NBA- New York Knicks defeat the Philadelphia 76ers

The Knicks had an awful March, but they are sure doing their best to make up for it this April, as the Knicks have set up a very decent 5 game winning streak since their 113-106 win in overtime against the Orlando Magic in an intricate overtime. It really seems as if the key to this success lies behind the talent of one Carmelo Anthony.

Yes, we have to recognize that since joining in late February, after an extensive 15-player deal that finally landed him from the Denver Nuggets into his new home, the Knicks have suffered a big deal of upsets, including the last two weeks of March where they lost all but one in a 10 game stretch.

But things are slowly but surely looking a bit better and with a 97-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, they have successfully clinch the 6th place in the Eastern Conference and get a really good chance of getting into the Playoffs. Anthony  scored 31 points, 11 rebounds while the other referent, Amare Stoudemire scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Stoudemire suffered a left ankle sprain during the game, and he is going to miss tonight’s game against the New Jersey Nets and it seems that he is going to be out Sunday when they hit the road and face the Indiana Pacers.

But we have to give it up for the 76ers for putting one heck of a battle. Had it not been for Toney Douglas, who hit the go ahead triple with 1:47 to go, we would be writing the story of how the 76ers won the game despite a 19-point deficit in one heck of a comeback. To seal the deal, it was Douglas who completed two free throws with 42 seconds to go to give the Knicks their 5th consecutive win.

Elton Brand was the leader for Philadelphia scoring 24 points, recording 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. As for the comeback, Thaddeus Young was vital for the 76ers aspirations. Not only did he scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half alone, but he was basically responsible for rallying the 76ers back into the game alone. it was Andre Iguodala gave the last touches to the rally, pulling the Sixers within one point with his first 3-pointer of the game. But it wasn’t enough. Truth is that Carmelo Anthony had been on fire all night long and he was going to connect a triple in clutch time to give the Knicks a 95-91 lead.

So was Melo on fire? Oh yeah: he scored 28 point from behind the 3-point line and once again proved that he is ready for much bigger things. How big, well, truth is that this two team put on one heck of a show, playing with aggressiveness and an atmosphere so tense that one could have imagined they were playing for the top-seed in the Eastern Conference and not for the 6th. But hey, everybody wants to be invited to the big dance, and neither team can really afford to lose a chance to make it into the NBA Playoffs.

The Knicks lost guard Chauncey Billups (another great addition in the deal that landed Melo in New York) towards the end of the third quarter, and he didn’t comeback. He had a bruised right tight, but the big problem came for Stoudemire, not for Billups who is expected to see action tonight.

NBA – Grizzlies defeat Kings for last Playoffs berth in the West

The Memphis Grizzlies managed to outplay the Sacramento Kings in an entertaining 101-96 win and thus secure the last available berth into the Playoffs in the Western Conference. Zach Randolph hit two free throws with 4.8 seconds and sealed the deal for the Grizzlies, which managed to earn its first ticket into the Playoffs in the last 5 years.

Randolph finished the night with 27 points, 15 rebounds while guiding Memphis to a 45-34 season that eliminated the Houston Rockets from the race for the last spot in the Western Conference Finals. Point Guard Mike Conley had 12 points and eight assists while Marc Gasol chipped in with 18 points and Tony Allen scored 13 as Memphis won for the fifth time in six games.

But it wasn’t easy. Truth be said, the Sacramento Kings put on one heck of a fight in the last quarter. Quite frankly the Kings could very well have won the game. As a matter of fact, Sacramento pulled itself back into the game and when there where only 39 seconds to go in the game, they were down 97-96.

It was a good effort from the Kings. Marcus Thornton led the Sacramento with 18 points, seven coming in the final 2:30 to keep the Grizzlies from celebrating too early. Samuel Dalembert had 17 points and 16 rebounds. Tyreke Evans had 16 points, and Jason Thompson had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Had it not been for the Kings turnover rate, things would had been very different. Sacramento was very dominant in the paint, dominating the boards. The Kings outrebounded Memphis 49-42. That is including 16 offensive rebounds that contributed to 31 second-chance points, a season high for Sacramento. The Kings were a bit better shooting, and despite cutting down a 12-point deficit, their 10 turnovers would eventually end up costing them a bit too much.

Marc Gasol had 13 points during the first two quarters to help Memphis carry a 46-43 lead at halftime, but regardless of his performance, the first half was a bit of a disappointment. The Grizzlies shot 38 percent, while the Kings were at 42 percent and both teams missed all five of their 3-point attempts. Francisco Garcia nailed the first 3-pointer of the game right after the halftime break then followed with another to help Sacramento retake the lead.

The Grizzlies will now have to face the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday. These where the last two teams to clinch a NBA Playoffs berth in the Western Conference, neither of them are locked into the last position, so this game will be decisive for securing a higher berth in the final. New Orleans (46-33) secured a playoff berth by beating Houston on Wednesday, and Memphis (45-34) clinched the conference’s final spot Friday with a 101-96 win over Sacramento.

On the other hand, New Orleans is trying to avoid a first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, who will probably clinch the No. 2 seed in the West. The two-time reigning NBA champions outscored the Hornets by an average of 10.8 points in sweeping the season series, so chances are they might have a similar fate should they meet again in the postseason.

