Florida Marlins's Florida Marlins friend's fan blogs

I'm not sure if the New York Knicks have all the pieces in place right now, but by adding Carmelo Anthony they are certainly one big step closer to being a NBA championship contender. Although considering the mismanagement over the last 10 years it's heard to believe they won't mess this up too.

Watch for the Knicks to make some strong stragetic moves during this off season to sure things up and make them a true Eastern conference powerhouse.

New York NY Direct TV can bring you all the Knicks action you want.

Continue reading "Are the New York Knicks real contenders with Carmelo Anthony on board?"

Two cities that produce NBA Eastern Conference contenders also have the two teams that are favored to win the Super Bowl as the NFL playoffs are set to begin this weekend.

NBA spread betting experts might recognize that Atlanta and Boston produce two East contenders and with the Falcons and Patriots, both cities have the Super Bowl XLV juggernauts as well.

Just as in the NBA’s East, Atlanta’s team is viewed with an eye of pessimism. The Falcons had a great regular season but don’t have a ton of playoff experience. They’re a young squad that is gaining it on the fly.

Meanwhile, Boston’s team - just like in the NBA – is experienced, savvy and has done it before. The Patriots are the odds-on favorites to do it all and considering they’ve won it three times this decade, why bet against them?

Continue reading "Patriots, Falcons Super Bowl Favorites"

Basketball betting is not quite as common as betting on some other sports, but if you do your research, take your time and keep accurate records, there’s no reason you can’t be as successful at betting on basketball as betting on anything else. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Top Basketball Betting Tip: NCAA vs. NBA

Of course you are welcome to bet both college and pro basketball (including the WNBA), like placing your bets in online video poker games, you need to be aware that each type of basketball may have very different factors in play. In college basketball, every game counts, whereas pro teams can afford to drop a few games here and there and still have a great shot at the championship. There may be a much larger disparity between two competing college teams. Know the league you’re betting.

Continue reading "Top Basketball Betting Tips"

I really like the direction this team is going but I'm not so sure they can really be a contender in the East this year.  The East has gotten a lot stronger over the last few years and while I think they can make the playoffs I don't really see any chance that they can really beat The Magic, the Heat, the Celtics, of the Bulls.  And I'm skeptical they can even beat teams like the 76ers or the Hawks.

What do you think? 

Continue reading "Can the Charlotte Bobcats be a contender in the East?"

The eyes of the soccer world were on South Africa Sunday as the upset minded US National Team took on powerhouse Brazil in the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup. The Americans, on life support after the first two games of the tournament, were looking to complete their stunning turn around with a victory over Brazil in the final. The US had taken down the World's #1 team, Spain, on Wednesday and were looking to pull off another huge upset over Brazil who beat host South Africa to reach the final. For 45 minutes the US had the World wondering, could it be?

Through the first half the US was clearly the better team, led by Tim Howard who put in one of the best performances of his career. At the halftime whistle the Americans were ahead 2-0 and holding the Brazilian offense in check. In the 2nd half the US did all they could, Howard in particular, to keep the Brazilians off the board. Slowly but surely, however, you could see the Brazilians beginning to wear down the Americans, beginning to find a groove offensively. Brazil would fire in 3 goals in the later portion of the 2nd half, the final dagger coming in the 84th minute, to steal victory from the US with a 3-2 comeback win.

Continue reading "US Soccer Team come out winners even in defeat"

The United States National Team scored a monumental victory yesterday in the FIFA Confederations Cup, defeating world #1 Spain 2-0 in the tournament's semi-final game. Spain had been on an amazing streak heading into yesterday's game against the U.S. Spain was riding a 35 match unbeaten streak, one short of the all time record, and was also riding a world 15 game winning streak. None of that made a difference yesterday as Spain and its roster of world class footballers fell to the U.S.

All things considered, yesterday was a fantastic moment for the U.S. National Team as they pulled off one of international football's most stunning upsets. Spain is loaded with talented players who play for some of the best teams, in the best leagues in European football. Iker Casillas is perhaps the best goalie in the world right now, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, and Sergio Ramos comprise one of the best defenses in the world, and Fernando Torres and David Villa might be the most deadly 1-2 combination up front. The U.S. on the other hand is a very young, very green team with little depth and few veteran leaders. The majority of the U.S. players play at home in the less impressive MLS, and those who play abroad play in some of Europe's lesser leagues or see little playing time.

