Sports and Lifestyle News

Despite losing to the New Orleans Saints in their NFL preseason opener 17-7, the Cincinnati Bengals had a lot to be happy about. Most significantly, they were elated over the return of QB Carson Palmer after he’d missed most of the last NFL season with an elbow injury. His return elated the city of Cincinnati, which led to mass celebration in the streets that their NFL football franchise once again had a serviceable quarterback.

New Orleans had their share of offensive highlights, with QB Drew Brees hooking up with tight end Jeremy Shockey for three completions including Shockey’s first touchdown reception in a Saints uniform. Brees backup, Mark Brunell, also played well and tossed a 64 yard scoring strike to Robert Meacham.

Saints fans were well aware that their QB would produce after hanging over 5,000 yards on the board last year, but Palmers return brought a sigh of relief from Bengal backers. Palmer missed 12 games last season because of a partially torn ligament and tendon in his passing elbow.

After Shockeys TD staked the Saints to a 7-0 lead, the Bengals tied the game before halftime when Palmers backup J.T. O’Sullivan hit Chris Henry on a 14 yard touchdown pass. OSullivan also produced solid numbers, completing 9 of 11 passes for 100 yards.

The Bengals will continue their NFL preseason this Thursday as they travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts for a game against the New England Patriots. The Saints will also play away from home, heading over to Houston for a game against the Texans on Saturday. Both teams begin NFL regular season play on Sunday, September 13th. The Bengals will host the Denver Broncos, while the Saints welcome the Detroit Lions to The Big Easy.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Carolina Panthers finally got one in the win column on Sunday afternoon, using a furious second half comeback to defeat the slumping Washington Redskins 20-17. Washington led 17-2 early in the third quarter before Carolina scored the final 18 points of the game to earn the victory. Jonathan Stewart’s eight yard fourth quarter run for a touchdown with a successful two point conversion completed the Panthers comeback. Carolina improved to 1-3 on the season while Washington dropped to 2-3.

NFL betting devotees who backed Washington as +5 road underdogs were finally rewarded for their faith as the Redskins covered for the first time this season. The Redskins are now 1-4 against the spread while the Panthers remain winless against the money at 0-4.

Redskins coach Jim Zorn is now on the hotseat after another defeat. The Redskins started the 2008 season 6-2, but are only 4-9 since then. The biggest problem this year has been offensive productivity”heading into this game the Redskins were averaging a mere 14 points per game. By that metric, the 17 points they put up in the first contest under new offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis has to seen as a marginal improvement. Of bigger concern, however, is the fact that the team blew a 15 point second half lead.

The victory, meanwhile, may have taken at least some of the pressure off of Panthers QB Jake Delhomme who is suffering through an awful season. Delhomme threw for 181 yards against Washington with one touchdown and one interception. Delhomme now has eight interceptions in four games this season, contributing greatly to the -8 turnover margin that the Panthers took into Sundays encounter. After the game, he expressed relief at getting a win under his belt:

“Anything that could have gone wrong the first month or so has gone wrong. We’ll take it any way we can get it.”

His Washington counterpart Jason Campbell was efficient, if not spectacular, with 145 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. In another bright spot for the Redskins, Clinton Portis scored his first rushing touchdown of the season early in the fourth quarter. He had caught a pass for a touchdown to open the Washington scoring in the first quarter.

The Panthers will now try to string together a short winning streak as they head to Florida next Sunday to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Redskins will play their next two games at home and then enjoy a bye week. Theyll welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to FedEx Field next Sunday, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles the following week. Theyll return to action after the bye week on November 8th, taking on the Atlanta Falcons at The Georgia Dome.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer experienced in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

The Dallas Cowboys entered Sundays game with the Kansas City Chiefs with a 2-2 record, and may have expected an easy afternoon. The winless Chiefs, however, hung around throughout the contest and forced overtime before a Tony Romo touchdown pass to Miles Austin secured the victory for Dallas by a final score of 26-20. Austin was the Cowboys offensive star, catching two touchdown passes as part of a 250 yard receiving day. Tony Romo played better than he has all year, finishing with two touchdown passes and 351 yards with no interceptions. The Cowboys improved to 3-2 with the victory, while the Chiefs remain winless at 0-5.

