TURNKEY SPORTS BOOKIE agent services, headcount sportsbook business blog.

Satisfy the demands of your clients with bookoldschool.com

2009-06-22T13:48:00.001-07:00

In today’s market, sports bettors are demanding a very high level of quality when it comes to their betting. This presents bookmakers with a difficult challenge: finding the best possible bookie per head call center in order to be able to provide highly efficient bookie per head services that can satisfy what their players are asking for. Bookoldschool.com is the only turnkey solutions provider which can offer top sportsbook solutions for bookies for a very suitable pay per head fee. For this feel, you’ll receive superb sportsbook management provided by our deal per player shop.

Our bookie per head services are sure to satisfy the most demanding bookies. Whether the bookie has a small or large amount of players is not important as our bookie per head call center is made up of efficient per head agents who are always ready to attend phone calls in a polite way even during the busiest weekends. If you are not convinced that working with a price per head sportsbook would benefit you, then we encourage you to call bookoldschool.com and check on our fair pay per head fees. We may not have the lowest price per head fee around but we can assure you that the ridiculously low fee charged by some turnkey bookie solutions providers is low for a reason. They will not provide your clients with the high-quality sports betting solutions that only bookoldschool.com can offer you.

We hope you realize that the deal per player fee that we charge on a weekly basis is highly competitive. You will be paying for call center services, web betting solutions, or a combination of the two, and the only thing that is not included in our price per customer fee, are the casino games which we offer to bookies as an extra service since our main focus in on sports betting.

If you really want to be ahead of the demands from your clients, you must acquire the solutions of a competent offshore price per head shop like bookoldschool.com. Once you have signed up, you will be given two free weeks of services so you can try out our shop. If you want to take advantage of this temporary promotion, call 1-866-945-8026 now or visit our website for more contact details.

Provide your clients with efficient sportsbook solutions for bookies by dealing with bookoldschool.com

2009-06-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

If you really want to make it in the world of sports betting, you must use a top of the line agents software and only a top per head data processing services provider such as bookoldschool.com. This price per head service for bookies allows bookmakers to enjoy better profits and have more free time while being completely in control of the various aspects of their call center per head sportsbook thanks to our low deal per head sports betting solutions.

The sportsbook software that is included in our menu of bookmaker services and per head data processing services was designed by our own team of savvy technicians. They possess a vast knowledge of the call center per head sportsbook industry. Therefore, they considered the specific needs of bookies while being directed by the management team of bookoldschool.com when in the process of setting up our functional in-house software. This allowed bookmakers to be fully prepared to face the challenges of being a successful bookie with the help of the best online sportsbook per head service.

The price per head service for bookies provided by bookoldschool.com is of the highest quality and will satisfy the customer service needs of bookmakers and their clients. Skilled price per head agents have a main duty of supplying an online sportsbook per head service of the best possible quality in a personalized way which is sure to please everyone involved.

If you are still questioning whether you should acquire useful bookmaker services, then stop thinking and act now. Your clients will thank you and you will immediately begin enjoying the outsource bookmaking features of our turnkey solutions provider. These include mobile betting, internet betting, per head call center wagering, personalized attention, custom software (which contains 17 different analytical reports) and many other solutions which will provide you and your customers the satisfaction of having all these amazing services at your disposal at any time they are required as we operate on a 24/7 year round schedule. Please visit our website for more information or call us for free at 1-866-945-8026. Thank you for choosing bookoldschool.com as your pay per head services provider.

Bookoldschool.com, the leader in pay per head service outsourcing

2009-06-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

If you wish to become an offshore bookmaker but you lack the cash to start your own offshore sportsbook service, then it is time for you to acquire the price per head sportsbook services of bookoldschool.com in order to start delivering top pay per head service outsourcing solutions to your clients. Chances are that you will not have success in your business if you don't acquire decent bookie software in order to manage your business correctly and your customers will certainly be pleased to know that you have made available to them an outstanding price per head gambling call center instead of continuing to work all by yourself.

Competition increases everyday in the wagering business. Therefore, by utilizing the price per head sportsbook services of a truly efficient pph shop like bookoldschool.com, is a way to go a step ahead of other bookies, because your clients will enjoy bookie per head call center benefits which will set your sports betting operation apart from the bookmakers whom haven't made the important decision of outsourcing their businesses to a price per head sportsbook.

The pay per head service outsourcing solutions supplied by bookoldschool.com will also prevent the need of a bookie to move to a foreign country in order to be able to operate offshore. A price per head gambling call center is already located in Costa Rica or another country where the wagering industry is welcomed by the local government as bookie per head call center suppliers allow many Costa Ricans to enjoy jobs where they can develop their client attention skills and make a good profit at the same time.

Because the clients of a bookmaker will be talking to per head agents whom are located offshore, the bets that are taking place are legal and will not affect the bookie directly because his customers will not be talking to him in order to place their bets. The only real portion of the business left for the bookmaker to run will be divided into two parts. The first is to charge his clients for using his sports betting solutions (in order words, to get them to pay for their losses) and the second is to use the sportsbook software that is part of the bookie services supplied by the betting solutions provider, in our case book-ez.com, in order to have a simple but efficient control over all the aspects of his sports betting business. For more information, Call 1-866-945-8027 and speak to one of our managers to find out how we can benefit your business.

Delaware Sports Gambling Law Won’t Deter Bookie Services

2009-06-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Recently, Delaware sports gambling was made legal which makes it the second state in the United States to allow gambling on sports. Nevada was of course the first. Delaware gambling is being received enthusiastically by the public as most citizens feel they should be allowed to gamble. The Delaware sports gambling law was passed because the Supreme Court ruled that lotteries with an element of skill should be allowed. Delaware sports gambling certainly involves some skill, ask anyone that gambles a lot, so Delaware gambling on sports is now legal.

With the new Delaware sports gambling law in place, Delaware expects to raise a lot of money to cover their budget deficit. If Delaware gambling is successful, other states may follow suit. Many other states are in huge deficits and may decide to enact laws similar to the Delaware sports gambling law.

House representative Barney Frank, of Massachusetts, introduced a bill that would legalize internet gambling across the country. The Barney Frank gambling bill would not permit betting on professional sports games, however, at least not the way it’s done in Las Vegas. Many people are opposed to the Barney Frank gambling bill and they include Christian groups, groups that fight gambling addiction, and also the NFL. The NFL is opposed to both the Barney Frank gambling bill and the Delaware sports gambling law as they feel it will increase suspicion that games are being tainted. Bookie services companies are not being deterred by all this news of legalized gambling.

While some may think that bookie services companies would be shaking in their boots at the thought of gambling becoming legal in the United States, this is simply not the case. The first reason is, even if gambling became legal across the country, it would be taxed heavily which means many people would most likely try to avoid the tax and, therefore, price per head sports betting would not be affected. Gamblers know that it is very difficult for the Federal Government to stop online casino and sportsbook software companies. They will tend to have the attitude that if they have been able to gamble this long with no problems, why would they know choose to pay taxes on it.

The second reason that price per head bookie services companies are not afraid is because legal gambling will be highly regulated. This means that there will be fewer per head gambling options which will not please many players. The bookie industry is a very old school industry and old school industries tend to stay around for a long time. Since the bookie service industry provides services to bookies, it is likely to be in fine shape. Because an online sports betting software company is not making money on betting, they are simply providing the means by which people bet, they can always adapt to the changing market even if bookmakers saw business decline. Pay per head services are here to stay.

Specialized Software

2009-04-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

When it comes to bookie betting, there are many reasons that customer service call centers can be advantageous. One of the main ways that offshore bookmakers can help the bookie business is by providing detailed reports for all the figures that bookies need. Bookies need to know what their players are doing at all times. They want to see who they’re betting on, the way they’re betting and how well they’re doing. They need to know if they owe or are owed money. The list goes on and on.

Our sportsbook software differs from that of other offshore bookmakers. Most offshore bookmakers use general reports provided by sportsbook software that they purchased. However, we have software for agents that has been custom designed. We have an in-house department that is dedicated to providing the best possible sportsbook software available. These designers have a lot of experience in writing software which is obviously a great thing. However, the best thing is that these designers work with actual gambling agents so they know exactly what an agent would need and benefit from with a software program.

When you have staff with years of experience in the bookie betting world, you can anticipate the needs of gambling agents in advance. Our company did not just come and set up shop. It was the first company to anticipate the needs of a bookie, researched what needed to be done and then developed the infrastructure. Because of this, bookies have more and better information than they could ever hope for with other offshore bookmakers.

We highly encourage you to give us a call so that we can explain the different types of reports provided for our gambling agents. We can even offer a free trial period in order for you to see how these reports will benefit your business and make your life easier.

What should you get from a PPH Service

2009-04-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

Nowadays sports gambling call center services offer a wide variety of choices and possibilities. The best way to check which of these pay per head companies gives you the most useful solutions for your business is to go ahead and ask them straight up.

A good PPH service will prove you that you can trust them from the beginning and don’t hesitate in providing any type of information you request. A good pay per head service doesn’t have any reason at all to hide things from you and will explain clearly how their sportsbook outsource service works.

Any company that advertises itself as a professional bookie software provider should be able to give you different agent reports including daily and weekly figures, customized and detailed reports on your players’ action: any information you need on your sportsbetting account should be available.

A PPH service will provide you with a customized sportsbook website that your players can access and place bets at and check their own figures and more. This website usually includes casino games and in some cases poker.

Among sports gambling call center services it is usual that their service is not only provided in English, but also in other languages such as Spanish and Chinese. A serious PPH service will be able to manage your business as good as you would do it yourself.

It also common, when you hire one of these sportsbook outsource services that they provide you with different rates for different customers: a player that mostly places his action online uses less resources, therefore his price per head rate should be lower; flat fees are unrealistic.

Another example that proves that your pay per head service is reliable is seeing your business grow: word of mouth is sometimes the best advertisement there is and if your clients are happy, they will bring their friends along.

If your current PPH service is not providing you with all of these, maybe you should consider moving to a different company, after all you are paying for product and its quality should increase your profits and expand your bookmaking business.

PPH shops, offering a virtual solution for a real problem

2009-04-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

The chances for making business around the world were truly incremented with the arrival of the internet. People can now buy, sell or make use of a web service with a few simple clicks, and when it comes to the sports betting industry, the internet has proven to be an effective and reliable tool for bookmakers in general. The problem is that to mount a website and a fully-operational pay per head offshore call center takes a lot of effort and cash, and the small bookie simply cannot afford to build up an sports betting operation of that size from scratch.

A website requires the acquisition of a domain name, the creation of a good-looking design for the site's background, it also asks for continuous maintenance and it needs to offer programs which are aimed to help the user of the site in an specific task, in the case of bookmakers , it needs to serve the sports betting needs of the bookie's clients and it requires to provide the sports agent with player-management tools which he can use to provide his customers with a better service. All of that means a good investment, but fortunately for those bookies who run a small bookmaking operation, to have an outstanding web presence is now a reality thanks to the existence of pay per head shops.

Allowing your customers to make bets through the phone is essential, but having an internet site where they can login and bet for themselves is not only a nice feature, it is also a necessary one because there will be times when a bookie's client cannot call-in for a bet, the perfect example is when such customer is at work, it will surely be more discreet and convenient for him to just login into his account and make a bet over the internet rather than having to ask for permission and going out looking for a good cell phone signal.

The usage of the internet for business purposes and achieving success in the sports betting world are two things which goes hand to hand, so, if you are an sports agent, do not hesitate and contact a top pph shop in order to start offering web pay per head services to your clients now.

