Archive for August, 2007
If you’ve not spotted it already check out the latest football promotion at UK’s SportingOdds bookmaker. Customers get to share £75,000 in Cash and Prizes in August – and entry is easy!
What can I win?
£75,000 in Cash and Prizes will be given away to online sports bettors at SportingOdds this month!
Daily: SportingOdds are giving away £1,500 worth of cash prizes every day to the top 50 players. Whoever places the most winning bets on a given day will win a pretty nifty £250. Second place gets £175, and third £100.
Weekly: The top 25 punters will share £5,000 worth of cash prizes every week. The overall winner gets a trip for two to any football match in any top European league.
Monthly: At the end of the month they’ll reward the 3 overall winners with a fully kitted out Sony entertainment solution for your lounge, including a Sony Vaio laptop, a 40” HD ready Sony BRAVIA LCD TV, a Home Cinema System, DVD player, 1 year Sky+ HD subscription, a Sony Cyber-shot Camera, photo printer and Playstation 3 – worth over £5,000.
How Do I Enter?
All you need to do is place 5 or more bets totalling at least £10 on any matches in any league with odds of 1/5 or higher. Whoever gets the highest percentage of winning bets wins the top prizes
Check out the August Cash Giveaway on site at SportingOdds now… (sorry, no US bettors)
August 10th, 2007
We came across this cool page on one of the web sites we like to visit. It’s a Bookie Deal Round-up. A quick summary of this weeks cashbacks and special betting offers at top online sports bookmakers.
Top UK and Euro football free tips site, GoonersGuide.com has compiled a notice board of the cash back, insurances and specials on offer from the best online bookmakers for this weekends football action.
Do you know where to get a Free Treble? Or a cash back on a 0-0 draw? Or insurance against an early goal this weekend? We do…
Check out this Week’s Sports Betting Notes here.
August 8th, 2007
NFL PRESEASON POINTERS 
by JIM FEIST
The pro football preseason kicked off this past weekend in the Hall of Fame game as the Steelers topped the Saints, 20-7. Steeler fans got a look at their new coach, 35-year old Mike Tomlin.
Remember that each season is different, with players changing teams, new coaches and assistants coming aboard, and star college players joining the pros as highly touted rookies. August football offers fans their first peak at all the new additions.
There are three interesting games this weekend.
1) The Jets and Falcons meet.
The Jets stole RB Thomas Jones from the Bears to add some balance to the offense. They also have been busy renovating their defensive line, signing defensive ends Eric Hicks, David Bowens, Kenyon Coleman, Andre Wadsworth and Michael Haynes. In addition, the offense is in the second year of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s high-tech scheme that features an array of shifts and motions.
The Falcons have even more changes. New coach Bobby Petrino takes over, the former Louisville coach, who is an offensive wizard. His offenses couldn’t be more different than former coach Jim Mora, who favored a conservative ground attack. The bigger story is QB Michael Vick’s legal problems, which means Joey Harrington is the top signal caller, with Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley battling for the No. 2 spot.
It’s also worth noting that Petrino has not been hesitant to put his stamp on the team, by promoting or demoting players, opening competition, or moving players. The release of WR Fred Gibson three days into training camp sent a warning that there is no tolerance for not doing things the right way. That’s another thing to keep an eye on in August: a different attitude, either from coaches or certain players.
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2) The Buccaneers host the Patriots this weekend and Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden has made all kinds of changes.
Newcomer QB Jeff Garcia is No. 1, giving Gruden the veteran presence they haven’t had since Rob Johnson left town. Chris Simms is battling for the backup job with second-year pro Bruce Gradkowski and Luke McCown. Garcia’s presence has prompted Gruden to consider the shotgun as a legitimate option for his version of the West Coast attack. Gruden is eager to expand his playbook in terms of rollouts and bootlegs to capitalize on Garcia’s mobility.
Defensively, the Bucs are considering new packages in an effort to disrupt timing and generate more heat on opposing quarterbacks. Last season, QBs feasted against Tampa Bay’s defense, posting a cumulative 91.0 rating. All of which means past preseason stats can be rendered meaningless if coaching staffs revamp.
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3) The Broncos and the 49ers hook up in their first preseason game.
