Chelsea’s derby clash with QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday is in danger of being overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the pre-match handshakes. John Terry and Ashley Cole are fit to return after missing England’s 1-1 draw with Ukraine this week through injury. The player at the centre of last season’s highly charged Premier League clash, QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, is also expected to take part. The Chelsea skipper was cleared in the courts but still faces a Football Association charge over the incident. The two sides have met twice since with the usual pre-match handshakes being dispensed with due to fears of a repeat of the Suarez/Evra incident.

As soon as the preliminaries are over, Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo will be hoping that his team can bounce back quickly from the 4-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Super Cup. The team admitted to being humiliated by that embarrassing defeat and it came as a timely reminder to the European champions that they can take nothing for granted this season. With three wins from their three opening Premiership fixtures, the Blues are sitting pretty on top of the table but they have not yet proven that they are worthy title contenders. Eden Hazard may have received rave reviews for his performances so far but the new players are still to be completely integrated into the set up. Di Matteo has many options including a possible start for Oscar and Moses. His team selection may also be complicated by the recent form of Frank Lampard who played two excellent games for his country in the World Cup qualifiers, scoring three times in the process.

QPR suffered their own embarrassment with a 5-0 home defeat by Swansea in their opening fixture. A draw at Norwich was followed by a 3-0 cup victory over Walsall. Despite going down 3-1 against champions Manchester City last time, they did put up a brave performance and could have snatched a draw with a bit more luck. Jose Bosingwa could line up against his old club for the first time.

Bet365 make Chelsea 5-6 favourites to record a fourth consecutive victory with QPR at 7-2 and 5-2 the draw. Both defences have looked suspect in recent games so it could be worth taking the 9-4 about there being more than 3 goals in this fixture.

Frank Lampard will be hoping to retain his place for the derby clash but Di Matteo may choose to rest him. Torres is the bookies favourite at 4-1 with in-form Eden Hazard at 15-2. QPR’s biggest threat could come from Bobby Zamora who is 9-1 to give QPR a shock lead.

Saturday’s St Leger at Doncaster will attract wider public interest by virtue of the fact that Aidan O’Brien’s Camelot is attempting to complete the Triple Crown of English classic victories. If he can add the St Leger to his 2,000 Guineas and Derby victories he will become the first horse since Nijinsky in 1970 to succeed.

Whilst it would undoubtedly be a great achievement, it should be remembered that the Leger has lost some of its lustre in recent times. The oldest classic has not been the natural target of a Derby winner for many years with the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe seen as a much more desirable race to win. In fact, Reference Point in 1987 was the last Epsom Derby winner to run in the Doncaster classic. He faced just six opponents and landed odds of 4-11 for Sir Henry Cecil and Steve Cauthen. He went on to the Arc but finished lame behind Trempolino and was retired to stud. If Camelot comes through the Leger without having too hard a race, he may take his place in the Arc where he will face horses outside his own age group for the first time. Having proven himself the best colt of his generation, the racing public is keen to see him face the acid test of racing against his elders.

Some are questioning whether or not Camelot has the stamina to see out the extra two furlongs at Town Moor. He needed every yard of the mile to get his head in front in the Guineas and there was little doubt that he would relish to step up to the Derby distance. The only question mark against him there was whether or not he would settle for young jockey Joseph O’Brien. This he did and had plenty left in the tank to blow away his rivals up the Epsom straight. His victory in the Irish Derby was less convincing but it was run in heavy ground and it may have been the surface rather than the opposition that caused him to work harder that day. Certainly the subsequent heavy defeat of the runner-up Born To Sea did little to advertise the form.

In terms of his pedigree, he could hardly be better bred for the classic. He is by the late great Montjeu, winner of the Arc and the stallion of champions. His progeny include multiple Group 1 winner Hurricane Run, Derby winners Motivator, Authorized and Pour Moi plus Leger winners Scorpion and Masked Marvel. Camelot’s dam is Tarfah who won five of her eight races, including the Listed Snowdrop Stakes and the Group 3 Dahlia Stakes. Even subscribers to the legendary dosage system have little doubt that he will stay the distance.

His eight rivals are officially rated at least 9lbs inferior on all known form. Thought Worthy comes out top after his all-the-way win in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York but he is well held on Epsom form. Main Sequence came through late to grab second at Epsom and was again runner-up in the Voltigeur. His style of racing suggests that he will stay but his pedigree gives a little cause for concern. Trainer John Gosden is running a pacemaker in Dartford for his duo of Thought Worthy and Michelangelo whilst the consistent Encke and Ursa Major may have place claims. Ladbrokes are offering only 2-5 about Camelot writing his name into racing history tomorrow. There appears to be no obvious reason why he won’t do exactly that.

Doncaster’s Leger meeting kicks off on Wednesday with Camelot set to play the starring role in Saturday’s feature race. Before Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten colt bids to become the first winner of the English Triple Crown since Nijinsky in 1970, there is a feast of top class racing to enjoy.

Wednesday’s feature race is the Scarborough Stakes which gives Irish raider Sole Power the chance to return to winning ways. He is dropping down in class after some fine efforts including his latest effort when only four lengths behind Ortensia in York’s Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes. He is partnered by Johnny Murtagh who recently lost his job with leading owner HH The Aga Khan and will be keen to maintain a high profile. Ladbrokes offer Sole Power at 15-8 in their early prices.

Murtagh is again on a leading fancy in Thursday’s Sceptre Stakes when he partners the smart filly Sentaril for Willie Haggas. The three-year-old looked very impressive when bolting up in her first two starts before being pitched in at Royal Ascot. She was far from disgraced in finishing a close third in the Jersey Stakes and can be forgiven her disappointing run at York over a shorter distance. Seven furlongs is her trip and she looks worth supporting here.

An interesting runner in Friday’s Mallard Handicap is Mark Johnston’s rapidly improving stayer Sir Graham Wade. The imposing grey was heavily backed at Haydock on Saturday but looked in trouble when Kieren Fallon found himself boxed in on the rail. He managed to extricate himself in time to launch a late challenge on the outside and land the prize in the shadow of the post. He was value for far more than his narrow winning margin and it would be no surprise if Johnston turns him out again quickly. Bet365 are longest at 11-4 in the early betting exchanges.

The climax of the week is the St Leger on Saturday when Aidan O’Brien will be attempting to write his own piece of history by saddling all five English classic winners this season. The bookmakers aren’t taking any chances in offering 1-3 about Camelot. John Gosden has won the last two Leger’s and has two live candidates in Thought Worthy and Michelangelo. The former looks the most likely threat after his all-the-way win in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York. Camelot’s rivals will be hoping to test his stamina to the full and Gosden will employ a pacemaker. For those looking for an each-way bet, they could do worse than take the 33-1 on offer with Ladbrokes for Godolphin’s Encke. The horse was not suited by the slow pace at York and could reverse placings on Town Moor.

PGA Grand Slam of Golf – 23rd and 24th October 2012 | The PGA Grand Slam of Golf is held annually and is intended to bring together the year’s winners of the four major championships: the Masters, the U.S. Open, The British Open and the PGA Championship. The tournament is played as a 2-day, 36-hole stroke play competition. The venue for the event is the Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda, a 6,842-yard, par-71 course. $600,000 goes to the winner, the runner-up receives $300,000, the third takes home $250,000 and the fourth $200,000.

The event was first held in 1979 with Gary Player taking the inaugural event. Australian Greg Norman won three times in the 80’s and 90’s but American Tiger Woods has won the tournament a remarkable seven times between 1998 and 2006. In 2002, Woods recorded rounds of 66 and 61 to win the event by an incredible 14 shots.

In the event of a player winning more than one major in a calendar year or a player declining the invitation, the PGA of America fills the position by inviting the former major winner with the best overall finishes in that year’s majors. This year, PGA winner Rory McIlroy has declined the invitation due to a prior commitment and will be replaced by last year’s winner Keegan Bradley. World Number One McIlroy had already confirmed his place in the European Tour’s BMW Masters in China on October 25th – 28th.

With the withdrawal of McIlroy, there will now be three Americans this year with Bradley joining Masters Champion Bubba Watson and U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson. Ernie Els, successful in this event in 1997 and 2010 and this year’s British Open winner, makes up the elite foursome. It will be a first appearance for both Watson and Simpson, while 2011 PGA Champion Bradley returns to Port Royal Golf Course where he won last year’s Grand Slam title. Bradley won the 2011 event by a single stroke over 2011 Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel. He tied for third in the PGA Championship at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island that has ultimately proved sufficient for him to gain a place this season.

The Players

Keegan Bradley (USA) Aged 26. A regular competitor on the PGA golf Tour. He rose to prominence with his win in the 2011 PGA Championship and added the Grand Slam of Golf the same season. He has won three tour events and is one of three golfers to win on their major tournament debut. The others were Ben Curtis and Francis Ouimet. He was named the 2011 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Current World ranking: 12

Ernie Els (South Africa) Aged 42. A former World Number 1, the popular South African can boast 65 career victories including four major championships: the U.S. Open in 1994 (Oakmont) and 1997 (Congressional), The British Open in 2002 (Muirfield) and 2012 (Royal Lytham & St Annes). He is one of six golfers to have won both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship on two occasions.
Current World ranking: 21

Bubba Watson (USA) Aged 33. One of the few left-handed golfers on tour, he claimed his first major this season with his Masters victory. He is one of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour and is capable of exceeding 350 yards (320 m) and a ball speed of nearly 200mph. Watson won the by defeating Louis Oosthuizen on the second sudden death play-off hole.
Current World ranking: 8

Webb Simpson (USA) Aged 27. Won his first major this season with the US Open, thus qualifying for the US Ryder Cup team. He was a member of the victorious 2007 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams as well as the 2011 Presidents Cup team. Simpson gained his first two victories on the PGA Tour in 2011 at the Wyndham Championship and at the FedEx Cup play-off event, The Deutsche Bank Championship. He finished second on the 2011 Tour’s money list.
Current World ranking: 5

Betting on the PGA Grand Slam of Golf

William Hill can hardly split the four golfers in their golf betting market. They have Watson, Simpson and Bradley as co-favourites at 5-2 with Els marginally the outsider at 11-4. As Els has won two of the three previous Grand Slam events that he has contested, these odds could be seen as insulting to the big South African.

At Royal Lytham this summer, Els staged a stunning last day recovery to put himself in contention and runaway leader Adam Scott collapsed over the closing holes to present the trophy to the South African by one stroke. It was the first major tournament victory for Els since the 2002 Open Championship at Muirfield. Els started the final round six shots adrift but birdied three of his final six holes, including a lengthy putt on the final hole to post a 2-under 68 and finish 7-under for the tournament. The 36-hole format will suit the oldest competitor in this event and he looks the value bet at the early prices.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Andy Murray goes into his fifth Grand Slam final in the US Open at Flushing Meadows on Monday hoping to end the 76-year wait for a British winner of a men’s singles event. He will face defending champion Novak Djokovic (2-5) and is once again rated the underdog at 2-1 with Bet365.

Murray will be hoping to emulate his coach Ivan Lendl who lost his first four Grand Slam finals before winning at the French Open in 1984. Lendl retired with eight Grand Slam victories, although he never won Wimbledon. Should Murray suffer a fifth defeat, he will join Fred Stolle who lost his first five slam finals in the 1960’s before winning at the French in 1965. Murray can also use his Olympic gold medal victory for inspiration where he defeated Djokovic in the last four.

Of more concern to Murray will be the sublime form of Djokovic in turning around a first set loss against Ferrer before powering to a four-set victory in his semi-final. It was very reminiscent of Murray’s victory over Berdych the night before and sets up a fascinating clash. The pair met in the final of the Australian Open last year when Djokovic cruised to an emphatic straight sets victory. Djokovic was again victorious over Murray in Australia this year but he needed five sets to see off a determined challenge from the Scot. The Serb has won his last 27 matches on hard-courts at Grand Slam events going back to the US Open final in 2010. In the overall head-to-head, it is not easy to call with Djokovic taking their first four meetings but Murray winning six of the last ten. They are level at 2-2 for this year.

British hopes were raised at Wimbledon this summer when Murray took the opening set in the final against Roger Federer. Unfortunately that was as good as it got with the Swiss raising his game to run out an impressive 3-1 winner. Murray must surely look for a similarly fast start on Monday and hope that he can put Djokovic under pressure. Murray is 6-4 to take the opening set. He has the benefit of a full day’s rest and his experience of Wimbledon and the Olympics will give him an extra determination. Djokovic has spoken of his need to come to the net more often and add a new dimension to his game this season but he may be reluctant to do so against such a versatile performer as Murray.

Despite the odds favouring Djokovic, it would be no surprise to see this match go the distance and William Hill offer 5-2 about a five-set thriller.

World Cup qualifiers kickoff in Europe on Fri. Sept. 7 for the 2014 tournament in Brazil. There are nine groups which consist of a total of 53 teams. Each of the nine group winners will qualify for the World Cup and the eight best second-place nations will then meet in a two-legged playoff to earn the other four European spots. The worst second-place team in the nine groups will be eliminated.

If there is a Group of Death here, it’s Group I with Finland, Spain, France, and Georgia. Finland has never made a World Cup in 17 tries and it doesn’t look good for them this time around either. They get started at home against France, but could earn at least a draw at worst.

Germany is in Group C and they have an easy start with a home match against the Faroe Islands. Holland heads up Group D and will have a tough game at home against Turkey. Holland has been terrible lately losing their last four games. Belgium has an away game in Group A in Wales and will be trying to make the tournament for the first time since 2002. Wales hasn’t made one since 1958. Belgium has some excellent players in Dembele, Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany and 14 of the squad plays in the English Premier League.

Austria hasn’t made a World Cup since 1998 and oddly enough they’ll be facing arch enemy and neighbour Germany again. However, they don’t play until next Tuesday when the host the Germans. Hungary hasn’t made a World Cup since 1986, but is a team on the rise and is now ranked at number 27 by FIFA. They kickoff on Friday away at Andorra.

Two of the most-watched matches on Friday will be:

Moldova vs England


England will be travelling to Chisinau to face Moldova in a Group H game and as usual will be missing several key players due to injuries. These include strikers Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll along with left-back Ashley Cole, midfielder Scott Parker, and winger Adam Johnson. Ashley Young could also be doubtful Cole could be back in time for the game four days later at Wembley against Ukraine. England hasn’t lost in the seven games since Roy Hodgson took over other than a penalty shoot-out at Euro 2012 when Italy beat them in the quarterfinals.

Third-ranked England should have enough power to beat 141-st rated Moldova, but you never know. The last time these two nations met in qualifiers it was for the World Cup in 1998 with England winning 3-0 away and 4-0 at home. Moldova’s won just two qualifiers in their history in 38 matches and haven’t won one in the last seven years. England still has Jermain Defoe up front and he can be aided by Theo Walcott, Daniel Sturridge, or Danny Welbeck. England should do enough to win.

Bet365 has the current odds of an England win at 3/10 with a Moldova victory at 19/2 and a draw at 77/20

Bulgaria vs Italy


Italy has never beaten Bulgaria away and will have to try and do it without top strikers Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli. They’ve played just four times in Bulgaria though since 1968 with two losses and a pair of draws and have allowed six goals against. Their last visit was in 2008 and they earned a 0-0 draw in a World Cup qualifier. This Group B game sees Balotelli out with an eye problem while Cassano wasn’t chosen. Look for manager Cesare Prandelli to go with a 3-5-2 setup. Left-back Federico Balzaretti is injured as well as striker Giampaolo Pazzini, who may be ready to play against Malta four days later. In addition, defender Davide Astori is out and will be replaced by Francesco Acerbi. Bulgaria is playing well under manager Penev and they beat Holland 2-1 in May. Of course, top scorer Dimitar Berbatov with 48 goals, said he has retired from international football and the team will miss his scoring threat. Valeri Bojinov won’t play, but the team good use three forwards. Look for a draw here.

Bet365.com has the current odds of a Bulgaria win at 23/5 with an Italian victory at 13/10 and a draw at 5/2.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Scotland embark on another tough World Cup qualifying campaign this weekend when they welcome Serbia to Hampden Park. In an evenly matched group that looks set to go to the wire, Scotland have been handed a great opportunity to get off to a flying start with two home games, the second against Macedonia on Tuesday night.

There is certainly plenty of reason for optimism in the squad with several players impressing in the early weeks of the new season. Possibly the biggest boost is the return to fitness of goalkeeper Allan McGregor who missed last month’s 3-1 victory over Australia at Easter Road with a groin injury. He played for Besiktas in their 3-0 win over Kardemir last weekend and has declared himself fit for both matches.

Scotland boss Craig Levein, like his England counterpart Roy Hodgson, has his fair share of injury worries. Charlie Mulgrew was forced to withdraw from the squad with an Achilles problem. Danny Fox and Russell Martin were earlier forced to pull out but Christophe Berra has now joined the squad after his partner gave birth. Robert Snodgrass has quickly made a big impression at Norwich and opened his scoring account for the Canaries with a late equaliser at Tottenham. Another player who is desperate to get into the action is £8 million striker Jordan Rhodes, fresh from his high profile move from Huddersfield to Blackburn Rovers. Rhodes netted 87 goals in 148 games Huddersfield after joining the club from Ipswich in 2009. He made an impressive international debut when scoring against the Aussies and has retained his place in the squad.

Also in the group are Wales, Belgium and Croatia so Scotland dare not get off to a slow start. Although Scotland have often proved hard to beat, they have sometimes struggled to score goals and that cost them dearly in their European Championship campaign. Rhodes is hoping that he can contribute in that department and there is no better time to start than on Saturday.

Serbia have only had one victory in their last six matches but their opposition included France, Spain and Sweden. They shared a goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland in their last outing. Bet365 make this game a tough one to call with Scotland at 8-5, Serbia at 7-4 and the draw 11-5. Jordan Rhodes is 6-1 favourite to further enhance his growing reputation by opening the scoring.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The shock exit of World Number One Roger Federer to Tomas Berdych in the quarter-final of the US Open has opened the way for Britain’s Andy Murray to book his place in another Grand Slam final. The Scot had problems of his own in overcoming Marin Cilic in four sets but looks to be on course for a final showdown with Djokovic as he quest for a first major continues.

Federer had not been beaten at the semi-final stage at Flushing Meadows since 2003, winning five times and seemingly back to his invincible best after his amazing Wimbledon triumph. Few expected the drama that was to unfold at the night match, a particular speciality of Federer’s having won all 23 previous night matches at the US Open. But it was Berdych who booked his place in the semi-finals with a 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory.

The Czech took control of the match in the first set tie break when a string of errors from Federer handed him the opening set. Federer was clearly shaken and dropped his serve twice in the second set, eventually losing that 6-4 before rallying to take the third set. But Berdych would not be denied and kept his cool to break Federer again in the fourth and serve out in spectacular fashion. Berdych had beaten Federer at the same stage of Wimbledon in 2010 before going on to reach the final but he has failed to progress and is currently seventh in the World rankings. First round defeats at Wimbledon and the Olympics this year gave no indication that this sort of performance was imminent but he will be a threat to Murray on this form.

Andy Murray went into his quarter-final with Marin Cilic as a big favourite but found on the receiving end in the opening set, slumping alarmingly to 5-1 down before losing it 6-3. It took a second set tie-break to get the Scot back on terms and he then powered away with a run of eleven straight games to round up a 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 6-0 victory. Murray’s recovery was at least in part due to the Croatian wilting under pressure but this match will serve as a warning for Murray heading into the semi-final.

William Hill now make Murray 2-1 to break his Grand Slam hoodoo with Djokovic the favourite at 4-5. Berdych has been cut to 9-1. Djokovic must first overcome Del Potro to book his semi-final place.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Camelot has been shortened to 1-3 with William Hill to book his place in the history books by becoming the first horse since Nijinsky in 1970 to win the English Triple Crown. The main opposition is supplied by Newmarket trainer John Gosden who has sent out the last two St Leger winners. He has four leading candidates for the race but that looks like being reduced to two plus a pacemaker.

Many pundits saw Irish Oaks winner Great Heavens as the biggest threat to Aidan O’Brien’s colt. Although she did not break her maiden until May, she has done nothing but improve since and was going on strongly at the end of the Irish classic. She beat the winners of the Oaks and the Ribblesdale Stakes in the process and that makes her the pick of the three-year-old fillies. With the colts division having been dominated by Camelot, she was as short as 8-1 to prevent O’Brien completing a clean sweep of all five English classics this season. However, Gosden has indicated that the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp is her next likely target.

Shantaram’s participation is also in doubt after he missed the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York through an infection. Gosden’s main flagbearer is likely to be Voltigeur winner Thought Worthy who made all at York to repel the persistent challenge of Derby runner-up Main Sequence. Jockey William Buick may have stolen the race at York by setting a slow pace and gradually quickening up the straight. He will be joined by Michelangelo, third when favourite for the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood at the end of July. The colt had previously been impressive when slamming Cameron Highland at Newmarket and the runner-up has won twice subsequently.

Although Camelot remains unbeaten, the lack of strength in depth in the three-year-olds this season leaves his form open to question. He managed to win the 2000 Guineas on softened ground despite being outpaced early on but the placed horses have done little to frank the form. He was far more impressive at Epsom when he sprinted five lengths clear of Main Sequence, stablemate Astrology and Thought Worthy. Barring a lack of stamina, there is no reason to believe that he won’t confirm the form with the placed horses at Doncaster. Perhaps his least impressive effort was his last when he won the Irish Derby by three lengths from Born To Sea. The runner-up put up a bold show that day but was subsequently beaten out of sight by Famous Name at the Curragh.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The forecast of fast ground for this weekend’s Group 1 Haydock Sprint will be music to the ears of Roger Charlton, trainer of strongly-fancied Bated Breath. When his horse reappeared at Haydock earlier in the season and set a new course record, he seemed destined to finally get the Group 1 race that he deserved but the elements have contrived against him.

Royal Ascot was his first port of call but the unseasonal wet weather left the going on the soft side of good and he had to be content with a gallant second. Plans to take on the great mare Black Caviar at the meeting had to be abandoned as the ground deteriorated further. Bated Breath is rated a 10lb better horse on fast ground and Charlton set his sights on Newmarket’s July Cup. Once again, the weather intervened and Bated Breath was withdrawn as Mayson sluiced through the mud to win for Richard Fahey. Yet again the going was on the soft side for York’s prestigious Nunthorpe Stakes but, with opportunities fast running out, Charlton allowed Bated Breath to take his chance. Racing on the unfavoured stands side, he was prominent before dropping away inside the last furlong as Australian mare Ortensia cut down Spirit Quartz on the far rail. Clearly punters have not forgotten his stylish course win earlier in the year and have backed him down to 7-2.

Ortensia will have been equally inconvenienced by the going at York so it was a commendable effort by the seven-year-old to get up and win. Not surprisingly, she was put up as ante-post favourite and is currently only 5-2 with William Hill to add a second Group 1 to her European conquests. Jockey William Buick is so determined to maintain the partnership with the mare that he is planning to ride her before flying to Ireland to fulfil an engagement for his trainer John Gosden. He is retained by Gosden and their stable star Nathaniel is favourite for the Irish Champion Stakes later in the day.

With both Ortensia and Bated Breath known to favour top of the ground, it was no surprise that July Cup winner Mayson had been drifting out in the market to as high as 9-1 before he was announced a non-runner due to a dirty scope. His regular rider Paul Hanagan, on board for all five of Mayson’s victories, was likely to be required at Ascot in any case. Fahey hopes that the horse will recover in time for the end of season sprints at Ascot and Longchamp. The dark horse of the race could be Richard Hannon’s Strong Suit who is better known as a seven furlong to a mile horse. He was unlucky last time over seven, but appeared to need every yard that day and has yet to prove that he will be as effective dropped back to six furlongs.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

NFL ready to Kickoff its 93rd Season | The seven-month NFL off-season has never been far from the headlines due to a variety of reasons. These include lawsuits over concussions, arrests, special rules for players, the illegal Bountygate hitting scandal, suspensions, the draft, trades, free-agent signings, player holdouts, huge contracts, union problems, and the possibility of a strike.

The league kicked off for the 93rd time on Wed. Sept. 5th when last year’s Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys in New Jersey. The rest of the league’s clubs will start their seasons on either Sun. Sept 9th or Mon. Sept. 10th. The season will wrap up on Feb. 3rd 2013 in New Orleans with the playing of Super Bowl XLVII.

Replacement Referees


The season will get underway with replacement referees on the field. They’ve been working all of the preseason games and will also start the season due to a labour dispute between the regular officials and the NFL. The full-time referees have been locked out by the league. The replacement refs certainly haven’t been getting rave reviews and the players have talked about striking since they feel their safety is in jeopardy at the hands of the replacements.

Is Manning Ready to Play?


One of the big stories of the season is the return to action of quarterback Peyton Manning. However, he’s no longer a member of the Indianapolis Colts as the team cut him and his huge contract loose due to concerns over his health. His last game came about 20 months ago and he’ll now be suiting up for the Denver Broncos this season. He’s had four operations on his neck since he last played and will debut in the Broncos opening game at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Of course, there will be a lot of questions about his fitness and health. Fans are wondering if his neck has healed, if he’ll be able to throw the ball like he used to and if he’ll be able to take the tough physical going. Nobody knows for sure, not even Manning himself. However, it won’t take long until everybody finds out. The Broncos have a prime national TV schedule this season and the networks are hoping Manning can stand up to the rigours of the sport.

New Orleans Saints and Bountygate


The New Orleans Saints were found guilty of operating an illegal bounty system which saw players paid for injuring their opponents during games with big hits. Defenders made money by knocking other players out of games and the NFL frowns on this. Sean Payton, the team’s head coach, received a year-long ban and his assistant Joe Vitt was handed a six-game suspension. See more about the Bountygate on Wikipedia.

That’s not all though, general manager Mickey Loomis was booted out until November 11, while player Jonathan Vilma was also given a year ban and Will Smith was suspended for four contests. The Saints denied any wrongdoing and it’ll be interesting to see how the suspensions affect them. Ironically, they will host the Super Bowl in February.

Will the New York Giants be able to repeat?


Super Bowl champions The New York Giants will have a tough time defending their title due to their tough schedule this season. The team’s defence may be better than last year while quarterback Eli Manning will lead a stronger offense too. However, the schedule might derail them. Their last 11 games will make or break the club as they play the likes of San Francisco, Washington, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Washington, New Orleans, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

Inexperienced Quarterbacks


Close to a third of the starting quarterbacks in the 32-team league are more or less newcomers to the pros. A total of 10 of them are just entering their second season in the NFL or are rookies. Those who are entering their second years didn’t have the benefit of a training camp last season due to the players being locked out by the league.

It’s believed that five of the starting quarterbacks in the opening round of games will be rookies. These are Andrew Luck of the Baltimore Colts, Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins, Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins, Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, and Brandon Weeden of the Cleveland Browns. Five of the other starters will be second-year pros. Also, five other rookies or second-year players are backup quarterbacks. This could result in some low-scoring contests early in the campaign.

The NFC North


While the Detroit Lions don’t strike a lot of fear into their opponents’ hearts, they have some excellent players to be aware of. The passing combo of quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson is one of the best in the league. They’re lethal when they get near the end zone as well as just about anywhere else on the field really.

Other excellent passing combinations in the NFC North include the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers along with wide receivers Greg Jennings, wide receiver Jordy Nelson and tight end Jermichael Finley. The Chicago Bears’ pairing of quarterback Jay Cutler with wide receiver Brandon Marshall is also one of the best in the league.

Sunday Starting Times


The NFL’s late afternoon games on Sundays used to start at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. This year they’ll kick off at 4:15 p.m. This will allow the earlier games to all wrap up before the late games start. It seems the games have been lasting longer in the past couple of years and this is the best way to deal with the situation.

Super Bowl Favourites / Predictions

As we all know, betting on NFL is hugely popular and let’s face it… We are all looking forward to the new season and hopefully add to our bankroll. So let’s have a look at some odds and our predictions for the coming 2012-2013 NFL season.


