Premier League Shake Up

This week's English Premier League play left the top of the table in a tighter race than previous years. Chelsea still hold a 2 point advantage over Manchester United despite losing this week to Liverpool 2-0. Striker Fernando Torres has again found his form. If torres can maintain his form Liverpool who is currently ten points away from leaders Chelsea could move closer to the top. Manchester United kept its league title hopes in tact with a win this weekend against the Wolves, as Park Ji Sung put away a game winner.

Manchester United faces Manchester City in an important derby this week which could reflect the direction of the top of the table. Arsenal lost points this weekend with a 0-1 defeat to Newcastle. The Newcastle victory puts them in contention for a top spot in the English Premier League as they finish the week of play only 3 points behind 3rd place Arsenal and Manchester City. As Arsenal take on the Wolverhampton Wanderers a team that is currently at the bottom of the table, Manchester United and Manchester City play in the derby one of the two teams will likely drop points, Chelsea take on Fulham, a team towards the bottom of the table.

Next weeks round of matches will likely leave one team a little further away from the top. I would bet on Manchester United solidifying their spot at the top.

Champions League Review

Champions League play in the group stages round match day 4 has come to an end. There have been some uncharacteristic results; Barcelona tied FC Kopenhagen 1-1, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Arsenal 1-0, and Tottenham dominated opponent Inter. Despite these results who is going to go on to the knockout stages? Lets take a look group by group.

Group A 

Currently Tottenham have the lead in this group but by merely one goal, while Inter are close behind in second. The Hotspurs next match will be against Bremen, a team they previously tied 2-2, while Inter takes on Twente who they tied 2-2.

Group B
Olympique Lyonnais currently holds the top spot ahead of FC Schalke 04 by two points despite Lyon's recent loss to Benefica who sits only one point behind Schalke, and closing. Lyon faces Schalke in their next match, a game which could determine the groups final outcome. If Benefica can defeat Hapoel Tel-Aviv earning three points, then they would have 9, in which case a tie or defeat would place all three of the leaders in a close competition for the right to move on.

Group C
Manchester United sit comfortable atop the group standings with ten points dropping only one point in a tie to the Rangers. Valencia CF sits 3 points behind the league leaders. Manchester takes on the Rangers in their next fixture while Valencia take on Buraspor, a team that has yet to earn a point. I would wager Manchester United and Valencia see themselves through to the next stage, unless the Rangers can pull off a huge win against the Manchester United Reds.

Group D
FC Barcelona sit atop Group D by a single point as Kopenhagen attempts to hold the number two spot. Panathinaikos take on Barcelona in their next fixture, the early match Barcelona produced 5 goals in a 5-1 win. Ruben takes on Kopenhagen a fixture which will likely determine the second spot in this group unless Barcelona losses unexpectedly.

Group E
FC Bayern Munich who has not dropped a point in solid form, won group E.  The second spot in this group is really up for grabs, either AS Roma could hold their current form and wither tie or defeat Bayern in their next fixture. Both FC Basel and CFR Cluj play each other in their next match a  game which will determine whether or not one of these teams will contest AS Roma for the second spot.

Group F
Chelsea has not dropped a point in this group. Zilina has not earned a point. While Chelsea won the league the real battle will be between Moskow and Marseille in their next match they battle for second place.

Group G
Real Madrid have proven too much for AC Milan as they sit atop this group with Milan in a close second. Only a couple of points separate AC Milan, AJ Auxerre, and AFC Ajax the next few games will decide who takes second place. Ajax hosts Real Madrid in the next round of matches while AC Milan takes on Auxerre.

Group H
Arsenal and FC Shakhtar Donetsk each have 9 points to lead this group. Arsenal takes on FC Braga a team which they defeated 6-0 in the first match, while FC Shakhtar Donetsk takes on FK Partizan. This group will likely be Arsenal as the number one seed on goal differential while FC Shakhtar Donetsk will take the second spot into the round of 16.

Champions League Review Bet Smart

Kobe Bryant Had Knee Surgery?

The Los Angeles Lakers came into the 2010-2011 NBA season unsure if Kobe Bryant would shine. His off season knee surgery has limited his playing time, yet the Lakers continue to win. Last night against the Sacramento Kings, a team only one game back from the Lakers in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, as the Lakers improved to 5-0, Kobe shined.

