Boxing aficionados the world over are gearing up for a clash of the titans on September 17^th 2011. The fight has sold out long in advance and pay-per-view channels are already recording massive pre-fight purchases. For his part, Mayweather is talking plenty of smack. He knows he’s good and he knows he’s capable of stopping Ortiz before the 12^th round is over.

That he is already 34 years of age is not lost on Mayweather. Many believe he is in peak physical condition; a finely-chiseled pugilist waiting for the gates to open. He’s a man who shows no mercy when he’s in full fight. Mayweather’s fight record stands at 41 fights, 41 victories (25 KOs), with no losses and no draws. With a nickname of Pretty Boy, Mayweather is not looking to get busted up by Ortiz. He has a reach of 183 cm and he hails from Grand Rapids, Michigan. While he has not fought professionally since May 2010, he’s fit, confident and strong.

Enter Victor Ortiz

Victor Ortiz is a hard-hitting fighter of Mexican-American descent. He’s got an impressive career record which includes the World Welterweight Crown of the World Boxing Council (WBC). He was born on the 31 January 1987 in Garden City, Kansas. Ortiz is fighting southpaw and he’s got plenty of snap in his punches. His career record is incredible with 33 fights, 29 wins (22 by KO), 2 losses and 2 draws. What makes Ortiz such a dangerous contender is that he has knocked down every single opponent he has faced to date. Additionally, he has held the USBA title and the WBO NABO title. He’s fast, young, aggressive and exceptionally talented.

Mayweather is nonplussed by all of this. He’s keen to showcase his exceptional fighting prowess against the younger fighter – a take-him-to-school approach. With a decade between them, both fighters are eager to silence the opposition. Punters wanting to see the latest betting odds on both Ortiz and Mayweather will find plenty of sportsbooks up to the task. There’s very little between them on paper, but the smart money says that whatever the weather, Mayweather is going to be an absolute handful.

And the bookies are backing Floyd Mayweather – big time! A leading online sportsbetting provider puts Mayweather way ahead with the following odds:

• Floyd Mayweather – 1.10/1
• Draw or Technical Draw 36:1
• Victor Ortiz  – 6.50/1

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Looking Back at Sporting Magic in the Making:

Woods had sustained a severely damaged ACL as well as a double stress fracture of his left tibia. That however didn’t stop him back in 2008. It was against the implacable Rocco Mediate that Tiger was squaring off and he was behind the eight ball for the most part. In the final round, Woods sunk a 12-footer and recorded a birdie to force an 18-hole playoff with Mediate the next day. Many in the sports betting world feared that Mediate would never be able to challenge Woods for the playoff. A 3-stroke deficit wasn’t able to stop Mediate from roaring back into the game. Tiger was forced to birdie the 18^th hole to win. But luckily for Tiger, Rocco was unable to make par on the 18^th and that gifted Tiger his 14^th Major at the time.

Other notable sporting surprises include the following:

American Football: On January the 8^th 2011 the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks took to the field. The wild card playoff game between these two teams had football pundits in shock and awe at the final whistle. Saints players RB Reggie Bush described his team’s loss to the Seattle Seahwaks at Qwest Field – 41-36 – as shocking and embarrassing, tough and more. Saints coach Sean Payton admitted to feeling a little disappointed, very disappointed.

Rugby World Cup: It was at the Ellis Park stadium on the 24^th June, 1995 that the South African Springboks made it to the finals of the RWC against tournament favourites the All Blacks. The New Zealanders were an imposing, talented and powerful team. Their pack weight was on par with that of the Springboks, but it was the latter who were more determined than ever to win the game and boast SA pride. The end result was an absolute shocker: SA 15 – NZ 12. Joel Stransky scored 3 penalties and 2 dropped goals. On the other side, Mehrtens converted 2 penalties. 65,000 people were in attendance and an entire nation roared when SA won.

Tennis: Everyone loves a comeback kid and who better than Goran Ivanišević to put it all together. Back in 2001, he was virtually retired. But he had just enough fight left in him to muster the strength for another Wimbledon entry. To think that Ivanišević was seeded outside of the top 100 is mind-boggling! He defied the punters and sporting gurus who all wrote him off and he came back to record the most memorable result in modern times. In the semi-final he faced off against local lad Tim Henman. The latter player fought hard, but lacked the firepower to oust the powerful backline player Ivanišević. Henman was soon up 2 sets to 1. But then a rain delay allowed Goran to win the 4^th on a tie break and he took the 5^th and final set too. In the final of the tournament Ivanišević beat Patrick Rafter in a nail-biting 5 setter!

