MAD FOR SPORTS

Panathinaikos Euroleage Champion 2006/07!!

2007-05-11T07:35:00.001-07:00

Messi vs Rivaldo

2007-04-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

Messi's goal against Getafe is challenging Rivaldo's goal against Valencia for the title of best Barcelona goal of all times.

Messi's goal against Getafe... MAGIC!!

2007-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

What a goal!!! Messi fantastico!!!!

p.s.: It's quite similar to the goal Maradona scored in against England in the 1986 World Cup

Slow start for Superfund?

2007-04-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

There has been unusual betting on the match between FC Superfund and SCR Aitach… and in specific on the visitors to lead at halftime and the home team to finally win the game…. The odds started at around 30.00 and now you will be lucky if u will find them above 9.00.

I've placed my bet on Betfair @ 11.00

Are you up for a challenge?

2007-04-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

In Switzerland’s Challenge League there is a game that is taking HUGE bets in the Asian market…

YF Juventus v Yverdon

Juventus are practically relegated while Yverton are just one spot and 2 points above relegation zone… I was checking to see where I could find the best odds… Eurobet were offering Yverton at 2.45 and San James at 2.37… Sportingbet has it at 2.40 but changed it to 2.10 before I was able to place a bet…. The rest did the same… and now I don’t think there are many if any books offering the match for betting.

So first bet of the day: Eurobet: Yverton @2.45

Athletic Bilbao!!! (part 2)

2007-03-31T08:12:00.000-07:00

So it looks like every time Athletic Bilbao is in need of points and Racing Santander not, then Athletic always leaves El Sardinero with the three points.

So the critical question is, does Athletic need the points this year?
Well, since there are in the drop zone, the answer is obvious...
Is Racing in need of points? Well, theoretically they have chances in finishing in one of the spots that lead to the UEFA competition, but from various interviews that Racing players gave the past week I got the impression that they are happy they managed to avoid relegation battle this year. Most of them just mention that they need 3 more points to guarantee them a place in the Primera division next year.

So I believe Athletic Bilbao will win on Sunday

The odds for Athletic started around 4.00 in the beginning of the week but then they dropped to around 3.60.

As we speak:
Betfair: 3.80
WillHill: 3.60
Sportingbet: 3.50
Gamebookers: 3.50
Eurobet: 3.70
10bet: 3.40
Ladbrokes: 3.75

I have placed my bet (my biggest bet of the year) on Monday and Tuesday. The odds I got were 4.00 and 3.75.

Let’s hope the tradition will continue!

Vamos Athletic!!!!!

Athletic Bilbao!! (part 1)

2007-03-31T05:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since i last posted... busy times... but here i am again and i'll talk about the biggest bet i'll place this year.

This time of the year there are teams in the relegation zone or close to it which give everything they have to avoid the drop. It always helps when they play against teams that don't have any realistic targets or with teams with which they have good relations. Someone might ask... "How can we know if two teams have good relations?"

Well, in this case it's good to check previous years matches between these teams and the league position they were in.

So let's cut the chase.... This sunday we have the matvh from the Primera Duvision in spain between Racing Santander and Athletic Bilbao. The city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria and the city of Bilbao is the largest city of the neighbouring Basque country.

Let's see what the final result was the last 4 years when Athletic visited Racing:

2005/2006:
week 23
12th position Racing with 27 points
19th position Athletic with 19 points (incide the relegation zone)
week 24
02/19/2006 Racing Santander 0 : 1 Athletic Club Bilbao, (86' Urzaiz)

2004/2005:
week 31:
10th position Athletic with 44 points (4 points from an UEFA spot)
17th position Racing with 34 points (1 position, but 10 points clear from relegation zone)
week 32:
04/17/2005 Racing Santander 0 : 2 Athletic Club Bilbao, (94' Orbaiz(pen), 95' Tiko)

2003/2004:
week 31:
7th position Athletic with 45 points (UEFA spot but 4-5 teams very close)
12th position Racing with 39 points
week 32:
04/11/2004 Racing Santander 1 : 2 Athletic Club Bilbao, (75' Javi Guerrero - 39' Iraola, 92' Yeste)

2002/2003:
01/04/2003 Racing Santander 3 : 4 Athletic Club Bilbao (40' Moraton(own goal), 51' Urzaiz(pen), 61' Etxeberria, 87' Etxeberria.... 3-1 HT!!!... )

Main Dish

2007-03-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

There are weekends that u can find maximum 2-3 games u like and some other weekends, like this one that there are 6-7.... That creates the "problem" of which one to chose and how to combine them.

