Sporting Bets Tips

The Big 12, usually known for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and an occasional run by the Kansas State Jayhawks, has several teams that can burst on the scene and out from under the shadow of the Jayhawks and Cowboys making for some very interesting college basketball betting.

Head coach of the UNLV Runnin Rebels, Lon Kruger, picked up stakes and joined the Oklahoma Sooners this season. With his record of rapidly turning around a team, it will help the Sooners get on track much sooner (get it) than most experts are predicting. The five teams from the Big 12 listed below should make the NCAA Tournament.

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks, who should win the Big 12 this season, are ripe for the picking some figure seeing as the Jayhawks lost six of their best eight shooters since their disappointing exit in the NCAA Tournament. Needing to lead his team from the outset Tyshawn Taylor the 6-3 senior, is the only returning starter.

No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies
Averaging 14.4 points per game Khris Middleton and David Loubeau averaging 11.8 points per game, give the Texas A&M Aggies an edge over teams like the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks. However, in order to succeed they need to play better in the clutch.

No. 3 Missouri Tigers
Leading the Missouri Tigers this season Senior Marcus Denmon is considered to be the best scorer in the Big 12 by many.

No. 4 Baylor Bears
Sophomore, Perry Jones III can develop into a top five player in the country if in 2012, the Bears rise to national prominence early. The Baylor Bears are a wild card this season.

No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners
Looking to resurrect the once proud Oklahoma Sooners program much in the same way he did for the UNLV Runnin Rebels. Lon Kruger’s Sooners, I think, will surprise many of their opponents this season.

For the men and women, especially for the seeded players the first several days of the 2011 French Open have been mostly routine victories.

As the matches are determined, get French Open Odds at online free picks.

Rafael Nadal‘s first round match against the 6’9” big serving American John Isner was the biggest headline of the tournament so far. At the French Open, Nadal’s 6-4 6-7(2) 6-7(2) 6-2 6-4 victory was the most challenging win he has ever earned. The five time Roland Garros champion was pushed to five sets in Paris for the first time. Nadal’s expressive celebration implied how much this victory meant to him after four hours.

By proving his candidacy for this year’s championship, second seed Novak Djokovic cruised past his first two opponents in straight sets. In the first two rounds, Roger Federer faced no threating opposition as he also won without dropping a set. For winning this year’s title, however, fan polls have shown that Federer is out of the conversation.

A five loss of six seeded Tomas Berdych to qualifier Frenchman Stephane Robert was the biggest upset on the men’s side so far. Against young American Ryan Harrison, last year’s runner up Robin Soderling was tested in his first round four set victory.

While second seed and crowd favorite Kim Clijsters enjoyed a 6-2 6-3 win in her opening round, first seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the third round without losing a set so far. On the women’s side so far, third seed Vera Zvonareva played one of the most dramatic matches.  Over qualifier Sabine Lisicki, the Russian earned a hard fought 4-6 7-5 7-5 victory. Lisicski had to be carried off the court in stretchers as the Paris sun faded late into the evening as after nearly three hours, the cramping Lisicski fell to the ground in tears.

This weekend in a series between two of the top teams in the American League, the New York Yankees will take on the Texas Rangers. In their respective divisions each of these teams are in first place. On Friday night in Texas, the series is scheduled to start.

In this game the Rangers will be the home team and that should be a huge advantage for them. Even though their home record has been outstanding at 11-5, they are 16-13 on the season overall. The Yankees are 5-3 to this point away from New York as they have not played many road games this season.

Although the Rangers have struggled a bit as of late, they started out on fire. As of late also, luckily the Los Angeles Angels have been struggling. The Rangers have managed to stay atop the American League West despite their struggles as both teams have gone 4-6.

The Rangers will need Adrian Beltre to step up and play like a marquee player with Josh Hamilton injured. He had a season with the Dodgers when he was one of the best hitters in the league as last season he was a major weapon for the Red Sox. As the Yankees are a great offensive team and should put a lot of runs on the board this weekend, the Rangers need Beltre to step up and hit in this series.

The Rangers may get passed up by both the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics if they lose this series.  To win the World Series, baseball picks has the Yankees at 5-1 and the Rangers at 20-1.