Mr Universe: Power players are always a big hit in the world of professional bodybuilding. And one name stands head and shoulders above the rest as the king of the bodybuilding ring. His name is Reg Park. Park was crowned Mr Universe NABBA, Overall Winner 3 times in his glittering career. But how’s this for a record – he won it every 7 years:

• 1951 Mr Universe – NABBA, Overall Winner
• 1958 Mr Universe – Pro – NABBA, Overall Winner
• 1965 Mr Universe – Pro – NABBA, Overall Winner

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What’s going on in the Sportsbetting Realm?

There are loads of betting and match-fixing scandals in South Korea and Finland – much to the dismay of sportsbetting purists. Allied to that is the glut of corruption and the public anger over the scandals with Pakistani cricketers over illicit gambling rings. The public doesn’t much care about the semantics involved in this matter – they’re more concerned with the ‘cleanliness’ and ‘purity’ of this global enterprise as a whole. The difference between the illegal Asian markets and what is taking place under regulated Betfair gaming is stark. Betfair has made a significant effort to try to distinguish itself from the unregulated markets where corruption and scandal are rife. In this vein, Betfair is going all-out to provide online sports bettors and punters with 100% safe & secure online gaming.

The Betfair policy is to prevent, detect and investigate all actions on their sportsbetting sites and to make it clear that illicit and illegal conduct will not be tolerated. Betfair allows players and gamblers to place wagers on bets of other players and on live-in play betting odds from its own odds online. The good news for punters is that Betfair makes its money on the commissions it takes from all winning bets. Betfair is located in River Thames at Hammersmith in West London. And with some 1,200+ employees in the United Kingdom alone – Betfair is plenty popular.

How Betfair Combats Crime and Corruption

Online gaming at Betfair sports an ‘Integrity Team’ comprising 8 people using computers and top-tier analytical tools to proscribe and prevent criminal conduct. This relates to all gaming and sportsbetting activities. This also acts as a deterrent to keep criminals off the Betfair gaming site. In the words of Betfair officials – ‘Our task is to prevent, detect, and investigate’. The integrity analyst at Betfair believes in working very closely with the police and various tiers of law-enforcement agencies in combating fraud and promoting responsible gaming conduct. The main challenges that Betfair faces are related to match-fixing in illegal gaming rings. These include things like fraudulent conduct (stolen cards & insider information) to money-laundering and more. At present, Betfair plays host to a wide range of over 40 sports and some 11,600 betting markets online. The company was founded in 2000 and has overseas operations in Republic of Ireland, Gibraltar, Malta, Australia, Romania and the US.

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But the entertainment continued unabated with the game that had many fans’ tongues wagging. It was the showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday the 12^th August. This prime-time game had FOX sports fans glued to their screens and the results were indeed a welcome harbinger of America’s most loved contact sport. The result of 25-0 in favour of TBB was a hiding for the KCC, but exciting nonetheless.  For fans seeking a continuation of the preseason NFL entertainment, there’s a much-anticipated showdown with the Green Bay Packers. This was their first game since they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. The GBP lost 17- 27 to the Cleveland Browns.

The Preseason NFL Schedule: Week 3 (August 25^th thru August 28^th 2011)

On Thursday, August 25^th – Washington at Baltimore ESPN (8 p.m. ET)

On Friday, August 26^th – Green Bay at Indianapolis CBS (8 p.m. ET)

On Saturday, August 27^th – New England at Detroit CBS (8 p.m. ET)

On Sunday, August 28^th – New Orleans at Oakland NBC (8 p.m. ET)

The preseason games of the NFL for Week 4 have not as yet been finalized, but the interim schedule has been released. It contains the following team information, stadia and times of match play.

