Thursday 3rd November 2005
Horse
racing
Lee Freedman will be aiming to continue his dominance
of the Spring Carnival when he saddles favourite Serenade
Rose and Empress Lily in today's Crown Oaks. Serenade
Rose has been well backed since her win in Wakeful
last Saturday but there has also been good support
for the Gai Waterhouse trained Astronomia who was
second to Serenade Rose.
Of the others, there has been good support for the John McArdle trained Isanami and the Bart Cummings trained Mary Marvel at a big price.
Cricket
After Justin Langer was ruled out with a fractured
rib and replaced by Test debutante Michael Hussey
and Bracken got the nod ahead of NSW team mate MacGill,
the Aussies are well placed to beat the Windies. The
moisture in the track and the chance of rain may see
some great swing bowling by Bracken, which should
see off any resistance from the Windies. The Windies
will regret not have a spin bowler as their young
attack may be vulnerable to an Aussie line up that
definitely has something to prove. The Aussies will
be looking for all their batsmen to have at least
one good innings as there are many outsides chomping
at the bit for a chance to play for Australia this
summer. Lara, so long the mainstay of the Windies
lineup has been in indifferent form and will need
to really lift if his team has any chance this week.
Soccer
Four years ago the Socceroos were soundly beaten when
they traveled to Montevideo to play Uruguay. The Aussies
couldn't handle the hostility of the public or the
pressure of the World Cup qualifier. The team will
have matured since that heart-breaking campaign and
once again will travel to the lions den to play Uruguay.
The Aussies will be looking for a draw or a small
loss, with a view to winning the return leg in Sydney
four days later.
Thursday November 10th 2005
Soccer
The Socceroos have lost the first skirmish in their
battle to reach the 2006 World Cup Finals. After days
of wrangling, the kick off time for Australia's first
leg World Cup qualifying match with Uruguay in Montevideo
has been set by FIFA at 6pm local time this Saturday
(0700 Sunday 13/11 AEDT).
Uruguay have not been without their own problems with star Striker Diego Forlan not picked for the first leg due to a thigh strain. Other front line players that are unavailable for Uruguay due to suspension are Diego Lugano, Omar Pouso and Gustavo Varela. Australia have had some injury concerns with Archie Thompson, Marco Bresciano and Scott Chipperfield not training, though they are expected to take the field this weekend.
Cricket
Australia dominated the Windies in the first Test
match in Brisbane. They will be looking to take that
form to Captain Ricky Ponting's home ground Bellerive
Oval in Hobart. The shaky Australian middle order
looks to be safe for this Test due to the continued
injury of Justin Langer and the injury to promising
all rounder Shane Watson. These injuries will also
save Hussey who will be desperate to impress after
his last start. The injury list will also most likely
see MacGill recalled to the bowling attack, with Bracken
also keeping himself in the team with his dominating
display in Brisbane. The Windies will need to focus
after Brisbane with the batsmen under a lot of pressure
to perform after the Aussie attack took them apart
in the first test.
NFL
Ex-Geelong player Ben Graham lines up as Punter for
the New York Jets when they play away to the Carolina
Panthers. It will be no easy task for the Jets as
the Panthers are looking for their sixth win in a
row.
On Monday NFL action the Browns leave the friendly dog pound for a tough road game vs the red hot Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers will be very hard to beat at home even though they will be without the service of star Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who is sidelined with a knee injury. Watch this game live on Monday as Sportingbet will be offering first and second half markets for this game.
After a week of controversy the Philadelphia Eagles will be down one Wide Receiver in TO who has been dropped from the Club after a series of indiscretions. The Eagles can now turn their attention to this weeks match when they host the Cowboys. The Cowboys are coming off a bye so the team should be fresh and coach Bill Parcells will hope their defensive play will be competitive with the Eagles after aggressive off season recruiting. This game can be viewed live on Tuesday with Sportingbet betting on the first and second half.
Thursday November 18th 2005
Soccer
Australia's thrilling qualification for the World
Cup finals in Germany is not the only thing happening
in soccer, though you'd be forgiven for thinking that
it was!
Liverpool are having a terrible season. They are mid-table after 10 rounds which is a far cry from their form last season, although they did achieve their first away win of the season last week against Aston Villa. Liverpool play Portsmouth at home this week and are favourites to take the game and make it three much needed wins in a row.
Glamour club Chelsea may be at the top of the table but they have lost their last two games. Their last Premiership match was a loss to Man U and they also lost to Real Betis in the Champions League. Newcastle have won their last two games home and away, so will come into this game with a lot of confidence. Man U won their last game against Chelsea and will be starting to feel their season is back on track. They travel to The Valley to take on Charlton in a match that could be very close.
Rugby
Union
The outcome of the Great Britain and Australia game
will decide who plays in the Tri-Nations Final. An
Aussie win will see them through to play New Zealand.
If the British win by more than 9 points the Aussies
will be on the first flight home.
NFL
The Chicago Bears have the NFL's top-ranked defense
and have a running game that ranks fifth, which will
be a pleasant surprise to the club. They are on a
five game winning streak and host one of the Super
Bowl favourites - the Carolina Panthers who enter
the contest with six wins on the trot.
The Bengals host Super Bowl contenders the Indianapolis Colts and will feel they have a chance of ending the Colts 9 game winning streak. The Bengels are tied at the top of the AFC North Ladder and have won some big games at home.
The New Orleans Saints will be relying on dual Super Bowl winner Antowain Smith to make some big yards when they take on two-time defending champions New England Patriots.
Thursday 24th November 2005
Rugby
Union
The Kangaroos take on New Zealand in the final of
the Tri Nations League in England this weekend. Australia
are short priced favourites to roll the Kiwis despite
both pool games between the two sides being very hard
fought encounters. Australia have some injury concerns
over key players but at their best should be still
good enough for the Kiwis in front of a crowd that
might fail to match the amount of points scored in
Leeds.
The big money at this stage has been for the Aussies straight out but there has also been some support for the Kiwis at the plus.
Cricket
The third and final test between Australia and the
West Indies kicks off tomorrow in Adelaide and Australia
are raging favourites after smashing the Windies in
the first two tests. The Windies have lost a couple
of key batsmen while Australia welcome back Justin
Langer. It is hard to see any result other than an
Aussie win unless rain intervenes. All the money has
been for the Aussies at this stage.
NFL
There are two NFL games on tonight for Thanksgiving
with Detroit hosting Atlanta and Denver traveling
to Dallas. Atlanta had a bad result last week losing
at home to Tampa Bay and they will need to get back
on track with a win if they are to be true contenders
come the end of the season. Denver has been in hot
form in recent weeks and it will be a good test to
see if Dallas are really contenders.
Harness Racing
The Miracle Mile is on at Harold Park tomorrow night
and it has been a keen betting affair. The two favourites,
It Is I and Lookslikelightning, have both come in
for very good support while there has also been good
money for the old warrior Sokyola at big odds.