Before this weekend’s hot UFC 100 betting takes place on Saturday night, sportsbook betting players will have a whole slew of baseball action to take care of. Golf betting players also have a tournament to warm up with before next week’s British Open betting tees off.
Baseball Betting
Cardinals Brewers odds – the Brewers trail the Cardinals by a single game in the National League Central, and we’re betting management is hoping for a big performance by their starters after they were called out by Ryan Braun following a rough weekend in Chicago against the Cubs.
Blue Jays Rays odds – the Rays took two of three in Toronto last week, but they’ve lost four in a row since then.
Rangers Angels odds – The top spot in the American League West is up for grabs as the Angels look for revenge after losing two of three in Texas last week. The Rangers’ pitching rotation has suffered some knocks, and they’ll be as happy to get to the All-Star break as anyone.
Dodgers Mets odds – MLB’s best team heads to the Big Apple with their slugger, Manny Ramirez, back in the lineup. They’ll be taking on a Mets team that has dropped eight of their last 10, and it seems like there’s a new outfield player going on the disabled list every day, which could scare off those making their baseball picks.
Yankees Twins odds – the red-hot Yankees visit Minnesota, who is trying to keep pace with the Detroit Tigers in the American League West. This is a perfect example of payroll disparity in the majors: the Twins’ whole payroll is $65.3 million. The Yankees’ offseason pickups, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixiera and AJ Burnett cost $52.4 million by themselves.
Golf Betting
There are still a few big names that are teeing it up at the John Deere Classic on Thursday, including defending champion Kenny Perry, who is also the online betting favorite. He’ll have to fend off the likes of Steve Stricker, David Toms, Zach Johnson and US Open champion Lucas Glover as these players try to get their games together before they head to Turnberry for the third major championship of the year, and the winner of this tournament will surely boost their golf betting odds.
Weekly Betting Preview – Baseball, golf takes spotlight this week
USA - Honduras
By Joe, www.Bettingexpert.com
USA, the host nation of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, will travel to Washington D.C in preparation to meet Honduras at the RFK Stadium on Wednesday July 8th. This is their second match in Group B where both teams are currently topping the group tables. Team USA have a better goal score between the two teams and both teams are favorite to qualify through to the quarterfinal stages.
USA started out well in their Gold Cup first match beating Grenada 4-0 at Qwest Field in Seattle. Team USA continues with their 10th straight victory in the Gold Cup and kept their sixth consecutive clean sheet in this tournament. Team USA had disappointed a few fans who were hoping to watch the team that reached the Confederation Cup finalist in South Africa. Most of the starting squad members in South Africa were not represented in the Gold Cup. Never the less, Coach Bob Bradley still has some good players to choose from. Bradley will most likely to start with the same eleven that faced Grenada against Honduras.
Honduras’s Carlo Costly headed a free kick in the 76th minute that gave them a 1-0 victory over Haiti in the Group B opener. Honduras dominated the game from start to the finish but they only managed to score a goal. They had large amount of possession of the ball and it was a needless free kick conceded by Haiti which led to the game winning goal. Coach Reynaldo Rueda knows that they will have to be more cynical against USA or otherwise they might not be able to finish top of the group.
USA are favorites to win against Honduras. Their last meeting was at the Soldier Field Stadium where the World Cup qualifier was on stake, USA beat Honduras 2-1. Their head to head statistic marks 8 wins for USA, 3 draws and 2 wins for Honduras. Team USA looks a bit too strong for Honduras to handle and mybet is offering 1.35 for USA win.
For more info to play Bingo online then visit Bingo Byen for more exciting experiences.
Keflavik - Valletta
The first match was played in very hot weather and the conditions prevented Icelanders from showing all they’d got. Home side Valletta FC easily won the game 3:0 and thus created a big advantage before the return leg, but this time weather conditions will favour Keflavik, who is in my opinion better team here and I expect a completely different match from the one played a week ago.
Keflavik are one of the strongest teams in Iceland and they missed out on the league title last season by just one point. Second place was enough for the place in Europa League, where they met Valletta in the first qualifying round. The visitors were considered favourites in the first leg since their domestic season was well under way, but that proved to be a disadvantage after all. The game in Valletta was the third in the course of one week for Keflavik and the players were evidently tired, especially since they had a long trip to Malta. The weather was very hot, which is something the Icelanders were not used to and all these problems resulted in heavy defeat. Nevertheless, I am positive Keflavik are better team than Valletta and they are now hot favourites in the return leg, since the return leg will be played in completely different conditions, in which the visitors will have problems. Keflavik are also extremely convincing in home games, having dropped just two points in 6 home games this season and they are obviously hot favourites to win this game.
