their 2-2 draw. Johan Elmander looks very threatening for Bolton at last. I will stick with the current form. I worry that some teams outside the top few haven’t got 3 wins in a row in them but you can’t go against a team that has just won at Arsenal 3-2. West Brom are 2.2 at PaddyPower. West Ham (2.38) Draw (3.3) Fulham (3.5) Just when I was writing off West Ham this season they get a draw at Stoke, beat Sunderland away from home (in the Carling Cup) and then beat Spurs. Grant has got them playing as a team now. I think Fulham have take a step back under Mark Hughes. Unbeaten but they have only won 1 game, drawing the other 5. They created few chances against Everton last weekend and 0-0 was a fair result. I am going to go with West Ham to carry on their resurgence. Its 2.38 at Betfred for the West Ham win. 3rd October 2010 Manchester City (1.5) Draw (4.5) Newcastle United (8.5) Great result for City last weekend against Chelsea. They outplayed them in a dull game and fully deserved the 1-0 win. On paper, they do have potentially a better team than Chelsea and it was just a case of whether they would gell at the right time. Newcastle were good against Stoke and going in to the break 1-0 they looked comfortable winners but Stoke came back and won 2-1. A little more consistency is needed. I probably could make the case for the Newcastle win. They did beat Chelsea’s (strongish) Carling Cup side 4-3. I am going to go for the home win though and put last week’s freak results behind. I think City will make top 4 this season. 1.5 is a great price for any top 4 team at home against a bottom tier team. Its 1.5 at William Hill . Liverpool (1.33) Draw (5) Blackpool (11) Liverpool’s season is going from bad to worse. In a game on paper, they should have won easily, they needed a referee’s mistake to earn them a point. There were signs of improvement but from a very bad start. Blackpool should have really settled for the draw against Blackburn last weekend. They lost because they went for the win. I know what Ian Holloway means when he says that draws don’t keep you up but better to have 1 point than 0. I really can’t see Blackpool getting anything here. They have had 2 shock away wins so far but against the big teams they have got spanked pretty hard. Liverpool win but to be honest 1.33 doesn’t appeal to me at all. I am still unsure whether Liverpool are a big team this year. Chelsea (1.75) Draw (3.75) Arsenal (5.5) Chelsea were brought crashing down to reality with the 1-0 loss at Manchester City last weekend. Many people thought they would walk the league this season (including myself) but they have shown that against strong opposition they can fail. Arsenal were humiliated last weekend by West Brom. Even Wenger, who usually defends his players or blames someone else, blamed his players. Its tough for Arsenal with all the players out though. Fabregas is very doubtful for this game and his role is vital if Arsenal are going to get anything from this. Usually, I would be saying back Arsenal at 5.5. How often does that happen? With all the injuries though, I can’t see them getting anything here. Chelsea are 1.75 at Boylesports.

Golf-US pair Kuchar, Woodland win World Cup (Reuters)

admin — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 12:18:26 +0000

Golf-US pair Kuchar, Woodland win World Cup (Reuters)
By Bernie McGuire HAIKOU, China, Nov 26 (Reuters) – Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell moved two strokes clear at the World Cup on Saturday and savoured the prospect of adding their names to an illustrious list of previous winners. The pair gelled superbly to record eight birdies, including three in succession from the fifth hole, to record an eight-under par 64 and improve their score to 21 under on the Blackstone course. Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland of the United States, South African pair Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen and the German duo of Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka share second on 19-under par. “It would be incredible for G-Mac (McDowell) and myself to be able to add our names to the list of names and countries on the trophy, the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead,” McIlroy to reporters. “They’re just two American teams and feature four of the best players ever to play the game. So to be able to put your name on a trophy alongside their names would be something special.” McDowell shared his countryman’s sentiments. “I completely agree with Rory because the legends of the game have won this trophy, and to go out there with one of your best friends and experience the highs and lows of this game, and hopefully it will be a high tomorrow, is going to be special,” he said. Ireland, who have won the Cup twice before, led by a stroke with a round to play two years ago but were beaten into second place by Italy. The U.S. team recorded an eight under par 63 while Germany and South Africa had 11-under 61s. The last Americans to win the title was Tiger Woods and David Duval in 2000 in Argentina. “Today was a great day for us and we ham-and-egged pretty well, Woodland told reporters. “It was really nice when I was struggling that Matt picked me up and I could make some putts on the back nine. “But we now have a chance and it’s going to be an exciting final day but with so many good teams up there we are going to have to try and be aggressive and make some birdies. The Australian team of Brendan Jones and Richard Green birdied the opening two holes but struggled mid-round to record a 67 and fall back to 18-under par. (Editing by Peter Rutherford) Please double-click on the newslink: for more golf stories