Price per head sportsbooks, serving the sports betting community for more than a decade

2009-04-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

The concept of 'per head agents' born more than 20 years ago, but the development around it has seen an important growth during the last 10 years. The people who created pay per head shops were also bookies and knew the different needs of the bookmakers from those days, but a lot things have changed since then and the internet along with Voip technology have proven to be inseparable partners with the successful sports agent of our times.

In the last decade, pay per head shops have created a 'paradise' for bookies and the reason is because they offer all the bookmaker might need to compete with a sound winning margin in the current saturated sports wagering market which, by the way, continuously sees a lot of sports agents failing in their bookmaking journey simply because they haven't realized how easy is to provide clients with an outstanding service with little to no effort.

Before technological advancements, the people providing pay per head services had to work with regular land telephone lines, which made their businesses 'too public' for their own good, but since the late nineties and early 2000's, web services and modern telephony have been the main tools used by pay per head services providers in order to grant more personal security for the bookmakers they serve. PPH shops act as a communication bridge between sports agents and their clients, so, when a bookie hire their services, he know that he will not have to be in constant contact with the wagerers on his sports betting portfolio, therefore, the risk of being found by 'unwanted sources' is almost inexistent.

Turnkey solutions providers are solid institutions (with some exceptions) which will continue to grow within the sports betting industry as technology moves forward and as security matters gains in priority, and it is a fact that they will be here for many years to come, so, it is never late to take the decision of starting to deal with a good PPH shop.

Bookmaking Reports

2009-04-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

Sports agents who are looking to outsource bookmaking have many things to consider in choosing the right offshore sportsbook. One thing that is very important for bookie betting is reporting. Each offshore sportsbook provides different reports and, therefore, you need to find out which reports they offer and what they can do for your bookie business.

Most offshore sportsbooks run sportsbook software with a limited amount of reporting features. Every offshore sportsbook will have these basic reports so it is important that you find out which agent reports software they have in addition to the basic ones.

At our company, we he have over ten completely customized reports for bookie betting. One very important report is called a day sheet. This report basically shows you what your money has been doing over the week. It allows sports agents to see when, where and why their money is moving. It also provides them the ability to change player information and send messages to players. When a price per head agent sends a message to his player, the player sees the message the next time he or she logs in. This is a very useful and convenient way for a price per head agent to keep in touch with his players.

Another useful custom report provided by our company is called a handle. This report helps agents figure out amounts and percentages they owe to their subagents. The real time betting report lets you know what your players are doing at the current moment. Another report even allows the sports agents to move the lines if they should desire.

The bottom line is that each and every offshore sportsbook does not offer the same reports. It is important to figure out what type of reporting you’ll need before moving your customers to a new price per head shop. Bookie betting is complicated and can be a disaster if you don’t choose the right company to work with.

Internet bookie software for you!

2009-04-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

If you are here is because you are interested in finding the best bookie software solution for your sportsbetting business and just by researching you are doing the right thing.

There are several deal per head services all over the place, but just like in any other business, some are there just to take your money and provide no real service. Other companies do offer fewer benefits just because they are targeted to a different kind of bookmakers. Offshore facilities are not the only thing you should get from a respectable deal per head service.

By actually making the decision of investing in a price per head service, you need to know exactly what you will be receiving from them. When you hire someone to do your job is because they will be doing better or even bring a lot more benefits to the table. Hiring bookmakers offshore businesses should mean that your sportsbook will grow and your profits increase with better service, more tools and easier access: is your price per head company offering you all that?

The best thing we can mention about getting bookie software is that it is fully customized: you get exactly what you and your players need. Bookies and bookmaking obviously go hand in hand and only someone who has the experience and knowledge of a real old school bookmaker can provide the specific tools to succeed in this business.

In this era where technology has taken over every industry, sportsbetting business needs to be up to date and you can no longer survive by writing tickets on your own. Hiring a price per head company is definitely the best way to incorporate to the market we currently live in. Get the best in bookie software available for you by acknowledging your current needs and researching for the different choices offered.

Getting customized bookie software is easy and the investment is definitely worth it if you are aiming on expanding your business and in earning bigger profits. You can make your sportsbook grow as big as you want it to be.

PPH shops: serving as a communication bridge between sports agents and their customers

2009-04-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

The bookmakers of nowadays have accustomed to work differently thanks to the creation of pay per head services. There is not that much interaction between a bookie and his customers when the sports agent is working with a pph shop since per head agents are the ones in charge of taking the phone bets instead of the bookie itself, and we can add to this the fact that pay per head shops also offer web betting pay per head services for the bookmaker's clients, therefore, when using a pph shop, the sports agent's only real task is that one of getting paid for providing his customers with such a great sports betting service.

So, when a bookmaker starts using pay per head services, his clients becomes the pph shop's clients, and it is the responsibility of the bookie to deal with a reliable pay per head shop since the per head agents whom will be talking to every single client that calls-in the pay per head offshore call center are the ones that whom will be the ones speaking instead of the bookie, and for this reason, it is in the best interest of the sports agent to choose a pph shop where only responsible and courteous per head agents works.

It works like this: the bookie is on one side of the line, his clients are on the other extreme, and the pph shop offering pay per head services is in the middle. It is the bridge of communication between the two parties involved in every single sports betting transaction, therefore, it is quite important that a bookie investigates in deep before start dealing with a determined pph shop.

I have a personal recommendation for a bookie that is still not using pay per head services: bookoldschool.com, they rank among the top pay per head shops out there. Just give them a call and check for yourself why they are so appreciated and respected within the sports betting community.

NBA MVP watch

2009-03-31T11:37:00.000-07:00

The subject of who is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player is something that everyone wants to each NBA season. So many good players on the court, but only can take the coveted prize of being the best in the league. Players like Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Charles Barkley have won this prize.

So, who are the possible candidates to win this award this NBA season? Let’s check it out:

Many have said this and I will say it as well. The “King” of the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, is one of the guys will most likely win the prize this year. He is leading his team in the Eastern Conference and even last season’s record. Although, some key players of the team are out due to injury, he still gets the job done.

Now that we have mentioned the Eastern Conference, let’s head down to Miami, where Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat is simply showing us why he’s such a great player. He was recently named East player of the month after averaging 30.7 points, 8.7 assists and 2.0 steals in 12 games.

Still staying on the East Coast, what about Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard? “Superman” has been kind of weird these past few games. He hasn’t been blocking that much, out of the past four games; he’s only blocked in two of them. Plus, his scoring percentage has gone down little. But, if he gets everything back together, he can still have a chance to win the MVP title.

Last but not least, Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers have been extremely dominant this NBA season, and the work Bryant has done just makes things so much easier for the Lakers. He recently made another addition into his career, for the 96th time he made over 40 points in a game. He is currently ranked third in the league’s history books, behind Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

There you have it, folks. Your top candidates to win the NBA MVP award this NBA season. These are guys who have all the tools to be this year’s best player on the court. Until the end of the NBA season, we’ll see who takes the prize.

Pay per head shops, why? Part 2

2009-03-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

People that run Las Vegas sportsbooks are constantly dreaded of alleged system going-down. But PPH shop owners alleges there is light chance of that taking place modern pay per head shops as they have the capacity to broadcast and pick up data thru fibre optic cable, microwave and other type of satellite dishes.

What does not a good pay per head shop do? It does not sign on new clients or get clients to re-open inactive accountings. As well never touches the clients’ funds. The pay per head establishment is only going to work with the bookmaker and will assist his clients as per his preferences.

The clerks on a price per head shop are friendly,but would never trespass the professional or personal lines.

These shops as well have software platforms that interface with 3rd party paid suppliers, but the arrangement of withdrawals, deposits and recharges are outside their reach.

What does it cost to join a good pph shop? That depends upon the call center services package that one buys, the bulk of action and the divide of that bulk that is served by telephonists against the World Wide Web.

There are zero advanced deposits: the bookie just pays for the clients he wants the pph shop to handle on a weekly basis.

As PPH shops have the essential licenses commanded by the Costa Rican authorities, a bookie cancan start using price per head services within just a single week or less.

There are a range of excellent price per head shops out there over the internet, some of them rank among the best names out there, so it is just a matter of a single phone call to start making business in an easy, more satisfactory way for both the bookies and their customers.

Some reasons why most sports bettors lose

2009-03-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

It's a wide recognized conception that the big majority of sports wagerers are going to miss profit. The commonest is that ninety percent of sports gamblers will miss profit over the run of the year, but that does not stop folks from betting on sports. When those wagerers sooner or later go broke and can't bet any longer, there's always someone else waiting to take their place in line.

The number 1 cause most sports risk takers lose is not because of mediocre picks, but alternatively is because of mediocre profit direction. There are far more wagerers who can choose winners than there are who can make profit, and money direction is the fundamental key.

Betting fifty on 1 game and five hundred on a different is a certain method to find yourself apart from your money in the end, even as wagering fifty percent of your roll on one match will at last conduce to catastrophe. A sports wagerer can win a few games when wagering to a higher degree that they should, but sooner or later the loss, or losses, will add up and the wagerers finishes up distressed.

It is no enigma that football and hoops are the 2 sports that receive the bulk of the wagering dollars, even as it is no enigma that the oldest sports wagerers will say those are probably the two hardest sports to show a long-run in profit earnings.

The sport of option for most professed bettors is baseball, which happens to rank swell under the top 2 sports in the sum of money obtained. Hockey is a different sport that a lot long-time wagerers think can give the sports risk taker an advantage over the sportsbook, but hockey is wagered less than even baseball.

Sports wagerers doesn't have to especially like baseball or hockey. As long as they like profit, those are 2 sports that should be pursued, or at least find someone who's a good ball or hockey odds-maker and follow their bets.

Pay per head shops, why? Part 1

2009-03-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

If the inventive around sports betting takes control, consumers will acquire more alternatives. People frequently make a differentiation between bookies in the Internet and bookies with land-based operations. The fact is that all bookmaking processes are physical. To help a business, whether local or worldwide, one must hold a key workplace, but to get an offshore call center up and functioning in a location like Costa Rica, it takes a 6-figure expenditure.

Pay per head shops have been created to assist as a contact between bettors and bookies. They cover dealings for multiple bookies using software package programs made-to-order to the wants and needs of each separate customer.

PPH shops basically give bookies their lives back.

What I mean is that bookmakers associated with a pph shop do not need to expend a lot of time bewaring the shop. Additionally, they can beware the shop from a distant emplacement. Nowadays, the distant emplacement can be as closely as your own laptop computer.

Price per head shops are not just global twenty-four hour call centers, they are as well a lot more than that.

They have an artwork section that will design your internet site, they can freshen up your web site as required, adjust it to abroad spoken communication and currencies and even incorporate your internet site to a virtual gambling casino marked to enjoy of your PPH shop's appearance and feel.

Every PPH shop call center has staff that includes shop clerks eloquent in both Chinese idioms, as the oriental community is an important and arising corner of our industry, thus PPH shops have shop clerks fluent in mandarin, Cantonese and some in Vietnamese also.

A pay per head shop has in-house handicappers that have been cultivated in the artistic creation of prompting numbers. A bookie may decide to use this servicing on an every day basis or even at those times when he is out doing something he enjoys apart from gambling. Unnecessary is to say that each individual bookmaker establishes the parametric quantity* or flash points that order when a sportsbetting line is to be moved.