In the English Premier League standings Manchester City is currently at fourth place. Hence, if they want to reach the Champions League every game is critical for them. While the fourth place team enters a qualifying playoff the top three squads automatically qualify. Manchester City can’t overlook Blackburn when the teams meet on April 25, with that in mind.

At online sportsbooks, get Soccer Betting Odds for this matchup.

When Liverpool earned a 3-0 win, Manchester City lost their last EPL game in ugly fashion. When they beat Manchester United in an FA Cup match they got some confidence back. Goalie Joe Hart has allowed 30 goals in his 32 starts and the team has relied on him. For an offense that has struggled he has helped make up. Even though the rest of the team has struggled to score, Carlos Tevez has 19 goals.

Compared to Manchester City, Blackburn hasn’t had the same goaltending. By allowing a total of 50 goals, Paul Robinson has gotten most of the starts. Blackburn has only scored 40 goals offensively. 14 different players have scored goals though.

Between the two teams in the first meeting ended in a draw. Playing at home should give the Blackburn an edge over Manchester City as they know how to play against them. In their last nine games they are winless. Including one against Arsenal, they have forced some draws though. Manchester City is the better team on paper. However, Blackburn could pull an upset if they can find an early goal.

The New York Knicks will take on the Boston Celtics this Wednesday. These teams have had very different stretches as of late and this should be an interesting game.

NBA betting odds of Boston is at 7-1 to win the NBA title and the Knicks are at 20-1 in NBA Odds.

The Celtics are playing some of the worst basketball that they’ve played all season. They are 55-25 on the season, but they have lost 5 of their last 10 games. It seems that the team has really struggled to respond following the loss of Kendrick Perkins.

The Knicks looked like they were on their way down a couple of weeks ago, but now they have won 7 games in a row and they look like a real contender in the playoffs. They are now 42-38 on the season and they have an outside shot of tying the Hawks for the 5th best record in the Eastern Conference.

This looks like it should be a preview for the first round of the playoffs as these teams are lined up to play each other. This game will be huge for each team as they try to gain a mental edge entering the series.

The Celtics are clearly the basketball picks favorites for this game and also for the series, but the Knicks might be the team best suited to upset one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They have two star caliber players that are capable of carrying the team for stretches and they also have a veteran point guard that has had extensive experience in the playoffs over the course of his career.

On Monday it was announced by Michigan State University that, it has reinstated football tight end Dion Sims, who was suspended all of last season for his role in a crime ring that stole more than 100 laptops from the Detroit Public Schools.

In College Football Betting the Michigan State Spartans are at 125-1 to win the 2011 BCS National Championship.

Sims was sentenced to one year of probation and 15 hours of community service for receiving and concealing stolen property, who pleaded guilty in September. Sims wasn’t directly involved in the theft and was only involved as a middleman, what his lawyer had argued.

When the Spartans open spring practice Tuesday, the sophomore player will take part in workouts. It was said by head coach Mark Dantonio when he announced Sims’ reinstatement Monday.

Dantonio said that, he’s done everything they asked him to do and he’s been compliant in every respect.

Dantonio said, for now tight end Brian Linthicum and linebacker Max Bullough will sit out the first few practices of the spring as part of the program’s internal discipline.

In Aspen, Colo, both were arrested in early March. Bullough, 19, charged with possession of alcohol by a minor and eluding an officer whereas Linthicum was charged with misdemeanor assault and eluding police. In court April 19 the players are scheduled to appear.

On Sunday two of the hottest teams in the NHL will square off when the Chicago Blackhawks travel to Washington to face Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in a nationally televised game on NBC.

The Capitals are at 40-1 in NHL Betting odds whereas the Blackhawks are at 35-1 to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

For the Central Division race, Chicago has won eight games in a row and has started to put some pressure on the Detroit Red Wings. By winning five straight including a 2-1 shootout victory over Tampa Bay, Washington has been red hot as of late too. Both teams get the desperately needed two points that accompany a victory as they will look to continue their solid play.

During its current eight game winning streaks, Chicago has benefited from a potent offense. The Blackhawks hope their offensive barrage will continue for the rest of the season and into the playoffs, having scored three or more goals during all eight contests.

In order to keep their winning streak alive, the Capitals on the other hand have had to rely on their defense. Washington has not scored more than three goals in a game since February 16th, usually considered one of the better offensive teams in the league. In three of their last four games, actually, the Capitals have won in overtime or a shootout. The Capitals will certainly find themselves among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this spring if they can keep up this defensive style of play while figuring out how to score more goals like they are used to.

