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Gina Carano put women’s MMA on the map, but Cris Cyborg Santos may have become the sports first dominant female champion by virtue of her overwhelming TKO victory in the main event of Saturdays STRIKEFORCE event. Cyborg simply was too physically strong and her punches too powerful for Carano.

Before a near capacity crowd at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, Carano and Cyborg made history as the first women to headline a major US mixed martial arts event. Cyborg entered the cage first to a mostly negative reaction, stopping along the way to shadow box and throw kicks on the entrance ramp. The crowd went nuts for Carano, who was accompanied into the arena by Randy Couture who trained her for the matchup.

Despite the fight being scheduled for five rounds of five minutes each, the women set a frantic pace from the opening horn. Cyborgs size and strength advantage was apparent from the outset, as she landed an immediate flurry of punches before taking Carano to the canvas. Carano landed in top position, but quickly found herself in trouble as Cyborg worked for a kneebar and then a heel hook. Carano was able to extricate herself, and get to her feet but Cyborg took her back and immediately took her down again. Carano landed in top mount, however, and was able to score with some big punches from the top. Inexplicably, she backed off and let Cyborg get to her feet instead of pressing what may have been her best opportunity to win the fight.

Cyborg once again took her opponent to the mat and after an unsuccessful armbar attempt mounted Carano and began a brutal punching assault that eventually forced the stoppage at 4:59 of the first round.

Despite Cyborgs triumph the most dominating performance of the evening belonged to former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. In his first fight at 205, Mousasi destroyed STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Renato Babalu Sobral via TKO at the 1:00 mark of the first round. Mousasis victory wasnt a shocking outcome, but the utter ease with which he handled a tough, experienced and well rounded opponent in Sobral was stunning and evoked comparisons to recently signed heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. Making Mousasis triumph all the more incredible is that at 24 years of age hes only going to get better.

Earlier in a card full of decisive finishes, Gilbert Melendez became STRIKEFORCE interim lightweight champion with a third round TKO victory over the double tough Mitsuhiro Ishida. Though Melendez dominated the fight, Ishida gained the respect of fans with his toughness and heart.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks 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.

Portland, Oregon has long been considered a hotbed of mixed martial arts. The area is home to numerous MMA gyms, the most famous being Gresham’s Team Quest. It has produced many top notch professional fighters including Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Ed Herman and Ryan Schultz. Regional MMA promotions like Lindland’s SportFight and amateur MMA draws good crowds.

The UFC originally planned to hold an event in Portland last year, but when Randy Couture resigned with the promotion and agreed to fight Brock Lesnar UFC 91 was moved to Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena. The UFC rescheduled their Rose City debut for August 29th, headlined by a matchup between local hero Couture and tough PRIDE vet Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. They anticipated a fever pitch for Coutures homecoming and the UFCs first ever trip to the Pacific Northwest.

For whatever reason, tickets haven’t been selling well. As of early this week, there had been as few as 8,500 tickets sold in the 21,000 seat Rose Garden Arena. Itll look fine on the PPV, as they can curtain off unsold sections of seats and shoot the crowd to make it look larger.

Earlier in the week Zuffa announced the postponement of a WEC event scheduled for Youngstown, Ohio. The official reason given was an injury to main event fighter Ben Henderson, and while thats not been confirmed several sources have indicated that he did suffer a minor setback during training. More curiously, the WEC announced that the show would no longer be held in Youngstown despite what they insisted were strong ticket sales.

While Youngstown could have been a bad choice for a MMA event all along, the UFC will probably blame the economy for the poor showing of live ticket sales in Portland. While the high unemployment rate nationally and regionally doesnt help things, it doesnt appear to be a major factor in the UFCs struggles to sell tickets in the Rose City. A mind boggling number of people who self identify as casual or serious fans of the UFC had no idea that an event was being held in Portland at all. Thats likely due to a marketing and promotion campaign locally that is somewhere between misplaced and non-existent.

Even among fans who *did* know that UFC 102 was coming to Portland, theres no buzz whatsoever. Theres a variety of reasons for this”many fans have suggested that the high ticket prices werent justified by a relatively weak card. With the exception of the main event, there arent any fighters on the UFC 102 card that are exactly household names outside of hardcore MMA circles.

The UFC has a misguided notion that they can simply put their name on an arena marquee and local fans will pay top dollar for tickets regardless of who is fighting on the card or what else is going on that night. The reality has demonstrated otherwise with poor ticket sales in Portland and other markets. While the promotions PPV business is doing fine and is their real source of revenue, the weakness of the demand for their live product outside of a select number of markets like Las Vegas and Montreal should be a source of concern.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on 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 a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

In the muddy mess of a rain soaked Churchill Downs, jockey Calvin Borel continued his mastery of the track as he guided Super Saver to victory in the Kentucky Derby. Super Saver had gone off as an 8-1 choice behind 6-1 favorite Looking At Lucky, and Borel took the ‘Run For The Roses’ for the second consecutive year and an unprecedented third time in four years. Borel was aboard 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird in 2009 and rode Street Sense in 2007.

Borel became the ninth jockey to win the Kentucky Derby at least three times. Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack both won it five times while Bill Shoemaker has won it four times. Angel Cordero Jr., Kent Desormeaux, Gary Stevens, Issac Murphy and Earl Sande are the others to have won three Derbies.

After the race Bob Baffert, who watched race favorite Lookin At Lucky finish sixth, gave Borel his due credit:

“This Calvin Borel, you got to give him credit, he knows how to win this race. He gets right on top of that rail, takes advantage. Smart rider; he owns this track. The thing about Calvin is he takes control of the race. He’s great here. He’s a great rider and he can get it done.”

