Sportsbook.com has placed odds on every match over the weekend, so head on over and make a tip on your favorite club.

Birmingham City: +175
Draw: +225
Everton: +145

Birmingham City vs. Everton: Birmingham City have shown English football that they intend to stay in the Premier League for some time to come. With one of the best first season’s back in the EPL, Alex McLeish’s men are within striking distance of a Europa League spot. Their home form has been good all season – having only lost twice – and they are coming off the back of two consecutive victories, so expect the boys in blue to be playing for a win.

The Toffees are flying high at the moment, and while their away form hasn’t been as flawless and their recent matches at Goodison, they will still feel that they can come away with a win at St. Andrews. With Landon Donovan set to depart England on Monday, this will be the last chance for the American to make an impact on the Premier League this season. Expect a close affair.

Burnley: +120
Draw: +220
Wolves: +220

Burnley vs. Wolves: Burnley will make up one half of this relegation battle, and they will feel that they should be the team to come away with the points. Having only picked up a single point on the road, their matches at home are the only thing that can keep them in the top tier of English football. Brian Laws hasn’t had an easy time since taking over the Clarets, but he’ll certainly be looking for a strong victory come Saturday.

Wolves are currently safe from relegation, but only on goal difference. Defeat at Turf Moor would send them right back into the bottom three, with the possibility of 19th position if Hull manage to take points against Arsenal. With some of the lowest scoring in the league coming from both clubs, we shouldn’t expect too much in the way of goals.

Chelsea: -500
Draw: +500
West Ham: +1100

Chelsea vs. West Ham: The Pensioners can go right back to the top of the table – for a day, at the very least – with a win over struggling West Ham. In anticipation of a second leg meeting with Inter, Carlos Ancelotti may choose to rest some of his key players. However, it’s doubtful that Chelsea fans will have forgotten their most recent loss against Manchester City. The home side are strong favorites to take this one out, and it’s hard to see any other outcome.

West Ham may be three points clear of the bottom three, but they are by no means safe from relegation. With no points from their last two matches, and some horrific away form, Gianfranco Zola will surely be happy with a single point; anything to draw themselves away from the bottom of the table.

Manchester United: -400
Draw: +425
Fulham: +1000

Manchester United vs. Fulham: After a stunning 4-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League, it’s hard to see any team stopping Manchester United – especially at home. They have won their last six matches at Old Trafford, and with Wayne Rooney fresh from injury and scoring even more goals with his head, Fulham have a very tough task ahead of them.

Roy Hodgson certainly knows that. The Fulham manager has kept his team lingering around the middle of the table all season, but they have produced their fair share of upsets already. In their last meeting, Fulham pulled off a miraculous 3-0 victory over United, and I’m sure that Hodgson will be ecstatic if his men can pull off a similar beating. They may be stark underdogs, but don’t write off the Cottagers just yet.

Be sure to keep an eye on Sportsbook.com over the coming days as Premier League odds are updated.

There were some rumors that he would be making his first appearance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, but Fox Sports is reporting that Woods in indeed making his return in the first major tournament of the year.  It’s certainly a risky plan for Woods as a poor performance in one of golf’s biggest events won’t do him any favors when it comes to winning back the respect of his peers and fans.  To add to the pressure, Woods hasn’t been fairing well at Augusta in recent years.  In fact, in his last seven appearances he’s only won once.

Though, as Fox Sports has pointed out, it’s a pretty controlled environment with only accredited press and respectful galleries surrounding him in his return.  He won’t have to worry about the prying tabloid press or unruly fans.  Whether he wins or loses, it’s sure to be one of the biggest sporting moments of the year, and BetUS is offering a few props on the man’s return.  This includes:

Will Tiger win his next Major he enters?
Yes: +300
No: -600

What will Tiger shoot in the 1st round?
PAR or less: -450
Above PAR: +275

BetUS is also offering the following odds on the US Masters:
To Win
Tiger Woods: +300
Phil Mickelson: +500
Padraig Harrington: +1200
Rory McIlroy: +1500
Geogg Ogilvy: +1500

There’s many more on offer, so get to BetUS to check it out!

