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Friday, July 29, 2011

Arsenal Transfer Gossip - 2 buys - 1 sale - and Barca still broke

The pre-season trundles on with the Emirates Cup tournament on this weekend in North London - but it also looks like manager Arsene Wenger is finally getting to re-organise his side.

POSSIBLY COMING IN :
=======================
Arsenal have raised their offer for Everton centre-back Phil Jagielka to £15m. That's a pretty fair offer I reckon this one has a good chance of going through.

The Gunners also appear to be close to signing Valencia winger Juan Mata in a £19m deal after the 23-year-old "told friends" he was moving to the Emirates Stadium. I know - I know - complete bollocks of a source - but there you go.

PROBABLY GOING OUT
======================
Nicklas Bendtner looks set to leave Arsenal, with a £9m move to Sporting Lisbon in the offing after he was spotted in Portugal.

Frankly, I'm surprised that they can afford his wages - but if we can sell Bendtner for that then it's good business for a player who never matched his talk with the same accuracy in front of goal.

GOING NOWHERE BECAUSE BARCELONA ARE BROKE
==============================================
Arsenal have also moved to end uncertainty over Cesc Fabregas by e-mailing Barcelona and telling them to meet their £40m valuation by Sunday or forget about signing the midfielder. So far Barca have tentatively offered around £25m about a fortnight ago ... they're skint.

The Daily Mirror goes with a similar story but is saying Thursday 5 August is the deadline instead - suggesting it's all newspaper hype designed to sell more copies.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Dublinbet.com announce shirt sponsorship of Bohemian Football Club

Dublinbet.com announced a new partnership with Bohemian Football Club, the most successful football team in Ireland in the last decade.

When Dublinbet.com heard that the club were looking for a new shirt sponsor for the remainder of the season they jumped at the chance to support the Bohs and put something back into the Dublin community.

The Dublinbet logo will be emblazoned on the Boh's home team shirts for the remainder of the season, so keep an eye out for it in the big live TV match against city rivals Shamrock Rovers next week.

Check out our review of DublinBet Casino

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Paddy Power slashes odds of UFO discovery!

PADDY POWER IN TALKS TO SPONSOR UFO HUNT IN BALTIC SEABED

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power have today confirmed they are in preliminary talks with a Swedish ocean exploration team to sponsor an expedition to uncover the identity of a circular anomaly that was found during a recent sonar survey of the floor of the Baltic Sea.

On June 19, 2011, a group of Swedish maritime treasure hunters got a sonar hit of a strange circular object located 285-feet (87-meters) below the surface of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland.


Peter Lindberg, the leader of the Swedish Ocean Explorer team that discovered the unusual object, claimed that the as yet unidentified “thing” forms a perfect circle and is almost 197-feet (60-meters) in diameter.

Speaking of the find, Lindberg said, “You see a lot of weird stuff in this profession, but during my 17-18 years as a professional I have never seen anything like this”. Paddy Power have in turn slashed the odds on alien life being proven from 40/1 to 20/1.

Ken Robertson from Paddy Power said “This story has been on our radar for the past two weeks during which time we’ve received literally hundreds of requests for odds on a UFO being discovered. We’re very hopeful for a successful collaboration with the Swedish Ocean Explorer which will finally solve this mystery. The truth is out there!”

UPDATE : JAN 2012 VIDEO OF LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Copa America Final : Uruguay 3-0 Paraguay

Diego Forlan scored twice as Uruguay clinched a record 15th Copa America title with a comfortable win over Paraguay in Buenos Aires

Luis Suarez put Uruguay ahead after 12 minutes with a scuffed shot that took a deflection and hit a post before going in, and Forlan doubled the lead just before halftime with a powerful finish from inside the area.

Uurugay scored a quality third goal in the final minute. Cavani swept a cross-field pass to Suarez, whose cushioned header was perfect for Forlan to run on to and slot past the advancing goalkeeper.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Scottish Premier League Starts - Outright Winner Odds

It might be mid-July - but the The Scottish Premier League returns this weekend.

It seems only moments ago that Rangers were celebrating a 54th league title, but it's all on again starting this Saturday at 12:30pm and Rangers host Hearts.

Will the SPL be another two-horse title race between Celtic and Rangers or will an outsider drag themselves into top spot contention?

