The Australian Open is the first major tennis betting event of the season. Also known as the first leg of the tennis betting online Grand Slam, the 2011 Australian Open is being considered by many as the Rafa Slam. This year future hall of famer Rafael Nadal is attempting to win the Australian Open as a way to finish off his Grand Slam attempt started at Rolland Garros in May of 2010. Here is an update of the men’s bracket for the Australian Open.

Having begun on January 17, 2011 the Australian Open entered its 10^th day of play today as the men’s singles portion of the tournament, is in the process of deciding the two final participants for the second semi-final. Yesterday, defending Aussie Open Champion Roger Federer and 2008 winner Novak Djokovic each booked their ticket to the semi-final of the tournament after winning their quarter final matches in convincing fashion.

Similar to 2008, Djokovic and Federer will once again meet each other in the semi-final. However, for Federer he is hoping to carry over his success from last year’s tournament, as opposed to recreating the result of the 2008 encounter. In 2008, Novak Djokovic was able to pull the shocking upset against the over confident Roger Federer.

Today, top seed Rafael Nadal takes on number seven seed David Ferrer in one quarter final while 2010 Aussie Open runner up Andy Murray in the fifth seed takes on Alexander Dolgopolov. At 22 years of age, Dolgopolov is the youngest of the remaining contestants and a victory over the legendary Andy Murray could do wonders for his career.

However, the winner of Murray verses Dolgopolov will take on the winner of Nadal verses Ferrer. If logic can take over in these two quarterfinal matches, we feel it is fair to assume that Murray and Nadal will be facing off in the semi-finals.

Betting enthusiasts new to NHL betting look no further then the grand salami wagering technique as this will help you make the most money. Although sounding similar to an MLB grand slam, the NHL grand salami is closer in comparison to the NFL over under betting technique.

In essence, the grand salami wagering technique is the over/under total amount of goals scored during a game. Throughout the regular season, one can assume that an average of six goals will be scored during a game. However in the playoffs it is much tougher to predict, because the defense is tightened up.

On most sites which offer NHL grand salami wagering, the teams are taken into account prior to establishing a total line. It is important when predicting the over/under for a grand salami wager to also take into account the teams playing and the past few games they have played leading up to your wager. By doing so, you can make your wager more accurately. For instance, if the Capitals and the Blackhawks played, fans wagering on the game would be wise to pick the two teams to go over the total, as both play an up tempo high scoring style. On the contrary teams such as the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins, the team’s two lowest scoring teams, would provide a safe bet a picking the under wager.

As noted earlier, in the playoffs the over under grand salami gets more difficult to predict, because of the defensive style of play. Teams will focus more on their opponent’s top stars whether it is the forwards, defense or goalies. For example, in the playoff series featuring the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers, the Canadiens star player was goalie Jaroslav Halak. As a result the Flyers put a lot of pressure on Halak which allowed them to go over the totals because they were able to score a lot of goals against him.

While various other sports including hockey and basketball offer tournaments that take place on the international stage, as well as several other events such as the summer and winter Olympics, it is the World Cup tournament that has taken the biggest platform in the world of betting on sports. Since 1930 the best soccer nations in the world have gathered at a specified nation for the tournament to take place, with the victor getting to declare themselves champions and celebrate for the next four years until they have to defend their title. 32 nations get to experience the games by cheering for their own team every four years, while the rest of the world sits and watches, some thinking about what it would take to become a part of the tournament.

While the numbers are great for sporting events such as the Super bowl and the Olympics, an estimated 715.1 million people turn their channels to the World Cup matches every four years. The tournament serves not only as a way for one nation to ultimately take home the title of, “best in the word, but as a way of bringing together millions of people, and uniting them all for love of the game. The World Cup is that important because it is a way for millions to connect, and a platform for greater ties to be sewn between nations participating.

Over the first few days of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the scoring has been lackluster at best, as teams attempt to feel one another out. For instance World Cup betting on matches, such as England versus USA or Argentina versus Nigeria, has been disappointing. In the England versus USA matchup, the two squads tied at one, although many expected the Brits to cruise to a victory. Conversely although Argentina defeated Nigeria one to nothing, they should have destroyed them by four or five.

On Sunday, 2010 World Cup betting odds on Germany increased as they set the bar for how to win a first game in the tournament. The Germans crushed the Australians, four to nothing, in a game in which the Germans appeared to be in complete control from start to finish. What’s more intriguing about the three time World Cup champions, dismantling of the Aussie’s is that each of the four goals was scored by a different player, displaying the depth the Germans have.

Going into the tournament, many experts, felt that the Germans would be lucky to get out of the group stages of the tournament, as star forward Michael Ballack, had to miss the tournament due to injury. After yesterday’s strong effort, the Germans proved that with Ballack they would be stronger, but without him they were just fine. As well, of all the teams in group D, Australia was slated to be Germany’s toughest match, and if the Germans can continue to exercise their dominance, they will have some of the higher northbet.com odds at winning the 2010 World Cup.