Sportsbook.com has odds on every upcoming game, so head on over to make a wager on your favorite club. For now, here are the odds for tonight’s game:

Wigan Athletic: +475
Draw: +250
Liverpool: -166

There is plenty of action to talk about, including some interesting movement at the top of the leaderboard, so let’s get stuck into recapping the best of Week 28 so far.

Arsenal (3) vs. Burnley (1): The scoreline may tell a different story, but it was certainly not a thrashing at the hands of Arsenal.

With Aaron Ramsey out for the season with a broken leg, more than a few Gunners personnel made declarations about winning the title for him. Despite this, however, Arsenal failed to get into the game during the opening half hour. While they managed to keep the majority of possession, Nicklas Bendtner simply couldn’t find the finishing touch on a number of opportunities. So it was left up to the captain to make the breakthrough, and Cesc Fabregas willingly obliged on 34 minutes with a nice one-two goal.

1-0 at the break, Burnley fans wouldn’t have been too upset by the deficit, and they even had something to cheer about 5 minutes into the second half when David Nugent grabbed the equalizer. It was clear that Wenger’s men weren’t going to sit back and watch two points go begging, though, and on the 60th minute Theo Walcott showed the England naysayers just how clinical he can be when within firing range; after a poor showing against Egypt, this was just what Walcott needed. A worrisome half hour followed, with plenty of chances to seal the game going begging, but just before the final whistle it was all wrapped up when Andrei Arshavin belted in the Gunners’ third.

Wolves (0) vs. Manchester United (1): In a match where several big names were sitting out, it was a classy finish from an old pro that sealed United’s victory.

With Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen both sidelined through injury – Owen out for the remainder of the season – it was up to lone striker Dimitar Berbatov to spearhead United’s attack. The absence of Rooney was obvious from kickoff, and Berbatov had a hard time breaking down Wolves defence, with Antonio Valencia failing to find an unmarked attacker on more than one occasion.

With no goals at half time, it was clear that Alex Ferguson wasn’t enjoying his trip to Molyneux. Two early changes allowed for a shift in formation, with Mame Biram Diouf backing up Berbatov, but it was Paul Scholes that grabbed the winner after 72 minutes, taking his Premier League tally to 100.

Everton (5) vs. Hull City (1): It was another bad day for Hull City as the Toffees moved into 8th position with a four-goal thrashing.

Mikel Arteta continued his return to form after several months injured by grabbing a first half brace. His initial goal was cut out by a magnificent Tom Cairney strike; the youngster earning his first ever Premier League goal.

2-1 down after 45 minutes, Phil Brown would have been confident that his side could grind out a draw if they managed to convert more chances. Instead, an embarrassing own goal sealed Hull’s fate, and two more goals from Landon Donovan and Jack Rodwell only served to increase the scoreline.

Be sure to keep an eye on Sportsbook.com all week as there are several Premier League, Champions League, and Europa League fixtures on offer.

A boxing champion, but he's no mixed martial artist

There has been something of a trend in the past year or so for stars who are past their prime in other sports to try their hand at MMA.

The first was baseball legend Jose Canseco, who went just 1:17 into the first round with the gigantic Hong Man Choi in DREAM. To be fair, this was a tough fight to give to an inexperienced guy like Canseco, as Choi is 7’ 2” and a regular K-1 competitor.

Next was former NFL running back Herschel Walker, who signed with Strikeforce and began training at American Kickboxing Academy. The media went crazy about it, to the exasperation of every MMA fan in the world. Strikeforce gave Walker a guy named Greg Nagy (1-1) as an opponent, and Walker’s natural athleticism and training with one of the top MMA camps in America made this fight an easy pick from the start. Soon after Walker’s victory, Canseco started calling him out, obviously trying to regain some relevance in the Celebrityweight title picture.

Now, after some initial rocky negotiations, boxer James Toney will be joining the UFC roster. It isn’t uncommon for former boxers to become mixed martial artists, but this is the first time a former world champion in 3 weight divisions has attempted to cross over. While Toney claims he has a lot of experience with MMA techniques, he has made many comments that suggest these claims are suspect at best.

