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04/24/2009 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham is one of five teams that can make a legitimate case for grabbing a spot in Europe by finishing in seventh place, and with such a close group of teams in the middle of the table, the final five games will determine who takes part in the Europa League next season.
West Ham currently sits in seventh place but Gianfranco Zola's men face a tough test on Saturday when they host third-placed Chelsea at Upton Park.
The Hammers are one point clear of London rivals Fulham and Tottenham entering the weekend, but they could be catching the Blues at a good time.
Chelsea will be looking ahead to its Champions League semifinal at Barcelona on Tuesday, and manager Guus Hiddink will likely rest a few players with an eye towards that match.
The Blues are also coming off of a 0-0 draw with Everton, which leaves them six points back of leaders Manchester United, who still have a game in hand.
"Mathematically it is not finished, but we have to be realistic and I can hardly see Manchester United dropping nine points for us to go in front and we can't forget we are a few points behind Liverpool, who are closer," said Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
"If Man United slips and has a bad spell we are not the closest one to gain from that, so I think now with their one game in hand it is stretched too far in front of us."
If Chelsea has all but conceded their title aspirations, then Saturday's game could be an afterthought, but West Ham assistant Steve Clarke believes that the west London club will approach the match from a different standpoint.
"They're in the middle of a difficult run of matches with a lot of big games and I'm sure they'll think about resting one or two players against us," Clarke said.
"But it's only a great time to play them if you beat them. Before the game, I'm sure they'll approach it as it's an east and west London derby and they won't want to lose it so it will be a difficult game."
Chelsea has lost only once in 15 games in all competitions since Hiddink took charge of the club, but with the Champions League and an FA Cup final still to play, you couldn't blame the Blues for taking their eye off of West Ham on Saturday.
Zola's side has won just once in its last five league games, but they must turn their form around over the remainder of the season if they want to take part in European competition next season.
The team still must play Liverpool and Everton after the Chelsea match, so any points that West Ham can pick up from Saturday's game will be valuable.
Leaders Manchester United host Tottenham with an opportunity to move another step closer to the title, while second-placed Liverpool travels to struggling Hull City without injured captain Steven Gerrard.
Arsenal has been one of the hottest teams in England and they host a Middlesbrough side that is desperate to climb out of the bottom three, while Blackburn entertains Wigan with Rovers three points clear of the drop zone.
Aston Villa travels to Bolton, Everton plays host to Manchester City, Fulham squares off with Stoke City and last-placed West Bromwich hosts Sunderland in a match full of relegation implications.
<< Red Bulls switch focus to D.C. United
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York played great defense
for 87 minutes in Thursday's loss to Kansas City, but a third-minute goal off a
penalty kick - which came after the ejection of Carlos Johnson - spoiled a good
effo
<< Chiefs sign C Niswanger, TE Curtis
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs announced that
restricted free agent center Rudy Niswanger signed his tender offer and also
announced the signing of free agent tight end Tony Curtis.
Niswanger has played i
<< Real, Barca face road tests before El Clasico
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid is unbeaten in 16 straight games
including an incredible 15 victories, since losing to Barcelona in December but
still trails the once runaway leaders by six points with six matches left.
With g
<< Arsenal's Fabregas charged for spitting incident
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been
charged with two counts of improper conduct following the spitting storm which
overshadowed last month's FA Cup clash with Hull City.
Fabregas was not part of
Liverpool's Gerrard to miss Hull match >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has been
ruled out of Saturday's Premier League trip to Hull City after failing to
recover from a groin problem.
Gerrard has been sidelined since the 3-1 Champi
NASCAR moves Sprint Cup banquet from New York to Las Vegas >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR will move its annual Sprint Cup
Series Awards Ceremony from New York City to Las Vegas. The 2009 banquet will
be held at the Wynn Las Vegas on December 4.
NASCAR had held the season-ending cer
Wembley pitch to be replaced >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The FA has announced that the controversial
Wembley pitch will be dug up immediately and replaced with a new surface.
The news comes after the state of the pitch was criticized after last weekend's
FA Cup
Datsyuk again among Lady Byng finalists >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk,
winner of the Lady Byng Trophy in each of the past three seasons, was named as
one of three finalists for the 2009 award.
Datsyuk is trying to become only the s
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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