Predicting The Season Handicap Tables For 2013/14

In yesterday's post, I wrote about the methods I use to select which team to bet on in the Premier League Season Handicap betting market that is available to bet on before the season kicks off. Today, I'm going to share with you the way I go about picking a team in the Championship, League One and League Two.

I always purchase the Racing & Football Outlook newspaper on the Tuesday before the league seasons kick off because they have a supplement in there with projections for the upcoming season. They don't have a pullout as such these days. However, what I use to make my selections still is.

In the middle pages of this week's RFO is a rundown of each league with a guess at where each team will end up in their respective league. The paper suggests whether they will be; champions, gain promotion, be in the play-off zone, in the top ten, end the season in mid-table, struggle or end up relegated. I then rank each team in order going by how well they performed the previous year.

Once this is done, I head over to a spreadsheet I made a number of years ago.

In this spreadsheet, I use a system called the 'points per place method' where I have looked at the past few seasons and averaged how many points a team gets in each position on the league table. For example : in League One, the team that finished the season as champions has done so with an average points total of 93.

To use this system with handicap betting, I add the league table order I made up from reading this week's copy of the Racing & Football Outlook to the points per place. Once this is done, I add the points that each team is given by the bookmaker to find a final number. The final process is to sort them in order to get an idea of how the bookmakers league table could look once the season has finished.

In the example I gave above - the team who finished first in League One has done so with an average of 93 points. This year, the RFO believes that Peterborough will win League One so, from the off, they get ninety-three points from my system. The bookmakers are giving the team a five point head start on the season, this makes their final number 98.

Remember : Season Handicap Betting factors in EVERY team in the league not just the team you're betting on.

As noted, I have used this process for the Championship, League One and League Two. Below are the top four sides from each league with the team's handicap points in parenthesis.

In closing, I don't think this is a guaranteed way of winning. It's just something fun that I like doing each summer.

Championship

1. Bolton (+5) 97pts
2. Watford (+7) 92pts
3. Wigan (+6) 87pts
4. Ipswich (+14) 87pts

League One
1. Peterborough (+5) 98pts
2. Preston (+10) 96pts
3. Tranmere (+19) 89pts
4. Brentford (+5) 84pts

League Two
1. Cheltenham (+11) 93pts
2. Chesterfield (+3) 91pts
3. Rochdale (+16) 91pts
4. Scunthorpe (+11) 90pts

Two Approaches To Tackle Premier League Season Handicap Betting 2013/14

Each year, I dedicate a post or two to predicting how the season handicap tables will look at the end of the season. The topic is back again for today and tomorrow as the new season is almost upon us.

I'll be dedicating today to the Premier League. I will cover my approaches to handicap betting on the Championship, League one and two tomorrow.

To begin, I must start with an explanation of how handicap betting works. This is where copy-and-paste from one of my earlier posts comes in handy:


These bets are confusing for the lay bettor but here is my best way of explaining:

For example, Newcastle United have 37 points in this bet. In May, when all the games have been played, these points are added to the amount the Magpies have accrued throughout the season. So - say they have 24 points in the proper Premier League table - the total, including the handicap points, would be 61.

Then you have to factor in the points attained by all other teams as well as the handicap points that the bookmakers have assigned to each team

Approach 1 : Blindly picking the second team that came up

A number of years ago, I had an idea of picking the runner-up in the Championship after West Bromwich Albion won the league handicap table in the following year.

I selected Norwich each-way and I believe they finished in third or fourth of the handicap table when both sets of points were tallied up.

Last year, I repeated this process by selecting Reading. This bet did not pay off as they ended up seventeenth in the tallied table.

If I am to 'give it one more go' this year, the team I would have to select is Hull City. They have a forty-six point head start which is one point more than Norwich had when I had won with them two seasons ago.

Approach 2 : The Points Per Position Method

Over the years, I've been keeping a look at the average of points per position. For instance, the team that has won the Premier League over the past nine seasons has done so with a give-or-take point average of eighty-eight.

For approach two, I placed each team in the order of how the betting sees how they will do. Most bookies have Chelsea as the favourite with Manchester United and Manchester City in order behind. 

Using a speadsheet, I added the average point per position to the handicap points each team were given. I then put the totals in descending order to find the top four (for each-way betting).