Brief explanation of Point Spreads

2009-03-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

When it comes to wagering on football and basketball, a wagerer must have a firm discernment of the point spread if they hope to have a successful season.

The point spread is a handicap laid on 1 squad, for wagering purposes only, and it is configured to give both squads in any match a balanced chance at winning in the eyes of sports wagerers.

When 2 squads meet on the playing area or on the basketball courtyard, one squad is commonly finer than the other. If all sports risk takers had to do was to choose the victorious squad in a match, everybody would merely wager on the best squad and amass their money.

Using a model from Week two of the 2007 NFL season, the Falcons were visiting the Jags. There, almost without a doubt J'ville was the best of the two squads and if all the wagerers had to do was to pick the victorious squad, about every wagerer would have taken the Jags.
What the sportsbooks and bookmakers did was to produce a point spread, to make the two squads equally appealing in the eyes of wagerers.

In this case, J'ville was put in as a 10 point front-runner, which is normally published as Jags -10. The Falcons, the dog, is commonly written as Falcons +10.

If you place a bet on the favorite, J'ville, the Jags must succeed by eleven points or more in order for you to win your wager. Remember, the Jags are preferred by ten points, so we deduct 10 points from their concluding score for wagering purposes. If J'ville were to come up with the victory by 34-23, Jags wagerers would win their wager. If the Jags were to succeed by 33-24, J'ville wagerers would turn a loss because they did not succeed by more than ten points.

If you bet on the underdog, the Falcons, you get ahead with your bet if Atlanta win the match or if they lose by nine points or lower. Because Atlanta, the dogs, we add 10 points to their final score for wagering intentions.

If the Jags were to succeed in the match by precisely ten points, 24-14, it would be a tie or a push and all wagers are repaid to wagerers. J'ville did throw down the Falcons as awaited, but the Jags didn't succeed to cover the point spread when they won by 13-7.

Price Per Head solutions: state of the art offshore call centers

2009-03-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

Call centers are essential points of communication between a business and its clients, and in the world of sports betting is no different as offshore call centers are all over spread throughout the Caribbean and Central America.

Exotic and beautiful places like the Bahamas, Barbados in the Caribbean, Antigua in Guatemala, and San Jose and Jaco in Costa Rica are the residences of the biggest names around the sports betting world.

Not only there are offshore call centers for regular sports books that are focused on attaining clients from the web, but also there are those that are aimed to provide independent bookmakers with the necessary tools to make their sports gambling business grow.

These offshore call centers services are provided by Pay Per Head shops, a great idea created by innovative bookmakers a while ago that emerged as a solution for a huge problem: to satisfy with sportsbook software and call center outsourcing, the betting demands of clients of sports bookmakers.

Nowadays, the industry around pph shops is quite large, with emerging turnkey website competitors and more offshore call centers being built in these beautiful locations.

But having more competitors doesn't necessarily mean there will be more quality: There are those pph shops that just have the necessary tools to provide a standard service to the bookie and his clients, and there are others whose main compromise is to offer the best possible pay per head service backed up by an outstanding team of professionals ready to excel client expectations. The latest are those who invest greatly in infrastructure and technology, those who will never compromise an important wager over the phone or the internet because of power failure. These guys are the ones at the top of the game at the pay per head shop industry, so check well and choose right…the final word is yours.

I know of some pay per head shops that will even give you a tour around their facilities if you request it that way; after all, what these price per head sportsbooks are doing is serving as a bridge between the bookie and his clients, and to have an understanding of the high level of client attention and how well equipped they are is something worth checking for.

A-Rod, one more in the steroids MLB black list

2009-02-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

Apparently George Brett couldn’t believe his ears when he heard Alex Rodriguez saying that he had taken steroids early in his career when he was playing for the Texas Rangers. “Is it really true?” Brett said when interviewed by a local Kansas City radio station on Tuesday.

The hall-of-famer said that he was most concerned about the news because he always considered himself a good friend of A-Rod, and to know such thing after so long is something he’s still assimilating.

Brett, who played for the Royals during his tenure at the MLB, said that he considered absurd to put in jeopardy one’s health for the sake of competing with others.

I totally agree with Brett, and actually, if you got to see the interview that ESPN broadcasted where A-Rod tells the whole story, you can note that he not only lied about taking steroids, you will also see Alex Rodriguez saying that he was doing it because he was under a lot of pressure back on 03’, but, can a person who just signed a $250 million dollar contract which is guaranteed, be worried about anything at all? I’ll leave the answer to you.

It is clear that baseball has suffered a lot in what it concerns to credibility since the whole steroids scandal began. With names like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and now Alex Rodriguez endorsing the pages of the Mitchell report, the officials at the MLB must try to revitalize such credibility with more control over illegal substances.

The bad thing for A-Rod and the other mentioned players is that they are probably not going to join George Brett at the hall of fame in despite of a more-than-impressive sporting curriculum, and all of that just because of baseball steroids use.

No more H.O.R.S.E now we play G.E.I.C.O

2009-02-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

Recently, the NBA announced that they will be adding a game of Horse to its NBA All-Star weekend and fans welcomed the idea excited. However in an interesting marketing like twist the very common and liked game of Horse will be sponsored by a well known insurance company named Geico and because of this the traditional game will be G.E.I.C.O this is how one of the most cherished basketball traditions is sold out.

The NBA holds an amazing load of fans, maybe not as sensitive as baseball fans but some traditions in the NBA shouldn’t become a product with a price and be auctioned so easily…what if the sponsored company didn’t have such a short name? I don’t want to think what kind of game we will be watching at the NBA All-Star weekend.

Although the roots of the Horse game are inspired in one of the best basketball-related commercial of all time, it lost that marketing appeal years ago and became a drive way game to play with the family and friends. Has the NBA sold out one of America’s fond memories and Geico sponsoring the NBA All star weekend will change the face of classic, in my heart I hope that it doesn’t catch.

And probably I am making a big deal out something small, but I have to say that the NBA should pay more respect to the game that it stands for, the tradition and the love people have for the National Basketball Association, the basketball game itself and everything it means to NBA fans all over the US.
In the words of a very wise book and movie character that has also become an American Classic:

“…and that’s all I have to say about that….” – Forrest Gump

Kobe, not Jordan, but certainly the best out there

2009-02-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

I’m pretty sure Kobe Bryant or any other player out there is never going to play as Michael Jordan did. Maybe players like Kobe can manage to achieve and even pass some of Michael’s records, but the truth is that nobody has the magic and the fantasy Michael had.

But the truth is that Kobe is the best out there, just like when Michael played on the NBA, he was also the best out there.

Right now Kobe Bryant is dealing with the responsibility of leading the Lakers to the 08/09 finals, and is finally understanding that in order to achieve championship rings, team cooperation is necessary.

Jordan was always a team player while he played at the NBA, and now Kobe Bryant is even more similar to Michael on that sense too.

Kobe knows that Shaq is not around anymore, and he wants to show that he’s the right man to lead Los Angeles Lakers to one more NBA title.

I think there is a big legion of Kobe Bryant haters out there, and they have enough reasons to despise the old attitude’s of Bryant, but it is important to know that every player deserves a second chance, and I’m sure that Kobe is asking basketball fans his by the way he’s acting lately… just like Michael Jordan, the best in the court, and a team player at the same time.

Kobe Bryant might have a unique rival in what it comes to currently being #1 at the NBA, and that is Lebron James, the smart and ambitious player from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sure, James was second last year in the voting for MVP, but the fact that Kobe Bryant got it instead of him, and also because it was the first time Kobe got the MVP on the time he had played for the NBA, makes him undeniably the best.

Eli or Peyton, who’s the best?

2009-02-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

It seems like the Manning brothers went to the NFL off-season in equal conditions, none could lead its respective team to the super bowl and now it is time for both to get ready for the coming NFL season in order to see, once and for all, which one of the brothers is the best quarterback of the clan.

At one time, Peyton Manning was the ruler over Eli Manning, as the latest was starting his career at the NFL and therefore didn’t had the experience of his brother. As a consequence, the youngest of the Mannings started to be seeing as the shadow of his big brother, both in experience and talent.

But wait, young Eli awakened from a bad dream and started to perform better and better, until it was certain for all of the sporting community that Eli Manning was a different and better player. His talent had improved so much that he leaded the hopeless Giants to the final game of the NFL and, along with the help of his team mates (whom played better than ever inspired by the sudden awakening of their quarterback), won a Super Bowl championship ring.

When Eli Manning obtained such ring at the 07/08 season by defeating the favored Patriots, he started to be seeing as an equal to Peyton Manning (who also obtained a championship ring after achieving a Super Bowl victory playing for the Colts).

Both are Super Bowl champs, and in despite of the age difference, both share the same god-given talent to play football, and that is why that for the 08/09 NFL season, critics were expecting to see a real battle between the brothers in order conquer a second super bowl championship, but, as we all know, that didn’t happened, and it will be until next NFL season that we’ll be able to see if they are still in the search for being the #1 Manning on the clan.

It is the seventh time that the Steelers go to the Superbowl

2009-01-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

Back in the seventies, Pittsburgh Steelers were the biggest thing in football, leaded by an outstanding defense, excellent receivers, a very good running game and a young, talented quarterback, Steelers became the first time in NFL history to win four Lombardi Trophies.

Though in the eighties and the nineties the team could only make it to the Super bowl one single time, the 2000’s saw a rebirth of the franchise, starting with their 2001 AFC championship and just losing to the Patriots before the big game.

So in 2004, Tommy Gun was overthrown by Big Ben, and on his first game, Ben Roethlisberger lost, which lowed his expectations from fans and the press, but that was the only regular season game Big Ben lost during regular season that year. He even led the Steelers to their best record in franchise’s history at 15-1.

Then the Steelers would go on to loose two straight AFC championships to the Patriots (which has the Steelers as one of the best teams of the decade because of always finishing behind the Patriots), then they finished 11-5 but failed to win their division.

Now the magic: The Broncos eliminates the Pats; the Steelers beat Denver, and got a ticket for Superbowl XL, which they won by 21-10 to the Seahawks, for the franchise’s fifth Super bowl title. They won being the only sixth seeded team in NFL history to do so.

Pittsburgh can make history if they beat the Cardinals on Superbowl XLII, as they will become the first team in NFL history to win 6 Super bowls.

I’m sure that Arizona Cardinals is coming to the big game with great expectations, but to beat history is a factor that is probably playing in Steelers player’s minds as I’m writing this article, so I would have to say that my favorites this time are the Steelers, whom I expect to play greatly on February 1st at Raymond James Stadium.

So far in the road to the Superbowl

2009-01-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

It almost time for the Superbowl! That’s right, we are just a few days from Super Bowl XLIII and here is what has happened so far in the playoffs:
Wildcard weekend took place on January 3 and January 4, on the third, the Cardinals beat the Falcons by 24-30, while the Chargers beat the Colts by 23-17. On the fourth, the Ravens beat the Dolphins by 27-9 and the Eagles beat the Vikings by 26-14.
Arizona, San Diego, Baltimore and Philadelphia all got tickets for the following round, the Divisional playoffs on the 10th and the 11th. On January 10, the inspired Ravens took down the almighty Titans by 13-10, while the Cardinals also came encouraged after their victory over Atlanta and beat the Panthers by 33-13, and on January eleven, The Eagles ended with the hopes of the Giants to acquire a second straight Superbowl title as they were eliminated by Philadelphia by 23-11 and finally, Big Ben and the Steelers beat the Chargers by 35-24.
The big surprises here are the respective eliminations of New York, Tennessee and San Diego, and now everything is set for the Conference Championship games on January 18, where the Eagles will meet the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium, while the Ravens are visiting the Steelers to play at Heinz Field.
The winning teams will have a few days to practice and get ready for Super Bowl XLIII which is going to take place on February 1st in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Predictions? I have to say that I will enjoy seeing Philly beating the Cardinals and getting a chance to clean their image of Superbowl losers as they have lost in their two previous Superbowl appearances, first against the Raiders in 1980 and against the Patriots on 2004.

