Wednesday, September 30, 2015

ATP Tennis: Berdych in Fine Form at Shenzhen Open

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ATP Tennis: Berdych, Cilic Pointed at Shenzhen Final

The Shenzhen Open made its ATP World Tour 250 debut last year, with Andy Murray taking down the title in a tight three-set victory over Tommy Robredo. World’s No. 5 Tomas Berdych and No. 14 Marin Cilic are the top two seeds and the top two favorites going into this week’s ATP World Tour 250 event, the Shenzhen Open.  Robredo is the third seed and third favorite. All three players were given buys to the second round, where they were relatively big favorites going into Wednesday’s action.
Berdych has enjoyed a pretty good 2015 campaign, using his big serve and his ground strokes to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open. The Czech native is 25-8 on the hard court this year.
Cilic, who won the US Open in 2014, started off slowly this year with a shoulder injury and is just 23-14 overall in singles action, including 9-5 on the hard court. Cilic did make it to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows last month before losing to Novak Djokovic.
Berdych has had the better 2015 campaign, and he’s 7-5 lifetime against Cilic. However, he’s taken four of his last seven meetings with Berdych, including the quarterfinals of his breakthrough win at 2014 US Open.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Kansas City Chiefs vs Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field

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Are Chiefs Ready for Challenge of Playing the Green Bay Packers?

While the Chiefs look to turn the page on a bitter loss to a division rival, the Packers try to move on from a satisfying revenge win when the teams face off Monday night. The Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs will take place on September 28, 2015, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN. When the Green Bay Packers has the ball, Aaron Rodgers hasn’t thrown the ball all that much. He has only thrown for 189 and 249 yards in his first two games. Also for the Green Bay Packers, Jordy Nelson tore his ACL in the preseason, and it’s not certain that Randall Cobb is totally healthy either. With additional passes from quarterback Rogers comes more sacks.
The Kansas City Chiefs has a formidable pass rush, having registered eight sacks. Three have come from Justin Houston, who’s notched at least one sack in eight straight games and had a league-best 22 in 2014. Running back for Packers, Eddie Lacy is banged up and questionable to play. That means that Rodgers may have to utilize the passing game a bit more. The Chiefs corners haven’t been tested with deep passes in the two games against the Texans and the Broncos. The sack total will probably be high, and with all of the great pass rushers for the Chiefs, we see the opportunity there for a lot of problems for Rogers.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Alex Smith is going to have to do more than he has done so far this season. He has still been sacked six times so far this season. The outside linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, Julius Peppers has been great so far this season, and the return of nose tackle B.J. Raji after missing all of last year has already been felt. We may get over 5.5 sacks on Monday Night Football.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

NCAAF: UCLA Bruins vs Arizona Wildcats in Tucson

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NCAAF: What You Need to Know about the UCLA – Arizona Game

The No. 9 UCLA Bruins visit the No. 16 Arizona Wildcats this Saturday in Tucson. The No. 9 UCLA Bruins have been a success ever since Jim Mora took over as head coach in 2012. Despite losing top defenders Myles Jack, Eddie Vanderdoes and Fabian Moreau for the season, the No. 9 UCLA Bruins are 3.5-point favorites for Saturday’s Pac-12 opener in Tucson against the No. 16 Arizona Wildcats. This could be their best season yet, and their road to the Pac-12 title. Kick-off in Tucson from Arizona Stadium on Saturday is at 8:00 PM ET on ABC,  where the No. 16 Arizona Wildcats are laying in wait.
The Bruins won all three of their non-conference games, but their defense has already lost three key players for the rest of the season: linebacker Myles Jack (knee), defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes (knee) and cornerback Fabian Moreau (foot). All three are NFL prospects, but Jack will be the most difficult to replace. He also plays running back and returns kicks. That might be all the help the Wildcats need to pull off an upset. They’re coming off a 77-13 victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, breaking several school records in the process.
The Bruins will get Ismael Adams back and he should help solidify the defense and kick return game, but he hasn’t played or practiced since his suspension was lifted this week. How much of a difference he makes is unknown. The Wildcats also could get a key figure back with linebacker Scooby Wright on the mend. He started to practice this week and could play in the conference opener. This game will come down to the play of quarterbacks and Arizona’s Solomon is more seasoned than UCLA’s freshman Josh Rosen, who has his first big road test this week.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Tennis: Wawrinka Leads Pack at Moselle Open