Barnet V Stockport
Stockport to Win @ 2.10 (WilliHill)
Stockport are in such a great run... 9 wins in a row without even conceeding a goal!!

Scunthorpe V Nottm Forest
Scunthorpe to win @ 2.15 (WilliHill)
First vs Third ... a tough match, but i believe Scunthorpe's form is excellent at the moment.

Nantes V Nancy
Nantes to win @ 2.25 (WilliHill)
Nantes are fighting to survive. The beat Sochaux away last week 2-1. Nancy will be missing 3 key players... a defender, midfielder and striker.

Lorient V Lille
Lille to Win @ 2.60 (WilliHill)
Lille are far better team.. if they'll manage to score then they'll win

Willem II V Groningen
Willem II to win @ 2.40 (WilliHill)
Great form for Willem. only one defeat in the last 6 matches... Also they have a great tradition against Gronigen... with 6-0-0 at home

The target is 3 ;-)

Do you like "draws"?

2007-03-10T06:04:00.000-08:00

Well there are few matches that i think have good chances if finishing with a draw:

Rimini vs Napoli X 2.65 (sportingbet.com)

Atromitos vs Xanthi X 3.00 (sportingbet.com)

Sparta Rotterdam vs NEC Nijmegen X 3.20 (sportingbet.com)

Estudiantes LP v Boca Juniors X 3.20 (sportingbet.com)

U can play all 4 asking for doubles.... with 2 and above u'll have profit ;-)

Swiss Challenge League - Chapter 2

2007-03-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

Locarno did us a favour and was beaten by Bellinzona at home and now we want another favour from them... to be beaten away this time by bottom of the table Juventus Zurich

The odds that started around 2.50 have dropped to 2.20 now

Sportingbet: Juventus Zurich win , 2.20

Egaleo vs Panionios

2007-03-04T04:38:00.000-08:00

The match is for the Greek Super League.

Both teams i fighting to avoid relegations. Panionios is in 10th position with 29 points, 4 points cler from the relegation zone where as Egaleo is in 12th position with 27 points.

Last year on May 14th Panionios again played away to Egaleo and needed a win to avoid relegations and they finished the game victorious with a 3-0 win.. (many said that the result was pre-decided).

Next week Panionios is playing away to the already relegated Ionikos so he's expected to win that game. So maybe they are not is such a big need of a win today.

Plus today two other struggling teams face each other... Iraklis (20 points) plays at home against Apollon Kalamarias (25 ponts). An Iraklis win or a draw would make Panionios & Egaleo's live much better.

On Betfair the odds for Egaleo's win are 2.36 having started around 2.00, on Sportingbet 2.00 and on WilliamHill 2.00. Which seems quite weird, cause it shows not many people are betting on Egaleo's win... hmmm...

So verdict is NO BET.... but maybe just two fun bets....

1- Panionios winning in HT and Egaleo win the game (26.00)
2- Correct Score 2-2 (17.00)

Bellinzona

2007-03-04T04:22:00.001-08:00

Have u ever heard of this team?

Well they play in Swiss Challenge League and today they are playing away against Locarno.

Sportingbet.com give 2.40 odds for Bellinzona's win and i've already placed a bet on them ;-)

Coca-Cola League Two

2007-02-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

Since time is pressing i'll just mention the teams on which i'll place my bets on:

Notts Co v MK Dons
Betfair: MK Dons win 2.64

Bury v Peterborough
Betfair: Peterborough win 2.98

Mansfield v Wycombe
Betfair: Wycombe win 2.56

and a fourth game from the Championship, Plymouth

QPR v Plymouth
Betfair: Plymouth win 2.84

With 2 out of 4 we'll have profit... with more than 2... even better profit :-)

As a cover we could bet on a 2/4 system with draws

Toluca... what's going on??

2007-02-20T11:59:00.000-08:00

There were rumours that Club Toluca would travel to Peru to play against Cienciano for the Copa Libertadores group stages without many key players.