I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade here, as these crossover athletes tend to bring a lot of new interest to MMA. However, there are a few things these athletes have in common that annoy me:

1) They are all over 40
2) They are all heavyweights
3) They all get into this with suspect background knowledge of the sport
4) They all get to debut in major promotions

Addressing the first point, only a handful of MMA fighters have been able to successfully compete at a high level past the age of 40, and most of them had long careers in MMA before that time. These celebrity fighters have NO time to develop, as they are already in the process of a decline in their natural abilities. Putting them on the televised part of a card pushes out an up-and-coming and relevant fighter. When I’m placing a bet at Sportsbook.com or another online bookmaker, I like to know about the fighter first. Forcing out the young guys with these old sports stars deprives us all of opportunities to learn about new prospects to bet on.

When it comes to the second point… Look, I’m a big fat guy with no fitness. These guys could out-athletic-body me any day of their lives, but 220lb heavyweights like Herschel Walker need to drop to light heavyweight. Surely some of these guys should be fighting at lower weights, so why aren’t they going to the effort of weight control? Oh, yeah, the first point. They are too old to start professional MMA competition, which often involves heavy weight cuts.

For the third point, why do these guys think that this is a safe sport when they have no skills? MMA is much safer than its detractors contend, but this is due to years of training on the part of the athletes. Even Toney risks himself by trying to compete in a sport he has almost no background in, as unskilled grapplers like him are notorious for trying to tough out submissions when they don’t know what’s happening. The best case scenario is getting choked out, while the worst case is a leg broken in several places you don’t want broken (i.e. all the places).

Finally, while I understand why these guys get to debut in major promotions, they just don’t deserve it. Yes, they are sporting legends, and Walker has been a class act the whole way. He clearly does respect the sport. It just isn’t all that respectful to the thousands of fighters training around the world when you get your first MMA fight in a major promotion due to your other achievements. I know Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice got their starts in major promotions, but I’m not crash hot on them, either.

That’s my rant done with. I have some advice to bettors about these fights, though – they will nearly always be one-sided mismatches. Just work out whether the promotion is trying to build up the athlete or destroy them, and you’ll be able to predict the outcome. For James Toney, they’ll be trying to destroy him if they put him against a wrestler, and they’ll be working on building up his image if he goes in against a 1-dimensional striker.

If you would like to bet on MMA fights, then I suggest checking out the WEC odds up at Sportsbook.com or the odds for upcoming UFC events at BetUS.

The only way they’ll be able to do that is with consistent results in their respective leagues. The Premier League is a breeding ground for the England national team, and since Ashley Cole is injured, and there is no secure position for the number one jersey, plenty of players have the chance to prove their worth.

This weekend is no more different than any other, except for the fact that Fabio Capello will be eagerly watching every prospective England player with keen eyes. Sportsbook.com has odds on every game over the next five days, so let’s take a look at some of the best fixtures coming up.

Arsenal: -666
Draw: +550
Burnley: +1600

Arsenal vs. Burnley: Vowing to “win it for Ramsey” is one thing, but putting those words into action is an entirely different task. The Gunners may be spurred on by the horrific injury that Welshman Aaron Ramsey sustained last weekend, but they still have a bit of catching up to do in order to lift the trophy. A win a Burnley would put them on level terms with Chelsea, at least for a few days, so if the drive is there to win, they should claim victory comfortably.

Burnley’s away form is the major reason behind their battle against relegation. With only a single point taken from a possible 42, the Clarets simply can’t seem to produce when on the road. Their opponents this weekend are fighting for the title, and it’s hard to see any situation where Burnley come away with points.

Wolves: +900
Draw: +375
Manchester United: -333

Wolves vs. Manchester United: Wolves are another team facing the possibility of relegation this season. They are on equal points with Hull City, only sitting above the top three on goal difference. Their home form has been fairly poor so far, having only taken four wins from 14, and their opponents aren’t known for going easy on any club. Even a point will be seen as a victory this weekend.

Chelsea may have very well handed United their third consecutive Premiership title when they failed to beat Man City at home last week. United are well known for their brilliant form in the second half of the season, and have already shown that they are ready to fight to the bitter end for silverware. They’ve already claimed the Carling Cup, so a win at Wolverhampton shouldn’t be a difficult task.

