The big news coming out of the Olympics over the past couple of days isn’t surrounding the latest gold medal event, but rather, the USA men’s hockey team – wearing their vintage Team USA jerseys to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice – upsetting the favored Canadians in a well earned 5-3 victory.

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.

Everton the giant killers were at it again this week, taking down reigning Premiers Manchester United just days after their victories over Chelsea and Sporting.

There were plenty of other riveting matches over the past few days as well, so let’s get straight into reviewing all of the action. Don’t forget that Sportsbook.com already has odds on Tuesday’s game, so head on over and back your favorite team.

Manchester United: -500
Draw: +500
West Ham United: +110

If you didn’t manage to catch the games, here’s a recap of the three best fixtures from Week 26.

Everton (3) vs. Manchester United (1): The Toffees continued their stellar run in the Premier League with their fifth win in six matches, and fifth consecutive victory at home.

The game started in typical United style, with the away side fashioning the majority of possession and chances. Their persistence paid off after 16 minutes when Dimitar Berbatov found himself in the right place at the right time; a packed penalty area saw the ball drop right at the Bulgarian’s feet, and he put it past Tim Howard with ease. What United didn’t expect, however, was an immediate response. Seemingly out of nowhere, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov fired the ball in from nearly 40 yards out, leaving Edwin van der Sar rooted to the ground with no chance.

The second half didn’t get any better for the Red Devils. With a lack of opportunities, United were forced to wait for the counterattack, but some stalwart defending from Everton denied them even that. With 15 minutes to go, the substitutes stepped up to the task. Everton’s Dan Gosling scored his second goal of the season to put the Toffees ahead, while Jack Rodwell wrapped it all up by coolly putting away his first Everton goal.

Portsmouth (1) vs. Stoke City (2): The Potters snatched a late winner to add more insult to Portsmouth’s injuries.

Portsmouth had plenty of confidence going into Saturday’s match after their big win over rivals Southampton last weekend. Knowing that a draw would be almost as useless as a loss, Avram Grant ended up playing five strikers over the course of 90 minutes. His side took the lead on 34 minutes after Frederic Piquionne scored his fourth goal for Pompey, and they managed to keep it that way until the end of the first half.

The second, however, was a different story. Stoke came out with fire in their eyes, and the big German, Robert Huth, managed to equalize through a cracking header on 50 minutes. It was a back-and-forth affair for the next spell, and Pompey fans were ecstatic when Andy Wilkinson was sent off in the 73rd minute for his second bookable offense. It just wasn’t to be Portsmouth’s day, though, and that was proven when substitute Salif Diao snatched all three points for Stoke in injury time.

Aston Villa (5) vs. Burnley (2): Aston Villa came from a goal behind to score five within 35 minutes. The victory relegated Burnley to their sixth straight away loss, and kept them at only a single point taken on the road this season.

Things started so well for the Clarets, with talisman Steven Fletcher scoring after only 9 minutes. Despite some good pressure from the visitors, they couldn’t hold onto the lead, though, and Ashley Young equalized to send both teams into the break with a goal apiece.

The second half was an all-out attack from Villa. Stewart Downing went on a rampage, scoring two goals within two minutes, before Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor added their names to the scoresheet. Burnley kept their heads up for the remainder of the game, but even an injury time strike from Martin Paterson wasn’t enough to avoid a hefty loss.

There is plenty of football action this week, including Premier League and Champions League fixtures, so head over to Sportsbook.com to check out all the latest odds.

With just two days until the event, Ben Rothwell and Elvis Sinosic have had to pull out of UFC 110. This has meant the elimination of the fight between Sinosic and Chris Haseman, and Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic will now face Australian MMA pioneer Anthony Perosh, of Sinosic Perosh Martial Arts. Sinosic has injured his shoulder and Rothwell is apparently quite ill.

This will be a major disappointment to some of the old time Australian MMA fans, but at least it’s another Australian fighter on the main card. The Sinosic/Haseman fight was never likely to make it to the main card, so this could be a good outcome for Australian MMA. Of course, it would be best if Perosh could take the win, but his UFC record of 0-2 makes that seem unlikely against a fighter like Cro Cop.

There is still time to place bets on the fights at UFC 110. BetUS is offering great odds on the biggest fights at this event, and new players can claim a first deposit bonus of 50% to make their bankroll go even further.