NCAA Basketball – Barack Obama makes his picks for the Presidential Bracket

This time around, President Barack Obama didn’t take that many chances and even though he is the most renowned advocate of change and the change we can believe in, he certainly goes for the safe route when taking on the NCAA Bracket. This time around President Obama is not taking too many risks as he had chosen the 4 top seeded teams to waltz their way pass the Sweet 16 dance and overpower their rivals in the Elite Eight and straight into the Final Four.

The US President says that the Duke Blue Devils, the Kansas Jayhawks, the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Pittsburgh Panthers are all expected to not only follow what the Selection Committee said where the favorite teams but also what the sportsbook-world handicappers are saying would be the strongest teams of the bracket.

Once again, Obama went for the Kansas Jayhawks to be win the Big Game. Obama’s national Champion would face the Ohio State Buckeyes, the No. 1 overall seed of the 68-team tournament, on the final. Barack Obama holds a 1-1 record when it comes to picking the National Championship. He was right on in 2009 when he went with the North Carolina Tar Heels for to win it. Last year, he wasn’t that accurate, as he picked the Jayhawks. They were a bit of a disappointment and it was the Duke Blue Devils guided by Coach K. who would go on to win the NCAA Tournament.

This year again, Obama is holding strong to the Jayhawks and putting his faith on the Morris brothers. According to Barack Obama those two could guide Kansas into great things. In his own words, those twins have depth and experience. One thing is for certain, Obama might be one of holds one of the most privileged and complicated offices in the world, but he seems to still find time to know who is who in college basketball.

Credit Swap makes successful hurdles debut

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Thornton Makes Quick Recovery

Posted by Leigh on December 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Sidelined jockey Robert Thornton has made a much quicker recovery from a nasty injury to his knee ligament, making his return six months earlier that initially thought.

What a difference a year makes

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Twelve months ago Bolton lost at home to local rivals Blackburn to slip into the bottom three. They had conceded 17 goals in six games and boss Gary Megson, deeply unpopular with the fans, stood on the brink.

Those often studying the livescore at Bolton note that Megson was eventually sacked in December and former Trotters striker Owen Coyle was tempted to leave North West rivals Burnley to take the hot seat at the Reebok Stadium the following month.

His task was not only to keep Bolton up but to transform them into an attractive footballing side, ridding them of the long ball tag that had dogged them since the days of Sam Allardyce.

To say he has done his job is an understatement. In under a year Coyle has re-modelled the side with very little investment in the playing squad. Instead he has largely worked with what he has got but
crucially got under performing players to perform.

One of those is Johan Elmander. The Swedish forward signed for Bolton from French club Toulouse in a record

HEXHAM: National delight for Wylie as Belon Gale makes all

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Goldikova Makes It Three

Posted by Leigh on November 7, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Superstar mare Goldikova has claimed success for the third time in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

KEMPTON: Karasenir makes light work of rivals

Pinpoint rules in the All England Trial Stakes Beaten Bodell has tonsillitisBaran Pimlico is fastest in Leger quarter-finalsArtisan delights Williams with comeback trialOsprey takes off in Henlow Derby semisRead Full News Service Search News Archive

GERMANY: Pearl Banks makes it four out of five

Greyhound news  TOP STORIES Guru fastest in Henlow Derby, Ten Large out Easy sets Leger standard: Full Saturday Round-upNotts Produce Sky final draw on hold for run-offGBGB seeking sponsors for annual Awards nightRayvin Neasa impresses for Lister in ManchesterRead Full News Service Search News Archive

Bewitched Makes it Two

Posted by Leigh on October 9, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Racking up her second Group Three victory from just two outings, Bewitched, with jockey Johnny Murtagh aboard, was impressive in the Models 1 Bengough Stakes at Ascot.

The previous victory for the Charles O’Brien trained charge was her stylish win in the Michael Kinane Renaissance Stakes at the Curragh in September.

Murtagh had his mount held up in the rear, making good headway over one furlong out, giving a strong run inside the final furlong to lead close to the finish, holding off runner up Genki by three quarters of a length, with the Ron Harris trained Secret Witness a length behind in third place.

Harry makes sense - poor prizemoney opens the door to corruption

It really isn't rocket science - when the rewards for competing are poor, then corrupt influences are more likely to be listened to. Sport at the biggest level - the Premier League, NFL, the Olympics, Group I races etc, has little problem from corrupt gambling influences. The incentive to win is so great that competitors are more likely to cheat to win, via performance-enhancing substances or illegal equipment. But when a sport is specifically run for betting and the prizes for competitors are so poor, then can you really blame someone for being tempted by corrupt influences?

Harry Findlay reckons horse racing's 'poverty' prize money could lead to corruption


Professional gambler Harry Findlay warned on Friday that "poverty" prize money could lead to an increase in corruption in racing.