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas concurred:

“Used to be Pat Day, now I think Calvin owns Churchill Downs. He’s got a great feel for it and they’re running for him and his confidence is sky high. He’s just a great rider, too, a great horseman in a lot of ways.”

Super Saver’s trainer Todd Pletcher also praised Borel:

“I said earlier in the week that Calvin Borel is a great rider anywhere he goes, but for some reason at Churchill Downs he’s even five lengths better. He’s just figured out Churchill Downs. He knows how to ride this track, he gets along with the colt really well.”

Super Saver won by 2 lengths over second place Ice Box. Paddy O’Prado finished third. Make Music for Me was fourth, followed by Noble’s Promise, Lookin At Lucky, Dublin, Stately Victor, Mission Impazible, Devil May Care, American Lion and Jackson Bend.Discreetly Mine was 13th, followed by Dean’s Kitten, Conveyance, Homeboykris, Sidney’s Candy, Line of David, Awesome Act and Backtalk.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football 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.

Despite a late race flat tire that necessitated an unplanned pit stop, Denny Hamlin raced like a madman down the stretch and took the checkered flag at Monday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 NASCAR race at West Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway. The race had been originally scheduled for Sunday, but was moved to Monday due to torrential rains.

Hamlin’s success at the track didn’t escape unnoticed by NASCAR betting enthusiasts, and those that backed him as a +750 choice to win received a nice payday. Series points leader Jimmie Johnson was the betting favorite for the race. Hamlin won the fall race at Martinsville last year and won this race in 2008.

Giving up the lead with ten laps remaining to head to the pit for fresh tires, Hamlin drove like a man possessed to regain the lead and take the victory. He somehow moved from 9th place to the lead in just four laps, and talked about his wild ride after the race:

“That’s hard to do. I had to bully my way through there towards the end, but everybody was just running into everyone. I flattened my tire with Matt Kenseth going down the backstretch and just somehow made it work.”

Hamlin got around seven time Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon with help from teammate Joey Logano in the shootout during the final laps and held on for the victory. Race favorite Jimmie Johnson finished 9th, which was good enough to give him the overall series points lead. Greg Biffle is second in the standings, with Matt Kenseth in third.

NASCAR will head to Phoenix, Arizona for the Subway Fresh Fit 600 a week from Saturday before moving on to Texas for a race April 18th. They’ll then head to the superspeedway at Talladega, Alabama for the second restrictor plate race of the season on April 25th.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on 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 a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

For a large selection of outdoor activity, including skiing, boating and mountain climbing, there are few places to consider going but to Canada. With a breath taking variety of terrain, unique wildlife and an abundance of waterways there is something to do for boating and water recreation. Keep in mind that there are new boating laws about pleasure craft you need to know.

For a place that is so dry it is almost a desert, it has an abundance of rivers and lakes for you boating enjoyment and leisure. Adored by thousands of people, local and guests, it has an uncommonly various types of climate and landscape. This makes it perfect for boating and sailing. You need to have an operator card for your powered motor boat.

One place to consider is Adams River where every four years sockeye salmon return to their place of birth by the millions. This event is world famous and can be enjoyed from several different areas around the river. There are many resorts and lodges available to accommodate travelers who need to soak up a little time indoors.

There are many places where you can rent a boat if you do not have your own with you. Big Rideau Lake is a boating paradise, with lakes and rivers connecting the waterway by canals. By whatever method you traveled there, you can rent a boat for any occasion and you will need a craft operator card for any boat that is motorized.

With a fabulous array of 100,000 lakes, some of which are therapeutic, are found in Saskatchewan. This province is a great holiday and with a variety of lakes it is a dream for fishermen. While fishing here you might land an underwater monster, because Walleye salmon have been caught weighing over 18 pounds. That could surely make anyone feel like a sport.

On a clear day, Ontario beaches seem more like the Caribbean than Canada, with rafts and boats enjoying the same waters. Lake Erie is fed from the west by the Huron river and from the east by St. Clair. This a mecca of boating activity and a battleground of the War of 1812, if you are in Canadian waters you will need to comply with their boating laws and regulations.

If the water contained in the Great Lakes could be spread out evenly, it would submerge the United States in nine and a half feet of water. Their interesting shapes can be clearly seen from the moon. One of them looks like a wolfs head. All five of them and their connecting channels create the earths largest system of fresh water.

Jet boating with a boat license is popular in the Alberta Canadian Rockies, with in excess of 600 lakes, and a perfect place to go scuba diving. A sport known as waterboarding is found here in Alberta, where surfing the rapids entertains young and old. For a diversion from the water activity you might be interested in taking a ride on the Rocky Mountaineer, whose train tour will transport you to Vancouver.

Taking the boat on Lake Ontario this weekend? Don’t get caught without an Ontario boating license. Take time today to sit a boat exam. You can take the boat test online and have a PCOC License today.

You can not just enter the ring during an MMA title fight appearing like a hobo who just came in from the streets. Even though they don’t wear much clothing throughout a fight, mma competitors take pride in themselves, and in turn would like to wear something that is comfy yet fashionable at the same time. MMA shorts and grappling shorts are a part of that uniform, and a number of vendors take pride in the items they develop for this special class of athletes.

The reasons for choosing a quality set of men’s MMA shorts over just any old pair of shorts are many. For one thing, brands like Dethrone, Manto, Hayabusa Fightwear, Tapout, Jaco, and others spend considerable time and expense creating materials that breathe well, are comfortable and flexible during competition, and endure the damage of frequent use. The colors and particular designs used to attract the fans inside the stands watching the action, and a well-chosen set of MMA shorts can promote professionalism and reliability for the fighters themselves.

