If there’s one storyline worth following, it would have to be the Kansas City Royals and their improbable run leading to the American League Championship Series. After reaching the World Series in 1985, the team has gone on to miss the succeeding 28 postseasons up until this year. This is by far the longest postseason drought of any MLB Team in history. This is also the reason why the Royals have been turning heads as of late. After beating out the Oakland A’s, they immediately set to work on an upset against the first seed Angels. Of course, the Royals got a lot of help from the Angels hitters’ inability to hit the ball when it mattered most. By beating the Angels, the Royals also set an MLB record of winning three straight extra-innings games.
Will there be aBeltway World Series?
The question now is can the Royals win over an equally hot Baltimore Orioles team that’s won three games in convincing fashion against the 3rd seed Detroit Tigers? If we go by the notion that the top seeds have the highest chances of winning in both the ALCS and NLCS then we can probably expect a Beltway World Series (Nationals versus Orioles). However, some pundits are tabbing the Royals over the Orioles citing the former having an edge in terms of its starters, lineup, and bullpen. The Nationals on the other hand are facing elimination as of this writing against the Giants who were able to steal games 1 and 2 at Nationals Park. For a Beltway World Series to happen, the Nationals will have to win its last two games against the Giants and then deal with either the Cardinals or Dodgers.
Can the Cardinals Dominate NL Again?
The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most successful National League teams in the last decade or so. How successful are they? If two World Series trophies, four pennants, eight division titles and three Wild Cards aren’t enough to qualify as successful then we don’t what would. Probably the only team in the 3 major sports leagues that’s more successful than them are the Spurs in San Antonio. Will they be able to go all the way this year though? So far, the Cardinals are doing quite well. They’re currently facing a persistent and dangerous Dodgers team that’s clearly not getting the best out of star outfielder Yasiel Puig. If Puig doesn’t start hitting the balls thrown his way at a consistent basis, the Cardinals just might make it to the NLCS again.
29 Years
Of course, the overarching storyline with any postseason is always going to be who’ll win it all. The Royals have momentum going for them with their win over the Angels. Additionally, the last time they were in the postseason in 1985 they were able to win it all against the Cardinals who are also playing their best as of now. Considering the history between the two teams, wouldn’t a Royals-Cardinals World Series make for a pretty interesting turn of events this postseason? Well, this will all depend on how both teams will fare against their respective matchups. Kansas City only has to worry about Orioles while St. Louis will have to put away the Dodgers and then deal with the winner of the Nationals-Giants series.
When Vedad Ibišević fired that strike against Lithuania in the last game of the qualifying campaign, Bosnian fans could kick off their celebration. For the first time in nations short history, Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for a major tournament and did that in a truly marvelous fashion. In a group against Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to finish top on goal difference, plus a better head to head stats against the 2004 EURO champions.
Nearly 20 years ago, this whole nation was in ashes, as the Bosnian war was just over. In 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina opened a new chapter of their history and looked forward to a much better time. For example, their best player Edin Džeko, had to migrate and spent several days in the cellar, hoping for the bombing to stop. After the war ended, many Bosnians sought comfort and faith in the game of football, trying to focus on some other things instead of just pain and suffering.
After being eliminated by Portugal in two previous attempts to qualify for a major tournament, they made it this time, under Safet Sušić. Formally declared the best foreign player in the history of Paris SG, Sušić guided this generation to a place in the World cup finals. In Brazil, Bosnia will face Argentina, Nigeria and Iran, in group F. The group looks highly passable, considering the fact that Bosnia survives the initial panic and plays the football they played during the qualifications.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only debutant on this years World cup. Bosnia has good chances of going pass the group stages, as their impressive record one friendly games before and some tactical changes persuaded the football media, that Bosnia can indeed conclude the tournament after the group stages.
