Northwestern St. vs. Air Force – Preview – NCAA College Football

Posted September 4, 2010 – 3:51 am in: CFB

Against the Northwestern State Demons, the Air Force Falcons will start off their season. Both of these teams, although in very different ways, are looking to improve on their seasons last year. The match will spice up the college football betting lines too.

In 2010, the Air Force Falcons are looking to take things to the next level. Out of the Mountain West last season, the team was a solid team. Unfortunately, by teams like BYU, Utah and TCU, they were overshadowed. Last year, the Falcons still managed to win 8 of their 13 games. The big question is whether or not, against the top teams, they will be able to step things.

Last year they had just 5 losses, but against top 25 teams, came three of those losses. They will need to turn things up against the top teams in the league, if they hope to have more success this season.

This season, the Northwestern State Demons are looking to take any step forward. For the squad, last year was a year to be forgotten. They did not manage to beat a single team within the weak conference and they are out of the Southland conference. On top of that, out of the conference, the squad did not beat anyone. On the season, this left the squad with a record of 0-11.

Entering into this matchup, the Demons will certainly be underdogs. Barring a miracle, it appears that the Falcons will take home the victory on opening day and they will take an upper hand. To get their offense in sync, this could be a game to start things off.

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College Football: Colorado vs Colorado State

Posted September 3, 2010 – 2:41 am in: CFB

The Colorado Buffaloes will take on the Colorado State Rams to open up the season. These two teams(especially Colorado) have historically been fairly successful and dangerous teams. This was certainly not the case in 2009.

Neither of these two teams managed to win more than 3 games on the season. These programs cannot afford to have another season like this and still keep their fans happy.

The Buffaloes managed a decent offense at least last season. The focal point of the offense was their passing game. The passing game was ranked within the top 50 and was the best aspect of any part of their team. Unfortunately they simple could not get it done on the ground and on defense. This Colorado team managed less than 100 yards per game in 2009 and surrendered nearly 29 points a game. The Buffaloes will need to pick up their rushing game next season to turn things around. If they can improve their rushing game they may be able to better control the clock and take the pressure off of the defense.

Colorado State had a more balanced offensive attack, but they struggled defensively just like the Buffaloes. The Rams gave up nearly 30 points per game while scoring just under 22 points per game. The team simply cannot put up with this if they hope to succeed.

This game should be a good one to get everyone fired up as these two in-state rivals square off to kick off the 2010 college football season.

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Preview – UFC 118 – Nick Osipczak vs. Greg Soto

Posted August 26, 2010 – 1:56 am in: MMA

In a welterweight matchup, Nick Osipczak will take on Greg Soto. On August 28, these two fighters are scheduled to square off. In Boston, Massachusetts, the event is scheduled to take place.

At UFC 118, these two fighters should make for a great matchup and the UFC betting odds will get hotter. With undefeated records, each of these fighters entered their last fight. Unfortunately, a defeat was suffered by each of the fighters that set them back from their winning paths. To see who can bounce back from their last defeat, this will be a great matchup and get back on the right track.

Soto has never won a UFC matchup and he has a 7-1 career record. If he can take home a victory, this will be a big step for him. He may need to look to sharpen up his skills soon with some work, if he loses, outside of the highest level of competition in mixed martial arts.

Osipczak has found success in the UFC, although he lost his last match. He had won both of his UFC matches, previous to this last fight. in this match, he will be the favorite because of his previous experience and successes at this level of mixed martial arts.

Soto was not able to display his skills as he was disqualified in the last fight. Against Matt Riddle, he did an illegal kick and he was not allowed to continue. this time around, it will be important for him not to make any mistakes lie that.

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Wolfhounds to leave the RSL: Rugby

Posted August 18, 2010 – 2:51 am in: Rugby

The Boston Irish Wolfhounds (BIWRFC) has officially confirmed that they will not be competing in the RSL in 2011, after four seasons in the Rugby Super League. Following the Wolfhounds’ decision that they do not currently have the finances, personnel, or player depth to compete at the elite level, comes the move. With the goal of establishing a more secure financial foundation for the team, the decision was made.

Instead, the resources formerly spent in the RSL on their Division I and Division II squads, youth programs, and in player recruiting will be reallocated by the Wolfhounds. For the team, which has a history of success in the lower divisions, the move should prove effective for them.

