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Sportsbet Million Dollar Tipping 2012!

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Million Dollar Tipping is Australia’s richest tipping competition! You can enter one or all of the following tipping competitions:

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What Do They Do Best?

Patriots Offense

New England has an in-line passing game which exploits the opponents linebacking corps and safeties with their tremendously talent tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Quarterback Tom Brady loves throwing the deep seam and when opponents adjust to it, wide receiver Wes Welker is the best in football at clearing out the underneath.

Giants Defense

New York has the most talented defensive line in football and there is nobody better at pressuring opposing quarterbacks. The Giants love to hit the quarterback early and then make him feel pressure for the rest of the game even if it sometimes isn’t there.

Weaknesses

Patriots Offense

New England doesn’t have a legitimate deep threat receiver and they have trouble stretching the field. Teams that have had success against them have played press coverage against their receivers and dropped their linebackers while pressuring Brady with only four rushers.

Giants Defense

When the Giants go to their “NASCAR package,” they are very small on the defensive line and are susceptible to the run. New York is very ordinary aside from Kenny Phillips in the secondary and they will give up some big plays and untimely penalties. Deon Grant has become a liability in coverage.

What’s Most Important?

Although third down conversions may be an official stat, first down could be the most important down in this matchup. If New England can get four yards or better on first downs, they will have the chains in their favor and can completely open up the playbook by executing the quick, short passing game to keep moving the chains.

If New York can be firm on the early downs, they can force New England into obvious passing situations which will play into the hands of that devastating pass rush.

What Can We Expect to See?

It shouldn’t be a secret that the New England Patriots are going to run plenty of no-huddle. The Pats will make the Giants pick a defense at the beginning of each possession and stay with it. This should let Tom Brady dictate favorable matchups and ultimately tire out the Giants pass rush.

What are the negatives of the no-huddle? If the Patriots have multiple three-and-outs, it will leave their defense vulnerable against an explosive Giants offense.

Expect to see the Patriots line up in plenty of two and sometimes 3-tight end sets. Bill Belichick isn’t an idiot and although he will never admit to it completely, he must be haunted from what happened in the Super Bowl four years ago. New England had plenty of empty, 5-wide receiver sets on that day and it invited the Giants rush which battered and bruised Tom Brady. Belichick will learn from his mistakes and change up the game plan.

Also expect to see New England run plenty of draws and screens. With a pass rush as fierce as New York’s, they will use their aggressiveness against them. In the Pats’ glory days there was no better offense in the league at executing the screen and expect them to move to a more conventional, throwback type of offense in this one as they can take control of the line of scrimmage and keep the clock running while keeping Eli Manning on the sideline.

The Giants defense will blitz Tom Brady as they’ve had success with that particular strategy before. In the Week 9 meeting between these two teams, New York blitzed on 31 percent of the downs. Although they only sacked Brady once, they did force him to go 5 for 16 on those other plays.

What is the risk of blitzing? Although the Patriots don’t have a legitimate deep threat receiver, a poor tackling New York secondary can turn a quick completion into a big play. It’s also dangerous to leave the Pats tight ends single covered by any Giants linebacker or safety.

Top Matchup To Watch:

Dan Connolly vs. Giants DT’s- The Giants will try to get a pass rush from up the middle to make Tom Brady slide left or right. Although Brady is very mobile in the pocket, he’s not as accurate when on the move. If Connolly can do a satisfactory job with his matchup, the Patriots will be able to move the ball.

- espnflorida.com

Lead after 3 quarters but lose? Money Back!

The NFL Super Bowl is HERE!! The New England Patriots, led by Superstar Quarterback Tom Brady, are set to host the New York Giants for the 2nd time in 5 superbowls, eager to regain some pride after an agonising loss to the Giants back in 2008 that denied them a perfect season.

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No team is safe from the final quarter flop, especially when it’s the SUPER BOWL!! So we are giving punters some extra protection against a last minute blunder – If your team leads after three quarters but lose the match, we’ll give back your cash up to $100!