The New York Giants definitely aren’t favoured to repeat as Super Bowl champions as sportsbook.com has them listed at +2400 (25.00, 24/1). The New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers are currently the favourites at +550 (6.50, 11/2). The Houston Texans are 10/1, the Philadelphia Eagles are listed at 14/1 followed by the San Francisco 49ers at 15/1. The New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers are all at 20/1. At the other end of the scale, the Jacksonville Jaguars are the longshots at 300/1 with the Cleveland Browns at 250/1. The Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts are both listed at 200/1.

It’s a tough call, but look for the New England Patriots to at least make the Super Bowl this year. We also believe Eagles and Ravens will have a good year. Check back this post later for more updates and betting picks during the season.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Roy Hodgson’s England begin their World Cup campaign next week with a visit to Moldova in Chisinau on Friday followed by a clash with Ukraine at Wembley four days later. The England boss named his 24 man squad last week and he has largely kept faith with his team from Euro 2012 and the friendly victory over Italy last month.

Just as in Euro 2012, Wayne Rooney is unavailable. A thigh injury suffered last weekend means that the Manchester United star misses England’s opening qualifiers. Hodgson received an immediate setback with the news that a hamstring injury sustained by Andy Carroll in his first game for West Ham means he will also miss both matches. Hodgson will wait for the conclusion of Sunday’s fixtures before deciding whether to add a replacement striker, probably Aston Villa’s Darren Bent.

His attacking force now consists of Danny Welbeck, Jermain Defoe and Daniel Sturridge. Chelsea Captain John Terry has been selected, although he has missed his club’s last two matches with a neck injury. His midfield options include Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick and Manchester United youngster Tom Cleverley, who made an encouraging debut against Italy in Berne. Kyle Walker, who missed out on Euro 2012 with a broken toe, has been named at right-back along with Liverpool’s Glen Johnson. The only surprise absentee is Manchester United’s Ashley Young who had featured regularly since Hodgson took over.

Bet365 do not expect England to be extended by Moldova and have put them in at 2-7 to open their campaign with a victory with the draw at 7-2 and a shock Moldova victory at 8-1. Moldova’s only victory in their last six matches came against fellow minnows San Marino. However, there may be plenty of patriotic fans that will be happy to take the 21-10 offered about England overcoming a –2 goal handicap. Ukraine should provide a tougher test, although England will be looking to make home advantage count. Despite Team GB’s failure to win a medal in the recent Olympic games, the strong home support was something that all of the home nations will be hoping to carry through to their international fixtures.

England Squad: Butland (Birmingham), Hart (Man City), Ruddy (Norwich); Baines (Everton), Bertrand (Chelsea), Cahill (Chelsea), Cole (Chelsea), Jagielka (Everton), G Johnson (Liverpool), Lescott (Man City), Terry (Chelsea), Walker (Tottenham); Carrick (Man United), Cleverley (Man United), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Gerrard (Liverpool), A Johnson (Sunderland), Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Man City), Walcott (Arsenal); Defoe (Tottenham), Sturridge (Chelsea), Welbeck (Man United).

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Champions Manchester City made dramatic late moves in the transfer market in an effort to strengthen their squad for their Premiership and Champions League campaigns. City, previously noticeable for their absence in the market, signed five players for the sum of £37million on the closing day of the summer transfer window. Roberto Mancini had claimed that City were being continually asked to pay a premium on their transfers but they managed to force open their cheque book at the last moment.

City’s headline signing was 25-year-old Spanish midfielder Javi Garcia from Benfica for £16million. Right-back Maicon, a Champions League winner with Internazionale in 2010, joins for £3million. 19-year-old Serbia international Nastasic has joined City from Fiorentina for a fee of around £10million and they paid Swansea a fee that could rise to £8million for Scott Sinclair. Their deadline day haul was completed by the free-transfer signing of goalkeeper Richard Wright.

Many had been expecting Chelsea to make the headlines on deadline day but they did not add to their previous summer signings. Instead, they allowed midfielder Michael Essien to join Real Madrid on a season-long loan and Yossi Benayoun to join West Ham on the same terms. Southampton finally completed the record club signing of Bologna’s attacking midfielder Ramirez for £12million with Billy Sharp being released to Nottingham Forest on a season’s loan.

Swansea moved quickly to replace Sinclair by paying £5.5million for Valencia’s Pablo Hernandez. Queen’s Park Rangers completed a swap deal with Marseilles with former captain Joey Barton joined the Ligue 1 club for a season’s loan in exchange for defensive midfielder Stephane M’Bia. There had been many rumours circulating throughout the day about the destination of Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov and he finally joined Fulham on a two-year deal. Fulham boss Martin Jol was fully expecting Clint Dempsey to depart and he eventually signed for Tottenham following persistent rumours that Liverpool and Aston Villa had been vying for his signature.

Tottenham also completed the signing of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from Lyons for £8million whilst Van der Vaart left for Hamburg in a £10.2million deal. Charlie Adam left Liverpool for Stoke City but Michael Owen did not complete his rumoured move. Stoke also snapped up two further midfielders in Steven Nzonzi and Maurice Edu. Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner completed a loan move to Italian champions Juventus.

Ladbrokes make City 5-4 favourites to retain the Premiership title this season ahead of rivals United on 11-5 and Chelsea 3-1. Arsenal are 25-1 with Liverpool 28-1 and Tottenham out to 80-1.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

There’s a new mobile bingo app on the market which has been released by Playtech. The app allows online bingo players to access their accounts and William Hill Bingo is pleased to be one of the first sites to offer it. The application was created with Virtue Fusion software, just like the desktop site was, and it offers many of the capabilities that can be found on the desktop site.

This means players have a choice of several game rooms and they can also engage in mini games and the instant-chat feature. A William Hill spokesperson named Jennie Prest said it was one of their priorities to offer their desktop bingo experience on a mobile app. This allows the site’s players to enjoy the games they love anywhere they can take their mobile devices. The players can enjoy numerous options including the Deal or No Deal bingo contest.

Playtech’s head of bingo Rhys Owen said it’s a big step for his company since it sees itself as one of the world’s leading suppliers of online bingo software. He said it made sense to launch this app because mobile phone gambling is the new trend in the industry and it’s obviously what the players want. He added that it also allows Playtech’s partners and licensees to attract new players.

The app can be used with Android smart phones and an iOS version is being developed. It’s quite easy to download and managing your account is also a breeze with the new app, whether you’re using a mobile phone, laptop or PC. All of the same promotions can be accessed, including free online bingo on Thursdays and a two for one deal on Saturdays.

William Hill, one of the largest UK bingo sites, is celebrating the launch of the new app by offering new online bingo players a bonus of £25 bonus if they spend a total of £10 on bingo tickets during the first seven days after opening an account. All cash winnings on the bonus can then be withdrawn.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Premiership champions Manchester City face a mammoth task if they are progress beyond the group stages of the Champions League this season. Roberto Mancini’s men have been drawn with Spanish champions Real Madrid, Dutch champions Ajax and German champions Borussia Dortmund in Group D. They could hardly face a more formidable path to the next round. Bet365 reacted accordingly by pushing City out to 10-1 to win the trophy.

Favourites to emerge from “The Group of Death” are Real Madrid who are generally priced at 9-2 for the tournament behind 5-2 favourites Barcelona. City were unlucky not to go further in the competition last season and, like United, were quickly eliminated from the Europa League shortly afterwards. They will have fancied their chances of going at least a stage further this year but they now face a real battle for survival.

Chelsea are a best-priced 16-1 to become the first side to retain the Champions League trophy after receiving a more favourable draw. The Blues face Italian champions Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Nordsjaelland from Denmark in Group E. Chelsea and Juventus (also rated 16-1) will be expected to go through quite comfortably. Manchester United also seem to have been favoured in Group H with Braga, Galatasaray and CFR Cluj in opposition. Sir Alex Ferguson has already said that they will be taking nothing for granted after last season’s dismal failure. Arsenal are yet to recover from the sale of Robin van Persie and will be hoping to have found their form before they square up to Schalke, Olympiacos, and Montpellier in Group B.

Apart from City’s group, probably the most intriguing is Group G that has put Celtic in with Cup favourites Barcelona along with Spartak Moscow and Benfica. The SPL Champions will be looking forward to welcoming Barca to Parkhead but their prospects for going beyond the group stages look remote. Lionel Messi is predictably a short-priced favourite to top the scoring at 2-1 with William Hill whilst Cristiano Ronaldo is a 6-1 chance. Fernando Torres is relishing his role as Chelsea’s loan out-and-out striker and is starting to score regularly for the Blues. He is a top-priced 16-1 to be top scorer in the Champions League this season with United’s Van Persie on the same price. If you think you can name the top scorer and the winners, Hill’s are offering some fancy prices. Barcelona and Messi is 6-1, Ronaldo and Real 11-1 and Chelsea and Torres is 50-1.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Logic suggests that there are only three possible winners of the mens title at the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Andy Murray has been snapping at the heels of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in his quest to lift a major title and will have taken great pride in taking the Olympic title in London. That was the perfect response to his disappointment in losing out to Federer in the Wimbledon final after going a set up.

William Hill offer 100-30 about Murray claiming the US Open title after his smooth progress through to the second round this week. World Number One Roger Federer is chasing a sixth US Open and enjoyed a safe passage past America’s Donald Young 6-3 6-2 6-4. Although comprehensively beaten by Murray in the Olympics, he still poses a major obstacle for Murray and is priced at 5-2. A seventh Wimbledon title was followed by a victory over Djokovic to take the recent Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.

At 31, Federer has performed miracles to regain the number one spot from the Serb who goes into this tournament as the defending champion. Djokovic has also beaten Federer at the semi-final stage here for the last two years and is understandably a short-priced favourite in US Open betting at 5-4. He signalled his intent this week by crushing Paolo Lorenzi 6-1 6-0 6-1 in only one hour and 13 minutes. It was the second time he had trounced Lorenzi for the loss of just two games, the last time coming in the Australian Open before going on to claim the title.

Having won three of the four major tournaments last year, Djokovic is desperate to restore his grip on the mens game. He was naturally comfortable with his game in the opening round and believes recent practice in getting to the net more often is paying dividends. Even after the phenomenal success that the Serb has enjoyed in recent years, he is still trying to improve his game. As a baseliner, he would dearly love to be able to attack the net more often and kill off his opponents quickly.

Andy Murray had no difficulty in despatching second round opponent Ivan Dodig 6-2 6-1 6-3 under the lights at Flushing Meadows. Some observers were less than convinced by Murray’s opening round victory over Alex Bogomolov but he looked a far better player against Dodig. Murray acknowledged the improvement and said it was partly due to the better conditions and his enjoyment of playing night matches.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Chelsea could hardly be in a better frame of mind going into Friday’s UEFA Super Cup showdown with Atletico Madrid. A 2-0 home victory over Newcastle last weekend left the Blues sitting pretty with nine points from three matches and sitting on top of the Premiership. Manager Roberto Di Matteo has stressed that he sees The Super Cup as an opportunity to pick up some early season silverware and does not intend resting any of his star players.

Goals from Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres saw off the challenge of Newcastle at the weekend and both players are in terrific form heading to Monaco for this clash of the European Cup competition winners. The Super Cup is still struggling for recognition but, having missed out on the Community Shield, Di Matteo does not want to make a habit of letting silverware through this fingers. He had previously boasted an unbeaten cup record since taking over at Stamford Bridge, leading them to success in both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Chelsea skipper John Terry missed the Newcastle game through injury and will also be forced to be a spectator for the Super Cup clash as he serves part of his suspension for the red card in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Frank Lampard, a late substitute on Saturday, is likely to return to the starting line-up having been rested by Di Matteo after a busy start to the new season. David Luiz will be available despite the head he picked up at the weekend and new signings Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses will also be part of the squad.

All eyes will be on Eden Hazard who has proved a revelation since his £32 million transfer from Lille. He has played a starring role in Chelsea’s victories over Wigan, Reading and Newcastle and will be relishing the chance to perform on the European stage. Chelsea’s European Cup success convinced the 21-year-old that his future lay at Stamford Bridge rather than Manchester and this will be his first taste of top class European competition for the Blues.

Europa League winners Atletico Madrid narrowly missed out on qualification for the Champions League but are a rising force in European soccer. They are also a very entertaining side so goals look likely on Friday night. Bet365 offer 13-10 about Chelsea winning in 90 minutes with 2-1 against Atletico and 12-5 the draw. They offer 12-5 about over 3 goals being scored in the match with Fernando Torres 9-2 favourite to open the scoring and Hazard tempting at 8-1.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The Ryder Cup takes place every two years between teams from Europe and the United States. The trophy is named after the person who donated it, Samuel Ryder. The event consists of various match play competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve. There are eight foursomes matches, eight fourball matches and 12 singles matches. The winner of each match scores a point for their team, with ½ a point each for any match that results in a tie after 18 holes.

The Ryder Cup takes place over three days with a total of 28 points up for grabs. On Friday and Saturday there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches each day and the event concludes on Sunday with all 24 players involved in 12 singles matches. The team with the most points is the winner, although the side currently holding the trophy retain the Cup in the event of a tie. Eight of the last fourteen meetings have resulted in a winning margin of just 2 points or less.

When? 28th – 30th September 2012
Where? Medinah Country Club in Illinois, USA

Bet365 make the American team favourites at 4-5 with Europe at 5-4 and the draw at 11-1. There will be Ryder Cup betting on every match throughout the competition plus special bets on overall score and top scoring players for each side.

Europe to Defend the Title?

In 2010 Europe won The Ryder Cup on a sensational final day at The Celtic Manor Resort. Graeme McDowell joined the list of Irish golfers to have played a starring role in the closing stages. Eamonn Darcy, Christy O’Connor, Philip Walton and Paul McGinley had all written their names into Ryder Cup history and last year it was the turn of McDowell. He defeated Hunter Mahan to claim the winning point in the singles with a 20 foot birdie put on sixteen followed by a par on the seventeenth. Despite losing the singles 7-5, Europe held a decisive 3-point lead from the previous two days and won by 14 ½ to 13 ½.

Europe must now defend the Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club in Illinois on 28th – 30th September. Captains José María Olazábal and Davis Love III recently held a press conference at Kiawah Island ahead of the US PGA Championship and were both full of confidence at the progress of their respective teams.

The ten automatic qualifying places for the European Team were confirmed after the final round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles on August 26th. The remaining two places will be chosen by Olazábal shortly afterwards. World Number One Rory McIlroy topped the European list by some margin and is still buzzing from his record eight shot victory in the USPGA Championship.

Other automatic qualifiers are Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson and Martin Kaymer. The final automatic qualifying place was confirmed for Kaymer after Nicolaus Colsaerts failed to gain a top two finish that would have edged him ahead on points. Sergio Garcia, absent from the 2010 Ryder Cup team where he acted as an assistant to Colin Montgomerie, produced a brilliant performance to win the Wyndham Championship in mid-August to ensure that he will make his sixth European Ryder Cup appearance this year. The Spaniard clinched his victory in America by two shots after the tournament ran over to a Monday finish due to heavy weekend rain.

Poulter and Colsaerts Wild Cards

The first player to receive a wild card to the Ryder Cup is Ian Poulter who has been a key performer for Europe in recent Ryder Cups. There was speculation that Padraig Harrington might be called up for the second spot but it finally went to Belguim’s Colsaerts. Thomas Björn, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Miguel Angel Jimenez will serve as the four vice captains for the 39th Ryder Cup. Between them, they have played in fourteen Ryder Cups with a remarkable eleven wins to their credit.

After two years of accumulating points, eight automatic U.S. team places were secured after the PGA Championship with Tiger Woods topping the list and U.S. Ryder Cup appearance record holder Phil Mickelson sneaking in at eight. Davis Love III will be supported by Vice-Captains, Scott Verplank and Jeff Sluman alongside the previously announced Mike Hulbert and Fred Couples. The Captain will announce his final team on 4th September.

Tiger Woods may not have recaptured the form that allowed him to dominate the world of golf but he has still topped the qualifications and has enjoyed three victories. The automatic qualifiers include other major winners in Bubba Watson and Keegan Bradley as well as the wealth of Ryder Cup experience provided by Woods and Mickelson. Jason Dufner, runner-up in last year’s USPGA, will be the teams first “rookie” and other qualifiers are Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Newcastle look good value at 7-2 with Bet365 to end Chelsea’s 100% record and come away with a point from Saturday’s clash at Stamford Bridge. Two stunning strikes by Papiss Cisse gave the Magpies at 2-0 win at the Bridge in May, a result that ended a sequence of 18 visits without a win. That result also gave Newcastle the opportunity to finish above their rivals in the race for a Champions League spot, although they eventually finished fifth and had to settle for the Europa League.

That competition got under way on Thursday with Newcastle drawing 1-1 at Atromitos but it was significant that nine key players were either injured or rested for that fixture. With this important early season clash at Stamford Bridge coming within 48 hours, there is no doubt where Alan Pardew feels Newcastle’s priorities lie. Fabricio Coloccini and Demba Ba look ready to start, having recovered from their niggling injuries that kept them out of the side in Athens. Midfielder Cheick Tiote looks unlikely to start and Ryan Taylor who scored a stunning late equaliser on Thursday may also miss out.

Chelsea top the Premier League for the first time since 2010, admittedly after only two games. However, confidence will be high after a comfortable 2-0 win at Wigan and a 4-2 victory over Reading in midweek. That result was perhaps flattering to the Blues who edged ahead through a disputed goal by Fernando Torres and added a fourth in stoppage time when Reading’s keeper deserted his goal to go up for a corner kick. Even so, they showed enough character to take all three points after going 2-1 down and Roberto Di Matteo will have been delighted with their fighting spirit.

Newcastle won their opening fixture 2-1 against Tottenham and will not be fazed by Chelsea’s impressive summer signings. Eden Hazard has been receiving all the plaudits so far whilst Oscar has looked assured when coming on as a substitute. If Di Matteo can integrate both stars into the team quickly, they are going to be a threat to Manchester’s domination of the Premiership. John Terry will miss the game through injury which means David Luiz will start alongside Gary Cahill in defence. With so much attacking talent on show, it is difficult to see this game not bringing goals. Bet365 make it 4-5 that both teams score during the game and you can get 8-1 about a 1-1 draw and as high as 18-1 that the sides share a four-goal thriller. There has been a goal in the last minute of each of the last three league meetings between these sides and it would be no surprise to see a pulsating finish to this one.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

One of the biggest betting races of the flat racing season takes place at York on Saturday with the Ebor Handicap. The market is dominated by Sir Mark Prescott’s Glorious Goodwood winner Motivado who has been backed at all rates down to as low as 7-2. That is not a price that interests me in such a competitive handicap and it may pay to look for each-way value elsewhere.

Second favourite, and deservedly so, is John Gosden’s Royal Ascot winner Camborne. The horse put up a remarkable effort to win the Duke of Edinburgh Handicap over a mile and a half at a time when the Gosden horses were carrying all before them. He was still last of the 18 runners with three furlongs to run with jockey William Buick sitting quietly. So easily was he travelling that he was able to cut through the packing field in the home straight and eventually won quite comfortably by 2 ½ lengths from Hammerfest, Harrison’s Cave and Alkimos. Bet365 offer 7-1 about Camborne who is opposed by all three on different weight terms.

Hammerfest gets a 6lb pull in the weights from Ascot, Harrison’s Cave 7lb and Alkimos 10lb. Of equal significance in a field of this size is the draw. A high draw can be a real handicap as it is virtually impossible to secure a good position early on. Even though the runners tend to favour the stand side in the straight, it still leaves a lot of ground to make up. Camborne will be dropped out for his usual late burst and has drawn 14 whilst Alkimos is in the next stall (15) and Hammerfest has fared worst of all in stall 21. Aidan O’Brien’s Harrison’s Cave (stall 9) is the one that catches my eye. He was strongly fancied for the Chester Cup earlier in the season and ran a good race under Ryan Moore before weakening in the closing stages. He disappointed at the Curragh later that month but returned from a break to run a stormer at Ascot.

His last outing at the Curragh can be safely ignored as it came too quickly after the Royal meeting and he is sure to have been freshened up for this big York handicap. At 20-1 with Bet365 he looks worth an each-way bet. Camborne rates a big threat if Buick can thread his way through the stragglers up the long straight and could be worth a saver.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Liverpool face a tricky start to the season with their midweek Europa League tie against Hearts sandwiched between last weekend’s 3-0 opening defeat to West Brom and the visit of the Premiership champions. Brendan Rodgers warned Liverpool fans not to expect a quick fix after stepping into the shoes of Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish in the summer. A crushing defeat at Albion was not the start that he had in mind and the pressure is on against Manchester City on Sunday.

Rodgers has spent this week fending off questions about the future of £35 million striker Andy Carroll following continued speculation that he may be loaned out for the season. He has categorically ruled out such a move and publicly slated Newcastle for taking the liberty of even suggesting such a deal might take place. Rodgers went further by suggesting that he “would need to be a nutcase” even to consider letting Carroll go at this moment.

Liverpool travelled to Hearts in midweek without Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Martin Skrtel and Glen Johnson and Rodgers will be hoping such key players are available for Sunday’s Premiership game. They will definitely be without Daniel Agger who starts his suspension for the red card he picked up at West Brom.

Meanwhile, Manchester City began their Premiership defence with a hard-fought win over Southampton last Sunday. Many pundits had forecast an easy opening win for City but a gritty Saints made them fight to the last kick for a 3-2 victory. Far from being unnerved by that close shave, City are taking the positives and were happy to have ground out a victory having gone behind. They are particularly pleased to have a rejuvenated Carlos Tevez back in the starting line up and scoring goals. The only down side was the injury sustained by Sergio Aguero that seems likely to keep him out for a month.

Last season Liverpool held City to a 1-1 draw at Anfield and would probably settle for the same result this weekend. City don’t have a great record at Liverpool over the years but they are now visiting as Champions and face a Liverpool side very much at the start of a rebuilding programme. William Hill offer a tempting 11-8 about City taking three points on Sunday with the draw at 12-5 and a Liverpool win as short as 19-10. Carlos Tevez will be a popular choice to open the scoring.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Chelsea have the chance to top the Premier League for the first time since November 2010 when they host newly promoted Reading at Stamford Bridge. For all their Cup success last season, manager Roberto Di Matteo knows how important it is to post a serious challenge for the title this season after last season’s sixth place finish. That was the worst league finish in the Abramovich era and a busy summer on the transfer market was desperately needed to revamp their ageing squad.

By far the most significant departure was that of Didier Drogba and, with no out-and-out strikers brought in, Fernando Torres at last has the opportunity to establish himself as the new hitman at the Bridge. With a midfield that boasts new talent like Hazard and Oscar as well as the established stars Mata and Lampard, there should be no shortage of creativity from the Blues this season and that was evident in the opening minutes of the new season when they were 2-0 up within seven minutes at Wigan. £32 million Eden Hazard received the plaudits for putting Ivanovic through for the opener and being brought down for the penalty that sealed the victory.

This match has been brought forward because of Chelsea’s involvement in the UEFA Super Cup a week on Friday. Di Matteo is cautious not to carried away with an opening victory but can barely conceal his excitement at having Hazard in his squad this season. Reading opened with a draw against Stoke and manager Brian McDermott will be well aware of the threat posed by Eden Hazard having spotted the Chelsea star on a scouting mission for Reading five year’s ago.

McDermott describes the 21-year-old Belgian as “phenomenal” but does not agree with recent press speculation that teams will automatically adopt a policy of kicking him out of the game. He is certain that he will get adequate protection from officials but acknowledges that he will be one of several threats from Chelsea’s all-star line up.

Reading rescued a point against Stoke at the weekend thanks to a 90th minute equaliser from Adam Le Fondre but they showed enough to show they will be no pushover in the Premier League this season. The strength of last year’s Championship should not be doubted, a point underlined by the performances of West Ham and Southampton on their Premiership returns.

ladbrokes are not expecting an upset at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea priced at 1-4, the Reading victory at 10-1 and a draw at 5-1. Fernando Torres is 3-1 to open the scoring with in-form Hazard rated a 13-2 shot to score the first goal on his home debut.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

York’s Ebor Festival starts on Wednesday with the world’s best racehorse Frankel bidding to extend his unbeaten run to thirteen in the Juddmonte International Stakes. Sir Henry Cecil’s colt will not be a serious betting proposition but he is stepping up in distance to a mile and a quarter for the first time and this represents a challenge in itself. He is facing top class opponents with Group 1 form over a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half and they will be out to test his stamina to the full. The biggest threat may come from Aidan O’Brien’s St Nicholas Abbey, winner of the Coronation Cup and the Breeders’ Cup.

There is also a key St Leger trial on Wednesday as Derby runner-up Main Sequence lines up against top quality opposition in the Great Voltigeur Stakes. David Lanigan‘s colt looked desperately unlucky in France last time out and was runner-up to Camelot at Epsom. He faces a tough rival in Frankel’s younger brother, Noble Mission. The colt is gradually making a name for himself and a brave second at Royal Ascot was followed by a battling win over Godolphin’s Encke at Glorious Goodwood. His Ascot conqueror, Thomas Chippendale, and Encke reoppose with John Gosden’s Thought Worthy and new Godolphin recruit Energiser making up a small but select field.

The Yorkshire Oaks is the feature race on Thursday with Gosden’s The Fugue bidding to follow up her stylish win in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood. That event was over a mile and a quarter, the same distance as her win here in the Musidora Stakes. Although she was unlucky when third in the Epsom Oaks, she still has to show that she is equally effective over a mile and a half and she faces stiff opposition again here. Oaks winner Was and runner-up Shirocco Star re-oppose along with Sir Henry Cecil’s Wild Coco and Alain de Royer-Dupre’s Shareta.

Friday’s feature race is the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes, a race that could decide the sprint championship this season. Roger Charlton’s Bated Breath needs a fast surface to show his best form and has not been out since a good second at Royal Ascot. He beat last year’s Nunthorpe winner, Sole Power, when setting a course record at Haydock first time out so his lack of a recent outing ought not to count against him. Australian mare Ortensia won well at Glorious Goodwood last time and this is the last leg of her European tour.

Sir Mark Prescott’s Motivado is a hot favourite for Saturday’s Ebor Handicap, carrying only a 4lb penalty for an impressive victory at Goodwood. He faces a tough opponent in John Gosden’s Camborne who swooped from well off the pace to win at Royal Ascot. Jockey William Buick will be at pains to hold him up in this big field and he may need luck in running to be able to deliver that blistering turn of foot.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Italian football may be in the Twilight Zone at the moment. There are match-fixing investigations going on while the national team is starting to improve on its poor performances of the last couple of years. The upcoming Serie A campaign will kick off on Saturday August 25th with Juventus trying to defend the title. They went unbeaten under manager Antonio Conte last season, but will have to do without his coaching skills this time around as he’s been banned for 10 months due to alleged match fixing.

Juventus may be the favourites to repeat as champions, but they’ll be challenged heavily by teams such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma, and Napoli. Even though Juventus didn’t lose a game all year they finished only four points in front of AC Milan. The simply drew too many games to run away with the league last season with 15 of them ending in draws, which means 30 points were dropped along the way. The team was pushed at the end of the season, but a run of 11 wins in their last dozen matches clinched the title for them.

Juventus lost a few players in the summer such as Milos Krasic, however Lucio, Paul Pogba, Mauricio Isla, Kwadwo Asamoah, and Sebastian Giovinco were all brought in. AC Milan should once again be the biggest threat to the champions, but they’ll need to make sure they get off to a good start if they hope to upset them and don’t hit any rough patches along the way. AC Milan has lost a lot of skill, goals and experience in Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to PSG. In addition, Alessandro Nesta, Mark van Bommel, and Clarence Seedorf have also left the club in the offseason.

