Written by Rob Perez (follow him on twitter @world_wide_wob) Enjoy the article? Look for more NBA content on his blog There’s no reason to sugarcoat the upcoming Olympic basketball tournament. Much like the NBA, there are the team’s that can actually win the crown and others just there for the experience. TIER FOUR (THE BASEMENT)   12. China Projected Starting Lineup: PG: Liu Wei SG: Sun Yue SF: Zhu Fangyu PF: Yi Jianlan C: Wang Zhizhi When you have to double check the spelling of 3 out of 5 names in a team’s starting roster because you’ve never heard of them before, you know the team is going to struggle to win games. Let’s be honest, this team plays with a ton of heart, but, they are simply outclassed talent-wise at every position. China does have a front court with extensive NBA experience in Yi Jianlan and Wang Zhizhi … but, coming into the game when your team is up/down by 30 in the 4th quarter doesn’t count as quality minutes. China will be able to bang around a bit with some of the less experienced, smaller teams as they have EIGHT players on their roster listed at 6’7” or TALLER including 7’3” Zhang Zhaoxu … but, these are the countrymen who let JR Smith drain FOURTNEEN three-pointers and drop 60 points in ONE game.    http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/02/jr-smith-scored-60-points-hit-14-threes-in-a-chinese-playoff-game/ If pride counted as points in basketball, China and their loyal fan base would certainly have a leg up on the rest of the competition. However, according to the rules of basketball, it doesn’t – and this team will struggle to score 60 points every single game. Doesn’t fare well for a team that can’t play defense either.   11. Tunisia Projected Starting Lineup: PG: Mourad El-Mabrouk SG:...

Written by Uncle Louie (follow him on twitter @gamblou) Chael Sonnen Sonnen’s strengths are his dynamic wresting abilities, his iron beard, heavy hands, and bad intentions; all weapons used to dominate his competition in the middleweight division. Those tools allowed Chael to wipe the floor with Silva in their first fight albeit only for 22 minutes and thirty some seconds before the guile of Silva submitted Sonnen ohhhhh so late in that fifth round. We have mentioned before our belief that world class wrestlers have the ability to deal with and overcome dominant Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters in many instances and Chael Sonnen personifies these traits. Sonnen, a world class wrestler (and lousy speaker) surprised an under prepared Silva in their first fight with furious fists and numerous take downs which resulted in a dominant ground and pound game that honestly overwhelmed Silva (who fought with injured ribs). Since that fight, Sonnen has been publicly haranguing and needling Silva, his camp, his home town, and his country. Sonnen’s been unrelenting in his criticism of Anderson and his countrymen commenting that it was actually he Sonnen, that won their fight and that it’s his belt that Anderson is wearing (neither of which we argue with). This is clearly Chael’s way of trying to gain an edge and intimidate Silva as best he can. Remember enthusiasts, there is more to a fight than just punches, feints and conditioning. Since fighting began with cavemen there’s always a mental warfare component that manifests itself in fights of this magnitude. Many may feel that Sonnen is mastering the verbal warfare but what will such tactics really deliver? Will Chael really get Anderson to arrive so hot and bothered that he forgets his legendary calm and cool and reverts to some...

Written by @greenlight30 With July 4th behind us,  fireworks might be over here in the States but they’re just about to get going across the pond in the Wimbledon Semis. Four of the top five seeds remain with Rafael Nadal the lone top seed failing to get through after his loss to #100 Lukas Rosol back in round two. As a result what we’re left with are two fantastic matches that have their own interesting background and side story. Novak Djokovic (2012 Record: 41-6 ; Head-to-Head 12-14) Vs  Roger Federer (2012 Record: 46-7)  The first semifinal should prove to be quite the encounter between heavyweights. Djokovic enters the matchup having dropped only one set the entire tournament back in the third round vs. Radek Stepanek.  Joker displayed top form in dispatching countryman Viktor Troicki and then German Florian Mayer the last two rounds respectively and has shown no signs of slowing down. On the other side, Roger Federer was pushed to the limit by Julien Benneteau in round three and then in the next round called upon the trainer twice to help work out a troublesome back against veteran Xavier Malisse. Federer appeared much more comfortable in his dispatching of Mikhail Youzhny in the quarters. The level of intrigue in this match is extremely high as most experts believe (and rightfully so) this is Federer’s best surface and Djokovic’s worst giving the aging superstar his best  and maybe his only shot at a major in 2012. Novak disposed of Federer just last month in the French Open semi’s after falling behind a break early before cruising through a straight set victory. This match is going to come down to how Federer can hold up on the backhand side and if Roger can force Djokovic...