The order is as follows, with the handicap points in parenthesis:

Chelsea (1) 89pts

Swansea (34) 88pts

Man Utd (2) 85pts

Newcastle (33) 84pts

The one concerning team on this list is Newcastle United as I have a feeling they are in for a poor season.

As I like to bet these markets with an each-way bet, I'll be picking Swansea this year. An eleven wins and one draw head start is too tempting compared to the alternatives.

I'll be back tomorrow with a look at the Championship, League One and League Two.

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#AskDixie

Total Nonstop Action owner, Dixie Carter, took to Twitter the other day and asked her followers for questions using the hash tag 'AskDixie'

In a week that saw the company release a wrestler who had been injured under its watch, amongst many other things - I believe asking the customer base for open-air questions was a mistake.

With that said, I have a feeling TNA, and especially Dixie Carter, were going to be in for this reaction either way.

Here are some of the questions:

Marty DeRosa  : Where did I leave my car keys?

Scott M. Fishman : Why wasn't Robocop chosen for the Main Event Mafia given his history with Sting?

The Beekish Bulldog : How did Hogan convince you hiring Brooke was a good idea?' and 'Do you think Hogan can draw? More than stick figures?

IVPvideos : You had Okada and did nothing with him. Does that make you feel silly?

MatthewOfBotchamania : 'Are you able to talk if Hogan is drinking a glass of water?' and '...and the winner of the Bad Timing Award goes to Dixie Carter'

Michael Manna : Could you check and see if my resistance bands and yoga mat are still in the trailer...I mean locker room at Universal?

My VCR Still Works : Serious, what was Hogan's BIG idea to CHANGE wrestling?

Water is Wet : If a tree falls in the woods does anybody hear it? When Al Snow cries in the locker room does anyone hear him?

The War Beagle : So you have amnesia and still think it's the '80s?

Sid : (T)ake (N)eccessary (A)ctions! Fire the high cost high maintenance fossils!

Water is Wet : Why haven't you hired Jim Cornette so he can fire most of the roster and bookers? TNA is a joke 'funny don't make money'

The War Beagle : Shockmaster... Still a better gimmick than anything you have come up with

W. Parks : Has the TV title been thrown in the garbage yet so Jim Duggan can fetch it out and declare himself champion?

Tyler WWE Fan : Rhino was the last World Champ for ECW, will Sting's ashes be TNA's last World Champion?

Terrence : How the hell do you guys NOT have a license to perform in Missouri? This company is going down faster than the Titanic

J.E. Mishal Vilar : When will the funeral be?

Kevin M : When are you going to let someone competent run your company that will fire the Hogans, Bischoffs and Stings?

ShowOff76 : How do you feel knowing 3MB is more over than your TNA heavyweight champion?

W. Parks : How is TNA Impact going to compete against WWE NXT?

Benjamin Tucker : Why haven't you responded to any one's questions? Too negative for your floundering promotion?

See what I mean about it not being a good idea?

In With The New

It was time for a change.

As you can see, I decided to give the blog a makeover.

I had put a lot of time and effort in the previous design that I was reluctant to make a change. However, I was at the PC yesterday morning with not a lot to do so decided to play around with a few things and ended up creating a new logo and background.

As soon as I saw what I had done, I thought to myself 'why not make the change?' and did it immediately.

There are a few things I want to fix but so far so good.

I will miss the old look because I had used it for the best part of four years without feeling like a change. Still, I like this new look and so it shall stay.

For now.

Coming Soon : WWE MSG DVD

World Wrestling Entertainment is releasing a new DVD/Blu-ray featuring matches that were held at New York's Madison Square Garden.

I'm unsure when The Best of WWE at Madison Square Garden will be in the shops. However, I do know what it contains.

Firstly, it will feature a documentary all about World Wrestling Entertainment's home ground.

The matches included in the set range from the epic ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon from WrestleMania X to the quick title win by Diesel.

It is looking like this is the first WWE DVD to feature Bruno Sammartino doing interviews for the documentaries. it wouldn't be a decent story about the WWF and Madison Square Garden without documenting his long reign as champion and selling out the venue so it was a no-brainer to have him involved with this project.

If I am to be honest, the documentary is the only thing appealing to me about this title.

Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of the bouts that are listed in this set. It's just that I either already own them or have seen them before.

Racing Post & RFO Football Annual 2013/2014

One of the tools I used when betting on football last season was the Racing & Football Outlook Football Guide. I purchased the latest edition this week.

This year, the book is a lot different. Firstly, it's released in a collaboration with its sister publication (or bigger brother) the Racing Post. It's title - The Racing Post & RFO Football Annual 2013/2014.

The book covers all the domestic leagues as well as the top divisions in Europe. One of the things I like the best is that, on each team section, there is a table that informs the reader how Team X performed at home against Team Y in the past six seasons. For instance, Cardiff City has played Swansea three times in that time period. In those three games, Cardiff has won one, drawn once and lost once.

I don't know what to make of that stat.

With that said, the six year history also indicates to the punter how many of the games went over or under 2.5 goals, how many games had both sides score (a nice stat to learn considering the current love of the both to score markets), and also how many times there was a clean sheet.

And for those who really want to know - the Cardiff vs Swansea games have gone over two times and under once. Both team scored in two of the encounters and Cardiff failed to keep a clean sheet in all three meetings.

The handbook includes the fixtures for the upcoming season. This is at the back of the book and the matches are listed by date. This comes in quite handy if you ever want to know what games are taking place on a particular day.

It wouldn't be a RP/RFO product without the tips. They are there in the form of the write-ups for the British leagues as well as a two page summary of what to expect in Europe.

There's also an interesting piece by Kevin Pullein where he hands out five rules to become a better bettor.

The final thing I would like to comment on is the look of the book.

This year, it is in full colour. I know it's cosmetic but the look and feel of it is a heck of a lot better than ever.

If you like gambling on football, it will serve you well for the upcoming season

 

Another Black Eye For TNA

TNA is keeping it coming with the controversy.

A few days ago, the wrestling company released Jesse Sorenson from his contract as part of their latest drive to cut costs.

For those who may not remember, Sorenson was the wrestler who was paralysed during a live pay-per-view a while back.

He has apparently made a recovery from the accident. So, on one hand you can see why TNA did what they did by giving him time to recover before letting him go. On the other you can't help but feel it's like the company are washing their hands with a problem.

After all, he was injured on their watch.

When something similar happened to Darren Drozdov during a World Wrestling Federation match, WWF made sure to keep Droz under contract for many years after his injury.

One difference that should be noted for fairness is that Droz never walked again. Sorenson has been 'cleared to wrestle' despite him having never returned to ring action since the injury.

Ironically, the person who accidentally injured Sorenson - Zema Ion - has suffered his own health woes. A growth was found in his bladder and a Kick Starter campaign was created to fund his surgery.

He only managed to raise 23% of his target so he didn't get anything for the appeal.

His Name Was Earl

Earlier this year, I got hooked on My Name is Earl after it started airing at 6pm on the channel Five Star.

I often end up watching that channel around that time as it coincided with the time it took the oven to cook my food. For the past few years, Malcolm in the Middle had been the American comedy airing at that time and I had grown tired of it as it felt like I had seen the entire run of the series at least three times.

If not four.

So, when Earl made its appearance on Five Star, I welcomed the change.

It was so easy to like the programme. It's about an American trailer park resident who wins $100,000 on a lottery scratch card but - as he is celebrating his win - is run over by a car. His ticket is lost and, as he is recuperating in hospital, he learns about karma. Figuring that all the bad he has done in his life is the cause for his latest setback, he decides to set things right by writing down a list of the bad he has done and to go and make amends. By the end of the pilot episode, the scratch card finds its way back to Earl. He then dedicates his winnings to settling all the misdeeds he has done in his life.

It seemed that, as soon as I began enjoying it a lot, the channel decided to play Malcolm in the Middle again. I was not happy.

So, what did I do?

I bought the box set!

It may seem a mad idea (not as mad as writing down a list of things I have done wrong, though) but what I did was watch an episode at 6pm each day instead of watching Malcolm in the Middle.

It was a long run. I think it was 94 or ninety-six episodes in total but I completed it last week.

I loved the first two seasons. The third was dreadful but things got better again by the fourth and final year.

It's a shame the show was cancelled because I believe it had so many other routes it could have taken.