On Thursday, September 1^st 2011

DET @ BUF at the Ralph Wilson Stadium – 6:30 PM

IND @ CIN at the Paul Brown Stadium – 7:00 PM

BAL @ ATL at the Georgia Dome – 7:30 PM

NYG @ NE at the Gillette Stadium – 7:30 PM

STL @ JAC at the EverBank Field – 7:30 PM

TB @ WAS at the FedExField – 7:30 PM

PHI @ NYJ at the New Meadowlands Stadium – 7:30 PM

DAL @ MIA at the Sun Life Stadium – 7:30 PM

KC @ GB at the Lambeau Field – 8:00 PM

CLE @ CHI at the Soldier Field – 8:00 PM

HOU @ MIN at the Mall of America Field – 8:00 PM

TEN @ NO at the Superdome – 8:00 PM

PIT @ CAR at the Bank of America Stadium – 8:00 PM

DEN @ ARI at the University of Phoenix Stadium – 10:00 PM

SF @ SD at the Qualcomm Stadium – 10:00 PM

Players wanting to get the latest scores and updates from the NFL can do so by clicking on this link.

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PGA Predictions for the 2011 Masters

Gaming pundits have geared their strategy towards the likes of Phil Mickelson – a 6/1 hot favourite in golf’s highest echelons. But it’s unlikely that the tiger is far behind and betting pros have given him odds of 8/1 – just behind Mickelson. Woods for his part has endured a torrid time of late, but his form is starting to return and it’s a certainty that he’ll hit his straps in the coming months. Woods’ horrid time on the course continued throughout 2010, but this year his gaming performance is improving after he won a major event in April 2010.  But for golfing fans looking for more than just Woods and Mickelson, there are loads of other leading golfers making their rounds including these top contenders:

• England ’s Lee Westwood is looking sharp with odds of 14:1
• Top golfer Nick Watney has been placed at Vegas odds of 16:1
• Martin Kaymer and Dustin Johnson are both placed at odds of 20:1
• Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Steve Stricker are at 33:1

Punting for the 2011 Masters are also showcasing a long list of top PGA stars with predictions displaying Phil Mickelson as having a significant edge over Tiger Woods. This seems to be the focal point of this 2011 Masters contest.  Odds have him at -150 and Woods at +115.

Further, there’s something particularly interesting in the pair up between Lee Westwood of England at -130 and M. Kaymer. The two of them are at even money odds. Stricker is playing second fiddle to McDowell at -120 and Hunter Maham is topping the betting odds over Paul Casey at -135 to +105. Moving onto other prime PGA candidates and we have Padraig Harrington at +120 against Justin Rose at -150. The list of betting odds moving into the 2011 Masters is substantial and punters are provided with multiple options in this regard. It’s the PGA at its level best and players and bettors alike are in for a rollicking time.

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Mike Ashley’s story uncut –

For those who don’t know, Mike Ashley is the famed multi-millionaire owner of Newcastle United football Club. Even before he ascended the ranks, he was worth an unmitigated fortune. That is perhaps how he was able to coolly lose £1million in just a few hours playing craps at a casino. He was out one night with his team manager Mr. Alan Pardew and the two of them were rolling dice and playing craps. The Sun newspaper reported that Ashley had actually hit a winning streak and pocketed some £130,000 after a few hours of play. The duo arrived at around 23:00.

The first session was plenty lucrative, but it was the second session that had him digging into his cash reserves. By the time the second session rolled over, he’d lost the remaining £30,000. It was probably at this point that he should have called it quits. But Mike’s no pushover and he’d rather sit and punt than bail. By 2 am the next morning Mike had lost thirty grand in less than ten minutes. So prolific were his bets that thousands of pounds were laid out across the craps table. Within 2 hours he had already lost £970,000. And the weird part is that he actually tipped the dealer £700. If there is any truth to expression, ‘lose graciously’ then Mike was the picture of poise and humility. In truth that’s not so hard to do when you’ve been listed as the 25^th wealthiest person in the UK at an estimated net worth of £1.9 billion.

Mike is no stranger to casinos. It has been reported that he resolved a massive legal expense with a game of spoof. But few things compare to his mega-flop at Aspers Casino near the St James Park ground. As the proud owner of the incredibly popular Sports World Stores, he knows how to turn a buck. Back in 2007 he made almost £1 billion in a single day when he floated a 43% stake in the firm on the LSE (London Stock Exchange).

But wait there’s a lot more about Mike Ashley’s losses

Earlier last year Mike Ashley lost a staggering £300 million on a BET on the debt-ridden bank HBOS. Mike was flabbergasted as HBOS shares plummeted to record lows as speculators tore into the share price. Ashley placed the colossal bet when the share price was under £6. We’ll be following his antics in time to come.

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