by Adam Chemerinsky (follow him on twitter for great tennis advice @gamblingkings) The old saying says the grass is always greener on the other side could not be truer than when you talk about betting tennis. Fortunately for those that struggled at the French Open, its time to kick the dirt off and get ready for the ultimate fortnight in tennis. Wimbledon features a unique betting opportunity because there are only a handful of tournaments each year played on grass and the surface caters to a very select kind of player. You have certain members of the tour who will play Wimbledon as their lone grass court tournament of the entire year and as a result, there is money to be made with extreme value in the early rounds before the books catch up to players current form. Just like the betting strategy we employed for the French Open, I suggest playing the early rounds for a very small bet size and waiting until the third and fourth rounds to gradually increase bet size. Wimbledon features plenty of opportunities and I suggest a high volume of plays at smaller units early before the caliber of tennis increases. I encourage everyone to stay away from betting on players outside the top 20 entirely for the first week unless you can find them at + money. There are the rare players who prefer grass to hard and clay courts that typically enter hot like Tommy Haas and Andy Roddick (who both enter Wimbledon coming off grass court titles).  Past performances on grass can create a gross over valuation of certain players regardless of their current form. Those that fall into this mix right now include Feliciano Lopez, Xavier Malisse and Ivo Karlovic. There are also unique...

by Adam Chemerinksy (follow him on twitter @gamblingkings) The second grand slam is finally here. For novice tennis bettors, the easiest way to bet on a tournament is to simply pick the winner of the match: sounds easy enough right? Forget set betting and betting the tennis spread but rather just stick to money line wagering and remember that the Grand Slam lasts two weeks, so it is a marathon– not a sprint– with your bankroll.  Here are a few tips to help get you through the tournament… Betting individual matches The early rounds, like all single elimination tournaments, feature tons of matches and an opportunity to find a few softer prices for the well trained eye.  With a beginner’s mentality in mind, my recommendation is to focus on the following methods and pin point a few matches you feel strongly about rather than peppering the board with action. The following 4 steps are what I employ before considering a trip to the window and placing a bet. 1) Make sure you know how your player has performed on clay over the last two years It sounds simple enough since it’s the only Slam played on this surface. There are only a few tour events played on clay each year but many novice bettors won’t change their betting style based on this essential determinant. Flat out; surface matters because some players thrive on the dirt, while others never figure it out (Andy Roddick I’m looking right at you!!!). David Ferrer and Nicholas Almagro have the most clay court wins so far this year and always bear watching at the French. In fact, for years, both players have been known as “dirtballers” (players who rack up significant wins during the Clay court season). The clay typically favors...

by resident soccer expert James Kempton. Follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro The ‘Magic of the FA Cup’ takes centre stage this weekend as this famous competition pushes the regularly scheduled EPL to the backburner. For those of you not familiar with this competition, it has a mystique about it unprecedented anywhere in world soccer. Every football club playing within the English Football Association pyramid system can enter the competition. As a result, it attracts entries ranging from small market teams who average attendance is 15-20 spectators per game all the way through to the top of the food chain and Manchester United who draws 75,000 screaming fans to Old Trafford every home game. The Preliminary rounds start at the very beginning of the season in late August with the ‘big EPL boys’ entering the mix during the Third Round Proper in January. Every small team dreams of winning their way through to that round and then pulling a big club out of the hat since that is the very magic this grand old competition is built on because the luck of the draw prevails without a bracket or seeding. All the clubs participating in each round are given a number on a ball and placed into a velvet bag where they’re drawn out one by one to create fixtures. This repeats all the way until the Semi Finals when the winners of the Quarterfinal pairings progress to the final stages. I suppose the reason I’ve given such a lengthy explanation of the way this competition is structured is because in past years its value has diminished across England. With the vast wealth bestowed on teams for staying in the Premiership outweighing the lure of European entrance (guaranteed for the winner), many smaller EPL teams...