Don't ask me what I am going to do at 6pm from now on. I have no idea.

Buy My Name is Earl on DVD

 Buy My Name is Earl on US DVD

It's A Boy

Q. Where was I when the news of the birth of a Royal Baby was announced?
A. Asleep.

The heat has made my sleeping pattern so out of whack that I dozed off at around 8pm last night. When I woke up, the first thing I did was check on my emails and the news was awaiting me.

BHS had emailed with 'It's a boy!' in the subject line.

It took me a few short seconds to realise what they were on about.

I had bought into the 'It's a girl' misinformation so was a surprised when I found out the baby was a male.

Now we've got that out of the way, Britain can get back to normal.

Until his first tooth comes through, I suppose.

More Nonstop Drama

Just the other day, I made the prediction that Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is not long for this world. The weekend gave strength to my argument.

On Saturday night, at a house show in Cape Girardeau in Missouri, a number of wrestlers were pulled from the show by the Missouri State Athletic Commission due to them being unlicensed to wrestle.

One of the wrestlers disallowed from performing was current TNA World champion, Chris Sabin.

As a goodwill gesture, the company offered refunds at the start of show. They also allowed those that stayed the opportunity to meet-and-greet the wrestlers for free afterwards.

Goodwill aside, this company is proving time and time again that it isn't being run properly.

I witnessed this sort of mismanagement during World Championship Wrestling's dying days albeit without last minute problems with athletic commissions. TNA wins that one hands down.

The difference between WCW and TNA is that WCW had a major TV powerhouse (Time Warner) funding its losses before they pulled the plug.

Unless something is done soon, history looks set to repeat itself.

Hollywood Hunger

I mentioned recently that I have been reading The Hunger Games novels. I'm now on the third book - Mockingjay - and I'm enjoying them.

I still haven't bothered watching the first movie. I hope to do so in the near future and will then catch the second film when it comes out later this year.

What I did notice about the films is that Mockingjay is going to be released in two separate parts.

That's milking it a tad too much.

The book is the same length as its two predecessors so - as far as I am concerned - there is no need for two movies.

It's easy to see why they are doing it this way.

Hollywood had a lot of success with the final Harry Potter and Twilight movies being two-parters and I guess they want to repeat it with The Hunger Games franchise.

That's the best reason I can think of, anyway.

Barcelona Blogging

Barcelona Rumours

I was scrolling through Twitter yesterday afternoon when the rumour that Barcelona head coach - Tito Vilanova - was standing down started picking up.

According to these reports - Vilanova's battle with cancer, a fight he had to deal with last season, is going to prevent him from committing himself to the job.

I hope everything works out well for him.

AVB To Be The Next Barcelona Boss? Not So Fast, My Friend!

With the news still not officially broken, I had a look at the potential managers who could replace Vilanova and one name stood out.

Andre Villas-Boas.

I liked the idea of him taking over.

And at 12/1 for him to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post, I liked it even more.

With all that said, the football club does tend to appoint coaches and managers from within its ranks.

The likelihood of AVB being appointed, despite his name being linked before Vilanova stood down, is a longshot.

A Bad Move For TNA

Call me a pessimist but I have a feeling Total Nonstop Action will not see out 2013.

The wrestling company has been releasing a lot of its staff in the past few weeks.

The reason behind this cost cutting is said to be due to TNA finding out that moving their TV shows from a static site to venues across the US was something they evidently cannot afford.

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff had been pushing for the company to leave Universal Studios, where Impact and other shows were taped.

Looks like they got their wish.

At a cost.

Shoo The Roo

The press is speculating that Wayne Rooney really does want out of Manchester United because he feels like he's playing second fiddle to Robin Van Persie.

Welcome to the real world, Wayne.

As a non-United fan, I don't really care how Wayne Rooney feels. Judging by the reaction of actual fans during the latter part of the season, nor do they.

I'd like to see Rooney go somewhere else.

My reasoning is simple - it will shake things up and be a news story worth caring about.

I Am A Dreadful Tipster

I didn't do too good on my predictions for WWE Money in the Bank, did I?

I did end up placing a few bets on the event. I spent eight pounds and lost it all.

Every single favourite won  I had picked a few outsiders that got nowhere.