C-a-C: DeAndre Jordan struggles through short-term memory loss

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:18:09 +0000

C-a-C: DeAndre Jordan struggles through short-term memory loss
DeAndre Jordan(notes): “You are not a basketball. Why am I holding you aloft beneath the rim?” Child: “JE NE SAIS PAS JE SUIS JUSTE UN PETIT ENFANT” Jordan: “Wow, I forgot you are French. Wow, I forgot I know French.” Navigating the lockout is a constant struggle when you are living with That Thing from “Memento.” Courage, DeAndre. Best caption wins instructional “Muzzy” tapes, like DeAndre doesn’t remember using. Good luck. In our last adventure: Marcus Banks(notes) is considering an offer to play in Lick-tenstein. (That will be 10 comedy dollars, please. I accept PayPal.) Winner, Grey Ghost: Marcus Banks enjoys making faces at his new Brian Cardinal(notes) action figure. Runner-up, Kb: Banks: “How can I afford this? Because I’ve been making the NBA average salary the last few seasons even without playing more than 25 games a year. Thank you, NBPA.” NOTE: I think you meant to write, “Thank you, Phoenix Suns and Robert Sarver,” since they’re the ones who ACTUALLY SIGNED Banks to a five-year, $21-million contract in 2006 to back up Steve Nash(notes). Like Clay Davis and most everybody else in the world, Marcus Banks will take any mother’s father’s money if he just GIVIN’ it away. Winner, Al: Things were cool with the “double dog dare,” but Marcus fell for the “triple dare you.” It was not a happy ending. Related: Steve Nash, DeAndre Jordan, Brian Cardinal, Marcus Banks, Phoenix Suns, Create-a-caption, NBA lockout

Djokovic into semis as Tipsarevic retires

admin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:36:25 +0000

Djokovic into semis as Tipsarevic retires
Written by Diana on 09 September 2011. Top seed Novak Djokovic advanced to the semi-finals of the U.S. Open on Thursday when his Serbian Davis Cup team mate Janko Tipsarevic retired in the fourth set of their quarter-final match. Djokovic had been leading 7-6 6-7 6-0 3-0 when Tipsarevic, whose leg was strapped during the match, quit after three hours, 27 minutes of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium after feeling sharp pain in his left leg. “The fact is that it’s a quarter-finals and he’s first time in his career in the quarter-finals of a grand slam. He really put a great effort out there,” Djokovic said. “And then physically, unfortunately, he couldn’t hold on. You could see that he could not move as well as he did in (the first) two and a half hours.” Tipsarevic said he might have tried to push on through the discomfort were it not for defending champion Serbia’s Davis Cup semi-final next weekend against Argentina. “You know, that’s his decision. I cannot comment on that,” Djokovic said. “I support anything he does because he’s my friend and I know him well, and I know he’s somebody who doesn’t like to retire. “Definitely he’s a big fighter, and that just says how much he respects his country and how much he appreciates to play for his country. He wants to be fit.” Australian and Wimbledon champion Djokovic won the first-set tie-break 7-2, and lost the second 7-3 before surging ahead as his compatriot began slowing down. The world number one also gave onlookers a scare when he doubled over and called for the trainer after making a spectacular sliding forehand winner in the first game of the fourth set. After getting the big toe on his left foot treated and bandaged, Djokovic went back to business before the 20th-seeded Tipsarevic signaled he had had enough. “My left toe is bleeding,” explained Djokovic. “These things happen all the time when you’re sliding like I do.” Djokovic will meet the winner of Thursday’s night match between five-time Open winner Roger Federer and France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