NFL betting enthusiasts who took Kansas City as +7 home underdogs enjoyed a profitable day as the Chiefs got the money for the first time in the 2009 season. Kansas City is now 1-4 against the spread, while Dallas dropped to 2-3 against the number. The 46 points went OVER the posted total of 43.

Austin started in place of Dallas superstar receiver Roy Williams, and definitely made the best of the opportunity. His 250 yards on 10 catches broke the franchise record held by Cowboys legend Bob Hayes, who had 246 yards receiving against the Washington Redskins in 1966. Austin could have had an even bigger day, had Tony Romo not overthrown him several times on wide open plays.

Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel had decent numbers in a losing cause, finishing with 253 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Still, the setback just added to the growing sense of futility in the Chiefs camp. Kansas City hasnt won a game in nearly a year (315 days) and is a horrible 2-28 in their past 30 games. There are signs of improvement under first year coach Todd Haley, but theyve yet to translate into victories.

Dallas will be off next weekend and will return to action on October 25th at home against the Atlanta Falcons. Theyll host the Seattle Seahawks at Cowboys Stadium the following weekend. The Chiefs will travel to Washington, DC next Sunday to take on the Redskins before returning home for a game the following week against the San Diego Chargers.

Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer specializing in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

If you want to bet on sports, and you want to be good at it and maybe make it your living, then you are going to need the basic knowledge to do it right. You can bet on sports all over the world, and you can do it in the United States. The United States is a little less confusing when it comes to betting on sports, but, you still need the knowledge to do it right and not get yourself into trouble. You want American sports betting explained for you to do well.

To bet on sports properly and to be successful even on the smallest level, you need to have some basic background knowledge on how all this works. If you don’t want to have that and believe that you can pick teams to win and make some money, then go right ahead. If you do this and don’t have luck, you can get in trouble.

You are going to need to understand the betting odds. This is first and foremost. All sports are bet on, so this article is going to place an emphasis on the sport of American Football. This sports is America’s passion, and millions upon millions of dollars are bet on this sport each year.

Many people who are not professional betters look only at one thing, and that is called the point spread, or the line. The line of the game shows who is predicted to win and lose and by how many points. If there is a team that is favored to win by 5 points, the line will show a -5, if they are predicted to lose by 5 points, the line will show a +5. If they are favored that means you are giving the underdog, the team that is predicted to lose, 5 points. If you bet on the Cowboys and they are favored to win by 5 points, and they win by 6, you win your bet. If they lose, of course you lose your bet, and if they win by exactly 5 points, then you get your money back. This is a tie bet called a push.

Not only is there the betting on the point spread or line, but there are other betting odds called money lines. There are two kinds of these. One of these is when you are betting on the favored team, and the other is when you are betting on the not favored team, or underdog team.

For a favored team, if you see a -105 money line, that means you will have to bet 105 dollars to win the 100 and your 105 you had to put down. If you bet on the underdog, you will see a +105 and you will have to bet that much to win the 100 dollars. This is a little different than the point spread, and it is very exciting. You can make good money this way.

Betting on sports in America is a very exciting and lucrative way to make money. It is also a good way to lose money if you don’t know what you are doing. Going into sports betting, especially in America, without the proper knowledge of what the terminology is or the rules can lead to problems. Follow these American Sports Betting Explained rules and you will be a winner.

Now you can get all the tricks you will need to enjoy fun on line sports betting! When you learn about the benefits of participating in sports betting USA, you can start winning today!

Fighting ban is over for Havili

USC fullback Stanley Havili was allowed back into practice on Saturday, August 8, 2010 after being banned for one day for an in-camp fighting incident with cornerback T. J. Bryant. The ban was verbalized by coach Lane Kiffin.

The incident had started with a verbal exchange between the two athletes which occurred during the final conditioning drill for players. Havili had apparently shouted at Bryant to finish the drill and Bryant retorted with a cuss word. Havili then confronted Bryant. After some initial shoving, Havili hit Bryant on the face.

