As the final hours pass before the International Olympic Committee announces their decision on where the 2016 Olympics will be held, representatives of Chicago are busy trying to persuade members of the IOC to vote for the Windy City as the home of the future Olympic games.

The first lady Michelle Obama made an appearance, meeting and greeting with IOC members in Copenhagen.  Mrs Obama used the opportunity to share her story of growing up in Chicago’s south side, and assured members of the IOC that the city would use the games as an inspiration to young children.

Funnily enough, though, it was Oprah that everyone was waiting to catch a glimpse of.  As she made her way through the crowd that had gathered, she happily posed for pictures and shook hands no doubt doing whatever she could to spread the word for Chicago.

There are plenty of other great cities in the running with three major contenders looking to knock Chicago out of the top position.  Reps from Rio de Janeiro were asking the IOC to send the Olympics to South America for the first time.  Madrid is the favorite choice for IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, and Tokyo was selling the safety and financial security that their city offers.

While IOC members mull over their options, you can have a little fun at BetUS.  They are offering the following odds on where the 2016 Olympics will be held:

Chicago: -150
Rio de Janeiro: +175
Tokyo: +1500
Madrid: +800

Check out BetUS to put down a wager on your favorite city and you could win a little something extra when the site of the 2016 Olympics is named.

It’s going to be hard to top last week’s haul of 37 goals in 10 matches, but you just never know in the English Premier League.

BetUS has posted odds on all matches, so let’s get the ball rolling with a few previews of the best matchups on offer.

Burnley: +125
Draw: +225
Birmingham City: +210

Burnley vs. Birmingham: This time last year these sorts of figures would have been ridiculous. For the team that finished second in the Championship to have long odds against the team that just barely scraped into promotion via a playoff seems ludicrous; but that just goes to show how well Burnley have been performing at the highest level of English football so far. The Clarets will be looking to add to their winning tally that would put them within the top ten, at least until Sunday.

Birmingham City, despite their longer odds, have had quite a decent start to their new Premier League campaign as well. With seven points from seven matches under their belt they are well clear of the relegation zone, but an away win against their old Championship rivals would be a sweet feeling indeed.

Manchester United: -475
Draw: +500
Sunderland: +1200

Manchester United vs. Sunderland: It has taken almost two months, but Manchester United are back into the position they finished in last season. While their reign at the top of the Premier League leaderboard is not at all set in stone, a win against in-form Sunderland is more than likely. The Devils have been in red-hot form of late, and a standard home match against the Black Cats shouldn’t put a dent in their premiership plans.

They had a brilliant start to the season, with new-signing Darren Bent hitting the back of the net more times than anyone had ever seen him do in seasons past, but Sunderland just barely got over the line against Wolves last weekend. That up-and-down performance just went to highlight the fact that, although they may be strong in attack, their defensive line leaves a lot to be desired. Be on the lookout for plenty of goals in this contest.

Chelsea: +115
Draw: +225
Liverpool: +240

Chelsea vs. Liverpool: Indisputably the biggest matchup of the weekend will pit last season’s second and third-placed clubs against one another. Chelsea may have stumbled at Wigan last weekend, conceding their first loss of the new campaign, but they will be tough to beat at Stamford Bridge, and Liverpool will know that.

The Reds have had mixed form this season, already conceding as many losses in the first six weeks of play as they did in the entire 2008-09 season. However, their last few league performances have been outstanding. What will make them even hungrier for a win over the Blues will be the fact that they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by a teenager in Italy on Wednesday. The Fiorentina striker ran circles around the Liverpool defense, and you can be assured that Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka have noticed.

There are plenty of other wagers on offer at BetUS, so head on over and make a bet on your favorite club for this weekend.

Here are all the other odds:

Bolton: +285
Draw: +245
Tottenham: -105

Hull City: +180
Draw: +225
Wigan Athletic: +150

Wolves: +110
Draw: +230
Portsmouth: +250

Arsenal: -450
Draw: +475
Blackburn: +1200

Everton: -185
Draw: +275
Stoke City: +550

West Ham United: +115
Draw: +225
Fulham: +240

Aston Villa: +165
Draw: +225
Manchester City: +155

Oh wow, this is funny. Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller is many things. A fighter. A columnist. A hero to the bullied in Bully Beatdown. And he is also absolutely insane, as is demonstrated in this clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfpkLpz30Ac&feature=player_embedded

Apparently, Mayhem’s stats aren’t super awesome in the upcoming EA Sports MMA game. He goes nuts at the developers for about half a minute and then suddenly… the rage is gone and he is laughing like The Joker would after pouring acid on a bus full of orphans that Batman is trying to save. My first reaction was “Oh no, this won’t end well”, but when he calmed down in a split second it was just too awkward not to laugh.

In terms of MMA events at the moment, we’re kind of starved. There’s nothing big for another week or so, but at least some early odds are up. For WEC 43, BetUS is only offering odds on the Ben Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone fight, with Henderson at +250 to Cerrone at -350. It’s an interim title fight, so the winner will go on to challenge current WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner. It’s no surprise that Cerrone is leading in the odds, as this was first going to be an actual title fight against Varner. Henderson is on an 8 fight win streak, but Cerrone has only dropped one fight in his record, and it was to Varner in a split decision. I think this will be a submission victory for Cerrone, but a decision is also likely, which would spark calls for a rematch in the near future.

Hopefully, more odds will be made available closer to WEC 43. After two really solid months of big MMA events, October is looking to be a painful wait until UFC 104 and its headline bout between light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. It’s all just so frustratingly far away!