ATP Montreal Masters Thursday Preview

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:36:21 +0000

ATP Montreal Masters Thursday Preview
Written by Diana on 11 August 2011. Roger Federer vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Roger Federer looks to avenge two painful losses to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga when the two meet in the third round of the Montreal Masters. Federer has been rattled by Tsonga in the past and the usually unflustered Swiss has a bit of a bizarre record against the big hitting Frenchman. They met in the quarters two years ago and Federer, generally one of the best front runners around, looked set for a comfortable win, leading 5-1 in the third. However his game evaporated and he suffered an inexplicable collapse, Tsonga eventually running out a 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 win. Federer does lead their head-to-head 4-2 and has beaten Tsonga twice this year but when they met for a third time in the last eight at Wimbledon, lightning struck twice. Federer led by two sets to love and at a tournament he has dominated for much of the past decade, he looked a certain winner. However Tsonga struck back to win in five and inflict one of the more painful losses of Federer’s career. Federer himself is at a loss to explain it. “I will not think about that Wimbledon match as much as I might think about the match we had here two years ago,” he said. “Both matches were, so to speak, not normal matches. One, I was up (5-1) in the third and I should have won. I never lose those. In Wimbledon, I lost in five sets. Again, that doesn’t happen often to me. So these two matches were strange matches.” Tsonga looked the more impressive of the two on Wednesday, easing past dangerous teenager Bernard Tomic 6-3, 7-6 while Federer took his time to see off lowly ranked wildcard Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3. “This makes you come down to earth again and you have to face reality suddenly,” Tsonga commented on playing Federer on Thursday. “Even if I beat him in Wimbledon, that doesn’t mean I will be able to beat him all the time. He’s still the best player of all time. I have my chances, but it’s going to be difficult, of course.” Michael Llodra vs. Ernests Gulbis Michael Llodra plays recent Los Angeles champion Ernests Gulbis for a third round berth in Montreal. You never ever know what to expect with Gulbis, he’s either brilliant or dismal, rarely in between but when he gets it going he’s worth watching as Juan Martin Del Potro found a couple of weeks ago. Gulbis put him to the sword in Los Angeles, on the way to winning his second career title. Rather fittingly, it followed a run of four straight losses. Predicting the results of Gulbis’ matches is a little bit like the tennis version of Russian Roulette. He’s received a wildcard this week, a combination of his recent form and few Canadian players with realistic prospects of winning a round in a field this strong. He ground out a tough win over Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5 in the third. It was a similar case for Michael Llodra who stunned Mikhail Youzhny, one of many players ranked between 10 and 20, struggling for form right now. Llodra is at his most effective indoors but his unorthodox style has the potential to be successful at this tournament where the steepling bounce helps the tall serve-volleyers. Llodra leads 2-1 on the head-to-head but they have not played since 2008.

Sharapova to face Kvitova for title (AP)

admin — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 04:18:16 +0000

Sharapova to face Kvitova for title (AP)
WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Seven years after winning Wimbledon as a 17-year-old, Maria Sharapova is back in the final, this time as a three-time Grand Slam winner and heavy favorite. Petra Kvitova is preparing for her first Grand Slam final. The 21-year-old Czech might be dreaming of a debut like that of her Russian rival, who overpowered the top-seeded Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 in 2004 to make her mark as a future superstar of the game. The gap between Wimbledon finals might surprise some, but she was sidelined by a shoulder injury and had surgery in 2008. She’s slowly made her way back to the final week of a Grand Slam. “That’s the way it goes,” Sharapova said Friday. “You obviously hope that you can be in the final stages every single year, but I guess it’s just not meant to happen. This is the year I’m supposed to be back in the final. I don’t know why. I’m not going to question it.” Since 2004, Sharapova has added the 2006 U.S. Open and the 2008 Australian Open titles. But shoulder surgery in October 2008 took her off the singles court for nearly 10 months and required a change in her service motion. The match Saturday against Kvitova will be her first Grand Slam final since 2008. It is these moments that Sharapova visualized while nursing her shoulder back to health. “I had time to reflect on my career and things that I’ve achieved,” Sharapova said. “But I think I was always looking towards the future more than anything than in the past, because that’s where I was trying to envision myself at some point to be getting back out there.” Looking back to the 2004 final, Sharapova said she spent the day trying to recover from illness. As she looked ahead to the biggest match of her career, Kvitova dismissed talk of nerves. “No, I’m not nervous,” she said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow, for sure. I slept well. It’s OK.” If Kvitova can hold her nerve, the final could come down to the serve. The left-handed Kvitova has hit 35 aces in her six matches so far and it was her serve that was a determining factor in her semifinal win over fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka. Sharapova managed to beat Sabine Lisicki despite 13 doubles-faults and a first-serve percentage of 48. Martina Navratilova, the last left-handed women’s champion at Wimbledon in 1998, said Kvitova “matches up well” against Sharapova. “It’s such a tossup. It basically comes down to who serves better,” Navratilova said. “Once the ball is in play, Sharapova has an edge with Petra. I think Petra will return better (than Lisicki did) and it will be easier for her to hold serve.” Kvitova has described 9-time Wimbledon winner Navratilova as her idol. “She’s very sweet,” Navratilova said. “It’s funny because I haven’t had that many players that said, ‘You’re my hero.’ It’s nice. I thought she was too young for that.” Kvitova hadn’t won a match on grass before her run to the semifinals at the All England Club last year. Since then, she has won three WTA Tour titles and surged into the top 10. The 21-year-old trained at the same club in Prostejov as 2010 Wimbledon men’s finalist Tomas Berdych. Martina Hingis also practiced there. Kvitova said Friday her parents are flying over from Prostejov to watch her attempt to become the first Czech woman to win Wimbledon since Jana Novotna in 1998. Sharapova will be supported by her fiance, New Jersey Nets guard Sasha Vujacic, who has been at the championships throughout the two weeks. Less a carefree teenager, the 24-year-old Sharapova will go into the final with a different perspective. “I’m a few years older, more mature. I hope so at least,” she said, smiling. “You develop, not only as a player, but as a person as well. “Obviously a big part of my life is tennis, but at the end of the day I’m not going to be playing for my whole life. It’s great to have someone that will be sharing my life with onwards. I want to explore life. There are many other things in life as well that I’d want to do.”

