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NBA – Boston Celtics stays strong at the end of the season

Doc Rivers, the head coach of the Boston Celtics, is well aware of the fact that he has one of the most experienced squads in the NBA. He is also quite familiar with the downside of such an extensive experience in the professional circuit: his players are old. And yet, he has managed to find a good balance overall and the Celtics at 46-15 for the season, and 19-10 at home still stands strong this late of the season. But not without a couple inconveniences that the squad has managed to overcome brilliantly.

For starters, on Sunday at their visit to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, the Boston Celtics came out to the field with only nine players on uniform. Still, relying heavily on the experienced (and aged) Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 89-83.

Paul Pierce scored 23 points, recorded 5 boards, 4 assists and 1 steal and 1 block while Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Ray Allen was the man in charge of hitting the go-ahead jumper for the Celtics. But it really was all about the defense. The Celtics were capable of holding back the Bucks and keeping them from scoring a single field goal in the last three and a half minutes of game time. Boston has managed to win its fifth consecutive game and is still atop of the Eastern Conference, three games over the Chicago Bulls and 4 over the Miami Heat that has recently been stuck in a series of unhappy endings, dropping way too many games. Just for the record: Miami just recently lost its 5th straight game and sixth in eight games since the All-Star break.

Boston got 17 points from Nenad Krstic and 11 points from Jeff Green, two of the Celtics’ five new players acquired in the last 10 days. Because let’s face it, Doc Rivers is certainly going to need more than 9 players available if he wants to survive the Playoffs and once again take a shot at the NBA National Championship.

Brandon Jennings scored 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and 3 steals while leading the Milwaukee Bucks to yet another disappointment at home. The Milwaukee Bucks have lost 12 of the last 16 games they played and holding a 23-38 season they are far from turning this season into something even close to a success.

Boston has many injury problems that they need to deal with soon. The injury list includes the likes of Jermaine O’Neal (left knee), Shaquille O’Neal (right heel), Delonte West (right ankle), Glen Davis (left knee) and Von Wafer (right calf). In an attempt to bring in some additional backup, the Celtics signed guard Carlos Arroyo on Sunday, but he will not be joining the team unitl Monday. Nenad Krstic, who scored 11 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, was acquired on Feb. 24 at the trading deadline along with Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

The Celtics will play the LA Clippers in a matter of hours before hitting the road on Friday for their game against the Philadelphia 76ers. As of press time, the Celtics are a 9.5 point favorite on the NBA betting spread against the Clippers for tonight.

2011 MLB Season Win O/U Totals Odds

By Robert Ferringo and Vegas Sports Informer

Below are the first 2011 MLB season win totals that we have seen, courtesy of the Atlantis in Reno. That books is run by Steve Mikkelson, formerly of the Reno Hilton/Grand Sierra. It is definitely a source of pride for a book to have the first available liens for something like MLB season wins O/U and here is what they came up with:

ARIZONA D’BACKS 72

Odds Shorten For No More Premiership Managers To Leave This Season

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Around two weeks ago Roberto Di Matteo lost his job at West Brom and the bookies are beginning to think he could be the last managerial casualty of the season in the Premiership, although one manager still remains under pressure.

By far the most likely manager to go in the Premiership, if one does leave before the end of the season, is West Ham boss Avram Grant. Despite some decent recent form for the Hammers they remain in the bottom three and are amongst the favourites to go down this season. That leaves Grant an odds on chance to leave West Ham after less than a season in charge, he could really do with a win in his next couple of games.

The odds have shortened dramatically on no more managers leaving this season, after Roberto Di Matteo was sacked from his job at West Brom you could get 6/1 on no more managers leaving their post, those odds are now just 2/1 at the time of writing and that shows that we may have seen out last managerial casualty of the season.

Most other managers are looking pretty safe, even those involved in relegation battles, but there are two managers who are in charge of underperforming clubs and their jobs could certainly be under review at the end of the season, if they are still in charge by the time that comes around. David Moyes has been well backed in recent weeks to lose his job, Everton have been inconsistent all season but he surely won’t be sacked, backers of Moyes may be relying on him walking out, he is around the 5/1 mark.

At around twice those odds you can back Carlo Ancelotti to leave Chelsea, they are now in danger of losing out on a Champions League place and their performance in that competition could be just as important as their performance in the Premiership as Ancelotti looks to save his job. Whatever happens it looks likely he could go in the summer. The likes of Alex McLeish and Mark Hughes aren’t 100% safe according to the odds but it would be a huge shock if either lost their jobs this season.