I came across the following web site:
http://www.mx.terra.com/libertadores2007/interna/0,,OI1422735-EI8246,00.html

So according to it, Hernán Cristante, Sergio Ponce, Ariel Rosada, Paulo Da Silva, Sinha, Carlos Morales and Vicente Sánchez won’t travel to Peru but even more surprising is the fact that not even the coach Américo Gallego will be going. The odds at the moment are around 2.30 and dropping… I’m tempted to have a bet on it :-)

WillHill: Cienciano’s win 2.30

Plymouth & Hull

2007-02-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

It’s been awhile since the last time I wrote. But things happen in life that put everything else on hold.

Many games are being played today and tomorrow and there are a couple that I like:

Barnsley vs Hull:
In their previous game Hull drew away at league leaders Derby. They’ll have a good return, Ian Ashbee.
Barnsley had 3 defeats in a row having conceded 10 goals. They’ll be missing Daniel Nardiello
Betfair: Hull win 2.98

Plymouth vs Colchester:
In their last game Plymouth beat Derby in the FA Cup. Four key players return for today’s game, strikers Barry Hayles and Rory Fallon, defender Mathias Doumbe and midfielder Hasney Aljofree
Colchester lost at home to West Brom 1-2 in their last game. They’ll be missing midfielder Kemal İzzet
Sportingbet: Plymouth win 2.20

International Friendlies

2007-02-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Tonight we have a number of International friendly games.

Most teams we'll test some young players, try new systems... so it's definitely not worth betting, especially on the favourites. As i was checking the list one match got my attention:

It's Slovenia vs Estonia. Slovenia have a better team so all the bookmares have them as favourites with odds around 1.60. Personally i have Slovenia in "dark list". Very often they "surprise" u by not winning far weaker teams. Is it because they can't, or they have some bad nights? I think there is something much more than that.

Only in Betfair alone, Slovenia has taken €664,475 out of the €677,275 placed on this match

My instinct says that Slovenia won't win... so just to check how well my instinct is working at the moment i'll make a prediction that we'll have a draw (3.90), under 2.5 goals (1.84) and 1-1 score (8.00)

Euroleague Top-16

2007-02-07T04:09:00.000-08:00

The draw for the Euroleague Top-16 took place in Barcelona on Monday. The teams were divided into 4 groups. The top 2 teams of each group will progress into the quaterfinals with the ones who have claimed top spot having home advantage in a best-of-three games format.

So let's check out the groups:

GROUP D

Tau Ceramica
Maccabi Elite
Pau-Orthez
Lottomatica

GROUP E

CSKA Moscow
Olympiacos
DKV Joventut
Partizan

GROUP F

Panathinaikos
Winterthur FCB
Efes Pilsen
Prokom Trefl

GROUP G

Dynamo Moscow
Benetton Treviso
Unicaja
Aris TT Bank

Groups E abd F seem the toughest to me, cause in both of them, 3 out of 4 teams have realistic chances in progressing. But at this stage if you underestimate a team you might pay it dearly.

If i had to pick the teams which i think will reach the quaterfinals, i would go with:

Tau Ceramica

Maccabi Elite
CSKA Moscow

Olympiacos
Panathinaikos

Winterthur FCB
Dynamo Moscow
Unicaja

One is for sure.. We’ll enjoy some great basketball

I'll leave u with week's 14 highlights:

http://www.euroleague.net/devotion/video-highlights

Mascherano transfer

2007-02-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

Just a day after I wrote about M.S.I. and Mascherano, the Argentinian international got a transfer to Liverpool.

But there is something very "special" about this transfer. According to article 5.3 of Fifa's Regulations for the Statues and Transfer of Players, a footballer cannot play for more than two different clubs between July 1st and June 30th.

Mascherano had already represented Corinthians and West Ham.

But it seems Liverpool has a history in managing to bend the rules (remember when they finished 5th in the Premiership the year the won the Champion's League? Only the top 4 teams should represent England in next year's Ch. L, byt Lpool got special permission), so Fifa finally gave the green light and the transfer was completed.

But how much did Liverpool pay for the player?

Isn't it so nice when stories have happy ending? Mascherano is happy, Liverpool are happy, West Ham are happy, FIFA are happy and of course M.S.I. are the happiest!

Football: Dirty business or conspiracy theories?

