The end of this election cycle is in sight, and the candidate are in a frenzy to get out every vote they can. With the polls closing tomorrow, President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden hit up as many swing states as they could as the election continues to look like it will lean blue.
Pennsylvania, which is expected to be the tipping point state that decides the 2020 election, was visited by Trump on Saturday. He warned that we may be waiting weeks to find out who has won the presidency. “So you’re going to be watching on Nov. 3. I think it’s highly likely you’re not going to have a decision, because Pennsylvania’s very big. We’re going to be waiting. Nov. 3 is going to come and go, and we’re not going to know. And you’re going to have bedlam in our country.”
Trump then visited Michigan on Sunday, a state he looks like he might lose after having barely won it in 2016. He warned voters: “This election is a choice between the Biden depression or you can have the greatest economic boom in the history of our country.”
Biden, joined by Former President and Barrack Obama, did the opposite, visiting Michigan on Saturday, followed by Pennsylvania on Sunday. Biden called Trump’s handling of the pandemic criminal, laying out his own plans to put in a national strategy, if elected.
Australia will be desperate to avoid a clean-sweep as they take on the All Blacks in the fourth Bledisloe Cup match in Brisbane. With the All Blacks claiming the Bledisloe Cup for another year, following their win in Sydney, Australia will be playing for pride.
After a promising display in the First Test Match in Wellington, the wheels have well and truly come off for the Wallabies. The home side were horrendous in their first outing at home this season. The match and series were effectively over by half-time, with the All Blacks piling on four times to nil.
Australian coach David Rennie was shell-shocked by the nature of the defeat; the 37-point margin was the largest in the 117-year history of the Bledisloe Cup.
The Wallabies are set to re-introduce experienced fly-half James O’Connor back into the side for the fourth match in Brisbane. O’Connor was a late withdrawal through injury for the match in Sydney, opening the door for Brumbies play-maker Noah Lolesio. Lolesio is inline for a bench spot after showing glimpses of his potential, scoring the Wallabies only try.
When the Gavel dropped on the Goldin Auctions October Legends Auction, the total proceeds topped $16 Million, a figure never before that had been eclipsed in the Online Sports Memorabilia Auction Industry from single auction event. Topping the list of most valuable items was the T-206 Honus Wagner card in Lot #1 which sold for $1,426,800 setting a new All-time record for a Honus Wagner T-206 card in the respective grade by PSA. In addition to the record bid price on the famed Honus Wagner, another very iconic basketball rookie card of Michel Jordan has also toppled the record. The red, white and blue 1986 Fleer issue featuring Jordan sold for the price including premium of $124,230, setting a new auction record for this popular card.
Other notable sales were the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle that sold for a staggering sum of $584,250. A new record for the most expensive Soccer card of All time was also set with a sale of $295,200 on a 1958 Alifabolaget Pele rookie card graded a PSA MINT 9 and a 1986 Fleer Basketball set containing Michael Jordan’s rookie card also set a new record price $224,300.
“For the past several years my goal has been to increase the both the user base of Goldin Auctions, as well as grow the business for the entire industry,” says Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions. “We have seen a tremendous increase in both the number of collectors in the hobby as well as a tremendous growth in our user base at Goldin Auctions. Our October Legends clearly demonstrates this as it was not only the highest grossing auction in the history of online sports auctions at $16 million, but also registered the most bids ever recorded at Goldin Auctions, as well as the most bidders and the most unique winners.”
Goldin also explained, “I would like to thank all of our consignors who contributed tremendous product to the auction, and all of our bidders, not only for their support during this auction, but during all of 2020 which has seen us put up an unprecedented run of five consecutive auctions which have each generated in excess of $10 million in sales.”
Goldin Auctions is currently seeking consignments for our Holiday Auction being held in December and our next Goldin Elite auction in January. To get into the auction you can consign by emailing an image and description of your items to [email protected].
The Goldin Auctions 2020 October Legends Auction Session 1 also featured the Cal Ripken Jr. personal collection that included game used items and memorabilia from the career of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. from his first little league uniform, to his early days as a Baltimore Oriole, to items from his historic consecutive game streak, 3,000th hit, 400th home run, World Series Championship, retirement and more. The collection brought in over $1.2 Million in total revenue and a portion of all his items sold will benefit the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. The Highlighted sales from the Ripken collection was the Jersey worn by Cal for his final game of his 2632 consecutive game streak that fetched $184,500, the jersey worn by Cal for his Major League Debut sold for $123,000 and the bat used by Ripken in the 1st inning of his record breaking 2131 consecutive game brought in $124,230.