While Argentina seems unbeatable, at least for the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nigeria game can be crucial for a potential place in the last 16. Bosnia has a good recent record against African teams and have even defeated the Ivory Coast in a friendly game. A win against Iran can’t possibly come into question, if any calculations are being made. Asian team simply should not present a real threat and everything but a win will be seen as an shock. If they make it pass the group stages, Bosnia can play, probably, either France or Switzerland. These two teams are both better than the “Dragons”, but Sušić’s man can cope with them.
Although Bosnia has a really impressive starting line-up, the whole rooster of 23 players is very average. First eleven consist of very influential players, like Stoke City’s Asmir Begović on goal, Emir Spahić, Senad Lulić from Leverkusen and Lazio respectively. However, the highlight of the team is upfront, where Manchester City striker Edin Džeko expects great passes from Miralem Pjanić (As Roma) and Misimović, former Wolfsburg Bundesliga-winner. Bosnia is mentally a difficult squad and can sometimes enter into an euphoria and upset when that is less needed than ever. Injuries have avoided their team, which is a great plus, because many positions in the team rely purely on one player. Bosnian national team will present themselves in a great light and the world will be surprised.
Posted at 11:53 PM in World Cup Betting Advice, World Cup Betting Tips, World Cup News | Permalink
Tags: bosnia world cup
Playroulette is a website hosted and managed by a character named Ricky Roulette, in which he explains the rules and basics of the casino game Roulette. Mr. Roulette has been a roulette player for years, actually since 1980’s, and has been helping friends to learn how to play his favorite casino game. Even though his friends has encourage him to write a book, he thinks the best way to reach people is taking advantage of technology. Ricky wants to share his knowledge of this amazing game and so he created an very simple interactive website where you can learn from betting systems, to where to play online. The website has different sections, in which you will find strategies, casino reviews, games, tips for beginners and a play online guide.
The first thing you should you is visit the For Dummies section, this is the place where you will find all of the basics for you when it comes to Roulette. From teaching you the terminology to actual etiquette. Take your time and read the History of roulette or how to set a roulette at home! Wonder what are the odds for winning? You can find that too, along with the differences between american and european roulette.
Now that you have covered the basics, you can go to the Games directory, where you can find a list of every type of online roulette, such as 3D roulette, 3 Wheel roulette, American roulette, European roulette, French roulette, live dealer and many more. Each one has a link to description, how and where to play, odds, bets list and variations.
If you think you are ready to start playing, you can go a look for the online casino that suits you well. For this you can read the Casino reviews section, where Ricky Roulette writes about the online casinos that offers the Roulette game. Also, you will find a separate list with online casinos where USA player can register.
When you play, you will need to pick a method, or a system in order to avoid silly mistakes. Remember that casinos make their profits on impulsive bets. Ricky Roulette explain eight betting systems. From the most popular system created 250 years ago: the The Martingale Betting System, to The Anti-Martingale Betting System, you will learn and choose the best for you.
Playroulette.org has a very good Playing online guide, where Ricky has listed the best casino online websites either by country or by game. Let’s take a look to the casinos by country: due to the fact that the most of online casino don’t admit USA players, if you are from USA, you will find this very helpful. There are five online casinos that Ricky recommends and review. On the by game section, they are organized between American Roulette and European Roulette. Part of the Playing guide is the Playing Live guide, where you can find Live online casinos listed algo by country.
Also, don’t forget to check the Most Popular Casinos of the Month section, where Ricky Roulette list a top 5. If you want to learn how to play Roulette and need a guide, don’t hesitate to come to Playroulette.org. You can always contact old Ricky by email or the contact form at the website.
As the 2008 crisis started to sink in, countries were wondering what they were going to do about their finances. As of 2013 that crisis hasn't really let up and there have been many victims along the way and governments are still looking at things from a healthier point of view in terms of economics, that is they can't afford to waste money any more and they need to understand where their sources of income can come from.
Taking a city like Detroit for example, that city has nearly turned into a black hole. As much as the city wants to increase taxes, they have nothing that is going to help them and it makes you wonder if the city counsellors and anyone in government really has a clue as to what they are doing, other than looting their own government so they can give themselves a nice cut back themselves.