Maltese club Valletta are one of the most successive teams in their country, having won 19 league titles. The team finished second in Maltese League last season, two points behind champions Hibernians, but that is not such a big success considering that Maltese League is one of the weakest in Europe. The team were reinforced this season with Dutch veterans Cruyff and Den Ouden and these were the players who helped the team record a convincing win in the first leg. However, the team are likely to have big problems in the return leg as they are still far away from the desired form, considering that their domestic season is yet to start. The team mostly consist of veteran players and they will have big problems acclimatizing to adverse weather conditions at Iceland, especially after such a long trip. Apart from Cruyff and Den Ouden, boss Ton Caanen has a very poor team and they will struggle to match Keflavik.
Keflavik are great at home and they are much better team than the first match showed. They easily won most of the home games against much stronger teams than Valletta and I expect them to record another win. The visitors profited from Keflavik’s problems in the first leg but the situation will be completely different now and they will struggle to hold on to the three-goal lead. Betting odds on home win are pretty decent considering the circumstances and that is my advice for this match, although those of you willing to risk can take Keflavik with -1 handicap.
Bet 5 on Keflavik with -1 handicap at 2.30 at Paddy Power
More info about Paddy Power bonus!
Weekend Betting Preview – Daytona, Tiger heat up Fourth of July
While Wimbledon finals betting is big on the other side of the pond, there are a number of sportsbook events this weekend to keep your attention. The Daytona summer race under the lights is one of the most anticipated races of the year, while Tiger Woods’ golf tournament features the golfer most are picking to challenge the world’s No.1 player. Finally, there is your usual slate of weekend action on the baseball diamond.
Daytona Betting
Kyle Busch is the co-favorite in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, and the No.18 driver will be looking to be the first driver since Tony Stewart in 2005 and 2006 to win the Daytona summer race in back-to-back seasons. Ironically, Stewart, who is also the points leader, is the Daytona betting co-favorite with his ex-JGR teammate. They’ll have their hands full trying to fend off the Hendrick crew of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. Look for the drafting pair of Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. to make some noise at some point during the day.
Golf Betting
Those checking out this weekend’s AT&T odds should expect fireworks, as all signs are pointing towards a showdown between 23-year-old Anthony Kim, who won the AT&T National in 2008, and Tiger Woods, who is hosting this tournament and was the leader after he finished his second round. The golf course is very soft due to rains, and there could be a birdie parade this weekend.
Baseball Betting
Blue Jays Yankees odds – An AL East battle where there could be a ton of runs scored. Handicapping software should advise you to go for the over in at least two games in this three game series.
Brewers Cubs odds – Game 1 of this four-game set ended in a 9-5 win for the Cubs, who are trying to keep pace with the National League Central-leading Brewers.
Mets Phillies odds – a pair of National League East teams in one of the most bitter rivals in all of the majors. The Phillies aren’t that great at home, so a win by the Mets wouldn’t be a huge upset.
Cardinals Reds odds – The Cards visit the Reds in another NL Central showdown, and the fact that the Reds are still in the division race halfway through the season is mind-boggling.
Tigers Twins odds – Detroit and Minnesota wrap up a weekend full of divisional matchups, and the Twins can tie the Tigers atop the AL Central with a three-game sweep, which they already did earlier in the year. These games are always fiercely contested, so good luck when making your baseball picks.
Sandefjord - Odd Grenland
This is very important game for Sandefjord since they are still very close to the dangerous zone, despite picking up a point from the last away game against Stromsgodset. Odd Grenland failed to beat Viking at home and considering their awful away record, I expect them to struggle in this match.
Sandefjord managed to achieve promotion to the top division after finishing second in Adeccoligaen last season and their first objective is to avoid the drop. The team had a good start to the season, but they have been struggling lately and are still very much in the relegation battle. The team fail to win any of the last 9 games, which is definitely very disappointing, but I need to point out that they played mostly teams from the top part of the table during this period. Sandefjord are one of the rare teams that avoided defeat against mighty Rosenborg and I expect them to come good in no time. The hosts will be very motivated to win this match and thus allay their relegation fears, and they have to be considered favourites, because Odd Grenland are terrible on the travels. Sandefjord will have Erik Mjelde and Martin Jensen back from suspension and that will be a big boost for the team.
Odd Grenland had been predicted difficult relegation fight before the start of the season but they are defying all odds and manage to stay very close to the top. The team took 26 points from 16 games and are currently occupying third place in the standings but I don’t expect them to keep such a good league position. The only reason behind team’s great results is excellent form at their Skagerak Arena, where they took 20 points from 8 games. On the other hand, they brought just six points from the travels, which is why they don’t have much to hope for in the match against Sandefjord. Team’s form is on the downtrend and they couldn’t beat Viking at home last weekend, and to be honest, they don’t deserve to stay in the top part of the table.