Bryant’s condition needed surgical treatment and he is now on leave from active participation in camp activities for three weeks and attends camp as a spectator.

Soon after the incident, Havili apologized to Bryant and the two made up on the day of the incident itself. Apparently it was Bryant who requested coach Kiffin to allow the fullback to enter the premises and resume his training. He made that decision in consideration of the fact that Havili was only acting in his capacity as superior. Furthermore, since the fullback was the starter of the team, banning him totally from practice could possibly endanger the team’s interests in the games.

Owing to his injury, Bryant himself has experienced a setback in his bid for a starting position in the game

Fall Camp in USC

The annual training and practice season of USC in preparation for year’s football conference season started at 3 pm last August 5. This time, however, certain policies have been implemented by the school in keeping with NCAA guidelines.

The NCAA has required USC to shut out its training sessions in football and basketball from the public in the next 4 years. As a result, the University published its policies on practice admittance. People planning to watch in on the fall camp sessions will have to download a copy of the policy, fill in their name, their signature and either their driver’s license or picture id number and present it at the entrance of the camp.

However, the document does not allow just anyone to come in. In particular, only athletes, coaches and other members of the athletic department, its management and their approved guests will be allowed access. Likewise with selected members of media and close relatives of athletes.

No contact will be allowed between the approved guests and the members of the team or any prospective athletes who are in the premises.

Absolutely no access will be given to agents, marketing and financial advisers of athletes. Employees, middle men and runners of these types of people are also unconditionally banned from the premises and from making any kind of contact with the athletes.

Searching for ‘Usc’s Football Practice Admittance Policy’ will show you a facsimile of the document. The facsimile is also printable and can presumably be used for that purpose. To be sure, you should get a copy from the university itself. Don’t forget to bring along several valid and updated ID’s.

Some teams purposely make their fall practice exclusive in order to avoid scenarios which may constitute a violation of NCAA’s rules regarding football. If there are any public exhibitions, these are usually done once or twice throughout the period of the camp.

Doc #azfqds234g

Freddie Brister is a big fan of Sports check out his: Southern California Watch and his: Notre Dame Golf Bag today azfqds234g.

In a NFL preseason game characterized by rainy weather, sloppy field conditions and a quick exit for both teams starters, the Miami Dolphins outlasted their in-state rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 12-9 score. Only one touchdown was scored in the game, which was a battle of field goal kickers until the third quarter. Miamis game winning score came on a 33 yard touchdown strike from Chad Henne to tight end Ernest Wilford.

Miami’s Ernest Wilford recently converted to tight end from wide receiver, and gave the football an emphatic spike after his game winning touchdown reception. Afterwards, he spoke to reporters about the game winning score:

“There’s a sense of urgency for me. I want to play well this year. It’s a good start. That was a lot of frustration right there. I didn’t play that much last year, so I had to let it out.”

Dolphins QB Henne was pleased with his first effort of the NFL preseason:

“Overall I thought I played pretty well. I got some points on the board and had us moving.”

Jacksonville QB David Garrard gave a fairly standard assessment of his teams opening game performance:

“We have to get better at some of the protection issues. I have to make sure I get everybody lined up in the right spots.”

Jaguars wide receiver Tory Holt, acquired as a free agent in the off season, was happy with his only reception of the game:

“I had been anticipating this day for a long time. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to many more.”

Despite ending up on the wrong side of a losing score, Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio was generally upbeat about his teams effort:

“We are going to be physical up front. I liked what we did up front.”

Not surprisingly given the tempo of the game, the most heated battle for a starting spot was between the Dolphins placekickers. Current PK Dan Carpenter made a 48 yard fieldgoal and a PAT, while his challenger Connor Barth hit a 28 yard FG.