If you’re looking to put a bet on, we’ve found BetsFree.com to be the most generous.

NCAA Basketball – Wisconsin serves Ohio State its first defeat of the season

by Stephen Lars on Feb.14, 2011, under Basketball, Sports News

Everything that goes up must eventually come down. There is somewhat of a certain beauty when the big teams go down. It’s not just the disappointment of seeing a brilliant team lose its perfect season, or the fight of the underdog to play against the odds and pull off an impressive win. Yes, there is some sort beauty behind the fall of the perfect; perhaps it is something like the upside of failure.

And the Wisconsin Badgers now all about it. The crowd couldn’t resist much longer and stormed in the court as the home team was working its way up to defeat a No.1 ranked team for the first time since 1962. The Badgers put on one heck of a comeback on the second half to close on a 15-point margin to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes by 71-67.

Playing the underdog is somewhat of an act of sheer faith. Yes, sometimes the spread is so significantly unbalanced that going for the little team is exciting and worth taking your chances. And yet there is a whole other approach when it comes to wagering on sports such as the College Hoops: playing against the team that is breaking all the records.

The Ohio State Buckeyes had had one phenomenal season this year, brining in not only the schools second best ever season starting winning streak. At 24-0 the Buckeyes had only one better record from the season kickoff and it came in 1960-61 when Ohio State went on for a 27-0 start. But then it all went south.

The man of the hour was no other then Jordan Taylor who in 13 minutes was capable of leading the Badgers into an impressive come from behind win over the best team in the Nation. Taylor scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, working Wisconsin to keep the NCAA Division I basketball championship from having a perfect team since Indiana had its flawless season back in the 1975-76 season.

Taylor was the spark that started the 15-0 fire from the Badgers completing 8 straight points, including back to back three’s that really gave Wisconsin that special boost to build up enough momentum to hold back the Buckeyes desperate attempt for a comeback.

For those of you fond of stats and records, the Wisconsin Badgers have joined Florida as the only team to defeat the same No.1 team in the Nation on both NCAA football and NCAA basketball during the same academic year. As a matter of fact this is the first time that a NCAA team has defeated the No. 1 team in both football and basketball during the same season.

The Badgers have been a good team this season. Even though the squads numbers aren’t as impressive as most fans would like, at 19-5 overall and 9-3 in Big Ten conference play, the Badgers have been quite outstanding when playing at home. One must take into consideration that this is the Badgers 17th straight win at home. Wisconsin was sharp from the three point line, hitting 12 of 24 3 to really guide the team into the upset. But by the halftime break it sure didn’t look like the Badgers would be close after such a big deficit.

Taylor worked the Badgers momentum hitting a floater and two deep 3-pointers, then Wisconsin went on another 10-0 run at the end of the game to hold on to their advantage

Mon Mome Out For Season

Mon Mome, winner of the 2009 John Smith’s Grand National and third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, will miss the entire season after suffering a setback. Unseen on the racecourse since falling five out in the 2010 Grand National when still in touch, his campaign was being geared around a return visit to Aintree.

However, the 11-year-old’s name was not among the entries revealed on Wednesday and Venetia Williams, who trains him for Vida Bingham, said on Wednesday night:

Flat Out misses rest of season with leg injury

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NCAA Football – Cam Newton brilliant season guides Auburn to BCS title

Cameron Jerrell Newton was for a while living under the shadow of Tim Tebow over at the Florida Gators. In 2007, as a freshman, Cam Newton was the back-up quarterback for Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow. An ankle injury kept him away so he took a medical red-shirt year, then transferred to Blinn College where he won the 2009 NJCAA National Football Championship and became the No.1 recruit in the country. When Newton finally made his move to Auburn University, the Tigers where about to experience one of their finest seasons ever.

Newton was absolutely brilliant against the SEC championship game as he lead the Tigers against South Carolina for a 56-17 win. Newton passed for a career high 335 yards, completing 17 of his 28 attempts for 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran for a pair of touchdowns and was simply outstanding in his one-man show. The Tigers must now wait until Sunday afternoon to make it official, but considering that the Oregon Ducks defeated Oregon State 37-20, it is almost a fact that the two top-ranked and undefeated teams in the country will be playing on January 10 in Glendale Arizona for the BCS National Championship Game.