James: It’s time for me to get going (AP)

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:19:04 +0000

James: It’s time for me to get going (AP)
DALLAS (AP)—LeBron James(notes) and Dwyane Wade(notes) have rooms across the hall from one another at Miami’s team hotel in Dallas, which was convenient after Game 4 of the NBA finals. They needed to talk. And despite all the questions that have arisen after James’ eight-point effort on Tuesday night—the first time in 90 career playoff games where the two-time NBA MVP was held to single digits in scoring—Wade emerged from that late-night strategy session convinced as ever in his superstar Heat teammate. “Eventually,” Wade said Wednesday, “he’s going to do something amazing, and it’s going to put us over the top.” Game 5 is James’ next opportunity. The Heat and Dallas Mavericks are tied at two games apiece in these NBA finals, which resume Thursday night before shifting back to Miami for Game 6 on Sunday and, possibly, a winner-take-all Game 7 on Tuesday night. It’s a best-of-three series now. “I think it’s that time,” James said. “I think it’s that time that I try to get myself going individually.” Said Wade: “Sounds good to me.” James’ words surely sound good to the rest of the Heat, too. Come Thursday, everyone will be waiting to see whether he bounces back from a stunning Game 4 statline. He was more than 20 points below his career playoff average, shooting only 3-for-11 in Miami’s 86-83 loss. So far in the finals, he has nine points in the fourth quarter. To put that in perspective, Dirk Nowitzki(notes) had 10 in the final quarter of Game 4 alone. “I didn’t play well, especially offensively. I know that,” James said. “I’ve got to do a better job of helping this team win basketball games, especially late, no matter what it is. If that’s getting an offensive rebound, like I said, making a couple of baskets, being more aggressive to give my guys opportunities to get open looks. I have to do that. That’s what my job is. That’s what I’m here for.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Miami will make some adjustments to help James’ offensive flow in Game 5. The Mavericks might be providing James with some help as well. On the eve of Game 5, Dallas guard DeShawn Stevenson(notes) directed some sharp words toward James, saying he “checked out” in the final minutes of Game 4 on Tuesday night. “That’s good for us,” Stevenson said after practice Wednesday. Stevenson isn’t worried about the perception of his comments, either. Stevenson was saying that the Heat are still getting to know each other, that James wasn’t himself in Game 4 and that the two-time MVP is “talented enough that he can use anything in the paper to kind of boost his ego.” James was unbothered, at least outwardly, by his latest give-and-take with Stevenson. “DeShawn, he’s been talking for a long time, since our Washington-Cleveland days,” James said. “I don’t let that get to us. Those guys are playing well. We’re playing well. It’s a three-game series. Talk is cheap. You have to play the game of basketball. Let the scores and the plays define the game.” When saying this series is even, it goes deeper than saying each team has won two games so far in the finals. Through four games, some of the statistical similarities are absurd. — Points: Miami is averaging 89, Dallas 87.8. — Rebounds: Dallas is averaging 40, Miami 39. — Field-goal percentage: Miami 42.8, Dallas 41.4. — 3-point percentage: Miami 34.5, Dallas 34.2. In short, the Heat and Mavericks are even so far. “We’re in an absolute heavyweight bout, and that’s the way it should be,” Spoelstra said. “It’s as even a series as it can be. Right now there’s no ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda.’ Both teams have done the same thing. Won on each other’s court, and won one game on their home court.” James said he watched the tape of the Game 4 loss before calling it a night on Tuesday, then watched more film after waking on Wednesday, and Spoelstra pulled the Heat together for another video session before their workout. It was not easy to watch. And there was more than enough blame to go around. “Bottom line is, LeBron is a great player,” Heat forward Udonis Haslem(notes) said. “Great players get a lot of criticism sometimes when their teams don’t win. It’s not necessarily something that he did wrong. He found me for a great shot in the corner, didn’t go in. Got Chris (Bosh) a couple of shots, those didn’t go in. We make those shots, it’s a different outcome and it’s probably different story to write the next day.” True, LeBronwatch remained in full effect Wednesday. Wade was spectacular in Game 4, 32 points on 13-for-20 shooting. Bosh played his best game, by far, of the finals by scoring 24 points. Neither registered much of a blip on the getting-noticed screen. “I criticized myself,” James said. “I was hard on myself all last night. Anytime I feel like I could have played better and the team loses, that’s what it’s all about. If I have a bad game and we win, I’m hard on myself, but at the end of the day we win the basketball game.” James now has logged more court time than anyone in the NBA this season— 3,898 minutes and 38 seconds—and deferred when asked if fatigue was much of a factor for his struggles. He simply blamed what happened Tuesday on not being in rhythm, aiming his jumpers too much instead of trusting himself on the release, maybe spending too much time facilitating others instead of looking for his own points. The sense around the Heat is that will change somewhat for Game 5. If that’s the case, Wade said he thinks good things will happen for Miami. Some words from James helped Wade get back on track after he was struggling in the Eastern Conference finals against Chicago. Now, Wade hopes something he says can help James find his best groove again, with an NBA title in the balance. “We’ve got each other’s back. We believe in each other,” Wade said. “Like I said, eventually LeBron is going to do something so great, you know, that I believe what he did in Game 4 won’t even be a topic of conversation.” Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