NBA – Miami Heat defeat the Atlanta Hawks for 2nd seed in the East

The Miami Heat took advantage of the motivational boost that came from defeating the Boston Celtics on Sunday, and brought out their A-game to survive a come-from-behind rally via the Hawks bench, that almost cost them the game and the No.2 seed. Head coach Erick Spoelstra took a very different approach to this game.

While, as we covered on the previous entry, the Boston Celtics decided to rest all of its key players, giving up the No.2 seed to the Heat, in Miami, Spoelstra started and played to the end all of his stars. He was certainly looking for a way to secure the No. 2 seed behind the Chicago Bulls in the east.

It might be a little too early to make any predictions, on which coach took the better approach. Spolestra wanted to secure the seed and he has the advantage of counting on a team filled with young players. Doc Rivers, on the other hand, has to consider that most of his players are in the tail end of their careers. So yes, Spolestra avoided a match against the New York Knicks in the Playoffs, but those extra, somewhat unnecessary minutes played by LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade could affect them down the stretch.

LeBron James scored 34 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists while guiding the Heat to a 98-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Extra kudos must go to the Hawks who nearly rallied from a 20-point deficit while playing the fourth quarter with little-used bench players against three of the NBA’s best. And that should worry the Miami Heat just a bit. Yes, they were quite terrific against the Boston Celtics, but once we begin the playoffs, anything can, and usually does, happen.

Josh Smith scored 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists to lead the Hawks. With this defeat Atlanta has now lost a season-high five straight games, which is certainly not the way any team would like to close the season. Truth is, their first round playoff matchup with the Orlando Magic is not going to be easy, and the precedent they built last season doesn’t help their case either. The Magic wiped out the Hawks in four straight games a year ago in the Playoffs firs round.

It wasn’t an easy game for the Heat. Yes, they won, but like we mentioned before, the Hawks were heavily taking their chances while giving so many minutes to bench players. The Miami Heat appeared to had cracked the game by the time there where only 6 1/2 minutes left of the second quarter, hitting 11 of its last 14 shots.

Dwayne Wade handled most of the scoring load with 13 points — including 9 in a row — during a closing 25-15 run that turned a tight game into a 62-46 lead for the Heat by the halftime break. James and Bosh did the rest, combining for Miami’s other points during the spurt.

It is still uncertain what sort of performance the Heat are going to put together this postseason. Yes, they have clinched the no.2 seed in the Eastern Conference but we are talking about a team that underwent a mayor overhaul last summer, and that were struggling at 9-8 late in November. Yes, Miami got better, a lot better. But just over a month ago, they lost five in a row. Now Miami is heading to the playoffs with 14 wins in their last 17 games. That should make things interesting.

NBA – Chicago Bulls defeat Miami Heat

Yes, there are alot of fans out there who believe that the NBA games that really matter are those played during the Playoffs. Even though there is quite a strong argument in their favor, one could also sustain that some regular season games are quite significant. One of this significant games without a doubt was the 93-89 win of the Chicago Bulls over the Miami Heat.

Here is the thing: what really matters here is that the Bulls won over one of the strongest teams in the nation. For the second time this season. And yes, this time around the Miami Heat had all of its stars in the court. LeBron James was there, Dwayne Wade was there and even Chris Bosh was there. Well, sort of. Ok, as a matter of fact, Bosh was having one of his worst nights as a pro, but heck, he was there.

So perhaps that’s why it was such an important win for Derrick Rose and the Bulls. The last play of the game was a sweet definitive moment for Rose. Let’s face it, he is a talented player who does a great job on the field, but who’s numbers are certainly somewhat of a dissapointment. He was 9-for-24 with 5 boards and 6 assists for 26 points. Not bad, but nothing spectacular either.

Unless, you actually take a look at what he does on the field. Check out what he did on the last play: Loul Deng went to the far corner and stood outside the arch. Dwayne Wade was covering him. Rose had the ball and quickly swirved into the paint. Wade turned around and tried to double team Rose as he was been guard by LeBron James. And then it happened. Somehow Rose managed to clear the ball past two of the best active players in the league, and without missing a beat Deng shoot for the tiebreaking three-pointer that gave the Bulls the 4 point lead 18 seconds before the end. 

And it was over. Despite the efforts of Wade who scored 34 points and LeBron James who added 29 for Miami, the game was goint to go to the Bulls. Perhaps the weakest link was Chris Bosh. He missed 17 of 18 shots and had seven points with Joakim Noah doing a fantastic job guarding him most of the night.

NBA – New York Knicks defeat the Miami Heat at South Beach

Last week we said that the arrival of Carmelo Anthony to the locker-room of the Madison Square Garden might had been the best thing to happen to the Knicks since they chose Patrick Ewing as the No. 1 pick of the 1985 NBA Draft. All though Melo has only been in New York for a week and yes, it is quite too soon to make any powerful statements, it really seems as if we were right on target with that one.

The game was played down to the last second. LeBron James had the ball. He managed to pass by Carmelo Anthony, who was just transferred in a 15-player deal from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks, but Amare Stoudemire was waiting for him, and LeBron couldn’t pass. For a big change, the Knicks were capable of holding off the Miami Heat on defense. Yes, that’s right, even Anthony who during the last 6 years as a pro had been somewhat allergic to taking on a defensive role, was involved to the fullest going one-on-one with James.