There is one ugly side to this story. TCU, the little school that almost could, was shut down from the BCS title, despite their perfect record. Had Oregon or Auburn failed to win their last game of the season, TCU would have become the first school from a non-BCS conference to play for the National Title.

Newton should now start striking a pose for when they announce the Heisman Trophy winner for this season.  The 6-foot-6, 250 pound junior has had a season that has just come a tad short from perfection. He has now joined Tebow as the only player in a top division conference to run and pass for over 20 touchdowns in a season.  And let’s just face the fact that he can pass and run just as good as anyone else in the league can. Regardless of what happens in the National Championship Game, it shouldn’t be too long before we see Newton playing on Sundays.

Russia gets off lightly coming into biathlon season

It's damn cold outside, so the best thing about that weather is that biathlon season must be starting soon! If you haven't read my blog in previous European winters, you'll have missed how excited I get about betting on this sport, particularly trading in-running on Betfair. It is a brilliant sport once you understand how the format works.

Anyway, Russia had five competitors caught for doping last season, including three top 10 biathletes, and the International Biathlon Union (which can't be too harsh against them as Russia is the biggest nation in the sport) has handed out a rather lame $68,000 fine to the national body. Hardly a massive penalty given how endemic in the system it had become, and their past history...

Biathlon union fines Russia $68,000 for doping

BERLIN (AP)—The International Biathlon Union has fined Russia $68,000 for a series of doping violations.

The IBU sanctioned the Russian national federation Monday after five of its athletes were caught doping over the past year.

The IBU can fine national bodies if more than one athlete breaks doping rules in a 12-month period.

Yekaterina Iourieva, Albina Akhatova, Dimitri Yaroshenko, Andrei Prokunin and Veronika Timofeyeva all received doping suspensions.

The IBU says the Russian federation “has imposed all necessary disciplinary consequences” and taken other steps to prevent doping by its athletes in the future.

The first World Cup race weekend will be live on Eurosport in the first week of December. With no Winter Olympics this season, working out which competitors are primed early and which ones are aiming to peak later in the season shouldn't be an issue.Posted byScott Fergusonat17:12

ATP Tennis- A quick look into Roger Federer’s season

year-old Swiss player that so brilliantly has dominated the sport of tennis since 2003. Seven years after the Federer Express won his first Grand Slam and after surviving one of his most upsetting seasons ever, Roger Federer has completed his way back into the sports headlines by winning the season finale World Tour Championship in the 02 Arena in London.

To keep the dramatic nature of his game, Federer played the Championship game against Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard hot-shot who is currently the No.1 ranked player in the World. A younger player who this season won three Grand Slam and completed his Career Grand Slam when he took over in the US Open.

Roger Federer came strong in the first part of the season. He was outstanding in the Australian Open. He took Andy Murray down in the Championship game by 6-3,6-4,7-6. This was the second time that Federer denied Murray a chance to win a Grand Slam.

But things went south from there on. He fell to Nadal in the Mutua Madrid Final and when it came to play at Roland Garros, for the French Open, Federer failed to qualify in the semifinals for the first time since the 2004 French Open. Robin Soderling would be the man who took him down in the quarterfinals. Nadal went on to win the tournament for the fifth time and replaced Federer as World No 1. Federer was just one week away from equalling Pete Sampras’s record of 286 weeks as World No. 1

Then Came Wimbledon. If someone was expected to put on a great show and a comeback for a disappointing participation at Roland Garros was Federer, as he had been the most dominant force at Wimbledon during the last decade. And then came one of the biggest upsets in his career. Sure, commentators and professionals alike had been talking about how much Federer struggled against Alejandro Falla in the first rounds at Wimbledon, but nobody was really expecting Federer to lose against Thomas Berdych in at Wimbledon’s quarterfinals.

He fell to the No. 3 spot in the World Rankings. He had to bring in his A-game into the court if he wanted to win at the US Open. He avenged his French Open defeat against Soderling but was unable to make it pass Novak Djokovic who played a magnificent 5-set game against Federer. Novak would eventually loose the final to Rafa Nadal. He kept on his rhythm and won important championships. He won at the Stockholm Open and at Basel. With this make he completed his 65th career title, surpassing Pete Sampras who had 64.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal arguably might be the two best players ever to pick up a racket. Federer is 5 years older the Nadal. Federer has won a record 16 grand slams, and has been a dominant force in the last decade of the sport. As the two players make it into the winter break, all we can wonder is if Federer still got what it takes to get back on the top. Federer will know go on and defend his title at the 2011 Australian Open. If he fails to do so, and Nadal happens to win in the land down under, it might just be the first sign that a new order King of the Slams is in his way to become legendary.