Everton: -285
Draw: +350
Hull City: +750

Everton vs. Hull City: David Moyes has been buoyed by the fact that the majority of his team has returned to full fitness. Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville have returned to the Premier League with a bang, and while Marouane Fellaini is out for the season, Tim Cahill will make his return against Hull on Monday. The Toffees are currently sitting in 10th, but are fighting for a higher finish that would see them in the Europa League.

Hull are another victim of poor away form. They have yet to win on the road, and as the season draws to a close, their negative goal difference may yet again prove a hindrance in their attempts to avoid relegation. The Tigers may draw some inspiration knowing that they managed to knock over Everton 3-2 in their last meeting, but that was a much different team to the one that will be walking out on Monday. Any points are good points for Phil Brown’s squad.

Sportsbook.com has all the latest odds for this week’s Premier League and FA Cup fixtures, so head over to place a wager on your favorite club.

Iverson is making headlines, and, once again, it’s about the future of his basketball career.  As many of you dedicated NBA fans will know, Iverson has been out of commission for the past month or so due to his four year old daughter’s undisclosed illness.  Well, he and the 76ers have come to a mutual decision that he will remain out for the remainder of the season so that he can deal with his more pressing family issues.

So, with Iverson out, many people are asking what’s next for him?  After a very short retirement, he made his return when the Sixers signed him as a free agent.  This came after two less than memorable stints with Detroit and Memphis.  He was certainly anxious to prove that he had plenty left to give.  He returned with a bit of humility, seemingly less interested in being the center of attention and more interested in being a part of the team.  Though, perhaps his arthritic knee played a part in his desire to take a more reserved role on the team.

So, does all of this spell out a more permanent retirement for Iverson?  There are no confirmed answers at this point, but one thing is certain: he won’t be returning this season.

In other NBA news, LeBron James has filed papers to officially change his number from 23 to 6.  You may remember, earlier in the year when James made the news when he called for the NBA to retire the number 23 in honor of Michael Jordan.  Well, he’s taken it a step further by officially giving up 23.  Though, it’s one famous number to another.  Both Julius Irving and Bill Russell donned the No. 6 during their careers. James wore the six jersey on the US Olympic team, and continues to wear it everyday in practice.

In any event, the season must roll on, and BetUS still has you covered on all the odds.  They are currently offering the following:

Los Angeles Lakers v Miami Heat
Lakers: -5 ½ -110
Heat: +5 ½ -110

Utah Jazz v Phoenix Suns
Jazz: +1 ½ -110
Suns: -1 ½ -110

Don’t forget to get to BetUS to put down a wager before the games get underway on Thursday, March 4.

With the Carling Cup final this weekend, only seven Premier League matches were held. Still, we were treated to a feast of brilliant football, with the title race now sprung wide open.

Manchester United managed to pull off a comeback at Wembley with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa. Who else but Wayne Rooney could claim victory in such an important match – his header bursting Villa’s Carling Cup aspirations.

There were some interesting results in the Premier League, so let’s start off this week’s wrap with our Game of the Week. Be sure to check out Sportsbook.com for all the latest odds on upcoming matches.

Chelsea (2) vs. Manchester City (4): Carlo Ancelotti’s men hit another speed bump on their road to title contention. Despite going ahead early, the Pensioners sunk to their first home loss in the league.

Even though it took 42 minutes to get the first goal, Chelsea were always in control of the match from kick-off. Stand-in keeper Henrique Hilario didn’t have much to do for the majority of the first half, but would soon play a major role as the game progressed. Frank Lampard started the scoring off in style with a deft finish past Shay Given. Within three minutes, however, the returning Carlos Tevez managed to nudge a weak effort past Hilario, and the visitors were level.

After the break it all went downhill for the Pensioners. Hilario missed another routine shot on goal, and allowed Craig Bellamy to put City into the lead. Chelsea still held out hope for a comeback, but when Juliano Belletti was sent off for bringing down Gareth Barry in the penalty area, the fans began to flow out of the stadium. Tevez converted the spot kick, and Bellamy managed to double his tally as well, before a late Frank Lampard penalty proved pointless.

Burnley (1) vs. Portsmouth (2): Normally a fortress, Turf Moor played host to nothing more than embarrassment on Saturday, as cellar dwellers Portsmouth managed to grab a rare Premier League win.