Still, it was a bit of fun. I am glad I didn't go out on a limb and increase my stake, which is something I was thinking about. Fortunately, sense prevailed.

I'll be having a go at the SummerSlam markets if they are available.

Cory Monteith

I don't really know whether I was surprised when I read that Cory Monteith had died over the weekend.

I was aware that the actor had entered a rehabilitation facility earlier this year and his absence from the last few episodes of the most recent season of Glee was evident to that.

A shame would be the right term to use because that's what this is.

It's a shame for him and everybody he knew.

This time last year, I was wondering how they would continue with Glee following the way the season ended with Monteith's character - Finn -  joining the armed forces and, the character's girlfriend,  Rachel heading to New York.

It's quite the irony that I am now pondering how they are going to move on with the show now.

That's the least of their worries right now, though.

The Not So Big Announcement

There's supposed to be a big announcement made by World Wrestling Entertainment today.

It's no surprise, really. The news is going to be that The Ultimate Warrior is a playable character on the next WWE video game.

The news was spoiled before today's revelation because it has appeared on advertisements within an upcoming WWE Magazine.

 Or something.

I should close by pointing out that this deal is between 2K Games and The Ultimate Warrior so this is not a sign that WWE and the former Jim Hellwig are on the same page again.

With that said, and this is my opinion alone, I wouldn't be surprised to see The Ultimate Warrior in the WWE Hall of Fame sometime in the future.

Money In The Bank 2013 Betting Tips

For the first time in quite a while, I thought up a really good blog post title and wanted to dedicate the post to the reasons why I feel Wade Barrett should win one of the Money in the Bank matches at tonight's WWE Pay-Per-View, err, Money In The Bank.

The idea was so simple. The title 'A Brief Case For - And Against - Wade Barrett' looked so good in my mind. Those darn bookmakers had to spoil it by putting up betting markets on tonight's event so I am going to have to cover every single match and use the not so catchy 'Money In The Bank 2013 Betting Tips' as today's title.

I suppose, like WWE, we'll start with the dark match.

The Shield .vs. The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Titles

This match is the one they are giving away for free online. You know what I wrote in the past about them usually letting the babyfaces win in these matches so as to entice viewers to purchase the event? Well, this may be the exception to the rule. The Shield (1/50) are heavy favourites in this. I cannot see The Usos winning the titles. I guess the smart play here is to avoid this match but I am somewhat tempted with the 12/1 odds on the babyfaces because they could win via disqualification which will mean Rollins and Reigns retain the title belts. It is a long longshot, though.

Tip : If you want a gamble with a small stake, I'd go with The Usos (12/1 Sky Bet, Paddy Power, William Hill)

A.J. Lee .vs. Kaitlyn for the WWE Divas Title

I can't see anything other than an A.J. win here. The current odds indicate it, too.

Tip : A.J. Lee (1/10 Sky Bet)

Curtis Axel .vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship

They're not going to have Axel lose the belt after just a few weeks.

Tip : Curtis Axel (1/40 Paddy Power)

Ryback .vs. Chris Jericho

Interestingly, this was the match that should have happened at WrestleMania as Jericho returned to put him over. Instead, Jericho lost to Fandango and Ryback worked against Mark Henry at the big event. Now a heel, Ryback needs a win following last month's loss to John Cena. A defeat will not hurt Chris Jericho. Once again, the odds are not pretty.

Tip : Ryback (1/14 Sky Bet)

Dolph Ziggler .vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Title

This one is puzzling. I can make a case for both right now. Del Rio won the belt from Ziggler last month. Since then, Ziggler has been a babyface and Del Rio's ring announcer - Ricardo Rodriquez - was legitimately suspended for thirty days following a wellness violation. On one hand, I can argue that Del Rio's act is limited without his ring announcer and I can see the writers believe the same way. Then, on hand number two, I can see them sticking with the recently crowned champion for a little while longer because they like the babyface chasing for the belt. With all that noted, I am going with Ziggler. And here's why - if they don't want to put the belt on him right now, they can have him win the match via DQ or countout. By doing this, they will keep the belt on Del Rio and have an excuse to give Ziggler another rematch down the line. Another aside is the fact that the SmackDown Money in the Bank match is going to be contested by heels. Could a heel cash in against a babyface Ziggler immediately afterwards?