Chauncey Billups made the

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

NBA – Orlando Magic gives the LA Lakers its first defeat on this road trip

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

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic have been a bit in the shadows due to the media attention that has been placed on both the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics who are without a doubt the two forces to reckon with in the Eastern Conference. At 35-21 for the season and 20-8 at home game, the Orlando Magic where in a serious need to break the losing streak they had been stuck in.

As a matter of fact, the Orlando Magic had not been able to win one of the last 8 games against teams with at least a .500 average during the season. And one can say without a doubt that this 89 to 75 win at home over the defending champions, the LA Lakers, is one of the most significant wins of the Magic so far this season.

On one side we have to acknowledge that the Lakers were certainly not having their best season ever. Let’s face it, the Lakers where far away from the team that last year played an epic battle against the Boston Celtics for the National Championship. Completing only 33 of 84 shots from the field and 2 of 16 (yes, just two of 16 attempts) from the 3-point line was enough to give the Lakers a whooping defeat.

Kobe Bryant had 17 points and 5 assists while Andrey Bynum closed the match with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Truth be said, that was no matchup for Dwight Howard and company who played an amazing game. Howard had 31 points and 13 rebounds and 3 assists. That was enough for Orlando to open up the gap and get six-point lead during halftime. And it will only get worse for the LA Lakers.

It seems as if finally, after many weeks since the Orlando Magic was able to make a couple of big-time changes to its rooster, that the Magic has a team capable of putting a fight among the Celtics and the Heat in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

By the middle of the third quarter the Orlando Magic had build a 56-47 lead and it was just too much for the Lakers to handle. Now, this is an important win for the Orlando Magic, but it means nothing unless they somehow manage to build up from this important result and keep on going with the momentum. They still have a good deal of complicated games ahead of them, and even though there is a good chance that the Magic would end up in the Playoffs, they must really improve their performance if they want to make their postseason run a bit longer then the usual.

Orlando made a comeback from a six-point home loss to New Orleans on Friday and managed to break a string of eight straight losses to teams with winning records. Since the Magic’s win at Dallas in early January, Orlando has not been able to win a game against teams with winning records. The Lakers on the other hand lost their 4 game winning-streak on the road. They will now have to face Charlotte tonight and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

City out to 15-2 for title after defeat at Villa Park

 By James Milton 7:41PM 22 JAN 2011 IT took less than 20 minutes for Darren Bent to start repaying the £18m fee that Aston Villa paid for him with the goal that saw off title hopefuls Manchester City on Saturday.

Bent, who was 7-1 to open the scoring, struck from close range
after just 18 minutes and 11-4 shots Villa held on to win 1-0.

The result took Villa up to 16th in the Premier League but City slip to third after their fifth defeat of the season.

Roberto Mancini’s Citizens have been pushed out to 15-2 to win the league and, while they were toiling at Villa Park, rivals Manchester United kept up their unbeaten start to the season with a 5-0 thrashing of Birmingham at OldTrafford.

United are 4-6 for the Premier League after Dimitar Berbatov took his goal tally for the season to 17 thanks to his third league hat-trick of the campaign.

Robin van Persie scored three goals and missed apenalty as Arsenal beat Wigan 3-0 and the Gunners, who move up to second place, are 15-2 for the title.

Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw at Newcastle, where Gareth Bale went off injured after just ten minutes, and Liverpool won 3-0 at Wolves, who remain in the relegation zone.

Fulham won 2-0 against Stoke, Sunderland won at Blackpool and West Ham held Everton 2-2.

In the Championship, Cardiff are 6-1 to win the division after a 4-2 victory against Watford, in which Craig Bellamy, Michael Chopra and the returning Jay Bothroyd were all on target.

League One leaders Brighton lost 1-0 at Bournemouth, who move into second place. The Seagulls are 7-4 second-favourites for the league behind 13-8 shots Southampton, who lost 2-0 at struggling Tranmere.

Hearts are as short as 7-1 to win the SPL after beating Rangers
1-0. The Edinburgh club are just two points behind the Gers and seven behind leaders Celtic, who have played a game more.

A gamble on the Barnet-Macclesfield double result in Saturday’s League Two fixture at Moss Rose was foiled when the teams finished level at 1-1.

Most firms took their double-result prices down after an unusually high number of bets. Bet365 kept their market
up offering 7-1 from 22-1 just before kick-off, but the bet was scuppered by half-time, when the teams turned round goalless.