Ladbrokes bookmakers cannot see beyond the Old Firm and price it at :
Celtic 1.80 and Rangers 2.00

With just a wee teaser on Hearts causing a huge shock : Hearts 41.00

Check out all the odds at Ladbrokes Sportsbook.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Copa America Semi-final : Paraguay 0-0 Venezuela - Paraguay win on pens

Paraguay have qualified for the Copa America final after defeating Venezuela 5-3 on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes of football in Mendoza.

The semi-final was a conservative affair although Venezuela did have a goal disallowed for offside in the first half and also hit the post.

Jonathan Santana was sent off in the 102nd minute - but Venezuela were unable to take advantage of the extra space.

In the end it went to a penalty shootout - and most penalties were accurate with Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar's save from Franklin Lucena enough to see Paraguay through.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Carlos Tevez transfer move to Corinthians is off

Argentina striker Carlos Tevez will NOT be leaving Manchester City to Brazilian side - after the deal was called OFF.

Manchester City thought a £40m deal had been agreed for Tevez to join the Brazilian team having told people that he wished to go back to South America.

The sticking point seemed to be around Manchester City's insistence of a "bank guarantee" for the transfer amount - a process that can take several weeks to manage through for large amounts.

Now Corinthians have said there was not enough time to complete the deal before the Brazilian transfer window closed on Wednesday night. Corinthians have also said that they still want to sign Tevez in the future and hoped a deal could be done in January.

Copa America Semi-final : Peru 0-2 Uruguay

Luis Suarez scored twice to give Uruguay a 2-0 win over Peru and a place in the Copa America final.

Suarez scored the opener in the 52nd minutes after Peru goalkeeper Raul Fernandez spilled a speculative Diego Forlan shot. Suarez then ran onto a long pass, before rounding Fernandez, to roll in the simplest of second goals just five minutes later.

Peru's chance of getting back into the match probably ended soon after when skipper Juan Manuel Vargas was shown a straight red card after he elbowed Sebastian Coates in the face.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Copa America : Chile 1-2 Venezuela

Venezuela stunned Chile with a late goal to win 2-1 and reach the Copa America semi-finals for the first time in their footballing history.

Oswaldo Vizcarrondo gave the Venezuelans a lead in the 35th minute, before Chile grabbed a deserved equaliser through Humberto Suazo.

Chile pressed for a winner but it was Venezuela's Gabriel Cichero who was the hero when he followed up a fumbled free-kick to force home the rebound with just 10 minutes left.

Copa America : Brazil 0-0 Paraguay - Brazil knocked out on pens

Brazil missed all four of their penalties to lose a penalty shootout to Paraguay in the Copa America quarter-finals following a 0-0 draw.

Brazil were much the better side throughout the game but Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar made several saves in the match to keep his side in the match.

And despite having 16 shots on goal to 4 - Brazil were unable to score during the 120 minutes, and the defending champions paid the price

Paraguay will face Venezuela in the second semi-final in Mendoza on Wednesday.

Man City to sell Carlos Tevez to Corinthians

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has confirmed that Manchester City have agreed a fee with Brazilian club Corinthians for the sale of Carlos Tevez ... but a deal is not done yet.


"We have an agreement with Corinthians but Carlos now is still a City player," Mancini said. Asked whether Tevez would now be allowed to discuss personal terms, Mancini said: "I don't know this. I repeat, at the moment, Carlos is still a City player."

Corinthians will have to move quickly to complete any deal for Argentina striker Tevez, who is keen to return to South America to be closer to his family, as Brazil's international transfer window closes on Wednesday.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Copa America : Argentina 1-1 Uruguay - Uruguay win on penalties

Uruguay reached the Copa America semifinals after beating Argentina 5-4 in a penalty shootout, following a 1-1 draw after extra time.

Uruguay took the lead in the 5th minute after Diego Forlan's free kick from the left was headed back across goal by defender Martin Caceres and midfielder Diego Perez slid in to score.

Argentina equalised 11 minutes later when Lionel Messi sent in a curling cross towards the far post where Gonzalo Higuain ghosted in behind the defence to score with a downward header.

Uruguay were reduced to 10 men in the 38th minute when Diego Perez received a saecond yellow card, while Argentina captain Mascherano was sent off in the 87th minute also for a second booking.

With no goals in extra time, it went to penalties and Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera won the match when he stopped Carlos Tevez's effort in the shootout.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

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Copa America : Colombia 0-2 Peru

Peru sprang a surprise in the first Copa America quarter-final scoring twice on the counter to beat Colombia 2-0.