Tip : Dolph Ziggler (5/1 William Hill)

John Cena .vs. Mark Henry for the WWE Championship

The rumour that has been going around for a while is that John Cena .vs. Daniel Bryan is a planned program. The match was supposed to have taken place at tonight's event. Updated speculation has the match booked for SummerSlam. The question is 'how will they get there?' Does John Cena retain the title here leaving Bryan to be victorious in the Raw Money in the Bank match and then use his title shot for SummerSlam? Will Mark Henry secure victory and lose to whoever wins the Raw briefcase before the show ends? So many questions. I feel the result of this bout depends on where it is in the match order. We won't know where it is listed until it happens, though! If it's the last match of the night, I wouldn't be surprised to see a scenario play out involving whoever won the immediate title shot in the Raw MITB match.

Tip : Slight lean on Mark Henry (6/1 William Hill)

The SmackDown Money In The Bank Match

Seven wrestlers will take part in this match. As noted above, each participant is a heel which makes one believe that they will cash in their immediate title shot against a babyface champion (that's why I am leaning on Dolph Ziggler to either win tonight or further down the road). For weeks, I have had a feeling that it's Wade Barrett's time to be once again in contention to be a world champion. The opportunity for the writers to get behind him again is tonight. They don't have to put the belt on him just yet, they can have him carry the briefcase around for a few months. It's worth noting there are two guys in the match that are regarded higher than Barrett in who the company would like to win. The previous few sentences was a 'Brief Case For - And Against - Wade Barrett'. Hey, at least I got it in somewhere.  Damien Sandow (EVS with Paddy Power) and Antonio Cesaro (9/1 with Sky Bet) are the pair who I can see being winners over Barrett. Due to be conflicted in who to pick, I'm going to make two bets on the outcome of this match.

Tips: Wade Barrett (11/4 Sky Bet)
Antonio Cesaro (9/1 Sky Bet)

The Raw Money In The Bank Match

Randy Orton (4/6 Paddy Power) is the favourite. I'm not feeling it, though. Daniel Bryan is the second favourite at 11/4 (Sky Bet) and, basing my judgement on what I have written above, he should be the main pick. Ironically, one of the things working against Daniel Bryan being successful is that he has won a MITB match before. One of the things in favour of Bryan repeating is that CM Punk is a two-time winner. Speaking of Punk (16/1 Sky Bet), he is set to wrestle Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam so he isn't worth considering as a victor tonight. The other participants in order of where I see their chances of winning are - Rob Van Dam (16/1 Sky Bet) Sheamus (20/1 William Hill), and Christian (50/1 Sky Bet).

Tip: Daniel Bryan (11/4 Sky Bet)

Murray Talks Sport

I found out earlier this week that Colin Murray will be joining Talk Sport radio from August.

He'll be taking over the 10am - 1pm weekday slot that had been occupied by Richard Keys and Andy Gray.

I found Keys & Gray boring because, whenever I would listen to them, they only seemed to have their own guests in studio or on the phone.

Don't get me wrong - they did have decent guests on the occasions I listened. I prefer talk radio the way it's supposed to be - with a debate where callers can have their voices heard. This listener never got that with Keys and Gray so I hardly ever took the time to tune in as religiously as I have done with other shows on the station.

Hopefully, Talk Sport will allow Colin Murray to open up phone lines and allow normal calls in.

Either way, I look forward to his arrival.

City On Soccer Sunday

Cardiff City's first live televised game as a Premier League team will take place in the second week of the season.

Their home game against Manchester City was picked up by Sky yesterday.

The game was moved from the Saturday 24th August to the following day so it will be played at 4pm.

The last time I watched Cardiff City play against Manchester City live on TV was in 1994. On that day, a giant killing took place in the third round of the FA Cup.

Let's hope history repeats itself.

Marvel Matinees

I spent three days of last week watching a number of Marvel movies that I had recorded on Sky but hadn't gotten around to watching.

I started off with Thor.

 It was okay. I didn't have any expectations going in so wasn't let down by it in any way.

The following day, Avengers Assemble was on the list.

I liked it a lot.

The Amazing Spider-Man was the film on the third day.

I still don't know whether I can praise it that much. I didn't hate it or love it. I remain on the fence. A second viewing may make me decide firmly, I suppose.