Jacksonville will host their other NFL rival from the state of Florida on Saturday as they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to town. Miami will remain at home as they take on the Carolina Panthers. The Dolphins will begin the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th against the Falcons at Atlanta, while Jacksonville will play the Colts at Indianapolis.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The New York Giants have made a huge financial commitment to quarterback Eli Manning by offering him a six year, $97.5 million contract extension. Manning will earn just over $15 million a year, and $35 million of the contract is guaranteed. Should Manning play through the end of his contract hell be a Giant until 2015, meaning there’s a decent chance hell play his entire career with the team.

Manning will earn roughly $200,000 per season more than Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha who agreed to a 3 year, $45 million contract earlier this summer. Hes also got the upper hand on his older brother, Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning who earns just over $14 million per season. Though the full term of his deal makes him the leagues highest paid player hell earn less this year than the Carolina Panthers Julius Peppers and the Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer, each of whom will pull down slightly more than $16 million.

Giants GM Jerry Reese spoke to the media about his team’s commitment to Manning:

“He is a franchise quarterback. He has done everything we asked him to do. He has come in, taken a lot of flak from you guys in the media and he just keeps going. He does what we ask him on the field and he does what we ask him to do off the field. He is a good football player.”

Reese also dismissed concern that the huge contract commitment would result in additional pressure on Manning:

“He is used to that. He won’t get more pressure than he already has in this market. He knows how to handle pressure and he has done it before. I don’t expect to see any difference in his attitude and his work ethic. He works hard. He expects a lot from himself. He knows what his role here is with us and we expect him to continue it for a long time.”

Manning definitely has a number of qualities that justify this level of investment. Hes produced on the field, leading the Giants to a Superbowl championship and four straight postseason appearances. He also became the first Giant QB in history to throw for 3,000 yards and 20+ touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. Hes got solid leadership skills and is well liked and respect by not only his teammates but also by the notoriously tough New York media.

The new deal will kick in with the 2009-2010 season. Manning will earn just over $9 million this season, the final year of his rookie contract.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has been a crucial factor in the teams 2-0 start, showing a poise and head for the game very rare for NFL newcomers. Still, there wasn’t much worry at the revelation that hes suffering from tendinitis in his right knee. The Jets announced Sanchez’s injury on Thursday, and hes listed as probable on the official NFL injury report.

Sanchez practiced on Thursday, and though he was seen stopping to stretch and rub his right knee on a few occasions didn’t seem to suffer any impairment in his mobility. He participated in the entire practice, and there didnt appear to be any sort of effort to prepare Kellen Clemens to assume the starting role. Clemens, who served as Brett Favre’s backup during his time with the Jets, didn’t get any additional reps with the starting offense that would have indicated a concern about Sanchez’s health.

In his comments to the media, Jets head coach Rex Ryan confirmed the injury while downplaying its significance:

“It’s not that big a deal. He has something. I don’t know how to describe it than just to say its a little tendinitis. But, he’s fine. I mean, he fully participated and moved around great, I thought.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was even more emphatic in his statement:

“Mark’s totally fine.”

Ryan then added a sarcastic note that brought laughs from the assembled media: “Make sure he’s on that list. I don’t mean anything by that.”

Ryan was referring to the Jets receiving a fine from the NFL for not properly disclosing injuries to then-QB Brett Favre late last season. Favre was suffering from a torn biceps tendon, though the team didnt list him on the official NFL injury report. The team was fined $75,000 while GM Mike Tannenbaum and former coach Eric Mangini were each fined $25,000 each.

The Jets are less optimistic about the condition of cornerback Donald Strickland, who is suffering from a sprained right ankle. Ryan didnt offer much basis for hope that hed be able to see action on Sunday:

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to play this week. I’m not declaring him out right now, but I don’t think there’s any way he’s playing this week.”

The Jets host the Tennessee Titans at the Meadowlands this Sunday afternoon. New York has been installed as a -1 home favorite, with the total set at 37. The Jets have won five of the last nine meetings between the teams straight up, though Tennessee holds a narrow 5-4 advantage against the spread. After that, the Jets will take to the road for their next two games. Theyll play the New Orleans Saints on October 4th before heading to south Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins the following Monday night.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Minnesota Vikings’ decision to facilitate Brett Favre’s latest ‘unretirement’ is looking better and better with each passing week. This past Sunday, Favre’s charges moved to 6-0 on the season with a wild 33-31 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens posted 21 fourth quarter points to charge back and claim the lead late, but Favre led a rally to set up place kicker Ryan Longwell’s 31 yard game winning field goal.