Garnett back at Minnesota to play against the Twolves

2008-11-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

I bet Kevin Garnett feels a little nostalgic every time he faces the team he played with for 12 seasons: the Twolves. And today is one of those occasions, as the Celtics will be visiting Minnesota for Boston’s 13^th match of the season.

Back in February, Garnett was injured and could not play in front of many Twolves fans that came to pay him homage at Target Center, but this time, the 32 year-old power forward is set to play and I’m sure Minnesota fans will always have a good reception for him.

The Twolves picked Garnett from high school with their fifth overall pick at the 1995 NBA draft. When his journey in Minnesota had ended, Kevin Garnett had gathered more than nineteen thousand points and set more than twelve dozen franchise records.

Even current Minnesota players hold a great deal of respect for Garnett: ``the things he did here, how can you not love him? I watched him as a kid growing up in middle school and high school. The fans have every right to love him and respect him.'' forward Al Jefferson said.

Garnett never won a championship with the Timberwolves, but he led them to the 2004 Western Conference Finals. The it would come the trade to the Celtics for the 06,07 season when he was swapped for Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and two draft picks.

But sadly for the Twolves, the two teams ended up going in completely different directions after the trade.

Proof of that is what happened last year, as Garnett came to Boston to team up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and won his first NBA championship, while the Timberwolves paired with the Grizzlies for the 3^rd worst record in the NBA.

Everything is served for tonight’s game, and I’m sure Twolves fans are happy this time either their team wins or losses.

Mike Mussina retires

2008-11-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

At age 39 Mike Mussina said yes to retirement. Even though the brilliance is still there, a full MLB season is quite demanding, and Mussina is giving his family and other personal matters more importance at this stage of his life.

Mussina had a goal: 300 victories, but even though he did not make it, he wants to rest from baseball and be simply one more fan.

Mike Mussina spent the last 8 years of his career with the Yankees and previously played for the Baltimore Orioles from a period going from 1991 to 2000.

Mussina was drafted by the Orioles in 1987, but the young player decided to go to college instead of signing with the team, he went to Stanford University, where he played for the college team. He went on taking Stanford to two College World Series in the 3 years he spent there.

He played his first full year with the Orioles in 1992, and after a glorious career with the Baltimore team, Mussina went on to sign with the Yankees on a 6-year $88.5 million contract.

Mussina’s achievements include 5 calls to the All-Star team, 7 Gold Glove Awards, 7 nominations for the Cy Young Award, two MVP nominations and reached the World Series twice with the Yankees on 2001 and 2003.

His last season at the MLB was the only one when he could achieve 20 wins, and to retire after coming with such an important number is rare, in fact, it hadn’t happened in more than 100 years.

Mussina is also possibly going to make it to the Hall of Fame, even though there are some baseball critics whom say he does not deserve a space on it, while there are others who assure that his name is ready to be placed among the best players in baseball history.

AFC East

2008-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

The Dolphins are receiving the Patriots on Sunday for Week 12 and with both teams tied at 6-4, this is promising to be a defining game, and with a Jets loss to the undefeated Titans, Miami will almost secure a playoff spot at 7-4.

New York is leading the AFC East with a 7-3 record, following them are the Dolphins whom beat the Raiders last week; in the third spot are the Patriots whom were beating the Jets in overtime last week on one of the most impressive and attractive games of the whole season so far, and at the bottom, we find the Bills whom are still wondering why they moved from winning 4 straight to start a loosing streak that currently has them with a 5-5 record.

We still cannot say what is going to happen here, but there is something for sure: Buffalo will have a difficult time trying to win a wild card spot at least. There is something on their favor though; they will have poor rivals coming for their next games, as they will play the Chiefs on Week 12, and then the 49ers on Week 13.

The Jets are confident that Brett Favre will bring back the glorious years of the Joe Namath era, but hopefully accompanied of their first championship. And to come up with a victory against Tennessee is probably the hardest task for the team since Favre came to the team. Difficult? Yes, impossible, no.

Without Brady, the Patriots hasn’t suffered much after all, but this is the time for Matt Cassel to prove that he truly is a caliber quarterback, and the game against the Dolphins and Chad Pennington is more than a test, is a mission.

Pennington’s team is below his former one, the Jets, and Pennington is also a skilled quarterback who hadn’t had the chance to prove what he’s worth until now.

Overall, this division is the most interesting one currently at the NFL and Patriots at Dolphins is a game not to be missed.

Mavs vs Magic

2008-11-14T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Mavs! Well it’s been nine years since they lost five straight games and about the same time since they lost playing at home against the Magic.

The Mavericks are holding a dominance over Orlando and surely they want things to stay the same, that is why the coming game between these two teams hold a great deal of importance for Dallas as they are looking to win their first game of season.

The Mavs have been one of the best teams in the NBA for nearly a decade, and this basically their worst 8-game start since the 98-99 season. Dallas splited losses and victories for the first four games and then went on to loose 4 straight, so if they lost this game against the Magic, it would be the first time to loose 5 games on a row since the 2000 season.

Maybe part of the problem for Dallas is that they do not play defense that much, instead, they are a very offensive squad but are aware of the need of some players to defend well.

On the other hand, the Magic have won five of their last six matches and resembles the team that finished with a 52-wins record last season. Proof of how well they are playing was the their match against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that they beat easily by 109-92 with 30 points and 19 rebounds from Dwight Howard

Howard is a excellent player, and the Mavs know of his potential. He led the NBA with sixty nine double-doubles last season and is the current leader in rebounds in the league averaging 15.0 per game. Of course the NBA star will try to come up with the same or better numbers this season, and the game against Dallas is proving to be an excellent test for him.

Oden plays 16 minutes, Blazers beat Miami

2008-11-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

Greg Oden made a great comeback with the Trailblazers last night as he helped his team to defeat Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat by 104-96 at the American Airlines Arena.

And surely a $5 million dollar contract is forcing Oden to play as best as he can.

Oden missed most of last season due to a sprained foot, and had missed the six games this one as he got hurt again on the Blazers opening loss to the Lakers, but the 2007 No. 1 overall NBA draft pick seems ready to prove that is a valuable asset for the team and the league in general. Oden just played 16 minutes and finished with three points and 2 rebounds, while teammate Brandon Roy ended with 22 and rookie Rudy Fernandez of Spain with 25 for Portland’s fifth victory of the current season. Oden did not scored on the game against Los Angeles but finished with five rebounds in 13 minutes.

On the other side of the fence, Wade ended the game with 36 points (this meant the fourth straight game where he scores 30 or more points), six rebounds and eight assists for the Heat, while 2008 NBA draft second overall pick Michael Beasley finished with 11 points, same as Daequan Cook.

With nine minutes on the clock at the fourth, the score was tied at 79, but a couple of three pointers open an 11-2 run and the Trailblazers got ahead for good.

This match meant the first loss for Miami in four home games.

The Blazers will probably not give Greg Oden a full time game just yet, they want to work the 19 year old center into their rotation cautiously, but chances are that he will be in shape real soon and most likely will become a basic piece on Portland’s strategic plans, that is… if he can stay injury-free

Week 10: Bills vs Patriots

2008-11-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

Now is time to talk about one of the most interesting games of Week 10: Buffalo at New England.

Rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis has scored a touchdown for four straight games for the Patriots, including one on the second half against the Bills that gave his team a 20-10 valuable victory on the tight run at the AFC East, where New England and the NY Jets are leading with a 6-3 record, while the Dolphins and the Bills are sharing third and fourth places respectively with a 5-4 record.

Funny thing is that the Bills were 4-0 before falling for the first time this season, while the Patriots have struggled to climb to the top of their division, and as for what we can currently see, any of these teams can steal that place at any time.

And as Buffalo has lost 3 straight, they know their game play has gone down the hill. Certainly Trent Edwards is not supporting his team the same way and what we can see on the football field these days is just a confused signal-caller.

And I am sure the Patriots are looking to come up with their 6^th straight division title, and certainly Matt Cassel is making things work. He’s a better quarterback, that’s a fact and is proving that he doesn’t want to be just a shadow behind Tom Brady.

This is really a different middle season for New England, as last season they had just one thing on their minds, and that was the question about whether or not they would remain undefeated, this year they had been put as underdogs in a few games and questions on the Patriots locker room are surely much different.

Another excellent game featuring 2 teams of the AFC East will come on Week 11, when the Patriots receive the Jets at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, while Monday Night Football will see the Browns visiting Ralph Wilson Stadium to play against the Bills.

Parker leads Spurs with 55 points over Twolves

2008-11-07T10:33:00.000-08:00

San Antonio is a great team, there is no a doubt on that, but they have certainly began this season with the left foot and are now 1-3 with their lone victory coming on Wednesday night to the Timberwolves by 129-125. The game ended with two overtimes. If the Spurs had lost this game, it would be the first time since 1973 (when still playing at the ABA) to start the season 0-4.

Tony Parker finished with a career-high 55 points, and this is the highest scoring output by a rival in the Twolves history, the second is Shaquille O’Neal whom came out with 53 points back in 1994. Parker also helped the Spurs with 10 assists, and became the second player – the other being Michael Jordan—to finish with that number of points and assists on the same game in NBA history.

Tim Duncan finished the game with 18 points and praised Parker’s efforts, “Just an unbelievable effort, especially with the minutes he’s played to continue to push like that.” He said.

Minnesota had a 9-point lead three times in the game but lost the edge late in the third quarter.

The Spurs are struggling this season without the services of Manu Ginobili, who will be without a San Antonio uniform for the first two months of the regular season as he went through surgery to repair his ankle. Ginobili led the Spurs in scoring last year with an average of 19 points per game.

So, if San Antonio lost such a great asset for the team, other players are forced to come up and raise up their level to a peak performance, which coach Gregg Popovich hopes to become a standard for the rest of the season, and for what we could see of Parker on Wednesday, I think he’s the first to get the idea.

Dodgers being talks with Ramirez

2008-11-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

When the Dodgers saw how Manny Ramirez leaded them to their best run at the MLB in a few years, they knew they had to come up with a good deal in order to keep him on the team.

And yesterday, the Dodgers made an initial offer of – it’s being said -- two years for $55 million to Ramirez. The offer was extended to Scott Boras, Manny’s agent.

Boras got Manny the four-year $160 million dollar contract he had with the Red Sox, and he will surely wait until more offers are put on the table before he and Ramirez to conclude what is the best future for experienced left fielder.

Our job is patience, but our job is also looking at other players to see how we can improve the club."

Manny Ramirez will be a free-agent officially on November 14, so before such date no team can put on the table any monetary figures, there can be discussions but nothing beyond that, so for the moment, the Dodgers have the edge.

The Dodgers currently have 12 free agents, and talks have come around Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal, their respective agents have advised both players to wait until the exclusivity period to be over so the real talks can begin.