Welterweight contenders BJ Penn and Jon Fitch headlined the UFC 127, which takes place at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 26. It also includes bout between lightweights George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver and middleweights Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera.

In the promotion’s history, UFC 127 along with UFC 115 has become the fastest selling event. The tickets were sold out within few moments it went public. With many headlined events for Georges St-Pierre over the last couple of years, this is an astonishing achievement for UFC and its fans.

Former champion BJ Penn plans to eventually return to the lightweight division, although when he meets Jon Fitch, he will be fighting for a welterweight title shot in the main event of UFC 127. He had left the lightweight division, last year after back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar. Both fighters are into GSP.  At the biggest event in UFC history UFC 129 on April 30, they will defend the title against Jake Shields.

Fitch has been successful by going on a five-fight winning streak. August of 2008 is when he last faced GSP. Fitch plans to stay focused on his current task, as the bout is going to be a tough one.

UFC President Dana White said that for the UFC welterweight championship, the top contender would be from the winner of this bout. For the Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight crown, the winner will be the #1 contender.

According to sportsbooks for Jon Fitch -200 , BJ Penn +160;  the odds for the UFC 127.

This year will be no different for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which is always a favorite on the PGA Tour. Dustin Johnson, who is a two time winner and defending champion of the event, is anxious to defend his title in the popular week-long event which is opening Monday.

In  sport betting sites, Golf Betting Odds are not yet available for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM.

Newest phenom Johnny Vegas who is the PGA’s best including, with whom Johnson will be battling. Vegas has become the hot golfer to watch early in the PGA season as he has a win and a third place finish in his pocket. After winning the Bob Hope Classic, Vegas is the newest exciting golfer to break into the limelight. In the Torrey Pines event, Vegas also challenged Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, settling for third place.

By making a gallant effort to bring home the trophy in his home town of San Diego, Mickelson, the big lefty quieted his critics at Torrey Pines. After slipping in the world rankings towards the end of last season, Mickelson’s shot making and driving ability have made a comeback.

Pebble Beach is Tiger Woods favorite course as well as it has been one his courses in which he has performed well in the past. Even though Woods was eight off the pace heading into the final round, at Torrey Pines, he struggled with his swing. Woods will be a contender at Pebble Beach if he can tweak his swing.

Heading into the Pebble Beach Pro-Am Dustin Johnson is still the favorite. The thing which will make him tough to beat is his long ball striking and his skill on the greens.

Tim Hague in his second stint with the UFC was hoping to breathe new life. It looked like Hague had finally put everything together in order to be successful in the organization’s ultra-talent-rich heavyweight division after coming off of an impressive win over former UFC fighter Travis Wiuff, knocking out the near 80-fight veteran inside of the first-round.

However, last Saturday at “UFC Fight for the Troops 2”, the native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada went on to disappoint when he suffered a first-round TKO to rising prospect Matt Mitrione. In turn, yet again he was released by the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion because of the loss during this recent run with the UFC.

Hague announced the news on his Facebook page stating that he is going to take a little break away from MMA, after being released from the UFC again. As per him, he will get the passion/fire back and it will also let the brain heal from my concussion. He also added that he was trying to cut 205 pounds. He stated that he would be back to the UFC.

Hague has now undergone three separate releases from the promotion. After a controversial majority decision loss to Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 109, “The Thrashing Machine” received his first walking papers. Hague was defeated and he was once again cut by the organization, after stepping in on short notice to replace Chad Corvin at UFC 113 against Joey Beltran.

Hague (12-5) was knocked out in the opening round by Matt Mitrione after earning a pair of wins outside the promotion, while Guymon (12-5-1), a former King of the Cage champion, was submitted in the opening round by DaMarques Johnson for his second-straight loss to fall to 1-3 in the UFC. In the UFC, Hague has gone just 1-4.

Tim went on to knock out both MMA veterans Travis Wiuff in the first round and TUF 10 alum Zak Jensen and again the UFC came calling. At UFN 23 Fight For The Troops, Tim was set to take on another TUF 10 alum in Matt Mitrione but unfortunately, he lost in the first round via TKO in devastating fashion. Tim was then released for the third time.