Session 1 which closed on Saturday Night consisted of Lots 1 – 417 and Session II Consists of Lots 418-1923 and closed on Sunday November 1st
The NFL has almost wrapped up Week 8 action – tonight’s Monday Night Football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants will bring it home – and yesterday’s slate of games offered a little bit of everything. It’s becoming clear that several high-profile players don’t have the job security they may have thought they had and that some other players might need to consider anger management classes. As the season progresses, this week and next will give sports gamblers a pretty good idea of what to expect as the second half of the season comes into focus.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have been put off as their game against the Baltimore Ravens got underway yesterday, but they didn’t let it get them down. On the very first possession of the game, Ravens linebacker Robert Spillane stole the ball for a pick-six that put Pittsburgh at a disadvantage. But, Ben Roethlisberger didn’t let it get him down and the quarterback bounced back to take control. Two second-half touchdown passes helped the Steelers overcome the interception and they went on to win, 28-24. With that victory, Pittsburgh can still claim to be the only undefeated team in the NFL this season, and the Ravens fall to 5-2.
The Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings gave fans a thrill yesterday. The first half saw both offenses working the field and scoring two touchdowns each, but the second half proved to be something different. The Packers suddenly found themselves scrambling against a defense that was sowing chaos at almost every turn, and the Vikings offense was in complete control. By the time it was over, the now 5-2 Vikings had handed the Packers just their second defeat of the season on their way to a 28-22 victory.
The Tennessee Titans were 5-1 going into their game against the 1-5-1 Cincinnati Bengals yesterday, and this game should have been an easy one for Tennessee to wrap up. The Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow had other plans, though. The Titans were lackluster throughout the game and, after having gone 14-for-14 in red zone scoring this year, they suddenly found an unexpectedly tough defense that denied them from crossing the goal line. The Titans have now dropped two consecutive games as the Bengals improved to 2-5-1 with their 31-20 win.
If you’re following the U.S. election from afar or paying close attention, you’ve probably heard one common refrain: “I don’t believe these polls.” You’ll hear it from cable news anchors and late night comedians alike. And it could mean that betting odds really are the better indicator of who’s going to win this election.
In recently released polls, Former Vice President Joe Biden leads Presidential Donald Trump by as much as 5% in Florida. The fivethirtyeight.com average has him ahead by 2.2% with a 65% chance to win the state. Such a win would likely mean he beats Trump by a landslide on election night.
The problem is, nobody, and I mean nobody, believes this is going to happen. Even those that want Biden to win don’t expect him to win by that much:
Another Florida poll today, this one with Biden up 5. Pollsters badly botched the Sunshine State two years ago, so I remain skeptical that Biden could ever win by more than 1% in a state Republicans have owned this century. https://t.co/ZWftGCbJlU
If ever there were a time that the Carolina Panthers needed the services of running back Christian McCaffrey (CMC), it was last night against the Atlanta Falcons. Thursday Night Football in the NFL found these two NFC South teams pitted against each other, and the Falcons figured out the secret to stopping the Panthers offense, with CMC still out due to injury, almost from the start of the game. By all counts, it wasn’t a pretty contest, but the Falcons found their revenge after losing to the Panthers earlier in the season, and also found a little vindication after having become the butt of jokes for losing several games after having put themselves in a winning position.
The Panthers came out strong, but weren’t able to keep their offensive stamina up throughout the game. For the Falcons, they were able to continuously exploit Carolina’s defensive secondary to drop long passes right on their targets, leading to Matt Ryan picking up 281 yards in the game. The quarterback also ran into the end zone for his own touchdown, the first of the season, as the Falcons hammered away toward a 25-17 victory.
While the Panthers secondary seemed to be a little dazed and confused, overall, the defense did a decent job. Most of the Falcons’ points, with the exception of the touchdown by Ryan and one more by running back Todd Gurley, were off field goals. The Panthers were able to keep the Falcons from reaching the end zone throughout the game, but Ryan’s ability to find open receivers had done its damage – Atlanta repeatedly got close enough to allow Younghhoe Koo to kick the ball through the uprights. He went four-for-four on field goals, but also managed to miss a point-after kick that almost proved to be costly.
With just a little more than a minute left in the game, the Panthers and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had a chance to threaten the Falcons, and Atlanta fans had to be stressing after watching their team give up several games this year after having a comfortable lead. However, cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson would save the Falcons by way of an interception, allowing Atlanta to capture just its second win of the season.