A year ago there was a QB controversy between veteran Jake Plummer and rookie Jay Cutler. There is no such controversy this season, as Plummer retired and Cutler, with his rocket arm, is No. 1. The 49ers have lost star RB Frank Gore for the preseason.
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Some general reminders :
Of course, starters won’t see a lot of time just yet, and for good reason. Who can forget four years ago when Vick suffered a serious injury in August, wrecking his season. No coach wants to jeopardize his job and no owner wants to risk his investment by losing a key player to a devastating exhibition injury.
Still, with coaches rotating players, examining depth, testing new game plans, and individual athletes battling for roster spots, there’s plenty of competition in August. Another thing to keep an eye on is subtle strategic adjustments.
Also, keep an eye on home field play. In August of 2004, the home teams went 21-10-1 against the spread the first two weeks of preseason. Two years ago, the home team went 10-5 SU/ATS the first week of exhibition play, and last season went 11-5 SU, 8-7-1 ATS.
Sometimes coaches are disappointed with their team’s first game, particularly if it’s a road loss, and they want to see a more determined effort in Game 2, especially if it’s in front of the home fans. This happened a year ago when Denver looked sloppy in a 20-13 loss at Arizona as a favorite. A week later, at home, Shanahan demanded a better effort and the Broncos destroyed Tennessee, 35-10.
It’s not uncommon for new coaches to want to prove something early on, even in preseason, while veteran coaches might take a different approach.
Buffalo coach Marv Levy had veteran teams and rarely cared about preseason. Indy’s Tony Dungy is similar, more interested in health while taking it easy on veterans. Dungy’s Colts are 1-8 SU/2-7 ATS the last two preseasons.
But to prove that there are exceptions to every rule – note that Denver coach Mike Shanahan is 38-22 SU, 33-23-2 ATS in preseason, including 12-5 SU/10-7 ATS the last four Augusts.
August 7th, 2007
NFL PRESEASON BETTING TIPS
by JIM FEIST
Its Football season!Competition on the field won’t be as intense as September, of course, as wins aren’t as important as evaluating young talent and trying to keep players healthy.
However, there will be betting lines available on preseason pro action and it’s possible to cash winning tickets. Here are some things to keep in mind when watching preseason football, which starts this weekend as the Steelers and Saints battle in the Hall of Fame game.
Coaching Strategy:
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An understanding of what coaches are trying to accomplish each week in August is essential. With four preseason games to play, NFL coaches will typically go with starters one quarter or less in the first August game, one quarter-plus in second game, the first half and into the third quarter in the third game, and then very little in the fourth game. Keeping starters healthy while getting them some competition against the opponents’ first stringers are the obvious reasons.
Coaches will often use “vanilla” game plans, working on short passes and running plays. This is why preseason totals are lower than the regular season. For example, in the first preseason game last August, the high-powered Colts played the Rams and the total was 38. It went under in a 19-17 Rams’ win. If the game had been during the regular season, the total would have been closer to 48. In fact, when the Colts opened the season at the NY Giants, the total was 48. In the third preseason game, with starters projected to play more, the Colts’ total against the Saints jumped up to 41 (it was a push in 27-14 final). Working on basic plays and keeping things simple are often the case for the first two weeks of preseason.
Home Field:
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While home field is a big edge when games count in the post and regular seasons, home field is far less important in preseason, especially in Week 4. The last three years, the visiting team is 32-15-1 ATS in Week 4 of the preseason. Last year the visitors went 8-7-1 SU and 10-5-1 ATS in Week 4.
Newspapers:
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Keeping tabs daily on what local beat writers are commenting on is important. Many times coaches will hint at potential strategy, such as “We’re going to open up the passing game a bit in the first half this week.” Or, “Our starters will play two series just to get their feet wet.” These tidbits are key and a good sports bettor knows how to evaluate coaching comments, injuries, and how strategy changes may influence the side and total.
A few years ago in a preseason game, the Atlanta Falcons coach was furious with his team’s play the week before and announced that the starters would play the entire three quarters. The line jumped from Atlanta as a 2-point favorite all the way to 5, and went off at 6 by kickoff. Sharp bettors wasted no time in hammering the Falcons, who won and covered the game easily, all because of the extensive game plan (and anger) revealed by the coach.