Colombia had failed to make their superiority count  in normal time - with striker Falcao missing a penalty and  Dayro Moreno having a fierce shot tipped onto the crossbar.

Peru broke the deadlock 101st minute when goalkeeper Martinez collided with his defender Mario Yepes when trying to catch a high free-kick, and Carlos Lobaton pounced to fire the loose ball high into the goal from the edge of the area.

Peru sealed their semi-final spot in the 111th minute when Juan Vargas scored after a poor clearance from Martinez set up a 2-on-2 counter attack.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Tour De France : Samuel Sanchez wins stage 12 - but where is Contador?

Samuel Sanchez won the 12th stage of the Tour de France, and moved into 8th place overall, after a gruelling climax to the first mountain stage of this year's race.

Yellow Jersey wearer Frenchman Thomas Voeckler is not a renowned climber but he fought hard to finish just 50 seconds back in 9th and retains theoverall lead by 1min 49 secs.

Jelle Vanendert finished second ahead of Frank Schleck, with Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck - last year's runner up - fifth and sixth on the stage respectively.

Defending champion Alberto Contador struggled to an eighth-place finish in the Pyrenees - and now sits a full four minutes behind race leader Voeckler.

OVERALL STANDINGS:
1. Thomas Voeckler (France / Europcar) 51h 54m 44s"
2. Frank Schleck (Luxembourg / Leopard) +1:49"
3. Cadel Evans (Australia / BMC Racing) +2:06"
4. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg / Leopard) +2:17"
5. Ivan Basso (Italy / Liquigas) +3:16"
6. Damiano Cunego (Italy / Lampre) +3:22"
7. Alberto Contador (Spain / Saxo Bank) +4:00"
8. Samuel Sanchez (Spain / Euskaltel) +4:11"
9. Tom Danielson (U.S. / Garmin) +4:35"
10. Nicolas Roche (Ireland / AG2R) +4:57"

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Copa America : Brazil 4-2 Ecuador

Brazil finally delivered a winning result - beating Ecuador 4-2 in their final Group B match to set up a Copa America Quarter-Final match against Paraguay.

Two goals from Neymar, and two goals from Pato were enough to push Brazil to victory, although the defence still looked sluggish and out of touch.

Copa America 2011 - Final Group B Standings

COUNTRYP W D L GD PTS
Brazil312025
Venezuela312015
Paraguay303003
Ecuador3012-31

Copa America : Paraguay 3-3 Venezuela

Venezuela scored two goals in the final moments of this match to rescue a vital point in a 3-3 draw with Paraguay - a result which will see both nations progress to the Copa America quarter-finals.

Salomon Rondon had given surprise pool leaders Venezuela a fifth-minute lead but Paraguay looked to be cruising into the last eight when goals from Antolin Alcaraz, Lucas Barrios and Cristian Riveros put them 3-1 up.

Venezuela never gave up, though, despite knowing their quarter-final place was already assured. Substitute Miku reduced the deficit in the 89th minute and then Grenddy Perozo headed home a stoppage-time equaliser.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Copa America : Uruguay 1-0 Mexico

Uruguay grabbed a narrow 1-0 victory over Mexico in La Plata thanks to a 14th minute goal from Alvaro Pereira.

 It was a game that was mark by some wasteful finishing, although it did have it's share of near misses to as Diego Forlan and Nicolas Lodeiro both hit the woodwork for Uruguay before an offside flag denied Rafael Marquez Lugo a late equaliser for Mexico.

The result means that Argentina and Uruguay will clash in one of the Quarter-Finals to be played at Sante Fe on July 16th at 22:15 GMT.

Copa America : Chile 1-0 Peru

Chile will progress to the Copa America quarter-finals as Group C winners after an own goal from Andre Carrillo in injury time saw Chile edge past Peru in Mendoza.

Substitute Carrillo was unlucky to see a defensive corner deflect off his knee and into his own net to give Chile three points after both sides had been reduced to 10 men at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas.

The game meant little as both sides are guaranteed of progression - so both teams were able to rest players - Chile made six changes to their starting line-up and Peru nine.

Final standings will be determined after Uruguay play Mexico in the final group game.