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2. To qualify for the offer, a members selection must be leading the match at 3/4qtr time but lose the match  as listed in the official results at www.nfl.com. If the match goes into Overtime, if your team lead after 3 quarters and lose the match, you will still qualify for the offer.
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Just lost in a 5th set Crash? Keep your Cash!

The Australian Open returns to Melbourne, Australia next Monday, January 16th with Novak Djokovic and Kim Clijsters set to defend their titles for the first Grand Slam of the year with a coveted $2.3m 1st prize.

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Can Sam Stosur win her 2nd Grand Slam in as many years?

It’s January, and that can only mean one thing — tennis.

Sure, the cricket’s still on, but as soon as the crowd favourites from across the seas begin to arrive, the focus will quickly shift from the red to the yellow ball.

The Australian Open is, of course, the main event.

Local lead-in tournaments, the Brisbane International and the Hopman Cup, have handed out their silverware, with only the Sydney International still to come before Melbourne becomes tennis-central for another fortnight.

This year’s field looks as strong as ever and despite a few injury worries in the women’s competition it looks as though virtually every big star will be at Melbourne Park on the 16th of January.

Total prize money this year sits at a remarkable $25 million, which, while the Greenback and Euro are down the plunger, is a hefty payday for our overseas guests. The men’s and women’s tournament winners will each pocket a cool $2.3 million.

BackPageLead has taken a look at the top chances to take out the women’s singles title to see if we can steer you in the right punting direction.

Disagree? Leave a note in the comments, or tweet us at @BackPageLead with your thoughts — who do you think will be victorious in the 2012 Australian Open?

Serena Williams

Serena, along with her sister Venus, redefined women’s tennis as we know it. Both of their hard-hitting styles forced a change in the game plans of virtually every other tennis player in a way few before were able to do. Serena’s aiming for her sixth crown at what is easily her most successful Grand Slam.

Her main concern is a dodgy ankle, an injury she exacerbated in Brisbane last week, forcing her withdrawal from the tournament. She was unable to go back-to-back-to-back last year after missing with a separate foot injury, so there’s no doubt she’ll be primed to push her ankle to the limit and claim that fourteenth Grand Slam victory.

Sam Stosur and Petra Kvitova have had the best of her of late, but apart from that, Williams, when fully fit, will go into any match full of confidence that she can come away victorious. That alone means she deserves to be among the favourites at Melbourne Park.

Serena Williams Outright Winner Odds

Petra KvitovaAfter a break-out year in 2011, the Czech will be looking to continue her momentum all the way through January. There’s no reason she can’t, either — six tournament wins, a 60-13 year record, a victory at Wimbledon, her first Grand Slam championship, and the WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul at the end of October means she comes in as the form player of the women’s draw. The 21-year-old made the quarter-finals last year, and with all her recent experience will be right in with a shot this year.

Victoria Azarenka

The Belorussian is setting up a nice rivalry with Czech Kvitova. Both Eastern Europeans enjoyed their greatest on-court success last year, eventually facing off in the end-of-year final in Turkey, a match Azarenka ultimately lost. She won’t be too dispirited though, having well and truly proven to herself, and the tennis establishment, that she’ll be one of the players to watch out for over the next few years.

Victoria Azarenka Outright Winner Odds

Kim ClijstersLast year’s singles champion, “Aussie Kim” should probably be among the favourites, but recent form, and injuries, probably preclude that. Her mix of positive tennis, grit, determination and experience on tour all mix up into what we know is a champion tennis player. Before her re-entry into competitive tennis last week, Clijsters hadn’t played in a tournament in more than five months, having taken a break to prepare for 2012. This year hardly got to a great start either; despite making the semi finals in Brisbane, she was forced with withdraw a set up against Daniela Hantuchova citing a hip injury.

Caroline Wozniacki

What can be said about the world number one? Well, for starters, despite having held the number one ranking for quite some time, she’s still yet to register a victory in a Grand Slam, a striking gap on her tennis resume. I’m sure the Dane would also agree that it’s near impossible to consider her ranking streak anything more than a blip in the history books until she does manage to chalk up a major.

