Final Four Analysis of NCAA Basketball Tournament

The article BetRepublic.com presented at the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament described the parity that existed this season, and the weaknesses of all four number one seeds, advising sports bettors to caution against loading your final four with them. One of those number one seeds, the tournament favorite, Kentucky, went out in the second round, emphasizing the point we made. And, adding an exclamation mark to our premise, two other number ones, Syracuse and Kentucky, were eliminated this weekend, leaving Duke as the only surviving top seed.

Thus, the final four is made up of a lone number one - Duke (at odds of +150), one number two seed, West Virginia (+200) - and two number five seeds - Butler (+400) and Michigan State (+450).

Who is going to win it all?

Perhaps there is a clue provided on the divergent paths each has taken to get here.

Odds seem set against the top seeds this year, so suspicion tells me that perhaps Duke, which had the highest odds of the four number ones entering the tournament, might be the next to go out. They have had the easiest road to the finals, needing only to beat number sixteen Ark. Pine Bluff, number eight Cal and an undersized number four Purdue team that was without star playmaker Robbie Hummel. They beat number three Baylor to get to the final four, but the Mountaineers of W.Virginia will be their first real test and at odds of only +150 I don't think there is value in the Blue Devils.

Everybody Wants To Beat Brazil - Gilberto Silva FIFA World Cup 2010

The experienced midfielder has made it clear that Brazil are the team to beat

Brazil were paired with Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea for the group phase of this summer's World Cup and experienced midfielder Gilberto Silva has said that it's justified to label Brazil's group "the Group of Death".

"If you compare it to England's or Spain's groups, for example, I think it’s justified to call ours “the Group of Death”, but this team’s already lived through a lot of adversity and is ready to face this situation," said Gilberto Silva to fifa.com.

"I know a lot of the Portuguese players and particularly the Ivorians, who I played alongside at Arsenal. In fact, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue have been giving me loads of stick, joking around and saying that Ivory Coast are going to beat Brazil.

"But of course they respect us, that’s just what it’s like at the World Cup. Everybody wants to beat Brazil."

FA Cup Tips

Today’s major sporting events come from the world of English football and we’ll be previewing the biggest three matches from this evening’s fixtures. Read on as we look at the FA Cup Quarter Final Replay between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham as well as two of the night’s four Premier League matches.

Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham:

When these two sides last met they played out a 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage in what was an exciting and action filled encounter. Spurs ‘keeper Heurelho Gomes was outstanding in the first leg and is the reason that these two sides are meeting to play for a place at Wembley to meet Portsmouth in the FA Cup Semi Final and with Fulham having a poor record on the road, they will believe that they can advance to the final four stage.

Spurs are unbeaten in their last ten home games in all competitions while Fulham have only won one of their last ten away games – the win being at Accrington Stanley in the cup. These two sides also met at White Hart Lane on January 26th in the league, with Spurs coming out 2-0 winners. With these formlines I feel that Spurs will be ones progressing to Wembley.

Premier League Picks

We’re coming into the final stretch of the English football season and today’s biggest sporting events come from the top two leagues. In this article we’ll be previewing the day’s only Premier League fixture as well as two matches in the Championship that feature two of the three teams pushing for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers:

This game is an incredibly important game for both sides. They sit 17th and 16th in the league respectively and a win will move West Ham six points clear of the bottom three while a Wolves victory will see them seven points clear. There’s no doubting that both sides will be going for this game, especially as a draw won’t be much good for either side. How will the game go though?

West Ham are the favourites as their home form has been impressive of late. Before losing at home to Bolton at the weekend, they had won three and drawn two of their previous five games. Wolves have lost three of their last six away games, but have won one and drawn one of their last two. They could argue that they should have beaten Aston Villa at the weekend too. With both sides going for the game I can see this being open and entertaining, but I feel that it will end level.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Tips

There is some major sporting action this weekend as the Cheltenham Festival and the Six Nations Championship concludes this Friday and Saturday respectively. In this article we’ll be previewing the major happenings from these two illustrious events – the Cheltenham Gold Cup and France v England. We’ll also be looking at the biggest football match of the weekend as Manchester United take on Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Cheltenham Gold Cup:

The totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Class A Grade 1 chase run over three miles and about two furlongs. It is open to horses aged five years old and upwards.