Findlay said that a drop in prize money is likely to lead jockeys, trainers and other racing professionals to be more likely to bend the rules, or susceptible to approaches from corrupt individuals.

"I believe that the powers that run racing have got some people in racing into such a distressed state, with low prize money meaning people are losing their jobs and having houses repossessed, that it could lead people to corruption," Findlay said during a debate on integrity at the Leaders in Football conference in London.

"There are two races at Wolverhampton tonight with £1,300 prize money, and there's a couple more that just over £2,600, that's scandalously low when you consider what trainers have to spend to get horses to the line."

The BHA is treading a very fine line - it wants to stamp out corruption and has been highly visible in the way it prosecuted the Findlay case (re trading his own horse) earlier in the year and the Casela Park non-trier case this week. That stance is commendable IF they are completely consistent and do everything they can to provide a natural deterrent to breaking the rules. Will the Casela Park case (trainer Eamonn Tyrell and jockey Jason Behan were banned for three years) become a line in the sand so that now we will see several cases each month of trainers being pulled up with non-triers? Not a chance. Will the Findlay case lead to other convictions, more consistency or clearer rules? Unlikely.

The most natural deterrent to dodgy activity is making the prizes as valuable as possible, not wasting money in court rooms. Close some racecourses, stop running races for horses too slow to pull carts and stop wasting money prosecuting cases unless the BHA is 100% prepared to draw a line in the sand and be consistent and transparent with the cases it pursues. All this other headline-chasing stuff such as moving Champions Day to Ascot really is irrelevant until they underpin the base of the industry.Posted byScott Fergusonat23:33

Akarlina Makes All in La Coupe Victory

Posted by Leigh on September 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Jockey Thierry Thulliez, aboard the Nicolas Clement trained Akarlina, made all the running with a victory in the Group Three La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte in France.

US Open: Rafa Nadal makes it into the semifinals after beating Verdasco

Rafa Nadal, one of the finest players in the tour made it into the championship weekend of the US Open he outplayed his fellow countryman Fernando Verdasco by 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the 2010 US Open quarterfinals. Last year and the year before that, Nadal has been sent home in the semifinals. This time around, and with the rhythm  at which he has been playing, there is a good chance he might go straight forward into the final.

Nadal is know only two games away from winning his third grand slam in a single calendar year. He is also very close, as close as he has been, from winning the only Grand Slam that has in one way or another, always escaped him. But not only that, there is even a greater chance that his tennis nemesis, the Swiss Roger Federer, is going to be able to make it pass Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. That would mean that not only will they play for the first time at the US Open, but they will be making their debut at the championship match.

When it comes to betting on the US Open quarterfinals, Rafael Nadal is certainly the No 1 favorite to make it into the finals. He is not expected, and that is by no means, to have too many issues in the court against Mikhail Youznhy. At ML

NFL – Tim Tebow makes his NFL debut with Denver Broncos

The NFL is not too big of a stage for this years No. 1 NFL draft pick. The Florida Gators graduate made his first touchdown in the last play of the Denver Broncos appearance against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday. All though his team lost, he was able to get into the end zone on the final play of the 33-24 defeat against the Bengals.

There was a lot of boos when he first came into the field sometime late in the third quarter. It seems as if football fans in Ohio have not forgotten what Tim Tebow did to both Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati in not so far away bowl games. He had completely smacked down their defenses with very beautiful aerial raids back when he was one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the NCAA college football.

Now as a pro, he should be able to find a spot among his peers. And yet, despite all the boos, the fans that had filled the Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati Ohio, knew well that they were experiencing the debut of one of those players that are expected to make it to the very top of the sport.

Tebow has still to prove that he can keep up with the demanding learning curve. In his debut, Tebow completed 8 of his 13 pass attempts and moved the ball a respectable (considering he only played one quarter) for 105 yards. And sure, those of you who want to be a bit more severe with the newbie will say that he completed his passes coming on dump-offs and against a very soft defense. Sure, but heck, on the final game he went out there and scrambled 7 yards for touchdown and manage to fly over Kyries Hebert, the last standing Bengals safety.

Perhaps it was all the attention that Tebow was getting, but one thing is for sure: Kyle Orton was at his very best last Sunday. Orton finished last season with 3,802 yards and 21 touchdowns. He had a 62.1 % of completions that is a somewhat significant improvement over his 57.8 career long mark.  He completed 8 of 13 attempts for 84 yards and two touchdowns against the Bengals.

Sure, he might not be as famous or be such a merchandising and marketing strong name as Tebow is already. But he made quite evident that at least for now it is him, and not the rookie who is going to be commanding the Denver Broncos offense.

The Denver Broncos will be opening their NFL Regular season on September 12, 2010 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. As of press time, the Jaguars are a -2