In light of that, you can guarantee Wozniacki will be raring to go. Her disappointment was palpable at the end of last year, finishing last in her group and failing to progress past the first round of the season-ending Championships in Istanbul. A very sad and sorry way to end the year.

Having started the year strong in Perth at the recently downgraded Hopman Cup, reaching the semi-finals before bowing out to the Kvitova-led Czechs, Wozniacki will now look forward to Sydney, where virtually all her competition for the Australian Open crown will also be competing. A victory there should prepare her nicely to challenge for that maiden, and much needed, slam.

Caroline Wozniacki Outright Winner Odds

Sam StosurWinning the US Open last year was vindication of what Stosur always knew — that she could match it with the best of them. She knows that well and truly now, having beaten almost every top-ranked player in the world last year (Serena Williams, arguably the most important to get ahead of in the mind games, among them). Given her undoubted talent, the real question is perhaps how well Stosur is able to handle the challenge of being a genuine chance from the host country. Bernard Tomic might get top-billing on the men’s draw, but no one is seriously holding out for him to take the crown, yet. Contrast that with Stosur, who does have a genuine chance, and the pressure builds. It may be prudent to suggest a conversation with either Lleyton Hewitt or Pat Rafter, the two most recent Australians to confront such a challenge, but as neither was successful at Melbourne Park, it’s difficult to know how much can be learnt. Indeed, it’s perhaps accurate to posit that no Australian has been able to weather that storm since the tournament has gone up a notch and started generating the crowds, hype and attention it does now. Having said that, no one can doubt Stosur’s talent; she’s definitely got the talent to make it, and is probably the best placed outsider, given how much the crowd will be behind her.

Mike Hussey embraces his Captain after making his Triple-Ton.

India lost the first two test matches of the 4 match series in a rather disappointing manner, the Indian cricket team heading towards the 3rd test at Perth starting next Friday. The Indians will need nothing less than a perfect performance against the buoyant hosts to entertain any thoughts of getting back into the series. The Australians on the other hand, will be confident that their youthful and promising team is well and truly on the rise in international cricket after their slight slump during the transitional phase over the last couple of years.

The Indian team will be aware that there is literally no margin for error this time around when the travel to Perth for the 3rd test, a venue that had brought them historic success 3 years ago. In recent years, however, the pitch at the WACA has changed considerably after being re-laid and is presumed to have shown appreciable movement off the seam along with the pronounced bounce that was inherent in the wicket. News the Indian team will not relish much given their recent struggles against the seaming ball.

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Perth Pitch is the fastest pitch of the world where all fast bowlers wants to try their skills for sure. The pitch at the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) stadium in Perth has been favouring the bowlers quite a bit in recent times with there being a healthy covering of grass on the pitch aiding seam and swing bowling. The bounce however will be true, helping the ball on the bat, aiding stroke-play which could make for an exciting contest. But before talkng further about this lets just see what happened in the Second Test.

We all waiting for the third test and to see how it will be taken by all. Somefacts about the Perth , The timmings of Perth is almost same to Indian standard so Indian people will be enjoying this test with more fun . So hope all go fine we see a good match after all big setbacks and upsdowns.

- icricketbuzz.com

Hurricanes vs Stars Tonight 7:30PM on Fox Sports

It will be a homecoming in more ways than one when the Hobart Hurricanes host the Melbourne Stars at Blundstone Arena on Monday night.

The ladder-leading Hurricanes are back on home turf following a narrow loss to the Brisbane Heat on Friday while the Stars will be bringing their own Tasmanian connection in the form of George Bailey, James Faulkner and Jackson Bird back to the southern capital.

The Melbourne outfit head to the Apple Isle on the back of some winning form having claimed the points in their rain-affected Big Melbourne Derby against the Renegades on Saturday.

But they’ll have to be on their game to match the Hurricanes who have been imperious in their two home matches to date.