2007-01-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

The last few years more and more consortiums and filthy rich businessmen are showing huge interest in buying major football teams. (Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Corinthians, West Ham,...)

Pure fans are delighted because the new owners are promising to invest vast amounts of money into the teams. So great players will arrive and the teams will win trophy after trophy…

But are these businessmen really interested in football and trophies or it’s because football today is BIG business?

Are there any links between various consortiums and businessmen? Would it be possible one person to be owner of more than one teams?

The most controversial case of a consortium’s involvement in football is the case of M.S.I. (Media Sports Investment). In 2004 they signed a deal with Brazilian side Corinthians, that granted the company a large degree of control of the club, in exchange for large investments. Soon after, the team started buying top clas players such as: Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Marcelo Mattos, Gustavo Nery, Roger, Seba Dominguez, etc. In 2005 M.S.I. was behind an attempt by Kia Joorabchian to take over West Ham. The plans were abandoned later that year. Then in August 2006 Corinthian’s 2 biggest stars, Tevez & Mascherano signed for West Ham, but details of the transfer weren’t disclosed but it’s believed that M.S.I have secured lucrative sell-on clauses. Rumours have it that M.S.I. have links with Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky and also that Roman Abramovich has a 15% stake!

Someone might wonder… if these rumours were true, surely UEFA would have intervened by now. Well, unfortunately that’s not the case since, as things stand today, UEFA can only intervene if an individual or club own more than 51% of two clubs! So in theory, Mr. Abramovich and every Mr. Abramovich can end up owning dozens of teams, fix results, launder money by selling players between his teams and who knows what else…

Euroleague - Top 10, Week 13

2007-01-30T04:49:00.000-08:00

Few tickets left for the Top-16

2007-01-30T04:19:00.000-08:00

This is the last week of the regular season of Euroleague basketball and still there are many teams that haven’t secured a place in the Top-16 round. (From the 3 groups of 8 teams only the first 5 teams of each group and the single best 6th team will progress)

In Group A, Tau Ceramica has secured top spot and Dynamo Moscow, Olympiakos and Efes Pilsen are already trough, leaving Prokom Tefl, Climanio Bologna & Le Mans to fight for the 5th place.

In Group B, Panathinaikos will finish top and Maccabi & DKV Joventud are for sure joining him, while there are 4 teams (Partizan, Cibona, Unicaja & Lottomatica Roma) fighting for 2 places (maybe even 3 if they end up being the best 6th team).

Finally in Group C, CSKA Moscow, the defending champions have secured top spot and Winterthur FCB and Benetton Treviso have booked a ticket for Top-16. Then, we have 4 teams fighting for the rest 2 spots (or 3 if one of them finishes as best 6th team), Pau-Orthez, Aris TT Bank, Eldo Napoli and Fenerbahce Ulker

This week’s schedule includes many “life or death” matches:
Prokom Trefl - Climamio
Lottomatica - Cibona
Partizan - Unicaja
Eldo Napoli - Benetton Treviso

It’s obvious it won’t be just about which are the best teams, but also which can handle pressure better.

So who will progress? We will know in 2 days time…

Best Goals of Spanish League 2005/2006

2007-01-29T05:05:00.001-08:00

Spectacular!!

Premiership Goal of the Seasons

2007-01-29T04:55:00.001-08:00

Check out these goals... some of them are unbe-fucking-leavable!!!