Later this week, matches to look forward too, include Spain vs. Switzerland and the up and coming Cote d’Ivoire vs. Portugal. In the latter match, the Cote d’Ivoire is led by Chelsea star Dregba and look to be one of the dark horses to win the tournament.

On Saturday, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson returned to face arch rival Rashad “Sugar” Evans at UFC 114. UFC betting lines on the fight had Jackson as a huge underdog since he had not been seen in UFC in over 15 months. As many fans and experts expected, Rampage appeared to have a ton of ring rust while being soundly defeated by Evans. Although Evans was unable to submit or knockout Jackson, the judge’s decision was easy to make, as Evans dominated throughout the five round affair. Prior to the fight, Jackson and Evans, two of the best light heavyweights in mixed martial arts and two of the biggest talkers in the sport gave betting enthusiasts plenty to look forward too. Leading up to the match, both fighters were coaches on the UFC’s reality series, “The Ultimate Fighter”. During the show, as has become normal practice between coaches on the show, the chirping and animosity was at an all time high. In the press conferences both before and after the fight, the tension was still high as although both fighters congratulated each other, fans can tell these two men will not be friends anytime soon.

As noted earlier, Jackson a northbet.com favorite, was rusty at best against Evans in their encounter. Rather than credit Evans with the hard fought victory however, Jackson chose to blame Hollywood for his loss. For the last 12 months, Jackson has been filming the role of B.A. Barracus in the movie version of the 1980s classic television series the A-Team. Barracus was formerly played by cult favorite Mr. T, a man Jackson resembles in a wide variety of ways. In the post fight press conference, Jackson blamed Hollywood for the loss, by claiming they put him under a lot of stress, and he could not focus on his training leading up to the fight. Normally in UFC similar to in boxing, the fighter’s have several months leading up to their matches in which they are to train and focus solely on their opponent. Jackson filming the movie gave him little time to train and now he is scheduled to go on tour to promote the movie. Fans betting on Jackson’s next UFC match, should consider the “Hollywood” factor if Jackson losses his third fight in his last five matches.

Los Angeles’ NBA championship odds are dependent on the health of their star player and former league MVP, and we know he’s been battling injuries all season, but is it worse than he’s let on?

A report came down on Monday that Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant had his right knee drained of fluid in an attempt to get Bryant as close to 100% as possible before their Game 1 meeting with Phoenix on Monday in the Western Conference finals.  Bryant has fought broken fingers, back problems, an ailing wrist, and other bumps and bruises that we probably don’t even know about.  He looked very banged up in the first round against Oklahoma City, but that may have been a result of the Thunder’s athleticism and youth.  But Bryant’s knee (and other injuries) will have to now hold up against a Phoenix team that doesn’t know the meaning of “walk it up the floor”, and they’ll be pushing the issue as much as possible, every time they get the ball.

So should Lakers fans be worried about the health of their No.1 guy?  Unless Bryant is missing an entire leg, we wouldn’t bet on this knee-draining being a big deal, unlike some injuries affecting champions league betting.  It’s something that a lot of guys get done during the course of the season, and if it’s going to give Bryant a little more flexibility with his knee, so be it.  One thing you don’t have to worry about, though, is the Lakers’ betting odds in this series, because Bryant will be fine when the ball goes up.

New York Mets fall from grace?

After a lackluster start to the season which saw the New York Mets go four and eight over their first 12 games, they then proceeded to go 10 and one over their next 11. However over the weekend the Mets lost two of three to the Philadelphia Phillies moving the Mets overall record to 14 wins and 11 losses.

As seen from their schedule, the 10 game win streak the Mets produced was against two struggling squads the Atlanta Braves and LA Dodgers; however they failed in their first test of adversity since the win streak when they only took one of three from the defending national league champions. This poses the question to baseball fans, betting online are the Mets for real after the 10 game win streak or are they falling from grace and coming back to reality after losing two of three to the Phillies?

San Jose peaking at the right time?

After a first round series which lasted longer than it should have against the eighth seeded Colorado Avalanche, the San Jose Sharks appear to be peaking at the right time. With Heatley, Thornton and to a lesser degree Marleau finally waking up, the Sharks look to put past playoff woes behind them, as they attempt to convert their regular season success into a long playoff run which will hopefully end in them hoisting the Stanley Cup. If they can sweep the Detroit Red Wings, and the Montreal Canadiens, a Northbet Underdog Pick, can upset the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sharks should have the best Stanley cup odds.

Lebron James back to back MVP awards and more to come?