To illustrate a few of the features of the finest grappling shorts and MMA shorts available on the market, let’s examine several specific types. There are the Venum Red Hurricane FX Fight Shorts, for instance, which have impressive design details in a bold white and red pair of shorts. They are constructed of an exceptionally lightweight Microfiber material that’s durable and tear resistant. They’ve got split outer leg seams to permit freedom of movement, and a special Flex Lycra panel on the inside for comfort.

One more high quality pair of MMA shorts that are both practical and appealing would be the ADX Black Dragon Fight Shorts. The business approaches a fighter’s movements in a different way, using state-of-the-art neoprene material in several areas that stretches effortlessly and performs effectively. The poly directional flex fabric in the body of the garment wicks moisture from your body, keeping you dry even during the heat of battle. Best of all, they look good without having to be too flashy to be taken seriously.

On the reverse side of the coin is one thing like Tapout’s World Order Board Shorts, that are a part of The ultimate fighter series of Official Team clothing. They’re a lot more about style and showmanship than other models, keeping the World Order graphic on one of the legs and also the familiar Tapout logo on the backside. They interest those looking for longer shorts that are less concerned with ultimate ease and comfort or performance.

Regardless of the style and brand you choose, its smart to consider the design elements that fit your distinctive fighting style. Men’s MMA shorts are (or should be) more than just a fashion statement – they’re a part of a serious fighter’s training gear and equipment, and should be closely considered to obtain the best value for your investment as time passes. Knowing your body and its limitations can help determine the right pair of shorts for your training and professional development.

If you’re looking into buying MMA shorts then you have to check out MMA Fighting Shorts They have some of the best shorts available! Or try out the MMA Gloves which are also made extremely well.

On a historic night for the sport of mixed martial arts, Brock Lesnar avenged his early loss to Frank Mir with a TKO victory and in the process unified the promotions heavyweight championship at UFC 100. Mir/Lesnar was the main event of a stacked card and the culmination of a frenzied week of activity in Las Vegas.

UFC 100 drew unprecedented attention from not only the MMA media but the mainstream sports media as well. While outlets like ESPN have long treated MMA with disdain they were forced by the interest surrounding the event to give it prime coverage.

Preliminary buy rates suggest that more than 1.5 million people purchased the event, which would not only make it the UFC’s biggest PPV ever but put it in the top five of *all* PPV sporting events. While it fell short of the all time PPV record of 2.4 million buys set by the De La Hoya/Mayweather fight, the unprecedented interest has put MMA on the map to stay.

The main event established Lesnar as not only the UFC heavyweight champion, but the most hated ‘bad guy’ in the sport To his credit, he had a perfect gameplan for Mir that allowed him to use his strength and power to maul his opponent on the ground while minimizing his exposure to submissions.

Mir, on the other hand, made a tactical mistake by letting Lesnar put him on his back and pound away. He clearly underestimated Lesnar’s ability to defend his submissions and by the end of the first round had already suffered a nasty beating. Lesnar quickly took Mir down again at the start of the second round, ending the fight with a punishing ground and pound assault that prompted referee Herb Dean to call a stop to the contest at 1:48 of the second round.

Lesnar diminished his dominating performance with his postfight antics”he taunted Mir after the stoppage, prompting the crowd to boo him mercilessly. He responded to this with a double handed middle finger salute before a short and arrogant postfight interview that would have been much more at home in the WWE than in this setting. Mir was the consummate professional in defeat, giving credit to his opponent and generally displaying all of the class that Lesnar lacked.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He 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.

While not a vintage performance by their lofty standards, the University of Southern California Trojans overcame a number of mistakes to make big plays when they counted to prevail in a come from behind victory over Ohio State. Stafon Johnson capped a late game drive by scoring the game winning touchdown with just over a minute remaining as the Trojans won by a final score of 18-15. It was the first time the Trojans held the lead since early in the first quarter.

Ohio State did cash tickets for college football bettors, however, covering the spread as a +7 home underdog. USC won and covered last year, but the pointspread setback this year dropped the Trojans to a still impressive 13-5 ATS against the Big Ten conference since 1992. It was also only the second non-cover by a USC team in a non conference game in their last ten opportunities. The 33 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 45. Last years game also failed to exceed the total, and USC continued a strong UNDER tendency of late.

19 year old freshman Matt Barkley engineered the game winning touchdown drive. After the game, he spoke of the Trojan tradition of victory:

“We’re Trojans. That’s what we do. This is what we dreamed of, coming back like this. Doesn’t matter where we are in the score. We found a way. I love this.”

Tailback Joe McKnight sarcastically dismissed suggestions that Barkley was rattled by a tenacious and stifling Buckeye defense:

“He was scared, really. No, he came in with the same composure he had the whole game. He was calm. He made plays.”

USC coach Pete Carroll praised Barkleys composure in such an intense environment:

“He’s not 19. He’s our quarterback. I’m not worried about how old he is. Numbers mean nothing.”

Ohio State linebacker Greg Rolle said his defense played great”until the final drive:

“It’s very frustrating, but we knew eventually they’d make plays. The last drive was heartbreaking. Give McKnight lots of credit on that last drive, he was good. The last drive was definitely, you go back and you think about, and you think about how close you came to winning.

Ohio State will travel to Toledo for a non-conference game before starting their Big 10 schedule at home against Illinois. USC now faces three straight Pac 10 games, starting next weekend on the road at the University of Washington.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on baseball 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 energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Fantasy sports allow everyday people to live out the life of a sports manager or talent scout. Fantasy players have played for years, but once fantasy sports were available on the internet their popularity soared.