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Tennis: Wawrinka, Tsonga, Simon at Moselle Open

Stan Wawrinka will be in tough on enemy soil as he hasn’t played at Metz, France since 2007, and has never made it past the first round. Tsonga and Simon have each won twice over the past five years. Last year’s champion David Goffin has been too busy leading Belgium to the Davis Cup finals to defend his crown. With reigning champion David Goffin not in the field this year, Wawrinka’s toughest competition will come from local heroes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon. They’ve split four of the last five titles between them.You can always count on the Moselle Open to bring in several of the top seeds on the ATP Tour. Led by the No. 4-ranked player in the world, Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka we hve to include Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. These are easily the top three favorites going into Wednesday’s action.
World’s No. 4 Stan Wawrinka is the top seed at this year’s Moselle Open, but he’s in a crowded race with France’s No. 10 Gilles Simon and No. 17 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Notable by his absence is last year’s champion David Goffin, who’s been busy leading his native Belgium to their first Davis Cup final since 1904. Simon (2010, 2013) and Tsonga (2011, 2012) had split the last four Moselle Opens between them, meeting in the finals in 2013, but neither made it that far last year. Wawrinka hasn’t appeared at Metz since 2007, when he lost to Tsonga in the first round.
Trailing the top three favorites is Philipp Kohlschreiber, the best player in Germany today and No. 33 overall on the ATP rankings. Kohlschreiber reached the quarterfinals at Metz in 2014, where he lost to fellow German Jan-Lennard Struff after retiring down 5-0 in the first set. Struff is not participating this year.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

NCAAF: Auburn Tigers vs. LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge

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NCAAF: Tigers vs Tigers at Tiger Stadium

It'll be a catfight this Saturday when No. 13 LSU Tigers welcome the No. 18 Auburn Tigers to Baton Rouge this Saturday 3:30 PM ET on CBS, with LSU favored by seven. Auburn has played and won twice straight up, but it took overtime to beat the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 27-20 last week. They did escape with a victory, but they dropped all the way to No. 18 in the AP Poll as a result. That's Jacksonville State from the Ohio Valley Conference in the FCS. Louisiana State has played just once, edging the Mississippi State Bulldogs 21-19 as a 4-point road chalk. This figures to be a tough matchup for Auburn. First-year starter Jeremy Johnson has already thrown five interceptions this year, and he'll be facing a very tough LSU pass rush. Jeremy Johnson has to figure out how to hold onto the football at this point. He's made some awful throws this season which have literally ended being put right in the hands of defenders, something which just shouldn't happen at this level and can't happen in this game if Auburn is to have any shot of winning this one. Auburn is also missing a number of injured players on offense. LSU will be looking for revenge after dropping a 41-7 decision to Auburn last year. LSU's defense hasn't been tested yet this year, though holding Dak Prescott and Mississippi State to 19 points and 337 yards was impressive, especially for a game in Starkville. The LSU offense is going to run the ball whenever they can with Leonard Fournette. Fournette had 28 carries for 159 yards and three touchdowns against Mississippi State. If the Auburn defense struggled against Jacksonville State and its power sweep options out of the shotgun, Fournette could be in for a good day. The key is going to be making it so Brandon Harris doesn't have to throw the ball that much. He only went 9-of-14 for 71 yards last week in Starkville. Best Sports Gambling Site Reviews

Florida Gators face Wildcats in Kentucky

Sep 13, 2014; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators running back Matt Jones (24) runs with the ball as Kentucky Wildcats cornerback Fred Tiller (3) tackles during the second quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Gators have won 28 straight games against the Wildcats. Will this be the Wildcats year?

The Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats will match up this Saturday, September 19, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Commonwealth Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network. Florida hasn’t lost to Kentucky since 1987. The score for these two teams have gotten closer over the past few seasons, and this could be the year the Wildcats finally beat Florida. Kentucky barely lost in The Swamp last year and it now possesses the home field advantage this time around. Kentucky’s rushing attack has been very efficient so far. In two games, it’s averaged 192.5 yards per game. Stanley Williams is a big part of the rushing success in averaging 10.1 yards per carry and 242 total yards. The Wildcats will have their work cut out for them on the ground on Saturday. The Kentucky passing game is just as productive as the running attack and that is a big part of their early success. Kentucky has failed to record a touchdown in the red zone twice, but they notched field goals rather than squandering an opportunity. Their running game is the big key to the success as four of the teams five red zone touchdowns have come on the ground. With a balanced offense, they can also counter the Florida defense which thrives against the run, but has had some issues defending the pass. The Gators two games this year have exceeded as the offense has over performed expectations. They have struggled a bit defensively against East Carolina. Florida head coach Jim McElwain survived the first true test of his tenure in a 31-24 win over East Carolina, but now he gets his first taste of SEC football. The Gators strong defense only allowed just two touchdowns in five red zone chances thus far. The Gators rank Number 3  in rushing defense, allowing just 1.16 yards per carry and 25.5 yards per game. The Gators still needs to establish a starting quarterback. The two quarterback system is working so far against lesser defenses, but we’ll see how it works out in SEC play. Best Sports Gambling Site Reviews

