Category Archives: Major Sports

Autumn Nations Cup round two tips & preview

The Autumn Nations Cup continues with the second round of matches for the newest tournament on the international rugby calendar.

There were no surprises in the opening round with England asserting their credentials as favourites to lift the trophy. Four matches are pencilled in for the second round this weekend, but Fiji’s match against Italy remains under serious doubts.

Four members of the Fijian squad have tested positive for COVID-19 and the tight schedule may see Fiji miss another week of rugby. Fiji were unable to field a competitive side in week one, and face a race against time to field a side for the second week in succession. Organisers are expected to wait until the last possible moment before making a decision on whether to proceed with the match.

Below are our tips for the second round of the Autumn Nations Cup.

MMA global superstar Fabricio Werdum joins the Professional Fighters League for upcoming 2021 season

One of the sports all-time great heavyweights will make his PFL

debut in April.

NEW YORK (November 16, 2020) – Today, the Professional Fighters League announced the signing of Fabricio Werdum, one of the greatest heavyweight fighters MMA has ever seen. The charismatic Brazilian is a former UFC heavyweight champion who holds notable wins over fellow heavyweight all-time greats Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Cain Velasquez, who he defeated to win the UFC heavyweight title.

Werdum, a consensus top-3 and arguably the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of MMA, entered free agency after a Performance of the Night showing on UFC’s Fight Island which saw him submit Alexander Gustafsson by armbar in the first round. Werdum and the PFL came to terms on an exclusive deal that will have the Brazilian competing for the 2021 PFL Heavyweight Championship beginning in the Spring.

2020 NBA Draft betting preview

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Just like essentially every other sporting event on the planet this year, the 2020 NBA Draft did not go off as scheduled (late June) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also because of COVID-19, there will be no in-person draft at Wednesday’s event but held virtually from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

The late date isn’t the only reason this draft will be unusual – NBA teams didn’t get to see any top prospects play in postseason games in the 2019-20 college basketball season. More than a few players have jumped up draft boards after a huge NCAA Tournament, for example. In addition, there is no clear-cut top prospect this year like there was in 2019 with Zion Williamson.

Thus, it’s truly up in the air whom the Minnesota Timberwolves might pick at No. 1 – although they reportedly would like to trade back and get a win-now asset as they are eager to return to the playoffs and make superstar Karl-Anthony Towns happy.

Leaving Las Vegas is the theme for fight promoter Top Rank Boxing

Las Vegas has had its share of issues over the years, but it just got hit with a powerful left hook from Top Rank Boxing. The fight promoting company’s founder and CEO, Bob Arum, jumped off the top rope this weekend, slamming the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for not doing its job. As a result, Arum is reportedly fed up with the way things are going in Vegas and is ready to take his fights elsewhere.

This past Saturday, there was a WBA bout between flyweight champion Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney, and the result had a lot of people scratching their heads. The fight was called a no-contest after just two rounds when Franco’s right eye swelled shut and the ref, Russell Mora, stopped the match. The decision was marred in controversy from its announcement, both for the ref’s accusation of how the boxer was left partially and temporarily blind, and with the NSAC for not stepping in.

The ref had asserted that Mora took an illegal head-butt from Moloney in the first round of the match. A ringside doctor backed up the belief that the injury was severe enough to stop the fight, which prevented Moloney from reclaiming the title he lost to Franco this past summer. When the reason for the injury was given, few were happy and Arum tried to plead his case with the NSAC’s executive director, Bob Bennett. However, his words had about as much impact as a toddler hitting Mike Tyson in the gut.

A number of sports outlets covered the action and were quick to show the match in slo-mo replays. At no point can Moloney be seen head-butting – accidentally or otherwise – Franco. The only contact that came close to the eye was a fair jab that landed on its target, but neither the ref nor the NSAC would listen to reason. Arum went so far as to accuse the NSAC of reacting only to protect the ref’s reputation and, when asked what he plans on doing now, Arum told reporter Sean Zittel that he was considering abandoning Vegas, but with more colorful language.

Buccaneers, Patriots show their stuff in Week 10 Sunday action

First, the good news. There is still plenty of football left in the season and, with the NBA season beginning on December 22, sports fans are going to have a lot of action coming up. The bad news, though, is that we’re already more than halfway through the 2020 NFL season, which means the countdown to the end is running. Teams are running out of time if they plan on making an appearance in the playoffs, and yesterday’s slate of games may have given a preview of what to expect. 