While fantasy football and baseball still lead in popularity, fantasy golf is being played more and more each year. Almost all of the large fantasy sport sites run fantasy golf leagues. The entry fees are set at different prices. There are some games you can play for free. Other games charge a set fee to play or a fee each time you make a transaction. Typically, the larger the entry fee, the more experienced the players are.

The rules vary depending on which league you decide to enter but typically you will form teams of pro golfers each week. Your score depends on how well your players do. Fantasy league typically run the entire golf season ending with the Tour Championship. However, some leagues will start games midseason where only the rankings from that point on will count for your score totals.

In addition to the fun of playing, most fantasy games offer cash prizes to those who have done the best at the conclusion of the season. A league might also offer weekly prizes to the top performer of that week.

Golf fantasy teams are scored many ways. In most fantasy golf leagues, the top points are given to the golfer who finishes with the lowest score in each round. Additional points are given to golfers who finish in the top ten or are a certain number of strokes behind the winner.

If an individual is interested in playing fantasy golf, most fantasy league websites have in-depth analysis of each pro golfer. Experts in the field of golf will often weigh in on who they think has the best chance of winning. There is historical data to see how a golfer performs at a particular golf course. In-depth analysis and biographies of each player are also available. Information is constantly being updated for golf finatics. Even for someone who does not want to play in a league themselves, a fantasy site is a great place to get the latest information about golf.

Many people believe that fantasy leagues are good for the game of golf. People who play fantasy sports are likely to become more invested in watching broadcasts, attending tournaments, and purchasing items to assist them with their teams. Fantasy golf gives golf fans a way to be involved with professional golf, even if their scorecard reaches triple digits.

You can find more Fantasy Sports Articles at Find Articles

What exactly do you truly need to find out about protein powder? For a slim person or beginner towards the whole muscle mass building scene you just wish to know a couple of solutions. Does it truly function? Is protein powder required? What type should I use? What’s the best? Just how much do I need to have?

How much Protein Powder Do I Need?

Protein is a vitally important macro nutrient and really should be eaten regularly each day. I suggest no less than 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for every lb of lean muscle mass. Which means should you be 170 pounds and 11% body fat (170 x .11 = 18.7 lbs of fat giving 151 pounds of lean mass), you will require a minimum of 151 to around 227 grams of protein every day.

I suggest that protein powder be ingested principally for ones pre workout, work out and post work out shake. This is when liquid food is more effective over whole food due to the fact it possesses a quicker absorption rate.

Which Kind Of Protein Powder Should I Utilize?

CASEIN PROTEIN accounts for 80% of overall milk protein. Casein is known for it’s fantastic amino acid profile, slow digestive nature, and useful variety of peptides. Since casein is gradually digested into your bloodstream, don’t make use of it throughout physical exercises or soon after physical exercises – you will need a speedy absorbing protein at these periods. As a substitute, use a casein protein for all different situations outside the pre and post workout window.

WHEY PROTEIN accounts for 20% of total milk protein. Whey is regarded for its interesting variety of peptides, rapid digestion, high cysteine content, and excellent amino acid profile. Since it is rapidly digested the finest moment to eat it is just before your regular workout, while having your exercise or soon after your workout. These will be considered the phases in the day in which you want energy the most and any time the body is in an anabolic state.

Whey hydrolysates (also known as peptides, and are also acknowledged as hydrolyzed whey protein), are powerful proteins which are more quickly absorbed; more so than any other type, since your system favors peptides to whole proteins. Hydrolysates are usually most likely by far the most anabolic for temporary protein synthesis for example the pre and post workout time frame.

SOY PROTEIN is the most questionable of all protein forms. Although soy groupies have gone to great lengths to brand soy as being a super food using marvelous effects, there is also a great level of research which suggests soy protein might be contraindicated in many scenarios. Due to the fact of all of the confusion, within my personal thoughts and opinions, I advocate staying away from soy protein entirely and sticking with the various other styles outlined.

Protein Blends are often the variety of several types of protein blends for example whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, casein protein, soy protein, and egg protein.

Why might you want a blend anyhow? You might get the full spectrum of proteins and you should receive varying rates of absorption with the various kinds of protein. Having a blend can establish an anabolic environment with the whey and an anti-catabolic setting via the casein – take advantage of this form at any time through the day however NOT before or after having a work out.

Whey Isolate Vs. Whey Protein:

Almost all whey protein powders that will supply the health supplement racks are made up of whey concentrate and combined in with a modest portion of whey isolate. Evaluating the 2, whey protein isolate is a bit more steeply-priced than whey protein concentrate for the reason that it provides a higher quality (more pure) along with a larger biological value (BV). Whey protein isolate is made up of even more protein and much less fat and lactose for each serving. Nearly all whey concentrates incorporate 70 – 85% protein while whey protein isolates consist of 90 – 98% protein.

Whey protein isolate is the largest yield of protein now available that derives from whole milk. Due to its chemical attributes it’s the easiest to absorb into your system. Clearly with its large concentration, it appears that an isolate protein would be your evident preference rather than a concentrate. Nonetheless, this is an individual choice because the isolate is a bit more higher priced, and simply because it is more pure doesn’t assure that it can help create greater muscle mass. Its added concentration may not warrant it’s expense.

So Which Must You Select?

For the Pre workout along with Post workout stages, provided that whey hydrolysate is the first or second component within the dietary supplement label then there is not likely adequate amounts in the product to impact protein synthesis to harvest the optimal rewards. As claimed, whey isolates will also be an extremely high quality whey and for optimum anabolism, isolates should be coupled with whey hydrolysates for merely the pre workout and post workout stages of the routine. The addition of small amounts of whey concentrates won’t hurt you nevertheless this ought not to be the initial component on the tub of protein powder.