MITB Betting?

I have been looking around and cannot see any of the well-known bookmakers taking bets on this Sunday's WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

If you recall, I placed a number of bets on the last event - Payback - as well as WrestleMania so I was hoping to have another punt this weekend.

The off-shore American style betting sportsbooks more than likely will - or are - offering up WWE markets. I won't be wasting my time, or money, even trying to bet with them after they let me down a number of years ago. I don't trust them.

My fingers remain crossed that one of the UK firms do. Here's hoping.

77 And Out

I was glad that Andy Murray won the men's final at Wimbledon over the weekend.

One of the things that has irked me each summer has been the way everybody had built up the fact that it was X amount of years since a British person (Fred Perry) had won the tournament.

Thank god for Andy Murray finally ending the seventy-seven year quest.

What is great about Murray winning it at last is the fact that - now that he has done it - there is going to be less pressure on him when he aims to repeat.

Also, him winning Wimbledon should inspire youngsters to try and follow suit.

I'd bet that it won't take another 77 years for another British winner.

KO'd

Anderson Silva was humbled on Saturday night.

I don't follow UFC much anymore. However, I do read the news and read that Silva was defending his UFC middleweight belt against Chris Weidman.

Throughout the fight, Silva was disrespecting Weidman by allowing his opponent to throw punches towards him. He was mocking his power.

In the second round, still showboating, Silva had his arms down and was letting Weidman throw punches again. Weidman connected a good blow and knocked out the champ.

What makes this all the more laughable is the fact Weidman was undefeated going in to that fight. Bum fights aside, he should have been respected more.

A costly lesson learned.

Sting 'Reaching Out To WWE'

The word going around pro wrestling right now concerns Sting and whether he is WWE bound.

It is no secret that the former WCW, and current TNA, wrestler has spoken with World Wrestling Entertainment in the past so - hearing that he has sent out feelers to them again - is not surprising.

I'd like to see him work for WWE. I have felt like this for many years. Back in the early 1990's I wanted to see Sting versus The Ultimate Warrior.

He is the one top star from the WCW vs WWF/E days to have never jumped across to work for WWE.

The one match that even he has mentioned he would like to work is against The Undertaker at a WrestleMania. I wouldn't hold out hope on their match being a masterpiece. However, I can guarantee it will draw huge money.

They could also have him wrestle stars like John Cena, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar  and even The Rock (if he comes back).

This is just speculation on my part, but if anybody thinks he is going to come in and work weekly bouts against the likes of Christian and The SHIELD, think again.

If he does come in, I'd bet he will be on one of those part-time deals that the company seem to be handing out following how well it has worked for Lesnar.

I hold out hope that he signs once his TNA deal is done.

TNA Slot Machine

Sky Vegas emailed me yesterday with news of their new online fruit machine.

Now, I have no idea how to play these things and have no intention of even trying. However, the email caught my attention because of what the theme of the slot machine is.

TNA Wrestling.

For starters, I am surprised that World Wrestling Entertainment had never done this so TNA secured a pretty good break there.

With that said, slot machines are not for me.

Baby Betting

The front page of yesterday's edition of The Sun had an offer from Ladbrokes. The bookmaker was giving away free £1 bets on the royal baby.

The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William's baby is due fairly soon so the betting firms have put out markets where you can bet on its gender and name.

The sex of the baby being a girl is priced at 1/2. The reason this is priced better than a boy (6/4) is due to the news that got out a number of months ago that Catherine slipped up and accidentally hinted that she was expecting a girl.

Even with that in the back of my mind, I would never lower myself to bet on silly things like that.

Reindeer and iguana racing aside, of course.

The Bodyslam Heard Around The World

Time certainly flies.

I was sat here yesterday evening wondering what I was going to write about on today's blog post. As I was thinking, I asked myself 'what happened on July 4th ten years ago?' and quite a few memories flooded back (Barry White passing away and Roman Abramovich buying Chelsea FC are two examples). I then pondered what would I remember if I thought back twenty years.

And then I knew what I was going to dedicate today's subject to.

July 4th 1993 was the day that the World Wrestling Federation put everything they had into the heir apparent to Hulk Hogan.