He’s been compared to Michael Jordan, as well as other NBA greats, nevertheless one thing is clear after yesterday’s acceptance of the MVP award, even if he never wins the NBA Championship, Lebron James is the best player of our generation. Ever since entering the league in 2003, Lebron James has become the most dominant NBA player who has yet to win the league championship. In each of his first seven seasons, James has taken the Cavaliers from one of the laughing stocks of the league to one of the most respected. Barring a career threatening injury, there is no reason for NBA writers to not just pencil James’s name next to the MVP award every season until he retires.

Saturday marked CBS and Strikeforce’s second show working in tandem, and it left much to be desired.

The broadcast boasted three title fights across three weight-classes, and marked the Strikeforce promotional debut of former UFC and PRIDE Fighting Championships stalwart, “Dangerous” Dan Henderson.

Hendo, as he’s known, was a heavy betting favorite going into Saturday night. Most fans of sports betting picked the former Olympic wrestler to batter Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields into unconsciousness. While Shields has tremendous grappling acumen, it was prognosticated that Henderson’s right hand would tell the tale on Saturday night. Moments into the bout, it appeared that all was going according to plan.

Henderson connected with one big overhand right and dropped Shields, but the American wrestler recovered and went on to stifle Henderson with takedowns and a crushing top game. Shields threatened with chokes and scored takedowns at will, exposing Henderson’s woeful defensive wrestling game. Shields went on to win a 49-46 unanimous decision.

It was the action post fight that had most fans of online sports betting talking, however. During Shields’ post-fight interview, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who fought on the undercard, interrupted the interview to ask for a rematch with Shields, the Northbet odds winner. Shields’ teammates from the Caesar Gracie fight team, notably Nick and Nate Diaz then instigated a brawl, attacking Miller in concert and touching off a melee the likes of which we have not seen in MMA since the infamous Hammer House/Chuteboxe debacle at PRIDE 31 in early 2006.

While “Mayhem” clearly bears some responsibility for interrupting the interview, it is incumbent on the Tennessee State Athletic commission to deal with those who would engage in such unprofessional behavior. Photographs surfaced showing the Diaz brothers stomping and kicking at Miller when he was on the ground. Clearly, there must be some repercussions for such acts.

Stanley Cup odds are out for the first round of the NHL playoffs, so let’s get into some quick picks for the first round.
East
Capitals vs Canadiens odds
Washington is favored at -600, and the Canadiens have said they have the edge in goaltending. It really doesn’t matter about the Capitals’ goaltending, because Montreal isn’t stopping Alex Ovchekin and friends.
Devils vs Flyers odds
The Devils are -250 favorites, even though they lost five of six against the Flyers this season, and we’re taking a team with Martin Brodeur in goal over a team with Brian Boucher.
Bruins vs Sabres odds
The Sabres are favored at -165 in what should be the closest series in the East, but with the way Ryan Miller has played this year, combined with Boston’s lack of scoring, it should be a Buffalo win.
Penguins vs Senators odds
The defending champs are -300 favorites here, and the Penguins were pacing themselves down the stretch, we feel.
West
Sharks vs Avalanche Northbet odds
The Sharks are -420 favorites here, but after last year’s first-round exit, we’re skeptical. We’re taking the Sharks, but it’ll be a close series.
Blackhawks vs Predators odds
Chicago is also a -420 favorite, and Nashville may have had the quietest 100-point season in history. Not enough scoring to keep up in this series, though.
Canucks vs Kings odds
The Canucks are listed at -240, but the young Kings won’t make it easy on them. Roberto Luongo will pull Vancouver through to the next round.

Coyotes vs Red Wings odds
In the only series where a lower-seeded team is favored, we’re taking Detroit as a -205 favorite in our sportsbook because of their experience.

As the NFL offseason settles and the football betting and NFL football odds has calmed for a little while. Even betting search engine optimization and gambling seo are taking a break. But the NFL offseason is rarely a quiet time, and as free agency and the draft loom over the horizon it is time to take a look at the things that you may be talking about until they kick the ball off again in August.

Julius Peppers is not happy in Carolina. He says he has received little contact from the team, and he is afraid that the team will slap the franchise label on him rather than discuss a long-term contract. Peppers wants security and he wants a contract. If Julius Peppers decides to test the waters of free agency then he will easily be the most sought after player this offseason.

Now that Mike Shanahan has shaken hands and kissed babies in Washington, DC, it is time to settle in and see if team owner Daniel Snyder has made a good choice. Shanahan is reunited with running back Clinton Portis and inherits a potential all-star QB in Jason Campbell who has been devastated by poor offensive line play and play calling. Can Shanahan work his magic in Washington? It is hard to say. Campbell is definitely not an Elway.

Things could not be more up-in-the air at One Bills Drive in Buffalo, NY. Will Terrell Owens come back for a second season as a Bill? If he does, who will throw him the ball? How can a coach with minimal experience as an NFL head coach turn around a franchise that is about as dismal as they get? It isn’t Chan Gailey’s fault that no one else wanted the Buffalo head coaching job, but it will be interesting to see how long it takes Gailey to figure out why Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs in over 10 years.