Manchester City reject £35m bid for Carlos Tevez from Corinthians

Manchester City have rejected a £35m bid from Brazilian side Corinthians for Carlos Tevez, but are searching for replacements should an improved bid come through.

Corinthians hope to bring Tevez back to the club where he enjoyed success from 2004-2006 and made an opening bid after Tevez revealed he wanted to leave City for family reasons.

But City turned down the 40m Euro offer on Tuesday and Corinthians will now need to increase their bid if they are to persuade the Eastlands outfit to sell the striker.

City may step up their pursuit of Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero as a possible replacement for Tevez, and Manchester City also retain a strong interest in Arsenal's Samir Nasri although no deal has been agreed or is close at this stage.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Copa America : Colombia 2-0 Bolivia

Falcao scored twice in the opening half hour as Colombia booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Copa America with the simplest of wins over Bolivia in Santa Fe.

Colombia, who kept their seventh clean sheet in their last 10 matches, secured top spot in Group A, sending Bolivia out and leaving hosts Argentina needing a win over Costa Rica to secure second place.

Argentina secured their place in the quarter-finals with a routine 3-0 win over Costa Rica.

FINAL Copa America Group A Standings

Colombia 7 points
Argentina 5 points
Costa Rica 3 points
Bolivia 1 point

Copa America : Venezuela 1-0 Ecuador

Venezuela put themselves on top of Group B at the Copa America with a narrow 1-0 win over Ecuador.

Cesar Gonzalez scored the only goal of the game just after the hour mark, leaving Venezuela at the head of the group with four points.

COPA AMERICA GROUP B TABLE

Venezuela 4 points
Paraguay 2 points
Brazil 2 points
Ecuador 1 point

REMAINING GROUP B FIXTURES

Paraguay v Venezuela
Brazil v Ecuador

Saturday, July 09, 2011

F1 : Silverstone - Mark Webber on pole, ahead of Vettel and Alonso

Mark Webber won a close battle with Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to claim pole for Sunday's British Grand Prix.

It's good news for Formula One fans who want to see a real race at Silverstone rather than a procession as it is only the second time in nine races this season that Vettel has been beaten to pole and Alonso was closer than Ferrari were expected to be here just 12/100ths behind in 3rd.


The focus ahead of Sunday's race will be on the effect of Formula 1's latest rule change on the leading contenders, with Ferrari appearing to benefit and McLaren lose out the most from a decision to ban a technology called off-throttle blowing of the diffuser. This is where teams blow exhaust gases over the rear of their car's floor even when the driver is off the accelerator, to smooth airflow and increase downforce.



Country Driver Team
1 Australia M Webber Red Bull
2 Germany S Vettel Red Bull
3 Spain F Alonso Ferrari
4 Brazil F Massa Ferrari
5 Great Britain J Button McLaren
6 Great Britain P Di Resta Force India
7 Venezuela P Maldonado Williams
8 Japan K Kobayashi Sauber
9 Germany N Rosberg Mercedes
10 Great Britain L Hamilton McLaren

Copa America : Brazil 2-2 Paraguay

An 89th minute goal from "Fred" helped Brazil earn a point from their second Copa America Group B match against Paraguay.

Brazil went ahead in the first half through Jadson, but goals for Paraguay from Roque Santa Cruz and substitute Nelson Haedo Valdez looked set to claim a stunning win for Paraguay until Fred's late effort.

Brazil who have won the last two editions of the Copa America in 2004 and 2007, have just two points in the group and still have work to do to reach the quarter-final.

Goals :
Jadson (38th)
Roque Santa Cruz (54th)
Nelson Haedo Valdez (66th)
Fred (89th)

Tour De France : Portugal's Rui Da Costa wins Stage 8

Portugal's Rui da Costa held off a late dash from Belgian Phillipe Gilbert to win the eighth stage of the Tour de France.

Da Costa was the sole survivor of a nine-man breakaway at the end of the 189km stage through the Massif Central. Gilbert surged from the chasing pack with less than 1km to go, followed by Australian Cadel Evans, who took third.

Thor Hushovd surprisingly climbed with the main group to retain the yellow jersey, one second ahead of Evans.

