I’m a little obsessed with 3D at the moment. No, not because of Avatar, which I couldn’t convince my girlfriend to walk out of. It’s actually thanks to things like watching Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D, 3D football games in cinemas and the number of 3D concert documentaries that have come out in recent years. Well, with the UFC reporting that UFC 111 will be shown in selected cinemas (not 3D, but come on, it’s only a matter of time), I now want 3D in everything I watch and do.
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!
Europa League, Champions League, FA Cup – it’s all been happening fast in Europe, and this weekend will be no different. Eight fixtures are on show this Saturday and Sunday, while Manchester United get a much needed break.
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 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.
- New blog post: UFC Live Odds http://www.onlinegambling.com/blog/2010/03/16/ufc-live-odds/ 11 hrs ago