From 2000 to 2005, the Wolfhounds won seven Division I championships, along with many tournament championships during that same period. Youth and recruitment programs were also established by the team.

For the BIWRFC organization, the Wolfhounds have established relationships with local high school and college programs that have become a continual source of new recruits. By the newly reallocated resources, this established success will be further bolstered and it will ensure the future security and stability of the organization.

The Wolfhounds once again pursue their goal of becoming the top rugby club in the United States and they have established stability in finances, personnel, and player depth, they fully intend to rejoin the RSL. Over the past four seasons, the RSL thanks the Boston Irish Wolfhounds for their support and wishes the organization every success at the national level.

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Herzlich – most anticipated player to return – misses practice

Posted August 10, 2010 – 6:04 am in: Football

Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, missed all of last season while battling cancer. He was set to return to practice on Monday but he was held from practice because of a foot injury cause during summer drill.

He is listed as day-to-day. He got a negative on his right foot’s X-ray report. As he made a full recovery from Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, his return was one of the most anticipated of summer camps. During a change in surface from sand to turf, Herzlich said the injury occurred during a routine drill a few weeks ago.

Herzlich said, “Yeah, it’s frustrating. It doesn’t get much more frustrating, to be honest. Mentally preparing to come back for the first day and being ready to go was obviously one of the goals. With my leg, that is fine and that’s ready to go. This foot set me back. It’s frustrating, I’ve just got to take it in stride.”

He added, “They told me that if it happened at the end of the season and we had three games left, that I could just play with it and it would get better after the season,” he said. “This early, we just decided to give it a few more days.”

Herzlich’s six interceptions were the most in the country by a linebacker in 2008. He returned two of them for touchdowns too. Due to a back injury, defensive tackle Damik Scafe also missed practice. Due to undisclosed personal reasons, defensive tackle Kaleb Ramsey has not reported for fall camp.

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NCAA College Football Preview: Boise State Broncos

Posted August 5, 2010 – 5:37 am in: CFB

The Boise State Broncos football team yet again appears to be the class of the non-BCS conference schools. They are returning 20 starters from last season’s squad that went 14-0 en route to a 17-10 win over TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

As per the college football season preview, Boise State’s high-flying offense will be better than ever. Notably, quarterback Kellen Moore will be back after a spectacular 2009 season in which he threw for 3,536 yards and 39 touchdowns. His best receiving options will be wide receivers Austin Pettis (14 TDs, 855 yards) and Titus Young (10 TDs, 1,041 yards). The lone departing starter in Boise State’s offense is guard Kevin Sapien, who retired because of injuries.

An underrated part of Boise State’s game is their defense. They were 13th in the nation in scoring defense and 14th in total yards. The only departure on defense from last season is cornerback Kyle Wilson, who was a first round pick in April’s NFL Draft. Brandyn Thompson should fill in for Wilson as the team’s top cornerback, and he showed potential last season with six interceptions.

This will be the last season Boise State will play in as a part of the Western Athletic Conference. In June, it was announced that Boise State will join the Mountain West following the 2010 season.

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Canada unbeaten – World Lacrosse Championships

Posted July 23, 2010 – 10:00 am in: Lacrosse

At the World Lacrosse Championships, Canada is undefeated, with a perfect 5-0 record, after a 17-6 win over England on Tuesday; Canada is heading into the semifinals.

In the win, the Canadians got two goals apiece from Dan Dawson, Kevin Huntley, Shawn Williams, Corey Small, Zack Greer and John Grant, while, single goals was scored by Kevin Crowley, Jordan Hall, Garrett Billings and Rhys Duch. For Canada, the round robin portion of the tournament, wrapped up the win.

Before a third-quarter rainstorm slowed the action, Canada was dominating England.

In the semifinals, if everything goes according to plan, or at least predictions, then on Saturday Canada will face the United States in the final. The way it appears now, in the semifinals, Coach Dave Huntley’s squad could play Japan on Thursday, although until after the play-in games Wednesday, the Canadians won’t know for sure.

Against England, 11-3 at halftime before the rain came and it was 5-2 after one quarter. In the third, each team scored twice, Canada increased its lead in the fourth quarter, after the rain stopped.

