Can the Colts Live Up to Their Early Odds?

The Indianapolis Colts are currently listed as 3/1 favorites to win Super Bowl XLI. Those are very impressive odds for a team that ended it's extraordinary 2005-2006 season with such disappointment.

What do the Colts have going for them this year? Peyton Manning is, of course, an immediate answer. While he's now established as one of the great players in professional football, there remains doubt that he can come through in the big games - particularly the big post-season games, and the big one itself. As Brad Oremland points out, Ben Roethlisberger didn't exactly post a stellar post-season performance last year, but he and his Steelers boast Super Bowl rings nonetheless.

Coaching is also another factor. Coach Tony Dungy said in March that the team "won't use excuses" in regard to their performance last year, but will that improve their performance this year? The blame game seems fairly evenly weighted between Manning and Dungy: certainly if both the star player and experienced coach live up to their potential, the Colts can live up to their NFL sports betting expectations.

Technorati tag(s): indianapolis colts, nfl betting

Baseball Babe Rocks at Mound Charger

Here's one thing you can bet on: the baseball action at Mound Charger will have you lining up to miss ball after ball after ball. Why? Because when you swing the bat and miss, a hot baseball bambi (shown at left) will charge the mound.

So what? Well, here's the fun part. When she charges the mound, you give her a command to carry out when she hits the pitcher's mound (for example, type "punch" and she'll hit more than the pictcher)! See what happens when you try "baywatch", "fredo", "popozow" and "beer" ... then check out other Mound Charger keywords yourself!

Anyway, a little diversion for all you baseball types out there as we gear up for the real betting sport of the season (NFL football OF COURSE!).

Technorati tag(s): mound charger, moundcharger

Del Mar Racetrack Posts Record Attendance for Opening Day, Oceanside Stakes

There was a record crowd for opening day 2006 at Del Mar Racetrack, with 42,005 horse racing fans in attendance.

It was an exciting day, too, as jockey Alexis Solis rode long-shots to victory in both divisions of the Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds. Lightning hit won the first division by a head, coming from last place in the field of seven to claim victory in 1:34.12. Solis had another win-by-a-head with the horse Obrigado in the second division, running the turf track in 1:34.20.

Lightning Hit paid 9.20/3.40/2.60, while Obrigado gave a whomping 14.00/4.40/2.80 (full results).

Technorati tag(s): del mar, horse racing

David Carruthers Arrested, 11 Others Charged

BetonSports.com CEO David Carruthers was arrested yesterday as he attempted to change planes in Dallas, enroute to Costa Rica from Britain. Charges against Carruthers, 10 other individuals and four companies include racketeering, conspiracy and fraud.

A main target of the indictments is not Carruthers, but BoS brain child Gary Kaplan, who had previously operated a sports betting operation out of New York. Among the charges against him are that he "failed to pay federal wagering excise taxes on more than $3.3 billion in wagers taken from the United States". This frankly leaves me scratching my head. How can someone be accountable for unpaid taxes when they had no mechanism for paying taxes? Ironically, Carruthers has being one of the biggest proponents of the formal legalization of Internet gambling in the USA, which would have included being lisensed and, um, paying taxes.

Trading was halted on BetOnSports PLC today following the mayhem surrounting the legal action taken by the Dept. of Justice. Share prices have tumbled for UK gambling giants PartyGaming and 888 following the legal procedings, among growing fears that this may be the first step in the United States aggressively pursuing offshore sportsbooks and casinos.

Technorati tag(s): betonsports, sports betting, gary kaplan