It shouldn’t be a two-horse race for the title though since Inter Milan may also have something to say about it. They were the top team in the league from 2005 to 2010 and won five consecutive crowns in that time period. However, they were nowhere near their best last year and paid for it with a sixth-place finish. They should get some help from Rodrigo Palacio who was signed in the summer. These are the top three teams, but Napoli could cause a little trouble for them as well. Goran Pandev and Velon Behrami should help them out this year. Roma finished seventh last year and they might improve, but not enough to challenge for the title. Udinese placed third last season, but have lost quite a few players.

Tough Fight to Avoid Relegation

The race at the bottom of the league to avoid relegation may be exciting too. There was just seven points between the 17th and 10th-place teams last year. Newly-promoted squads Torino and Pescara might find the going a bit tough and Sampdoria has also returned to Serie A following a year in Serie B. Catania finished the season in 11th place, but won just once on their last 10 matches.

Ibrahimovic, who won the Golden Boot with 27 goals last year, has moved to France, so the race for the top scorer is pretty wide open. Some of the favourites among the betting sites includes Mattia Destro of Roma and Diego Milito, who managed 24 for Inter Milan last season. Edinson Cavani and Antonio Di Natale scored 23 goals last season and Antonio Cassano could also be a contender.

The favourites to win the Serie A this year, according to sportsbook William Hill are Juventus at even, AC Milan at 5/2, Inter Milan at 4/1, Roma at 12/1, and Napoli at 16/1.

Author Profile: Stefan+

So the first round of the Premier League 2012-2013 is nearly over, and we have already seen some great achievements, horrible refereeing, many goals and most of all it shows that the EPL is very hard to predict. I mean, did someone have a bet on 0-5 on Swansea away to QPR after seeing both teams transfers this summer?

Newcastle does look strong once again and will push for the top places. Tottenham has a good team but I think they will struggle a bit with AVB as manager. My dear Liverpool team continued in the shape of last season, dominating the game before all goes against them in terms of wasted chances, very poor refereeing etc etc. Luckily they now face the top teams in the coming fixtures (City, Arsenal, Man United) and I have more hope in those kind of games for the Reds. I still feel they can push for the top 4 though and right now the bookmakers give around 4 times the money on a 1-4 finish.

West Ham was the only team that made me happy looking at my bets this round and they will surely do well this year. 5-0 for Fulham against Norwich was also a surprise but for these teams it’s better to have patience and have a closer look at them after more matches has been played.

Manchester will dominate again

Apart from the fact that the both Manchester teams will continue to grind out wins, even when they are not playing well, it is hard to predict this league. However, we will do our best to find good value bets and tips during the whole season so make sure to check out this blog in the coming weeks. It will also be easier to bet after 3-4 rounds have been played.

Tonight the 1st round will be complete after the Everton v Man Utd fixture and that should be a good one. Everton needs a better start than last season and they are always strong at home. Still doubtful though, if they can manage a Manchester United side that has been improving their squad, not at least with the addition of Van Persie, which I think is probably the best striker in the league. 1.90 (10/11) on a Utd win is a decent odds. 0-2?

Author Profile: Stefan+

Premiership Champions Manchester City begin the defence of their title on Sunday with a home game against newly promoted Southampton. As ever, Roberto Mancini is playing down their chances of winning back-to-back Premier League titles by insisting that United should be regarded as favourites. He believes that the addition of Robin van Persie can only strengthen United’s challenge, the Dutch international having signed for the Red Devils after a protracted transfer saga involving City and Juventus.

Mancini’s only new signing of the summer is Jack Rodwell from Everton for a fee believed to be in the region of £12 million. Rodwell has been struggling with hamstring problems recently but could be involved in Sunday’s game. Mancini is also waiting on the fitness of goalkeeper Joe Hart who missed the 3-2 Community Shield victory over Chelsea with a back injury. Defender Micah Richards and midfielder Gareth Barry will definitely miss the season’s curtain raiser.

Mancini has made no secret of the fact that he is not happy with the lack of summer signings but insisted that City’s efforts were frustrated by being expected to pay a premium. Everyone knows that when Manchester City or Chelsea come calling, they can push for more. Even so, Mancini expects the club to do more business in the remaining week of the transfer window.

City go into their first game against Southampton as 1-5 favourites with William Hill but must face a different kind of pressure as champions. Nigel Adkins would probably not have wanted such a severe test of his side on their return to the Premiership with many pundits forecasting a thrashing for last season’s championship runners-up. Nonetheless, Adkins will try to take positives from the fixture and exploit any early-season nerves that afflict the champions. He has been building quietly through the summer with the addition of Jay Rodriguez, Nathaniel Clyne, Steven Davis and Paulo Gazzaniga. He is also hoping to complete the signing of Gaston Ramirez from Bologna within the next few days. Many regard Southampton as one of the favourites for relegation but they have built up a lot of confidence over the past couple of seasons and could prove the pundits wrong.

Adkins has insisted that Southampton will continue to play in the same entertaining style that has won them promotion. He could point to the success of Norwich and Swansea last season as an example of what can be achieved. It is a measure of the gulf between the championship and the Premier League that Bet365 are offering 16-1 about the Saints pulling off a shock win on Sunday and 6-1 against them holding out for a point.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Everton v Manchester United – August 20th 8.00pm Live on SkySports

Manchester United finished level on points with City last season only to lose out on goal difference. They are desperate to regain the Premiership title and are poised to seal the purchase of Arsenal captain Robin van Persie. The deal was announced on Wednesday night, subject to agreeing personal terms and a medical. Sir Alex Ferguson is confident that the 29-year-old Dutch international will be available for Monday’s Premiership opener at Everton.

News of the imminent signing of Van Persie triggered a flurry of activity in the betting markets with Manchester United cut to 2-1 by Bet365 in the title race whilst champions City were eased slightly to 5-4. Whether or not Van Persie features on Monday night, United can expect Everton to provide stiff opposition for their opening fixture. The Toffees shared the spoils at Old Trafford in an eight-goal thriller last season, a result that seriously dented United’s title hopes. They are also unbeaten in their last nine league games having won five and drawn four in an excellent run that took them to seventh place in the table. They also turned Goodison Park into something of a fortress, winning seven of their last eight home matches.

Manchester United fans may prefer to focus on the statistic that Everton have only won once in the last fourteen Premier League meetings between the sides, United taking three points from nine of those matches. The Red Devils also recorded the best away record in the league last season and former Everton star Wayne Rooney is always fired up for this fixture. With fourteen goals in his last fourteen league games, he will be relishing the chance of linking up with Van Persie this season. Voted the Player of the Year, Van Persie fired 30 Premiership goals last season and United fans will be hoping that he brings the same level of form to his new club. His odds to be the leading scorer again this season have been cut from 10-1 to 6-1 this week. They will also take extra satisfaction from the fact that local rivals City were leading contenders for his signature.

United were dogged by injuries last season and welcome back Nemanja Vidic for the new season. There had been speculation that Ferguson would buy a midfield star after being forced to call Paul Scholes out of retirement last season. Whether the signing of Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund will be sufficient to strengthen that area of the team remains to be seen. The 23-year-old Japanese star helped Dortmund to successive German titles and scored 17 times in addition to claiming 13 assists as they completed a league and cup double last season. Ferguson will also have been delighted to see Carrick and Cleverley performing well for England in their friendly international win over Italy in midweek and he is not short of options.

Everton boss David Moyes has been typically cautious in the transfer market during the summer, adding Steven Naismith and Steven Pienaar to his squad but parting with Jack Rodwell in a £12 million deal to Manchester City. 25-year-old Naismith will renew his partnership with former Rangers colleague Nikica Jelavic. Last season he struggled with injury but he is set for his Premier League debut after playing for Scotland in their 3-1 win over Australia. Jelavic proved a shrewd purchase for Everton last season, topping their scoring list with nine goals despite only playing his first game in February. Everton are rumoured to be close to completing the £6million signing of Olympiakos striker Kevin Mirallas.

Steven Pienaar recently called on Everton to do all they can to retain Leighton Baines this summer. Baines has been linked with a possible big-money move to Manchester United but Pienaar believes that he is crucial to the club’s progress. The South African has formed a great understanding down the left wing with Baines and hopes they can pick up where they left off at the end of last season. Pienaar scored Everton’s equaliser in the thrilling 4-4 draw last season and is delighted to have rejoined the club after a loan spell from Tottenham. He is rated a 20-1 shot by Bet365 to open the scoring on Monday with Van Persie elevated to 9-2 joint favourite with Rooney. Jelavic looks Everton’s most obvious threat and is priced at 6-1.

Everton got off to a faltering start last season and the bookmakers expect them to finish on the losing side on Monday, offering a general 3-1 against them recording a surprise victory. The draw is priced at 5-2 with a United victory a shade of odds-on at 10-11. In the half-time/full-time market, William Hill offer 9-2 about a draw/United and the 15-2 about a 2-1 win for the Red Devils may not be bad value.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The big betting race of the weekend is the Great St Wilfrid Handicap, Ripon’s most valuable race, with twenty sprinters charging down the straight six furlongs. Until last season, the prevailing view was that a low draw was essential but Pepper Lane defied the statisticians from stall 17. The previous nine winners had all been drawn in stalls 12 or lower and I would be inclined to favour a low draw this year.

Standing out among the low drawn horses is Bertiewhittle in stall 1. Currently available at 12-1 with Ladbrokes, the horse ran a blinder last time out when a close third in the ultra-competitive International Stakes at Ascot behind Field of Dream. That is top class form and has been boosted by the success of seventh placed Hawkeyethenoo in the Stewards’ Cup at Glorious Goodwood. Runner-up that day was Edinburgh Knight and it is a measure of how highly he is regarded that he contests the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

The field were scattered across the course for the seven-furlong contest and jockey Harry Bentley produced Bertiewhittle to head the field at the furlong pole. He battled on bravely but was run out of it by half a length and a head. The chestnut by Bahamian Bounty is equally effective over six furlongs and has form on all types of ground so the continuing wet summer will not damage his chances. If Bentley can get a good lead through the early part of the race, he can unleash Bertiewhittle with the rail to help him and he should prove hard to beat.

The favourite is Richard Fahey’s Alpen Star who ran a fine race when finishing fifth in the Stewards’ Cup. Although never looking likely to win that day, he stayed on to finish within two lengths of Hawkeyethenoo and looks likely to be a big threat from stall 3. Richard Fahey saddled subsequent July Cup winner Mayson to finish third in this race last year and, whilst Alpen Star is not in that class, he will certainly have his followers.

Bottom weight Barnet Fair has been well supported this week on the strength of his win in a valuable five furlong handicap at Ascot. He got the better of Taajub in a bunch finish that day and that form does not quite read as well as that of Bertiewhittle or Alpen Star. Johannes got the better of Louis The Pious at Goodwood and they renew rivalry on similar terms. Johannes has been drawn 17 with Louis The Pious getting the more favourable 7 booth as well as the assistance of Graham Lee in the saddle. He made an early bid for home at Goodwood and, if ridden with a bit more restraint here, could also make his presence felt.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

England suffered their usual fate in Euro 2012 when losing out on penalties to the Italians after a hard-fought encounter between two evenly matched sides. Italy went on to stun the Germans before being put to the sword by a rampant Spain in the final. Frank Lampard, missing from Euro 2012 through injury, will captain the side on Wednesday in Berne as Roy Hodgson’s men go in search of a revenge victory.

Hodgson’s plans for this match have been dented by the loss of four players since his squad was announced, Theo Walcott joining Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joe Hart and Daniel Sturridge on the injured list. Walcott was unable to shake off a slight thigh problem and has not travelled to Switzerland. The timing of this week’s international friendlies has also come in for plenty of criticism, coming just a matter of days before the start of the new Premiership season. Given the circumstances, it is hard to imagine both sides giving it their all but it will still be a feather in Hodgson’s cap if he can inflict defeat on the Euro runners-up.

Joleon Lescott was called up on Monday, otherwise Hodgson will make the best of his assembled squad. The news that Lampard will captain the side at the age of 34 has surprised a few pundits who had predicted the end of his England career. He will be 36 by the time England competes in Brazil in the next World Cup, assuming that they qualify from a relatively easy group stage. The Chelsea midfielder has 90 England caps to his credit and would dearly love to reach 100 but only if he is chosen for the right reasons. He is certainly not ruling himself out of the next World Cup but for the time being is focussed on fighting off the challenge of the next generation of midfield stars, but for his club and his country.

Only James Milner and Ashley Young from the team that started against Italy in the Euro 2012 quarter-final are available on Wednesday but it is a measure of England’s strength in depth that they are rated only 6-4 by William Hill to claim a famous victory. Italy’s Cesare Prandelli faces a similar situation with the squad available to him with only three of his quarter-final line up available to start. If that gives the match the feel of a ‘B’ team clash, it will at least give a likely starting place to Jack Butland. The 19-year-old Birmingham keeper played with assurance beyond his years during Team GB’s Olympic bid and is already being talked about as a Premiership player. Southampton tried to sign him earlier in the summer for £6 million but that figure could probably be trebled if his meteoric rise continues.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Facebook launched its first real-money application on August 7th with a game known as Bingo and Slots Friendzy, which is available only in the UK market. The introduction of this app is a bit of a turnaround for the giant social networking site when it comes to its gaming policy for members aged 18 and older. Only those people 18 and over will be able to play the games for money prizes. The company that developed the software is named Gamesys, which is well known in Britain for its Jackpotjoy.com site as well as Heart Bingo and Sun Bingo. The company will be distributing the online game to players in the UK via Facebook’s site.

Michael Saunders, who is a managing director at Gamesys, said his company is the leading operator of instant online win and bingo games and they’re committed to developing and extending their games to a broader adult crowd. He said the Bingo and Slots game has been reconfigured to appeal to British members of Facebook.

Julien Codorniou, who is involved in European gaming partnerships for Facebook, said they decided to go with Gamesys because the company is well respected in the online gaming industry in Britain and they want to make sure that Facebook users have a quality game to play. She also said Facebook wants to make sure the games that are introduced are done so in a responsible, safe and sensitive way.

Codorniou added that there have been a lot of debates in Britain regarding gambling addiction and online gaming and that Facebook has consulted GamCare about it. This is a charity that provides advice, support, and information about gambling addiction as well as free counseling for those who feel they may have a gambling problem.

The new app by Facebook may have an effect on the UK online gaming industry, but it will take several months to see just how much. One casino webmaster said there are a lot of similarities between social gamers and online bingo players. A 2010 survey described an average social gamer as being a 43-year-old female. This means the partnership between Facebook and Gamesys could work out very well.

Some people may end up playing their online games via Facebook since they may already be on the site and the new online game will be right in front of them and heavily advertised. In addition, Zynga, a gaming partner of Facebook, said it plans on launching real-money versions of some of its online games next year. Real money gaming is already quite popular in Britain since it’s strictly regulated and controlled.

Facebook said it will be using special technology to make sure that users under the age of 18 aren’t able to access the new online gaming app. There will also be a tool which will allow users to set their own spending limits. Gamesys’ online gaming activities are currently regulated and licensed by the government of Gibraltar.

Author Profile: Stefan+

French football club Paris Saint-Germain spent a lot of money this summer in an attempt to strengthen their squad and thankfully new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic saved them from an embarrassing loss at home in their season opener. PSG were trailing Lorient in their French league match on Sat. Aug. 11 until Ibrahimovic saved the team’s blushes by taking matters into his own hands.

The 30-year-old Swedish international, who was signed from Italian club AC Milan, scored midway through the second half to bring PSG within striking range and then tied the game in the 90th minute on a well-placed penalty kick. Ibrahimovic said it was a great debut for him, especially because he feels he’s not at 100 per cent yet. He said he’s been training with his new club for just 10 days and it’ll be a little longer before he’s in top shape.

PSG spent about $185-million this summer on new players after spending about $123-million last season and are noe only at 1.30 in odds to win the league among most good bookmakers. They fell behind in the game when Maxwell, a Brazilian defender, inadvertently put the ball in his own net in the first half. Lorient then went up 2-0 when forward Jeremie Aliadiere added a second. PSG supporters jeered the players as they left the pitch at halftime and Ibrahimovic said he understood why the fans weren’t too happy with them.

He told Swedish media that the fans were fantastic but had hoped for a better showing than they got in the first half and the players responded well in the second stanza. Ibrahimovic claimed the team started to play better once the supporters got behind them. PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t really too happy with the draw though since his team dropped two points at home. He realizes how important each point can be since the club lost the league last season by a point.

Ancelotti said he didn’t think his club played very well and basically gave the first half away to the visitors. He claimed his team was caught out of position several times on counterattacks and the balance on the field wasn’t right. However, he added that he hopes the players have learned a lesson from the game because there aren’t going to be any easy matches at all this season.

PSG hasn’t won a league title since back in 1994 and Montpellier edged them out last year. This is one of the main reasons that Ibrahimovic was brought in. He led the Italian Serie A in scoring last season with 28 goals and PSG is hoping he can duplicate that this season. He’s off to a great start and he might have had a hat trick if he had hit the target on an 85th-minute header.

Ibrahimovic took the last-minute penalty after Blaise Matuidi was chopped down in the penalty area. Ancelotti also started two other new players in 19-year-old midfielder Marco Verratti and left winger Ezequiel Lavezzi. Nene, who scored 21 goals for PSG last season, was left sitting on the bench when the game kicked off.

Ibrahimovic actually had numerous chances during the game and also hit the crossbar in the second half before finding the back of the net in the 64th minute. He has 33 goals in 80 matches for Sweden, but really shines at club level. He now has 234 goals in 490 games for club teams. If he plays the rest of the season the same way he did in PSG’s season opener, Ibrahimovic shouldn’t have a problem leading his team and possible the league in scoring this season. If that happens, it might be the best 20 million Euros the French club has ever spent.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Manchester City ran out 3-2 winners over Chelsea in the Community Shield after going in a goal down at half-time. The red card awarded to Ivanovic left Chelsea with ten men for the second half and they were not able to show the same resilience that brought them a shock Champions League victory over Barcelona last season.

With Chelsea having lost their previous three pre-season matches, the last thing they needed was another defeat and the suspension of one of their key defenders. The right-back position is one of two areas highlighted by Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo as in need of strengthening and their urgency may have been stepped up with the loss of Ivanovic. Things looked to be going well for the Blues when Fernando Torres nudged them ahead as he bids to finally make the centre-forward spot his own. The departure of Didier Drogba has left Chelsea without their main strike weapon and Torres needs to start scoring regularly.

There has been great excitement surrounding the £32million midfield player Eden Hazard but it wasn’t to be his day. A poorly executed back heel which left him flat on his face will have done nothing to boost his confidence as he faces his first season in the Premiership. There was no place for Oscar, still licking his wounds from a last minute miss that would have pulled Brazil level in the Olympic final, or Marko Marin. Nobody will be pressing the panic button at Stamford Bridge just yet but this match will have confirmed that they have a long way to go if they are to emerge as serious challengers to City and United in the title race.

For Manchester City it was very much business as usual. They have been noticeably quiet on the transfer front throughout the summer and appear to be losing the fight for the signature of Robin van Persie to their Manchester rivals. The sight of Carlos Tevez being warmly applauded by City fans may have been difficult for some to accept but he seems to have been welcomed back into the ranks with open arms. City powered on relentlessly last season with their strong squad and there is no reason why they cannot set off in similar vein this season. They will go into their opening fixture against newly-promoted Southampton expecting to pick up three points and bag a few goals. For Chelsea there is a slightly more worrying trip to Wigan, a side that were showing the form of a top four side at the end of the season. Three pre-season friendly matches and the Community Shield defeat may not matter in the greater scheme of things but Di Matteo will know that the Premier League certainly does.

Bet365 make City 5-4 to retain the Premier League title with Chelsea rated 9-2 chances.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The New Premier League season gets under way next Saturday (August 18th) and there are a number of intriguing fixtures. A popular bet with punters is a multiple on the top teams kicking off with a victory but there could be a couple of stumbling blocks on the opening weekend.

Manchester City will be confident following their 3-2 victory over 10-man Chelsea in the Community Shield and ought to be able to overcome Premiership new boys Southampton. The Saints could hardly have been given a tougher introduction and it may well be a case of damage limitation. Arsenal are still involved in the long running transfer saga of Captain Robin van Persie but have looked good in pre-season and ought to be able to start their campaign with a win over Sunderland. Chelsea have stumbled through their pre-season whilst trying to rebuild after their Champions League glory and have set some early alarm bells ringing with four successive defeats. They go to Wigan as odds-on favourites but could find it difficult to regain the winning thread.

Manchester United suffered the agony of losing the Premiership on goal difference to rivals City with almost the last kick of the season and set out on a recovery mission with a tricky encounter at Everton. Everton stunned United with a 4-4 draw late in the season and will also be looking to be quick off the blocks this term. Bet365 offer a tempting 13-2 about Wigan upsetting Chelsea with the draw at 16-5. The same firm offer 5-2 about Everton holding United to a draw and make the Toffees 3-1 to upset the odds.

Possibly the best matches of the opening weekend are the clashes between last season’s fourth and fifth placed teams, Newcastle and Tottenham, and the game between West Brom and Liverpool. Three of the four teams are under new management and there is bound to be massive interest surrounding Andre Villas-Boas as he steps into the shoes of Harry Redknapp at White Hart Lane. Newcastle surprised many with their consistency last season and are just favoured by the bookmakers at 6-4 with Spurs 7-4 and 12-5 the draw. The clash between West Brom and Liverpool is a baptism of fire for former Reds number two Steve Clarke. He has served under some of the best manager’s in the game and now steps out on his own against the side that ousted himself and Kenny Dalglish. This match is also a debut for Brendan Rodgers and he has warned Liverpool fans not to expect too much too soon. A tough encounter looks assured with Liverpool chalked up at evens favourites, the draw at 12-5 and Albion 11-4 to take all three points.

In the remaining fixtures, QPR play Swansea, Fulham host Norwich, Reading play Stoke and West Ham meet Aston Villa.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Manchester United could be on the verge of signing Arsenal Captain Robin van Persie if the bookmaker’s odds are to be believed. They have been running for cover in the face of strong support for Van Persie to join the Reds and most firms have closed their books. The best price remaining was 1-5 on Sunday evening having been around even money only a couple of days earlier.

Sir Alex Ferguson recently confirmed Manchester United’s interest in the 29-year-old Dutchman but revealed that their bid had fallen short of Arsenal’s asking price. Manchester City had been vying for his signature along with Italian giants Juventus but the opposition to United appears to have fallen away this week leaving the way clear for a deal with the Old Trafford club.

Van Persie took over the Arsenal captaincy following the transfer of Cesc Fàbregas to FC Barcelona last summer and was far and away Arsenal’s best player last season. He was voted Player of the Year and bagged 30 Premiership goals as he steered the Gunners to Champions League qualification. With only one year left on his contract, Van Persie made it clear that he was seeking a move away as Arsenal lacked ambition. Rather than any lack of ambition, it is more likely that the lack of silverware was key to his decision with only an FA Cup winner’s medal to show for seven years at the Emirates Stadium.

In recent days there has been speculation that Van Persie will remain with Arsenal after he was included in the squad to face Cologne in a pre-season friendly. His selection may have had more to do with the need for some match time prior to joining his Dutch colleagues on International duty, eventually coming on as a second-half substitute in a 4-0 win. Arsenal were rumoured have set a transfer fee in the region of £25million with United’s offer seemingly around £15million. If a deal is struck it is likely to be around the £20million mark but his signature would surely ignite United’s Premiership challenge.

William Hill currently offer 5-2 against United regaining their title from neighbours City who start the season as 6-5 favourites. The capture of Van Persie would send a clear signal to their rivals that they will be strong rivals again this season. His loss would be a huge blow to Arsenal fans that vented their anger after last summer’s sale of Fabregas and Nasri. The Gunners were virtually left at the start when the Premiership kicked off and suffered the humiliation of a crushing 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford. Wenger has already signed Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud in an attempt to prepare for Van Persie’s departure as well as Spanish international midfielder Santi Cazorla.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Online sports betting giant Sportsbook.com is now announcing that they have re-opened the doors for US bettors. For the last year they have not been able to take new registrations from USA, but it seems that is now changing.

Updates – 14 Aug 2012

We can now confirm USA bettors can sign up here to bet for real money at Sportsbook.ag. This is good news for all Americans who have very few good options when it comes to reliable sportsbooks online.

They will be fully prepared for the upcoming NFL season and of course all other major sporting events and leagues. We found some of the best lines here previously and it doesn’t look like it’s changing. Add to this a decent casino (with live dealers as well) and it comes a very good option for US gamblers.

Limited Options for Americans

The move, and the decision to continue using a .com domain (even though it redirects to sportsbook.ag), comes as a surprise to most people in the gaming sector. It wasn’t many months ago Bodog got their .com domain seized by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Either the guys over at Sportsbook.com know something new in this shady US gaming market, or this might be another short lived awakening.

We can only feel sorry for the limited options available to US based gamblers looking for reliable sites where to place bets, play casino or any other games for real money. Either it’s DOJ closing down reputable sportsbooks or players getting scammed at any of the other shady operators.

We will do our best to keep everyone updated on the situation and always recommend the current best and most reliable US bookmakers.

Keep checking this post for further updates about the recent developments of Sportsbook.com in the US market.

Author Profile: Stefan+

The bookmakers have been keen to get punters interested in the London Olympics this year but they got more than they bargained for last Saturday when Team GB struck gold six times! It proved to be Great Britain’s most successful day at the Olympics for over 100 years. Six gold medals on Team GB’s greatest Olympic day. Incredibly, it could have been even worse for the bookmakers but they were saved a monster payout by a narrow defeat in the double sculls for Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter and Team GB’s elimination from the football tournament after a penalty shootout.

The Olympic Stadium was packed to capacity to see Jessica Ennis win the heptathlon after the golden girl of British athletics was supported to odds-on favourite by patriotic supporters. Many had doubled up with Mo Farah in the 10,000 metres final. Less obvious was the long jump victory of Greg Rutherford but the 25-year-old from Milton Keynes jumped to 8.31m to become the first British winner of the event since Lynn Davies in 1964.

Britain’s golden day was started by two more golds in the rowing and another in cycling. At Eton Dorney, it was another glorious day on the water with Britain winning two more golds and narrowly losing a third to take silver. The men’s coxless four won gold in imperious fashion and were quickly followed by Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking winning the lightweight women’s double sculls in similar style. The drama on the water did not end there as the GB pairing in the double sculls were allowed a restart after a mechanical failure and looked certain to add to the gold rush. They led almost from the gun but were agonisingly caught in the last ten strokes by a determined Denmark. The despair shown by the narrowly beaten Brits even had the commentators in tears.

At the Velodrome, Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell and Dani King smashed the world record in winning the women’s team pursuit. Everything was set up for Jessica Ennis to seal her victory in the 800m and she did not let her supporters down, surging to victory to trigger a night of wild celebration for GB’s Olympic team. London Games chairman Lord Coe said it was the “the greatest night of British athletics”.

Bookmakers were spared further agony when Daniel Sturridge saw his penalty saved as Stuart Pearce’s makeshift soccer team crashed out of the football. Their relief may be short-lived as heavily backed favourites Brazil look set to trigger a massive payout should they defeat Mexico in the final. The athletics have so far proved costly for the layers with Usain Bolt proving one of the most popular bets in the 100m. His victory there left the bookmakers with liabilities on the 100m/200m double and Ladbrokes have slashed his odds to 1-6 for the longer race. Another athlete eyeing a big double is Mo Farah who is now 7-4 to add the 5000m title to the gold medal he claimed in the 10000 on Saturday night.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

With Euro 2012 and the Olympics, it hardly feels as though football has been away does it? Believe it or not, the Community Shield on Sunday is the prelude to the return of the Premiership the following week! Manchester City play European Champions Chelsea in the traditional curtain raiser to the new season and the game could provide some clues as to whether or not the London side have closed the gap from last season.

Manchester City eventually prevailed on goal difference following their thrilling final game victory over QPR, depriving Manchester United in the process. Chelsea’s Premiership aspirations had long since disappeared, followed by their manager Andre Villas-Boas. Redemption came in the form of Roberto Di Matteo who somehow galvanised the team to lift the FA Cup and the Champions League with Didier Drogba’s spot kick bringing the end to a hugely entertaining season.