FacebookDeliciousDiggStumbleUpon   TOP STORIES Grant looking to boost job prospects by keeping Hammers' run going 7:37pm 25 Jan 2011 Second Service: Federer still 2-1 despite hammering Wawrinka 1:00pm 25 Jan 2011 Road kings Green Bay 8-11 Bowl favourites 4:45pm 24 Jan 2011 Second Service: Nadal cut after crucial win 2:30pm 24 Jan 2011 Leinster 5-2 for second Heineken win after kind draw 9:23pm 23 Jan 2011 Kaymer rises in rankings after Abu Dhabi success 9:10pm 23 Jan 2011 Australia whitewash 8-1 after Sydney ODI-stroll 8:34pm 23 Jan 2011 Baggies defeat sees Di Matteo cut to get sack 8:26pm 23 Jan 2011 Second Service: Federer stays at 7-4 after four-set Robredo success 1:38pm 23 Jan 2011 7:41pm 22 Jan 2011 Show All Current Stories LATEST STORIES Grant looking to boost job prospects by keeping Hammers' run going 7:37pm 25 Jan 2011 Second Service: Federer still 2-1 despite hammering Wawrinka 1:00pm 25 Jan 2011 Road kings Green Bay 8-11 Bowl favourites 4:45pm 24 Jan 2011 Second Service: Nadal cut after crucial win 2:30pm 24 Jan 2011 Leinster 5-2 for second Heineken win after kind draw 9:23pm 23 Jan 2011 Kaymer rises in rankings after Abu Dhabi success 9:10pm 23 Jan 2011 Australia whitewash 8-1 after Sydney ODI-stroll 8:34pm 23 Jan 2011 Baggies defeat sees Di Matteo cut to get sack 8:26pm 23 Jan 2011 Second Service: Federer stays at 7-4 after four-set Robredo success 1:38pm 23 Jan 2011 7:41pm 22 Jan 2011 Show All Current Stories FOOTBALL Grant looking to boost job prospects by keeping Hammers' run going 7:37pm 25 Jan 2011 Baggies defeat sees Di Matteo cut to get sack 8:26pm 23 Jan 2011 7:41pm 22 Jan 2011 Qatar World Cup 3-1 to be held during winter 5:43pm 20 Jan 2011 Arsenal in to 5-1 for Cup after despatching Leeds 10:49pm 19 Jan 2011 Adam 8-11 for January switch 5:41pm 20 Jan 2011 Citizens 7-1 for title after scraping past Wolves 7:52pm 15 Jan 2011 200-1 for no giants to fall 10:56pm 7 Jan 2011 Roy 1-2 to have bossed his last Reds league game 10:51pm 6 Jan 2011 Turmoil continues for Liverpool and Chelsea 10:14pm 5 Jan 2011 Show All Current Stories GOLF Kaymer rises in rankings after Abu Dhabi success 9:10pm 23 Jan 2011 Favourite Ogilvy now a doubtful Hyundai starter 1:18pm 6 Jan 2011 CRICKET Australia whitewash 8-1 after Sydney ODI-stroll 8:34pm 23 Jan 2011 Marvellous Marsh spearheads Australia victory 12:50pm 21 Jan 2011 England 8-11 for Ashes treble after SCG stroll 10:45pm 7 Jan 2011 England 1-12 to wrap-up SCG win in morning 1:52pm 6 Jan 2011 TENNIS Second Service: Federer still 2-1 despite hammering Wawrinka 1:00pm 25 Jan 2011 Second Service: Nadal cut after crucial win 2:30pm 24 Jan 2011 Second Service: Federer stays at 7-4 after four-set Robredo success 1:38pm 23 Jan 2011 Second Service: Saturday's updates and betting news from the Australian Open 1:44pm 22 Jan 2011 Second Service: Thursday's updates and betting news from the Australian Open 1:44pm 20 Jan 2011 Second Service: Wednesday's updates and betting news from the Australian Open 2:50pm 19 Jan 2011 Updates and betting news from the Australian Open 1:39pm 21 Jan 2011 RUGBY Leinster 5-2 for second Heineken win after kind draw 9:23pm 23 Jan 2011 OTHER SPORTS Road kings Green Bay 8-11 Bowl favourites 4:45pm 24 Jan 2011 Rocket still 9-2 for world title after Power win 11:49pm 31 Oct 2010 Froch retains title with scrappy win 11:56am 18 Oct 2009 Specialist road racers should shine at Infineon 8:34am 21 Jun 2009 Roush stable has pedigree to tame Nascar's Monster Mile 12:12pm 31 May 2009 Search our News Archive Sport News RSS Feed All Racing Post RSS Feeds Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Download our iPhone app

NCAA Basketball – Villanova holds on to early lead to defeat Syracuse

Villanova got back at Syracuse and gives the Orange its 2nd straight loss. Last time they meet the Syracuse Orange (18-2, 5-2 in the Big East) held Villanova to a 8-of-28 on three-pointers for an overwhelming 18 point win at the Carrier Dome. On this last game, it was time for payback. Guards Maalik Wayns and Corey Fisher worked together for a combined 6 out of 7 shooting from outside the arc in the first half to give Villanova a 40-29 margin on the first half. That was enough to survive Syracuse’s effusive comeback in the last minutes and win the game 83 to 72.

Maalik Wayns scored 21 points, completed 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals to lead Villanova into securing its 8 win in the last 11 games against Syracuse. The Orange had depended mostly on a zone defense to secure a very good record so far this season, keeping teams to a low 28 percent conversion rate from the three point range. Still, it was up to Jay Wright, Nova’s head coach, to guide the Wildcats into braking past the zone-system and clear up an ample margin so early in the game.

Corey Fisher was another key-player for the Wildcats. He scored 16 points, recorded seven assists and four turnovers. Corey Stokes had also 16 points and Antonio Pena 10 and Villanova gave the Syracuse Orange their second consecutive lost, after recording 18 consecutive wins from the very beginning of the season. Villanova scored all but two of its 24 attempts.