After spending a month at its Fight Island facility in Abu Dhabi capped by last Saturday’s terrific UFC 254 event, the UFC returns to its Las Vegas Apex facility this Saturday for a Fight Night card headlined by a non-title middleweight bout between Uriah Hall and Anderson Silva. The main card is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET and is available on ESPN+ in the United States.
Hall and Silva were to meet way back in May 2014, but Silva had to pull out with something called acute cholecystitis. Silva had to have his gallbladder removed.
Israel Adesanya is the middleweight champion and neither of these guys is getting a title shot again. The 36-year-old Hall, who was born in Jamaica but now calls New York home, is 15-9 and ranked No. 10 in the division. He was a former Ring of Combat champion who joined the UFC in 2013.
The NHL’s Detroit Red Wings have announced that they will be extending their betting partnership with BetMGM.
The long-term deal means that BetMGM will continue with their on-branding at Little Caesars Arena, as well as digital signage and presence on the Red Wings digital channels. BetMGM will also provide stats and betting data for the District Detroit mobile app and provide stats and betting odds to Red Wings fans for the 2021 NHL season.
The #RedWings announced today they have renewed and expanded their strategic partnership with BetMGM.
It’s an action-packed weekend of rugby, with the Six Nations finishing in the U.K. and the Rugby Championship continuing in Australia. Super Rugby Unlocked heats up, with spots in the finals up for grabs in round four of the competition. Below are our tips for Super Rugby Unlocked.
Lions vs Griquas
Both of these sides will be a little undercooked, with the Lions and Griquas having a bye last weekend. The Lions are yet to win a game this season in the new competition and will be hunting their first win this weekend; having lost their last six Super Rugby matches. The Lions will be confident of claiming a win this weekend, as Griquas have also struggled in the new competition. The Griquas have managed to claim a losing bonus point in their last two games. The Lions will take this opportunity to find some winning form and mount a serious charge towards the Super Rugby title. Elton Jantjies remains the player to watch for the Lions. Jantjies has scored a try and claimed two assists in his last three matches
Week 8 is actually a pretty good one in terms of teams on the bye because three of them in the Washington Football Team, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans are among the NFL’s worst clubs. The fourth off is a good Arizona Cardinals team.
It’s rare that an NFL team makes major news during its bye week short of firing a head coach, but the Miami Dolphins hijacked the football news last week when they were off with the fairly shocking decision to make rookie No. 5 overall pick Tua Tagovailoa as their first-time starter for this Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Rams.
On the one hand, it makes sense to make that call during a bye week to give Tua plenty of reps in practice, but on the other Ryan Fitzpatrick was playing quite well and had led the Dolphins to three wins in their past four and into the AFC East race. Miami is a 4-point underdog but has won 19 of its past 23 when hosting West Coast teams.
It’s been a long 12 years for the LA Dodgers as they waited for an MLB World Series win. Since then, they have picked up 12 West Division titles and three National League pennants, but could never bring home the trophy. After starting strong in the Fall Classic this year, the Tampa Bay Rays threatened to deny the Dodgers once again after LA’s latest failures in 2017 and 2018, but some prudent planning by GM Dave Roberts may have saved the day. The 2020 World Series was pushed out to six games before a winner was found and before the Dodgers could feel vindicated.
Roberts made a decision early on in the series to keep two relief pitchers in the dugout and the fact that they were able to rest up proved key in last night’s Game 6. Dylan Floro replaced Tony Gonsolin in the second inning and ended up leaving Randy Arozarena, the Rays’ go-to slugger – at home plate with two runners on base to stave off an attack. Alex Wood took over in the third and fourth innings, picking up three strikeouts and making quick work of the Rays. Gonsolin had been a big part of the Dodgers’ success in Game 5, but Floro and Wood, who were joined by four other pitchers throughout the rest of the Dodgers’ time on the field, gave him a much-needed break and performed above expectations.
Austin Barnes, who protects home plate for the Dodgers, said of the pitching crew after the game, “They just made their pitches, they executed, they didn’t let the moment get to them. The first two innings were a grind for us, we were a little bit on our heels for the first part of the game, and those guys kept us in it. Those guys won us the game.”
The Rays got things started with a homer off the bat of Arozarena in the first. That gave him the MLB record for the most hits in a postseason with 29, as well as the record for the most total bases – at 64 – in a postseason. That was the only run on the board by the Rays for the entire game. The Dodgers made sure they shut down Arozarena for the rest of the night.