Perhaps surprisingly, Roberto Mancini has failed to add to his Championship winning side whilst Chelsea have scarcely been out of the news all summer. Their Champions League triumph made it inevitable that Di Matteo would secure the managerial role on a permanent basis and Drogba’s departure was equally predictable. He could not have left on a higher note than taking the Blues to the one trophy that had eluded them in the Abramovich era but his boots are going to be difficult to fill. Fernando Torres toiled in vain last season to cement a regular place in the starting line up, having to be content with cameo roles in their Cup victories. He now has his chance to lead a Chelsea attack that has also lost Salomon Kalou.

Chelsea’s new signings Eden Hazard and Marko Marin have been eclipsed by the capture of Brazilian star Oscar. He is still on Olympics duty for Brazil but Hazard has put in some promising performances in a pre-season that has seen Chelsea slump to three defeats. With the Blues apparently still chasing a right-back to replace Bosingwa and another striker, they are very much a team in the middle of a rebuilding process. City, meanwhile, appear content with the powerhouse squad that dominated the Premier League until the closing stages last season.

The Community Shield is not the most fiercely sought-after trophy, but it is a trophy nonetheless and both sides will be giving it plenty of respect. Ladbrokes believe City have the edge and have them as 6-5 favourites with Chelsea at 15-8 and 9-4 the draw. City are 15-2 to emerge as 2-1 winners with Chelsea at 9-1 to return winners by the same scoreline. Di Matteo has yet to lose a Cup match since taking charge at Stamford Bridge but Mancini will be hoping to change that on Sunday.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Whilst many have been captivated by some of the sterling medal winning performances in a variety of sports from rowing to shooting, the real excitement of the Olympic games is just beginning with the start of the athletics events. Kicking off GB’s bid for glory is golden girl Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon and she is rated an odds-on favourite by Ladbrokes at 8-11. It won’t be easy though with Russia’s Tatyana Chernova as short as 7-4 to deny Ennis the Olympic gold that she craves.

Having lost both of her world titles, Ennis showed that she is ready to climb back to the top of the tree with a new personal best and national heptathlon record of 6,906 points in Gotzis in May. That performance bettered the previous record of Denise Lewis in 2000 by 75 points and sent a clear message to her rivals. Ennis was denied an appearance in the 2008 Olympics by a severe foot injury so she is desperate to win in front of her home crowd. Chernova is not the only threat with Nataliya Dobrysnka (6-1 with Ladbrokes) having set a world record to defeat her in Istanbul in March.

If everything goes to plan, Ennis will take Gold just 25 minutes before Mo Farah competes in the final of the 10,000m. Ladbrokes offer 11-8 against Farah taking Gold for GB in this event with Kenenisa Bekele rated his biggest threat at 7-2. Farah is attempting to double up in the 5000 and Ladbrokes give him a good chance of doing so, offering only 2-1 for the shorter event. His main rivals there seem to be Debren Gebremeskel (9-4) and Isiah Koech (8-1).

The British Olympic Association report Phillips Idowu to be on course to be fit to compete at the Olympics after speculation that he may miss the games. He made the headlines last week when he failed to travel for a pre-Games training camp in Portugal. The BOA requested the medical records of the silver medallist from Beijing and their intervention angered Idowu. After discussions between the two parties, it seems that he is making good progress but there must be a lingering doubt over his fitness. Ladbrokes offer 8-1 about his Gold medal chances.

Outside of the big two of Ennis and Farah, GB’s Gold medal prospects don’t look obvious. One athlete who does have an excellent chance is 400m hurdler Dai Greene who already has gold medals in Commonwealth, European and world championships. Ladbrokes make Javier Culson favourite at 11-8 with the Welshman at 5-2. He set a new personal best of 47.84 seconds in Paris last month so certainly seems to be peaking at the right time. Puerto Rican Culson has beaten him on three occasions this year but Greene has shown himself as the man for the big occasion.

Perri Shakes-Drayton emerged as a live contender for the women’s 400m hurdles when she ran the equal second fastest time in the world this year at Crystal Place. Her odds have been cut from 20-1 to just 9-2 by Ladbrokes in the wake of that performance but she still has a lot to prove.

Christine Ohuruogu (6-1) has a similar chance in the 400m after her impressive performance at Crystal Palace but will be up against hot favourite Sanya Richards-Ross (Evens). It looks like it is going to be tough for GB’s athletes but the support of the home crowd could still produce some surprises. Ladbrokes are betting on all the athletics events throughout the games.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Glorious Goodwood has provided top quality racing again this week, highlighted by Frankel easing to a second successive victory in the Sussex Stakes. The curtain comes down on the festival with the traditional cavalry charge for the Stewards’ Cup on Saturday.

This year’s race looks as competitive as ever with Ladbrokes going 10-1 the field. One of the best-supported runners is the Scottish-trained Hawkeyethenoo. The six-year-old son of Hawk Wing has won seven races for Jim Goldie but is yet to race at Goodwood. He has become something of an Ascot regular but has shown form on a variety of tracks and was an excellent second at Epsom so there is no reason why he won’t handle the undulations here. A bigger concern is the fact that he has been campaigned over 7 furlongs, including last time out when a running on seventh in the International Stakes. Prior to that he had run a fair fifth in the Group 1 July Cup and an excellent third in the Wokingham at the Royal meeting.

The Ascot form matches him closely with the runner-up Waffle but Hawkeyethenoo received a hefty bump at the furlong pole and a bold run is expected. A good draw in stall four gives him every chance of continuing a trend for the winners to come from the far side of the course. David Barron has not raced Waffle since his fine Ascot run and he is also well-drawn in 6 and gets a 10-1 quote from Ladbrokes along with Hawkeyethenoo

Friday’s big betting race is the Betfred Mile and the draw is often decisive in this race. The ante-post favourite Trade Commissioner had been given an impossible task from stall 21 but trainer John Gosden has pulled him out of the race after he reportedly failed to eat up. Having dominated the early betting exchanges on the race; his absence throws it wide open. Top weight Prince Of Johanne has also been done no favours with a 16 draw and may struggle to confirm his Hunt Cup form with Excellent Guest (stall 3). Ladbrokes have clearly done their homework and it is the low numbers that head their re-formed market. Mark Johnston’s Fulbright is their new favourite at 8-1 ahead of Excellent Guest at 9-1. It is bound to be a competitive race but, given luck in running, both should run well.

Saturday’s other feature race is the Nassau Stakes with John Gosden running Izzi Top and The Fugue. Bet365 make Izzi Top 2-1 favourite to continue her winning ways at the expense of her stable companion. The Fugue drops back to a mile and a quarter for the first time since her impressive Musidora Stakes win and is a 7-2 chance.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Much of the focus ahead of the Olympics for British soccer fans was on Stuart Pearce’s men’s team and their hopes of challenging Brazil for a medal. After the girls claimed a shock 1-0 win over the Brazilians at Wembley on Tuesday night, it is they who are making the headlines!

Steph Houghton continued her amazing run of scoring as Hope Powell‘s side stormed booked their place in the Olympic quarter-finals. Having started the tournament as relative outsiders at 14-1, Ladbrokes were forced to cut Team GB to 4-1 for a gold medal. With the game being played in front of a British record 70,584 crowd, it was an incredible performance from the British team that has put women’s football firmly in the spotlight.

The victory could have been even more impressive had Kelly Smith not missed a second-half penalty, a win that neatly side-steps a clash with World Cup winners Japan in the last eight. Instead they are matched with seventh-ranked Canada in Coventry on Friday. Having gone into the game with Brazil as outsiders, they suddenly find themselves hot favourites to progress to the semi-finals and must now face a different sort of pressure. The win is even more remarkable when compared to the statistic that England, not to be confused with GB, have only beaten Brazil in any competitive international fixture (male or female) just once. That was back in 2007 when the Under-17’s claimed a World Cup victory.

Cheered on by the enormous crowd, the British team struck in only the second minute as Brazil made a sloppy start that allowed Karen Carney to send Houghton through to score. Brazil, themselves thought to be probably the stiffest rivals to the American gold medal favourites, responded with chances for Cristiane and Marta but Karen Bardsley looked very assured between the posts. GB weathered the storm and came out in search of a decisive second goal after the break. Little should have done better with a close range header that she directed straight at Andreia.

When Aluko was tripped by Francielle, Kelly Smith had the chance to seal the victory but her spot-kick lacked conviction and was turned away by the Brazilian keeper. That escape gave the Brazilians encouragement to lay siege to the GB goal but Bardsley was again in fine form to deny Marta. GB were able to run down the clock and send the crowd into wild celebration. The USA remain firm favourites to win gold at 5-4 but GB have now ousted Brazil as second favourites. They are now right in the hunt for a medal.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Frankel, officially rated the best racehorse in the world, will be the star attraction at Glorious Goodwood next week when he bids for a second victory in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes.

The meeting gets under way on Tuesday with a very competitive 1 mile handicap. Luca Cumani’s Danadana is bidding to land a hat-trick of wins and may have most to fear from the consistent Fury, ridden by Ryan Moore. Mark Johnston has a fine record at this meeting and has four entries, the pick of them may be Landaman.

John Gosden’s stable have been flying since Royal Ascot and Michelangelo bids to underline his St Leger claims in the Gordon Stakes. Henry Cecil’s Noble Mission may give him most to think about. Frankel’s trainer also has sound claims in the following Lennox Stakes with Chachamaidee who looked a shade unfortunate last time out. The useful three-year-olds Foxtrot Romeo and Aljamaaheer could give her most to do. The useful Morawij could be the best of some speedy youngsters in the Molecomb Stakes.

Wednesday’s action kicks off with the marathon 2m 5f Goodwood Stakes with Romeo Montague and Palazzo Bianco among those holding each-way claims. Olympic Glory would be an appropriate winner of the Champagne Stakes but the star of the show is undoubtedly Frankel in the featured Sussex Stakes. He faces a maximum of seven rivals, the pick of which may be Godolphin’s Farhh who chased home Nathaniel in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown. Bet365 sum up the race by quoting Frankel at 1-12! There may be better value when the markets come out for winning distance, the colt having put eleven lengths between himself and the runner-up at Ascot.

Aidan O’Brien has a choice of two-year-olds entered for the Richmond Stakes on Thursday including Cristoforo Colombo and Parliament Square. The Ascot Gold Cup winner Colour Vision makes his reappearance in the Goodwood Cup and Simenon, twice a winner in handicaps at the Royal meeting, could pose the biggest threat. Godolphin’s Lost In The Moment was a desperately unlucky loser in this race a year ago and it would be no surprise to see him improve on his recent form.

The Queen’s Estimate provided Her Majesty with a Royal winner in Diamond Jubilee year and puts her St Leger credentials on the line in the Lily Langtry Stakes.

John Gosden’s Gatewood has won at Epsom and Ascot and now seeks to add Goodwood to his festival tally in the opening race on Friday. A half-share has been sold to Australian owners OTI with a tilt at the Melbourne Cup the likely end of season target. The Golden Mile is one of the big handicaps of the week, the other being Saturday’s Stewards’ Cup and we will be previewing these in detail. Trade Commissioner is the early favourite at 4-1 with Bet365 for the Mile.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The English Premier League gets under way on August 18th and the drama of 2011-12 is going to be a tough act to follow. Last season’s title race went to virtually the last kick of the season with Manchester City clinching the title on goal difference from local rivals United. Understandably, the bookmakers find it hard to look beyond the two Manchester giants for the 2012-13 title with City offered at 6-5 with William Hill ahead of United at 5-2.

City have been particularly quiet in the transfer market this summer, although there is still time for that to change. Most pundits had expected them to buy yet more big names to build on last season’s success and a late move for Van Persie cannot be ruled out. United have made signings but the biggest headlines have been made by Chelsea during the summer. The signing of Oscar followed those of Hazard and Marin as Chelsea aim to make a serious title challenge. Last season they slumped to sixth place in the League but rescued their season with FA Cup and Champions League triumphs. Bet365 offer a top price of 5-1 about the rejuvenated Blues outfit.

Arsenal’s bid for glory remains under a cloud with speculation about Van Persie’s future. After seven years without a trophy, the top price of 12-1 is unlikely to cause a stampede to the bookmaker’s door. Tottenham flattered to deceive last season and with Redknapp replaced by Villas Boas, they are virtually discarded at 25-1.

The market for relegation predictably features newly-promoted Reading (11-10 with Ladbrokes to be relegated) ahead of Southampton at 5-4. West Ham are considered less likely to face the drop at 9-4 with last season’s surprise packets, Norwich (6-4) and Swansea (2-1) surprisingly thought to be at risk. Bet365 appear to have great confidence in QPR’s prospects this season and offer 5-1 against them being relegated. They offer probably the most complete UK sportsbook as it is right now.

The managerial merry-go-round has kept everyone entertained through the summer months and there is a market on first manager to leave their post in the Premiership. Sam Allardyce (West Ham) and Steve Clarke (West Brom) are 6-1 joint-favourites with Ladbrokes. Nigel Adkins (Southampton) is at 8-1 with Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea) surprisingly short at 10-1. A lot of Spurs fans are cynical about the prospects for Andre Villas-Boas and they can hedge their bets at 25-1 about the former Blues boss being the first to get the boot.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The Olympic Games men’s football tournament got under way with World and European champions Spain falling to a shock defeat against Japan at Hampden Park.

Yuki Otsu‘s first-half goal set up the shock result and things got worse for Spain when Inigo Martinez was sent-off five minutes before half-time. Japan could easily have doubled their lead as Keigo Higashi, Kensuke Nagai and Hiroshi Kiyotake all went close after the break. Spain, second favourites for the gold medal, never really threatened to force a draw as Japan swept to the top of Group D following a 2-2 draw between Honduras and Morocco.

Two goals from Jerry Bengtson earned a point for Honduras with Morocco also reduced to ten men. The Africans went ahead seven minutes before half-time after a fine volley from Abdel Barrada but Honduras hit back after the break when Bengston scored from close range. He completed his double from the penalty spot before Zakaria Labyad levelled the match at 2-2. Zakarya Bergdich was then shown a red card for kicking out at Mario Martinez but Morocco held out for the remaining twenty minutes to share the points.

Uruguay, considered by many to be lively outsiders, came from one-nil down to beat United Arab Emirates 2-1 in their Group A opener. UAE skipper Ismaeil Matar put his side ahead midway through the first-half but Uruguay drew level with a free-kick converted by Gaston Ramirez. Substitute Nicolas Lodeiro then combined well with Luis Suarez to force a winner.

In Group B, Mexico and South Korea played out goalless draw at St James’ Park and Switzerland became the third side to finish the match with ten men in a 1-1 draw with Gabon. There was great anticipation ahead of Great Britain’s opening game against Senegal and everything seemed to be going well when Craig Bellamy fired them ahead after twenty minutes. The British team failed to increase their advantage and paid the penalty when Moussa Konate grabbed a point with just eight minutes remaining.

Pre-tournament favourites Brazil looked set to justify their billing when storming to an early three-goal lead against Egypt with goals by Rafael da Silva, Da Silva Leandro Damiao and Junior Neymar. To their credit, the Egyptians stuck to their task and pulled two goals back through Aboutriaka and Salah. Brazil were happy to emerge as 3-2 winners with bookmakers cutting their odds to even money for gold. Great Britain remain at 12-1 as they prepare to meet UAE in their second group game. Japan have been cut to 14-1 after their shock opening victory.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Usain Bolt is 8-11 with Ladbrokes to win Olympic 100m gold and 4-7 to win the 200m. Most punters will be familiar with the Jamaican athlete and might be regarding those odds as tempting. However, he has not had the ideal preparation for the games with injury problems hindering his preparation.

The 25-year-old has been plagued by injuries since he was beaten by training partner Yohan Blake in both events at the Jamaican trials last month. He was then forced to withdraw from last Friday’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco and was also absent from the team’s open training session at the University of Birmingham on Tuesday. He has reportedly been suffering from a stiff back and hamstring problems.

Bolt will carry the Jamaican flag at the opening ceremony and has confirmed that his training has been going well in the past couple of weeks and believes that “everything is coming together”. The 100m heats begin on August 4th and dismissed the injury concerns as no more than “slight problems”. There is no doubt that Bolt’s clash with Blake is expected to be one of the highlights of the London Olympics. The two athletes train together in Kingston and are close friends as well as great rivals on the track. Whilst Bolt is the world record holder, Blake ran 9.75 seconds and 19.80 seconds at the Jamaican trials and leads the current world rankings in both events.

The 22-year-old is also the world 100m champion, having taken gold in Daegu last year following a sensational false start from Bolt. Blake also boasts the second fastest 200m of all time after Bolt in Brussels last September. Bet365 offer 13-8 about Blake upsetting the odds in the 100m and 15-8 to take the 200m crown.

Both events are seen very much as “two-horse races” with Tyson Grey a 12-1 chance for the 100m ahead of Justin Gatlin at 20-1 with 33-1 bar these. Wallace Spearmon is third favourite at 16-1 for the 200m and Warren Weir is 33-1. There are a number of special bets available for both events with William Hill offering 3-1 about a new world record being set in the 100m.

The 400m favourite is LaShawn Merritt at evens with Bet365. Kirani James is second favourite at 5-2 with Luguelin Santos next best at 7-1. Tony McQuay is 10-1 with Jonathan Borlee at 16-1 and 20-1 bar. If you’re betting on the top track events, it can often pay to watch the heats closely and look for athletes winning or qualifying with the minimum of effort. There will be a number of athletes ready to set new personal best performances and you could spot some value.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The 2012 World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table for the main event is all set to go with eight American players scheduled to battle things out with one from Hungary. There were 27 players hoping to fill the nine spots on Day 7 of the tournament with the chip leaders from Day 6, Daniel Strelitz and Marc-Andre Ladouceur failing to make the cut for the final. Jessie Sylvia had a big Day 7 and will be the final table’s chip leader when play resumes on October 28th 2012.

Bet365.com offers odds on the winner of the Main Event final table, with Jesse Sylvia favorite for 4.00 with some close followers.

Sylvia won the largest pot in 2012 tournament so far and will have 43.87 million in poker chips for the final. Poker fans will be analyzing the players for the next few months and here are the “October Nine” that make up the final table at the main event of the 2012 WSOP.

Jesse Sylvia: 
The 26-year-old has a total of 43.87 million in chips which is obviously a big advantage. He knows several of the other players at the final table and has time to prepare for them. Sylvia said he knows Russell Thomas very well as they were roommates two years ago at the WSOP. He said they’re good friends, but they don’t really talk much about poker. He claimed they do pump each other up though and he’s glad Thomas made it.

Andras Koroknai:
 The 30-year-old Koroknai of Hungary has 29.37 million worth of chips and was the champion at the World Poker Tour’s L.A. Poker Classic back in 2010. A lot of people feel he was lucky on Day 7. However, he’s at the final table and that’s all that matters.

Greg Merson:
 Merson has a total of 28.72 million in chips and is leading the race at the moment for the WSOP player of the year. Merson has taken part in seven 2012 WSOP events and has cashing in on four of them. He has won a bracelet so far and made another final table as well as the main event. He’s known as an online cash-game star, but has been doing exceptionally well in tournaments this summer.

Russell Thomas:
 The 24-year-old Thomas has 24.8 million in chips. The Hartford, Connecticut native usually focuses on cash games, but said he’ll play in more tournaments now to make sure he’s ready for the final. He finished in 248th place in the 2011 main event and has reached a final table at the WSOP once before when he placed fifth in a 2010 event. He admitted that he hasn’t played a lot since Black Friday. However, he’ll be ready for the final tournament.

Steven Gee:
 Fifty-seven-year-old Steven Gee is the oldest player at the final table and has 16.86 million in chips. He and Merson are the only players who have WSOP bracelets. Gee usually participates in cash games and even though he has quite a bit of experience he said he still has a lot of work to do before the final gets underway. He won his bracelet in 2010 and said that making the final table this year is almost just as good as winning a bracelet.

Michael Esposito: 
Esposito enters the final table with 16.26 million in chips. He’s a New York commodity broker who enjoyed an excellent Day 7. He’s 43 years old and has cashed in at four previous WSOP tournaments with two of these coming in main events.

Robert Salaburu:
 This 27-year-old from Texas has 15.15 million in chips for the final table. Salaburu has been playing poker for the past 10 years and has been pretty successful over that time. He said he’s just happy to have made the final table and plans on having fun no matter what. He’ll still be trying to win it mind you, but won’t be devastated if he doesn’t.

Jacob Balsiger:
 Balsiger is a 21-year-old student at Arizona State University and enters the final with 13.11 million in chips. He studies political science and will be entering his final year at school. He doesn’t really have a lot of experience in live tournaments and if he wins will become the WSOP’s youngest ever champion in the main event.

Jeremy Ausmus:
 The 32-year-old Ausmus has 9.8 million worth of chips and is expecting to add to his family in November as his wife is due to deliver their second child shortly after the WSOP final. Ausmus has cashed in nine times already in 2012 and 14 times in his WSOP career. He said he can’t believe he made it this far when you consider about 7,000 players entered the event.

The Winner Takes Around $8,5M

First prize in the final event will be worth $8,527,982, while second place offers $5,292,889 and third place is good for $3,797,558. The fourth-place winner will receive $2,850,494 while the fifth-place player gets $2,154,616. Sixth place will pay $1,640,461, while seventh pays $1,257,790 and eighth is $971,252. Whoever comes in last will still make $754,798.

Due to the amount of chips he has, sportsbooks have listed Sylvia as the 3/1 favourite to take the tournament with Koroknai at 9/2. Greg Merson is listed at 5/1 and Thomas is at 6/1. Gee and Esposito are both at 9/1 while Salaburu and Balsiger are at 10/1. Ausmus is the longest shot at 11/1.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Aidan O’Brien’s Camelot is on course to become the first horse since Nijinsky in 1970 to complete the Triple Crown of 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and St. Leger. The son of Montjeu added the Irish Derby to his classic collection last month and heads a list of 36 entries for the season’s final classic.

Ladbrokes have the unbeaten colt as short as 2-5 favourite to win at Doncaster on September 15th. Camelot won the Guineas in workmanlike fashion before sweeping to an impressive five-length win at Epsom over the extra half-mile. He was not as impressive in the Irish Derby but the race was run in heavy ground and he is unlikely to meet such extreme conditions at Town Moor. Camelot first appeared on the classic scene when cruising to victory in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster last season and has gone on to justify the hype that followed that impressive win. Trainer’s son Joseph has teamed up with the colt to great effect and they look certain to go off as heavy odds-on favourites.

As well as seeking to put Camelot’s name alongside that of Nijinsky, the race will also see Aidan O’Brien attempt to become the first trainer in history to win all five English classics in the same season. Homecoming Queen (1000 Guineas) and Was (Epsom Oaks) have given O’Brien a clean sweep and only the world’s oldest classic now stands between him and a remarkable achievement.

If one trainer can stop O’Brien it is surely Newmarket’s John Gosden. He and stable jockey William Buick are currently on the crest of a wave following five winners at Royal Ascot followed by the Eclipse and Irish Oaks. The same combination has also teamed up to provide the last two St Leger winners and he has a strong hand of lively contenders this year.

Ladbrokes rate Irish Oaks winner Great Heavens the best of them at 7-1. The filly was stepping up on her Lancashire Oaks victory to win going away at the Curragh, beating the Epsom Oaks and Ribblesdale winners in the process. That form marks her down as the best mile and half filly in Europe and her chance has to be respected. Gosden also three other credible contenders in Michelangelo, Thought Worthy and Shantaram.

Although not a certain runner at this stage, Derby runner-up Main Sequence would have to be considered a great each-way prospect at 10-1. He was desperately unlucky last time in France and stayed on in the style of a horse that would enjoy the extra distance of the Leger. If there is one horse that would be a more popular winner than Camelot it must be the Queen’s Estimate. The horse has already provided Her Majesty with a Royal Ascot winner in Diamond Jubilee year and is rated at 16-1.

Aidan O’Brien has won the St Leger with Milan (2001), Brian Boru (2003) and Scorpion (2005) and has eleven entries in total. Apart from Camelot, recent Group One Grand Prix de Paris scorer Imperial Monarch looks the best of them. He is rated a 12-1 chance by Ladbrokes but his participation is also in doubt.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Only a few days left to the next big sporting event, the 2012 Olympics in London, and I can’t say I’m too over-excited at this stage.

When looking at popular Olympic betting events and odds at the bookmakers, beach volleyball is included among all of them. This is a truly fun sport to enjoy at the beach, but I’m not sure many would follow it with passion if there was only men competing.

The women’s tournament will be played from 28th July 12th August and is expected to sell out most sessions. One of the comments read on Huffington post recently sums it up quite well why so many have shown interest in this sport: “Get real. The only reason anyone watches this “sport” is for the half-naked women who are in tip-top shape. Cover them up and you may as well watch golf!”

However, now there has been changes made by IOC: “Shorts of a maximum length of [1.18 inches] above the knee, and sleeved or sleeveless tops” will be allowed this year, after complications with cultural differences. We’ll see how it goes and if the weather will affect this part of the game where the woman no longer need to play in bikinis.

Larissa/Juliana (BRA) are favorites for the gold in the Woman Beach Volleyball contest at 4.00 (3/1) together with Zhang Xi/Xue (CHN). I found the best odds selection at BetVictor for the Olympics, let me know if you have any other recommendations.

I think that some sports would be better off not be a part of the Olympics Games, not at least football. I mean, there are no football fans that will follow this tournament with any interest after a full season, with at times way too many games, followed by the Euro 2012. The football tournament of Olympics 2012 is just a show and has no real value for fans, even if Brazil might be fun to watch. That is also why I think it’s stupid of GB manager Stuart Pearce not to include David Beckham in the squad. Beckham is one of the best ambassadors for Britain and was one of the key persons in getting the Olympics to UK. But I’m sure Craig Bellamy will make a good tournament…

USA (1.36 – 4/11) and China are clear favorites to win most Gold Medals as usual. Well, tennis is probably the sport I will follow a bit more than most others, with recent Wimbledon winner Federer favorite together with Djokovic.

Author Profile: Stefan+

I am the first one to admit that my predictions for the 2012 British Open were pretty awful. In order to make up for that awful weekend I am now in search for some good picks for the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour to make up for the money I lost. I always have a good feeling about my picks before the start of the event and this week is no different.

RBC Canadian Open Winner Predictions

In order to reduce the risk this week I am not only going to bet on the outright winner but I’ll also throw in a couple of head to head matches in order to avoid a fiasco similar to the British Open.

Brendon de Jonge

At the start of this year I was telling people that Brendon de Jonge would win his first PGA Tour event this season. Halfway through the season he still haven’t been able to get all the way but I have a feeling his first win is just around the corner. And after backing him all season long it would feel a bit silly to leave him out now. This man is able to produce some really low scores when he’s in the mood but what’s been keeping him from winning on Tour is that he struggles to scrape together 4 good rounds during the same week. Hopefully that will change this week.

Odds to Win: 70/1 at Betfair

Retief Goosen

I know Goosen has been struggling this season, or for a couple of seasons actually, but he’s still a real class player. He used to struggle with his putting and now that he got that under control it’s his tee to green game that’s suffering. I have a feeling he hasn’t won his last PGA Tour event though and since the field is relatively week in this event I think he might just be able to pull of a win here.

Odds to Win: 85/1 at Betfair

Michael Thompson

I don’t think Michael Thompson is going to win at the RBC Canadian Open this week but his price at Betfair is so high that my plan here is to back him to win before the start of the event and then lay him for a profit after the first round of play. This guy is often scoring well during the first round so I think this is a solid plan. Keep in mind though that you will need to bet at Betfair in order to make this happen.

Odds to Win: 200/1

Head to Head RBC Canadian Open Predictions

This tournament didn’t really manage to attract the best of starting fields and with so many “low class players” in the field I’m confident I can find some decent head to head bets.