For the Syracuse Orange Rick Jackson had 16 points and 15 rebounds, to complete his 13th double-double, and Brandon Triche completed 14 points. This was the second straight game for each squad against a top-10 team. Villanova lost 61-59 at No. 8 Connecticut on Monday, when the Orange lost 74-66 at Pittsburgh after falling behind 19-0.

After missing the loss to Pittsburgh due to a head injury, Syracuse’s Kris Joseph led all scorers with 23 points, 16 in the second half. Villanova made a season-best 11 3-pointers in the win, shooting 45.8 percent (11 for 24) from 3-point range.

Syracuse will now play Seton Hall on Tuesday. They will then hit the road to play Marquette on Saturday. The Villanova Wildcats are 17-2 and 5-1 in the Big East for the season, holding on to quite a good record so far this season. Villanova sits second in the Big East Standings followed closely by Syracuse. The Big East is lead by Pittsburgh, which holds an impeccable 7-0 record on conference play and 19-1 overall record. Syracuse is third in the AP top 25. The Ranking is lead by the Ohio State Buckeyes with an 18-0 season and then followed by the Kansas Jayhawks. The guys from Kansas are 17-0.

Stick around for more coverage on NCAA Basketball. We’ve got all your wagering needs covered. Whether you want to bet on parleys, straight bets, full games or half times, Betias.com is your best choice.

NFL – Green Bay Packers defeat the Chicago Bears for a spot on the Super Bowl

by Stephen Lars on Jan.24, 2011, under Football, Sports News

The Green Bay Packers can start packing their bags for Texas to play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl XLV. With an impressive 21-14 win over the Chicago Bears on the road, the Packers have now linked three consecutive wins on the road to make it into the biggest sports betting event of the season. Only three other teams have managed to win three playoffs road games to make it into the Super Bowl. Two out of those three have returned home with the trophy: the 2007 New York Giants and the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers. The 1985 Patriots won the three road games but lost the Super Bowl.

Aaron Rodgers didn’t have his best game ever. As a matter of fact, a quick look at his numbers would make you think he was somewhat of a disappointment. With a 55.4 passer rating, Rodgers was far away from what he has been showing since mid-December during the last two win-or-go-home games of the regular season. But despite his numbers, he was they key-player behind the Packers win over the Bears. The first-year rookie ran for a score and perhaps made his best play of the game in quite an unusual fashion for a quarterback: he completed a touchdown saving tackle that could quite easily have changed the outcome of the game.

The Bears, on the other hand, had to deal with a whole lot of issues on their offensive end. Jay Cutler, the starting quarterback, had been playing way under par before he had to leave the game during the third quarter because of some sort of knee injury. Let it be stated that no one is sure when or how he got injured. As if that was not enough, the Bears’ coach Lovie Smith reaction to the reporters’ questions concerning the nature and the details of Cutlers injury certainly didn’t help to clear up the situation.

Cutler was replaced by the Chicago Bears primary back-up Todd Collins. He was no good. For a moment it really seemed as if the Packers would be able to put on at least a 3-touchdown advantage over the Bears. Things got so bad on Chicago’s side that they had to play their odds and use a third quarterback on the game. Little-known Caleb Hanie came in and was the man in charge of giving the Bears their only hope.

Hanie had a chance to tie the game after the Bears’ defense finally got their act together. Unfortunately he threw a ball straight into the Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji who ran for 18 yards and into the end zone to give the Packers a 21-17 lead. But Hanie had a few more tricks under his sleeve.

He then completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Earl Bennet to get the Bears to a 7-point deficit with little under five minutes to play. The Bears recovered the ball, but their last chance to tie the game was frustrated when the rookie quarterback threw his second interception on a fourth down on the Packers 29 yard line.

Aaron Rodgers went 17 of 30 for 244 yards no touchdown passes, two interceptions and a touchdown rush. Not his best numbers, that’s for sure, but heck, the talented quarterback is guiding his team into Super Bowl on February 6.

NFL – Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the New York Jets for the AFC Championship

Running back Rashard Mendenhall and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger kept on opening the Jets defense, finding open spaces in the right, the left and straight through the middle as they opened up a 24-3 margin in the second half, that was simply too much of a deficit for the spirited Jets to close down in the second half. At the end, despite a decent game from Mark Sanchez and Co, the Steelers defense held back the Jets for a 24-19 win that will take them straight into the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers in two more weeks.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had the key to stop on their feet that team that was working its way into the Super Bowl by winning games against the odds. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was an utter disappointment in this game. Well, not exactly. I mean, if you look into his passer’s rating you will notice that he had an awful game. At 35.5, that is his second worst postseason game. Still, it seems that Big Ben is quite a master of winning it ugly. When he won Super Bowl XL five year ago against the Seattle Seahawks he had a 22.6 passer rating. And in 2004 when he defeated the Jets for the AFC divisional round he had a 57.8. But perhaps, he completed passes and pushed off defenders when the team needed him most because for the third time in six season the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl.

That was it for the trash-talking New York Jets. It seems that head coach Rex Ryan and quarterback Mark Sanchez and Co. had left all they had on their previous game against the New England Patriots. This time around there was no trash talking from Jets during the week and there was very little to be seen from the team that managed to leave behind Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in back to back games. For context, that’s that 10th time since 2001 that a team have played both quarterbacks in back to back games. Only the Tennessee Titans had defeated them both.