PPP Posties

2007-01-29T04:18:00.000-08:00

Here are links of my Postie pals

2 Nickels making a Dollar
A Bit of This and That Blog
A Day In The Life Of
A Frog to Kiss
A WAHumorous World
A Writer's Journey
Adsense for Idiots
Advertising for Success
http://tikna.blogspot.com/
As the Garden Grows
Aseembehl's Reviews
Beach House View
Behind the Dreams
BenSpark
Blogging 411
By the Sea
CakeSpace
Cass Knits
Celebrity Scoop
Chonk's Place
Clutzy's Clutzes
Confessions of an Everyday Housewife
Console Boards
CoolAdzine for Marketers
Crazy, but that's how it goes...
Crumleydotorg
Domestic Geek
Elynn's Random Life
Eric Cumbee: The Blog
ESL
Estranged Love
Evie's Angels
Extra!Extra!Entertainment News
First New Zealand Trip
Flatwater Bookstore
Free Survey Lists
Geaky Speaky
Genki Desu Yo
Getting Out of Debt
Gridlock On Rye
Hippie Spelunker
Home Biz Blogger
Home Mom
Home Office Women
HomeMom3
Internet Marketing Blog
Jeanette's Celebrity Corner
Jeanette's Deal Corner
Jeanette's Work At Home Corner
Just Julie
Just keep Living
La Vie de Laurie
Lady Nova
Lady Nova's Other Place
Laurigami.com
Life with Me
Life, Travel, Passion and More...
Little-Nerdling.net
Mad For Sports
Mae's Muse
Make Internet Money
Marcus Williford
Maven Mapper's Information
MommySpace
Musings of a Learning Wife and Mother
MySecurePC Blog
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My Life's Ramblings
My Opinion Counts
My Own Political Party
My Single Mom Life
My Thoughts
My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings
Odd Planet
Organic and Natural Health Blog
Pencil Thin
Phantascene.com Journal
PimpLighting
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QueenChris's Xanga Site
Reviews and More
Saint Gray on the Great Road Without Gates
SEO This
SEO This!
Simple Kind of Life
Skeet's Stuff
Smuggle Me Blog
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Staring Josey
Starring Jo
Stuck in Elmo's World
Stuff and Nonsense
SuperMom 2005
SuperMom at Mindsay
Supermom in NY
SuperMom Shops
Tami Parrington's Writer's Corner
TAP - That Amazing Person
Texas RV Travel Blog
That boy ain't right!
The Beginnings of a Blog
The Building Brows
The Fire Pit
The Mommy Blogger
The Pond
The Ridiculously Mundane
There's Something About Harry
Third Wind
Three Fries Short
Toil
Tomorrow's Blog
TorsRants
Tricia's Musings
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Web Reporter
Whatever Happened To...
Whatever I feel like
Whisper's from the Past
Work at Home Musings
Your Natural Remedies

Federer Express

2007-01-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

Roger Federer has claimed his third Australian Open crown, sweeping aside No.10 seed Fernando Gonzalez winning in straight sets 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 20 minutes.

He became the first player since Bjorn Borg at the French Open in 1980, and just the fourth in the Open era, to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set along the way!

With this victory he has joined American Bill Tilden in 4th spot on the major winners' list. Ahead of him are Australian Rod Laver and Swede Bjorn Borg (with 11 each), Australian Roy Emerson (with 12) and American Pete Sampras (with 14).

He has also become the only player that has won 3 titles in 3 Grand slams (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open).

I don't think the question is IF he's going to brake Pete Sampras' record, but WHEN. With his current form and lack of competition it's bound to break within the next 2 years. It will be so fantastic if he managed to win in Roland Garros as well.

Go Roger go!!

Platini, the new Sheriff in town

2007-01-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Michel Platini has been elected President of UEFA, replacing Lennart Johansson.

Among the changes he has proposed are limiting players' salaries in proportion to clubs' turnover (around 50-60% of turnover) and reducing the maximum number of Champions League teams per country from four to three. (Currently Spain, Italy, Germany and England have four teams each qualifying for the Ch. L.).

Already key figures of European football have criticized these proposals.

Alex Ferguson said: "The tournament really starts in February, but I think it is OK the way it is at the moment. The appeal of the Champions League is when the giants of Spain or Italy or England come up against each other."

Arsene Wenger welcomed Platini's appointment, but was not sure about his plans for the Champions League: ”What will happen when the smaller teams go one round further and go out early in a group stage? The competition will lose interest, that is all that will happen. I believe that the competition should be organised with the best teams playing each other. What people want to see is the best teams on television, to see Real Madrid against Arsenal, or Milan against Bayern Munich, that will not change."

Champions League has been a huge success story mainly because of the participation of the major teams from Spain, Italy, England and Germany. If you check out the format as it stands today, the major teams have no problems qualifying from the group stages sometimes even having 2-3 games in hand, when the teams from “weaker” leagues fight for the third spot and a place in the UEFA Cup.

So how will reducing the number of the top teams make things better? To me it seems like a move in the wrong direction. Fans will loose interest in the first phase and tune back in February when the knock-out stages begin. A move to reduce teams from major leagues would be acceptable only if steps were taken so more leagues became more competitive. But I can’t see that happening in the near future

Time will tell...