Quarterback Play:
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Quarterback is the single most important position on the football field. Think of the Super Bowl matchups the last decade: How many below average QBs have gotten their team to the big game? The Ravens in 2000 with Trent Dilfer is about it (unless you’re a Chicago fan still seething about Rex Grossman’s flat Super Bowl). QB play is essential and a key this time of year as starters don’t play the whole game.
When wagering on a favorite in preseason, it’s important to carefully evaluate the No. 2 and 3 QBs as they often play as much as the starter or more. A team with a great starter expected to play just two series, with a rookie or poor backup QBs playing most of the game can be at a disadvantage.
Coaches:
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Coaching is such an important part of football, as so many players need to be organized and taught various roles each week. Some coaches are more demanding in preseason, while others are more laid back. Notice that Bill Belichick is 29-20 SU, 27-20-1 ATS all time in preseason. Mike Shanahan has an August record of 38-22 SU, 33-23-2 ATS.
A couple of young coaches who have terrific preseason marks are Chiefs coach Herman Edwards (16-8 SU, 15-9 ATS) and Carolina’s Jon Fox (15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS). Cleveland’s Romeo Crennel is 6-2 SU, 7-1 ATS in preseason, yet his regular season teams have gone 6-10 and 4-12.
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You can read more from Jim Feist – and get all his sports betting pick and previews at his site :
August 5th, 2007
A GLORIOUS £200 FREE BET FOR GOODWOOD…
…PLUS BEST ODDS GUARANTEED ON EVERY RACE!
If you haven’t already got a bet365 account, there’s no excuse not to register this week as the bet365 team is running their most generous free bet offering to date.
Open a bet365 account before midnight, Saturday 4th August and place a qualifying bet on the same day. You will then be entitled to a free bet to the same stake (up to £200) on a sporting market of your choice.
Click here to register for your £200 Free Bet.
If that wasn’t enough, bet365 are also committed to offering Best Odds Guaranteed on every horse race. Take a board price or an early price and, if the SP is bigger, they’ll pay you out at the bigger odds instead!
Click here to enjoy Best Odds Guaranteed and a fantastic £200 free bet.
For more about bet365, read the latest bet365 sportsbook review onsite at BookieLabRat.com. (Sorry, No US bettors).
August 1st, 2007
Real Madrid’s new coach Bernd Schuster expressed relief on Tuesday the Spanish giants have lost their star players – Los Galacticos – and can concentrate on being a European force again.
The 47-year-old German took over as Real Madrid coach in July and has been busy making changes behind the scenes now Real have waved goodbye to star players England’s David Beckham, France’s Zinedine Zidane and Brazil’s Ronaldo.
Despite a side boasting some of Europe’s best footballers, Real went three seasons without winning the Spanish title before Schuster’s predecessor Italian Fabio Capello guided them to top spot last season – though he was sacked shortly afterwards.
The German is keen to build on that and has been making some no-nonsense changes behind the scenes: checking the players diets and insisting senior players room with younger players while away.
“Defeat is not something often seen at Real,” Schuster told German magazine Sports-Bild. “The club is swarming with world-class players. Nevertheless the Galacticos like David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo have gone – thank God.
“I have felt in conversations with key people that the side’s high-profile reputation hindered them, so I am glad a sense of normality has returned, as well it should be.”
But Schuster’s home-coming was spoiled on Tuesday night as he lost his first game back in Germany when a weakened Real Madrid side were beaten 3-0 by Bundesliga side Hanover 96.
Having led 1-0 at the break in front of a 45,683-strong crowd thanks to Hungarian Szabolcs Huszti’s goal on the half-hour mark, Hanover wrapped up the comfortable win with second-half goals by Icelandic striker Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson and a Benny Lauth strike with eight minutes remaining.
It was a weakened Real side with strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Brazilian Robinho – who was impressive in the Copa America – nowhere to be seen. Hanover open their Bundesliga campaign against Hamburg on August 11.
Check out the latest online sportsbook reviews and ratings updated for August onsite at http://www.bookielabrat.com
August 1st, 2007
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