So fast forward into late 2013 and looking at the prospects of 2014. Since 2008 what has changed in relation to the crisis as well as online gambling? Well online gambling got bigger but it got more legalized during that time span. More governments are saying enough, this industry is massive and we need to tax the shit out of it and that is what is happening. In the United States both Nevada and New Jersey have legalized online gambling by offering licensing. The ironies are that the old laws still make payment processing very difficult.
In Canada the provinces that have acted where the federal government hasn't is Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columnbia with Quebec and British Columbia already having their own online casinos made live. In Europe, almost everywhere is legal and everyone is fighting to setup their own gaming licensing including Spain.
Well if they don't collect any taxes now, they are certainly not doing anyone a favour. The downside to online gambling is that people that are out of money could use up their resources and burn out their finances. This is of course their responsibility but it does tempt them.
Would people gambling more if it is legalized? Depends on the location of the player, some places have had enough exposure to online gambling that it wouldn't make as much of a difference. The real advantage of offering licensing is the regulation of advertising standards which you have in the United Kingdom. In Quebec the province's lottery group almost has a monopoly on advertising with the exception that online gaming companies still advertise with either .net sites that don't accept real wagers but you know where that leads to.
Sometimes having the backing of a whole country can be a bad thing. In England this is always the case, too much pressure for the players but this argument doesn't make sense.
Does that mean countries like Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Germany don't have pressure to performan and win as well? If anything they have an unreal type of pressure and expectation. They are expected to challenge everytime they play. Even a team like Spain they have moved out of their former shell and became a powerhouse. In the 2008 tournament when they beat Italy, the team said they felt they could be the previously intimidating Italians and they did. That was the turning point for their team.
A team like England, they never seem to have the right confidence when it matters the most. The team seems to have the talent to win, there is no doubt about that. England's strengths in the past 10 years has been acknowledged to be their defence more than their offence. With Wayne Rooney emerging as a star in the Euro 2004, they finally had a striker to work with and he is definitely one of their leaders although England now have a nice array of younger talent to choose from in striker positions. Likewise their midfield is showing promise with a lot of young stars coming up and playing well AND with confidence.
Looking at some of the top teams in the tournament, the World Cup is one of the toughest to win. Look at what England have to get through to be a champion: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Germany. England will have to run into these teams at some point.
With 1 year to go before the start of the World Cup 2014 and the teams will slowly start to take shape for qualification. No matter how you look at it there are some expected teams that will be in the tournament and here is what we think of them.
England
The English squad have been a complete mess for years. After disappearing in the Euro 2008, playing rubbish in WorldCup 2010 followed by a nice string of 2 years before bowing out in Euro 2012, this team has completely lost it's identity along the way. The team they will feature won't be considered as strong as previous English squads and the underdog status might actually help the team. The team has younger players and they appear to be confident players that have expectations of winning whereas previous English squads had high expectations and always failed against teams that quite simply have the drive to win rather than the fear of failing. Expect bookies to offer lower odds but they might be a team that surprises.
Brazil
This team has been in disarray for years but they are acknowledged as being the team that is capable of pulling it together last minute to make something happen. The tournament all star is expected to be Neymar who just signed for FC Barcelona.
Argentina
Until this team gets a top notch coach, expect this team to fail. It is extremely unfortunate that people say that he needs the Spanish talent around him to win but he is the 4 time Fifa player of the year and this isn't by mistake. He is playing on a stacked Argentinian squad but they have had some of the worst coaching possible. The players need a strong coach to guide them. No team has won the worldcup with poor or average coaching.
Italy
They made it to the finals in Euro 2012 and got demolished by Spain. This team has potential and perhaps Super Mario Balotelli can take his game to yet another level.