If you are searching for the most powerful protein powder to exploit your complete growth potential throughout the development and restoration levels (whenever other than pre and post workout) then utilize a blend. You’ll obtain the full array of proteins and you will get different rates of consumption with the several types of proteins.

Plan to find out more on Building Muscle Fast, you should take a look at Clinton Juergens’s webpage teaching how to Gain Weight Fast

Whether he competes in boxing or mixed martial arts, the toughest decision any professional prizefighter must confront is deciding when to end his career. Boxing history is littered with countless once great fighters that diminished their legacy and put their health and well being at risk by sticking around too long. As evidence that MMA has matured as a sport, it appears to be experiencing the same phenomenon with fighters such as Ken Shamrock soldiering on despite being well past their prime. Kazushi Sakuraba is definitely the most legendary fighter in the history of MMA in Japan, but unfortunately he too must be added to that list following his brutal knockout loss to Melvin Manhoef at DREAM 4.

While MMA has exploded in popularity in the United States, there’s not one individual fighter who can be credited with the boom. In Japan, however, Sakuraba is widely acknowledged to have brought the sport to the mainstream of that country’s popular culture. His legendary feud against the Gracie family, highlighted by his epic 90 minute war with Royce Grace at PRIDE’s 2000 GP event, elevated him well past superstar status into the realm of national hero.

While Sakuraba’s resume certainly justifies the reverence with which hes held by the Japanese fight community, hes not really done anything to build on that legacy for several years. His last truly significant victory was a submission win over former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton Rampage Jackson and his last victory over what can be considered a quality opponent in his prime was against Kevin Randleman in late 2003.

Sakuraba is not only 38 years old, but he’s what fight experts consider an ‘old 38′ based on the number of grueling, physically and emotionally draining battles he’s competed in. His 90 minute classic with Royce Gracie alone took a toll that some suggest that Sakuraba has never recovered from. Despite this, he continued to face the best opponents in the world after that fight.

Compounding Sakuraba’s ‘ring age’ was his tendency to face much larger superstars–these ‘dream matches’ would sell tickets in Japan, but are the sort of matchup that would never get sanctioned in the better regulated US fight sport industry. The quality of opponent he faced at heavier weights is mind boggling and includes Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Vitor Belfort and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Unfortunately, the old saying that ‘a good big man will beat a good little man’ was proven true in these matchups with most ending in losses for Sakuraba by brutal KO or stoppage.

Despite his recent setbacks, Sakuraba has made no indication that hell be retiring anytime soon. Hopefully, this decision doesn’t put his long-term health and future well being at risk.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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It was just a week ago that the Saskatchewan Roughriders blew a 22-0 first half CFL lead to the Edmonton Eskimos en route to a 38-33 loss. On Sunday afternoon, it looked for a moment like history was repeating itself. The Riders led 23-0 at halftime before the Hamilton Tiger-Cats came roaring back with 16 third quarter points. Hamilton would tie the score at 23-23 early in the fourth quarter before the hosts pulled it out with a late touchdown and field goal to win 33-23.

After the game, Roughriders coach Ken Miller talked about the importance of pulling out the win:

“We didn’t want to do that again, “In the first half in particular it was sensational. In the third quarter we gave up some points … but overall our defence played pretty good.”

Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said there was no moral victory in coming close with a big comeback:

“You’ve got to play 60 minutes to win in the CFL, you can’t play 30 minutes.”

Saskatchewan ran for 214 yards, with Wes Cates becoming the first Roughrider to rush for more than 100 yards this season as he finished with 117. After the game, Cates spoke of his accomplishment:

“It was not as much for myself but more for the naysayers. Yeah I needed a big game like that to stop the rumours and stop people from talking bad about me.”

Saskatchewans defensive line also starred, completely shutting down the Hamilton rushing attack. The Roughriders limited the Tiger-Cats runners to a mere 31 yards on the ground.

Kevin Glenn replaced Hamilton starting QB Quinton Porter after the first quarter and finished the game 12-for-27 with 183 yards. Porter was 1-for-5 for only three yards before he was yanked.

The Tiger-Cats now have a bye week before they return to action August 29th on the road against the Edmonton Eskimos. Saskatchewan will head east to take on the CFL best Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

There are many individuals out there who accumulate sports equipment as decorations for their collection. They’re generally sports buffs who might possess a glass cabinet or even a whole space dedicated to show all of their various sports collection. Several folks just do not comprehend why there are folks who collect such things. Some folks even don’t know a thing of the importance in accumulating a sports gear.

For these folks, various sports equipment are regarded as items of history. Inside the western world and in a number of other countries, sports have normally brought the people collectively under one banner. A sport is not merely a regular past time but also a means of getting individuals with each other. There are lots of events when sports have brought folks together, the football World Cup, the Olympics, the Rugby world championships to name just a few. These types of situations bring individuals together as a nation supporting their national team. Perhaps the smallest part of equipment from one of these occasions serves like a part of history and holds a great deal of significance to sports enthusiasts all over the world.

Sports equipment collectors usually start this passion when they fall passionately in love with a specific sport. When they do this they also fall in love with a specific team. To these people, girlfriends, wives, cars, houses, and many more can be changed and replaced, but a favorite sport and a favorite team last till death. Look at association football supporters in Europe. They fall in line every weekend at the stadiums to watch, cheer, and support their favorite teams with one big voice. In baseball, a fly ball or a home run ball shot directly to the crowd is priceless. Those who catch these balls either become personal treasures and heirlooms, and they can be very priceless indeed, especially if these were balls from a home run record.