Continue reading "Momental victory for US National team, but what does it really mean?"

As the baseball world awaits the return of Manny Ramirez in a little over a week, many are wondering which Manny Ramirez will return after a 50 game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's steroid policy. This evening Ramirez begins a stint with the Albuquerque Isotopes, the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to help rid himself of nearly 2 months of rust and prepare to return to the Dodgers next Friday. The question remains though, which Manny will we see when Ramirez takes the field in San Diego next week?

Most baseball fans are used to a brash, confident (even over confident), and constantly smiling Manny doing and saying what he wants. Manny being Manny as they say. Ramirez is no stranger to controversy and has no doubt heard his fair share of boos and jeers in stadiums around the country. Manny has long been accused of being perhaps the laziest, if not most over-rated, outfielder in MLB. Manny's redeeming quality was his ability with a bat in his hand. His home-runs and RBIs, and clutch hitting allowed the Boston Red Sox to look past several Manny being Manny behaviors like constant trade demands, taking time off in between (or worse in the midst of) innings in the outfield, and then of course pushing around a Red Sox employee who wouldn't allow him to abuse player ticket allowances by demanding more.

Continue reading "Which Manny Ramirez will return to Los Angeles?"

Disgraced former MLB slugger Jose Canseco apparently has one more trick left up his sleeve to help keep himself in the limelight, well beyond his 15 minutes of fame. Canseco wants to get together with fellow disgraced steroid users Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro to file a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the Players Association to seek compensation for loss of wages and defamation of character.

Canseco stated in a telephone interview that:

"Because I used steroids and I came out with a book, I was kicked out of the game, but I have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. A lot of these players have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame: Mark McGwire and so forth. They're losing salaries, because obviously when you're inducted into the Hall of Fame, you get asked to do certain, you know, appearances and shows and so forth, which incorporates income. So there is a major income loss. Not even that, baseball blackballs you from their family, meaning you can't have a future proper reference from them, a job, no managerial jobs, no coaching jobs, nothing. They completely sever you."

Continue reading "Jose Canseco to bring full circus to court, plans to sue MLB and MLBPA"

The country was captivated in the summer of 1998 by the home-run chase as Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs and Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals simultaneously chased Roger Maris' single season home-run record. As the season neared a close the two managed to keep the pressure on each other night in and night out to go yard. America was hooked on baseball, tuning in each night to see these two sluggers battle it out to see who would be the new long ball champion.

Fast forward a decade and the fog of greatness is slowly disappearing around many of baseball's former greats as the steroid scandal that has gripped MLB over the past few years is showing no prejudice in who it tears down. In 2005 when interest in steroid use shot up, McGwire, Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro went in front of Congress to declare their innocence and deny knowledge of other "juicing". All three players sat in front of Congress and swore under oath they had never used steroids, ever. By this time many had begun wondering if McGwire and Sosa's chase in 1998 was steroid propelled. After all, both men had rather large physiques and were big time hitters.

Continue reading "Another "hero" falls, Slammin' Sammy busted"

On Tuesday an agreement was reached in Donte Stallworth's drunk driving incident. Stallworth was arrested after he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in Miami on March 14th. The accident occurred at 7:20am as Stallworth was heading home after a night of drinking at a trendy Miami Beach club. The victim was just finishing his shift at work and was crossing the street to catch his bus when Stallworth struck and killed him with his car. When police arrived Stallworth submitted to a roadside sobriety test and blew a .126, well above Florida's .08 legal limit.

Yesterday a plea agreement was reached in the case that will see Stallworth serve 24 days in jail followed by two years of house arrest, eight years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service, and have a lifetime suspension of his driving privileges. Stallworth also reached a financial settlement with the victims family, the details of which remain confidential. If Stallworth's case had gone to trial, a conviction could have resulted in a 15 year prison sentence for Stallworth. The victim's family however, in the interest of foregoing the pain and agony of a trial, got behind the plea agreement to get the issue settled.

Continue reading "Donte Stallworth sentenced, but was justice served?"