Manny Ramirez came to the Dodgers after a last-minute, non-waiver trade back on July 31, and had an immediate impact both on his teammates and fans alike. He brought a winning spirit with him that was needed in the Los Angeles team. His Dodgers t-shirt and dreadlock wigs immediately started to sell in a good number, which means that Manny is not just a valuable asset for the Dodgers in terms of baseball results but also as a marketing figure

The Dodgers made it to the NL Championship series with Ramirez on the team, but were eliminated by the Phillies. If Los Angeles manages to keep Manny Ramirez on the team, they know he can have a bigger impact playing a full season for them, and the fight for his contract won’t go easy.

Week 9: Colts beat Patriots

2008-11-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

In one of the best games of the season, the Patriots visited the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time, and they came out from Minneapolis carrying one more defeat that is leaving them closer to the Jets and Bills at the AFC East, as the three teams are 5-3.

The game ended 18-15 favoring the Colts, whom are now 4-4 and second at the AFC south just after the undefeated Titans.

The game meant the 69^th regular season meeting between both teams, with the Patriots leading in victories with 42 to 27. Payton Manning is now 5-9 to the Pats since 1998, but has now won 3 of their last four meetings.

New England lost this match, but there is some good news: they have found a quarterback on Matt Cassel, who has now started 8 regular season games and has leaded the Patriots to a 5-3 record with his team leading the division.

Cassel hadn’t start a regular season game before Tom Brady got injured, in fact, he hadn’t start a game since his high school years, and seeing the kind of skilled quarterback he is becoming is just remarkable.

The way Cassel is handling the chance he’s given by the brady-less Patriots is much different than what Brad Johnson had done with the Cowboys as the 40 year-old veteran hasn’t delivered much football when he’d been asked to replace Tony Romo.

On week 10 we will see the Patriots facing the Bills on a game that can truly dictate which the commanding team of their division is. Both teams lost their week 9 scheduled matches as the Buffalo fell to the Jets 26-17.

Losers on one side, Colts at Steelers on the other as Indianapolis will face Pittsburgh, which is the team with the top defense on the league, so Payton Manning should raise his level to the one we all are used to see in order to help his team to improve their record, and he has enough talent to do it, after all he’s one of the Manning clan.

Week 9: Jets at Bills

2008-10-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

At Week 9 we will see one of the fiercest battles at the AFC East: Jets at Bills.

The Bills are expecting a win to compensate for their loss to the Dolphins last week, and coming with a 5-2 record, they still have a great deal of chances to make it to the playoffs, and probably win the AFC East, but after the Jets, they will have a trip to Foxboro to face the Patriots, so both of these games are very important for a franchise that is having a great moment.

Bills quarterback Trent Edwards is a football fan before a starting quarterback, and he was happy when he saw Brett Favre coming out of retirement to play with the Jets, whom currently are 4-3. So he will probably be honored to defeat Favre and New York on such an important match for Buffalo.

But even though Edwards would like to defeat the future hall of famer at the quarterbacks duel, the real pressure in on the shoulders of the 11^th-ranked Bills defense, whom gave up 314 passing yards to Miami last week.

During the last decade, these teams have seeing each other’s face 3 times with the Bills winning two of them, but it surely hasn’t been an easy task, and to see the Jets playing against Buffalo is more interesting this time as a veteran will be facing a quarterback is currently having his best season since he joined the NFL.

In history, these two teams have played 95 times against the other, and the Bills also command this record with 52 victories over 42 for New York.

So, adding this game to Titans/Packers and Patriots/Colts, we can expect a lot of great football at Week 9.

Phillies are world champions

2008-10-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

The Phillies are the winners of the World Series. The clinch of the title came in game 5 and the series ended 4-1 favoring Philadelphia. Game 5 took place again as it was suspended on Monday due to rain and wind, and that is the first time it happens in World series history. The game got suspended at the sixth inning with both teams tied at 2

When the game resumed yesterday, the Phillies took an advange on their half of the sixth, but the Rays put things even again at 3 in the top of the seventh. Then the Phillies will come to take the definitive lead in their half of the 7^th for the final score of 4-3.

Even though the Rays lost the World Series there is no doubts that this was a prosperous season since they’d never have a winning year in their 10-year run at the MLB, proof of that is that they finished last in their division 9 of their previous 10 seasons.

For the Phillies this was just their second MLB championship in more than 100 years since the franchise’s start, their first World Series title came in 1980. The city of Philadephia is ready to honor their baseball champs with a big parade on Friday.

At least a couple of million people is expected to attend to the parade, if not more.

Since the game was split in two, I believe this is the first time in history that American baseball fans (especially kids) could saw a World Series champion before late night.

I think it’s great when a city that has professional sports in hockey, basketball and baseball to at least enjoy a championship title every once and then, now the Phillies were the ones in charge of bringing some joy to the city.

Congratulations to the 2008 World Series champions: the Phillies.

Titans still unbeaten

2008-10-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

Week 8 was a reminder of who is currently the only undefeated team at the NFL: Tennessee. And not even the powerful Colts with Payton Manning leading them could stop a force beyond recognition called the Titans, whom are now 7-0.

LenDale White had two touchdowns and Chris Hope had the task of stopping Manning, and with an outstanding team play, the Titans beat the Colts by 31-21 on Monday Night. Also, Kerry Collins showed a better performance than Payton Manning, with 193 yards and zero interceptions.

Now, with the win, the Titans are 10 games without seeing a defeat in regular season games, which is the second best attempt in franchise history.

Who could have thought that teams like Buffalo and Tennessee would be having a party of their own at the AFC, and seeing teams like Indianapolis and the Patriots struggling for escalating positions at their respective divisions against teams once-believed underdogs in front of them? Well, this is just another taste of good ol’ American football.

The Titans superiority at their division is unquestionable; they are 7-0 while Jaguars, Colts and Texans are all 3-4.

The Titans were probably thinking on their match against Indianapolis since early in the season as the Colts have been the AFC South dominant team for various seasons, but Tennessee is on fire, and granted the Colts their second straight loss as Indianapolis fell to the Packers by 34-14 on Week 7.

Don’t get me wrong, is still early in the season, half of it to be exact, but in my opinion, the playoffs will surely miss the Colts, and if the Titans can keep up the same rhythm, they might as well can come up with their first Superbowl title.

Giants at Steelers for Week 8

2008-10-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Even though the Giants and the Steelers both are 5-1, they are completely different teams overall. New York will play Pittsburgh on Sunday at Heinz Field.

If we talk about defense, there is no doubt that the Steelers 3-4 unit is more complex than the Giants 4-3 group as Pittsburgh emphasize a lot on hard-hitting plays while the Giants one is based on stopping the quarterback alone.

The Giants are a more offensive team, as entering week 8 they possess the league’s number one running attack, with Eli Manning teaming up greatly with guys like Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer.

So yes, they are not exactly the same, but they do share some aspects, as both teams won their last Superbowl titles in similar terms, with the Steelers coming to the 2005 playoffs as a wild card entry and winning four straight games in route to a Super Bowl title.

And the Giants did almost the same thing two seasons later when they also entered the playoffs as a wild card and won 5 straight, including the previously undefeated Patriots.

Both teams also share some serious Superbowl aspirations. The Steelers have gained a 5-1 mark that makes them one of the top contenders at the AFC, along with the Titans, whom are still unbeaten.

On the other hand, the Giants has a half-game edge over the Redskins whom are in second place at the NFC East.

New York, which has won nine of its last 10 games dating back to last season, will head to Pittsburgh putting the best record in the NFC on the line.

The Giants have won 9 of their last 10 including the last games of last season and are heading to Pittsburgh with the current best record of the NFC.

Beckham to AC Milan

2008-10-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

David Beckham, one of the best soccer players in the world playing with a team like the Los Angeles Galaxy just seemed like an odd idea, but the truth is that the midfielder moved to the USA for money, and yeah, some more fame.

Being the good player he is, I’m sure he will be happy to be playing for a better club in order to raise his competition level now he has a good chance of that to happen, as the AC Milan is close to sign him in loan terms with the Galaxy.

Beckham is also interested in remaining a piece of England’s national team, and… why not…, also recovering his status of captain, so a return to Europe gives him the chance of validating his credentials.

If the deal ends up with Beckham moving to Italy, the move is quite likely to take place at the end of December.

Ac Milan’s coach Carlo Ancelotti seems to be pleased with the team’s decision of bringing Beckham to play at the San Siro Stadium: For me it will be a pleasure. David Beckham is a serious athlete and a great professional, we will be very happy to have him here for four months and obviously he will be able to play in the league and in Europe." He said.

David Beckham has looked bad with the Galaxy, as that is to the caliber team he is used to play for, and a move to a highly recognize authority in world soccer is just what he needs to go back and be the outstanding player we all know.

The question here: is this just a loan or is Beckham’s discrete strategy to leave the country where soccer is considered as one of the least popular sports? I would go for the second choice…

Rams with second season victory against Cowboys

2008-10-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Rams have moved to the second place at the NFC West after defeating the Romo-less Cowboys by 34-14 yesterday.

Tony Romo was expected to stay away from competition for a four-week period, but he was in uniform even though he didn’t play. Replacing him was veteran 40 year-old Brad Johnson who performed poorly as he ended up with 3 interceptions.

The Cowboys were playing without Pacman Jones due to suspension.

Neither Roy Williams nor Terrell Owens did something significant to help their team on a loss against a team with a 2-4 record.

"Coming in this week, we had a boost of confidence coming back from Washington" Rams Stephen Jackson said referring to their first victory of the season against the Redskins last week.

Red sox still with chances

2008-10-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

One could pretty much tell that the Red Sox were saying goodbye to the present MLB season as they were 7-0 at the 6^th inning on game five of their series against the Rays for the AL championship.

But they achieved a great comeback as they scored four times on the 7^th and three more on the 8^th to tie the game, then J.D. Drew delivered the winning run on the 9^th to keep the Red Sox alive as the series is now 3-2 favoring the Rays.

It seems a little bit like last season’s ALCS between the Sox and the Indians, as such series was 3-1 at game four favoring Cleveland, but Boston won the final 3 games and got their ticket to the World Series.

Rays fans are hoping that their young team can stand still against the reigning World Series Champions, and Tampa Bay has a clear advantage as the following game (s) will be played at Tropicana Field.

Phillies on the World Series

2008-10-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

It was 1980 when the Phillies came up with their only World Series Title, now they have the chance of doing it again.

Philadelphia beat the Dodgers on 5 games 4-1 and won the National League title, their first since 1993 and their sixth on the franchise’s history.

The Phillies are waiting for the winner of the series for the American League between the Rays and the Red Sox. Tampa Bay is leading 3-1 and is just one game away to join the champions of the NL at the World Series, which begins on Wednesday, October 22 at the ballpark of the AL Champions.

Last night came the final game of the series with a 5-1 victory for the Phillies. Two not so recognized players hit homeruns: Shane Victorino and Matt Stairs, whom are the newest sports heroes in Philadelphia, the got most of the media attention yesterday over players like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

Stairs, along with teammate Jamie Moyer are the only two players which were part of the Phillies when the franchise was so close to win the World Series.

"Just seeing the celebration was special - I was just a fan then, for me, it's just exciting to be a part of the games now. It's special for the organization, the ownership and the fans that have supported the Phillies all this time." Moyer said after yesterday’s win.

NBA Europe Live tour 2008

2008-10-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

October 29 is the date when the NBA officially starts, and as of now, we are at the middle of the pre-season.

As of now, the NBA Europe Live tour is currently taking place; it began on October 9^th and will end on October the 17^th. Hosting countries are England, France, Germany and Spain.