by James Kempton (follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro) Tottenham hosts Manchester United tomorrow on the heels of United’s 2-1 win at Norwich, a contest rescued in the last minute by veteran Ryan Giggs’ winner. The game is priced up with United appearing as strong favourites and at first glance, I am not sure you can back them with any real conviction. In theory, there should be a response from the Tottenham players and I sense Sir Alex would view a point for his Manchester side at White Hart Line as an excellent result for the Red Devils. Tottenham has not beaten United in any of their last twenty eight meetings across all competitions with the last ten EPL games at White Hart yielding 7 wins for Manchester along with 3 draws. Although Redknapp has not been behind the Tottenham bench for all of the meetings, those statistics should make any prospective Tottenham backers very wary of the Spurs in this game. United has a 9-3-1 record on the road with their only defeat at Newcastle at the beginning of January. Tottenham boasts a 10-2-1 mark at home with their only defeat a humiliating 5-1 blemish at the hands of Manchester City back in late August. The public perception of United is that they are now a pragmatic side who is more cautious in their approach than in past years. Interestingly though, 11 of their last 12 English competitive games have resulted in at least three goals in the game. It seems Sir Alex is not as confident in his defence and is now looking to outscore teams knowing his side is unlikely to keep a blank sheet. This situation has probably been highlighted more since the loss of influential defender Nemanja Vidic to injury...

By James Kempton Follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro Martin O’Neill has engineered an amazing turnaround at the Stadium of Light since he took over as manager of Sunderland in early December. For those not familiar with O’Neill, he is a master of maximizing the production out of his players. His managerial resume is extremely impressive as he has led his clubs to continually overachieve and I expect him to turn Sunderland into a consistent top half finisher in the coming years. Before O’Neill took the reigns, Sunderland had won 2 , drawn 5, and lost 7 of their Premier League games.  Upon him taking over I expected an immediate response from the players as that is what O’Neill demands and gets from his teams. The response has been incredible with the team winning seven, drawing one, and losing three of their EPL games following his appointment. The 3 losses were to Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham who all reside in the top 6 of the table. They have picked up 22 points under O’Neill compared to only 11 before he arrived or to put it another way, they average exactly 2 pts per game now compared to 0.78 pts per game earlier in the season. These stats alone could prove very valuable over the next month or so for us bettors as market prices should over adjust in certain games. I do not believe that Sunderland is either as bad as their performances at the beginning of the season nor as good as they have been under O’Neill. If pushed towards one or the other for true impression of the team I sense they are more aligned to the performance in their first 14 games though and that is why I sense there will be...

  For anyone not familiar with the Haka, you haven’t seen one the most intense pre-game traditions in all of...

By @aussportsguys UEFA Champions League play is Europe’s premier club soccer competition where the best sides on the continent are invited to participate in the yearly event. Competition starts with three qualifying rounds followed by a play-off round before the final 8 groups of 4 teams are determined. In pool play teams play a home and home with each other where the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage. During the knockout phase the 16 advancing teams are drawn against an opponent (8 games in total) to determine a winner over two “legs” (a game at home, and a game away). Winners during the knockout phase are determined by the aggregate score of their two games. If there is a tie, the team that scores the most away goals advances. If the tiebreaker still doesn’t separate the teams then the second leg will also include extra time (and possibly a penalty shootout) until a winner has been determined. The remaining two teams play in the final, a one game championship at a pre-determined neutral venue that will take place in Munich this year. Teams earn prize money over the course of the tournament for each win, draw, and advancement through the various stages. The eventual winner of the final can expect to accrue $65 million (50 million Euros) in prize money. Given the lucrative nature of this tournament, the Knockout Phase becomes strategic and often very defensive. Every goal is crucial but those scored on enemy turf become even more valuable in this stage of the tournament. Any team that scores early in the first leg may clamp down defensively to prevent any chance their opponent has of scoring since they’ve gained a huge advantage. If the away team has...