The Big Ten and Mountain West had their 2020 college football debuts last week, but there is no league making the same in Week 9 – we have to wait until Week 10 for the Pac-12 to be the last to join the party.
Clearly the marquee matchup of Week 9 is from the Big Ten and specifically the East Division as No. 3 Ohio State visits No. 18 Penn State at 7:30 p.m. ET. This lost a little bit of luster when the Nittany Lions were upset last week by Indiana.
Penn State also got bad news last week when star running back Journey Brown was revealed to be suffering with an undisclosed medical condition that likely will keep him out the entire season. Ohio State, meanwhile, had little trouble smashing Nebraska.
The LA Rams and the Chicago Bears were both drawing a lot of attention heading into Monday Night Football. The two teams have superior defenses, and NFL fans expected this to be a low-scoring game. They weren’t wrong, and the turf was alive with great hits on both sides of the ball. By the time the clock ticked down to zero, though, the outcome may not have been what some had hoped to see.
The Rams defense was able to stop quarterback Nick Foles at almost every turn. It kept the Bears to under three points in the second half – the sixth time it’s pulled that off – and added a touchback and two interceptions to keep the Bears on their toes. The Rams, off the foot of punter Johnny Hekker, put the Bears inside the ten-yard line five times, making it difficult for the offense to develop.
That LA defense got some help from a better-than-normal offense, as well. Quarterback Jared Goff, hoping to bounce back from a sluggish performance in last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, rose to the occasion and put up back-to-back touchdown drives in the third quarter as he went 23 of 33 and picked up 219 yards in the game. Goff said after the game, “We did well; that defense is tough. There were a couple careless errors by me that we got away with, but that’s the game. I thought we were able to distribute the ball pretty well and make some plays.”
The Rams would lead 10-3 when the teams hit the lockers at the half, and would come out swinging in the second half. The Rams put up another touchdown as the third quarter was moving forward, and Hekker then planted the ball on the one-yard line, pinning the Bears and making it difficult for the offense to move. Foles tried, but fell short on one play and forced one of the game’s interceptions and the touchback that would then turn into another Rams touchdown. The Bears were now in a bad spot, down 24-3 and trying to figure out what to do.
The World Series takes a break on Monday, but the Los Angeles Dodgers can win their first title since 1988 on Tuesday from Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, as they have a 3-2 series lead on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers also will be the home team for Game 6 and Game 7, if necessary. On the series line, Los Angeles is now a -550 favorite with Tampa Bay at +425.
The Dodgers have won three consecutive games with a chance to close out a playoff series (all this season), their third-longest streak in postseason history (five straight from 1988-2013 and four straight from 1978-1981).
However, the pitching matchup Tuesday seems to favor Tampa Bay, which is a +120 underdog for Game 6 (the Dodgers are -140). It’s lefty and former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell on the bump for the Rays. Snell was dominant for a while in Game 2, striking out nine over 4.2 hitless innings before the Dodgers were able to score twice. He wouldn’t finish that inning, but Tampa Bay did win 6-4.
Australia is set to take on the All Blacks in the third game of the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney. The match is set to double as a fixture for the Rugby Championship, with points on the line in the tri-series tournament.
[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Australia must win the clash in Sydney to keep the four-game Trans-Tasman series alive. History is against the home side, with Australia failing to get their hands on the Bledisloe Cup in more than two decades.
After two games in New Zealand, Australia will welcome the opportunity to play in front of their home fans. Australia were unlucky to draw the first game in New Zealand but were absolutely smashed off the park in their last outing at Eden Park.
The Six Nations is set to conclude for this season with the final round to be played out with the title still on the line. Ireland holds a slender one-point advantage over England with one game left to play.
[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
The Irish will be confident after an impressive display last weekend against the hapless Italians at home in Dublin. England will be underdone after the last-minute cancellation of their match with the Barbarians side, due to COVID-19 biosecurity breaches.
England will be hoping that the unpredictable French side can rise to the occasion against Ireland, leaving England a chance of stealing the Six Nations title in the final round of fixtures. Check out our Six Nations match tips below.
The MLB World Series could be wrapped up in just one more game. The LA Dodgers pulled out in front of the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, making tomorrow’s Game 6 the most important one for the Rays this year. Lose it and they go home. Win it and they force Game 7 and a final chance at the pennant.