OVERALL STANDINGS:
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor/ Garmin-Cervelo) 33 hours 06 minutes 28 seconds
2. Cadel Evans (Aus/ BMC) +1"
3. Frank Schleck (Lux/ Leopard Trek) +4"
4. Andreas Kloeden (Ger/ RadioShack) +10"
5. Jakob Fuglsang (Den/ Leopard Trek) +12"
6. Andy Schleck (Lux/ Leopard Trek) +12"
7. Tony Martin (Ger/ HTC-Highroad) +13"
8. Peter Velits (Svk/ HTC-Highroad) +13"
9. David Millar (GB/ Garmin-Cervelo) +19"
10. Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto) +30"

Friday, July 08, 2011

FIFA U17 Final will be Uruguay v Mexico as Germany and Brazil eliminated

Uruguay beat arch-rivals Brazil 3-0 to reach their first-ever FIFA U-17 final, where they will meet hosts Mexico came from a goal down to beat Germany 3-2.

All three goals from Uruguay came from the lightning-quick counter-attack of the Celeste, who beat Brazil in an ill-tempered match that saw seven yellow cards brandished by the referee.

Mexico's 3-2 defeat of Germany was the first-ever win by Mexico at any level against Germany and came courtesy of an overhead kick of a half cleared corner - which scored in the 90th minute in off the far post.

FIFA U17 Semi-final Results

Uruguay 3-0 Brazil (HT 1-0)
Elbio ALVAREZ (20' PEN)
Juan SAN MARTIN (72')
Guillermo MENDEZ (90'+5)

Mexico 3-2 Germany
Julio GOMEZ (3' 90') ---- Samed YESIL (10')
Jorge ESPERICUETA (76') --- Emre CAN (60')

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Copa America : Argentina remain winless

Argentina were booed off the pitch by their own fans and are yet to register a win at the Copa America after being held to a 0-0 draw by Colombia on Wednesday.

Argentine manager Sergio Batista showed faith in his misfiring stars, beginning the game with the attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Carlos Tevez.

But Colombia had the best chances of a dire match and Dayro Moreno missed the best opportunity on 26 minutes when faced with an open goal, the striker somehow pushed his shot wide.

Argentina now have only two competition points with one group match remaining, and trail Colombia on four points.

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Wimbledon 2011 : Novak Djokovic beats Rafel Nadal to win title

Novak Djokovic has won his first Wimbledon title, by beating defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. 

Djokovic opened the season with 41 straight wins, including the Australian Open title, but his 43-match winning streak dating to December came to an end against Roger Federer in the French Open semifinals.

The win over Nadal improved Djokovic's record in 2011 to 48-1, with five victories coming against the Spaniard in finals - two on hard courts, two on clay and now one on grass. Sunday's win was the first grass-court title of Djokovic's career.

It was Djokovic's incredible movement and precise shot placement that won him the Wimbledon title - especially in the first two sets. His play dipped slightly in the third as Nadal staged a fightback, but it returned in the fourth to secure him a third Grand Slam title

Saturday, July 02, 2011

Wimbledon 2011: Petra Kvitova beats Maria Sharapova to win title

Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova outplayed former champion Maria Sharapova to win her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old Kvitova's ability proved too much for Sharapova in a 6-3 6-4 victory on Centre Court in a final  that had 8 breaks of service.

Kvitova is the first Czech since Jana Novotna in 1998 to win Wimbledon.

Nadal and Djokovic to meet in Wimbledon final

Novak Djokovic will meet defending champion Rafael Nadal in the mens' singles final at Wimbledon on Sunday afternoon.

Novak Djokovic reached the championship match at the All England Club for the first time by defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-7 (9), 6-3 on Centre Court.

A few hours later, Rafael Nadal knocked out Andy Murray 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to set up the meeting with Djokovic.

Friday, July 01, 2011

Copa America : Can Argentina finally win another major tournament?

Argentina hope to end a trophy drought of almost two decades this month - when they meet Bolivia in the opening Copa America match at La Plata in Buenos Aires.

Argentine football fans have had to experience some major contrast over the last 20 years - from the highs of watching talents like Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez - to the lows of the stunningly dire domestic football league.

On the positive side, Argentina has seen their U-23 side capture two consecutive Olympic gold medals.

On the negative side, the senior side struggled to qualify for last summer's World Cup in South Africa and then were flattened by Germany once they reached there.

What can we expect from Argentina this year? ...
The opening match against Bolivia may tell us.

OPENING GAME ODDS

Argentina 1.12 @ Interwetten
Draw 21.10 @ PinnacleSports
Bolivia 34.00 @ PinnacleSports

Prediction : Argentina win 3-0