Euro 2012 – Toughest Test in Football Looms
What is widely regarded as the most difficult football tournament to win worldwide kicks off June 8th. Poland and Ukraine will host the 14th version of the European Championship and as per usual it features 16 of the top teams in Europe.
The Heat are big favorites tonight and to win this series facing the Celtics, but this season Boston beat Miami in 3 of 4 games.
It’s one of the most anticipated playoff series’ in years. Oklahoma City is an up and coming young team full of talent.
The Philadelphia 76ers evened up this series with a win Wednesday night. The eighth seeded 76ers have pushed this game to the brink.
NBA Basketball Matchup: #8 Philadelphia 76ers (3-3) vs. #4 Boston Celtics (3-3)
Date/Time: May 26, 8:00 PM EST on ABC
NBA Gambling Odds from BetDSI
NBA Betting Favorite: Celtics -5.5
Over/Under: 170.5
Can the young Sixers upend the heavily favored Celtics in Game Seven? The oddsmakers have the veteran Celtics favored by 5.5.
Let’s take a closer look at this critical Game Seven in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Doug Collins’ team has shown that they are extremely scrappy, but this will be a major test for them on the road in a deciding Game Seven. Boston knows how to win Game Seven’s, so the 76ers will have to play their best.
When Philadelphia has won in this series it has been largely due to their terrific defense. The 76ers were ranked in the top five in defense in the NBA all year, and most people don’t realize how solid this group is on the defensive end. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
They have controlled the boards in most of the games, and they are getting out and running whenever they have the opportunity. Philadelphia needs big games out of their point-forwards Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner.
Both of these guys have unique skill sets and they are tough matchups for the Celtics.
Boston led 36-33 at halftime in Game Six, but they looked terrible in the second half. The Celtics looked tired and slow against the young Sixers. The two days of rest before Game Seven will certainly help the Celtics, but they must come out focused and ready to go.
Boston shot a miserable 33.3% from the floor in Game Six. Brandon Bass was the hero in Game Five, but he was just 4 for 14 from the floor in Game Six. Rajon Rondo was 4 for 14, and he only had six assists. Only Kevin Garnett has consistently produced on the offensive end throughout this series.
Rondo must be fully engaged, and Paul Pierce needs to be aggressive getting to the rim if the Celtics are going to win this one.
The Celtics know this is one of their last chances to win with the current group, and I expect them to pull out a close win. Still, the best value is likely the under in what I expect to be a tight game.
Free NBA Pick: Under 170.5
This Sunday marks the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, otherwise known as the Brickyard.
2012 Indianapolis 500 Betting Preview
Race: Indianapolis 500
Date: Sunday, May 27, 2012
Time: 12 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: ABC
While the growth of NASCAR’s popularity over the years has replaced open-wheel racing as America’s No.1 racing series, the Indy 500 is still one of the most popular and entertaining races in the sport.
The following is a look at my top three favorites to win Sunday’s race along with their current odds as provided by Bovada.
Pole sitter Ryan Brisco is the odds-on-favorite to win this race at 7/2, but veteran driver Castroneves offers better value as the second-favorite at 11/2 to win at Indy. He already has three top-10 finishes in the first four races this season, including a victory at St. Petersburg and a third-place finish in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
The No.3 car is currently second in the Izod Indy Car point standings. He is coming off a disappointing 2011 campaign where he went winless in 18 races including a 17th-place finish at Indy. However, given his current form coming into this year’s race, Castroneves is in great position to capture his fourth career Indy 500 championship after winning in 2001, 2002, and most recently in 2009.
He will start this year’s race from the sixth position; on the outside of Row 2.
There is no Indy series driver hotter right now than Will Power. He comes into this race ranked first in the standings with 180 points after winning three of the first four races, which adds a tremendous amount of value to his 6/1 odds. The No.12 car started last year’s race from the middle of the second row but could only manage a 14th-place finish. [ad-8757089]
While Power is still searching for his first career win at Indy, he has come close in recent years with a fifth-place finish in 2009 and an eighth-place finish in 2010. He will once again start this year’s race in the middle of the second row.
The Andretti name has long since been synonymous with Indy car racing and Marco continues to carry this tradition on as one of the top drivers in the series.
The No.26 car has gotten off to a slow start this season; finishing out of the top 10 the first four races. He is coming off a solid 2011 campaign with a victory at Iowa to go along with four other top-five finishes.
Last year at Indy, Andretti was forced to start 26th due to a poor qualifying time but still managed a top-10 finish in ninth place. He already has a second-place finish in this race in 2006 and two third-place finishes in 2008 and 2010 on his resume, so at 10/1 odds, 2012 could very well be his year to break through with a victory.
He will start this year’s race on the inside of Row 2 in the fourth position.