Monday, September 7, 2015

Super Bowl XIII - Rematch Between Steelers and Cowboys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92wBYwu8318
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Super Bowl XIII was a rematch between the Steelers and the Cowboys

Dallas had a Super Bowl record of 2 wins and 2 losses. Pittsburgh had a record of 2 wins and no losses. Whoever won this Super Bowl would make history as the first team to win three of them. The Steelers had a Super Bowl win over the Cowboys 3 years earlier so that made them rivals of Dallas.  Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw was good at reading a defense. He threw for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns which were both Super Bowl records in a 35-31 victory that made the Steelers the first team to win three Super Bowls. Bradshaw was the first player to get awarded the regular saeson MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same year. The Cowboys also set an NFL record by making it to their fifth Super Bowl. The Cowboys play a significant part in making Super Bowl XIII one of the greatest ever. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach matched Bradshaw throw for throw in the early part of the game. He completed a pass to tony Hill on the 39 yard line for a touchdown in the first quarter and Dallas took a 14-7 lead when Mike Hegman picked up a Pittsburgh fumble and returned it for a 39 yard touchdown. Then the Steelers scored the next 28 of 31 points in the game to gain control. Bradshaw thew a 10 yard pass to John Stallworth who turned it into a 75 yard touchdown which would be his second of the game to tie the score 14-14. Rocky Bleier and Lynn Swann also caught TD passes from Bradshaw. Franco Harris also ran for a touchdown. The Cowboys responded to the Pittsburgh surge by nearly making an unbelievable comeback. Staubach threw touchdown passes to Billy Joe Dupree and Butch Johnson in the fourth quarter. The second TD pass was to Butch Johnson was after the Cowboys recovered an onside kick. A second onside kick was tried was tried, but Bradshaw fell on the ball to run out the clock. Bradshaw made the difference in the game. Best Sports Gambling Site Reviews

Tennis: Upsets at US Open Pave Way for Djokovic, Williams


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Tennis: Early Upsets Thin US Open Field but Top Favorites Remain

No. 1 seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have safely moved on to the second round of the 2015 US Open. The same can't be said for three of the top 16 men's seeds, while five of the top 16 women failed to escape the first round at Flushing Meadows. This has been a rough patch for Gilles Simon. After getting bounced from the second round at the Winston-Salem Open, Simon is now a first-round casualty at the US Open, falling in five sets to Donald Young during Tuesday's action at Flushing Meadows.

The 11th-seed joins No. 4 Kei Nishikori and No. 16 Gael Monfils among the early departures. The women's draw has been even more chaotic, with five of the top 16 seeds failing to reach Day 3. World's No. 3 Maria Sharapova with a leg injury already out of the tournament, Serena's US Open chances improved even more. No. 6 Lucie Safarova, who didn't put up much of a fight in Tuesday's straight-set loss to Lesya Tsurenko. No. 7 seed and former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic was among Monday's early eliminations, although she managed to extend former top 10 player Dominika Cibulkova to three sets. Serena Williams is threatening to take all the drama out of her Grand Slam quest.

The top women's favorite is playing at a significantly higher level than any other woman, and with World's No. 3 Maria Sharapova already withdrawn from the tournament, Serena's path to the title is even easier.

The path to US Open glory just got a little bit easier for No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic. The first round of the 2015 US Open had its upsets, but No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic will have a marginally easier path to his second US Open title after No. 4 Kei Nishikori was beaten in the first round by Benoit Paire. Djokovic has won two of the three Grand Slam tournaments this year, giving him nine titles in his career. Winning at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, he only came up short at the French Open which is the only Grand Slam championship that has eluded him .
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