The Heat is back at Miami after losing two straight games to the Nets in Paris (100-98) and London (94-92).

And yesterday, the Wizards fell to the Hornets 96-80 at Berlin. The second game of these series is coming on Friday when both teams are set to play in Barcelona.

The Wizards are playing without Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood as both did not made the trip to Europe, instead, Washington trusted other type of players like DerMarr Johnson, who currently has a non-guaranteed contract. Johnson came out of the bench and scored 19 points and 3 rebounds on the Wizards loss to the Hornets. But there is not a clear notion about Johnson’s prevalence of the team, as for him to stay among the 15-man regular season roster for Washington; he will have to beat veteran guard Juan Dixon and Dee Brown.

Week 6: Four Last second victories

2008-10-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

How about this: Four games being decided at the last 10 seconds of the fourth quarter.

Sounds good? Well if you watched the games of week 6, then you have a hint of what I’m talking about.

First we have the Vikings whom upset the Lions by 12-10 on one of the ugliest games of the week, with Minnesota struggling against a team with the worst defense at the NFL, but Ran Longwell redeemed his team by scoring a field goal within 9 seconds for the Vikings victory.

Then we have the victory of the Falcons over the Bears on a game which finished 22-20. Jason Elam was first hated by Atlanta fans as he missed a 33-yard field goal with 3 minutes on the clock, but then he redeemed himself with a 48-yard kick that gave his team the victory on the final play.

The Rams achieved their first win of the season as Marc Bulger led the winning drive so Josh Brown could score a 49-yard field goal on the final play which gave his team a valuable 19-17 victory over the Redskins.

The Texans also came up with their first victory of the season as they upset Miami by a single point when Matt Schaub ran for a touchdown with 3 seconds left on the clock.

This is the first time since 1970 that four games are decided at the last moments of the fourth quarter on the same week.

MNF: Giants at Browns

2008-10-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Giants are flawless this season, and leading the NFC East at 4-0.

New York has come with consecutive victories over the Redskins (4-2), Rams (1-4), Bengals (0-6) and the Seahawks (1-4).

The Giants will be playing the Browns (1-3) on tonight’s Monday Night Football date, and they are the only team of their division with one game less than the rest, as they are the only ones whom have had their bye week, while the remaining 3 teams have played a total of 6 games.

The Browns are definitely not coming motivated to this game. They have just a single win this season, a bad defense, a troubled quarterback, and the memories of an August 18 37-34 loss on an exhibition game to the Giants.

Of course, both teams will have different rosters, as such game meant an opportunity for non-starters to show some of their potential in order to see more action during regular season matches, but the weight in definitely on Cleveland’s shoulders.

Week 6: Dolphins at Texans

2008-10-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

The Dolphins have won only two games this current NFL season, but both were victories against the two participants of last year’s AFC Championship, the Patriots and the Chargers.

Now on week 6 Miami has the chance to improve their 2-2 record with a victory over the Texans, whom are 2-0, but the team from Houston has an advantage: they have won the total of 3 meetings between the two franchises since the Texans joined the NFL as an expansion team back in 2002.

The Dolphins were the worst team in the league last season, but they are surely better thanks to Bill Parcels moves, which includes the arrival of Chad Pennington, the former starting quarterback for the NY Jets and whom was considered the second arrival of Joe Namath.

The game will be at Reliant Stadium, who was just hit by hurricane Ike, and with one more defeat, we might say that it is definitely not a good year for the Texans in general.

The Heat is a better team

2008-10-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Since Shaq left the Heat, the team hasn’t been the same. And what a better proof than last year’s league’s worst 15-67 record.

But the Heat is in a rebuilding process, and with the arrival of 2^nd overall NBA draft pick Michael Beasley, the future looks promising.

Right now the team from Miami is in Europe, specifically on France, where they will be playing one of two exhibition games against the Nets, the first game is today and the second will be in London on Sunday.

For this preseason schedules, Dwayne Wade is expected to show some fantasy moves as he is currently number 8 among NBA players in international sales figures.

Besides Wade and Beasley, there is another player that has shown a great deal of talent during Heat’s practices: Shaun Livingston, whom got signed by Miami just a week ago after spending 4 seasons with the Clippers.

The potential and the attitude are there; let’s see if that’s going to be reflected in the results.

Artest in, Mc Grady out

2008-10-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Rockets are ready for the coming NBA season, but all-star Tracy McGrady will possibly not be playing any preseason games.

Though the 29 year old guard wants to play, he might stay on the practice court in order to give some time for his knee to heal properly.

Another Rockets player that will not be seeing any action this preseason is Shane Battier, whom is coming off foot surgery.

While McGrady is not seeing too much action yet, Ron Artest is. Artest, whom is the newest Houston acquisition, had his first game with the team and finished with 15 points in the Rockets 96-93 victory over the Grizzlies.

Ron Artest was acquired from the Kings, a team seems to be needing his small forward services as they lost their first preseason game against the Blazers.

The Rockets have a great team, and they are among my favorite five this season, let’s see if they can be better than the Lakers or the Celtics.

NLCS and ALCS

2008-10-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

We are heading to the final curve of the MLB playoffs, and now is the time for the ALCS and the NLCS to take on television screens.

The American League Championship Series will have the Red Sox against the Rays. Boston arrived after finishing with the hopes of the Angels yesterday when they beat Los Angeles by 3-2, leaving the series at 3-1. Tampa Bay arrived after sweeping the White Sox in 4 games with the series finishing at 3-1.

The National League Championship Series will have the Dodgers against the Phillies.

Los Angeles arrived after winning their series against the Cubs in 3 games, while the Phillies arrived after ending with the Brewers in their series at 3-1.

The current World Series winners will have a hard time playing the Rays with whom they had a marked rivalry during the regular season. They played a total of 18 games with the Rays winning the season series 10-8. Both teams have a good record playing at home, and Tampa Bay has the edge as they are opening the ALCS at Tropicana Field.

On the other side of the fence, this is the fourth time that the Dodgers play the Phillies at the NLCS, but just the first since 1983. Since Manny Ramirez arrived to Los Angeles, this team plays better, and there are not many pitchers that have been successful against him, so in despite of how good the Phillies are, I think the Dodgers will win this series and advance to the World Series.

NFL's best and worst so far

2008-10-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

As of now, the Giants and the Titans are the only two undefeated teams at the NFL.

The Giants have won consecutive matches to the Redskins, Rams, Bengals and Seahawks. They had their bye week on week 4 and are currently 4-0.

The Titans have won consecutive matches to the Jaguars, Bengals, Texans, Vikings and Ravens, and are currently 5-0 with their bye week coming on week 6.

While these teams are the ones with the most wins, we also have four teams without a single victory this season so far, and they are:

The Bengals, with losses to: Ravens, Titans, Giants, Browns and Cowboys.

The Texans, with losses to: Steelers, Titans, Jaguars and Colts

The Lions, with losses to: Falcons, Packers, 49ers and Bears

The Rams, with losses to: Eagles, Giants, Seahawks and Bills

Houston, Detroit and St. Louis already had their bye week.

Rays are 1-0 to the White Sox

2008-10-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

In despite of the hopes of Chicago fans for seeing both of their pro baseball teams playing against each other at this year’s MLB World Series, the two, Cubs and White Sox have started with the left foot.

First the Cubs, whom in despite of being favorites against the Dodgers, are currently 0-2, while the Sox are 0-1 against the Tampa Bay Rays with the second game for that American League series coming tonight.

Baseball fans from Chicago were waiting to see both of their teams advancing to the Conference finals, but the Cubs lost its two first games playing at Wrigley Field, and are now moving to Los Angeles, to play the Dodgers at home, and with one more victory for Manny Ramirez’s new team, the Cubs will say good bye to their hopes.

The Rays have an edge over the White Sox as they won 6 of 10 regular season games to the Sox this season.

Bet the Rays.

Cubs lost first against Dodgers at Wrigley Field, Zambrano expected to be better at second meeting

2008-10-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Dodgers 7-2 victory over the Cubs from last night is giving them a great deal of advantage since there is one more game at Wrigley Field before heading to Dodger stadium for two more, and the Dodgers wants to fly back to Los Angeles with a 2-0 record over the favored Chicago, whom are considered the best team at the National League.

The Cubs are hoping Carlos Zambrano to come up with a good performance on game 2 in order to avoid any talks about a Cubs curse.

Besides their one-hundred year span without going to the World Series, the Cubs have another motivation: to win their first pre-season game since 2003, when they defeated the Marlins twice, but fell to the following 3 games.

This is the first time in MLB history that these two franchises meet at the playoffs, but the Cubs won 5 of their last 7 regular season meetings this year.

Cubs vs White Sox at the World Series? Chicago fans hopes for it

2008-10-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

The White Sox against the Cubs at the World Series, which is what every single baseball fan of Chicago, is waiting this season.

Both teams are playing the postseason for the first time since 1906, and the North/South side rivalry is more heated than ever.

On that 1906 World Series, the White Sox came as big underdogs against the Cubs whom had won 110 regular season games, but the Sox prevailed and defeated their hometown rivals 4-2 on a 6-game series.

The Sox are playing the Rays at the National league and the Cubs are playing the Dodgers at the American league.

Economics are also playing an import roll here, as if both teams can make it to the last game, the World Series in Chicago can boost the regional economy with $120 million dollars.

One thing is for sure, if only one of them makes it to the World Series 2008, the opposite fans won’t be cheering them.

Week 4: Steelers beat Ravens

2008-09-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Week 4’s Monday night football brought one of those games that you want to watch because of the fierceness displayed on the field.

The Steelers 23-20 victory over the Ravens was just like that. It was a game where Pittsburgh was losing by 10 points and playing with third and fourth string players because of a roster plagued by injuries, but somehow managed to make a comeback and saved the day with a 46-yard field goal by Jeff Reed in overtime.

The big loss for the Steelers was first round pick Rashard Mendenhall who couldn’t finish the game because of a fractured shoulder and won’t be playing this season anymore. Mendenhall was coming in substitution of starter Willie Parker, who was off for injuries also.

The Ravens already had their bye week and are 2-1, while the Steelers are leading the AFC North with a 3-1 record.

At week 5 the Ravens have a difficult rival on the Titans, whom are 4-0, and the Steelers will face the Jaguars, whom are below Tennessee at the AFC South and are 2-2.

If Baltimore manages to handle the Titans their first defeat this season, they will come to play the Colts at week 6 with an advantage: it’s the Steelers bye week and their chance to lead their division.

Bills upset rams, Linehan fired

2008-09-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

The most interesting game of Week 4 was probably Bills at Rams which finished with a 31-14 victory for Buffalo.

Now the Bills are 4-0 and the Rams are 0-4.

This is the first time Buffalo is 4-0 in 16 years.

With four defeats in a row, the Rams decided to fire Scott Linehan whom benched quarterback Marc Bulger in favor of 38-year-old Trent Green. At first the change didn’t looked so bad as the Rams rallied the Bills by 14-6 at the first half, but by the second, Buffalo made the proper adjustments, and by the third quarter, the Bills took the lead by 20-14, then it was all-things-Buffalo thanks to Jabari Greer, Trent Edwards and Lee Evans.

Week 5 is the Rams bye week, and then they will return at week 6 to play the Redskins, while the Bills can increase their record at 5-0 at week 5 against the Cardinals and then rest on week 6 which is their bye week to come back and play the Chargers, whom just beat the Raiders by 28-18 and are on a rise with a current record of 2-2.