Sanchez completed 22 of 33 for 233 yards and two touchdown passes with no interceptions. With a 102.2 passer rating, he certainly outplayed Ben Roethlisberger. Still, Big Ben went 10 of 19 for 133 yards, no touchdowns and 2 interceptions, and somehow managed to guide his offensive to a win. Perhaps the key was to be found in the great performance of Mendenhall. The running back completed 92 of his 121 yards in the first half, for 27 carriages and 1 touchdown.

Rex Ryan had been bragging all the postseason about his solid defense. And that’s when the Steelers turned things around. The Steelers usually relay on their air raids to keep on moving the chains. This time around, Big Ben took a step down and let his men do most of the work over the land. His offensive linemen kept on opening spaces for the runners to break into the Jets D like it had swinging doors.

Despite the effort, and working their way back into the game in the second half, it was just too little and too late for the Jets to really had a chance to get back in the game. The early hole was too deep, even after a 4-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery made it 24-19 with 3:06 remaining. The Steelers kept it smart, moving the ball with each opportunity, and the Jets never got the ball back.

NFL – New York Jets defeat the Indianapolis Colts with last minute field goal

The Jets and the Colts have had a great season. At 11-5 for the season the Jets managed to get their act together and with a little luck were able to defeat Peyton Manning and the Colts at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Let’s give credit to Manning and Co. because it really has to be a painful experience to lose a playoffs game by a last-second field goal. And it must be really nerve breaking for Manning to have left the field with a winning margin and only 53 seconds left in the clock for the Jets to put in together a play.

Peyton Manning was a vital part of the team that was able to link 4 wins late in the season to secure their wild card berth by winning the AFC South with a 10-6 record. Manning worked his magic on the field completing 18 of 26 attempts for 228 yards and 1 touchdown with no interceptions. Actually, Manning move the Indianapolis Colts into position to hold off the Jets and take a 16-14 win.

Manning had arguably the best clutch kicker in the NFL history -Adam Vinatieri- by his side. He left his star kicker in position to win the game with the eight-play 48-yard drive that finished with Vinatieri’s 50-yard field goal. If you see the tape, you would realize that Adam could have kicked the ball from 60 yards away and it would still have been a clean goal.

By now, the 4-time league MVP should now that 53 seconds is too much time for an offense like the Jets. And the Jets made Manning pay for his only mistake of the game. Most fans in the Lucas Field Stadium were not expecting much from the Jets after Vinatieri seemed for a moment to have broken down the Jets’ spirit.  And yet Mark Sanchez and his men had enough left in their legs to put on one heck of a play.

First Antonio Cromartie returned the following kickoff 47 yards. From there on Mark Sanchez needed only 5 plays to get the New York Jets in position for the winning field goal. When the Colts called timeout with 29 seconds left and the ball at the Indianapolis 32 it really seemed that the game would be played until the last minute. But then the magic happened: Sanchez connected with a high pass to Braylon Edwards for an 18-yard completion into the Colts 14.

Then it was all in the hands, actually in the feet, of the Jets’ starting kicker Nick Folk. From 32-yards away Folk completed a beautifully executed field goal as the game ran out of time. That was just enough to give the Jets their well-deserve payback from last seasons’ playoffs as the team took a 17-16 win on the road over the Indianapolis Colts.

The New York Jets will now face no other than Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday. Head coach Rex Ryan will try to keep up the momentum as they face the Pats. This would be the third match-up of the season between both teams. The season games had gone one a piece, but it is hard to forget that on December 6 the Patriots manhandled the Jets by 45-3 at New England. This will make up for an interesting matchup for this weekend.

PUNCHESTOWN: Blackstairmountain in surprise defeat

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at least have some dignity in defeat

Australia have been completely outplayed in this Ashes series. With the exception of the WACA where one cricket expert on Twitter said 'Aliens invaded Mitchell Johnson's body for a week and then left', it hasn't even been close. England have been everything Australia used to be - relentless, impossible to budge and mentally superior, not forgetting better at little things like batting, bowling and fielding.

Most of the Australian side are now playing for their futures. Several should be marked 'Never to play Test cricket again', however mitigating factors such as lack of depth, spineless selectors and most of them play for NSW will give some of them more chances than they deserve.

Carrying on like spoilt children though when decisions go against you, the ball CLEARLY bounces in front of the catcher or not clapping the batsman when they reach 50 or 100 is just pathetic. It's one thing to hate losing - all top sportspeople hate losing, but sooking, whingeing or cheating when you are clearly getting pasted just isn't the way to earn any respect.

With the lack of ethics on display, you'd think most of them worked for London/New York investment banks....Posted byScott Fergusonat08:55

NFL – The Minnesota Vikings defeat the Philadelphia Eagles

It has been 64 years since the last time the NFL held a football game on a Tuesday. It seems just as long since the time the Vikings starting quarterback, Brett Favre began his strike of 297 consecutive games as the starting quarterback. This season the Vikings are missing that spark of magic, that unexpected brilliance that Brett Favre showed during the previous season, right when most critics believed that it was too late for the veteran player to keep on going. But that was all gone by the time the season kicked off.