Create-a-Caption: James Harden’s hand-sign breakthrough

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 22:00:07 +0000

Create-a-Caption: James Harden’s hand-sign breakthrough
Three-goggles are so two-thousand-and-late, you guys. James Harden(notes) knows that three-cups are where it’s at these days. Not up on three-cups? Hahaha, of course you’re not; only really cool guys like me and James Harden are up on it. Three-cups is when you and your best friends all get together at three-time, put the three-kettle on, then fill your three-cups with some nice, hot three and take a drink after “plunging the three-bag” (hitting a long-range jumper). Very strong next-level three strat, James Harden. Bringing in Alex Blagg to consult on your celebranding has really paid off. Best caption wins biddy tarot inspiration. Good luck. In our last adventure: Taj Gibson(notes) opens wide. (Get your minds out of the gutter.) Winner, Dru: Luol Deng(notes): “Yup, it sure does look like you have some D-Wade stuck in your back teeth there. What about me? Do I got any LeBron in my gums? Feels like something’s in there.” Runner-up, Comment: Reptile wins. Flawless victory. Second runner-up, My Name is Jason: Deng: “Taj, no amount of awesome dunks will turn you into a Pez dispenser.” Related: Luol Deng, James Harden, Taj Gibson, Create-a-caption, 2011 NBA Playoffs

Gibbs team scrambles for answers to engine woes (AP)

admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:54:09 +0000

Gibbs team scrambles for answers to engine woes (AP)
Joe Gibbs likes to say that, unlike many of his rival NASCAR team owners, racing is the family business and success is measured in victories and championships.

Gibbs: Long-lasting dispute could hurt NFL (AP)
NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs went through NFL labor problems twice during his Washington Redskins’ coaching career. Now a fan, Gibbs doesn’t want the game he loves to suffer through a long work stoppage that costs the sport popularity and prestige. The three-time Super Bowl winner and NASCAR owner said Tuesday the NFL lockout disturbs him and he hopes players and owners can settle things before…

Football Trends – Top ‘Over’ Trends for Week 16

admin — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:54:06 +0000

Football Trends – Top ‘Over’ Trends for Week 16
Here at BetUS Sportsbook, we’ve always got our pulse on the top football trends that the game has to offer. On Sunday, we have a list of three games that are targeted as ‘over’ contests. Check out the high scoring football trends in these winners! San Diego Chargers vs.