Betting: Pick of the Day

2007-01-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

As i have mentioned in a previous post, i like to place some bets when i fancy my chances. I prefer to go fo outsiders for which i can find odds of 2.50-1 or higher. This way i am guaranteed my money back even if only one of the teams i backed ends up winning.

Today my attention is focused in UK (as most of the times :)

Pick 1: Mansfield (Chester v Mansfield)

In their last game, Mansfield beat at home League 2 leaders Walsall 2-1. Strikers Barry Conlon & Martin Gritton are in form having scored 5 times between them in the last 3 games. The team is outside the relegation zone and having 2 games in hand they can also dream of a place in the play offs. In today's game they'll be without midfielder Giles Coke, who has had a knee operation and will be out for a month and Johnny Mullins and Alex Baptiste are doubtful

Chester haven't won and haven't even scored in their last 3 matches. I sure they are regretting letting thei top scorer Jon Walters join Ipswich. They'll be also missing 3 key defenders, Ashley Westwood (hamstring injury) and David Artell and Paul Linwood (both suspended)

Verdict: Currently the odds for Mansfield winning at 3.75 and i'll definitely place a bet on it

Bet value: (6/10)

Pick 2: Port Vale (Brighton v Port Vale)

Brighton are in a poor run with one win and 7 defeats in the last 8 games. Their centre-half Adam Hinshelwood is out for nine months.

For Port Vale Nathan Lowndes will miss out again, but their 2 resent signs, Luke Rodgers and Malvin Kamara are going to debut in today's match.

Verdict: Online i can get 3.3 for Port Vale's win and i plan to take it.

Bet value:(5/10)

Let's see if we'll have a positive start :-)

Federer.. magic

2007-01-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

and female tennis rivalries (Open era)

2007-01-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert
The mother of all rivalries. These two faced each other 80 times between 1973-88, 60 of them in finals, with Navratilova winning 43... They met 14 times in Slam finals, with Navratilova winning 10, including all five Wimbledon matchups.

Martina Navratilova vs Steffi Graf
After Evert moved on, Graf moved in. She and Navratilova split their 18 matches, which included six Slam finals in three years, four of them won by Graf. They turned the 1987 season into a two-woman show, with Graf winning the French (8-6 in the third set) and Navratilova prevailing in straights at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadow.

Monica Seles vs Steffi Graf
Their rivalry spanned the 90s, including all the finals of all four Slam events. While Graf won 10 of their 15 meetings, she and Seles split their six title bouts, with Graf winning at Wimbledon (a 6-2, 6-1 wipeout) and twice at Flushing Meadow.

Serena Williams vs Venus Williams
The game’s best sibling rivalry. They’ve split 14 meetings, but kid sister Serena has a 5-1 edge in Slam finals, including consecutive Wimbledons. Venus’ only victory was at the US Open.

[Sourse: Boston Globe]

Most notable male tennis rivalries (Open era)

2007-01-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Connors vs Bjorn Borg
It was ping-pong at its highest level, with both men slugging away from their ends of the table. Borg won 13 of their 21 meetings, but they split their four Slam finals, with Borg winning twice on Wimbledon grass and Connors twice on US hardtop. Their best showdown, though, came in the 1981 Wimbledon semis where the Swede came from two sets down to prevail.

Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe
The classic clash of calm vs. combustible, they met only 14 times (Borg retired at 26), each winning half. McEnroe took three of their four meetings in Slam finals, including an epic five-setter in the 1980 US Open. Borg’s five-set victory at Wimbledon earlier that summer, with McEnroe surviving five match points in an 18-16 tiebreaker, may have been the greatest match ever.

John McEnroe vs Jimmy Connors
A made-in-America natural between the game’s two most volatile personalities. Played 34 times, with McEnroe winning 20, but with Borg in the way they met only twice in Slam finals, both at Wimbledon, where they split. Their best wrangle may have come in the 1980 US semis, where McEnroe won a raucous five-setter in a tiebreaker.

Ivan Lendl vs John McEnroe
They were hardly dining buddies and their 36 meetings (with the Czech winning 21) merely sharpened the animus, with Lendl winning all but one of their final 11 matches. Though they hooked up 10 times in Slams, only three came in finals, two of them at Flushing Meadow. Their most memorable meeting was at Paris in 1984, when Lendl came from two sets down to win.

