The 2019-20 NFL season concluded Sunday night in Miami with the Kansas City Chiefs rallying to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, 31-20, the second title in franchise history.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The various sportsbooks actually have had odds out to win Super Bowl 55 for a few weeks. That game is February 7, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Yes, it’s unusual for one state to host a Super Bowl in back-to-back years, and Tampa wasn’t originally going to be the host. However, in 2017 NFL owners voted to move the game from the new Rams-Chargers stadium in Los Angeles to Tampa because that $5 billion building was way behind schedule back then. It will open for the 2020 season, but it’s a very big endeavor to host a Super Bowl. So now L.A. will instead get SB 56 in February 2022. Better to not rush things.

As one would expect, the Chiefs (+600) and 49ers (+800) are among the favorites for Super Bowl 55. Kansas City probably will be among the preseason favorites for years simply because of having quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Super Bowl LIV MVP. The Baltimore Ravens (+800) had the NFL’s best regular-season record in 2019 before a shocking playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans (+3000), and the Ravens also are among the 2020 favorites behind newly-named NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

They say that money talks, and that proved to be the case on Wednesday when BetMGM announced that they were changing their line on Super Bowl LIV after a $550,000 wager was placed on the Kansas City Chiefs to win football’s biggest game. That move prompted a change in the line from the Chiefs by 1.0 to them being favored by 1.5.

In a statement provided by Jeff Stoneback, director of trading operations for MGM Resorts International, he explained that a bet for $550,000 was placed on Kansas City when they were favored to win by 1.0. If he wins, he will receive $500,000. He added that once that wager was placed “That forced us to move it” speaking about the line.

Earlier in the week, Stoneback was adamant about not wanting to move the line. He was expecting that a lot more money would be bet on the 49ers later in the week after the first two six-figure bets were placed on the Chiefs. Those amounts were for $150,000 and $200,000.

However, the more than half-million-dollar bet changed the dynamics, forcing MGM to change the line. They had set Kansas City as 1.0 favorites following the two conference championship games, but the third big bet changed things.

After a thrilling five-set classic, Novak Djokovic turned his dreams into yet more ridiculous reality as he triumphed 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Austrian challenger Dominic Thiem at the Rod Laver Arena.

The Serbian powerhouse Djokovic had already won the Australian Open a record seven times, but he extended his own record in Oz, and in doing so, became the only man in tennis history to win Grand Slam singles events in three different decades.

That Djokovic was two sets to one down against the younger man and still emerged from the hard court victorious should surprise no-one. As he said in his acceptance speech, this is a man who knows how to triumph over adversity, who came from nothing to become the heir incumbent to the title of the Greatest of All Time. It no longer seems a case of whether Djokovic can beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Race to 21 Grand Slam singles titles.

It looks merely a matter of when.

Sports betting operator SportPesa has lost its sponsorship agreement with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) after the sports body came under heavy criticism from anti-gambling campaigners.

This weekend, the FAI announced that it had called time on its two-year SportPesa sponsorship deal, despite the deal being less than one year old. The FAI said it made its decision after “re-evaluating its partnership portfolio” and “shifting priorities.” The FAI thanked SportPesa for its “professionalism over the course of this deal.”

SportPesa issued its own statement saying that the decision to “mutually terminate” the contract ahead of schedule was the result of “discussions between the two parties.” SportPesa added that “as an organization that takes responsible gambling incredibly seriously, we understand the new approach taken by the FAI toward its partnerships with those in the gaming sector.”

The FAI’s SportPesa deal was subject to intense criticism from anti-gambling campaigners who felt the body was improperly promoting betting. The decision to forego SportPesa’s sponsorship cash came despite the body being so cash-poor that it was forced to accept a €20m financial assistance package from the Irish government last week.

Suspected efforts by gamblers trying to fix sports matches were on the decline in 2019, according to the global body tasked with monitoring for such chicanery.

On Wednesday, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) issued its annual report on the number of suspicious alerts it issued regarding possible attempts at match-fixing. The IBIA’s members include many of the global betting industry’s major players, who supply the data over which the IBIA keeps a close eye.

The IBIA (formerly known as ESSA) reported 45 suspicious alerts in the final quarter of 2019, bringing the full-year total to 183, a 31% decline from 2018’s total. Tennis continued to account for the bulk of alerts with 101, although this was down 43% from 2018. Football ranked second on the number of alerts with 49, while no other sport got out of single-digit territory.

A majority (52%) of 2019’s alerts came from outside Europe, seven points higher than the year before. Europe still scored highest on individual number of alerts (87), followed by Asia (52) and Africa (15), while North and South America tied with 13 alerts apiece.

With just 48 hours of the English Premier League transfer window remaining, the race for the most talented players in Europe is heatting up. Every club seems to be under the most intense pressure. Chelsea need a striker, Tottenham Hotspur also need a front man and Manchester United need four or five players in a variety of positions, if you believe everything you read.

What you can believe are the seven transfers below, which have passed muster, got through all the necessary checks and have been announced by the holding up of a scarf, a Twitter video or in some cases, both. Who’s the best value? You decide.

Bruno Fernandes – Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United, £46.5m

The ‘Sporting’ saga of the winter window according to TV sports stations is finally over. With Gedson Fernandes already having joined Tottenham, everyone has been waiting for the so-called ‘best’ Fernandes to head to Old Trafford, which eventually took place today. The back-to-back Player of the Year from the Portuguese Primeira Liga heads to United seen as something of a savior. Can he deliver? We’ll start to find out from Saturday evening when he should be in the squad to host Wolves.