The Tennessee Titans were forced to take a loss yesterday after they couldn’t get anywhere against the Indianapolis Colts. The two teams swapped places on top of the AFC South as a result of the 34-17 game after Colts quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 308 yards and a touchdown, while the Titans were falling apart. Both teams are now 6-3 after the Titans logged their third loss in four games. Neither team has it easy in Week 11, as the Colts are set to play the Green Bay Packers and the Titans take on the Baltimore Ravens. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made up for their embarrassing loss to the New Orleans Saints when they made easy work of the Carolina Panthers. Quarterback Tom Brady and the rest of the Bucs squad got off to a slow start and Carolina made sure it took advantage of every opportunity. However, things flipped in the second half, with Brady ending the day with 341 yards and three touchdowns to secure a 46-23 win. The Panthers defense was dominated completely during the last two quarters, with the Bucs able to record a total of 544 offensive yards in the game, including a 322-35 differential in the second half. With that, the Bucs gave themselves a boost to threaten the NFC South leaderboard, which currently has the Saints just slightly ahead of them.

The Saints aren’t too considered, at least not yet. They faced a beat-up San Francisco 49ers team yesterday, easily taking the win with a score of 27-13. It was a costly victory, however, as quarterback Drew Brees was taken out by a shot to the ribs in the second quarter. He almost immediately headed out for an MRI, allowing backup QB Jameis Winston a chance to come in and show his stuff. That wasn’t the last of the injuries for the Saints, however, as wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith and tight end Josh Hill suffered concussions, and three other players were forced to leave the game. 

Thursday Night Football finds a come-from-behind victory

Thursday Night Football (TNF) featured two AFC South teams vying for position and a solid shot at the playoffs after the NFL’s regular season wraps up. The Tennessee Titans hosted the Indianapolis Colts and, ahead of the game, even oddsmakers were unclear on who might come out on top. When the game got underway, the Titans came out strong, but the Colts weren’t having it. They rebounded from a 17-13 halftime score to take complete control of the second half, and never looked back. 

The Titans led the AFC South heading into the game, but the Colts were on a mission. They kept Tennessee out of the end zone for the entire second half as they cruised to a 34-17 victory. In doing so, they toppled the Titans and took over the division while, at the same time, picking up bragging rights for being able to go 3-0 against Tennessee in their last three games. 

Colts running back Nyheim Hines deserves some of the credit for firing up his squad. He scored his second touchdown on the night when Indianapolis launched its offensive surprises in the third quarter, giving his teammates a shot of energy. That was compounded later when linebacker E.J. Speed blocked a punt that allowed cornerback T.J. Carrie to scoop up the ball and head into the end zone to add six to the Colts’ score and continue the team’s onslaught. That punt attempt was made by Trevor Daniel, making his debut with the Titans, and the decision to put him in the game proved costly.

The Colts defense, ranked first in terms of fewest yards allowed, continuously threatened Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, forcing him to throw one incomplete pass after another. He ended the night just 15 for 27 with 147 yards and only one touchdown, not being able to produce the results that had led the team to a 6-2 record. He also took a hit from Colts defensive end Denico Autry for a sack, adding to the difficult night Tannehill was having. 

Nations League sportsbetting preview

The Nations League returns this weekend with some terrific action that will take place between some of the best countries in European International football.  

Hostilities are renewed between rivals from the 2018 World Cup, while other major nations face banana skins they could easily slip up against. Where should your money be at? Let’s take a look at the form.  

Saturday 14th November  

Portugal vs. France (7.45pm GMT kick-off)  

UFC fight night: Felder vs. Dos Anjos odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

UFC 255 is on November 21, but there’s a solid warm-up card this Saturday from the organization’s Apex facility in Las Vegas as a bout between lightweights Paul Felder and Rafael Dos Anjos highlights a Fight Night event. The main card begins at 7 p.m. and is available on ESPN+.

Being honest, this matchup is a huge downgrade from the originally scheduled fight between Islam Makhachev, who is the 12th-ranked lightweight in the UFC rankings, and Dos Anjos, who is No. 12 in the welterweight division.