On the day in question, the WWF champion - Yokozuna - was challenging American sports stars to bodyslam him at a WWF special appearance on board the USS Intrepid.

Turn on your kayfabe goggles for the next few paragraphs.

A number of stars from the WWF, NBA, NHL and NFL tried to bodyslam the wrestler who - at that time - was billed over five hundred pounds. All failed apart for one final 'surprise' challenger (who arrived at the last minute via helicopter, nonetheless) Lex Luger.

He managed to lift the Samoan wrestler off his feet instantly turning himself babyface and making him a main eventer for the WWF.

Goggles off.

In the weeks that followed, Luger travelled across the USA on a tour bus named 'The Lex Express'. The sole purpose of this campaign was to hype up his title shot at Yokozuna at SummerSlam in August.

Even to this day, I'd argue that this was the hardest the WWF had pushed a guy in such little time. They truly put everything they had into making him the number one star in pro wrestling. If you didn't live through that time, you'll probably think I am exaggerating. Trust me, this was a huge deal back then.

So, after that major marketing push that lasted from that afternoon of July 4th all the way to August 30th the payoff was a WWF title win for Luger, right?

Wrong.

The match ended with a Luger victory via count-out. And, as the WWF rulebook reads - titles cannot be won via count-out.

I wasn't as clued into the backstage politics of professional wrestling back then. However, this fourteen year-old, felt the finish was a total waste of time.

I still do twenty years later.

Luger never did get to hold the belt.

The plan beyond SummerSlam was for Luger to win the Royal Rumble and then challenge Yokozuna at WrestleMania X in March of 1994.

On paper, the plan looked good. The problem, however, was that Bret Hart had such a great fan base and by the spring of the following year, Vince McMahon decided that the Hitman was the wrestler that would defeat Yokozuna for the championship at WrestleMania.

I often wonder what would have happened to wrestling had they let Lex Luger win the title at SummerSlam.

The decision not to pull the trigger on him after all that time and effort spent promoting him in the summer of '93 still baffles me even to this day.

Update - After writing this, I remembered that I had written about Lex Luger a number of years ago. Click this link to read it.

Another Gift From Jack Daniel's

I received yet another gift from Jack Daniel's on Monday.

As noted in the past, I have been a 'Friend of Jack' since the late 1990s and receive presents from the company every few months.

This time around, the company gave me a small booklet with recipes that include Jack Daniel's whiskey.

One recipe that caught my attention was one that suggested marinading meat with JD and cola. I'll certainly give that a go.

They sent with it a sachet of barbecue seasoning.

I used the last seasoning they sent me and I found it nice so I'll definitely be making something with this 'Sweet BBQ' flavouring.

The Show Doesn't Have To Go On

The death of Sarah Guyard-Guillot this past weekend will once again bring up a debate about the Owen Hart tragedy that occurred in 1999.

Guyard-Guillot was an acrobat for the Cirque du Soleil. While taking part in one of the Las Vegas shows the troupe do, the performer fell from a great height to her death.

It is similar to how Owen Hart passed away at the WWF Over The Edge pay-per-view in May of '99. However, the similarities end there.

Once it became clear that the Guyard-Guillot was in a bad way, the show was ended. The WWF carried on with its show once Hart was stretchered from the ring.

Two similar accidents, two differing ways of handling them.

In my opinion, the Cirque du Soleil dealt with their tragedy the right way. It still sort of confuses me how the WWF reasoned that they had to continue the show because of fear that the audience at the arena would not understand the seriousness of the accident and possibly cause a riot.

What happened over the weekend proves that shows can be stopped and refunds can be offered.

No. 18 Is #2

I hadn't been following the NFL's Top 100 players of the 2012 season programme on NFL Network until last week where the players ranked one through ten were revealed.

The list is selected by NFL players. This makes for interesting debate and controversy.

It was great to see Peyton Manning listed as second. There was a lot of doubt on whether he would last a full season after taking 2011 off following numerous neck surgeries.

Ironically, he still made the 2011 Top 100 - despite not playing - because his absence from the Indianapolis Colts was fully evident. The team fell to a 2-14 record without him. Before 2011, Manning was that Colts team and it showed in last year's votes.

Manning's new team, the Denver Broncos, did well in 2012 and I have a feeling they could go all the way this coming season.