For England, Lewis Ratcliff and Mark Reynolds scored two goals each and Evan Roberts got one each.

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Gambling: Germany’s Loss costs bettor big time

Posted July 10, 2010 – 4:21 am in: Gambling

With the World Cup coming to a close, it’s not unusual to see major bets and casino gambling games on the final matches.

This year was no exception, and one bet was placed on Germany for $631,000 US Dollars. With such a bet, one would think it was a sure thing but the bookies made no effort to disguise their disdain for Germany. It’s not uncommon for huge bets to be present during the World Cup but this particular bet caused quite a stir. It wasn’t alone as several other bids of similar amounts were placed on Germany.

The person who placed the $631,000 dollar bet made it clear that they thought Germany would be Spain in their semifinal match. If Germany had won the game this person would have made roughly 1.2 million US dollars. Other bets had similar odds with the noticeable ones being 14/1 and 13/2. There has never been a bigger bet ever places on a world cup match.

Germany’s energetic style of play made them the pick for the World Cup title as the cup proceeded on. Bookies saw all this money pouring in on bets for Germany and there were intent on doing everything they could to make sure Germany didn’t way. One betting agency, William Hill, was quoted saying “we don’t much mind who wins the World Cup at this stage, as long as it isn’t’ Germany.”

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Argentina vs. Germany: World Cup Preview

Posted July 3, 2010 – 1:08 am in: Soccer

Germany and Argentina features two soccer powerhouses who have a budding rivalry in Saturday’s quarterfinal match.

From the 2006 World Cup in the quarterfinals, Germany eliminated Argentina on penalty kicks in a game that ended with players and staff from both teams clashing. Contentious match between two of the world’s best, a war of words has preceded Saturday’s match, and fans will be treated to a hard-fought.

German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has criticized them for their apparent ability to influence officials and accused Argentina of a “lack of respect” for the game. “You see how they gesticulate, how they try to influence the referee. That is not part of the game. That is a lack of respect. They are like that. We should not be provoked by them,” Schweinsteiger said.

To win Group D, Germany played just well enough, winning against Australia and Ghana but suffering a loss to Serbia. However, they started the knockout stage very well, defeating England 4-1. Their young stars have been tremendous in the tournament. For Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller overcoming doubts that this World Cup was too soon, as they have been magnificent. Ozil has played so well that Werder Bremen general manager Klaus Allofs has stated that he has outshone Argentina midfielder Lionel Messi, who is widely regarded as the world’s best player.

For Germany, Argentina represents a much bigger challenge than any other team they have faced. To win all four of their games, they are one of two teams and they feature the always-intimidating Messi. In addition to Messi, Argentina has joint top scorer Gonzalo Higuain who has scored four goals in the tournament.

Saturday’s match should be something special. The two teams feature some of the world’s best young play and both teams are very evenly matched. As the international soccer giants seek to advance to the semifinals, Schweinsteiger’s words will certainly be in the minds of both teams.

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NFL minicamps: Pittsburgh Steelers

Posted June 12, 2010 – 1:53 am in: Football

The Pittsburgh Steelers offseason started without Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is under suspension due to off the field issues regarding a recent law suit. He has been the leader of this team for years. The Steelers needed to make the offseason acquisition of Byron Leftwich, as they will have to wait for Roethlisberger to return. He will be cleared to begin working out with the team again though as the offseason progresses.

At the mini camp, Byron Leftwich was present. He is expected by many to be the starting quarterback. Last season Dennis Dixon filled in for Roethlisberger and at camp the Steelers coaches seemed to be very open to giving him more playing time this season until Roethlisberger returns.

Football odds favorite, Maurkice Pouncey, a center from Florida, took part in the recent mini camp. Pouncey looked good and should be a big help to their offensive line. It looks like he may end up playing in the guard position in the NFL. Leftwich is not known for being a mobile quarterback and will need a good line in front of him to succeed in his time as the starting quarterback.

Some of the biggest news for the Steelers involves wide receiver Limas Sweed. Sweed ruptured his Achilles tendon during mini camp and will be out of the lineup for 4-6 months. It is expected that he will return to the lineup early in the season. He may miss the first few games.

The Steelers have a lot of question marks at this point of the offseason with their quarterbacks, but things look good overall in camp.

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