The Dish: Whoa Canada!
The U.S. men's hockey team was a disaster waiting to happen. Most of them got stuck in a blizzard before the Games started. Several of them were over age 60. And they had the combined mental toughness and discipline of former FEMA Director Michael "Brownie" Brown. That they went 1-4-1 in Turin is no surprise. Keith Tkachuk embarrassed himself throughout the tournament with worse hands than Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot, and Mike Modano humiliated himself complaining about his hotel arrangements afterward. They were supposed to suck, and they did. But what the heck happened to Canada? I called a repeat Canadian gold in this very space a couple weeks ago, and, um, well, not so much. (You may remember, however, I said that Russia and Finland were dramatically underrated.) Typical of Team Maple Leaf's frustrating tourney: the lone shot I saw of Wayne Gretzky during Canada's quarterfinal loss to Russia last Wednesday included Wayne standing in a suit coat and tie, spitting on the rink floor. I suppose that's better than a shot of him calling his bookie. Speaking of old: in retrospect, including Joe Sakic (36), Rob Blake (34) and Adam Foote (34) turned out to be a huge mistake. In such a compressed tourney, the fresh legs of, say, Sydney Crosby and/or Jason Spezza sure would've looked nice wearing red. Joe Thornton was an unmitigated disaster, Vincent Lecavalier got hurt, Rick Nash barely ever got a stick on the puck and on the flight back home from Italy Chris Pronger just took another penalty. And the Gretzky Gambling Debacle certainly took a toll. Sure, the U.S. was awful. But frankly they were awful on paper, and their best player literally was 44 years old. Canada, meanwhile, was obviously the best team in this tournament, no question about it, and they got shut out three times. Just amazing. There were indications (in this very space) that the Winter Olympics would pretty much be a non-factor for sports betting. Has that been the case? Have people at least been able to get up for the ice hockey? What do you think of North America's struggles in this tournament? Greg Jorssen, BoDog.com: The Olympics have been a non-factor, with the exception of the hockey. We've realized decent handle on the games, particularly the quarterfinal games. The games that have received the most handle of course involve the Americans. Unfortunately, most bettors believed that the Fins would win their quarterfinal game against the U.S. The poor play of the Americans in the round robins swayed bettors against them. Americans put together a very old team, which is not conducive to the bigger rinks in international play. As for the Canadians, I am still scratching my head with them. The young players did not seem to have the passion and drive that we are used to and it clearly showed in their losses to the Swiss and to the Fins. Did the Daytona 500 do any serious action? Was Jimmie Johnson's win a (relatively) big victory for the books? GJ, BoDog.com: NASCAR does not generate the handle I would like to see due mostly to the unpredictability of the sport. In football, if a receiver blows out his hamstring, the game goes on and the team still has a legitimate shot at winning. In NASCAR, if Tony Stewart blows a tire, chances are it is over for him. The Daytona 500 had a lot of wacky things happen that leads me to believe that NASCAR will just never be predictable enough in a single race to attract massive handle. As for Jimmie Johnson's tainted win (come on now, his car was illegally modified), it was a favorable outcome for the books. I'm curious, though, what impact this controversy will have on the action from here on in on Johnson in future races. I guess we got our answer by the Villanova hoops team; they leapfrogged UConn, and sit #2 behind Duke in this week's poll. How do you see the Villanova at UConn game this weekend? What do the books hope happens? GJ, BoDog.com: UConn will definitely be favored due to the home-court advantage, and because of the handle we usually receive on the home favorites, I suspect we will be once again big Villanova fans this weekend. As I stated before, UConn is the better team and will be leapfrogging back ahead of 'Nova come Monday morning. Last week I asked what college hoops team could come out of nowhere and stun folks while getting to the Sweet 16. This week, I'm setting my sights a little higher. If I had to pick one team that's currently outside the AP Top 16 who could stun folks and get to the Final Four, I'd say LSU. How about you? GJ, BoDog.com: LSU is once again a solid pick; however, year after year I always tend to go back to Michigan State. Izzo has this uncanny ability to get his team focused at the right time and this year is fielding a team that is as talented as any team in the past. Maurice Ager leads the team currently in scoring and his hot hand (when it is on) can easily lead the Spartans to the Final Four. With Shannon Brown playing as well as he is right now and Paul Davis being consistently a force night in and night out, they are my team right now and one I will ride in my bracket pool this year!!!!! Christopher Harris is a featured writer for the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com |
Other Sport Betting Articles