Warriors uncertain about upcoming season

2008-09-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

It’s been like a soap opera for the Warriors during the off-season. They lost Baron Davis and Mickael Pietrus, and had to deal with the fact that the guy that they were relying on to replace Davis, Monta Ellis, is currently injured and will not see action until December.

In order to be a competitive team, the Warriors will need to rely on new guys like point guard Marcus Williams, Rony Turiaf and the best of the 3, Swingman Corey Maggette.

Uncertainty is surrounding Golden State’s headquarters as it doesn’t seems to be that much chemistry at the locker room, and you can add to this the new blood coming to the team and their respective adaptation and development plus the soon-to-expire contracts of Head coach Don Nelson and Chris Mullin, the team’s executive vice president, and you have a Molotov cocktail.

When asked about what kind of team the Warriors are right now, Don Nelson answered the following: "I don’t know that we know the answer to that question, a lot of adjustments that need to be made and we have some new players, and the whole team is going to have to learn together, how to play with one another and I’m not exactly sure."

Matt Millen fired from Lions

2008-09-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

Matt Millen was hired by the Lions back in 2001 in order to turn around a mediocre team, but instead he contributed to the fall of Detroit’s professional football team, making the Lions one of the worst teams in the league.

After the announcement, hordes of Lions fans were on a parade around the city in celebration of Millen’s departure. Even Bill Ford, the son of team owner William Clay Ford said that he would have fired Millen way back if he had the authorization to do so.

During his stay as Lions President, Matt Millen led Detroit to a league-low 31 victories and made bad decisions at a few NFL drafts, but team owner refused to fire him until now.

Currently the Lions are 0-3.

In substitution of Millen will come current executive vice-president Tom Lewand.

Mangini trustful about Favre playing against the Cardinals

2008-09-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Jets are 1-2 entering week 4, and they definitely need a win against the Cardinals to balance those numbers in order to remain unclouded on week 5 which is their bye week, for then face the Bengals whom are 0-3 on week 6 for a possible New York victory.

Brett Favre got injured on the Jets 48-29 loss to the Chargers on Monday, but Coach Eric Mangini is confident that Broadway Brett is healthy enough to come up with his 257th consecutive regular season start, “Brett usually plays, and I would anticipate the same.” Mangini said.

Jets Coach is also hopeful about his team’s next performance as he’s pleased for what he saw on the game against San Diego as Brett Favre threw several short passes to Jerricho Cotchery (10 catches, 76 yards) and Laveranues Coles (6 catches, 75 yards, one touchdown). The low for Brett was Antonio Cromartie intercepting him and returning a pick 52 yards for a score.

Mangini got severely criticized due to the Jets conservative play-calling against the Patriots on week 2; on the game against the Chargers the story was different, and against the Cardinals, coach and team are expecting to provide their best performance so far, we’ll see…

Chargers take on Jets at Monday night football, Bills favorites at AFC East

2008-09-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Last Monday night football game between the Chargers and the Jets left both teams at 1-2 and third on their respective AFC divisions, and San Diego acquiring their first victory.

David Barrett intercepted Philip Rivers’ first pass and throw the ball back 25 yards to give the Jets their first touchdown of the night, but soon after the Chargers began to command the game for a 48-29 win.

LaDainian Tomlinson looked like if his recent toe injury had gone away, and so he ended up scoring his first two touchdowns of the season. We were going to do whatever it took to get this win, that was our whole approach throughout the week. We needed this one bad. And we got it." said Tomlinson.

It doesn’t look good for Brett Favre and the Jets at the AFC East with an unexpected rival like the Bills whom are 3-0, and now that Tom Brady has said goodbye to the current season, Buffalo is the current favorite to win the division, but we’ll be more sure after the match between the Bills and the Rams at Week 4 that can leave the Bills at 4-0 and moved significantly ahead of any of their divisional rivals.

Week 4 is also bye week for the Patriots whom are 2-1, and so if Buffalo manage to win both of their games against the Rams and Cardinals (week 5), they will be 5-0 and will take a leap of 2 games ahead the Pats, then on week 6 is the turn for the Bills bye week, and here is where things gets interesting.

Brady-less Pats are doomed

2008-09-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Chad Pennington vs. Matt Cassel? I guess you know the answer after the Dolphins 38-13 smashing victory over the Patriots.

With this win, Pennington remains as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing accuracy, completing 17-of-20 passes for 226 yards.

And this was a well-needed victory for Miami whom are now 1-2, while the Pats are 2-1.

This is New England’s first regular-season loss since December 10, 2006, when they got beaten by… guess… the Dolphins.

The victory also meant Coach Tony Sparano’s first NFL win: “It was obviously a pretty emotional deal. They executed the game plan on both sides of the ball to perfection.” He said.

New England fans were booing their own team when they left the field at halftime with a 21-6 score.

The surprise of the week came with the Bills, whom are now leading the AFC East with a 3-0 record, something that was truly unexpected before Tom Brady got injured.

Week 3: Steelers at Eagles

2008-09-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Last Monday Night Football we had the chance of watching the Eagles playing the Cowboys on a game that is considered the most highest-rated cable program in history, where Dallas came up with a 41-37 victory.

That means that we can expect a lot of action next Sunday when the Steelers visit the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field for the Philly classic, one where the Eagles can increase their 1-1 or allow the Steelers to take a 3-0 advantage at the AFC North.

The advantage is on the Eagles side as Donovan McNabb is injury-free and for the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger is suffering a shoulder injury that might affect his performance, but Coach Mike Tomlin is positive about Big Ben and said that there are 85% chances for Roethlisberger to play against their city rivals.

For bettors, the Eagles at -3 are as great a pick as they were against the Cowboys where they covered their +6 outstandingly.

Us Golf team without Tiger Woods for Ryder Cup

2008-09-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

There is people saying that the US golf team will be better without Tiger Woods at the coming Ryder Cup, but who can believe them?

The truth is that the US golf team is as good without Woods as the Patriots are without Tom Brady.

A good reason for people to believe that the US has a better chance of winning the tournament without Tiger Woods is based on the fact that the pro golfer doesn’t have a good record on this tourney as he only has 10 wins in 25 matches in 5 Ryder Cup appearances, with 3 of those victories coming last year when he finished with his best record so far of 3-2.

Tigers Woods might not have a good record at the Ryder cup, but he has 75 victories around the world, has won 14 majors and has been ranked at number one for a total of 513 weeks on his career, which sets him in an enviable position.

With Woods out, Phil Mickelson is the favorite among the 12 members of the US golf team to end with a good result for the Americans, but all in all, they are 12 equals.

Cowboys beat Eagles

2008-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

In despite of the Eagles good performance yesterday, the Cowboys were a bit superior and so they came with a 41-37 victory at home.

Terrell Owens was the key man for Dallas, as he finished the game with two touchdowns, while teammate Marion Barber also had two, though Owens gave Cowboys fans a better show than Barber and proved that he is deserving of the 27-million, 3-year contract extension which Dallas grant him during the off-season.

As of yesterday, Terrell Owens has 29 touchdowns and 171 catches in his first two seasons with the Cowboys.

The Eagles played a great first half and were ahead 30-24 when the third quarter began, and at the fourth, Philly were still leading by 37-31, but the Cowboys responded with 10 straight points which buried Eagles hopes for good.

For Philly fans it might be disappointing to loose a road game against their divisional rivals, but for bettors, it was a great night, as betting lines were set at +6 for the Eagles, and Philadelphia covered the spread just fine.

Target Field, new home for the Twins

2008-09-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

The new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins already has a name: Target Field, this came after Target Corporation reached an agreement with the baseball franchise for a 25-year partnership, which also includes the naming rights for Target Plaza, a pedestrian public space that will connect Target Field to downtown Minneapolis.

Target Field will have 40,000 seats and the cost of its construction is $412 million.

The Minnesota Ballpark Authority (MBA) is overseeing the project which is an effort between the Minnesota community and the Twins, with a public contribution of $350 million and $130 million from the baseball franchise. Target Field is the culmination of a 10-year effort to return outdoor baseball to Minnesota.

If you want to check on the progress of Target Field, you can check the webcam that the Twins added to their official website where it shows the entire process of the construction.

Here:

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/new_ballpark_webcam.jsp

Allianz stadium?

2008-09-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

There is something for sure: if the Giants and Jets allow their new stadium to be named Allianz, it would create an uncomfortable environment for many fans when visiting the new arena at the Meadowlands.

The reason?

Allianz is an insurance company that had heavy tights with the Nazis at World War II. The company, which is based on Munich, sold accident insurances to engineers handling the Zyklon B gas at Auschwitz.

Allianz claims that they have spent decades trying to make up for the company’s past wrongdoings, but all in all, the total they’ve paid to holocaust victims is $12 million, not even half of the $30 million they are offering the city of New York for naming their new stadium Allianz Stadium, which the former director of the World Jewish Congress (who negotiated restitutions with German companies) Elan Steinberg, considers it as “nothing more than a pittance,” as according to him, Allianz still owes beneficiaries around $2 billion.

Allianz is one of the finalists for naming rights, but most likely they will not win as both NFL teams might prefer to stay out of controversy.

Cowboys: richest franchise at the NFL

2008-09-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

For some reason I think this is the year for the Cowboys, even non-sports related, as they were ranked number one by Forbes Magazine as the most valuable franchise in the NFL and with a new stadium coming next year.

On the other hand, the Vikings were ranked last among the 32 teams in the league.

The team with the biggest jump in the rankings was the Colts who went from 21^st to 8^th due to their new Lucas Oil Field on which the Colts opened this season.

An interesting note is that just 10 years ago when Forbes first valued NFL teams, the average franchise was worth between $250 and $300 million dollars, now the average is one billion.

Here are the teams that ranked at the first five positions according to Forbes:

Cowboys at $1.612 billion
Redskins at $1.538 billion
Patriots at $1.324 billion
Giants at $1.178 billion
Jets at $$1.178 billion

Both NY teams share a growth of 21% from last year’s rankings due to their new stadium, the Giants went from 8^th to 4^th and the Jets went from 10^th to 5^th.

Who's better, Cassel or Rodgers?

2008-09-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

It seems like the Packers and the Patriots are now in similar conditions since both of their regular starting quarterbacks are no more. On one side we have the Pack without Favre, who flew to NY and became Broadway Brett and on the other we have the Pats who just lost Tom Brady, who was considered the best quarterback in the league before the injury he suffered just 7 minutes after New England’s first game of the regular season, which is leaving him out of competition at least until next year.

So as replacements are coming:

Aaron Rodgers for the Packers, a guy that was the shadow of Brett Favre during three seasons and whom just won a lot of trust from Green Bay fans as he finished with a victory on his first NFL regular season start.

Matt Cassel for the Patriots, who is arriving in the same conditions Tom Brady did when he had to replace Drew Bledsoe back in 2001, when he led New England to 14 victories in route to their first NFL championship, now is Cassel’s turn to prove that he has what it takes to replace Brady, but as for what we saw in the game against the Chiefs where he played a few minutes, it will be a hard task since the Chiefs are considered one of the worst NFL teams and Cassel barely carried the Pats through the rest of the game after Brady’s injury.

Now that the pressure is more on Cassel than on Rodgers, let’s check on week 2 when the Packers face the Lions and the Patriots face the Jets.