Tim Clark to Beat Kevin Na

Sure, Tim Clark hasn’t been the most solid player over the recent years but I feel he is much more reliable than Kevin Na who’s fighting some pretty nasty demons on the course.

Odds: 9/10 at Expekt

Matt Kuchar to Beat Hunter Mahan

I lost all resperct for Hunter Mahan after he appeared in the “Golf Boys” video but that’s not the only reason I’m picking Matt Kuchar here. Kuchar is one of the most solid guys on Tour as of late and it doesn’t look like he will be slowing down any time soon. He will definitely finish ahead of Hunter Mahan this week.

Author Profile: Marcus Nilsson+

English Premier League club Liverpool will be kicking off against Italian side AS Roma at the 100-year-old Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on July 25 in an international football pre-season game. Liverpool is coming off of a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer on Saturday in front of 33,000 fans while Roma AS Roma beat Polish side Zaglebie Lubin 4-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sunday.

Liverpool was without most of its top players against Toronto, such as Andy Carroll, Steven Gerrard, Martin Kelly, Jordan Henderson, Glen Johnson, and Stewart Downing, who all played for England at Euro 2012. Also missing were Luis Saurez, Craig Bellamy, and Sebastian Coates, who are competing in the Summer Olympics in Britain. In addition, goalkeeper Pepe Reina was left out of the squad too. However, most of England’s Euro players are expected back against Roma.

Liverpool has a new manager this year in 39-year-old Brendan Rodgers who took over from Kenny Dalglish who was sacked at the end of last season. Dalglish managed to win the League Cup with the Reds, but the team finished in a disappointing eighth place in the league. They simply drew too many games last year and didn’t play well at all at home. Rodgers resigned from his post at Swansea City to take over on Merseyside.

Liverpool Looks Stronger

This year’s squad looks to be stronger with the addition of young Italian striker Fabio Borini and midfielder Joe Cole has returned after a loan stint in France. There are rumours going around that striker Andy Carroll could be on his way out of the team either on a loan deal or by being sold. There’s still a month to go before the season kicks off though, so anything’s still possible. The side will be weakened though if Carroll leaves. He’s only 23 years old and could still turn into a dominant striker in the EPL.

Rodgers also wants to utilize a 4-3-3 system this year rather than Liverpool’s traditional 4-4-2 and they could miss the departed Dirk Kuyt more than people realize too. The manager is supposedly trying to add Fulham’s Clint Dempsey to the squad and could possibly give up midfielder Charlie Adam to get him.

Rodgers said his squad usually dominates games possession-wise, but struggles when it reaches the opposition’s 18-yard box and that’s something that needs to be improved on. He said domination and possession doesn’t really mean much if you don’t put the ball in the net and his team needs to penetrate better when it’s in the offensive zone. There are a few youngsters on this North American tour who could be future stars such as Raheem Sterling, Adam Morgan, and 16-year-old Jordan Ibe.

AS Roma scored four first-half goals in their game in Chicago in front of 22,000 fans and dominated the match. It was their first game in a three-city mini tour and manager Zdenek Zeman felt his team could still play a lot better. In fact, he said he wasn’t really happy with the squad’s performance regardless of the result. The Italian club has added American Michael Bradley to the club during the summer. Bradley’s the son of former US manager Bob Bradley.

Look for both teams to use a lot of substitutes in this match and there should also be at least a couple of goals to celebrate.
The latest odds on the match from Sportsbook William Hill have a Liverpool win listed at 6/5 and a Roma victory at 15/8 and a draw at 21/10.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Great Britain’s newly assembled football team from England and Wales could hardly have picked a tougher assignment than Olympic Gold medal favourites Brazil for their pre-tournament “friendly”. Football has never been high on the agenda at the Olympics for the home nations but a special effort has been made for the London games. Stuart Pearce, best known as “Psycho” from his footballing days, has been put in charge of leading the makeshift side in a bid for glory. Surprisingly, Brazil has never won Olympic gold at football but there is no disguising their intent this year.

With names like Neymar, Hulk and Oscar lined up, it is little wonder that the bookmakers find it difficult to see past them in the football tournament. They have been heavily backed in recent days and are now only 6-4 with Ladbrokes to take Gold whilst Great Britain are out to 10-1. Although it is never a good idea to get carried away with friendly matches, the gulf in class was obvious last week as the Brazilians strolled to a 2-0 victory. Goals from Sandro and Neymar quickly had Team GB in trouble and there were impressive displays from Chelsea transfer targets Oscar and Hulk. Oscar has already completed a medical with Chelsea but is not prepared to make a final decision on the transfer until after the Olympics. The 20-year-old midfielder admitted that is a dream to play in Europe and the Premier League but remains fully focussed on the Olympics.

Great Britain launch their Olympic campaign against Senegal at Old Trafford on July 26th and will have to improve rapidly if they are going to get amongst the medals. Pearce admits that they now realise the full extent of the task facing them and was quick to draw comparisons between the approach of the two sides. Brazil have probably put two years planning into the games whereas Pearce has only been with his squad for a fortnight! Brazil’s young talent is being groomed in preparation for the World Cup in two years’ time whilst Team GB seems to be a consolation prize for players who missed out on Euro 2012.

Brazil coach Mano Menezes played down the significance of the game but is clearly aware of the expectancy surrounding his talented side. Sandro opened the scoring with a looping close-range header and Neymar doubled the lead with a penalty ten minutes before half-time. Team GB substitute goalkeeper Jack Butland performed superbly to prevent the Brazilians adding to their advantage in the second half. If there is to be a challenge for Brazil it is more likely to come from Spain than from Great Britain. The all-conquering Spaniards are a top-price 5-2 with Bet365.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Sir Alex Ferguson today confirmed that Manchester United had made a bid for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie and may have sparked a bidding war in the process. The 28-year-old Dutch international has made no secret of his wish to leave the Gunners in spite of repeated attempts by the club to retain their talisman skipper.

Van Persie took over the captaincy following the transfer of Cesc Fàbregas to Barcelona at the start of last season and virtually carried the side into a third place finish. It was only his goals that enabled the Gunners to claw themselves back into a Champions League spot after a disastrous start to the campaign. In April he became only the second player to score against 17 different Premier League opponents in a single season. Van Persie led the scoring in the Premier League with 30 goals and is currently Arsenal’s 8th all-time top scorer with 132 goals. He was voted Player of the Year for 2011-12 and Arsenal have set a value of around £25 million.

Obviously United failed to match this figure with their first bid and Manchester City and Juventus having also fallen short but it would be no surprise to see the race for his signature hot up in the coming days. There is speculation that the opening salvo from United was in the region of £15 million which does not sound nearly enough. However, you also have to factor in Van Persie’s likely wage demands.

The reason for Van Persie’s insistence that it is time for him to move on is a supposed lack of ambition at the Emirates Stadium. For all his service to the club, Van Persie only has one FA Cup winner’s medal (2004-05) to show for it. After seven years without silverware, it is not difficult to understand his desire to move on. Arsenal have flattered to deceive on numerous occasions in recent years and last summer’s sale of Fabregas and Nasri left Van Persie carrying a huge weight on his shoulders. At 28, he probably feels that he needs to move now or never if he is to realise his ambitions for league and Cup success. He would certainly be a big loss to the Premiership if Juventus were to come back with an increased bid. Arsenal have delayed a decision on whether or not Van Persie will be part of their pre-season tour with Arsene Wenger apparently opposing his inclusion. Wenger has already signed two new strikers in Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud but are monitoring Spain international Fernando Llorente should Van Persie leave.

Ladbrokes can hardly split the Manchester clubs in the race for Van Persie’s signature with City a shade of odds-on at 10-11 and United at 5-4. Juventus are the only serious challenger at 9-2 with Barcelona available at 10-1, Real Madrid at 14-1 and Chelsea at 20-1.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Land casino WMS recently announced that it has introduced an interactive gaming subsidiary known as Williams Interactive. The company’s president, Orrin J. Edidin, will manage its new venture. The announcement wasn’t much of a surprise to many in the industry since WMS has been quite busy in the e-gaming field lately and has also been acquiring other businesses.

AMS recently acquired an online skill-games company called Jadestone and has also struck a working agreement with 888, an online gaming software developer, in which it will be supplied with poker content and online games for the US market. In addition, WMS has entered into a relationship with the Partouche group regarding an online business in Belgium.

However, there’s more. AMS took over the Jackpot Party online casino as well as Phantom EFX, which creates social casino games, and has applied in the state of Nevada for an online poker license. It also has an interest in social gaming activities on Facebook with the Lucky Cruise social casino.

With the Poker 888 deal, WMS will provide games to its customers via the 888 poker platform. WMS will distribute and market 888s poker options to land-based casinos in the U.S. The original games will be played for fun and when the new U.S. gaming legislation comes into effect they will also offer real-money options.

The new Williams Interactive branch of the company will be based in Chicago, Illinois and will spend its time developing and growing WMS’ online, social, and mobile gaming ventures as well as concentrating on its iGaming capabilities.

The CEO and chairman of WMS, Brian R. Gamache, said his firm has been working towards adding mobile, online, casual, and social gaming content to its land-based casino option. He said this is the
new age of online gaming and many people are utilizing the technological options that are at their fingers. He added that WMS intends to meet the ongoing demands and wishes of its customers.
Gamache feels that the creation of Williams Interactive will enable the company to develop and keep growing in the future.

It’s believed that Edidin will be the perfect man to help grow the company due to his knowledge and expertise in the gaming industry. He realizes that land-based casinos need to expand to other platforms if they want to make the most out of their businesses. Edidin said that casino operators are always looking for help when it comes to taking advantage of their iGaming options and he feels that WMS will be able to assist them when it comes to developing attractive gaming content. He believes these casinos will then be able to satisfy their existing customers and also attract new ones.

WMS Industries stated that casinos all over the world are expanding into new opportunities and they are well prepared for it. Williams Interactive will allow the company to integrate its online
development resources with other aspects of its operations which are based in places such as Atlanta, Iowa, India, Britain, and Sweden.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Chelsea and Paris St Germain meet for the first football match at the new Yankee stadium on Sunday in a clash of the big summer spenders. The game will also see Carlo Ancelotti face the Blues for the first time since he was sacked just a year after leading the club to their first domestic double.

PSG completed a £50 million raid on AC Milan last week for Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva. Qatar-backed PSG are the biggest movers in the European transfer market this summer as they bid to claim the Ligue 1 title and make their mark in the Champions League.

Ibrahimovic has signed a three-year deal following the capture of Brazilian centre back Thiago Silva in a double signing that has eased Milan’s financial crisis to the tune of £80 million including wages. PSG have also added Argentine striker Ezequiel Lavezzi and Italy’s promising Under-21 midfielder Marco Verratti to their squad in recent weeks. The friendly on Sunday could also feature former Chelsea defender Alex.

Chelsea have been linked with enough players to form their own league during the summer but have so far only added Eden Hazard and Marko Marin to their Champions League winning squad. The departure of Drogba will probably mean that Fernando Torres finally gets his chance to lead the attack on a regular basis but he won’t have things all his own way. Romelu Lukaku gave a pretty good impression of Drogba when scoring twice in the opening game of the Blues summer tour of the United States in a 4-2 win over Seattle Sounders. There were also goals for Chelsea new boys Hazard and Marin in an entertaining match in front of a 50,000 crowd.

Romelu Lukaku has been anxious to find out whether he is in Roberto Di Matteo’s plans for the new season and he will be hard to ignore on this form. He fired them ahead after just three minutes and was on hand to round the keeper and slot home a second just before the interval. His second and Chelsea’s fourth sealed the win after a brave fight back from the home side from 2-0 down to 2-2. Hazard looks like proving an exciting recruit for the Blues and there were also encouraging signs from Marin and De Bruyne. Seven second-half substitutions disrupted the flow of the game but Di Matteo will have seen enough in that pulsating opening period. He is expected to adopt a similar policy against PSG as he looks to give everyone a chance to impress in the pre-season friendlies.

Chelsea will expect a tougher test in New York against big spending Paris St Germain on Sunday. William Hill make Chelsea even money favourites with PSG and the draw on offer at 11-5.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

39-year-old Lee Westwood has been a regular top ten finisher in the majors in recent seasons but that first major still eludes him. If you were looking for someone to give you a good run for your money in the British Open, then look no further than the Worksop golfer. He has finished in the top three in seven of the last sixteen major tournaments that he has contested and is now carrying the burden of expectation every time he tees off.

Although he has publicly laughed off suggestions that the long wait for a first major is starting to trouble him, his career is starting to resemble that of Colin Montgomerie. The Scot contested 71 major tournaments and finished runner-up on five occasions without ever breaking the jinx. He was a regular favourite with the bookmakers but never quite managed to sustain his challenge to lift the Claret jug. Montgomerie failed to qualify for the Open this year by a single stroke and it was Westwood who took over the European number one spot from him in 2000 after seven years at the top.

Westwood is currently ranked third in the world and Montgomerie believes he has a real shot at it this week. Having watched Westwood start the US Open with a double bogey and spend the rest of the week playing catch up, Monty believes that Westwood needs to be quick off the blocks at Lytham. In the past, he has perhaps been a bit tentative in the early couple of rounds, a few years ago par golf would be enough to put yourself in contention for the closing rounds but that is not often the case these days.

Westwood remains his usual unflappable self and is confident that his game is good enough to win anywhere in the world. Having finished second and third in two of the last three Opens, you would have to fancy Westwood’s chances of featuring again this week. His strategy will be to play to his strengths by using the driver off the tee wherever possible but is mindful of the tough test posed by the course. He is of the old school of thought that you should treat it more like the Grand National than a sprint, start off steadily and avoid any disasters and see where you are on the final day.

Ladbrokes make him a 14-1 chance to finally get his hands on a first major this week. If you think he is going to take a leaf out of Monty’s book and go for it early on, he is 20-1 to be first round leader. It is a measure of his consistency that you can only get 11-8 about a top ten finish and 5-2 about a top five finish. If the nation needs a lift after the defeat of Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final, there would be no more popular winner of the Open than Lee Westwood.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Speculation continues to mount that Chelsea have agreed a £25million deal to with Internacional for the signature of young Brazilian star Oscar. The transfer rumour mill has been working overtime on this deal in recent days with earlier reports suggesting that the London had club had tabled a £20 million bid that had been knocked back. London rivals Tottenham were also in the race for the 20-year-old Brazilian international.

Chelsea seem eager to boost its squad with quality players, and they will be a title challenging team this seas. As of now Bet365 are offering 6.00 (5/1) on them to win the Premier League 2012/2013.

A transfer is apparently now back on for Oscar who arrives in London this week as part of the Brazilian Olympic squad. News of his possible signing was quickly followed by suggestions that Chelsea are looking at Edinson Cavani with a fee rumoured to be in the region of £35 million. How much truth is behind this story remains to be seen, just as there has been no move on the continuing saga of Porto striker Hulk, another member of the Brazilian squad this summer. Chelsea’s Brazilian duo of Luiz and Ramires must be doing some good PR work on behalf of the club to have their compatriots lining up for a summer move!

At the time of writing, Chelsea have not added to their early summer signings of Marko Marin and Eden Hazard but that may not be the case for much longer. With Drogba and Kalou already departed, they will surely be looking to add to their front line options. Their midfield is starting to look very creative, if not a little over-crowded and it would be no surprise if there were further speculation about the future of the likes of Frank Lampard and Michael Essien in the coming weeks. Already capped six times for his country, the capture of Oscar would send a clear signal that the young guns were ready to take over at the Bridge.

Hulk has long been seen as a possible successor to Didier Drogba but the Porto star has firmly stated that he has had no contact with Chelsea to date. Last season he was thought likely to join former Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge but he still have four years left on his existing contract and it is anybody’s guess how much money his club are asking for. Last year Chelsea were also linked with a move for yet another Brazilian star in Neymar from Santos but that was another deal that never transpired. Out-of-favour French international Florent Malouda could be going in the other direction. He has only one year left on his contract and is looking to secure regular first-team football rather than see out another season spent largely on the Chelsea bench. Santos have declared an interest in the 32-year-old but may struggle to meet his wage demands. Marin and Hazard will presumably be in direct competition with Malouda for a starting place next season.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The big clean-up is underway and the 2012 World Series of Poker is all over bar the shouting, but there’ll be plenty of shouting come the last week of October when the final nine players will come back to contest the Main Event final table.

27 largely unknown players started the day with a chance at poker’s biggest prize but before midnight 18 of them were going home heartbroken.

Nico Maag and Jan Heimann were the first to bow out. The two Germans fell in the first level of play, having come into the day pretty short stacked. When the blinds went up, several players found themselves under pressure and before the dinner break 10 more would fall including Daniel Strelitz, Cylus Watson, Paul Volpe, Jamie Robbins, Robert Buckenmayer and Percy Mahatan.

Two of the remaining 15 were women; both Gaelle Bauman and Elisabeth Hille had a shot at becoming the first woman at the final table since 1985. Shortly after the players reconvened Danny Wong got knocked out and then it was the turn of the chip leader at the start of play Marc Ladouceur who lost a flip and was sent packing.

Scott Abrams went in 12th after missing a flush draw against a flopped set and then with the elimination of Elisabeth Hill in 11th when her AQ couldn’t connect we were down to the unofficial final table, which provides some of the biggest drama in poker every year.

It was a short affair this year though. Gaelle Baumann was very short but scored a timely double up when she picked up Kings, but she wasn’t long handing it all back when her A9o didn’t get lucky against AJo, and she was our 10th place finisher, picking up $590,442.

So the October Nine is set and leading them into battle will be Jesse Sylvia on almost 44m chips, well ahead of Hungarian Andras Koroknai on 29m who was involved in his fair share of controversial hands in the last few days. Behind him is Greg Merson on 28m, and then Russell Thomas is a little further back on 24.8m.

There’s a big gap between Thomas and Steven Gee and Michael Esposito, who’ll both return with right around 16m with Robert Salaburu (15m), Jacob Balsiger (13m), and Jeremy Ausmus (9.8m) rounding our the line-up.

When they come back in October the blinds will be set at 200,000/400,000 with a 40,000 chip ante. So, until then from the Rio.. Adios!

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Until the recently-retired So You Think came on the scene, horses that had contested the Melbourne Cup were regarded as more likely to head for the Ascot Gold Cup than the mile and a half King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. That has all changed now with So You Think proving a top class performer in Europe over a mile and quarter and the bookmakers are taking no chances with Dunaden in Saturday’s renewal.

William Hill offer only 11-2 about last year’s Melbourne Cup winner lifting the prize for French Trainer Mikel Delzangles and Australian jockey Craig Williams. Christophe Lemaire was on board when Dunaden won the Cup but Williams was in the plate when the six-year-old won the Hong Kong Vase and the Geelong Cup last season. Owner Sheikh Fahad Al Thani wants to establish a regular partnership with the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe as the main target. Lemaire is likely to be claimed to ride for his retained owner the Aga Khan later in the season so Williams, who has plenty of experience of European tracks and style of racing, has made himself available for Dunaden for the remainder of the season.

Dunaden put in an eye-catching performance at Royal Ascot when charging up the home straight to chase home Sir Michael Stoute’s Sea Moon (3-1 with Ladbrokes). The winner was a disappointing favourite for the St Leger last season but showed himself a top performer over a mile and a half and will again be difficult to pass on Saturday. Nathaniel was making his seasonal reappearance when landing the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown a fortnight ago and Gosden has voiced concerns about subjecting the horse to two hard races in quick succession. He is currently priced at 3-1 by William Hill and will be bidding to emulate Dahlia (1973-74) and Swain (1997-98) as only the third dual winner in the history of the race. Aidan O’Brien’s Coronation Cup winner St Nicholas Abbey is another leading contender for this Group 1 event and bids to follow up on his runaway Epsom Coronation Cup success.

St Nicholas Abbey (9-4 favourite with William Hill) looks held on last year’s run in this race behind Nathaniel but has since gone on to win at the Breeders’ Cup. Last year’s Arc winner Danedream (10-1 with Ladbrokes) adds to the international flavour of the race. Peter Schiergen’s star was only the second German-trained winner of the Arc in racing history and will be a threat to all if she can recapture that form. She was well beaten into sixth place in the Japan Cup but returned this season with an easy win at Baden-Baden and was unsuited by an early crawl in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last time out.

The 12 entries are completed by Michael Owen’s Brown Panther and Japanese star Deep Brilliante, whilst French trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre is represented by Reliable Man and Shareta. Four-year-old Shareta was a 66-1 chance when she chased home Danedream in the Arc last season but has not managed to get her nose in front on four subsequent outings. The going is currently soft with the forecast of more rain before the weekend.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

It looks like the new UEFA Financial Fair Play Plan has already affected AC Milan of the Italian Serie A as the club is starting to sell off some of its top players. If all of the reports are correct, then Milan has transferred Brazilian international Thiago Silva to Paris Saint Germain of the French Ligue 1 and there’s a good chance that Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be joining him, as reported to Gamblingnerd.com.

Along with Silva and Ibrahimovic, Milan has also cut ties recently with Gianluca Zambrotta, Calarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso, Mark Van Bommel, Pippo Inzaghi, and Alessandro Nesta. Milan fans won’t be happy, especially if Ibrahimovic is sold, but if they want to receive top money for him now is the time to do it. When you add up all of the players who have left the club, it comes to approximately 40 per cent of the team’s total wages, which were about $250 million last year.

Milan needs to save money and by selling Ibrahimovic and Silva to PSG they could rake in about $75 million for them. It will be costly for PSG, but the 27-year-old Silva is rated as one of the best central defenders on the planet and when he’s in the mood, Ibrahimovic can sometimes be unstoppable while finding the back of the net on a consistent basis. He’s led every club squad he’s been on to a league title in nine of the past 11 years and he’s relatively young still at 30. The possible Zlatan transfer is being watched very closely by Swedish newspapers and it shows what an important player he is in his home country.

Milan could have give it another run at the Serie A title and the Champions League by keeping the two players, but they might have ended up spending even more money to complement Silva and Ibrahimovic and going for broke while the opportunity was still there. Also Ibrahimovic’s contract is up in 2014 and it meant Milan would have had to re-sign, sell him, or possibly lose him on a free transfer. He’s reportedly making $30 million per season as it is.

This could be the last time ridiculous transfer fees are handed out if the fair play rules work. This is one of the reasons Milan decided it would be better to sell their players now. However, Milan will still have to replace the departed central defender and striker. Silva has signed with PSG and manager Carlo Ancelotti for five years. Ancelotti also signed him for Milan back in 2008, but by the time he was registered to play in the summer of 2009 Ancelotti had left the Italian club to take over as manager at England’s Chelsea. With Silva, Milan won the league in 2010/11.

Ibrahimovic apparently wants more wages before heading to France, but since the Sweden captain led Serie A in scoring last season with 28 in 32 games he may just get his wish.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Wolverhampton, England’s probably best known for its famous football club the Wolverhampton Wanderers, but it might start to become a more popular site with visitors as a new casino is possibly set to open there. The Wolverhampton Racecourse has confirmed that it will be applying to become the first city in the country to open something it’s calling a “racino”, which will be a combination racecourse and casino, making it a bettor’s delight. In addition, the project could create approximately 300 much-needed jobs in the community. This would be the first Racino in the UK.

Apparently, Wolverhampton City Council can provide a casino licence since it has had the power to do so since 2008. However, the proposal has been slowed down by bureaucratic red tape. The nation’s former Labour government stated that up to 16 casinos could be opened across the country and Wolverhampton was given permission to launch one. The casino can have a maximum of 80 slot machines and there was originally five different groups interested in opening one in Wolverhampton, but the racecourse owners, Arena Leisure, was the only one to follow through on the application process.

The official process to apply for a casino license won’t take place until august, but the city’s council has cleared the way by approving the application process. Roger Lawrence of the council said that the application was approved since the casino would generate jobs and income for the city. He mentioned that a new casino was opened in London’s Newham area and said it’s already had a positive impact on the community.

A casino was originally planned for the Low Level Station building, but that will now be turned into a banquet hall. Arena Leisure was given three more years to construct a £23 million extension to the existing racecourse while it was awaiting for the license to get through the red tape. The company was then taken over by the Reuben brothers in January for £167 million. The council had agreed in 2010 to spend £100,000 in tax money to decide which group would be granted with the casino license.

In addition, the city also had to review the current gambling policy before it went ahead with its approval of the Racino. It’s taken some time since the racecourse had hoped that a casino could have been opened as far back as 2009. When it does eventually open its doors, the 80 slot machines will have a maximum prize of £4,000.

Author Profile: Stefan+

I love betting on golf and with the 2012 British Open just a couple of days away I thought I would put together a quick post with my predictions for the Open Championship so all of our readers have a chance to make some money off the bookies on this event.

Alexander Noren

I know it might seem a bit crazy to have the Swedish Alex Noren as the number one pick for the British Open title but this guy is very capable of playing some serious golf when he’s in form. And that’s exactly what he is in at the moment, first class form. He comes off a great performance in the 2012 Scottish Open that was held last weekend where he finished in third place after shooting 16 under par over the four rounds of play. If he can just get his putting and short game together I think he has a very realistic shot at winning the Open Championship this weekend.

Odds to Win: 125/1 at Bet365

Lee Westwood

Probably the best player still active to never have won a major championship. I really don’t think Westwood will go the way of Colin Montgomerie and never go on to win a major championship title and the British Open is probably his best shot at winning that title. Even though he hasn’t been in the best of form this season I still think he will have a good chance at the title this year.

Odds to Win: 14/1 at Bet365

Martin Laird

Laird haven’t even come close to showing the kind of form he had last season but when it comes down to a The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes it’s hard not to make him a part of my betting slip. Especially at the prices he is currently being traded at.

Odds to Win: 90/1 at Bet365

Jason Dufner

This is the only American player I will be placing any money on during the 2012 British Open. I just don’t feel the US players are able to perform as well as they usually do when they travel outside the familiar PGA Tour courses that they are used to at home. When playing the British Open you WILL get punished for missing the fairway every single time and when it comes to keeping the ball in play I really favor Jason Dufner who has been playing some great golf this season.

Odds to Win: 45/1 at Bet365

Ian Poulter

This is another guy who has been performing way below expectations this season but that’s actually a good thing when it comes to this event as the prices for him claiming the victory on Sunday are way higher than they are supposed to be in my opinion. If he starts playing the kind of golf that we all know he’s capable of then I think he will be involved in the fight come Sunday afternoon.

Odds to Win: 45/1 at Bet365

Fredrik Jacobson

If you are a returning visitor to this post then you might have noticed that this is a late addition to my stable of British Open players. To be honest I hadn’t noticed that Fredrik Jacobson was going to play and that’s the reason I had left him out. When I went over the latest odds at Bet365 today I noticed that he is indeed playing and because of that I had to reload my betting account in order to have him as a part of my dream team.

Odds to Win: 70/1 at Bet365

Author Profile: Marcus Nilsson+

Day 6 is in the books, and just 5 levels stand between the remaining 27 players and the 2012 final table, which this year will be known as the October Nine as it’s being brought forward by a week so as not to clash with the US Presidential election.

Today claimed the scalps of all of the big name players remaining in the field with the exception of Jan Heitmann as we played down from 97 to 27. Gavin Smith was the first to hit the rail when he lost a flip with AQ and he was quickly followed out the door by Isaac Baron and Erik Cajelais. Vanessa Selbst had a swingy day after losing a huge flip early on and eventually bowed out in 73rd place. Jason Somerville went out in 69th, while Dung Nguyen could only manage 89th failing to get anything going during the first level.

Canadian Marc Ladouceur is the chip leader on 15.8M going into the final day’s play of the summer; an impressive run following on from his 63rd place finish last year. The blinds are set to start at 80,000/160,000 so at this stage, even the chip leader only has 100 big blinds as the pressure begins to mount. Next in line is Daniel Strelitz on 12.8M and Robert Salaburu on 10.9M. Heitmann a German pro and member of Team PokerStars is just a shade below the average stack of 7.3M. He’s coming back tomorrow with 6.9M, plenty to work with. Former chip leader and Winamax Team Pro Gaelle Baumann is also still in, coming back with 5.5M. She’s a long way behind the best place female remaining though; Elisabeth Hille from Norway has 9.7M to work with.