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The Hurricanes boast an evenly-balanced side and two of the KFC T20 Big Bash League’s in-form batsmen, Luke Birt and Owais Shah, whose century partnership put the team within a whisker of chasing down Brisbane’s 3-201 at the Gabba.

They’ve also managed to cover the loss of spearhead paceman Ben Hilfenhaus to the Australian Test side with a combination of tight off-spin from Xavier Doherty and Jason Krejza and the varied medium pace of Rana Naved and Ben Laughlin.

The Stars are yet to fully live up to their high-profile billing, but with the likes of David Hussey, Rob Quiney, Bailey and misfiring captain Cameron White in the line-up, anything is possible with the bat.

White will be under particular scrutiny, the Australian T20 captain suffering through a horrendous trot with the bat during the KFC T20 Big Bash League which has seen him score just eight runs from five innings.

In excess of 12,000 spectators were hanging from the rafters at Blundstone Arena for the New Year’s Day win over Sydney Thunder and there’s every chance another bumper crowd will turn out to watch legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne go around in green.

Both teams will be playing for big stakes, a win for the Hurricanes would all but guarantee a home big semi-final, while the Stars desperately need the two points on offer to drag themselves into top-four contention with only two matches left in the round-robin stage.

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If the Ref shows a Red, your Cash aint Dead!

FA Cup football is set to sizzle this Sunday night with a third round Manchester Derby between Man City and Man Utd set to have fans and the city of Manchester on edge.

With tension running deep between the clubs, we want to offer members a little red card refund insurance for your cash so if it becomes a red card clash, and you lose your bet, we’ll refund your cash!

Offer:

1. The Offer applies only to wagers placed over the Internet or m.sportsbet.com.au and applies to the first wager placed on the 1st GoalScorer market or Correct Score market on the nominated match – Man City v Man Utd . A member is eligible to receive only 1 refund per match. Only the member’s first bet on the nominated match will be eligible.
2. Free Bets placed are excluded from the Offer. Multibets are excluded from the offer.
3. To be eligible for the offer, a red card must be shown during the game and a member must lose their first 1st GoalScorer or Correct Score bet to qualify.
4. All minutes in injury time count.
5. The money back special refund will match the member’s Stake – to a maximum of $100.
6. All eligible bets will have their refund credited by no later than 5pm on Monday, January 9th and members will be sent an email notification of the stake being refunded.

RYAN Harris has thundered into Australia’s second Test side to face India in Sydney but Shane Watson’s summer is in limbo.

Harris hasn’t played since taking 4/33 in Australia’s crushing defeat to South Africa in Cape Town six weeks ago – grounded by a hip injury.

However Harris has 35 wickets in eight Tests and is wanted by skipper Michael Clarke for the additional firepower that could arguably blow away an India side averse to quality pace bowling.

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Australia – leading 1-0 after a 122 run win in Melbourne – will now consider employing a four man pace attack in the second Test at the SCG if there is ample grass cover.

There was no room for left-armer Mitch Starc or allrounder Dan Christian in a 12 man squad.

National Selector John Inverarity said Harris had ticked all the boxes during a week’s training with Australia in Melbourne.

“It all starts again on 3 January and we’ll go into the game with confidence and momentum,” he said. “Ryan Harris has been added to the XI that played in the First Test in Melbourne.”

“Ryan has had carefully monitored preparation, which has gone to plan. Mitchell Starc and Daniel Christian, who were both in squad for the First Test have been omitted but remain very much in our thinking.”

Harris took 1/35 for Brisbane Heat in the Big  Bash loss to Perth Scorchers in Perth last night while allrounder Christian was tight, picking up the scalps of South African Herschelle Gibbs and English allrounder Paul Collingwood.

Allrounder Watson won’t be seen until at least the third Test in Perth – recovering from a calf ailment.

Australian Physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: “Shane has not fully recovered from his right calf injury and is therefore not available for the Sydney Test. He will continue his rehabilitation and hopefully be available for one of the remaining Test matches.”

Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), Brad Haddin, Ed Cowan, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mike Hussey, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle, David Warner (12th man to be named).