This year's Gold Cup is being billed one of the most thrilling spectacles in racing history since it will feature a classic rematch between two-time Gold Cup victor Kauto Star (2007 and 2009) and the 2008 winner Denman. These two horses are so far ahead of the rest on their official ratings that it is impossible to contemplate that one of them won't win. Paddy Power have Kauto Star leading the field with odds of 4/6 with Denman coming in at 4/1. They are followed by Cooldine and Imperial Commander at 8/1.

Thursday Betting Preview: Cheltenham Festival

Today is Day Three at the Cheltenham Festival and we’ll be previewing the day’s biggest race – the Ladbrokes World Hurdle – in this article along with the two games in the Europa League that feature the two remaining teams from the Premier League.

Ladbrokes World Hurdle:

The highlight of Ladies Day at the Cheltenham Festival is the Ladbrokes World Hurdle. This race is a Class A Grade 1 hurdle run over three miles. It is open to horses aged four years old and upwards.

Paddy Power have last year’s winner, Big Bucks, as the favourite to be victorious again this year at odds of 8/13. Big Bucks is a massive favourite to repeat his 2009 success with his closest rival in the odds being Tidal Bay at 7/1. He is closely followed by Karabak at 15/2. The next nearest horse is Sentry Duty at a massive 14/1.

Champion Hurdle Tips

Today’s biggest sporting action centres around a town in Gloucestershire, England as the Cheltenham Festival for 2010 gets underway today. We’ll be previewing day one’s biggest race – the Champion Hurdle – as well as the two games being played in the Champions League tonight in this article.

Champion Hurdle:

The Champion Hurdle is the highlight of the first day of the Cheltenham Festival and the most prestigious hurdle race run all season. It is open to horses aged four years old and upwards, and is always run at a fast and furious pace.

According to the current odds with Extrabet.com the winner of the 2009 Supreme Novices' Hurdle, Go Native is the favourite to win the race at 4/1. He is clear of his nearest challengers Solwhit at 6/1 with joint third favourites Binocular and 2009 Champion Hurdle winner Punjabi at odds of 7/1.

BetRepublic Wednesday Sports Betting Preview

Wednesday sees Day Two of the four day Cheltenham festival and also two matches being played in Europe’s elite club football tournament. We’ll be previewing the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham as well as both of the Champions League fixtures.

Queen Mother Champion Chase:

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Class A Grade 1 chase run over two miles. It is open to horses aged 5 years old and upwards. It is the highlight of the second day’s action at Cheltenham.

2010 Formula One World Championship

The 2010 Formula 1 is back and its bigger and better than ever as we get set for what could potentially be the most exciting season in many years from a spectators point of view. New teams, new drivers and new circuits for 2010 which all adds up to the anticipation for fans and punters with the Formula 1 Betting.

2010 Formula One World Championship kicks off this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix amid the usual mix of rule changes, legal arguments and financial crises.

2010 Formula One Drivers Updates

Germany vs England FIH Hockey World Cup 2010 Semi Finals

England vs Germany 2010 Mens Hockey World Cup Match on 11 March 2010, 18:05 Venue: Dhyan Chand National Stadium,Delhi.

Germany vs. England Mens Hockey is the first semifinal of FIH World Cup 2010 held in India.

The FIH World Cup 2010 is continuing in India this year. Favourite teams are Pakistan, Germany, Netherlands, India and Australia. But Australia, Germany, England and Netherlands have reached in Semifinals of FIH Hockey World Cup. This is the first match of semifinals of this hockey world cup 2010.