Preview Of August's UK Horse Racing If Wimbledon in June means strawberries and cream, then racing in August can only signify Goodwood and York, two flagship festival meetings that dominate the month’s action beginning with five exciting days on the Sussex slopes.As popular as ever, Glorious Goodwood offers some top-class action and is often a meeting that puts profits in p ...League Two Season Preview 2006/07 - Accrington Stanley Accrington StanleyOdds: 20/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 1 (Conference, Promoted), 2004/05 - 10 (Conference), 2003/04 - 10 (Conference), 2002/03 - 1 (Unibond Premier, Promoted), 2001/02 - 6 (Unibond Premier).Cup Progress 2005/06 FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round (replay) vs Worcester City (a) - lost 3-2. FA Trophy Th ...Arsenal Premier League Prospects 2006-2007 Arsenal will be looking to improve on there 4th position (67 points) of last season. A poor start to that season cost the gunners dearly and with expectant supporters demanding an upturn in league performances, there is certainly pressure on Arsene Wenger to produce title winning football at the start of the 2006-2007 campaign.Many outsid ...League Two Season Preview 2006/07 - Notts County Notts CountyOdds: 33/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 21 (League Two), 2004/05 - 19 (League Two), 2003/04 - 23 (League One, Relegated), 2002/03 - 15 (League One), 2001/02 - 19 (League One).2005/06 Cup Progress FA Cup Second Round vs Torquay United (a) - lost 2-1. Carling Cup First Round vs Watford (a) - lost 3-1. ...World Cup 2006 Preview - Togo Outright Odds: 500/1 Group G Winners: 16/1First-time World Cup qualification for the tiny west African nation was such a great achievement the country’s president declared a national holiday to celebrate.Togo had never come close to qualifying before until they embarked on the history making campaign which saw them secure a pla ...Nascar Flags NASCAR Flags have been around as long as the sport of auto racing itself. Before there were two-way radios in NASCAR race cars, the only method of communicating with drivers during the extremely loud racing action was with the use of colored flags. These large, colorful flags gain the attention of drivers and are easy to see.Almost every ...League One Betting Review - 1 May 2006 Southend confirmed their promotion to the Championship after earning the point they required in the 2-2 draw at Swansea. The Shrimpers twice fell behind to Rory Fallon goals on 19 and 34 but equalised on both occasions through leading goalscorer Fredy Eastwood after 28 and 63 minutes. The 12/5 draw means Steve Tilson’s are four points above thir ...Championship Season Preview 2006/07 - Coventry City Coventry CityOdds: 20/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 8 (Championship), 2004/05 - 19 (Championship), 2003/04 - 12 (Championship), 2002/03 - 20 (Championship), 2001/02 - 11 (Championship).2005/06 Cup Progress FA Cup Fourth Round (replay) vs Middlesbrough (a) - lost 1-0. Carling Cup Second Round vs Crystal Palace (a) ...If You Want To Play Baseball, Here Are Some Must Haves Baseball is America's pastime. To play the game there are a few basic pieces of equipment that everyone must have on hand. For most, this equipment is common knowledge, but some may be less familiar with the terminology and rules.Every game revolves around a baseball bat and a ball. The ball contains a cork center that is wrapped in strin ...Texas Hold'em - Five Best and Five Worst Opening Hands Just getting great cards doesn't guarantee raking in the pot. It has often been said that Texas Hold'em takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. Truer poker words have seldom been spoken. Knowing how to read the other players, how to bet and how to bluff are certainly important components of any Texas Hold'em player's game. In the ha ...2006 FIFA Soccer World Cup Referees About To Be Selected The 2006 FIFA Soccer World Cup will be held in Germany and, with gametime approaching, the final 44 referee candidates are hoping that they will be among the selected officials chosen to preside over this year’s championship event. "I've prepared well, and I've comfortably overcome every hurdle in this last test," admits Herbert Fandel, Germany ...Are Brazil Soccer Fans Better than the Brazil Soccer Team? Brazil soccer fans are famous throughout the world for their carnival atmosphere at World Cup finals. The brazil soccer team are famous for their attractive football as they play with flair and imagination and it is no surprise that Brazil soccer fans also contribute to the party atmosphere when Brazil play!Brazil soccer players respect t ...Horse Racing Horse racing has thrived as a popular sport for thousands of years. It is in fact one of the oldest sports known to mankind. From the time historical records were maintained one can see that horse racing was an organized sport all over the world. In fact, horse racing events were part of the Greek Olympics as far back as 638 BC.The origi ...Manchester United a Tribute to the Busby Babes As Manchester United celebrates the Busby Babes and remembers the disaster that killed 23 people connected with the club it is important to remember the team’s achievements preceding that disastrous night. Matt Busby’s team had an average age of just 22 when it won the championship in 1955-56. The darlings of football looked set to dominate foot ...Yankees Fans Living in La La Land Yankees fans are a determined lot. They are tough, loud, passionate, interested and totally in a dreamworld. Once again the Yankees have the highest payroll by far. This year the team clocks in at about $195,000,000, by far