The thing about collecting sports equipment or memorabilia is that no matter what age you start collecting, the passion or the drive has been boiling inside for a long time already. Most of the time collectors never thought they would start collecting themselves. They usually chance on collecting kits, jerseys, and uniforms with the logo of their favorite teams. Some start to learn the team chants or team songs, especially in football. Some others go on to record and download these songs as well. This is also prevalent in sports-minded families, with two or one parent influencing a child to play and support a sport and a sports team.

Sometimes sport collectors even go to great lengths to capture or obtain a certain piece of sports equipment or memorabilia. To them these objects hold so much meaning and history. If you feel that you fit this category, do not be ashamed to go out there and start collecting. If you are lucky, and your team’s stadium is not too far away, collecting fly balls, or getting autographed hats or balls may be easy and you can easily build your collection. If you are one of those who are miles away from getting a piece of the action, then plan the trip of your life to get to that stadium and capture even just one piece of history for yourself.

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The Green Bay Packers used 21 second quarter points and three Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes to easily dispatch the punchless Cleveland Browns 31-3 on Sunday. Rodgers threw two of his three touchdowns during the second quarter onslaught, adding a fourth quarter tally for good measure. Ryan Grant added–8 yards of rushing and a touchdown in the victory, in which the Packers dominated the statistical battle. Green Bay improved their 2009 NFL record to 4-2, while Cleveland slumped to 1-6.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who laid the -8′ with Green Bay as road favorites cashed their tickets with the lopsided victory. Green Bay improved to 4-2 against the NFL pointspread while the Browns dropped to 3-4 against the number. The 34 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 41′. Cleveland has gone UNDER in four of seven this season, while Green Bay evened their NFL totals record at 3-3.

The Packers upped their intensity early in the game, after quarterback Aaron Rodgers was punched in the face during a scrum. He recounts what happened next:

“One of the linemen came over and said, ‘Who was it? We got your back. That means a lot to me and that means a lot to our team.”

David Bowens was the perpetrator, though he insisted he was simply playing hard:

“I was just trying to grab anything I had. It wasn’t malicious, I was just trying to get a stop. I apologized to him for it. He can call it what he wants to call it, but the refs didn’t call it. I’d treat him different if he was passing the ball, that’s different. But if he’s running the ball, he’s a running back. It’s called football.”

Browns’ quarterback Derek Anderson lamented his team’s struggles in postgame comments:

“We aren’t good right now. That’s it. Period. We haven’t executed. We haven’t done the right things to win ballgames. We haven’t run the ball effectively, thrown it where we needed to. We haven’t protected up front like we need to and caught it when we need to.”

Head coach Eric Mangini sounded a similar tone:

“It’s a very disappointing performance across the board. I don’t think we played very well. I don’t think we coached very well. I thought we were making progress in a lot of areas. I don’t think we showed that today — at all.”

The Packers now face a big game next Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings which will feature Brett Favre’s first return to Green Bay in a visiting uniform. They’ll face the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week before hosting the Dallas Cowboys on November 15. Cleveland will travel to Chicago for a game against the Bears next week. They’ll have a bye the following week before returning to action at home against Baltimore on Monday, November 16.

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 Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Washington Redskins head coach Jim Zorn is off of the hot seat-at least temporarily. After a recent swoon that saw him stripped of play calling duties for the NFL team, Zorn got a vote of confidence from upper management on Friday. His head isn’t entirely out of the noose, however, as the reprieve will last only to the end of the season unless some marked improvement is seen in the second half.

Executive Vice President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato had the following statement:

“Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins and will be for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future.”

“The frustration is very high, everywhere around here. But the relationships internally within this organization, quite frankly, remain the same.”

For his part, Zorn was unimpressed by the vote of ’semi-confidence’:

“I don’t necessarily have a reaction to that because I am the head coach. I want to be here for the next 10 years. That’s my story.”

While he didn’t express much personal relief from the management statement, he said he hoped it would benefit his players:

“If it comforts the players – awesome! But I think our players are focused regardless of what the situation is. Whatever has to be said, I guess it has to be said, but we go on.”

Quarterback Jason Campbell sounded relieved:

“That should relieve a lot of tension and a lot of stress. Guys don’t have to worry about thinking about it or talking about it. We were the soap opera for the NFL the last two weeks so hopefully it’ll calm down a little bit.”

Ceratto also had a different take on the removal of Zorn’s play calling duties:

“Look at all the things that we’ve done to try to help. You could have done other things drastically. No, you have confidence in him, because you want him to do well. Hopefully we can just concentrate and focus on winning football games.

He also expressed confidence in offensive consultant-and new offensive playcaller-Sherm Lewis’ ability to do the job:

“You don’t forget how to ride a bike if you hadn’t rode your bike in four years.”

The Redskins have slumped to a 2-4 record in the early part of the NFL season despite being the first team in league history to play six straight games against winless teams. The Redskins two wins came against the St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have a combined 0-12 record. Washington will host the Philadelphia Eagles this Monday night before a bye week.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected 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 a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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. Every indication from Sanchez and the Jets’ staff suggests that he’ll be able to play.

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 didn’t appear to be any sort of effort to prepare Kellen Clemens to assume the starting role.

After practice, 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.”

New York 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. While he wasn’t with the team at the time of the incident, Ryan has expressed his displeasure with the fine.