Spain
This team has won the last 3 major tournaments and will go into this one as the favourites. Fernando Torres has been in decline in the past few years but the strikes available for the coaches is phenominal, so much that even amazing talents like Michu are below the list. If striker David Villa is healthy again he could be the main go to guy but they quite simply have talented agressive scorers that want the ball in pressure situations.
Germany
The Germans have some amazing players on their squad and will be considered one of the favourites. Some of their players have matured and gained experience where they used to be considered too young but they play with confidence. The 2013 champions league finals featured Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich which of course featured some of the best German footballers. This team looks like the making of a champion.
Netherlands
The Dutch, Holland, Oranje, whatever you want to call them they are a fierce team with nasty defenders and a very strong midfield featuring Arjen Robben.
Portugal
The reason why Portugal should be given consideration is for the play of Christiano Ronaldo. He is still dominant and at Euro 2012 he played absolutely amazing and silenced many critics taking the team on his back with him. They have excellent footballers and if there is a single player that could carry his team in this tournament, everyone would agree that Christiano Ronaldo is the potential MVP of this tournament and is the player anyone would want over Lionel Messi even. He will simply score goals on his own if he has to and he'll have an agressive supporting attack to help him.
Kimi Raikkonen has a nice streak of grand prix races where he has scored at least 1 point. He was on pace for doing that in Monaco when Sergio Perez nearly took out Kimi Raikkonen on a bad move that ended up costing the Mexican his race. Raikkonen immediately dropped out of the points but somehow managed to storm back into 10th place to continue his points streak.
He takes that streak into the Canadian grand prix where he is expected to keep going. He is well known for taking ordinary pole positions and moving up. He is just that good and that consistent. Without a doubt he has to be considered one of the best drivers in Formula 1 at the moment and if he had the finances behind some of his rivals, he might be able to do even more. Imagine Raikkonen on the RedBull Racing team, Vettel might not be the #1 guy anymore.
After the Canadian Grand Prix things shift to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Raikkonen is still trying to catch Sebastian Vettel whom unfortunately looks like he is running away with another season title. If the tyres change to give fast cars and advantage, it is without a doubt game over.
For now Fernando Alonso still has a decent chance of catching up but he has to start performing again and pulling in a few wins.
Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen is still under the radar for the 2013 season as he continues to score points race after race. Certainly his teammate Romain Grosjean could learn something from him but that is more up to the French/Swiss driver than anything.
There are far too many gambling and casino sites on the net that not only look terrible but also have terrible content. Sometimes their content is produced by reworking and rewording it from other websites and you get a lot of jibberish with this. It is like people stopped caring to make a site that features a nice design or provide something useful for the users.
That said it is our hope that one day that the people who make these websites wake up and put more care and love into their sites to make them not only worth looking at and worth sharing.
One site worth sharing is www.online-live-casinos.com
This site contains useful information and doesn't have banners blasting all over the place and in your face. All of the casino reviews have the right amount of information for you to decide if you should trust them or not. If the casino doesn't take players from the country where you are located, the website will tell you about it and inform the users that players are accepted from your country or to inform you if they don't. In short, this is one of the best designed gambling websites around!
They might not have too many casinos listed like other portals but they seem to focus on the quality brands worth playing at and browsing the site it is difficult to find a casino with under a 4 star rating and quick honestly, there don't seem to be any dodgy casinos listed that are complained about a lot in other player forums and complaint centers.
This site is certainly one of the casino portals to look out for in the future. The design is great and the casino reviews are well written, highly detailed and they only focus on a small number of casinos they personally recommend.
If you are a Megabus user you can get cheap bus tickets from Toronto to Montreal with ticket prices ranging from $10 to $50. Obviously you will want to book in advance to try to find a cheap ticket but even at $25 a ticket, it is still a great deal for those that remember the days of having to use Greyhound and paying extortionate prices.
One big selling point of Megabus has been their free wifi. For a bus ride that takes maybe 6 hours in each direction whether you are going from Montreal to Toronto or Toronto to Montreal, this is a great way to pass the time.