Originally, those two were to fight at UFC 254 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, but Dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19 and it was postponed. Dos Anjos left his home in California to train in his native Brazil for that fight, and that country is being ravaged by the virus. Makhachev on social media wrote that he wanted to stay on the card because his good buddy UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was on it, but the UFC said no.

Modernising the Great Race – Why horse racing has to change

Horse Racing has always been known as the ‘Sport of Kings’. Once the great betting experience for the noble and the affluent, however, horse racing today exists as a sport anyone can access within a few seconds via their smartphone.  

Despite this fact, many of the processes and experiences around horse racing has been overtaken by other sports. From in-play betting on elite soccer in Europe to spreadbetting and Fantasy Sports on the NFL, in some senses, horse racing has been passed on the inside straight.  

That is, until now – and 1/ST Bet.  

1/ST Bet is a fully integrated mobile application and website that help sportsbettors weigh up horse racing statistics with real-time data to make a more informed decision on their investments. But they’re so much more than that, too. They’re a link to horse racing’s glorious past but also act as a conduit to its future, modernizing and revolutionizing the sport for new bettors, whether those are at the racetrack or not. 

Poker on Screen Special: EPT Retro closes with commentary of champions

The end of an era… or the start of a new one? PokerStars ‘EPT Retro’ re-commentaries were invented initially as a way of entertaining poker fans during the early lockdown period of Coronavirus. They may just be remembered for reminding us of the enduring charm of two players who never even sit at the felt.

Since mid-March, the EPT Retro broadcasts have been a real feather in the cap for PokerStars, a site which may retain the largest market share in business terms, but it would be fair to say has contributed less and less for the fans over recent years.

It was never just the amount of content or the huge prizepools that PokerStars offered at their best, it was the level of entertainment. The stars being present was a guarantee just as much as the money, and players such as Jason Mercier and Victoria Coren offered not only great value for money for fans who were playing along while they watched, but an originality in almost every Team PokerStars Pro roster position. These were genuine superstars of the game, but they were also very different people from varied walks of life.

Just those two examples prove the point, Mercier the Christian Floridian with the basketball court swagger and winsome grin. Coren, now Coren-Mitchell of course, the whip-smart journalist and writer, likely to be fanning her tea with a broadsheet at a side-table during play at a final table. 

NFL odds roundup: Week 10 lines & trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It was a no-brainer for the Cincinnati Bengals to pick LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft after Burrow had a record-setting Heisman Trophy-winning season last year. Who was the second-best quarterback prospect in the draft? Some scouts preferred Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and others Oregon’s Justin Herbert.

With the No. 5 overall pick, the Miami Dolphins took Tagovailoa even though he had some injury red flags over Herbert, who was considered the more prototypical NFL signal-caller but also raw. Herbert went with the next pick to the Los Angeles Chargers. On Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET, Tua and the Fins host Herbert and the Bolts in what could be the beginning of a terrific rivalry. Tua and Herbert never faced off in college. Miami is a 3-point favorite and has won 20 of its past 24 at home against west coast teams.

The San Francisco 49ers are missing almost an unprecedented number of players due to injury so they will not be repeating as NFC champions or likely even make the playoffs. The Niners partially earned the NFC’s top seed last year with a wild 48-46 victory in New Orleans in Week 14 of the regular season. That proved a crucial tiebreaker for San Francisco, which is back in the Big Easy on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Saints are -9.5 but 2-7 ATS in their past nine at home.

Basketball and sports gambling fans now know start of next NBA season

The NBA is anxious to get things going as quickly as possible in order to continue recovering revenue lost due to the COVID-19 fiasco that forced last season to take an extended break. They were pushing for a December start, while players, on the other hand, initially wanted to have more time between seasons and were trying to convince the league to hold off until January. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have now reached an agreement to get things running again, and the news will most likely make basketball fans, as well as sports gambling fans, happy.

The 75th season of the NBA will see its first games on December 22. This is two months later than an NBA season would normally start but, since the previous season only wrapped up on October 12, there was no chance of seeing things get going on a normal schedule. The upcoming season will also see 72 games played, as opposed to the normal 82. 