The first half was full of incident early on, with plenty of back-and-forth play between the two clubs. With both sides in great danger of being relegated, the game was a must-win for not only Portsmouth, but Burnley as well. However, it was the away side who struck first, with Frederic Piquionne opening the scoring on 24 minutes, before Martin Paterson levelled things up eight minutes later.

If the first half was intense, the second was explosive. Clarke Carlisle was undoubtedly the man who lost the game for Burnley, after giving away not one, but two penalties. While Pompey missed the first one, Hassan Yebda made short work of the second, and gave the visitors a much needed three pointer.

Tottenham (2) vs. Everton (1): Everton’s giant killing ways were brought to an end yesterday as they failed to back up their victory over Manchester United against Spurs.

Tottenham are holding onto fourth position for dear life after this tight victory, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Their first half was impeccable, with the reinvigorated Roman Pavlyuchenko proving once again he is determined to keep scoring. On 11 minutes, he belted home his fifth in just three games, and Luka Modric followed suit not long after.

However, when Yakubu struck back in the second half, Spurs fans held their breath for a nervous forty minutes before Steven Bennett had the final blow on his whistle. The victory keeps Tottenham in fourth, but Manchester City are sitting right on their tail, equal in points and a game in hand.

Liverpool (2) vs. Blackburn (1): The Reds continue to fight for the fourth and final European spot before the season is over. Their unconvincing 2-1 win against Rovers gives them a more than decent chance of achieving that goal.

All the action took place in the first half at Anfield, with the second full of nothing more than a few yellow cards and some missed opportunities. Steven Gerrard got things off to a flying start on 19 minutes when he put Liverpool in front. However, Jamie Carragher’s handball put a damper on things, as Blackburn were allowed to equalize from the penalty spot. On his first start for well over a month, Fernando Torres came to the rescue of his club, picking up the winner just two minutes from half time.

Sportsbook.com has odds on all the latest in the football world, so be sure to keep yourself updated, and back your favorite club!

This includes online casinos and poker rooms.

Now, it won’t happen anytime soon, I’m sure, but 3D online casinos could be a big step up in improving the experience for players at home. Right now, live dealers like those at Golden Palace are the closest you can get to a live casino atmosphere in your home. The addition of 3D would bring players even further into the action. Hell, add in some binaural recordings of casino sounds and players would hardly know they were still at home.

I will be pretty happy when UFC events are broadcast in 3D at a cinema near me, but I will be ecstatic when I can play in 3D at Go Casino or Full Tilt Poker while listening to 3D casino noises all around me. Bring on the future!

Let’s jump straight into the action with a few previews of the upcoming games. Be sure to keep updated with Sportsbook.com as the weekend approaches.

Chelsea: -222
Draw: +290
Manchester City: +650

Chelsea vs. Manchester City: The Premier League leaders are in an unfamiliar position this week after conceding defeat in the Champions League. Their 2-1 loss to Inter at the San Siro wasn’t exactly a shock, but the Pensioners would still feel that they could have won the match had they converted more of their chances. Their opponents this week have had a torrid time themselves in cup ties, and it is expected that Chelsea will take the three points without much of a problem.

After Emmanuel Adebayor’s brain-snap in the FA Cup, Roberto Mancini will be breathing a sigh of relief when Carlos Tevez returns to the pitch. The Argentine has been on compassionate leave for the past few weeks, and will be returning for the upcoming game at Stamford Bridge. Their defeat against Stoke midweek was doubtless an embarrassment, and holding their own against the league leaders would do wonders for team morale.

Stoke City: +425
Draw: +250
Arsenal: -153

Stoke City vs. Arsenal: After an incredible FA Cup match midweek, Stoke City booked an unexpected quarterfinal berth against Chelsea. Their supersubs Dave Kitson and Sanli Tuncay came to the rescue of the home team after a Craig Bellamy equalizer forced the match into extra time. They face powerful opponents on the weekend, but will no doubt be buoyed by their massive home win against Manchester City.

