The forthcoming NFL season is going to notoriously difficult to predict. So what would you say I we told you that the path to Super Bowl glory had already been mapped out? Don’t worry, we’re not venturing in the direction of Russian conspiracies or pre-election fixes. The good folks at ESPN have simulated the 2020/21 NFL season and come up with the team they think will lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy on 7th February next year.

It’s a very hard predicting the outcome of a single game of American football, so to simulate an entire season takes a lot of work indeed. Is it possible to be successful, though, and do the odds tally with the forecasts? Let’s take a look at exactly how it breaks down.

In the AFC, the predictions of the ESPN super-computer have the Ravens and Steelers both making the post-season from the North, with each side expected to get 12 wins from their 16 fixtures. That’s a tall order for the very best teams, but at 7/1 to win the 55th annual Super Bowl, the Ravens are favoured by the bookies ahead of the Steelers, available at 25/1. At those odds, perhaps the Steelers are the better bet.

In the AFC South, forecasts call a tight division sending the Houston Texans (60/1) through with the Indianapolis Colts (33/1), with both the Titans and Jaguars missing out, the latter to the tune of just three regular season wins, something that would give them the NFL draft’s famous ‘first pick’ for 2021. 

Making his first appearance on the Southern California circuit in more than nine months, Giant Expectations will return to the Del Mar starting gate Aug. 29 and attempt to reclaim his title in the $150,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2).

While they might have been ahead of their time, some table games are now just arriving.

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New South Wales (NSW) jockey Adam Hyeronimus has been found guilty of 30 out of 31 illegal betting charges, dating back to illegal bets that took place over three years beginning in 2016. Stablehand Blake Paine was found guilty alongside the Hyeronimus by Racing New South Wales stewards. The group one-winning jockey faces a potentially long suspension from racing for his part in the scandal.

Racing NSW stewards successfully proved that Hyeronimus had an interest in a $500 bet on ride Lucky Metor at Canterbury in 2016. He was also found to have placed a $500 bet on Limbo Soul, another ride that won on debut at Rosehill in February 2017.

The guilty verdict carries serious implications, with both charges carrying a minimum two-year ban from racing.

The NSW hoop was found guilty of a further 29 bets from 2016 to 2019, all on thoroughbred horse racing. Stablehand Blake Paine was found to have played a part in 31 cases and was convicted of 31 counts of betting for a jockey. Both men will also face additional charges of supplying false evidence to the enquiry.

The Gluck Equine Research Foundation at the University of Kentucky is developing an Equine Biological Passport which aims to identify specific biomarkers that will detect drug use by monitoring changes to peptides and protein abundance.

The casinos in Manila may have been closed since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but intrepid individuals who knew who to get past the quarantine checkpoints had the option of visiting the Casino Filipino in Angeles City. That is, until the brick and mortar location, run by the Philippines Amusement and Gambling Corporation (PAGCOR) had to shut down on July 17 due to 3 positive coronavirus tests amongst their staff.

Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. said told media that PAGCOR had ordered the temporary closure, the Inquirer reports. Andrea Domingo, chairwoman of the regulator/casino operator, noted that the casino is currently being disinfected.

As reported, some attempt at contact tracing is being attempted. People who were in close contact with employees are said to have been identified and isolated, with tests pending.

The Casino Filipino was allowed to continue operation as it’s outside the General Community Quarantine that currently keeps Manila casinos shut down. Angeles City has reported 42 of Covid-19 total, with only 4 deaths.

Three more WSOP bracelets were won across the weekend on WSOP.com as the Online Series continued to make dreams come true remotely rather than in Las Vegas.

There are a number of different game formats in this year’s WSOP Online Series, which is expected to completely replace the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this year and has certainly taken its place in the summer schedule. 

All three bracelets that were won over the weekend, were, however, done so in no limit hold’em, the classic and most popular format played by up to 6% of the world’s population from the deepest rainforest to the arctic glaciers.

The first winner of the weekend had a rather… unfortunate name for a poker player.