The Jets are less optimistic about the condition of cornerback Donald Strickland, who is suffering from a sprained right ankle. Ryan didnt offer much positive indication 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. 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 sports writer and respected 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 a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Jean Makoun scored early in the second half to give Lyon a hard fought 1-0 victory in the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League matchup against Real Madrid. The Spanish champions lost for the third straight time on Lyon’s Stade Gerland home field and will now have an uphill battle when the teams meet at Bernabeu to advance to the next round. With the Champions League final slated to be held in their stadium, an exit this early in the competition would be nothing short of an embarrassment for Real Madrid. They’ll need a multigoal victory to assure themselves of advancing to the next round.

Lyon controlled the play in the first half and held a decisive possession advantage. Unfortunately, they didn’t get many accurate scoring chances with a number of them going wide or high of the net. Despite Lyon’s time of possession advantage in the first half, Madrid actually got the best scoring chances in the first half. Following Makoun’s goal just 2 minutes from the start of the second half, Madrid controlled play but could not score the equalizer. For the game, Madrid held a 66% to 34% time of possession advantage. The shots on goal were even, but Madrid had the better chances despite not scoring on them.

Real Madrid has won the Champions League title 10 times, but now must rally from this 1-0 deficit when play resumes on their home field in May. Despite their tradition of success, Madrid hasn’t made it past the round of 16 for six straight years. Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t particularly worried heading into the home half of the matchup:

“In football anything is possible. We’ve lost here but we have a game at home in which we can repeat what they did here. I’m calm. In this competition you have to suffer. I’m sure that we will give a good answer in the return game and that we will win. The Bernabeu will help us. We will have to give to give it everything from the first minute until the last. The tie is not lost.”

Madrid General Director Jorge Valdano added:

“It’s been a bad night in general, especially the result. We had ups and downs during the match, but at no moment were we ourselves. The result means we have to really concentrate at the Bernabeu. Lyon barely stepped out of their half in the final minutes, but they made things very difficult for us for a long time, especially in midfield.”

Real Madrid will have to do without a couple of starters in the rematch. Marcelo and Xabi Alonso are suspending for the May contest due to bookings in previous contests. The team isn’t particularly concerned due to their deep and talented roster.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published 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 Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Throughout its history, the UFC done a good job balancing serious competitors with ’sideshow acts’ designed to pull in viewers. While its debatable that the UFC has the best heavyweight in mixed martial arts, they may soon have the most famous. Dana White announced recently that Kimbo Slice will be a contestant on season 10 of the UFCs MMA reality show The Ultimate Fighter. A good performance there could see him get a shot at fighting for the promotion.

In the past, Dana White has dismissed Slice and suggested that the only way hed ever fight in the UFC is by winning The Ultimate Fighter. Kimbo will get the opportunity to do just that, and combined with the recently announced coaches Rashad Evans and the always entertaining Quinton Rampage Jackson could be the highest rated season in series history. For Kimbo (real name Kevin Ferguson)it is yet another strange twist in his bizarre career as a professional fighter. Slice first made his name fighting in non-sanctioned street fights to supplement his income as a bodyguard for a Miami based adult film production company. At some point, Kimbos entourage started bringing video cameras to his fights and the footage found its way onto the Internet.

Kimbo quickly became an online cult hero before he officially turned pro as a fighter. He began to train under MMA legend Bas Rutten and made his debut in an exhibition against former heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer. Kimbo won a dominating victory, and his meteoric rise to superstardom was underway. Not long after, he signed with EliteXC and they quickly made Kimbo the centerpiece of their promotion. While building a MMA promotion around a fighter with almost no experience likely led to their downfall, at the time Kimbo became a media sensation and Elite XC parlayed his popularity into a prime time network TV deal with CBS.

Things started out fine for Kimbo as he made short work out of his first three overmatched opponents. Kimbos fourth fight was originally scheduled to be against former UFC mainstay Ken Shamrock, but due to a last minute injury he eventually faced substitute Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli caught Kimbo with a perfectly placed counter right hook and knocked him out. That was the beginning of the end for Elite XC, and the promotion was out of business in a matter of weeks.

Since then, Kimbo kept a fairly low profile. He’s since parted with trainer Bas Rutten who intimated that Kimbo had let his newfound celebrity go to his head. UFC president Dana White would occasionally be asked if hed ever have an interested in Kimbo, which hed dismiss with the offhanded suggestion that the only way hed fight in the UFC was to compete in The Ultimate Fighter reality show.

While its unclear when that off-handed dismissal by White became a viable reality, but regardless of how the deal came together Kimbo will be a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter. Its really a no-lose proposition for the UFC”if Kimbo doesnt do well, they were right all along and if he *does* do well they can make some money with him. In any case, the media coverage and ratings for their MMA reality show will likely be at an all time high.

Ross Everett is a widely published 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.

Landon Donovan raised his international stock with a spirited performance for the USA national team at the recently concluded World Cup. That doesn’t mean he’ll be shipping off to the Premier League or Serie A. On Thursday, Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner Don Garber emphasized that the United States’ top professional league wouldn’t be accepting transfer offers for Donovan. Garber said that he’d be receptive to loan offers during the MLS off-season, but that his league has no plans to entertain transfer offers for any sort of long term duration.

Donovan has played in Europe on loan before with mixed results. He struggled during stints with Bundesliga sides Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, but was impressive during a 10 week loan to Everton of the English Premier League earlier this year. Donovan scored two goals in 13 matches with Everton and was instrumental in a couple of their best results of the season-wins over Chelsea and Manchester United and a draw with Arsenal.