Indy 500 Lines
Ryan Briscoe – – 15/4
Helio Castroneves – – 11/2
Will Power – – 6/1
James Hinchcliffe – – 17/2
Dario Franchitti – – 9/1
Marco Andretti – – 10/1
Scott Dixon – – 10/1
Ryan Hunter-Reay – – 12/1
Tony Kanaan – – 14/1
Josef Newgarden – – 20/1
Graham Rahal – – 35/1
JR Hildebrand – – 35/1
Rubens Barrichello – – 50/1
Alex Tagliani – – 50/1
E.J. Viso – – 65/1
Justin Wilson – – 75/1
Oriol Servia – – 75/1
Ed Carpenter – – 75/1
Takuma Sato – – 80/1
Charlie Kimball – – 100/1
Simon Pagenaud – – 100/1
Ana Beatriz – – 100/1
Sebastian Saavedra – – 100/1
Michel Jourdain – – 100/1
James Jakes – – 125/1
Mike Conway – – 125/1
Sebastien Bourdais – – 125/1
Townsend Bell – – 125/1
Wade Cunningham – – 125/1
Bryan Clauson – – 150/1
Jean Alesi – – 150/1
Simona De Silvestro – – 200/1
Katherine Legge – – 200/1
Change is a reality in sports and UFC 146 has not been immune to alterations to its main card because of injury and positive drug tests. A revamped Card comes our way from Las Vegas on Saturday night and amid all of the changes, there is still an impressive lineup of fights that you won’t want to miss!
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series spends its second-straight week in Concord, North Carolina for the running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In another rematch of the 2011 National League Division series, the St. Louis Cardinals will look to repeat their dismantling of the visiting Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of a three-game series that continues on Friday night.
After a terrible start the Red Sox have gotten back on track and they are not at .500 and have won 7 of their last 10 games.
Cole Hamels pitched a gem to help the Phillies salvage one game from the Washington Nationals last night. St. Louis was comfortably ahead in the NL Central a couple weeks ago, but now the Reds are just half a game behind the Cardinals.
The 2012 MLB regular season has been somewhat unpredictable in the early going with teams like Washington, Baltimore and Cleveland leading their respective division, while teams such as Philadelphia, Boston, and the New York Yankees continue to struggle.
This has made handicapping the games a bit more of a challenge, but after sifting through all the pertinent stats and information available for the pitching matchups on Thursday’s slate of games, we uncovered a two-team parlay that promises to jump-start your holiday weekend.
Game 1- San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins
Money Line: San Francisco +110 Miami -115
Total Line: 7.5
San Francisco will kick-off its four-day stay in Miami with Ryan Vogelsong as its starter for Game 1. The right-hander is 2-2 on the year with an ERA of 2.27 and a 1.17 WHIP. He has given-up a total of three earned runs in his last four starts after allowing nine earned runs in his first three. Vogelsong is 1-3 against the Marlins but sporting a 1.97 ERA in 32 innings pitched.
Anibel Sanchez is slated to get the start for Miami in the series opener. He has gone at least seven innings in his last six starts and has not given-up more than two earned runs in any of his eight starts this season. The right-hander is 2-2 on the year with a 2.32 ERA. He is 3-0 against the Giants with an ERA of just 0.87.
The Giants are 5-1 in their last six games in Miami, but just 2-8 in the last 10 meetings overall. While a side bet on the ‘under’ would be a solid play considering both these pitchers current form along with the fact that the total has stayed ‘under’ in four of the last five meetings here, stick with Miami over the road-weary Giants in the front-end of this parlay. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Game 2- Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Money Line: Philadelphia +120 St. Louis -135
Total Line: 8
The extremely inconsistent Phillies will go with Joe Blanton as their starter in Game 1 of this four-game set. The right-hander has given-up 11 earned runs on 20 hits in his last three starts to fall to 4-4 on the year with an overall ERA of 3.74. He is 3-2 against the Cardinals with a 3.03 ERA.
St.Louis will counter with Jake Westbrook. This right-hander is 4-3 in eight previous starts with a 2.41 ERA. He has held his opponents to two or less earned runs in six of those games. Lifetime against the Phillies, Westbrook is 1-1 with an ERA of 3.52.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season, but Philadelphia is 2-5 in the last seven meetings overall and 1-2 in its last three games in St. Louis. This game could be another strong play for the ‘under’ considering that four of Blanton’s last five starts against the Cardinals have stayed ‘under’ the total, but stick with St. Louis to come through with the victory to round-out the back-end of this parlay.
The Heat won a highly tense Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in this series, but it was a costly win since both Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman were called for flagrant fouls and both will miss this game.
Tonight’s Game 1 match up in this series is one between 2 teams heading in different directions, as the Mets have won 2 straight while the Padres have lost 3 in a row.
2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial comes our way from Fort Worth Texas this week after yet another thrilling Byron Nelson. Colonial Golf Club hosts the pros for the 66th straight year for what is regarded as many’s favorite stop on TOUR.
The Washington Nationals have done it with pitching all year, and the first two games of this series have been a perfect example of what their pitching staff has done in 2012.
The Astros will be trying for their sixth win in eight games Wednesday night, when they close out their three-game home set against a scrappy Cubs team at Minute Maid Park.