At the bottom of the chip counts, Nicco Maag of Germany sits on 1.3M and will be coming back in shove-or-fold mode while yesterday’s chip leader Paul Volpe has a little more wriggle room with 2.6M. The players return tomorrow at 1 pm and they’ll play down to the final 9 no matter how long it takes. With the average stack less than 50 big blinds, it’s likely that it will be a relatively short day. The final 10 tables will convene at the unofficial final table and as soon as one of them is eliminated, the remaining nine will bag up and get ready to come back in October, taking away ninth place money of $754,798.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

We’re down to double digits at the 2012 WSOP Main Event. After starting the day with 282, just 97 players still have their eyes on the $8.5M first prize. They’re all guaranteed $62,000 and every pay jump is at least $10,000 from here on in, so every decision is huge, especially for the amateurs who’ll have half their focus on getting as good a pay day as possible by hanging on at the money jumps which come every 9 places.

Those who fell today included Andrew Lichtenberger in 221st, Freddy Deeb in 211th, JP Kelly in 203rd, Dan Shak in 167th, a despondent Daniel Negreanu in 160th, Sorel Mizzi in 151st, John Phan in 149th, Joseph Cheong in 116th (his worst performance in 3 years!), and Marcel Luske in 102nd.

The remaining players have an average stack of right around 2 million with the blinds set to go to 20,000/40,000 so things are beginning to close in on the remaining players and the shorter stacks will have to hop into action pretty early tomorrow to avoid getting eaten up. The plan tomorrow is to play down to 27 players or 5 full levels of play, whichever comes first.

So how do the remaining players stack up? Well, the man to catch is Kyle Keranen who is just short of 7 million, slightly ahead of Robert Salaburu on 6.2 M. Day 1 chip leader and French professional Gaelle Baumann is also on the leaderboard sitting with just under 4 M. German pro Jan Heitmann is well placed on 3.4 M, with Eric Buchman sitting right on the average of 2 M, as is David Baker and Dung Nguyen. Other well know names remaining include Jason Somerville who has 1.4 M and Erik Cajelais who has 1.2 M. Vanessa Selbst is gaining the most attention, though with 1.16 M she’s pretty short and will have to get a double up in the first couple of levels to come back into contention. As she pointed out on Twitter, she’s not even in the top 3 women remaining. On the same chip stack is Isaac Baron, with Canadian Gavin Smith in big trouble on 675,000. Dave D’Alesandro who was among the chip leaders in the early days is all the way down on 415,000 and will be looking for two good cards to get his chips in the middle with right from the word go tomorrow.

The action resumes tomorrow at 12 pm.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

After another 4 levels today in the Amazon Room at the Rio, the day 5 field is set. The players were due to play 5 levels but there was a long break due to some confusion around the bubble. 720 players started the day and within 2 hours it was bubble time. The hand-for-hand play only took one hand to burst the bubble and it was a dramatic where there were three cases of AA vs KK, one of QQ vs AA and one of 55 cracking KK. All of this action ended with 4 players all being eliminated all of whom would share 666th place prize money of $19,227. They were also due to play a four-player sit n go to decide which of them would get a free place in next year’s Main Event, but one player gave the other $2,500 each and took the seat.

Among those who squeaked into the money but were at the cashier’s desk shortly thereafter were Liv Boeree, Jason Mercier, Huck Seed, Mike McDonald, Antonio Esfandiari and NHL goalkeeper Roberto Luongo. Phil Collins who made the final table last year also busted in 393rd place, with Johnny Chan going out in 353rd and ending hopes of a repeat champion. Towards the end of play Eric Baldwin and Jackie Glazier fell and the last elimination of the day was that of Salman Behbehani in 283th place, leaving us with 282 remaining all of whom are guaranteed $38,453 as the business end of the tournament approaches.

At the end of the day, Paul Volpe is the chip leader on 2,750,000 as the blinds go to 6000/12000 with yesterday’s chip leader Dave D’Alesandro following close behind on just over 2M. There are still a few notable players in the field. Eric Buchman is also sitting at a shade over 2M and Vanessa Selbst is a little further back on 1.7M. John Phan is still in and has right about 1M, while Gavin Smith sits with 830,000. British player JP Kelly is sitting with 780,000 and former final table player Scott Montgomery is on 698,000. Marcel Luske has right around 600,000 and is still in good shape, while the likes of Dan Shak and Sorl Mizzi near the 400,000 mark will need to get moving soon. Daniel Negreanu is getting to the stage where he needs a double up; he has 300,000 while John Juanda is struggling to hang on with 194,000.

All of the 282 remaining players will be back at 12 pm tomorrow to play another 5 levels and by the end of play tomorrow we should be approaching the last 10 tables of the 2012 Main Event.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Day 3 of the 2012 WSOP has come to a close at the Rio and the field is thinning fast. There are now only about 720 players left of the 6598 that started with a dream last week and Friday the 13th is going to be an unlucky day for 60 or so players who’ll go home empty-handed, with the bubble set at 666 players.

One player who shouldn’t have to worry about squeaking through the bubble is David D’Alesandro. He’s our chip leader, sitting with 1.1M chips as the blinds go to 2,500/5,000 at the start of day 4. He’s by no means a runaway chip leader however; three other players, Sean Rice, Jacob Balsiger, and Leo Wolpert are also all above the 1M chip mark. The 666 that do make the money will be guaranteed a minimum of $19,227 but those over the 1M mark will probably have their focus on winning the $8.5M first prize, rather than min-cashing.

Taking a look at some of the popular players left, Vanessa Selbst is probably the best placed of them, sitting on 814,000 and still in with a shot of winning her second bracelet of the summer. A little further back are Sorel Mizzi, John Phan, Marcel Luske, Sean Deeb, JP Kelly, Antonio Esfandiari, Mike McDonald, Johnny Chan and Johnny Chan who are all on 400,000 or above. One of the interesting stories developing is that of Roberto Luongo; the Vancouver Canucks goalkeeper is going well on 360,000.

There are a slew of other big names still with chips in the middle of the pack, but looking at those are in trouble hovering around the 20 big blind mark or below, we find Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier are the biggest names in the group. These two are pretty unlikely to care about the bubble and will be looking to chip up by putting pressure and lower stakes players desperate to hang on for a min-cash.

Plenty of big names saw their hopes evaporate today, including Alex Kravchenko, Jake Cody, Dan Harrington, Brian Hastings, Eugene Katchalov, Vicky Coren, Barry Greenstein, Phil Galfond, Jeff Shulman, defending champ Pius Heinz, and another former winner Peter Eastgate.

The 700 or so that are still in are back tomorrow to play another 5 levels and the average stack is now around 275,000 which is good for 55 big blinds when play resumes at 12 pm.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

The players in the Main Event are well into the grind at this stage. All of the day 2 action is done now and tomorrow the field will from days 2 a, b, & c will convene in one room for the first time to play down to a winner. No more rest days or days off. From here on out its 12 hours of poker every day until the final table is set.

2300 survivors from day 1c entered the Rio this afternoon hoping to among those that would march on to day 3. At the end of the day Michael Hack is the man with the biggest chip stack, sitting on 457,000. This gives him the 3rd biggest stack overall of the remaining players. Marco Bognanni is next on 452,000. Unlike the day 2 a/b chip leader-board, there are no real big names in sight at the top of the day 2 c chip counts. Randy Haddox, who was the chip leader going into the day’s play chipped up nicely to 407,000.

Looking a little further back in the chip counts, the famous names with respectable stacks include Jake Cody, Ben Lamb, Antonio Esfandiari, Johnny Chan, Nick Shulman, Marcel Luske, Freddy Deeb, John Juanda, Shane Warne, JP Kelly, and Phil Galfond. Continuing down the list, those with less than 100,000 include Jason Mercier, Michael Binger, Joe Tehan, Dario Minieri, John Racener, Phil Collins, and Brandon Adams.

The blinds coming back tomorrow will be 800/1600 and a number of big name pros are in the danger zone with less than 20 big blinds, including Phil Laak, David Oppenheim, Luke Schwartz and Josh Arieh.

At least the have some chips to work with; Viktor Blom, Randy Lew, Prahlad Freedman, Jennifer Tilly, David Sands, Joe Cada, and one Mr. Phil Ivey have all moved their last chips over the line for this year’s WSOP, busting at various points throughout the day.

When all was said and done 911 players of the 2300 that started the day bagged up some chips. Tomorrow they join the 842 that survived day 2 a/b for a total day 3 starting field of 1753 players, just over a quarter of the initial number of entrants. We need to get through over 1,000 more eliminations before anyone gets paid, and with the average stack tomorrow being in the region of 75 big blinds, it looks like the bubble is a couple of days away yet.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

2,044 players made their way back to the Rio to play their Main Event day 2 today but the field was segregated into two groups, those who had come from day 1a, which was a total of 657 players, and those from day 1b which sent 1,387 players through.

The blinds kicked off at 250/500 so anyone who made it back with just their starting stack in tact still had 60 big blinds to work with. The remaining players will be amalgamated with those from day 2c which gets underway tomorrow into a single field. Leading the charge for the 2a/2b players will be Frenchwoman Gaelle Baumann who is a Winamax Team Pro. She sits on 505,800 with the blinds ticking over to 800/1600 at the start of level 11 on Thursday, meaning she has over 300 big blinds, a nice spot to be in with what will likely be 1/3 of the total field remaining.

Mark Demirdjian is 2nd on the chip leader-board at a shade under 500,000, followed by Shaun Deeb on 460,900. Next up is Kevin Davis who was gifted his spot on the leaderboard when his opponent open shoved 166 big blinds on the button with AK on the last hand of the day, running into Davis’ Aces. Vanessa Selbst and Daniel Negreanu are also going very well with 350,000 and 277,000 respectively.

Others to make it through day 2 in good shape include Eugene Katchalov, Gavin Smith, Mike McDonald, Maria Ho, Brian Hastings Shawn Buchanan, David Pham, Peter Eastgate, Faraz Jaka, and ice hockey pro Roberto Luongo.

Players who still have chips but have fallen into the danger zone are Pius Heinz, Marco Traniello, Adam Levy, Barry Greenstein, and Vicky Coren.

Those who bade farewell to the 2012 included Sam Barnhart, Gabe Kaplan, David Peat, Isaac Haxton, Galen Hall, Mike Matusow, Andy Black, Erik Seidel, Allen Cunningham, David Williams, Mike Sexton, and Chau Giang.

In total, 842 players survived the combined day 2s and they’ll be joined on Thursday by however many of the 2,300 players lining out for day 1c tomorrow survive. It’s looking like a total combined field of over 2,000 coming back in total, and with 666 paid there’s still a long way to go to even min-cash. With so many of the big name pros going well, we’re guaranteed to have plenty to talk about over the coming days when everyone moves into the same room.

Play is due to continue until Monday July 16th when we’ll be down to the final nine.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

As expected, day 1c of the 2012 Main Event was the busiest of all of the day 1s. From 1,066 on day 1a 2,114 yesterday, a massive 3,418 players were on hand today to bring the total number of runners this year to 6,598, creating a prizepool $62,021,200 with just over $8.5M heading for the pocket of the last man standing. Day 1c also broke the record for the largest single day Main Event field.

The day 1c chip leader is Rand Haddox who bagged up just over 188,000 though he’s a long way behind the overall chip leader William John who sits with over 260,000 and will be back for day 2a tomorrow. Brandon Adams is probably the best known name on the day 1c leaderboard; he’s got 158,000.

Also going well is Doyle Brunson, despite saying he wasn’t going to play the Main Event. Doyle has 81,400 and joins the likes of Joe Cada, Viktor Blom, Leif Force, Gus Hansen, Randy Lew, Phil Galfond, Michael Mizrachi, Dario Minieri, Phil Collins and JP Kelly who all of playable stacks going into day 2c which will take place on Wednesday. Among those who are still in but below starting stack are Andre Akkari, Jamie Gold, Marcel Luske, Jason Mercier, Jennifer Tilly, and Phil Ivey.

Thos who didn’t make it through to day 2 from today’s starting field include Andrew Robl, Lex Veldhuis, Chris Moneymaker, Andrew Badecker, David Bach and Xuan Liu.

Viktor Blom was involved in one of the more strange hands of the day when the dealer got a little confused about how no-limit games work. Blom cold 4-bet with AK form the big blind and the original 3-bettor made another raise. Blom then went all-in and was told that he wasn’t allowed to do so as the action was capped at 4 raises! Obviously with a big of gentle persuasion from the table the dealer retracted his ruling and the two got the rest of the money in with Blom trailing the KK of his opponent. Two Aces on the board however doubled Blom up to the 90k chips that he sits with going into day 2.

Day 2 a and b players are set for another 12-hour shirt beginning at 12pm tomorrow, while the day 2c players will have a day off to prepare for what will hopefully be another week of poker!

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

There is more to betting on the British Open Golf Championship that just trying to name the winner. Of course this is the headline bet and many punters will take three or four golfers against the field in the hope of hitting the jackpot. It is certainly worth comparing prices amongst the major bookmakers and looking out for special offers. VCBet are offering a money-back option on win bets if any of Westwood, Garcia, Poulter or Donald lift the claret jug next weekend.

Once you’ve placed your bets you can sit back and enjoy the golf but it pays to keep an eye on the fluctuating prices throughout the tournament. Obviously the early leaders will have their prices slashed overnight but as the competition warms up you can still find some great value. Keep an eye on the seasoned professionals who start off with a couple of steady rounds. If you notice which players are striking the ball well but not having much luck on the greens, you could come up with a golfer ready to mount a challenge over the closing couple of rounds. If you’re lucky enough to have selected one of the leaders at a big price you could always hedge your bets by supporting one of his main challengers.

As well as the winner, there are daily bets available on the three-balls and match-ups as well as markets on the final winning margin. William Hill are offering 12/5 against a playoff this year and 5/2 against a one stroke winning margin. Skybet cannot wait for the action to begin and are already offering prices on the first hole score of some of the leading players! They are also betting on the winners final score after 72 holes and for play to be suspended at any stage of the tournament.

There are many ways to keep your interest alive throughout the Open 2012 so it may be worth spreading your risk over the four days rather than lumping it all on to Woods or Westwood before the action gets under way. There is always plenty of support for Woods and the leading Europeans but there have been many surprise winners of the event so don’t be afraid to follow a player in form or a past champion. There are some massive prices available about some of the past winners including Louis Oosthuizen (50-1 William Hill), Paul Lawrie (60-1 Bet365) and Ben Curtis (100-1 William Hill). Curtis is one of a number of American challengers as they attempt to be in possession of all four majors for the first time since 2004.

Keegan Bradley won last year’s PGA Championship followed by Bubba Watson in the Masters and Webb Simpson winning the US Open last month, all three of them being first-time major winners. Apart from Woods, only Phil Mickelson cannot be backed at odds of 50-1 or bigger so could the American challenge be under-estimated?

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Manchester City announced on July 9 that manager Roberto Mancini of Italy has signed a five-year extension to his contract after leading the club to its first league championship in 44 years last season. The news was met with praise by the squad, especially 29-year-old Yaya Toure, who then promptly pledged his future to the club.

Toure, an Ivory Coast international, said he wants to stay at City with Mancini and win as much silverware as possible, starting the with the Premier League title again in the upcoming season. The club also won the FA Cup two season ago, which was its first trophy of any kind in 35 years.

But while Mancini is taking a lot of the credit, he certainly has had a lot of help from the club’s billionaire owners. It could be argued that any manager could have won the league with the players he has at his disposal.

Toure “extremely happy” with Mancini

Toure said he was extremely happy to hear that Mancini will extend his stay at the Ethihad Stadium since it’s important there is stability at the club, especially after winning a couple of trophies. The midfielder said Mancini’s signing means the team can carry on in the long term with its winning formula without major disruption. He added that Mancini can plan for the future and continue to build the squad, just like Sir Alex Ferguson has had the opportunity to do with Manchester United over the past 25 years.

Toure arrived at Manchester City in 2010 after transferring from Spanish giants Barcelona. He’s become a fan favourite and one of City’s most versatile players since then and also chips in with some important goals. It was rumoured throughout the summer that he may be headed back to Barcelona, but he shot those down by saying he’s happy at Manchester and can envision the team winning more trophies.

He said he, Mancini, and the rest of the squad are all pulling in the same direction because they share the same passion, which is to win as many titles as possible. Mancini himself was also linked to the Russian national team, which is looking for a new manager since Dutchman Dick Advocaat resigned after Euro 2012. However, this is football and it appears that contracts and promises don’t really mean much these days. We’ll see where Mancini and Toure are in five year’s time when the manager’s contract is about to expire.

City is the favourite with most of the top bookmakers to retain the Premier League title this upcoming 2012/2013 season with William Hill listing them at 5/4 to win the league. Manchester United is next at 5/2 with Chelsea at 9/2 and Arsenal at 8/1. However, there are still a few weeks to go before the season kicks off and big-name transfers might still be made. City could possibly say goodbye to strikers Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez while striker Robin Van Persie of Arsenal could still be added to the squad.

Author Profile: Stefan+

With the WSOP National Championship final table not due to take place until July 11th, the Main Event is now the only show in town at the WSOP and the process of whittling what will likely be 6,000+ players down to the final nine is well underway.

After just over a thousand players turning out yesterday, today saw nearly double that amount with 2,114 players taking their seats at 12 pm. The total number of entrants is now at 3,180 with just day 1c to come. The final starting day is always the most popular and there’s a good chance that the 6,000 mark will be broken, but few expect it to reach last year’s total of 6,865.

The biggest winner yesterday was John Huang, who ran his 30,000 starting stack up to 180,000 over 4 two-hour levels of play. The ever dangerous Vanessa Selbst also had a great day and she’s up at 168,350 after having the dream set-up of AA vs KK during the day. Daniel Negreanu announced very early on Twitter that he was out having lost to a one outer in the first level, but this turned out to be a joke and he in fact had a very good day finishing up on 140,075.

Among those who went out today were Tom Dwan, Victor Ramdin, Elky, and UFC star Georges St-Pierre. There were plenty of big names that were bagging up at the end of play however. Maria Ho, Shaun Deeb, and Brian Hastings are all over the 100,000 mark, and Eugene Katchalov, Dani Stern, Dan Harrington, Sam Farha, Barry Greenstein, and Andrew Lichtenberger all have playable stacks.

The likes of Brian Rast, Vanessa Rousso, Max Pescatori, TJ Cloutier, Leo Margets and Erik Seidel are also still in but all of them have less than the starting stack of 30,000. Still, with such a slow structure the blinds are only going to 250/500 at the start of day 2 so anyone with 10,000 or more has plenty of fold equity and isn’t more than a double up from being right back in it.

Day 1c takes place tomorrow starting from 3 pm, and then on Tuesday the 10th of July players from day 1a and Day 1b will come back to play their day 2. They’ll be in separate tournament areas however and the fields won’t be merged until day 3, which begins at 12 pm on Thursday July 12th.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Last summer Luka Modric was embroiled in a furious transfer struggle between Tottenham and Chelsea that eventually ended with a £40 million bid being turned down. Modric seemed desperate to make the move across London for Champions League football but it wasn’t to be. After a patchy start to the season he gradually returned to form to help Tottenham achieve a fourth place finish, ironically to be denied Champions League football by Chelsea’s subsequent victory in Munich.

The shock departure of Harry Redknapp and the appointment of former Porto and Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has not deterred Modric from seeking to ply his trade elsewhere and it seems certain that the Croatian will finally be allowed to leave. The bookmakers usually have a handle on these things and their current betting suggests that Modric will shortly become a Real Madrid player. Betting has been closed on whether or not he will still be at White Hart Lane by the end of the summer transfer window. The latest bookmakers odds are 1-4 Real Madrid, 8-1 Manchester United, 10-1 Paris St Germain and 16-1 Chelsea.

Paris St Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti has recently praised Modric but has refused to confirm whether he will make a move for the Croatian international. PSG do have the means to compete with the Spanish giants Real Madrid. Last summer they went on a spending spree funded by their new Qatari owners but failed to capture the Ligue 1 title. They have recently been linked with a double swoop for AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva.

Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed that 26-year-old Modric is intent on leaving Spurs and that discussions are continuing with ‘various interested clubs’. It seems doubtful that Chelsea will be renewing their interest after last summer’s snub and they have already been active in the transfer market with the signings of Marin and Hazard. Modric has been a key player in Tottenham’s midfield since 2008 and it will be a blow to the club, especially having recently persuaded Gareth Bale to commit to a four-year contract.

Earlier in the summer, Manchester United were firm favourites to secure Modric but their odds have gone right out in recent weeks. It seems unlikely that Modric will be joining a rival Premier League club and it could develop into a straight choice between Madrid and PSV. The only remaining sticking point seems to be the fee. Whether Tottenham will live to regret turning down the £40 million that was on the table last summer remains to be seen.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Former Southampton skipper Claus Lundekvam has claimed that spot-fixing was a regular occurrence at The Dell during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In an interview with Norwegian TV, Lundekvam said that “For a while we did this almost every week. We made a fair bit of money. We could make deals with the opposing captain about, for example, betting on the first throw, the first corner, who started with the ball, a yellow card or a penalty. The results were never on the agenda. That is something I would never have done.”

FIFA’s chief investigator in England will look into Lundekvam’s claims of betting fraud. Inevitably, his former team-mates have found themselves in the spotlight and have been quick to deny any involvement. Lundekvam was a regular for Southampton between 1996 and 2008 and went on to captain the team. Matthew Le Tissier, who had admitted one incident of attempted spot-fixing in his autobiography, re-iterated his claim that it had been an isolated incident and denied any knowledge of Lundekvam’s claims. In 2009, Le Tissier admitted betting on the timing of a first throw-in and attempting to kick the ball out of play deliberately, a year before Lundekvam’s arrival.

Francis Benali, who preceded Lundekvam as Saints skipper and made 371 appearances for the club, told BBC Radio Solent that he was totally unaware of any spot-fixing going on during his time at the club and that, had there been anything to Lundekvam’s claims, he would surely have known about it. He also indicated that Lundekvam’s admissions of alcohol and drug problems may be behind this story. Former Saints boss Dave Jones also denied any knowledge of betting scams taking place during his time in charge between 1997 and 2000.

Whether or not there is any truth to Lundekvam’s claims, it is bound to cause some controversy. It is certainly not the sort of story that Southampton need hanging over them as they prepare for their return to the Premiership. The most recent high profile spot-fixing case involved the Indian Cricket Premier League and eventually led to the banning of five cricketers. The early indications are that this story will only have a short life span but FIFA will need to act quickly to make sure that it does not proliferate. With betting now available on almost any incident during a football match, the temptations must be enormous, particularly in the lower leagues. With other sports such as horse racing also having to get its house in order recently, FIFA must be concerned that stories such as this could open a can of worms.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

We’re down to the last few side events at the 2012 WSOP and the Main Event kicked off today so let’s see who the winners and losers were.

In the huge $1,000 NLHE poker event that had a field of over 4,000 we found a winner in Dominik Nietsche. There were 51 left coming into day 3 and an hectic day saw them falling fast right from the off. Nietsche took a big chip lead into the final table and dominated the play. When he got to heads-up play against Jonathan Hilton he had a 3:1 chip lead, but it took him a while to shake Hilton off. He goes home with $654,797 and the bracelet.

In the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship, there were 10 players coming back today including defending champion John Juanda. He could only manage 6th place though, and when heads-up play started it was between Nick Shulman annd Mike Wattel. Shulman had a huge chip lead and it took him very little time to dispense with Wattel and win this event for the second time. He wins $294,321 for winning the 101 player event.

Over at the WSOP National Championship, 39 players became 8 today. Yung Hwang has the chip lead on 1.224M going into the final day’s play. Eugene Katchalov, Brian Rast, and Nick Binger all made the money but fell short of the final table. David Baker did make it in, but he’s the short stack. Play resumes at 1 pm tomorrow.

The $10,000 Main Event had it’s first day 1 today. This year there will be only 3 starting days so although the field was up to 1066, an increase on last year, it doesn’t really tell us too much about what the field might be. Phil Hellmuth decided to play today but got nothing going. He was eliminated on the last level of the day. Among the famous names who will be coming back… Faraz Jaka, Hoyt Corkins, Isaac Haxton, and Pius Heinz. The chip leader from day 1a is John William, who sits on 266,700 a full 100,000 more than his nearest rival and nearly 9 times the starting stack. Day 1b kicks off tomorrow at 12 pm and there should be a slightly larger field for that one, with players like Daniel Negreanu and Ben Lamb stating that they intend to play tomorrow.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

FIFA has announced on July 11 that it will be investigating remarks made by former Southampton captain Claus Lundekvam regarding illegal betting in the English Premier League. The 39-year-old, who played for the Saints from 1996 to 2008, claims that betting was common during the 1990s when team captains would collude with each other on things such as the first throw-in, corner kick, yellow card, or penalty etc.

Lundekvam, who played 40 internationals for Norway and over 350 matches for Southampton claimed that some aspects of the game were manipulated by players to win bets. He said it was common for players to make bets, but they’d never wager on the outcome of a match. He added that it was a part of the football lifestyle and players made bets of 100 or 1,000 pounds each just for the fun and excitements of it. He said that staff members of the clubs were given the money to place the bets for the players.

FIFA released a statement that said it will be monitoring the claims made by Lundekvam to see if there is any validity to them. The ex-player told a television station in Norway that the incidents took place in the late 1990s and continued into the early 2000s. He said he’s not proud that he was involved in it, but it took place just about every week and the players made a substantial amount of money on the scheme.

He claimed that it was easy to bet on parts of the games such as the first corners and throw-ins since players had control over that part of the game and it didn’t raise any suspicions. He admitted that the players’ betting was illegal but it was exciting and game results never entered the equation. However, Lundekvam’s statements have drawn the attention of FIFA as well as English football authorities and they’re taking them seriously.

Of course, if betting was rampant in the 1990s and early 2000s then it’s possible that players are still involved in it. And while Lundekvam said they never wagered on the outcomes of games, he admitted that penalties were sometimes bet on and they could indirectly affect results of matches. While some people are taking the former player’s statements as proof that illegal betting exists in the English Premier League, others feel Lundekvam is selling his story for money.

He is known to have had alcohol and drug problems at the end of his career and some people are dismissing his claims. But while he may have proof that illegal betting existed, it’s going to be hard for FIFA or anybody else to stop it from happening in nations where gambling is legal. Players simply have other people make the bets for them and then cash in if they can make them pay off.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Last year the Scottish Open was switched from Loch Lomond to Castle Stuart ahead of the Open Championship only for torrential rain to reduce the tournament to 54 holes. The recent weather does not offer a lot of encouragement for this week’s event but hopefully the rain will relent in time for players to hone their game in time for Royal Lytham next week.

Defending Champion Luke Donald is the bookmakers favourite at a conservative 8-1 (9.00) with William Hill and he will partner Richie Ramsay and Ernie Els in the tournament that starts tomorrow Thursday 12th July. American Phil Mickelson requested a place in the event last weekend and will tee off with Scotland’s two highest-ranked players Paul Lawrie and Martin Laird. Padraig Harrington is a popular choice but is still available at 16-1 (17.00) with Ladbrokes. Prior to his British Open victories of 2007 and 2008, Harrington snubbed the former venue of Loch Lomond course in favour of the Irish PGA Championship but is happy to be back on a links course.

He believes it is an ideal test the week before the major and will be looking to tighten up his game for Lytham. It is no surprise that he is being supported this week after high finishes at the US Open, Travelers Championship and the Irish Open. Harrington has spent a couple of years taking his game apart and rebuilding it and the work finally seems to be starting to pay off.