The Gunners may not have performed well in their Champions League first leg fixture, but they have been picking up the necessary points in the Premier League. After an easy 2-0 win over Sunderland last week, Arsenal head to the Britannia Stadium knowing that their opponents are on a powerful run of form. A win at Stoke is essential if they wish to keep their title hopes alive, as all three points will put them within striking distance of both Chelsea and Manchester United.

Tottenham: -105
Draw: +230
Everton: +275

Tottenham vs. Everton: The forgotten Russian, Roman Pavlyuchenko, has turned on the style in the last week. After sitting out the majority of the season under Harry Redknapp, Pavlyuchenko has belted home four goals in just two matches. With an injury concern still lingering over Peter Crouch, and Eidur Gudjohnsen still unfavored by the manager, we can expect to see the Russian pairing up with Jermain Defoe once again.

Everton really are the giant killers in the Premier League at the moment. With wins over Chelsea and Manchester United in consecutive weeks, nobody would be surprised if they came away with another victory against Spurs. However, their 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Europa League opponents Sporting will be at the forefront of their minds. Out of the competition for another season, the Toffees now need to concentrate on the task at hand: qualifying for Europe.

Sunderland: +115
Draw: +225
Fulham: +225

Sunderland vs. Fulham: There isn’t much you can say about Steve Bruce and Sunderland that hasn’t already been said in the papers. After such an incredible start to the season, the Black Cats have been falling down the leaderboard ever since. Their horror showing at Arsenal last week was yet another acknowledgment that the team is on a downhill slide. With relegation still a big possibility, Sunderland need to start taking points at home if they want to survive.

Fulham are in the best possible position they could be in the Europa League. After claiming the scalp of reigning champions Shakhtar Donetsk, they have every right to believe that they can go all the way to the final. Their Premier League form is another matter. Even with Bobby Zamora in the best season of his career, they have produced mixed results. This will surely be a tight match, as both clubs have aspirations of European football next season.

Sportsbook.com has all the latest odds on Premier League and European football, so be sure to make a wager on your favorite club for this weekend.

The game got off to a quick start with the Americans immediately taking the upper hand.  Brian Rafalski slapped in a goal off the point just 41 seconds into the game.  It stayed at 1-0 for much of the first period, until Eric Staal knocked one in for the Canadians just before the 9:00 mark.  Though, not to be outdone, the Americans quickly answered back.  Less than a minute later, Rafalski knocked in another point shot to put the USA back in the lead.

The scoring continued to go back and fourth, though there was never a point when the Americans fell behind.  And, they started the third period off with yet another goal, this time from Jamie Langenbrunner, to put the score at 4-2.  Though the Canadians put one away to put it at 3-4, they were never quite able to catch up.  With the end of the game nearing, they hit the American net hard.  Nearly the entire last two minutes of the game were played in the American defensive zone with the Canadians hammering goalie Ryan Miller, even pulling their goalie to gain the 6th man.  Persistence didn’t pay off in this instance as the Americans cleared the puck, and USA’s Ryan Kessler made a sweeping shot into the empty net.

The offensive line for the US was fantastic, though the bulk of the credit must be given to Miller who stopped an amazing 42 shots.  It has to be the most impressive goal tending of the games so far.

The big win has certainly had a few people talking, particularly those setting the odds for these winter games.  BetUS is the first to feature the updated odds after the massive upset.  They’re currently offering:

To Win Gold:
Canada: 9/5
Russia: 5/2
Sweden: 4/1
USA: 3/1
Czech Republic: 10/1
Finland: 12/1
Slovakia: 25/1
Switzerland: 80/1

Leading Scorer:
Dany Heatley: 6/5
Brian Rafalski: 3/2
Evgeni Malkin: 9/5
Sidney Crosby: 3/2
Tomas Ekanec: 3/1
Jarome Iginla: 3/1
Tomas Plekanec: 5/1
Tore Vikingstad: 5/1

Most Saves
Henrik Lundqvist: 10/13
Evgeni Nabokov: 10/11
Martn Brodeur: 10/11
Evgeni Nabokov: 10/13

Be sure to check it out as the men’s ice hockey gets into the Quarterfinals.  Things are starting to heat up, and you don’t want to miss any of it.  Also, don’t forget to check out the odds on the women’s ice hockey as the USA prepares to play Canada for the gold medal.  The game starts this Thursday, February 25.