Part of the reason the players agreed to start sooner, instead of holding out for January, is because of the Olympics. The Summer Olympics were already delayed from this year to next, and getting pro basketball going in December will allow the season to end around the middle of July. This gives NBA players a chance to participate in the Olympics, and several have already indicated that they are planning on going. 

Being able to appear in the Olympics is a big deal for some athletes, but the NBA had to make a couple of concessions in order to get basketball players to agree to the earlier launch. Most notably, team owners didn’t get their way as they tried to convince players to put 25% of their salaries in escrow, suggested as a way to mitigate any further COVID-19 outbreaks, and had to settle for the usual 10%. That money, if the situation arises, would be taken across next season and the following two seasons, but players won’t ever have to give up more than 20%, which would only be considered in a worst-case scenario. 

Professional Fighters League to leverage IBM technologies to innovate next-gen proprietary SmartCage

PFL Teams with Flagship Group Solutions to Deliver Transformative Experiences Using IBM Cloud and Watson Technologies

NEW YORK (November 10, 2020) – The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league in the world, today announced it will be leveraging Flagship’s capabilities to deliver IBM’s suite of advanced cloud and AI products to enhance the league’s delivery of next-gen SmartCage data and analytics, both live in-broadcast and via the league’s OTT platform, Fight Central.

Flagship Solutions Group, an IBM Gold Business Partner and recognized provider of IBM solutions, managed services, and cloud solutions worldwide, will partner with the PFL to manage, design, and deliver the experience leveraging IBM’s technology solutions. PFL and Flagship Solutions Group will also work closely with the IBM Garage’s unique framework for enabling innovation at speed and scale through a team of leading technologies and multidisciplinary experts, to turn big ideas into tangible results.

PFL’s proprietary SmartCage measures real-time MMA fighter performance analytics along with biometric and positional data providing fans with an elevated viewing experience. Moving forward, SmartCage fight data, called Cagenomics, will be enhanced with Watson machine learning to scour data points and uncover new insights for MMA fans, bringing them inside the cage like never before.

Autumn Nations Cup preview & match tips

The Autumn Nations Cup is set to kick-off for the first time as the Northern Hemisphere tournament replaces tours by Australia and New Zealand due to COVID restrictions.

The eight-team tournament could become a permanent fixture on the international calendar, with crowd restrictions to continue as the U.K. faces another lockdown. The eight teams, split into two groups, includes traditional Six Nations teams, as well as newcomers Georgia and Fiji,

Check out our match tips for the opening round fixtures below.

England vs Georgia

The Jets squeak in a loss to the Patriots to remain undefeated

That was a close one. The New York Jets almost screwed up their perfect record by coming close to beating the New England Patriots in Monday Night Football (MNF). The team is now 0-9 on the season, which is very good news for them as they look to next season. A win would have made it difficult to be able to take the first pick in next year’s NFL Draft and it would have also served no purpose for the current season. Fortunately, the Jets managed to pull off a last-second loss to keep their streak going. 

The Pats were -435 favorites heading into last night’s game – that’s how strongly all the books felt about their chances. However, they didn’t prove they were worth it and got stomped on by the Jets almost for the entire game. It wasn’t until Nick Folk, the Pats’ kicker, put up a 51-yard field goal with three seconds left in the game that New England could claim the victory, winning 30-27. While neither team has been great this season, coming that close to losing to a team that hasn’t won a single game has to be somewhat embarrassing. 

Pats quarterback Cam Newton finally did something he hasn’t done all season – score a first-quarter touchdown. It was also his own, as he ran the ball into the end zone for the score. However, apart from that, he was relatively unsuccessful for most of the game and the Jets would go up 20-10 by the end of the half. The New England defense wasn’t too much better, repeatedly allowing key plays and unable to drop Jets receivers to the turf. 

After the halftime break, the Pats came back and added a touchdown to open the third quarter. However, the Jets, led by quarterback Joe Flacco who was in for the injured Sam Darnold, responded with their own score late in the quarter to make it a 27-17 game. It suddenly looked like the Jets would pull off a win as the teams headed into the last quarter. 

Premier League Review – Gameweek #8

A full schedule of Premier League action has given us some great drama on the brink of the International break. With massive victories for Chelsea, Leicester and Manchester United, the top half of the Premier League table is starting to resemble something like a division with the stronger clubs at the top and the lower-ranked sides near the bottom.  