Another popular selection will be Ernie Els, twice a previous winner of the Scottish Open. Els is returning after a short break and is keen to get back into the thick of the action. He showed signs of a return to form at the Olympic Club last month and the 25-1 freely available with most firms will attract plenty of interest. Fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen enjoyed his finest moment when taking the field apart to win the British Open at St Andrews in 2010 and he also looks generously priced at 28-1 with William Hill. Martin Kaymer won this event in 2009 and is still available at 33-1, the same price as Thomas Bjorn.

One person who is desperate for a top five finish is 21-year-old Tom Lewis. He has missed five of his last six halfway cuts and needs a high finish this week to earn his place at Lytham. The Welwyn Garden golfer pulled out of the Irish Open and flew to Las Vegas to see Mickelson’s coach Butch Harmon in an effort to correct his game. Last year he recorded an opening 65 at Royal St George’s to give himself a share of the lead with Thomas Bjorn and achieve the lowest-ever round by an amateur in Open history. Bet365 don’t see the youngster correcting his game overnight and offer 200-1 about a victory for him this week.

Although the event is looked upon largely as a last chance to hit form before the British Open, it is a worthy title in itself and competition is certain to be fierce.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Roger Charlton’s Bated Breath heads a truly international field of 21 six-day entries for the July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday and has been installed as 7-2 favourite with William Hill. Charlton’s Dansili colt was just denied by Hong Kong raider Little Bridge in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot last time out. The ground was softer than he prefers so it was a fine effort in the circumstances and connections will be hoping for a break in the miserable summer weather. Last summer he was denied victory in this Group 1 race by Dream Ahead and Hayley Turner and he looks a worthy favourite.

On his seasonal debut, Bated Breath had broken the course record for five furlongs at by holding off the late challenge of Sole Power. Best backed against him so far has been Society Rock, now down to 7-1 with William Hill. He missed the break in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes but ran on courageously to finish on the heels of the leaders behind Black Caviar. Trainer James Fanshawe was distraught at having missed his chance of beating the great Australian mare and Ryan Moore has been booked to ride on Saturday. The five-year-old son of Rock of Gibraltar will need to reverse placings with the fourth-placed Soul, formerly trained in Australia but now in the care of Godolphin.

Soul (16-1 with Ladbrokes) put up a fine effort in the Diamond Jubilee and his proximity to the winner has been largely overlooked. Soul recorded a victory at Meydan before finishing last on his next start but showed clear signs of a return to form at Ascot and was less than a length and a half down at the finish. There is no Black Caviar to worry about here but Australia will still be represented by Ortensia, a disappointing ninth when favourite at Ascot and held by Bated Breath on that form. However, Trainer Paul Messara believes the mare lost her race in the paddock and has put in extra paddock schooling ahead of the Newmarket race. A bigger concern may be the ground that still looks like being on the soft side.

There were two supplementary entries for the race, with the Irish-trained Wokingham Winner Dandy Boy upped in class and Richard Hannon entering top miler Strong Suit. Strong Suit had no chance in his comeback race behind Frankel at Ascot and this will be his first race over six furlongs since his two-year-old days. Dandy Boy could be the surprise packet of the race having clocked a faster time than Black Caviar at Ascot. He needs to step up again but the top price of 14-1 with Ladbrokes probably won’t last long. The son of Danetime produced a devastating burst of speed at the Royal meeting and will be a threat to all if he is in the same frame of mind.

The continued wet weather is giving connections of Sepoy cause for concern as they hope to run former Golden Slipper winner in Saturday’s event. The race has been earmarked as the last race for Sepoy before returning to Australia to as a stallion to Darley’s Kelvinside Stud in the Hunter Valley. Godolphin Trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni believes that he has the four-year-old back in top form but they will not risk the horse on heavy ground.

The international flavour to the race is completed by Krypton Factor, trained by Bahrain based Fawzi Nass. Partnered by Kieren Fallon, Krypton Factor won the valuable Golden Shaheen in Dubai and is another that was far from disgraced in Black Caviar’s Ascot race.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

I’m not one of the biggest online casino players around as I’m mostly hitting the live dealer blackjack tables or sometimes trying some new slot games. I must admit though, playing on the iPad is very convenient and this led me to try some old classic games as well. I am sure gambling on the iPad will improve even more as more casinos are converting to mobile friendly versions of their sites.

After getting bored of the Tomb Raider slot I found an old time favorite that I haven’t played in ages… the classic video poker game Jacks or Better. It’s an extremely simple game that most people know. A pair of jacks or higher gives a win and then there is always the option of trying to double the win or loosing it. If you want some more info and rules, see the Wikipedia page on Video poker.

I had a good start and won a bit in the first 20 minutes, then as you can see in the video below, I just couldn’t manage to get enough wins and zeroed my account (Too much Double? Noooooo…)

Will sure get on it again soon though, this game reminds me of the old slot machines in the pubs, before the time of most internet casino sites, even though you still find them in many places of course.

In the video I’m playing at the Spin Palace mobile casino, one of the best ones for the iPad I would say, on the Microgaming network. Could be a bit more games though, but I’ve heard there will soon be added a few more.

You have any tips on other good casinos or fun games for the iPad/iPhone? For now I’m just waiting for live dealer games that works well on the iPad

Author Profile: Stefan+

Two players came back for the heads-up battle in the $10,000 Shorthanded NLHE Championship and they needed just one hand to finish things. Keith Lehr 3-bet and called Gregory Merson’s shove with K9s and was up against AQo and though the flop helped him, a Q on the turn sealed his fate. Merson win’s the bracelet and a staggering $1.136M for his victory.

The other event to play down to a winner today was the $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha hi/lo. Roch Cousineau, Viacheslav Zhukov, and Chris Bell couldn’t get things finished yesterday so they came back to decide who gets the bracelet and the $330,277 first place money today. Bell, who was the short stack was first out today after coming from a pretty big chip deficit, Zhukov overturned Cousineau to win in the end when his A25J scooped against AAT9. Cousineau has made the final 3 twice this year but come up short on both occasions.

In the final $1,000 NLHE of the year, the massive field of 4620 has been whittled down to just 51 players. Alex Corderdo on 822k and Franklin Johnson on 789k have a huge lead on the field with their nearest rival at 593k, with the blinds going to 5k/10k when play resumes at 1 pm tomorrow. Cordero was the overall chip leader after both day 1s were complete and it was quite a feat to hold the lead in the huge field. Jake Cody who also went well on day 1 will be coming bakc with 302,000.

In the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship, 10 players remain from the 54 that started today. Amazingly, John Juanda is in a great position to defend his title, sitting second in chips behind Ashton Griffin. Nick Shulman sits 3rd in chips with Andy Bloch the short stack. Daniel Negreanu, Marco Traniello, Jason Mercier, and Eric Seidel all made the money but were eliminated towards the end of play today. There’s $294,321 on offer to the winner and they’re back at 1 pm to figure out who it’s going to be.

Finally for today, the WSOP National Championship got underway. The event is open to players who have won a WSOP circuit event or are in the WSOP Top 100 in the player rankings. In total 157 turned out for the event and at the end of play Brian Rast is at the top of the heap with Elky close behind. There are 39 players left at the end of play there’s a huge$ 416,051 on offer to the winner; not bad for topping a 157 player field.

Tomorrow, it’s the big one; day 1a of the Main Event kicks off at 12 pm. Stay with us for updates throughout the Main Event!

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

The 2012 British Open, the 141st in history, will tee off in Lancashire, England on Thursday July 19th at the Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s Golf Course and winds up on July 22nd. As usual, it’ll feature the world’s top golfers as they attempt to capture the year’s third Grand Slam.

Last year’s winner Darren Clarke is actually a long shot to defend the title with sportsbook Bet365 at 150/1 (151.00). As far as we’ve seen, they offer the best odds selection for the 2012 British Open.

Many fans aren’t used to seeing Clarke participate on the PGA Tour since he usually golfs in Europe. This year he’s taken part in the Honda Classic, the Masters, the Accenture Match Play Championships, the Shell Houston Open, and the Cadillac Championship. Clarke also took the Iberdrola Open in May of last year before he golfed four steady rounds at Royal St. George’s to win the British open. He became the first Northern Irish to win the British Open since 1947 when Fred Daly was triumphant.

However, Northern Irish golfers are currently among the best in the world and that’s why Rory McIlroy (12/1 odds) can never be counted lout these days and is among the favourites to win the event this year. McIlroy is an up-and-comer on the PGA Tour, but we haven’t really seen too much of him this year as of yet. He had his problem during the year’s first two majors by shooting five-over par at the Masters. He also missed the cut at the US Open by shooting 10-over in two rounds.

However, McIlroy is definitely capable of a lot more than that and his skill means he’s a threat to win any tournament he participates in. if there’s anything holding him back, it could be his confidence at the moment. Collapsing at last year’s Masters wouldn’t have helped it either. However, by rebounding and winning the US Open shortly after, showed what he’s made of.

As with all golf tournaments he enters, all eyes are going to be on American Tiger Woods, who’s a three-time winner of the British Open (2000, 2005, and 2006) and favoured in the British Open betting to win this one at odds of 6/1 (7.00). It’s been a while since Woods has won the tournament, but since last being crowned champion, he’s won a US Open and a pair of PGA Championships. US based bookie 5Dimes offers +775 (8.75) on Tiger to win this major.

Woods didn’t take part in the British Open last year and he hasn’t finished in the top 10 since last winning it. All of us at GamblingNerd.com thinks the odds on Tiger are too low in almost all competitions he enters lately.

Before his last win, Woods finished in the top nine at the British Open seven out of his last nine appearances and four times in a row. Wins has 74 all-time PGA wins with 14 of them coming at majors. Woods has definitely been playing better this year compared to the last couple and recently won the AT&T National at Congressional. His last major was the US Open in 2008 though.

Another threat to take the British Open is Bubba Watson (40/1 odds). This will be his second major this year and his work will be cut out for him if he’s going to reach the winner’s circle. Watson had a hard time of it at this year’s US Open, but of course, he won the Masters. He’s won four PGA tournaments so far in his career.

One golfer who will be missed at the British Open is this year’s US Open winner Webb Simpson. He’s placed in the top-10 in five different tournaments this year already and is on a bit of a roll. He’s also won three tournaments since last August. However, Simpson said he’s skipping the British Open to spend some time with his family. He’s played in just five major tournaments so far in his career and has made the cut four times.
Some of the other golfers with a good shot at taking the British Open include Lee Westwood (10/1), Luke Donald (16/1), Phil Mickelson (25/1), Graeme McDowell (25/1), and Padraig Harrington (18/1).

Author Profile: Stefan+

The first event we check in with today is the $10,000 Shorthanded NLHE Championship. Play started today with 27 players remaining including some of the big names. Eugene Katchalov went out in 21st, with Jason Mercier falling in 14th and Layne Flack going out in 8th. At the end of the day it came down to Gregory Mason and Keith Lehr and they hit the hard stop with Mason holding a 2:1 chip lead. They’ll fight it out for the $1.13M first prize starting back at 1 pm tomorrow.

The $3,000 PLO hi/lo event was another that was scheduled to finish today but didn’t get there. Bryan Devonshire went out early in 29th, with Stephen Su falling in 17th and Anthondy Lellouche in 14th. Scotty Nguyen managed to hang on until 8th and David Baker claimed 4th, but that’s as far as we got today. Roch Cousineau, Viacheslav Zhukov, and Chris Bell will be coming back tomorrow with Cousineau having about half the chips and Bell the short stack on 10 big blinds. The winner of this one is due to take home $330,277.

In the $1,000 NLHE event that had two starting days, a massive field of 2880 played day 1b for a total starting field of 4620. Of the 2880 from day 1b, 471 are still in the hunt with the biggest stack of the day belonging to Alex Cordero on just over 100,000. Jake Cody has the second biggest stack, sitting with 77,600. Among the big names that made it through day 1b were Nam Le, Jeff Madsen, Marvin Rettenmaier, and Humbero Brenes. The remaining players from both day 1s will reconvene at 1 pm tomorrow and they total 726 players.

In the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship, just 101 players turned out and at the end of play 54 are remaining. Konstantin Porter is the chip leader at the end of 8 levels, with Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, and Andy Bloch all on the leaderboard. John Juanda is still in, as well as Mike Matusow, Jason Mercier, Phil Galfond, and Michael Binger are also all still in. Among those eliminated today were Phil Hellmuth, Shaun Deeb, and Michael Mizrachi.

Just one event takes place tomorrow and it’s the WSOP National Championship. This event is restricted to people who have won a WSOP Circuit main event or are in the top 100 in the WSOP World Rankings and is expected to have a field of between 100 and 200 players. After that, it’s just the main event to go!

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Brazil will be attempting to win its first gold medal in football at this summer’s Olympic Games in England. Manager Mano Menezes knows the fans back home would love to see the squad bring the gold home with them and has included some of the nation’s top young players on the team as well as defender Thiago Silva of AC Milan, Porto striker Hulk and defender Marcelo of Real Madrid as the team’s three over age players.

Ladbrokes.com are putting Brazil as favorites for 2.75 in odds, before Spain, which is probably a correct decision.

The 18-man squads have to consist of players aged 23 and under with three over aged members allowed. Some of the young stars named include Paulo Henrique Ganso, Neymar, Leandro Damiao, Oscar, Alexandre Pato, Rafael, Sandro, and Lucas. While Brazil has won the World Cup a record five times, the country has never won an Olympic tournament. Brazil hasn’t come home empty handed from the Olympics on every occasion though since they won the silver medal in both 1988 and 1984 and captured the bronze in 2008 and 1996.

There’s a lot of pressure on Menezes’ shoulders since the Brazilian football federation stated that the Olympics is a priority. A poor performance by the team in Britain could cost Menezes his managerial position prior to the 2014 World Cup, which will be hosted by Brazil. The strong line-up proves the Brazilians are serious about the Olympics and will be among the favourites to reach the podium. Many of the same players are also expected to play for the world Cup squad too.

The team is so strong that several experienced stars were cut from the final selection. Menezes originally chose a provisional squad of 35, but when the final 18 were announced there was no room for defenders David Luiz of Chelsea and Daniel Alves of Barcelona as well as forward Philippe Coutinho of Espanyol. Other over age players who were ruled out included Robinho, Ronaldinho, and Kaka.

Brazil has already played four pre-tournament games and Menezes said some of the players who impressed him during those matches, such as hulk, were selected to the team. The manager said Hulk adds quite a bit of strength to the squad and he also possesses a lot of experience. He added that he felt it was important to add an experienced striker as one of the squad’s over age players.

Menezes said Thiago Silva was actually chosen for the squad some time ago, but Marcelo worked his way onto the team during the pre-tournament games with his excellent play. However, he feels the team still has a lot of hard work ahead if it since they lost games to 4-3 to Lionel Messi and Argentina and 2-0 against Mexico while beating Denmark and America.

The Brazilians will head over to Europe on July 16th and then take on Great Britain at Middlesbrough on July 20th before kicking off their Olympic schedule against Egypt at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on July 26th. The team will then head to Old Trafford for a match against Belarus on July 29th and will finish its Group C schedule on Aug 1st in Newcastle where they meet New Zealand.

Brazil Olympic 2012 Squad

Rafael Cabral (Santos), Neto (Fiorentina); Alex Sandro (Porto), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Rafael (Manchester United), Danilo (Porto), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Bruno Uvini (Sao Paulo), Juan (Inter Milan); Sandro (Tottenham), Romulo (Spartak Moscow), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Oscar (Internacional), Lucas Moura (Sao Paulo); Neymar (Santos), Leandro Damiao (International), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Hulk (Porto).

Author Profile: Stefan+

Andy Murray is now 7-4 with Bet365 to win the Wimbledon title after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets in their semi-final clash. The man standing in his way is none other than six-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer who ended Novak Djokovic’s title hopes on Friday.

Murray has now become the first Briton to reach the final of the men’s event since Bunny Austin in 1938 and is now just one match away from following in the footsteps of Fred Perry who won the tournament in 1936. The Scot, who began Wimbledon fortnight as a 12-1 chance with the bookmakers after some moderate performances, has picked up his game when it matters most and was greatly helped by the early exit of Rafael Nadal. That left his side of the draw invitingly open and, although Ferrer and Tsonga are World Class players, they are ranked a good few places below Murray and he was rightly favourite to reach the final. In defeating both players in four sets, he arrives at the final at the peak of his game.

Roger Federer moved within sight of equalling Pete Sampras’s record of seven Wimbledon titles by defeating the World Number One Novak Djokovic. Federer has won sixteen major tournaments but it would be foolish to believe that this one will mean any less to the Swiss superstar. Victory over Murray would see him reclaim the status of World Number 1 in a year that has seen a sustained challenge from Federer to the perceived dominance of Djokovic and Nadal. His last Wimbledon final was back in 2009 and it would be an outstanding achievement for him to clinch a seventh title this weekend. Djokovic put up a strangely subdued performance on Centre Court of Friday and Federer seized his chance. Bet365 make Federer 1-2 to thwart Murray’s title dreams.

They also offer numerous other markets including individual sets, total number of games and handicap betting. The shortest price on offer for set score is 11-5 for Federer to win by three to nil, whereas it is 6-1 against Murray prevailing by the same score.

In contrast to the men’s final, the women’s final is seen as a foregone conclusion by the bookmakers with Serena Williams at 1-7 Agnieszka Radwanska (9-2). If Murray cannot end Britain’s drought in the men’s tournament, there is still hope of a British victory in the doubles event. Jonny Marray became the first Briton to reach the men’s doubles final at Wimbledon for 52 years when partnering Freddie Nielsen stunned the defending champions Mike and Bob Bryan from America. Marray and Danish-born Nielsen will face Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau or Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in the final.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Goal-line technology has finally been approved by the International FA Board and will be introduced into English football as early as the new year. The Premier League is to engage in talks with two manufacturers, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, with the intention of bringing the technology in midway through the new season. It could also be used for the coming season’s FA Cup semi-finals and final.

FA general secretary Alex Horne said the Hawk-Eye system that was used for a trial at Wembley last month is still present and could be switched on, tested and licensed for FA Cup and possibly England. FIFA would have to agree before it could be used for international fixtures. FIFA president Sepp Blatter, opposed to the new technology for so long, admitted that the incident with Frank Lampard‘s disallowed goal for England against Germany in the 2010 World Cup had changed his mind. The subject was back in the public eye when Ukraine were denied a goal against England in Euro 2012 when John Terry hooked a ball out from beyond the line.

Blatter stressed that there are no plans to introduce new technology to rule on other decisions such as offsides, fouls or diving. He said that, “Other than the goal-line technology, football must preserve its human face.” The first introduction of the new systems will take place at FIFA’s Club World Cup in Japan in December with each system in one of the two stadiums. Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said that the cost would be around 150,000 to 250,000 US dollars per stadium. One thing that will not be happening is replays of the goal-line decisions being shown on big screens to spectators, as they are at Wimbledon through the Hawk-Eye system. The IFAB believes that replays could lead to a major issue with crowd management.

Meanwhile, UEFA president Michel Platini continues to bury his head in the sand and there will be no new technology used for the Champions League, even when it is available in the stadiums. He has been outspoken in his opposition to the scheme despite the numerous incidents in high profile matches. His fierce opposition is difficult to understand as football continues to drag its feet behind other sports. Whilst it is understandable that sports’ governing bodies struggle to break with tradition, the evidence from tennis and cricket suggests that there is no good reason to oppose the move. By refusing to entertain a system that can provide fast and efficient solutions, UEFA is living in the dark ages. Hopefully, the introduction of goal-line technology in the Premier League will prove so successful that UEFA will be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Ohio’s first casino, the Horseshoe in Cleveland, has attracted quite a bit of attention since it opened, but the news hasn’t exactly been all good. Seven people were recently charged with cheating at roulette and numerous other games including craps and blackjack.

Mike De Wine, the Ohio attorney General, and Bill Mason, who is a prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, said the accused were charged with using schemes to cheat the casino. The prosecution said video cameras caught some of the defendants placing bets at the roulette table after the outcome of the spin was already known.

In another instance, a man was accused of adding chips to his wager after the cards had been dealt during a Texas Hold’em game. It was reported that a third person allegedly distracted a blackjack dealer and then added to his bet on three separate occasions.

DeWine said that people should think twice before coming to one of Ohio’s casinos and trying to get away with casino cheating. The men were caught trying to pad their wallets during the Horseshoe Casino’s first month of operation after it opened to the public on May 14. The state also opened a new casino in the city of Toledo, and will open four in total.

The casino in Toledo opened at the end of May and there have already been eight gambling-related and cheating cases under investigation. Karen Huey, who is the director of enforcement for the casino commission, said the charges are a good way to deter people who are thinking about cheating in the state’s new casinos.

Huey said that stealing from one of the casinos is the same as cheating the State of Ohio and it won’t be tolerated. She added that enforcement agents have been well-trained and are working around the clock to fight against gaming crime. She stated that between 15 and 25 alleged cheaters have already been investigated at the two new casinos since they opened in May.

According to Ohio law, cheating includes several offences such as using a device that can affect the outcome of a game, claiming gaming winnings without making a bet, and playing with phony chips. Those who are first-time offenders of Ohio’s casino law can be sentenced up to 12 months in prison and could be hit with a $2,500 fine.

Huey said that each of the casinos employs a lead investigator, a supervisor and 10 armed, plainclothes state agents to help fight against cheating. The seven people accused of cheating at the Horseshoe Casino have been charged with one illegal gambling felony count, which is regarded as a felony of the fifth degree.

Author Profile: Stefan+

Will Jaffe and Luis Campelo had to come back and decide event 54 today, playing heads-up for the bracelet and the $500,075 for first. Jaffe started with a small chip lead. After a bit of a see-saw battle that Jaffe generally help the upper hand in, he went on to win it.

In the $1,500 NLHE there were 22 remaining at the start of play today and Peter Eastgate and Sam Holden were among them. Holden could only manage to hang on long enough to take 16th, while Eastgate got all the way down to 4th before being eliminated. The tournament came down to a heads-up battle between David Borg and Thomas Junek. Junek ended up coming out on top, and his first World Series cash was for $661,022 and it came with a bracelet.

In the $10,000 Shorthanded NLHE Championship a field of 167 came back today and there were plenty of poker’s stars among them. They played down to 27 players today and the vast majority of the stars including Lex Vedlhuis, Andrew Badecker, Dan Smith, and Isaac Haxton busted before the money. Jonathan Duhamel cashed, but busted shortly thereafter. Among the 27 remaining are Roberto Romanello, Andrew Lichtenberger, Jason Mercier, Tony Hachem, Jasino Senti, and Layne Flack, so it’s going to be a tough field to navigate for chip leader Christopher Brammer.

In the $3,000 PLO hi/lo Felicia Johnico is the chip leader going into the final day’s play. David Baker and Stephen Su are close behind with Bryan Devonshite a little further back, and in total there are 31 players remaining. Erick Lindgren struggled a little today and could only manage 49th place which nets him a little over $5,500. The winner of this one is due to bag $330, 277 and we’ll go about determining who that is from 1 pm tomorrow.

The final event in play today is the final $1,000 of the Series. It has two starting days, but isn’t a re-entry event. Day 1a drew a field of 1740 players and the total field is expected to be upwards of 4,000. With a 3,000 starting stack there isn’t much room to mess around in these events. Ronald Lee is in the chip lead, with Phil Ivey going well after a big suckout half way through the day. Phil Hellmuth wasn’t so lucky and went home during level 7. 256 of the starting 1740 will join up with those who survive day 1b and will play day 2 on Friday.

Just one event starts tomorrow, the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship, a favourite of the pros, gets underway at 12 pm.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Godolphin’s Farhh is the new favourite with William Hill for Saturday’s Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown. The lightly-raced colt had been second favourite after finishing third to So You Think in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last time out, but that rival has been withdrawn due to injury. The Eclipse was to have been his last race before he heads back to Australia to start his stallion career.

Under a confident ride from Joseph O’Brien, the six-year-old son of High Chaparral shook off the challenge of Her Majesty’s Carlton House at the Royal meeting. Last year, So You Think defeated the 2010 Derby winner Workforce in a thrilling finish before going on to take the Irish Champion Stakes. O’Brien then sent him to Paris for the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe but he could do no better than fourth behind Danedream. He has now been retired to stud and will go to Coolmore Australia. O’Brien now has no representative in this year’s Eclipse.

Best supported in the early betting on the race has been Godolphin’s Farhh, supplemented for the race following an unlucky third behind So You Think at Ascot. Saeed bin Suroor’s colt moved up from handicap company for that race and could have finished a lot closer but for a poor start and having been checked in his run. Godolphin will also be represented by Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso and City Style. Monterosso looked a much-improved performer when galloping clear at Meydan in March and would pose a threat if anywhere near his best.

John Gosden’s Nathaniel won a sub-standard King George last season and finished behind So You Think in the Champion Stakes at Ascot. He will be making his seasonal bow and is aiming to continue the stables excellent recent form. Sir Henry Cecil’s multiple Group One winner Twice Over is also an intended runner along with Andrew Balding’s Bonfire, a big disappointment in the Epsom Derby. He had previously looked a useful colt in the making when winning York’s Dante Stakes and it will be interesting to see how this generation of three-year-olds compare to the older generation. Brian Meehan’s Cogito is also trying to bounce back from a disappointing run last time. Roger Charlton’s globetrotter Cityscape and Marco Botti’s Crackerjack King are interesting contenders. Roger Varian’s Sri Putra finished second to Twice Over in 2010 and third behind So You Think last year in this event so he could attract some each-way interest.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The 28 players who started the day’s play in the latest $1,500 NLHE event were too many to get through in a single day and the hard stop rule was enforced with just two remaining. Neil Willerson was battling Vladimir Mefodichev for over an hour before they hit the end of play for the day and they might be at it for a while tomorrow to.

Willerson has a 2:1 chip lead but Mefodichev still has 40 big blinds so there’s plenty of time to get back into it. They’ll play down to a winner of the tournament with the biggest field so far starting back at 2 pm tomorrow.

In the $1,000 NLHE event labelled as event 54, there were 265 players coming back for day 2 and today we got down to the final 15. The chip leader is Will Jaffe on almost 2M with the blinds at 6k/12k. His nearest rival is Ken Fishman on 1.4M and then Jason Tompkins on 900k. Also still in is David Baker. They’ll be coming back to play down to a winner from 1 pm tomorrow.

In the Big One for One Drop the big guns were firing all day and now they’re down to a final table of 8. Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Galfond all went out in quick succession in the 30s, while Phil Ivey could only hang on until 26th place when his QQ fell victim to Gruissem’s A8s all-in pre-flop. The final 9 all received $1.1M, and the unluckiest bubble boy in history was Ilya Bulychev who fell at the hands of Sam Trickett. From there, Mike Sexton was eliminated in 9th place and we had our official final table. Antonio Esfandiari is the chip leader after having won a massive pot against Jason Mercier where he got AA in pre-flop against Mercier’s KK and raked in 22M chips when the board ran out blank for Mercier.

Behind Esfandiari in the chips counts are in descending order: Sam Trickett, Guy Laliberte, Brian Rast, Phil Hellmuth, David Einhorn, Richard Yong, and Bobby Baldwin. If Hellmuth wins bracelet number 13 tomorrow, we may never hear the end of it!

Elsewhere in the Rio yesterday, the grinders and those eliminated from One Drop took their seats at a $1,500 NLHE which started at 12 pm. It drew a field of 2798 players and by the end of play that number was chopped to 305. Vanessa Rousso was straight back to work after winning her second bracelet but busted on day one, as did Joe Cada, Vanessa Rousso and a host of other big names. Daniel Negreanu had a good day chipping up to 57,000 but they’re all chasing Donald Vogel who sites on 145,000 at the end of play. Action picks up at 1 pm tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, the $10,000 Shorthanded NLHE Championship kicks off in the afternoon, with a $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha hi/lo event starting in the evening.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Today was one of the biggest days in WSOP history so let’s get to it. In the $5,000 NLHE three players were coming back to decide who would pocket the $952,694 for first place. Dan Smith had the chip lead but was first out; that would leave Kyle Julius and Panayote Vilandos scrapping for the bracelet. Things went Vilandos’ way and he eventually snagged his 3rd bracelet.