Kobe Bryant put up a ridiculous 17th career triple double. The Atlanta Hawks and the New Orleans Hornets which remain undefeated. If the Lakers continue to play in their current form, they are going to be a difficult team to watch. How do you bet against a team that wins almost every game? This could not be said better than Sekou Smith, NBA analyst said: "After what we saw from Kobe (17th career triple double) and the Lakers in a win over the Kings in Sacramento on Wednesday night, no one should question the readiness of that crew to grind through this season." I couldn't agree more. 

Futbol From Around the World

The MLS in the United States is in the first round of playoffs: The Los Angeles Galaxy win their first game 1-0 off of a long goal by Edson Buddle on the half volley from 35 yards out to beat Casey Keller. FC Dallas won their opening playoff match against Real Salt Lake 2-1, a huge goal by Eric Avila in the 87^th minute as he was subbed on merely a minute or so before. Colorado Rapids beat Columbus 1-0 off of an early goal by Pablo Mastroeni in the 23^rd minute.  The New York Redbulls defeated San Jose 1-0 as Joel Lindpere put his team up by a goal in the 55^th minute. 

Ronaldinho has returned to play once again for Brazil. The Brazilian national team called for the services of the star for the first time in 1 ½ years, he will be accompanied by Neymar, who has also been absent from the Brazilian squad for disciplinary actions. Both, the Ac Milan forward midfielder and the sensational Santos player who will shortly be taking on his role with Chelsea, Neymar, are scheduled to play with Brazil for the Nov. 17^th exhibition game against Argentina in Qatar.  He will likely compliment team mates Robinho, and Alexandre Pato. These two players should electrify the already amazing Brazilian squad. It is hard to imagine that national squads are already gearing up for international play so closely following the World Cup. I would not bet against Brazil in the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland. Brazil is going to win in Poland. I am willing to Bet on it.

Harry Redknapp had every right to outburst against referee Mark Clattenburg after Tottenham’s loss to Manchester United which was very dodgy. Nani clearly had no right to kick the ball into the back of the net for the Reds’ second final game winning goal, but Gomes must play the wistle. There was a lead pass into the box, where Nani collected the ball and as he turned he was pushed down. Play on said Mark Clattenburg the infamous ref, as Nani was still on the ground looking for a call.  As officials judged play active, and all appeals for a penalty unsuccessful, keeper Gomes put the ball down for what he thought was a free kick. Nani was there to put the ball into an empty net past an unsuspecting Gomes. But did the official not see Nani handle the ball amongst the chaos of the penalty appeal. Should he have seen it he would have been forced to deem play dead. Terrible call by mister Mark Clattenburg, the win by Manchester United puts them into 3^rd position ahead of Manchester City. Note in the 8^th second of this video Nani handling the ball. Don't wager that Nani, or Gomes will stop before the whistle ever again.

Giants Deserve the World Series

After just only one win from the Texas Rangers, The Giants win a world series for the first time since moving to San Francisco (1954 to be exact). San Francisco is a very peaceful town, but who would have bet that there would have been riots? But despite mild alcohol fueled agression the Giants deserved a World Series Nod as they excised ghosts of Giants past.

Two huge players contributing to the Giants 4-1 series victory over the Rangers: Lincecum the pitcher who dueled Cliff Lee, and kept the Giants in the ball game, and Edgar Renteria who had a huge 3 run homerun earning him MVP honors.

Congrats to the San Francisco Giants and their endeavers.

Los Angeles Lakers Week 1 Preview

The Los Angeles Lakers Came from behind week one against the Houston Rockets to win their home opener. Game two against the Phoenix Suns, a repeat of last years Western Conference Finals, the Lakers bench was crucial in the development of the game. Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors was all about the Lakers combo Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, once the Lakers earned the lead early they never looked back.

Tonights game against the Memphis Grizzlies will be an exciting match up as Pau Gasol plays against his former club where his brother currently plays, although he has a sprained ankle and is listed as day-to-day, also where Pau Gasol currently holds the records for 12 statistical categories with the Grizzlies franchise. Interesting to note that the Grizzlies only loss came to 3-0 Atlanta on opening night. Led by Rudy Gay, an injured Marc Gasol and a strong team chemistry, the Lakers better be ready to play.

We'll see what the defending champs do in this great matchup. I am betting the Lakers by 5.

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