Over 2012 and at the start of 2013 the service on megabus for their wifi appears to be deteriorating or at least, there are more complaints about the lack of service.
On holiday seasons some of the buses were actual greyhound buses used which means you have a regular bus that does not have wifi. Other times when replacement buses come, they are also greyhound buses and do not have wifi at all.
Most of the time you can use the wifi and sometimes it times out and disconnects. Usually at this point the router and modem needs to be restarted. However on a few recent trips there has been no wifi available and now it seems that when the internet times out which happens about every hour, the modem and router can't be reset anymore. So if this is the case then you can't expect a trip that has wifi all the way. One employee has informed me that the modem can't be reset. The passengers seem to frown upon hearing this as they have their laptops open probably waiting to get online.
Free wifi is certainly a luxury for the riders which makes taking the bus change from something that used to be a chore to something a little more pleasurable. But if they cannot have consistent wifi then it starts making Via Rail and Porter airlines options that are worth considering unless you have a mobile phone with unlimited data and you can tether your device so you can get online with your laptop.
Overall the experience on megabus has been pleasant except for a few trips where one of the bus drivers was constantly using his mobile phone appearing to be texting. Looking around at other passengers they shared the same concern and fear as the bus would vibrate about every 30 minutes because the driver wasn't paying attention and went out of the boundaries of the road on the pavement that has the indents that vibrate your vehicle when you drive over it. Another few trips involve a short Asian driver whom for unknown reasons seems to always hit these parts of the road, the treads or audible highway warnings. When he drives over them he jerks the wheel hard in the opposite direction and everyone on the bus seems to have a look of fear on their face as if the bus is going to crash. Other friends that have had this driver can verify exactly how he drives.
Despite these complaints overall Megabus is still a godsend service for those that want to travel around and not spend a ton of money. This service has probably created opportunities for people to travel between larger cities with more frequency whereas previously they would have refrained due to the excessive costs involved. For a trip from Toronto to Montreal you can pay $10 on megabus, pay $100 to $200 with Porter airlines, $50 to $150 on via rail, or drive and spend up to $80 on gas. At least you can do work, sleep or go online with megabus or via rail.
You can visit megabus.com to find schedules throughout Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Liverpool FC were recently thrashed by Aston Villa in relatively embarassing fashion. The Liverpool players hit the word work a few times and with the way the match was played, they should have won it but the stats at the end of the day show they lost and a score of 3-1 doesn't look good for any team no matter how good or bad you play. This drops Liverpool down the table features in the English Premier League and Aston Villa as a result move on up at the expense of Liverpool.
Next match:
Saturday 22nd December 2012 - 17:30
The latest odds for Liverpool against Fulham in the English Premier League shows the odds are 6 to 1 to pick Fulham FC to win against Liverpool but in the last game preview we did we know what happened, at nearly 10 to 1 payout, players that bet against Liverpool got a sweet payout and if anyone was bold enough to bet on them losing by that score, it would have been like winning a mini lottery.
If Liverpool are indeed in a funk then odds of 6 to 1 are somewhat appealing to look at. Fulham FC have a star striker in Dimitar Berbatov. Unfortunately he doesn't have the players he had to play with at Manchester United so he becomes an easier target for any team but he is still a world class striker and it would be good to bet on him to score against Liverpool.
Of course when Luis Suarez is scoring, the team is winning. If he can't put the ball in the net against Fulham, you can expect that it will simply add more pressure to the team to not let in goals and this is type of pressure that can lead towards Liverpool questioning their confidence and losing against all sorts of teams in the EPL. Nobody knows which Liverpool team is going to show up, the one with swagger, arrogance and confidence or a good team that has gaps in their game and prone to breaking down and losing matches and points.
For more odds and betting options on football visit this website:
Barcelona FC in the 2012-2013 season are looking to dominate and make up for last season's disappointment of losing La Liga to Real Madrid and also in Champions League. Without Guardiola as the coach people didn't know what would become of Barcelona but their lineup speaks for itself: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, David Villa. These players alone, surround them with ordinary players and you still have one of the best club teams ever assembled.