2011 ATP World Tour season preview

The 2011 ATP season will have some fascinating subplots and questions that need answering. Can Rafael Nadal embark on an era of dominance? Is Andy Murray capable of winning a slam? Can Roger Federer win another major? Will Juan Martin del Potro return to his best after injury?

All these questions can clearly be answered in the affirmative, but the most likely to happen according to the tennis odds, and the reason why all of these permutations cannot come to fruition collectively, is the Nadal factor. The world number one was so dominant at his best this year that it seems more likely that he will clear up at the majors than they be shared around.

Once Nadal returned to full fitness in the early part of the European clay court season, there was no stopping him. Injury forced him out of the Australian Open at the quarter final stage, but he won every other major and was by some distance the best player in each event.

In 2010 Nadal became the first player ever to win a slam on each surface in a calendar year and just the second in the Open era, after Rod Laver, to win three consecutive majors in one season. He is undoubtedly capable of winning all four in 2011. Federer’s record haul of 16 majors will surely be soon under threat.

It is of course ridiculous to write Federer off. He definitely has more major titles in him but it is undeniable that some of his magic has ebbed away. The great Federer-Nadal rivalry might be a thing of the past, but expect the Swiss legend to be the main threat to the favourite, particularly at Wimbledon.

After a strong start, ATP tour tennis betting pundits note that  Murray somewhat lost his way in 2010 and needs to find the consistency needed to lift the big trophies. More slam final appearances beckon, but doubts remain as to whether he can beat Nadal and Federer when it really matters.

Del Potro is something of the forgotten man after a sustained injury absence. He can be good enough to win another major, as he did in New York last year, but he will not find it as easy as Nadal did to bounce back from serious injury problems. 2012 is a more realistic target for majors for the Argentine.

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Murray looking to end the season in style

You can’t deny that Andy Murray has endured a difficult season. However, having triumphed over Robin Soderling in front of a home crowd at the O2 Arena in London, Murray is now hoping to win his first ATP World Tour Finals trophy as he looks to hide the fact that he has still failed to win a Grand Slam event in his career to date.

With Murray disappointingly failing to progress through to the semi-final stages of the competition in London last season, he along with those who regularly place tennis bets will realise all too well that a solid start is not enough to ensure that he reaches the latter stages. In fact, the Scot will know precisely what is needed now and that’s a victory over rival Roger Federer in his next match at the event.

Despite winning the Australian Open earlier this year, Federer has been accused by some tennis online betting pundits of struggling in general this season, and has failed to reach the lofty heights that his many fans have come to expect of him. However, with one Grand Slam victory representing one more taste of success than Murray has achieved this year, any talk of a slump certainly needs to be taken with a hefty pinch of salt.

Having said that, with Murray having performed well in the majority of his previous battles against Federer, he certainly knows precisely what it takes to be successful against the Swiss maestro.

If Murray can remember the winning formula that has served him so well in the past and use a victory against Federer as a launch pad from which to win the ATP World Tour Finals event and then a first Grand Slam early next season, the Scot will have finally lived up to the potential we all know he holds.

This said, though, if Murray finds himself beaten, and down and out once again, he’ll know that the tag of underachiever will continue to haunt him wherever he goes.

           Related Posts2011 ATP World Tour season preview2010 season review – Novak DjokovicTaking stock in StockholmInjuries the key to Jankovic’s hopesNew number one here to stayTags: Add a Comment

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2010 season review – Novak Djokovic

2010 has been another season of consolidation and consistency for Novak Djokovic. He has again been a regular presence in the latter stages of the four majors and finishes the season third in the rankings for the fourth consecutive year.

In some ways, tennis online betting pundits believe that the Serb has improved on last year’s efforts, reaching the last eight of every slam for the first time and appearing in his third slam final. However, he did not feature in a Masters 100 final for the first time since 2006 having appeared in five such finals in 2009. He won just two tour events compared with five victories last year.

This fragility in the business end of tournaments has again been manifested by a weakness in long matches. Djokovic was beaten by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga over five tough sets at the Australian Open quarter finals, and more worryingly, threw away a two-set lead against Jurgen Melzer in the last eight of the French Open.

Djokovic’s reputation for physical and mental frailty was not helped by a spell on the sidelines due to illness and allergy problems mid-season. Opponents know they can be rewarded for persistency against Djokovic, who appeared to conquer some of these demons at Flushing Meadows.