After scoring three goals for the USA in World Cup play, Donovan has become an even more attractive target for European clubs but MLS commissioner Garber said he’s too valuable of an asset for the league to lose:

“He’s become a real soccer hero. MLS needs soccer heroes, and we have a great American soccer hero playing for us in LA, holding the torch for the sport in our country, and that’s very important. I don’t believe that it’s something we can do without.”

“Landon is in my view the greatest player of our generation and an incredibly valuable part of our history but also of our future. He proved in England last year on loan and he proved in South Africa that he’s a world-class player and he’s also proved that he loves our league and really has accepted the mantle of really being one of the leaders of the sport. It is my hope and my expectation that we have him for the rest of his career because I think the contributions that he makes are invaluable to our future success.”

Donovan certainly left open the possibility of a move to Europe with this comment after the World Cup:

“Right now, I want to be in America. If there’s something serious to look at, then I will. I never say never to anything. But for now, I’m very excited to be home.”

The notion of a Donovan move to the English Premier League became something of a hot topic last week when Everton boss Phil Neville commented that he’d spoken to him about a return:

“I’ve spoken to Landon and I know for a fact that he wants to come back here.”

For the time being, however, Donovan will continue with the MLS’ top team, the LA Galaxy. Donovan agreed in December to a four year deal with a base salary of $2.05 million per season.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance 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 a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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Sports gambling is a popular pursuit because everyone understands the basics of how teams win and lose and why. Horses, meanwhile, are an entirely different animal”no pun intended. It is a complex discipline unto itself, and a sound background in handicapping sports doesn’t insure success, or even mediocrity in handicapping the ponies. In fact, the history of sports betting is replete with successful gamblers that had a weakness for horse betting, with an emphasis on the word weakness. Most notable, perhaps, is the former resident handicapper at CBS, Jimmy The Greek Snyder. The story goes that The Greek was a first rate sports handicapper, but he couldn’t pick the winner of a one horse race when playing the ponies. The bad news for The Greek is that he enjoyed playing the ponies nonetheless, and often frittered away the money he won at the other end of the sportsbook.

Below are some very basic concepts that you need to know to enjoy a day at the horse track. This information doesn’t even scratch the surface of what you’ll need to know if your goal is to become a serious horse betting devotee. If that is the case, you’re best advised to check out one of the many theoretical books devoted to the subject.

Reading in Fundamental: The first thing you should do when you arrive at the horse track is to purchase a track program and a copy of the Daily Racing Form. The Daily Racing Form (or DRF for short) is the Wall Street Journal of the horse handicapping set. The track program will offer much of the same information about the specific track, but is frequently in a more user friendly format than the often arcane DRF. The basic stats you’ll find in these publications are the names of the horses, jockeys and trainers, the morning line odds, and the types of bets available for each race. You’ll also have past performance charts, which are the bread and butter of serious horse handicappers. These charts reveal a lot about a horse and what they’ve done on the racetrack, including its record, where it ran, the quality of competition it ran against, and what position the horse was in at various points in the race. Most tracks have customer service types that are helpful in clearing up anything you don’t understand. While asking the personnel in a sports book who they like isn’t a wise idea, its OK at the track for a reason well now discuss”you’re not playing against them.

The House Doesn’t Care Who Wins: One thing that is important for the sports bettor to remember when playing the horses is that its a parimutuel situation. In other words, you’re not playing against the house, you’re playing against the other bettors. The track just facilitates the betting and acts as a middleman, handling the money for a fee (15 to 25 percent of the parimutuel pool). Another difference is that the track odds are determined by how much money is bet on each horse. If everyone bets on one horse”whether it is the best horse, or just has the catchiest name”it will go off as the favorite. Long odds on a horse doesn’t necessarily indicate a bad horse, but just one that the wagering public isn’t investing in. Sometimes this can be one and the same, but not always.

So where do the odds in the newspaper or program come from? The so-called morning odds are basically educated guesses as to where the wagering will go. Its roughly analogous to overnight lines in sports gambling. They can be helpful as a guideline, but may or may not be indicative as to how the actual wagering will go.

Handicapping basics: There are so many different approaches to handicapping horse races that its difficult to even know where to start. Some handicappers emphasize past performance data. Others factor in the results of recent workouts, while others prefer a visual examination of the horses in the paddock.

Once a handicapper gets an idea what will happen in the race, he has to factor the available odds into the proposition. A favorite may be an unattractive wagering prospect due to a prohibitively high price, while a long shot may be a good wagering value based on a high potential payback. It all boils down to wagering value, which is simply a matter of doing a math. Teaching the youth of America solid math skills is crucial for no other reason than to help them gamble effectively and profitably.

Training and bloodlines: Handicappers often focus on a horse’s breeding lineage, considering the quality of the bloodlines and the racing pedigree of his parents and grandparents. Others put great focus on a horse’s trainers. An ‘A-list’ trainer can often get the most out of a horse much in the same way an elite level NFL coach can cause a team to ‘over perform’.

The Jockeys: In the simplest terms, jockeys are independent contractors and thus to make money they need to do well. In theory, a jockey wants to get on the best horse possible in each race to maximize his chances of winning. That also results in sort of a chicken and the egg conundrum–are the horses winning because the best jockeys are aboard, or are the best jockeys merely adept at getting on the best horses? Most serious horse players look to the jockey as a secondary consideration. Its sort of a situation where a good jockey cant win with a bad horse, but a bad jockey can cause a good horse not to win.

Find your own style, and maintain discipline: Basically, there’s not a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to handicap a horse race. Figure out what works for you, and develop and refine your own methodology. As in any form of gambling, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose and in particular when you’re starting out there’s no reason to be making big wagers. If you want to learn more, there’s a number of good internet resources including the Daily Racing Form website.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling 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, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.