Ivan Lendl vs Jimmy Connors
An eight-year age gap made the ledger lopsided at either end — Connors won 13 of their first 18 meetings, Lendl the final 17. Their two biggest showdowns, in the 1982 and 1983 US Open finals, were both won by Connors.

Boris Becker vs Stefan Edberg
Becker, with his booming game, dominated the relationship, winning 25 of their 35 matches including all but one of their last 11. Their only meetings in Slam finals came in three straight Wimbledons (1988-90), with Edberg triumphing twice.

Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi
The rivalry of the 90s, with Sampras winning 20 of 34 duels...Met 5 times in Slam finals, including three US Opens, all won by Sampras, the last in 2002 when he was seeded 17th.

[Sourse: Boston Globe]

Roger Federer...the Phenomenon

2007-01-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

So we know the one of the 2 finalists for this year's Australian Open... and surprise surprise it's Roger Federer! Earlier today, he produced a phenomenal performance to blow away Andy Roddick in straight sets, 6-4 6-0 6-2 and reach the final.

All the talk leading into the match had centred on how much the American had bridged the gap between himself and the Swiss maestro in the past 12 months, but Federer quickly exposed such conjecture on the big stage of Rod Laver Arena.

He's undoubtedly on a league of his own. Statistics speak for themselves:
9 Grand Slam Titles!
11 consecutive appearances in Grand Slam's Semis
4 consecutive times finalist of the Australian Open
Reached the final without dropping a set
He's only weakness is playing on clay, but sooner or later he's bound to master that surface..

Disclosure Policy

2007-01-22T09:16:00.001-08:00

This policy is valid from 22 January 2007
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Day of big upsets

2007-01-21T11:00:00.001-08:00

Female tennis is so exciting to watch!

Because of the fit, good looking women wearing tiny skirts? someone might ask

Well, that's one of the reasons :-) But even more it's the fact that it's not easy to predict who will win. Almost anyone in the top 30 can beat everyone on their day. Just by checking today's 4th round results in the Australian Open is enough to realise how true that is:

Amelie Mauresmo, world no3 and defending champion crashed out in straight sets (6-4, 6-3), beaten by Lucie Safarova, a 19 year old rising star from Czech R. but still ranked just 70 in the world.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, world no 4, also crashed out in straight set (6-4, 6-2), beaten by Shahar Peer, from Israel, another rising youngster (19), ranked 17th i the world.

Elena Dementieva, world no8, and one of my favourite players.. (aaah.. if only she could improve her serve!!) was beaten also in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) by Nicole Vaidisova, a 17 year old Czech, number 12 in the world...(ok, ok this wasn't a real upset since Nicole is a great talent and can break into the top 8 within 2007)

Dinara Safina, world no10 was swept aside (6-2, 6-2) by Na Li world no16

An amazing fact is that from the top 10 seeded players, only 5 are still in the tournament (comparing to 8 in the men's draw).

Who is going to win? I have no idea, but I wish it will be Kim Clijsters in her last Australian Open (she's going to retire at the end of the year... what a pitty.. she's just 23!)

1st bet

2007-01-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

Weekends is fo sure when most people place thei bets... with football undoubtedly being the main attraction. I couldn't be the exception to the rule :-)

Major European leagues (English, Spanish, Italian, German, French) are those that i mainly follow .. but i have to admit that when it comes to betting, lower divisions in England is where i focus my attention. On a future post i'll explain what are my principles

Unfortunately today i didn't have time to read the latest news about the teams and place some bets, but from my initial selections i fancied Doncaster's chances of beating Scunthorpe at home. Doncaster look in great form with 7 wins in their last 8 league games while Scunthorpe have failed to win in their last 3 (3 draws). Also Scunthorpe will be missing their key scorer Billy Sharp.

Welcome

2007-01-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow bloggers and welcome!

Mainly I plan to write my thoughts about things that caught my eye in the world of sports. They could be about football (soccer), basketball, tennis, F1, but also about sports not as worldwide popular like rugby, snooker..

Occasionally i also plan to suggest matches that seem good for placing bets on ;-)

Feel free to visit me as often as you want and I'd be glad to read your comments.