Yen Dang is the lucky lady who won the $1,000 Ladies’ NLHE event. For her achievement she takes home $170,587. In only took her about 10 hands to dispense with Debbie Pechac in the heads-up battle where she dodged an open ended straight draw to seal the deal.

In the $2,500 10-Game Mix, we have ourselves the first female bracelet winner in an open event since Vanessa Selbst in 2008. So, who takes over her mantle? No-one, Selbst won another one! She knocked out everyone except one opponent at the final table. She had a big chip lead on heads-up opponent Michael Saltzberg and made it stick, winning $244,259 and her second bracelet.

At the latest $1,500 No Limit Holdem event we played down from 348 to 28 players today. The chip leader at the end of play is Hugh Henderson, not far in front of Randy Ashe. Victoria Coren is also in touch with the chip leaders. The average stack is still a relatively large 40 big blinds, so it’s unlikely they’ll play down to a winner tomorrow.

In the $1,000 tournament that started today, 3221 players ponied up the buy in and the eliminations came thick and fast. So fast in fact that only 265 are left after the first day’s play. Most of the A-listers were concerned with the One Drop tournament so not too many big names to report on in this one. The chip leader is James Mackoff who has run up his stack to 148,500 with Alex Kravchenko close behind. The likes of Huck Seed and Matt Stour are also coming back tomorrow.

All eyes today however, were on the Big One for One Drop, the $1M tournament that has a sell-out 48 player field with plenty of contenders for ‘table of death’. As usual, Phil Hellmuth showed up almost two hours late, but ended up with 8.4M in chips from the starting stack of 3M. Brian Rast who was down to 2M early is the chip leader on 10.7M at the end of the day. Justin Smith was the first player to be eliminated. One player who wasn’t going home on day 1 no matter what was Mikhail Smirnov, who folded quad 8s on a Js8c7s 8s Ks board to an all-in by John Morgan. In total there are 37 players remaining coming back tomorrow; among those who fell today were Jonathan Duhamel, Andrew Robl, Elky, Eric Seidel, and Michael Mizrachi. Players return to action at 12 pm tomorrow.

There’s one new event starting tomorrow, a $1,500 NLHE which kicks off at 12 pm.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

The shock early exit of Rafael Nadal from Wimbledon this year has opened up the draw for Andy Murray and given him a much better chance of ending the British drought in the event. No Briton has won the men’s title since Fred Perry in 1936 but, as Murray eased to a place in the quarter-finals, bookmakers cut his odds to just 4-1 with Bet365.

Tim Henman toiled in vain for many years, bringing great excitement to the tournament for the homes but ultimately to no avail. Between 1996 and 2004, Henman lost four semi-finals and four quarter-finals. In 2001 he was on the verge of victory against the big-serving Goran Ivanisevic but faltered in a rain-delayed match and his chances evaporated. Andy Murray has now taken up the baton and has been beaten in the last three semi-finals following a first quarter-final appearance in 2008. In that time he has also reached three Grand Slam finals and lost them all without winning a set. So, what could make the difference this time?

In the top half of the draw sits World Number 1 Novak Djokovic, reigning champion and only denied the honour of holding all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously by his recent defeat in the final of the French Open. Djokovic is scheduled to meet six-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the semi-final. Aside from concentrating on his own matches, that is where Murray’s best chance of a Wimbledon victory lies. If Federer can stretch or even defeat Djokovic, Murray would have the opportunity to meet a player that had already come through a final of sorts.

Last year, Murray met Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open but was dismissed 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. They met again in Australia this year with the Serbian eventually coming out on top in an epic five-set encounter. Murray gained some sort of revenge in Dubai shortly afterwards and has won five of their 13 meetings. Djokovic then took a straight-sets win over Murray in Miami in their most recent clash. Interestingly, they have never met on grass. Murray has a better record against Federer, winning eight of their fifteen meetings although defeated on both Grand Slam clashes. The Swiss remains a fearsome opponent but is certainly approaching the end of his career whereas Djokovic is dominating the men’s game. Of course, Murray must first win his quarter-final and semi-final but, without Nadal standing in his way, his chances are as good as they have ever been.

Bet365 has some of the best tennis odds, the latest prices; 4-7 Djokovic, 4-1 Murray, 5-1 Federer, 9-1 Tsonga, 20-1 Ferrer, 25-1 bar

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

Team GB Football Manager Stuart Pearce has announced his squad for the London Olympics and, as expected, there are no representatives from Scotland or Northern Ireland. The Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish FA’s have been quite vocal in their opposition to providing players to a British team since the Games were awarded to London, although the Welsh are represented by five players in 18-man squad. There is also no place for David Beckham who has been acting as an ambassador for British sport in recent times. Under competition rules, only three players over the age of 23 are permitted and those places have been taken by Ryan Giggs, Craig Bellamy and Micah Richards.

Swansea, who created such a favourable impression in their debut season in the Premier League, are the best represented with three players taking part; Scott Sinclair, Joe Allen and Neil Taylor. Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge is one of the most high profile players in the squad having been overlooked for England’s Euro 2012 squad. He is joined by teammate Ryan Bertrand who made such a good contribution to Chelsea’s Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey and Manchester United’s Tom Cleverley are included but Tottenham’s Gareth Bale misses out due to injury.

Pearce admitted that it had not been easy to select his squad but is relishing the prospect of competing for Gold on home soil. London 2012 will be the first time that Team GB have competed in the men’s football competition since the Rome Olympics in 1960 when finishing third in their group. Team GB play their opening group match at Old Trafford against Senegal on 26th July, followed by the United Arab Emirates at Wembley on 29th July and Uruguay at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on 1st August.

Great Britain are rated 7-1 to win the men’s Olympic football tournament by Ladbrokes. Brazil are the hot favourites at 7-4 ahead of Spain at 11-5. The Spanish could even challenge for favouritism on the back of their senior side winning the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and the Ukraine. The teams representing Uruguay and Switzerland are well respected and are priced at 8-1 with Mexico at 14-1 and 25-1 bar these.

Team GB: Jack Butland (Birmingham), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough); Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Steven Caulker (Tottenham), Craig Dawson (West Brom), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Neil Taylor (Swansea), James Tomkins (West Ham); Joe Allen (Swansea), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Jack Cork (Southampton), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Scott Sinclair (Swansea); Craig Bellamy (Liverpool), Marvin Sordell (Bolton), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea).

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

There’s only really one show in town at the WSOP this weekend, and it’s the Big One for One Drop that starts tomorrow at 1:11 pm. Though not actually a bracelet event, the $25,300 mega-satellite was the tournament with by far the most railbirds today. It drew 96 players, good for two seats to the One Drop tourney, but the second place finisher will go on the alternate list as the tourney is full. Shaun Deep took full advantage of this by pushing his whole stack bar one chip into the middle against Gus Hansen and folding to a shove, meaning he’ll get $1M if he doesn’t get a seat in the tourney. Hansen however, won the tournament and will be participant number 48 tomorrow.

Now to the comparative micro-stakes of the $5,000 NLHE which had 48 players remaining at the start of play. It hit the hard stop with 3 players fighting it out for the bracelet; Dan Smith, Kyle Julius, Panayote Vilandos. Smith who has had a fantastic year is the chip leader. They’ll be coming back tomorrow to decide who’ll claim the $952,694 for first.

The ladies event which started with 936 has reached its final table of 9. None of poker’s power ladies made it, with Leo Margets giving it the best go but falling in 22nd place. Debbie Pechac is the woman to catch. After a great day, she sits on 630,000 with the big blind coming back tomorrow set at 10,000. They’re playing for a first prize of $170,587 and the gold bracelet.

The $2,500 10-Game Mix however, does have one of poker’s power ladies in contention. Vanessa Selbst leads the remaining 19 players into battle tomorrow on 347,000. That’s 60,000 more than her nearest rival Michael Saltzburg. Other dangerous players left in this one include Scott Clements and Bryn Kenney. With 19 remaining it’s possible that this one too might have to run into a 4th day’s play. The action resumes at 1 pm tomorrow.

Today’s $1,500 drew a huge field of 3,166 and is the largest $1,500 field to date this year. Mario Nagel is the chip leader having turned his 4,500 starting stack into 159,000. Victoria Coren, Cherish Andrews and Aaron Jones are also on the leaderboard. David Sands, Martin Staszko and Matt Affleck are also still in. There was a notable absence of the biggest names from this event as they prepare for the One Drop tournament tomorrow. 348 players are coming back for this one tomorrow and they reconvene at 1 PM.

Tomorrow there’s a $1,000 tourney kicking off at noon, and then the small matter of a tournament with 1,000 times that buy-in which gets underway at 1:11 pm.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Things were a little quieter than normal at the Rio today, in anticipation of one of the biggest weekends in poker history where we’ll have a $1,000 NLHE, a $1,500 NLHE, and the $1M Big One for One Drop which is now sold out.

In today’s action, event 49 the $1,500 Ante Only NLHE event played down to a winner. The first-of-its-kind tournament at the WSOP was won by Greg Hobson who beat Mike Sowers heads-up for the bracelet. Mike ‘timex’ McDonald could only manage 6th with Harrison Gimble coming home in 4th. Heads-up play started with even stacks but Hobson one a couple of pots early on, and then his 77 held against Sowers’ A7 and this gave him the title.

In the $5,000 NLHE event 48 of the starting field of 1,001 remain. There are some dangerous players among them including Joseph Cheong, Tommy Vedes, Galen Hall, Alexander Kravchenko, Andrew Lichtenberger, and Randy Lew. The man to catch is Kyle Julius; the PCA 2nd place finisher is sat on 867,000 chips with the big blind at 10,000 coming back tomorrow. The big starting stack in this one means it’s unlikely that we’ll be done tomorrow so there will probably be a hangover into Sunday in this event. Saturday’s play is due to be hard stopped at 3 AM either way.

The $1,000 Ladies NLHE got underway today and drew an impressive 936 entrants of which 117 remain. Winamax Team pro Gaelle Baumann is the chip leader with 77,300 at the end of play, with JJ Liu and Erica Shoenberg also near the top of the leaderboard. Play stopped right after the bubble burst and the unlucky lady was Halli Pinson. Among those eliminated today were Victoria Coren, Kristy Arnett, Pam Brunson, Vanessa Selbst, Liv Boeree, and Vanessa Rousso. Tomorrow’s action kicks off at 2 pm.

The other event that started today was the $2,500 10-Game Mix which had a starting field of 421 which became 167 by the end of 8 levels. Tommy Hang is the chip leader on 74,000 with Bryn Kenney, Dan O’Brien and Noah Boeken close behind. Others to make day 2 were Jon Turner, Marco Traniello, Eli Elezra and Greg Raymer. Among those to bust today were Shaun Deeb, Jen Harman, and Barry Greenstein.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

The $50k Players Championship played down to a winner today. On the first hand of the day Michael Mizrachi knocked out Bill Chen and Bruno Fitoussi with his Aces in No Limit Holdem. Mizrachi went on to crush the final table and win the event and the massive $1.45M first prize. He beat Chris Klodnicki heads-up after starting the match with a 2:1 chip lead. Andy Bloch came in 3rd, with Luke Schwartz managing 4th.

In the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha hi/lo the final 10 players came back to play down to a winner this afternoon. The winner in this one was Steven Loube and he’s now 1-for-1 in WSOP events, with this being the first event he had ever played. He netted $267,345 for the victory beating Tim Finne heads-up in a match that only lasted a few hands.

The 48th bracelet of the summer goes to Kenny Hsiung who won the $3,000 Limit Holdem Event after an epic 14 hour grind today. There were 20 players left coming back today so it was always going to be a long day. Justin Bonomo, Jonathan Duhamel, and Chad Brown failed to make an impression, with Brown the best finished of the 3 in 14th place. Hsiung beat Robert Hwang heads-up in a match that lasted over 2 hours and he takes away $165,205 in doing so.

The novel $1,500 Ante Only No Limit Holdem played down to a final table today from 110 that came back this afternoon. It took 90 minutes less than the scheduled time for the day to get down to the final table due to the action generated by the ante only structure. Eugene De Plessis has the chip lead going into the final table with Mike Sowers close behind. Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald and Harrison Gimbel are also at the final table. Jon Turner had a terrible day and was eliminated relatively early on, as was Jeff Madsen, with Erick Lindgren coming home in 11th place.

An incredible 1,001 players lined out for the $5,000 NLHE event, up 136 on last year. At the end of day 1 where players started with 15,000 chips, Nick Maimone leads the way with 196,600 in an event that had all of the big names. Some of those who didn’t make day 2 were Jason Mercier, Vanessa Selbst and Antonio Esfandiari, while those that did make it through include Galen Hall, Andrew Lichtenberger, Phil Ivey, and Phil Hellmuth. Action resumes tomorrow at 1 pm.

Starting tomorrow at 12 pm we $1,000 Ladies NLHE event and in the evening there’s the $2,500 Shorthanded 10-Game Mix event.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Euro 2012 ended in triumph for Spain as they put Italy to the sword in a one-sided final by four goals to nil. It concluded a strangely muted tournament that never really sparked into life. The Italians had produced a stunning victory over Germany in the semi-final but they never held out any hope of a repeat performance on Sunday.

Spain had only shown glimpses of their best form, notably when thrashing the Republic of Ireland 4-0 in their group fixture. Otherwise they had adopted a strangely negative approach and almost paid for it against Portugal, being taken to a penalty shootout. Their inexplicable reluctance to use an out-an-out striker perplexed most commentators. On the rare occasions that they did play with a recognised front man they looked a far better side. As it was, they were able to retain their title despite some tactical blunders. There was certainly no denying their superiority in the final as Italy capitulated. Rather than the fluent creative passing that cut open the German defence on numerous occasions, the Italians were back to the average outfit that had laboured to a penalty shootout victory over England.

A Spanish victory was certainly not a great result for the bookmakers. They started the tournament as favourites and only Germany threatened to challenge them. France and England performed no better than expected and most teams will go back to the drawing board after mediocre performances. The Italians should take heart from the fact that they made it to the final and Portugal certainly had the champions fully stretched. The horror show of the tournament was undoubtedly the Dutch who lost all three group matches. The departure of Van Marwijk came as no surprise after a bitterly disappointing effort from the World Cup finalists.

If you were impressed with the Spanish in Euro 2012, you may be surprised to find them still on offer at 11-2 with William Hill to win their fourth consecutive major tournament when they contest the World Cup in 2014. Germany are priced at 8-1 despite their semi-final exit against Italy (16-1). Eternal optimists can get 20-1 about England’s chances, the same price as Portugal. If you think England’s failure will result in a complete loss of form, Bet365 are offering 4-1 for them not to qualify for the World Cup! Brazil remain firm favourites at 7-2 and Argentina are 11-2.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

The Euro 2012 final will be taking place on Sunday July 1st at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev Ukraine. After the group stages and the knockout rounds it’s all coming down to Spain vs Italy for the bragging rights to the European Championship. They should know each other quite well since both teams were in Group C and met in their opening group game, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Since that meeting a couple of weeks ago, Spain went on to beat the Republic of Ireland 4-0 and Croatia 1-0 in the group stage and Italy drew 1-1 with Croatia before beating Ireland 2-0. In the knockout stage, Italy had to go to penalty kicks before they could finally subdue England 4-2. The game remained goalless after 120 minutes of play. They then surprised Germany 2-1 in the tournament semi-final.

Spain also had a tough knockout round. They managed to beat France 2-0 pretty handily in their quarter-final match, but were then held 0-0 by Portugal after 120 minutes. They advanced to the final by beating the Portuguese 2-2 in a penalty shootout. Spain, who is the ruling world and European champions, will be attempting to win their third straight major football tournament with a win over Italy. They won Euro 2008 and followed it up by winning the World Cup in 2010.

Spain might find that Italy has steadily improved as the tournament has gone on and are a lot more adventurous than they were in their 1-1 group stage game. The Italians are now mixing an effective attacking style with their solid defense, making them pretty tough to deal with. Spain is playing the same effective style they usually do, which means they usually score a goal when needed and rarely let one in.

Spain will need to keep their eye on striker Mario Balotelli, who scored both of their goals against Germany. However, we’ve seen in the past that he’s just as likely to receive a red card as he is to score a goal. The Spanish defenders need to stay on him as tightly as possible and disrupt him as much as possible. He’s very ineffective when frustrated.

Both teams have good goaltenders in Spain’s Iker Casillas and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon. Spain has allowed just one goal in Euro 2012, which was scored by Antonio Di Natale of Italy. They have nine straight clean sheets in knockout matches at major tournaments. Italy has allowed three goals, with one of them being a late penalty to Germany. It’ll also be interesting to see if striker Fernando Torres is used by manager Vicente del Bosque, this is the type of game he should be used in.

These teams met in the quarterfinals at Euro 2008 and it ended 0-0 after extra time. Spain then went on to win the penalty shootout 4-2. They also met at the same stage in the 1996 World Cup with Italy earning a 2-1 victory. Italy also won 1-0 at Euro 1988, while Euro 1980 was a 0-0 draw. This game looks to be just as close with a 90-minute draw or a one-goal win the most likely scenarios. It could just be Italy’s year though and we may see them lift the trophy at the end of this match.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds have a Spain victory at 11/10 with an Italy Spain win at 11/4 and a draw at 21/10.

Author Profile: Marcus Nilsson+

According to bookmakers, the vacant coaching job at Premiership Tottenham is definitely going to Andre Villas Boas. Everton’s David Moyes was the original favourite but was quickly replaced at the head of the market by the former Chelsea and Porto boss. Last week he was 1-6 with several firms but he is now virtually unbackable at 1-14.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy sacked Harry Redknapp with a year still remaining on his contract and his assistants Joe Jordan and Kevin Bond followed him on Thursday. This presumably leaves the way clear for Villas-Boas to bring in his own coaching staff and try to put the bitter experience of his short time with Chelsea behind him.

Only last week, Andre Villas-Boas was reported as having rejected reports linking him with the Tottenham job as “lies”. The bookmakers were unmoved by this and he has remained firm favourite, albeit not with the club’s supporters. Although they have a bitter rivalry with North London rivals Arsenal, there is no love lost with Chelsea who recently ended Tottenham’s Champions League hopes by lifting the trophy. This left fourth placed Tottenham resigned to the Europa League for a second season running. Last season the two clubs were embroiled in a tug-of-war over Spurs’ midfielder Luka Modric with Tottenham reportedly turning down £40million for the Croatian.

With so many managerial changes this summer in the Premiership, AVB has been linked with several other posts and was thought to be a leading candidate at Liverpool. The Portuguese arrived at Stamford Bridge at a cost of £13.3 million to the Blues as they paid a high price to release him from his contract at Porto. He had claimed four trophies in a season and was regarded as one of the great new talents in the coaching ranks. He was seen as the new young manager that would take Chelsea’s ageing squad and turn it into a new Barcelona. It wasn’t to be, as Chelsea stumbled and stuttered in the Premiership and faced elimination from the Champions League. There were reports that Villas-Boas had lost control of the dressing room and could not cope with the super-egos of the established players at Stamford Bridge. He was sacked after just 9 months in charge and Roberto Di Matteo was appointed interim manager.

Di Matteo’s remarkable achievement in transforming Chelsea’s season into one of triumph has not done AVB’s reputation any favours. To be fair to AVB, he had been given an almost impossible task of making sweeping changes whilst continuing to bring success in the Premier League and Champions League. Di Matteo had no such pressure in his temporary role. His job description was simple – this is the mess we’re in, see what you can do between now and the end of the season. Di Matteo’s success was down to superb tactical awareness and he now faces a new challenge of his own at Stamford Bridge as he attempts to make them genuine title contenders. At White Hart Lane, Villas Boas already has a fine squad to work with and results are the club’s priority. They want trophies and Champions League football. However, his first task may well be to win over the fans and shake off the mantle of “Chelsea reject”.

Tottenham are rated at 33-1 by William Hill to win the Premier League next season and 12-1 to win the Europa League.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

First up today we pay a visit the $50k Players Championship where we’re getting toward the business end of it. At the end of play today, just 8 players remain in the hunt. With 16 players paid, the likes of yesterday’s chip leader Viktor Blom and Jeff Lisandro made the money but have since been knocked out. Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey got close but didn’t cash. Of the remaining players, Michael Mizrachi leads the way and he’s closely followed by Andy Bloch. Luke Schwartz and Bill Chen are also still in.

In event 46 the $2,500 NLHE, 26 players came back from day 3 and after a long grind, Joey Weissman is the man with some new bling. Vanessa Selbst made her exit before the final table. Weissman was chip leader at the start of play and stayed there pretty much all day. In the end it came down to a battle between him and Jeremy Quehen and despite a fightback by Quehen, Weissman went on to win.

In the $1,500 PLO hi/lo event 141 players were whittled down to 10 on day 2. Charalampos Lappas leads the final 10 on just shy of a million chips on a day that saw all of the remaining big names knocked out early, though David Bach and Joe Tehan did manage to cash. This event plays down to a winner from 1 pm tomorrow.

In the $3,000 Limit Holdem event Paul Berende is the chip leader with 20 players remaining, a long way ahead of Kenny Hyiung in second. Chad brown is 7th in chips and former Main Event Champion Jonathan Duhamel as well as Justin Bonomo are still in with a shout. We’ll crown a winner in this one tomorrow and play gets underway at 2 pm.

Lastly today it;s the $1,500 Ante Only NLHE which went down a storm with everyone who played, though Phil Ivey was mighty confused when he sat down. 939 took the felt today and 110 remain. The player who made the best adjustment to the new format is Sameer Al Janedi who has a huge 170k stack, 70k more than his nearest opponent. The likes of Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Kara Scott all busted today, but John Turner, Mike McDonald, Erick Lindgren, and Mclean Karr are all through to day 2.

Tomorrow sees one new event starting, the $5,000 NLHE, which kicks off at 12 pm.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

Bert van Marwijk has resigned in the wake of Holland’s abject failure at the European Championships this summer. The side went into the tournament as third favourites behind Spain and Germany but did not take a single point from their group. Having squandered several glorious chances in their opening fixture against Denmark, they slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat and fared no better against Germany and Portugal. Sixty-year-old Van Marwijk has resigned with immediate effect. He had been officially contracted until the 2016 European Championship.

Holland were beaten by Spain in the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and were widely expected to come through the so-called “group of death” but their chances were all but gone by the time they met the Portuguese. Van Marwijk’s decision comes after several meetings with the governing body although he was clearly reluctant to do so, expressing “severe doubts” in a short statement issued to the press.

Van Marwijk had previously coached Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund before taking charge of the national team from Marco van Basten in 2008. The highlight of his spell in charge was leading them to the World Cup Final and the top of the FIFA World rankings in August 2011. Despite reaching the World Cup Final, he was still heavily criticised for the negative tactics adopted against Spain. It was felt that Holland had cast aside their usual flamboyant style in an effort to grind out results – substance over style. For many teams, Germany having been a prime example at major tournaments, the result justifies the means. If that means playing much of the match in midfield and settling for 1-0 then so be it. For the Holland of old this was not enough, they wanted to enjoy their football first and then see how far they could go.

They won nine of their ten group matches in qualifying for Euro 2012 and yet they ultimately proved to be the biggest disappointments of the tournament. Van Marwijk criticised his players for their poor performance in the 2-1 defeat against Germany, citing moderate defending and poor co-operation between defence and midfield as the reasons for their downfall. He also admitted that the contribution from his wingers was not enough, Robben having stomped off when substituted in the second half. In this tournament at least, Van Marwijk failed in both style and substance. Holland are now aiming to appoint his successor before their next friendly against Belgium on 15th August. Their next objective will be qualification for the 2014 World Cup. They begin their campaign against Turkey in September and are now a top priced 16-1 with Bet365 to lift the trophy.

Author Profile: Harvey Mayson+

It doesn’t matter where you live in Europe, you can bet that watching the Euro 2012 football tournament is one of the most popular activities this summer. Some of the games tend to be snooze fests though, and when Lisa Potter of Litney, Oxfordshire in England recently found it hard to stay awake during one of the matches she decided to try her hand at something a little more exciting… like online bingo.

While her partner Terry Goodman opted to watch the rest of the football game, 33-year-old Lisa almost fell out of her chair when she won a total of £1.3 million in just a matter of minutes after placing a £5 bet. Ladbrokes bingo definitely turned out to be a more exciting and more rewarding choice than watching Spain thump Ireland 4-0 and even Terry had to agree.

The mother of three said she was getting bored with the match on TV and figured she’d log on to Ladbrokes Bingo site. When she did, Lisa said she noticed the jackpot had reached well over a million pounds and figured she had nothing to lose but a lot to gain if she just made a small bet. She gave it a go and couldn’t believe her eyes when the screen announced her as the winner.

Lisa said her mind went blank after that and the last thing she remembers was her children entering the room and starting to scream with joy. Ladbrokes said the jackpot was the third largest it has ever given out and the biggest one for that type of online game during the past three years.

Lisa said she plans on taking her family on a luxurious holiday somewhere and would also like to buy a new house and car. She stated that her family’s life will definitely change forever due to the huge win. The exact amount of the jackpot was £1,364,745.23. Ladbrokes handed Lisa a cheque for that amount and then threw a champagne party for her and her family.

Alex Donohue, an official with Ladbrokes, said he bets Lisa will never moan again at Terry for watching football. A friend of the family added that Lisa’s a lovely woman and everybody’s thrilled for her. After the win, Lisa joked that she might bet a few pounds on England to beat Ukraine, and they managed to come through for her by beating the co-hosts 1-0. Of course, they didn’t go any further after losing to Italy on penalty kicks in their quarterfinal match.

Author Profile: Stefan+

The end of WSOP 2012 side event schedule isn’t too far away and believe it or not Event 44 was the second last $1,000 NLHE of the season. There were 16 players left at the start of play today and as predicted it didn’t take too long to whittle them down to a winner. Rocco Palumbo of Italy took on Nelson Robertson in the heads up match for the title and Palumbo, having started with a slight chip lead went on to win the bracelet and takes home $464,464 in doing so.

In the big $50,000 Players Championship, its Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom that leads the remaining 26 players into battle tomorrow after hitting a sickening one outer against Joe Cassidy in PLO. Phil Hellmuth openly admitted on Twitter that he cried in his car when he got knocked out of this one. Others still in with a shout in this one are Daniel Oppenheim, Daniel Alaei, Andy Bloch, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Ivey and Jeff Lisandro. Ivey is relatively short, with only 1/3 of Blom’s chip leading stack.

In event 46, the $2,500 NLHE there were 233 players still with chips in front them at the start of play today. That 233 became 25 by the end of play, meaning there’s a long day in store tomorrow and a good chance we won’t crown a winner. Best placed of the remaining hopefuls is Joey Weissman on 1.29M but all eyes will be on Vanessa Selbst who hits on 786k. Last year’s Main Event champion Pius Heinz made a decent run finishing in 42nd, his best finish of the summer so far. The action resumes at 1 pm tomorrow.

The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha hi/lo event started at 12 pm today and it drew an impressive 978 entrants. We’re still a relatively long way from bursting the bubble however, with 149 players remaining at the end of play, with the average stack just shy of 30 big blinds coming back tomorrow. Alex Gomes has a pretty big chip lead on the field with Andy Frankenberger and Joe Tehan also on the leaderboard. Barry Greenstein is also still in and going well. Among those eliminated today were Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb and Dan Kelly.

The last event on the list today is the $3,000 Limit Holdem which kicked off at 5 pm. Just 247 lined out for this one and Sam Barnhart is top of the charts after day 1. About half the field were eliminated and 126 are coming back tomorrow. They include Chad Brown, Maria Ho, Justin Bonomo, and Jonathan Duhamel. Daniel Negreanu’s rough stretch continues and he didn’t make two.

Tomorrow sees the start of the much anticipated $1,500 Ante-Only NLHE event which will have many players scratching their heads as they try to figure out what the optimal strategy is.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+