Monday Night football: Vikings are favorites

2008-09-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

First Monday night football match is quite interesting, with the Vikings as favorites to win the NFC north, and the Packers with a young and inexperienced quarterback, things are surely favoring Minnesota, and the only advantage for the Pack tonight is that they are opening their regular season playing at Lambeau field.

There are a couple of good reasons not to miss tonight’s game between Green Bay and the Vikings, the first one is their long-time rivalry, the second one is the tampering charges that the Packers filed against Minnesota due to their interest and contacts between them and Brett Favre when the now-Jets-quarterback was trying to be released from the Pack so he could go and play somewhere else, and there is no secret that the Vikings was one of his first true options.

So be sure of one thing: Vikings coach Brad Childress and Packers coach Mike McCarthy might shake hands at the end of the game, but there would be cero honesty on that ‘friendly’ gesture.

Jets @ Dolphins Week 1

2008-09-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

After 16 seasons wearing the Packers uniform, Brett Favre is finally going to be cheered by different fans on Sunday, when the Jets face the Dolphins on their regular season opening game.

New York at Miami is a very interesting game, with both franchises having a terrible last season, they are sure their renewal processes during the off-season is going to make them stronger in order to fight at the AFC East that is tougher now more than ever with only the Bills seeming to go unnoticed this current 08/09 NFL season.

Favorite here? The Jets because of Favre, but we’ll have to wait and see how is Miami working for Chad Pennington, whom is the hope of the young Dolphins. ``I think the guy will do a great job of managing our team,'' Miami’s coach Tony Sparano said of Pennington.

After winning 3 MVP awards with the Pack, it seemed like Favre was going to play for Green Bay his entire career, but last off-season, he brought the retirement possibility to the table again, a situation that was turning into a bad habit and into a childish attitude from the all-star quarterback. So I would say that I’m agree with the Pack, Favre had to remain retired or coming back as the supporting QB for Aaron Rodgers, otherwise it would had been just one more chapter in the Brett Favre soap opera.

My own predictions for this NFL season

2008-09-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Is a fact that Aaron Rodgers is not a better quarterback because Brett Favre barely gave him the chance to shine, but now that he’s the starting quarterback for the Packers, he will try to prove that he deserved this opportunity a long time ago, and of course, playing in the NFL’s weakest division doesn’t hurt at all.

Tony Romo has been ranked as the second best quarterback of the past season, and now he’s ready to lead the Cowboys to the Superbowl, while LaDainian Tomlinson is eager to help the Chargers to face Dallas at the most important game of the season, so Dallas and San Diego is my prediction with no pick between these two for a winner.

Bill Parcells still needs a miracle to make the Dolphins a contender.

Brett Favre is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, but he’s no messiah, and the Jets still has lots of flaws to go for something more than a decent record this season.

If Tom Brady gets seriously injured, the truth will come to light about the Patriots: they are weak without Brady’s help.

Favre and Rodgers at week 1

2008-09-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

It seems like the Packers have a harder test than the Jets at NFL Week 1, with Green Bay facing their divisional nemesis, the Vikings, which is going to be the first true test for Aaron Rodgers to prove that he has what it takes to lead the Pack.

Though Rodgers have been booed at Lambeau Field before, Packers fans knows that he’s the starting quarterback for their team, and from now on they will have to show him more support if they want Rodgers to play motivated.

The same day (September 7), the Jets will be facing the Dolphins, the new team of former Jets starting quarterback Chad Pennington in what is expected to be the most interesting game of the ones scheduled for such date.

Aaron Rodgers might have it easier than Brett Favre as he has the support of a great renewed Packers defense with players like Donald Driver, Ryan Grant and Greg Jennings, while Favre is currently dealing with the fact that he’s been with the Jets less than 2 months, and he needs to adjust to a whole different tactical scheme and one of the most complex offenses in NFL this season, “The whole season in itself will be, as I've always felt about my career, that you're learning each game." Favre said.

Who will have more wins during this season: The rookie Rodgers or the holder of the record for most victories in NFL regular season history (with 160) Favre? Make your bets…

John Lynch released from New England

2008-09-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

How odd is what just occurred to John Lynch, as the 36 year-old veteran was released from the Patriots just two weeks after reaching a 1-year contract worth $1.5 million.

The reason? Well the Pats are known for letting veteran players go and then acquiring them back when needed, and it looks like Lynch is under that veil of players, so chances are that he will make it back sooner than one might think.

The 9- time pro-bowler was acquired by the Patriots in replacement of Tank Williams who is out due to a knee injury that will keep him away for at least a year. Lynch played in 3 pre-season games with the Pats and is hopeful of coming back to the team soon.

"I have no regrets about my time thus far with the Patriots, the immense respect that I've long held for the organization has been only heightened over the past couple of weeks. I am going to keep all options open and look forward with excitement to see what the future brings." He said, after hearing the news of his dismissal.

Before coming to the Pats, Lynch played four seasons for the Broncos and 11 for the Bucs, with whom he earned a Super Bowl ring in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Yankees might not make it to the postseason

2008-08-29T08:16:00.001-07:00

Jason Giambi saved the Yankess from being swept by the Red Sox on three consecutive meetings when he tied the match at 2 at the 7^th inning and hit the winning homer at the 9^th. By the way, this was the last game to be played by the all-time rivals at old Yankee Stadium, their last series will come at Fenway Park on September when they’ll meet for 3 more games.

The Yankees are left 29 games after their victory over Boston and they are just six games behind the Red Sox, a loss would have left the Yanks in really bad shape to fight for a chance of making it to the playoffs.

Now, from those 29 games left, the Yankees have to go 20-9 to make it to the postseason, and 23 of those games are against teams with a current record of .500 which makes it even more difficult .

The one player the Yanks need to be in good shape is A-Rod, and yesterday he showed that he’s still going through a strike of bad luck. The Yankees haven’t lost the playoffs since 1993, and they know three time MVP Alex Rodriguez is essential for their plans.

Truly not the time to become a Yankees fan…

The AFC East

2008-08-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

The AFC East is one of the most competitive and interesting divisions at the NFL right now, and it’s all about quarterbacks, with the arrival of Brett Favre to the Jets and the departure of Chad Pennington to Miami, plus Tom Brady who led the Pats the past season to an almost-perfect record and Trent Edwards who helped the Bills to come up with a 7-9 record last season.

Obviously the Patriots are still the favorites to win the division, but Favre has injected a lot of trust into the Jets and Chad Pennington will attempt to take revenge on the Jets for removing him from the team in order to have space to bring Favre from the Packers.

By watching the numbers from the experts I came up with the following season ending records:

AFC East

Patriots 14-2
Jets 10-6
Bills 8-8
Dolphins 4-12

Who knows, the season is just starting, and as of now each team has the same chances than the rest, let’s watch a couple of games to see what the real deal is…

Manny is just Manny

2008-08-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Dodgers were playing great when Manny Ramirez came to the team, but it seems like they’re are back to where they were before the arrival of the 36 year-old left fielder.

And it seems like its Joe Torre’s fault as Ramirez has diminish his performance since the Dodgers head coach asked him to cut 1 inch of his dreadlocks, well, not really…

The truth is that Manny is just not playing at his best.

And it’s almost a fact that Manny Ramirez won’t be playing for the Dodgers the coming MLB season, and Ramirez referred to this matter with the following statement: "It feels like I'm on vacation; I'm here for another month or two. After this, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm living day by day." He said.

But besides baseball, Manny Ramirez posses a natural ability to bring a team together,

“He's really loose. Any clubhouse he comes into, he's going to make it looser. Whatever it was, whether it was him or us, we're playing real well right now.” Teammate Jason Johnson said.

So Ramirez might not be able to lead the Dodgers to the playoffs, but the team from Los Angeles is certainly happy with the money they’re making by selling Manny’s wigs…

Peyton Manning started practicing with Colts after knee injury

2008-08-26T14:34:00.001-07:00

Everybody knows that a Manning-less Colts are surely not going to win their division, and the injury that Payton suffered recently, truly clouded future team expectations for the Super Bowl XLI winners.

Now they might be breathing more calmly since Payton Manning is on his way to full-recovery, and that shown this morning when the two-time NFL MVP was seeing by reporters training with the team for the first time this season.

Even though Peyton Manning is showing good signs of getting his act together, it is not likely that he will take part on the last Colts pre-season game on Thursday, and there are also doubts about his involvement on Indianapolis season opener on September 7^th.

But after a month of having knee surgery, Peyton Manning is happy to be back on the football field, “I’m glad this day is finally here. As I’ve said all along, the goal is to be ready for that season opener and I certainly hope to be and this point I expect to be.’’ He said.

So Colts fans out there, better be praying for Manning to get back on track or you will not see your team winning that many games this season.

Phelps, Bolt and US basketball team, the highlights of Beijing

2008-08-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well the Beijing Olympics are over, and it seems like everybody is more than satisfied about the final results; even Jacques Rogge, the IOC president called them “truly exceptional”

And for China it meant much more than just being the Olympics hosts, they also ended with the most medals (51) above the USA (36) and Russia (23).

As some of the Beijing Olympics highlights, we have Michael Phelps in swimming, which finished with 8 titles, beating the gold medal mark imposed before by Mark Spitz.

And nobody would deny that the USA Basketball team was the main feature of the Olympics as the team leaded by Kobe Bryant and Lebron James excelled expectations and showed the world why “hoops” are one of the American sports by excellence as they beat up each one of their rivals by outstanding scores, including their victory over Germany by 106-57 (49 points of difference), and only Spain came as the real deal in front of the Americans since they lost at the finals for the gold medal by just 11 points with a score of 118-107.

Also Usain Bolt, the now famous runner, who broke 3 world records and won the 100 and 200 meter competitions.

One important fact not to be forgotten is the fact that the US men’s volleyball team won the gold medal and went undefeated in despite of the tragedy occurred to their head coach, Hugh McCutcheon, as his father-in-law was murdered and his mother-in-law was severely injured by a Chinese man at a tourist spot in Beijing… All the goods to

McCutcheon and family…

In total, more than 100 Olympic records were set, and more than 40 world records were break at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,

Now we’ll need to wait 4 years until London hosts the 2012 Olympics…

Overview on some 08/22 preseason NFL games

2008-08-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

The 3rd meeting is always essential in NFL pre-season games, as teams get to play their quarterbacks into the third quarter, much different than the past two, where they gave almost everybody on the roster a chance to show what they have accomplished in order to win a place at the starting line-up.

So let’s check on what can happen tonight on 3 interesting games:

Even though the Falcons are playing at home, I think the Titans offense is stronger for this game, with guys like Justin McCareins and Justin Gage firing up Atlanta’s plays with their young talent, while Matt Ryan will be leading Tennessee’s defense along with Stephen Tulloch.

While on Texas, the two NFL teams of the state will renew their rivalry tonight in order to find out who is most prepared to face the coming 08/09 NFL regular season, and I think the Cowboys are better, but the Texans have won their two previous pre-season matches and seem ready to repeat as they won to the Cowboys on the same meeting just one year ago, I’ll give it to the Texans this time around.

Now, for me the most interesting game of this date is Broncos / Packers, with odds favoring Denver, who has won one of their previous two NFL pre-season games and Green Bay having lost their previous two. I also think the Broncos have the most chances of winning this match as Denver is always forcing them selves to win pre-season games while testing new plays in order to arrive fully prepared to the regular season, and the Packers are now playing without Brett Favre who got traded to the Jets, so they will have to rely more on their defense for now, while the team gets used to Aaron Rodgers to play as full-time starter.