He beat Viktor Troicki in a five-set epic played in searing heat in the first round and saved two match points against Roger Federer in another one that went the distance in the last four. This should encourage him when the chips are down next season, as they are sure to be at some point in the slams

NFL – Dallas Cowboys have their first feel-good game of the season

The Dallas Cowboys made a few changes during the week. And it seemed as if that made all the difference. First, they got rid of head coach Wade Phillips, who had managed to bring the Cowboys to its second worst ever season start. At 7-1 and after 5 consecutive losses, it was time to make a change. And that’s when we must give it up for interim head coach Jason Garret. And that’s the start of the second change of the week. Garret managed to turn around this team and guide it to a very significant 33-20 victory in the road against the New York Giants.

On February 8, 2007, the Dallas Cowboys’ owner, Jerry Jones, announced that Wade Phillips was coming to Dallas to become the new Head Coach. That year the Dallas Cowboys lost in the first playoffs game. On January 9th  2010, Wade Phillips lead the Cowboys to their first playoffs victory in the last 12 years. The Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild card round, thus earning Phillips’ first playoffs win.

Wade Phillips was expected to bring this team up and into another winning season. But he couldn’t.  A 45-7 lost at Green Bay was enough to set off the panic alarm at Jerry Jones’ office and Wade Phillips was fired.

Jerry Jones is well aware that this is not a complete makeover. There is still a very significant amount of work to be done with the team.  At 7-2, the Cowboys are still somewhat of a disappointment, and even though for the first time in a very long while the Cowboys played like a top-notch team, this latest win is no omen of better things to come.

Let’s be realistic with the expectations we can set upon this team. Yes, they defeated the Giants at home, and yes, they broke their 5 consecutive defeats streak, and sure, the Cowboys ended Eli Manninig’s and Co. 5 consecutive win record. But, if you kept a close eye at what happened in the previous  8 games, you can’t help but to notices that removing Wade Phillips was nothing but cleaning up the top of a iceberg.

Jon Kitna was 13 of 22 for 327 yards, three touchdown passes, one interception and one heck of a game. Kitna was able to complete a 13 yard touchdown passes for Dez Bryant, 71 yard pass to Felix Jones and a 24 yard missile to Miles Austin. In other words, Jon Kitna finally gave up a good game while replacing the injured Tony Romo.

Eli Manning had a good game, but it was just not enough to keep the Cowboys from taking over. Manning completed 33 of 48 for 373 yards, but the two interceptions he suffered, particularly the last one of the fourth period, took away the little chances the Giants had to make an impressive comeback in the fourth quarter.

The sun was finally shinning a bit for Jon Kitna. Depsite the two blackouts in the new 1.6$ billion stadium which deleayed the game for eleven minutes and left over 80,000 fans in complete darkness for a couple of seconds, Kitna won his first game as a starter since 2007. Thats what the NFL is all about.

NCAA Football – The Big Names that haven’t made the cut this season

Legacy. Few fans take a team’s historical performance so seriously as do college football fans. Probably because contrary to most other professional leagues in the country, there is some sort of sentimental involvement between fans and a college team that surpasses geographical location of a school or their Alma Matter status. And that is when things get very interesting, because sometimes, a program is expected to perform brightly just because it has historically been quite an efficient and powerful school.

For instance, when the football season starts, one expects the Florida Gators, the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Michigan Wolverines, the Texas Longhorns, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to have a great season. But that is not only because of their rooster, or because of the numbers the team was able to crush during the previous season, but a matter of the team’s legacy and the really high standards to which its fans expect it to live to. And that puts a great deal of pressure upon these programs.

Here are this season’s losing college football programs. Let’s start with the Bulldogs. Georgia has had a good comeback. After a very rough early season, the Bulldogs are finally starting to put in together back to back wins this season. They now have managed to string together 4 wins in a row to make this a 5-5 season so far. But there is one issue keeping the Bulldogs from really demonstrating their potential: Georgia has still not won a game to a winning-record team this season. And that’s just not going to make the cut.

The Miami Hurricanes are not experiencing their best season ever either. At 6-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play, the Hurricanes could be doing much worse, but their chances of playing in the a Bowl game are not looking so bright right now. The Hurricanes got some kudos last week when they put down Maryland 20-26, to stay behind Virginia Tech by a two game deficit.