The season has been filled with ups and downs, well, mostly downs for the Minnesota Vikings. With a 6-9 overall season and a 1-4 performance in the NFC North, the Vikings have not shined much. The Vikings haven’t been much brilliant either when playing against the spread. As of press time the Vikings are 5-10-0 ATS, for a 33.3% of success when it comes to the NFL wagering lines. So unless you made a whole deal of point buying, the Vikings were probably not among your best picks of the season. But that was all going to change when the Vikings played the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday.

The Minnesota Vikings were a 14-point underdog for their game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Handicappers were considering that neither Favre or Tarvaris Jackson were going to be able to start and that a rookie quarterback, Joe Webb would have to go face to face against the Eagles’ Michael Vick on his first game ever as a professional.

Yes, of course Michael Vick had a brilliant start, but his performance during the second half of the season has been far from optimal. If you take into consideration his numbers during the first six games of the season and compare them to what he has been showing at the last 6 games of the season, you will notice how much his performance has dropped. Lets consider for a moment that for the first 6 games Vick had no interceptions, 2 fumbles and was sacked only 15 times. On the contrary, in the last six games Vick has recorded 6 interception, 9 fumbles and has been sacked 19 times.

So sure, the Eagles quarterback is not atop of their performance so 12 or 14 point spread on the Vikings might had sound a bit harsh. But what happened during the game was nothing short of an epic upset. The rookie quarterback completed 17 of 26 passes for 195 yards and ran for a touchdown. Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and completed a touchdown. That was just enough to push the Philadelphia Eagles out of a first round of the playoffs bye.

At 10-5 for the season the Eagles could have secured an extra week of rest had they defeated the Vikings. Somehow, the same team that last week defeated the New York Giants coming from a 21-point deficit with only 7 minutes to play was nowhere to be seen in the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. As a matter of fact, the fans were walking out of the stadium by the time the two-minute warning went off.

The same team that almost made it to the Super Bowl last year has had to deal with many issues this season. They have had to make it pass many injuries, the whole on and off the court implications that having Brett Favre as your starting quarterback implies, the collapse of their stadium roof and the firing of head coach Brad Childress. But there is really not much left for the Vikings this season; this is as good as it its going to get for this guys. Better luck next year.

NFL- The New Orleans Saints defeat the Atlanta Falcons

They say that football is a game of the heart. Maybe. It is also a game of perseverance and a game of stamina. At 12-3 overall and 9-2 in the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons hold the best record in the NFL next to the New England Patriots. That is, had the Falcons managed to defeat the Saints, they would have a 13-2 record right next to the Pats. Still, the New Orleans Saints proved once again that they have the heart and the talent needed to take a go at defending the title they won last year. The Saints rallied for an 17-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons to secure their comeback into the postseason.

Critics had speculated that holding the best record in the league didn’t necessarily imply having the best team in the nation. And that sort of fell like the right description for what went on during Monday Night Football between the New Orleans Saints, the Super Bowl defending champions, and the Atlanta Falcons. Sure, the Falcons were coming from an 8-game winning streak. Sure, the Falcons at home had been just a bit short of brilliant with an impressive 19-3 record at the Georgia Dome under head coach Matt Ryan’s.

Drew Brees, the Saints starting quarterback and last year’s Super Bowl MVP, was quite effective when his team needed him most. Despite throwing to interceptions during the fourth quarter, he showed once again that he can really perform well under pressure.

At 11-4 the Saints had a couple of mishaps during the middle of the season, but the guys from New Orleans are showing that they have what it takes to fight again for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Saints had won 7 of its last 8 games before facing the Falcons.

It all went down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Chauncey Davis picked up Brees pass and went for a 26-yard touchdown in the open minute of the fourth quarter. That gave the Falcons the lead for the first time in the game. Drew Brees was then picked up again by John Abraham further into the fourth quarter. But it didn’t matter much.

Brees completed six straight passes in the 13-play drive that gave the Saints the win on the road. Just to get into the right perspective and so it stays on the record, we are talking about a magnificent 90-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown to rookie Jimmy Graham with little over 3 minutes remaining.

Drew Brees completed35 of 49 passes for 302 yards with one touchdown and 2 interceptions. His passer rating was on the 77.1 The Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan went for 15 of 29 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown with no picks.

The Saints will need the cheer for the Carolina Panthers during next week’s game. Should the Panthers managed to defeat the odds and win over the Falcons. It is not a very likely scenario. Oh contraire, it is very likely that the Falcons are going to wrap up their first division crown since 2004 and secure home court advantage through the NFC playoffs.

NCAA Football – Oklahoma Sooners defeat Connecticut on Fiesta Bowl 2011

by Stephen Lars on Jan.04, 2011, under Football, Sports News

The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona is a well-known field for the Oklahoma Sooners. They now the town, they now the locker rooms, they know the tunnel that leads to the field. They have been there a couple of times; they just haven’t been able to win this thing for a long time. As a matter of fact, the last time the Sooners won the Fiesta Bowl was back in 1976 when they defeated Wyoming.