Sandefjord have been playing well lately even though the latest results are far from impressive but I believe they have what it takes to win this match. Odd Grenland are utterly disappointing on the travels and they are unlikely to bring any points from this away game. Betting odds on home win are really good and my advice is to take them.
Bet 4 on home win at 2.85 at Expekt
More info about Paddy Power bonus!
NSI Runavik - Rosenborg
NSI Runavik got an extremely difficult opponent in the Europa league first qualifying round and they will be looking just to keep the result respectable in the first leg. Rosenborg have been in tremendous form this season and they are currently leading the title race in Norway, which means they should have absolutely no problems recording a big win against weak Faroese team.
NSI Runavik are definitely one of the weakest teams in this competition and it is more than clear that they will end their participation in the first qualifying round. They are an average Faroese team, having won just one league title so far and you can imagine the difference in quality between them and Rosenborg. NSI have only played in Europe on three occasions, but they lost all six games, conceding 22 goals in the process. I should also point out that they played much weaker teams than Rosenborg in these games and still conceded more than three goals per game on average. Their current form is far from impressive, since the team took just one point from the last three games and they are currently occupying the fourth place in the Faroese League. The hosts will adopt defensive approach and thus try to avoid a heavy defeat but I am pretty sure that RBK will have no problems unlocking their defence.
Rosenborg are in tremendous form this season and they are yet to lose a single game. The team are determined to reclaim their domestic dominance and they are doing great in all the competitions entered. Eric Hamren’s team are in impressive form in Norwegian Tippeligaen and they are currently seven points clear at the top. They are scoring goals with ease against much stronger teams than NSI and Faroese team can therefore expect a real beating even in the first match. Rade Prica is often deployed as a lone striker but Iverssen, Sapara and Skejlbred are providing a big help from midfield and I really can’t see how the hosts can avoid a big defeat. Rosenborg were awarded a Fair Play Europa League place by the national association but they will now make the most of it and are eager to make it to the group stages. They will leave nothing to chance and want to finish the job in the first match.
The hosts have absolutely no means to match excellent Rosenborg side and they will lose this game. I am confident the visitors will score a hatful of goals, even if Hamren opts to rest some of the first team regulars. Betting odds on over 2.5 goals are surprisingly high and this is definitely one of the best soccer picks in midweek.
Bet 6 on Over 2,5 at 1.50 at Expekt
Sports Betting – MLB Betting, Wimbledon And AT&T National On The Menu
MLB odds: Back To Normal As Interleague Action Ends
The second wave of interleague action is over, which means it’s time to get back to the regular, non-mixed action. The Colorado Rockies head to Los Angeles Dodgers for an enticing three-game series. The last time these two teams met the Dodgers swept the Rockies and outscored them 31-13. Since then, the Rockies are 20-3 and the Dodgers have lost four of their last five, which sets up for an interesting series starting tonight.
In the American League West, the Los Angeles Angels are back on top as the Texas Rangers are slipping. The two teams will meet up for a three-game series as well.
Wimbledon odds: Big Names Advance As Minor Seeds Stumble
There aren’t many big surprises on the men’s side of things at Wimbledon unless Roger Federer loses but that rarely happens. As a matter of fact, in the last six years, it has only happened once. It didn’t happen a second time on Monday as he easily advanced past Robin Soderling.
Other top 10 seeds Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick had no problems advancing as well.
No. 7 seed Fernando Verdasco and No. 8 seed Gilles Simon weren’t as lucky as both of them were ousted prematurely.
AT&T National Sports Predictions: Field Weak At Tiger’s Tourney
Tiger Woods is the host of the AT&T National and the field is going to be pretty weak this week as he aims to raise money for his charity.
Lucas Glover and Mike Weir will be there, as will last year’s winner Anthony Kim, but would should have an easy time tearing up this weak group as long as he’s somewhat focused.
He had a rough time at the US Open but should have a more successful time at his tourney this week. Obviously, everyone will be pulling for him.
Hoops Betting News: Draft Passes, Speculation And Rumors Don’t
While the NBA Draft has passed, free agency is looming and there are plenty of rumors blowing in the wind. The Phoenix Suns appear to be on the verge of dealing away Amare Stoudemire while there is plenty of speculation as to what will happen with Ben Gordon and Carlos Boozer once free agency opens up on July 1st.
The other big rumor is what will the Minnesota Timberwolves do with point guard Ricky Rubio, who is now threatening to stay in Spain. The New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets have already made trade offers for Rubio but the Timberwolves are standing pat at this point.