The Michigan Wolverines are also 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten Conference. They are now bowl eligible, but yet, it is uncertain if the team lead by Rich Rodriguez could really get it together and pull off something worth taking into the end of series bowl game. If they can get pass their serious issues on the defense, Rodriguez might not only secure his job, but even gain some respect in the community.

The Fighting Irish are also struggling on their end of the pool. They have now lost to both Navy and Tulsa on consecutive games, yet Notre Dame has managed to hold to a 4-5 record this season. If they want to make it into a Bowl game, the Fighting Irish will need to win at least two of the games they have left this season. They will face Utah, Army and South Carolina. Its not going to be easy, but if they guys from Notre Dame put their heart into it they might just pull off the trick.

The USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns are not living to their great name either. The Longhorns fell to Kansas State 39-14, and have now lost 4 of their last 5 games. So the trick here is to recognize that the defending Big 12 Champion might not make it to a Bowl Game unless they manage to win over Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic and Texas A&M. At least two out of three and they might have a chance.

Now, the USC Trojans are not doing too well. They have lost three of their last 5 games and because of an NCAA sanction; the Trojans are staying in town this upcoming season. Probation, probation.

Season Over for St Nicholas Abbey

Posted by Leigh on October 15, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

After missing a start over the weekend, trainer Aidan O’Brien has stated that it is “very likely” St Nicholas Abbey won’t run again this season.

Season Over For Canford Cliffs

Posted by Leigh on October 14, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Trainer Richard Hannon announced on Thursday that his star charge Canford Cliffs will have no further starts this season.

NFL – Notes on Week 1 and the chances of an 18 game regular season

The NFL has been pushing to convince NFL team owners to promote an 18 game season. Commissioner Roger Goodell has pointed out that the NFL has the right to impose an 18 game regular season, and a 4 game preseason, as it would be in perfect accordance to the previous agreement the league has with its players.

Some team owners, like Bob Craft from the New England Patriots, have already spoken out their desire to move on with an 18 game regular season. He has said for an interview with the Associated Press that an extended season is a win-win situation. And it probably is, if you take into consideration what each team will make in terms of ticket sales and televised rights.

Commissioner Goodell is right about the fact that the contract between the league and the player’s labor agreement could take in an 18 game season. Yet that is not the main issue, as this agreement expires once this current issue is over. And trust me here, the extended regular season is going to be one of the key-issues when it comes to negotiating a new collective agreement among players and the league.

Some owners, on the other hand, are proposing the season to be kept at 20 games. To do so, they are agreeing to an 18 season regular season, but they are trying to bring down the number of preseason games from 4 to 2. This must be an attempt to keep the health of their players.

Yet, this is one of the most dangerous and physically demanding sports. Injuries are one of the most important issues in this sport, a factor that teams need to take into account every season. Only the healthier teams at the end of a regular season make it to the conference finals. And that is where two extra games could make a difference.

Take this NFL season opener as a reference: The Detroit Lions have already lost their starting QB Matthew Stafford to a separated shoulder. Ryan Grant’s torn ligament in his ankle might hurt the Green Bay Packers quite a bit. The Philadelphia Eagles lost fullback Leonard Weaver and center Jamal Jackson to season ending injuries. And the Jets lost defensive tackle Kris Jenkins to a torn ACL. The Indianapolis Colts lost safety Bob Sanders to a torn bicep injury, and it is uncertain when he will be back.

And things are not going to get better for week No 2. Leave it at 16 or move to an 18 regular season game? Let’s see what Goodell and the players and the owners come up with at the end of the season.

winter sports season around the corner and another Russian 'busted' for drugs

Shame it wasn't one of their leading female competitors, at least I can post a gratuitous photo then.

Russian cross country skier Nicholas Pankratov has been busted by Swiss customs officials for possessing intravenous equipment and 22 capsules of the drug actovegin, derived from calf blood. Actovegin is not on the WADA banned list, but has been in doping authorities' spotlight for several years.

The original article can be found here in Norwegian, use Google Chrome to translate it.

Sergei Korolev, who is head of Russia's winter sports federations, told RIA Novosti that Pankratov's possession of actovegin with the equipment for blood transfusion is a cause for sanctions unless he can prove that he has a legitimate reason to use it.

News agency reports that Pankratovs case will be handled by the International Ski Federation (FIS') anti-doping panel.

- He may be excluded for two years. If he can prove that there were health reasons to use the drug, he may go free, but it's unlikely, says Korolev.Posted byScott Fergusonat03:10

Peter Martins out for season, says Noseda

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