the highest. Mentioning this fact to a Yankees fan is the equivalent of declaring war. You can make fun of his mother, fath ...League Two Betting Review - 2 April 2006 Grimsby are within three points of leaders Carlisle after easing to victory over play-off outsiders Wrexham. The Mariners, hammered 5-0 at Lincoln last week, took the lead through Gary Jones after 25 minutes and Michael Reddy ensured an 8/11 home victory two minutes from time.Northampton kept their automatic promotion campaign on course w ...League One Season Preview 2006/07 - Northampton Town Northampton TownOdds: 33/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 2 (League Two, Promoted), 2004/05 - 7 (League Two), 2003/04 - 6 (League Two), 2002/03 - 24 (League One - Relegated), 2001/02 - 20 (League One).2005/06 Cup Progress FA Cup Third Round vs Crystal Palace (a) - lost 4-1. Carling Cup Second Round vs Norwich City (a ...Italian Pride Hit with the Sentences for the Calcio After they won the World Cup, Italy finds itself in one of the biggest match fixing scandals in the decade. Four of the biggest clubs on the Continent have been recently found guilty of paying to have the marches fixed and the severe punishments include demotion and points deductions.Juventus, the champions, where relegated from Serie A t ...Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso was born in Oveido in Northern Spain on 29th. July 1981. He was fortunate to be born to hard working parents who were willing and happy to devote their time and attention to developing the skills he showed from a very early age that would eventually lead to him becoming a Formula 1 World Champion.His father, an explosives ...How To Run Your Own Professional Horse Racing Tipster Service For those of you who have ever joined a horse racing tipster service and been disappointed with the results, you’ve probably thought, “I could do better myself”. Well you may be right!If you have continued that thought process, you may have considered starting your own horse racing tipster service, but have been held back by not kn ...League One Betting Review - 9 April 2006 Southend came from a goal behind to stretch their lead at the top of League One to eight points with a 2-1 win over struggling Blackpool. Gareth Williams gave the Tangerines the lead after 32 minutes but Fredy Eastwood equalised on the hour. Luke Guttridge struck the winner for the 8/15 Shrimpers four minutes from the end.Brentford remain ...Barcelona Soccer Barcelona, as a city, enjoys and promotes sports. Today, thanks in large part to the 1992 Olympic Games, a quarter of the city's population now regularly does some type of sport and has included physical exercise in their habitual activities. The people of Barcelona have seized the city's public spaces, squares, parks and new beaches, and turned ...League Two Betting Review - 23 April 2006 Carlisle became the first team in League Two to secure promotion following their 1-1 draw at Mansfield. The Stags looked to have delayed the promotion party when top goal scorer Ritchie Barker netted after 63 minutes but the Cumbrians levelled in the 92nd minute through their leading marksman Karl Hawley. The draw, available at 12/5 before kick- ...Churchill Downs and Historic Horse Racing The history of Equestrian Sports in America goes back generations and there is no greater horse racing event then the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. It is horse racing at its finest. The annual running of the Kentucky Derby has a long history of the greatest horse race in human history.The buildings still look like s ...Online Casino: Now and Then With thousands of ways to generate revenue on the internet, there is no surprise that online gambling would be one of them. For decades gambling has been one of the most popular forms of entertainment, not to mention a great money maker. With the advancement of online games, thousands of online casinos now have a place to call home.Online ...Martial Arts - Muay Thai Kickboxing Muay Thai Kickboxing is often referred to as the science of 8 limbs. The reason for this title is the fact that you use nearly every body part as a weapon. You can strike with your forehead, elbows, fists, Knees, Shins and feet. Muay Thai Kickboxing was invented over 2000 years ago and is recognized as one of the oldest martial arts known to ...World Cup 2006 Preview - Tunisia Outright Odds: 300/1 Group H Winners: 10/1Tunisia qualified for their third straight finals in dramatic fashion in the final round of fixtures. They needed just a point against arch-rivals Morocco but were trailing 2-1 until Nuremberg midfielder Adel Chadli netted the crucial equaliser 20 minutes from the end.Tunisia had not lo ...Poker Game Strategy - Tells and How to Read Your Opponents Being able to read other poker players is essential to being successful at winning hands at the poker table. This is the case whether the table is virtual or real, in a tournament or in your friends’ basement. If you are going to win against the other players, you need to know how to read their tells.One of the most valued skills among ...Handicappers Reputation Good and famous handicappers have been always honest and have maintained their predictions around 55% correct during their handicapping life. No handicapper will have a 100% winning prediction, so if you see somewhere that their predictions are 70% or more then they may just be scammers trying to persuade you to buy their picks.Sports han ...
|