 

 

 

Is the Premier League on course for another sportsbetting surprise season?

After eight weeks of the Premier League season, there are some surprise names still in and around the top of the table. With what equates to 21% of the Premier League campaign gone for most teams, could there be a surprise winner of the Premier League for the first time in five years? Let’s take a look.  

The Surprise Front Runners  

While there have only been eight games played, the top two aren’t just a surprise, but a genuine shock for some. Leicester City should perhaps be more expected to lead at this stage, purely because they were so strong in the first half of last season, going into 2020 in 2nd place albeit behind a rampant Liverpool side.  

The Foxes have 18 points after eight games, three more than they had at the corresponding stage of their title-winning season. At 28/1, they represent good bet-to-cash out value around Christmas time.  

Masters betting preview: DeChambeau leads odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Usually, on a November weekend in the United States the sporting focus is on college football and the NFL. However, the biggest event this weekend is clearly the Masters, the most prestigious of the four major championships on the PGA/European Tours.

The Masters is usually held in early April at Augusta National Golf Club, but the coronavirus scuttled the event back in the spring. The tournament has never been held past the month of April so it will be very interesting to see if Augusta National plays any differently. Certainly, some of that will be determined by the weather. It will look a bit different, for sure, as the azaleas aren’t blooming this time of year.

One thing golf bettors will notice is earlier start times on the weekend both because of television rights owned by CBS and the fact that days are obviously a lot shorter in Georgia in November than they are in April. CBS has obligations to air an SEC game on Saturday evening and an NFL game on Sunday mid-afternoon so the Masters will finish earlier those days. If you are wondering, the Masters uses a sudden-death playoff format. The last one was in 2017 when Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose.

IPL 2020 Final Preview & Match Tips

Cricket ball resting on a cricket bat on green grass of cricket pitch

The Indian Premier League (IPL) defending champions, the Mumbai Indians, are set to face the Delhi Capitals to decide the 2020 title. The Capitals head into the clash as underdogs against the form side of the IPL competition.

The Capitals were able to scrape into the final thanks to the heroics of Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, in a thrilling win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Delhi will be making their first appearance in the final for the first time in 13 years. Stoinis was the man of the match, claiming three wickets, including the crucial wicket of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. 

Earlier the Australian had helped the Capitals off to a flying start, Stoinis combined with Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan as the pair put on 86 for the first wicket before Stoinis was dismissed for 38.

Surprising blowout in Week 9 of the NFL has sports fans flustered

The Week 9 NFL action on Sunday left a lot of sports fans stunned. Even those who aren’t fans of a particular team and one of the oldest veteran quarterbacks in the league were surprised by a blowout loss that most could have never seen coming. By the time the action wrapped up yesterday, two things were perfectly clear about the 2020 NFL season – anything is possible, and nothing is ever guaranteed.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had difficulty overrunning a team that had expected to put up little resistance. However, the Dallas Cowboys gave their best effort and almost managed to walk away with a win. Cowboys linebacker Vander Esch will have to accept his role in handing his team the loss, as he took a shot at Steelers running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. late in the fourth quarter that gave Pittsburgh great field position and a new set of downs. That single egregious act gave new life to the Steelers, who subsequently punched into the end zone to come from behind and take the win, 24-19. 

The Carolina Panthers found themselves facing the league-leading Kansas City Chiefs yesterday and had some addition help with running back Christian McCaffrey finally able to get back on the field after an injury suffered in Week 2. He picked up 18 rushes for 69 yards and tacked on a touchdown to ultimately make things very difficult for the Chiefs. McCaffrey has proven his value to the Panthers offense by being able to return to the action, and the Chiefs had to fight to win, only taking the game in the final seconds when Carolina failed to convert. The 33-31 score shows how strong the Panthers played against the defending Super Bowl champions. 

The Arizona Cardinals were getting -223 before they suited up to take on the +190 Miami Dolphins yesterday. More than few sports gamblers who decided to back the underdog and rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are enjoying fatter wallets today, as Tag went on to throw for 248 yards and picked up two touchdowns to give the Fins a 34-31 win that also included a Miami defensive touchdown. The Cardinals had a chance to come from behind with just under four minutes on the clock, but the offense couldn’t move the ball far enough and a 49-yard field goal attempt came up empty.