Minnesota has been one of the surprise teams of the season, and that fact has also enriched those who bet on NFL football. They didn’t get the money on this occasion, however, as the Ravens took the cheese as a +3 road underdog. Still, it was only the Vikings’ second loss of the year against the NFL pointspread (4-2) while Baltimore has also been solid against the number with a 4-2 mark. The cover broke a two game ATS losing streak for the Ravens. The 64 combined points soared OVER the posted total of 45′.

Baltimore QB Joe Flacco got the Ravens in range for a last second game winning field goal, but Steven Hauschka’s 44 yard try went wide left. After the game, he took his miss hard:

“It’s tough for me. I feel like I let them down. That’s something I have to live with.”

Ravens’ running back Ray Rice disputed Hauschka’s self anointed scapegoat status:

“We didn’t lose that game because of Hauschka’s miss. If we start fast and put points on the board, our defense starts fast, I think the game is a totally different outcome. But that’s what happens when you play against great teams.”

Flacco praised his team for fighting back from a 27-10 fourth quarter deficit:

“We realize what kind of fighters we have in our locker room and that’s what we’re going to use the rest of the year. I think we were 3-3 last year, not that that matters, but we can overcome anything.”

Ray Lewis concurred with his quarterback’s comments:

“Every game has been a game of inches. But for me, being in this business for so long, it just speaks volumes for our team in the way we fight, regardless of the circumstance we’ve been put in.”

The Vikings now face arguably their toughest scheduling stretch of the season, beginning with a trip to the ‘Steel City’ for a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Vikings are a +4 road underdog with the total set at 45. The following week Minnesota heads to Green Bay for what is sure to be an emotional return for Favre. The Ravens will face another undefeated team after a bye week, hosting the Denver Broncos on November 1.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The offensively struggling Kansas City Chiefs have finally found a way to win-play a team with a more stagnant offense than their own. The Chiefs gave Todd Haley his first win as a NFL head coach on Sunday with a—6 win over the Washington Redskins. Kansas City won despite not scoring a touchdown, compiling their– points via 4 Ryan Succop field goals and a game ending safety.

To successfully bet on NFL football you occasionally have to put aside W/L records and look at the underlying statistics. Those who did that found reason to take Kansas City as +6′ road underdogs and were rewarded with the outright victory. Kansas City is now 2-4 against the NFL pointspread and has covered two straight while Washington is a dismal 1-5 versus the money. The 20 combined points went well UNDER the posted total of 36′.

After the contest, Haley sounded more relieved than excited about finally putting a “W” on the board:

“We made it pretty difficult, right down to the end. We’ve pushed through a very difficult period. We needed to get some positive reinforcement with a win.”

Kansas City QB Matt Cassel also won for the first time since coming over from New England in the off season. His postgame comments were more upbeat:

“There’s been a lot of change, but this has definitely been special. We rose to the occasion. We made some big plays. We put ourselves in a position to score points.”

Embattled Redskins’ coach Jim Zorn was stripped of his offensive play calling duties by team management after the contest. In one of his last decisions in that role, he pulled starter Jason Campbell at halftime and went with Todd Collins. He explained his move as follows:

“I felt the need to create a spark on our football team offensively and went with Todd. I think the guys responded well. We kept our spark, at times, and then we refizzled.”

The Redskins have managed to win only two of their first six games despite being the only team in NFL history to play their first six games of the season against winless opponents. They’ll get another chance to silence their doubters next Monday night as they host the Philadelphia Eagles. The Skins are +6′ home underdogs with the total set at 38′. They’ll have a bye the next week and return to action on November 8th against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Kansas City will try to string together back to back wins as they host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. There’s currently no line on the game pending San Diego’s Monday Night Football contest against the Denver Broncos.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.