The final four players in both the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles tournaments at the 2020 Australian Open have been decided. With multiple Grand Slam winners and new names both desperate for success, we look at who might prevail with just two matches between each player and the trophy they crave.

In what has proved to be a truly International event in both draws, there are eight players remaining with a chance of being singles champion at the Aussie Open and they represent eight different countries.

In the men’s draw, it was expected that both Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka would use all their experience against relative newcomers Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev respectively. Zverev in particular might have been expected to be nervous, having never reached a Grand Slam semi-final before, but he was able to sweep away the challenge of Wawrinka after an initial set that saw the German blown away by the Swiss player’s boundless enthusiasm and tireless ground-stroke making ability.

Zverev, however, has shown that he has more in the tank than in past seasons and rattled off three sets in a row, and will go into the semi-final fearless of what is to come. As will his opponent.

Two titanic tussles, two deserved winners. After three hours of action in each semi-final, we finally know which two sides will contest the first domestic cup final of the English league season and it will be Aston Villa who face Manchester City on Sunday, March 1st.

Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester City (3-2 on aggregate)

The first semi-final to be decided took place at a pulsating Villa Park. With the sides level after 90 minutes at the King Power Stadium, it was the visitors who got off to the brightest start, with James Maddison at the heart of several intricate moves. Twice, Maddison was the architect of the shot at the end of those moves, but he was denied superbly on both occasions by Ørjan Nyland in the Villa goal.

Inspired by their goalkeeper’s ridiculous resolution between the sticks, Villa went up the other end and scored with their first attack, Jack Grealish managing to squeeze the ball out to Matt Targett, who fired an unstoppable rocket past the despairing stare of Kasper Schmeichel in The Foxes goal.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Super Bowl 49ers Game Props

In Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers will attempt to join the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers as the only franchises with six Super Bowl titles. The Niners were the NFC’s top seed this season and also were when they won four of their previous five championships. That Sunday’s game is in Miami may bode well as the Niners are 2-0 in the two Super Bowls they have played in south Florida.

San Francisco had one of the NFL’s best defenses in the regular season, ranking No. 2 in total yards allowed and No. 1 against the pass. That unit also had five touchdowns during the regular season (none in the playoffs). The Niners are given an over/under of 1.5 total defensive/special teams touchdowns in the Super Bowl with the under a heavy -2000 favorite. Keep in mind there has never been a punt-return touchdown in a Super Bowl.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The Kansas City Chiefs will own the honors of longest stretch between Super Bowl appearances when they take the field Sunday for Super Bowl LIV in Miami against the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs played in Super Bowl IV, the last before the AFL/NFL merger, and won their only title by beating the Minnesota Vikings.

The Chiefs are 1.5-point favorites and also are 0.5-point favorites for every quarter as well as the entire first half. That they lead after every quarter is +260 with no at -370. They are given an over/under of 27.5 points scored, with the over a -135 favorite. Kansas City scored 51 and 35 points in its two playoff wins and has the most electric offense in the NFL led by QB Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and receiver Tyreek Hill.

Who scores the first touchdown of Super Bowl LIV? Kansas City running back Damien Williams is the +650 favorite. He’s -160 to score a touchdown at any time, followed by Kelce and Hill (both -150). To score two or more touchdowns, Williams is the +325 favorite.

The last-minute faxes lay silent. The final checks and fitness tests are complete. Contracts and bonuses have been approved. From here on in, every Premier League is stuck with the men they have in their squad. There are no more ins and outs, with the January transfer window closed for business.

Some clubs have signed bug money players, such as Manchester United, who forked out an initial £46.5m on Sporting Lisbon’s playmaker, Bruno Fernandes. Others snapped up loan deals praying they’ve got a hungry player rather than a hungover one.

Arsenal grabbed a central defender in Pablo Mori, Newcastle took Spurs’ Danny Rose and Kyle Walker-Peters ended up swapping North London for Southampton. We’re about to find out how shrewd all those deals are, and there are some spectacular fixtures that take place in the last weekend preceding the winter break.

Leicester City vs. Chelsea (Saturday 1st February, 12:30 pm GMT kick-off)

The English Premier League always comes alive in midweek games, and this week has been no different. There were shocks, crocks and last-minute blocks as London derbies were settled, injury time was an invitation to drama and… Liverpool won on the road again.

While clubs like Bournemouth, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester all gained important wins, the games at Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford and Molineux just mattered more.

Newcastle United managed a draw at Everton despite being 2-0 down after 90 minutes, two Lejeune strikes deep into injury time salvaging a point where none seemed possible to garner at Goodison Park. Southampton were convincing again in South London, beating Crystal Palace 2-0 to move into the top 10.  But we start out detailed recap of the action in West London.

Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal

West Ham 0-1 West Brom

The Hammers were left looking like the blunt implement they are as West Bromwich Albion turned from Championship leaders to F.A. Cup spoilers by winning 1-0 at a stunned London Stadium.

It wasn’t so much that West Ham lost and West Brom won, after all, The Baggies are top of the Championship, just four places below their East End counterparts. It was the manner of the defeat that shocked the West Ham fans, many of whom left before the end of the game in disgust.

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