This Fall Classic has been full of ups and downs as the Rays continued to thwart the Dodgers’ hopes of securing a quick win. However, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been undeterred, continuing to chip away at the Rays batting lineup while getting some extra help from the outfield. He stayed in the game for five and a half innings yesterday, bullying the Rays the entire time and forcing them to go just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. He added six strikeouts and just two runs to an already impressive resume.
It wasn’t just Kershaw, though, that won it for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts picked up a leadoff double that was followed by a single by Corey Seager that brought him home. Seager was able to advance to third after Tyler Glasnow failed to live up to expectations on the mound for the Rays, and then brought it around to home plate when Cody Bellinger singled. This gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead and renewed energy to keep the pressure on, and they would add one more run in the second to give them a bigger cushion.
That worked until the third inning, when the Rays found a little success. Wanting to do whatever they could to threaten the Dodgers, the Rays found an opening after Yandy Díaz put up an RBI triple to get in scoring position. He crossed the plate thanks to a postseason record-setting 27th hit off Randy Arozarena’s bat, and the Rays then had a chance to tie things up when Manual Margot tried to get his name in the spotlight by stealing home. It didn’t work out and the Dodgers turned up the heat to remind the Rays that they’re serious.
This NFL season has already positioned itself in the history books as one of the oddest in recent memory. Divisions that are filled with losing records, massive amounts of injuries, upsets and a pesky COVID-19 that has threatened to call off the action have kept things interesting from Week 1. Yesterday’s Week 7 games added to the excitement, bringing everything from clutch plays for the win to blizzards. Sports gamblers had to like what they saw, too.
The Green Bay Packers didn’t have too much to worry about with the Houston Texans, a team that is trying to find its direction after head coach Bill O’Brien was recently let go. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed the day with 283 yards as he threw four touchdowns, two of which went to Davante Adams, on the team’s way to a 35-20 victory. Bettors expected a blowout, and BetRivers saw 87% of the action going to the Packers, with another 77% covering the -3 Packers spread.
The Washington Football Team had no trouble as it faced the Dallas Cowboys. Mike McCarthy might be the second NFL coach in the Lone Star State to be fired this season after the embarrassing 25-3 loss that saw Washington control the course of the game from the start. The Cowboys were able to stop the WFT on the first drive at the goal line, but that was about the end of any defensive performance. This game went to the sportsbooks, with 78% of the bets on the spread were in favor of the Boys, and 76% had them winning the game.
The New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers met up in New Orleans, playing in front of just a handful of spectators, but it was enough to give the Saints a boost. Quarterback Drew Brees put up 287 yards, despite not having two top receivers, but the Panthers had their moments, as well. This game would be a battle all the way through and hinge on just one (controversial) play. Kicker Joey Slye was brought out to try a 65-yard field goal with two minutes still on the clock and almost pulled it off – it fell about a foot short, and the Saints would get the ball back to hold onto the 27-24 score. The good news for bettors is that the Panthers covered the spread, but the 61% of the bets on the Over/Under of 51 missed.
On a weekend where the last 100% in Britain’s top 5 divisions was smashed to pieces, Liverpool found a way to win and Manchester United and Chelsea somehow both kept a clean sheet, there were more shocks in store in the greatest soccer league in the world.
Let’s take a deeper look at three of the results that have crystalised the Premier League table after six games.
Southampton 2-0 Everton
It all went wrong on the South Coast for table-topping Everton as Carlo Ancelotti’s men were steamrolled by Ralph Hassenhuttl’s hard-working Saints side.
The final U.S. Presidential Debate has now come and gone, giving the candidates their final chance to directly address each other and win over voters. With former Vice President Joe Biden looking to secure a win, and President Donald Trump hoping to pull off another historic upset, there was a lot at stake. Looking at the election odds, before and after the all important 90 minutes of discussion, it looks like neither candidate accomplished very much.
How did the debate go?
The debate, which for the first time muted the candidates microphones to avoid excessive interruptions, ended up being much more within the norms of American expectations. That resulted in a more polite evenings, but with no less substance discussed. Trump attacked Biden on recently reported scandals, his support of the 1994 Crime Bill, and the prospect that Biden would shutdown the economy over Covid-19. In return, Biden focused on the casualties of the pandemic, Trump’s hidden bank accounts and accused him of being racist.
From my perspective, this debate ended up going much better for Trump than their first contest. Simply for the fact that he couldn’t interrupt everything Biden and the moderator said, he ended up looking more professional, and low-information voters may take his charges against Biden on face value.