That all came to an end on Saturday during the 2011 Fiesta Bowl. The Sooners brought in their A-game into the desert and crushed the UConn Huskies by 48-20. The Sooners offensive was simply brilliant and despite putting on a good fight in their first ever Fiesta Bowls, The Sooners where too much of a team for the Huskies that went home without the title.

The Oklahoma Sooners where 5-0 in BCS Bowls before they made their trip to Arizona to face Connecticut, a team that at 8-5 for the season and coming from the Big East, had struggled to pull itself into the 2011 Fiesta Bowl. Taking a look back at what had happened during the previous trips to the BCS Bowls, Oklahoma couldn’t help to get that

France defeat caps a year to forget for Fabio

AT the start of the year Fabio Capello’s England were just 11-2 joint-second favourites with the mighty Brazil to win the World Cup.

RELATED LINKS Free bet Bet In-Play now  But the final match of 2010 ended amid a chorus of boos as England slipped to a 2-1 defeat to France in a Wembley friendly to crank up the pressure on the manager.

Hills go 10-1 from 33-1 that the Italian is gone by the end of the year, while they have cut their odds about an Englishman taking over the role from 4-9 to 4-11.

The good news for Capello is that friendly form seems to count for little – at least as far as bookmakers are concerned. Among the surprise results on Wednesday, European champions and World Cup winners Spain were beaten 4-0 by Portugal but they remain unmoved at the top of the market at 4-1, while the Portuguese are also unchanged at 14-1.

On Thursday Fifa suspendedthe two executive committee members from voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts after completing a corruption investigation.

Nigeria’s Amos Adamu was banned from all football activity for three years, while Reynald Temarii of Tahiti was suspended for one year. Russia are 10-11 favourites to win the 2018 bid, while England are 7-4.

Steven Gerrard has been ruled out forup to four weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up in England’s dismal 2-1 defeat to France on Wednesday.

Liverpool’s influentialskipper limped off in the 85th minute at Wembley and the Merseyside club yesterday confirmed the midfielder has sustained a grade two tear.

Gerrard will definitely miss Saturday's Premier League clash with bottom-of-the-table West Ham, while his participation in upcoming games against Tottenham, Steaua Bucharest, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Utrecht is also highly doubtful.

There was better news for beleaguered Reds boss Roy Hodgson, however, as Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Martin Skrtel and Glen Johnson were all declared fit for the clash with the Hammers.

The London club have been trimmed to 13-2 to pick up theirfirst win at Anfield in 40 attempts, while Liverpool have drifted to 4-7 to get back on track after their disappointing 2-0 reversal at Stoke last week.

That result piled the pressure back on Kop boss Hodgson, and he is 13-2 to be the next manager to leave his post.

His opposite number, Avram Grant, is above him in the betting at 9-4 and both bosses will be desperate for a positive result.

England’s defeat against France coupled with the Gerrard injury provoked a wave of anger towards Fabio Capello and the FA yesterday, but the English game’s ruling body moved quickly to quell the bad feeling by announcing they had approved plans to begin work on their long-awaited national football centre at Burton-upon-Trent.

Building work on the £105m centre will begin in January, and is hoped to be completed by the summer of2012.

The pick of the weekend’s Premier League action is Saturday lunchtime’s north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham at the Emirates.

Arsenal are 4-6 favourites for the match and they welcome back French centre-back Laurent Koscielny from a two-matchban.

The Gunners do have doubts over midfielders Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky.

Spurs will monitor Aaron Lennon’s troublesome hamstring, but they could have Jermain Defoe on the bench after the striker returned to training following an ankle injury.

Harry Redknapp’s side are 9-2 shots to record only their second league success over their arch rivals in 22 meetings.

Aston Villa confirmed they have signed Robert Pires on a deal until the end of the season on Thursday.

The former Arsenal star and French World Cup winner had been training with the Gunners, but Villa boss Gerard Houllier snapped up the 37-year-old veteran as cover for injured midfielders Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Sidwell and Stilian Petrov.

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Long Run raised to career-best 162 despite defeat

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Terry sees blessing in defeat

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Chelsea’s Premier League title bid has been given a “kick up the backside” by their defeat to Liverpool, a result that cut their lead at the top of the table.

Blues captain John Terry played the full 90 minutes as two goals from Fernando Torres could have possibly reignited the Anfield side’s Premier League top four bid while hitting a damaging blow to Chelsea’s title defence.
Chelsea are now only two points ahead of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table, but the club are now looking a pale shadow of the side which started the season in such devastating fashion.

They do not have to wait long to bounce back from the Anfield defeat when they face Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Ancelotti will demand three points from his side, but Terry can see positives from both the latest loss and the side’s struggles against Blackburn previously. Anyone looking to bet on Premier League games may want to bear this in mind.

The skipper claims the club cannot “take things for granted” and the defeat at Liverpool could be a stark reminder that the club “all needed”.

“We haven’t been playing too well recently but have been grinding out results,” Terry said.

“We have another gear to find and we’re still at the top of the Premier League, so we have to be encouraged by that but we can’t forget what has got us there in the first place.”

Ancelotti claims he is not too disheartened by the Liverpool defeat and he does not think it will have too many repercussions on the club’s Premier League title bid and the football predictions reflect this.

The Italian manager claims he was “happy” to see the team improve during the second half of the game, despite the obvious disappointment in seeing them go down to their second defeat of the season.