Barcelona haven't lost a game yet this season in La Liga, or the Spanish Primera Division. They have the best start in league history and Lionel Messi is now considered the record holder for most goals in a calendar season although there is an African player that is being disputed for this record for 107 goals but Fifa is staying out of the argument.
So which teams have a chance to taking some games away from Barcelona?
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid is at the moment 2nd in the table fixtures over their city rival Real Madrid. Atletico are consistently a strong team despite the world acknowledging Real Madrid as the royal team or the one that spends the most money on their players.
Get the latest betting odds on Barcelona Atletico Madrid here.
Real Madrid
These matches are known as el clasico and they are always entertaining to watch and always heated despite half of the players teams having experience as teammates for World Cup champion and Euro cup champions Spain. These teams don't like each other and Real Madrid are used to being the top team but have their egos hurt as the world acknowledges as Barcelona as the worlds best team.
Of course the Fifa player of the year award is up between Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi. Iniesta did take an award from Ronaldo as the european player of the year, that means he is 3rd place behind the 2 Barcelona players.
These teams will meet a few more times during the season and the 2 Madrid teams seem like the only teams capable of taking a win against a dominant Barcelona club. Meanwhile Barcelona are going to push harder for the La Liga championship.
Meanwhile both Barcelona and Real Madrid are chasing the Champions League and it seems like these teams might get a chance to meet at some point, that would make for exciting football.
With Christmas around the corner many shoppers are going to be looking for as much value as possible. For Christmas 2012 this will be no different as people will be spending despite a recession but you can bet that people will be spending in a different way than previously. That is they will be very conscious of deals and getting the maximum value for their money.
The great thing about Christmas is that if you are a casino player especially online, you can expect some great deals, special bonuses and many gifts worth playing for that you could win.
Here is a list of what players can expect for Christmas. This list is provided by the help of Christmas-Slots.com where if you are looking for special casino bonuses for December this is the best resource for it.
As a casino player, players get the best value for the entire month of December as bonuses are offered non stop. If you check that Christmas-Slots website you'll see they have a calendar with bonuses listed every day which is neat if you are looking for something just for that day only. Their bonus advent calendar helps you keep track of which bonuses are the best for you.
Even if you don't want to make a deposit at a casino there are many free spins and no deposit casino bonuses that will be available. Don't miss out on any free cash or great offers. Casinos are very generous at this time of the year and it is time for YOU to take advantage.
Have a Happy Holiday season adn a Merry Christmas!
On your marks.
Get set.
Shop!
Hold on a moment! Perhaps you might feel like shopping during this Christmas season but there are many things you should understand first. People are going to be spending less money this year than they have done the previous year. This means retailers are going to get hit harder. So if you are a retailer you'd better hope you have the best products. Now for the person doing the shopping, this means retailers have less money to compete for in the shopping economy and they'll be fighting harder to get your business.
If you factor in all the companies that might go out of business during December as well as after Christmas, this means there are going to be some serious liquidization sales around. This means you should be frugal and try to get the maximum value for anything you spend.
Having money is nice but saving money is coming back in style. So there are many ways to stay on top of what is happening.
Join Forums and Facebook groups:
There are many communities dedicated towards saving money and sharing where great deals can be found. Forums is perhaps the best way to stay on top of what is happening for deals.
Shop Online:
Usually shopping online means you can save more money. As long as you are not shopping for clothes which can be a little difficult. For everything else there are values to be had so enjoy.
Wait last minute:
For some people this isn't the best advice but for others, there were be last minute deals almost as good as boxing day or boxing week sales. That is retailers need to offload their inventory asap.
If you are dealing with a major chain or corporate store, you won't be able to bargain your way down a bit but for the smaller stores you have to use your bargaining power to simply get the best deal.
Be safe this holiday season and don't get too stressed out during the shopping season. Last but not least don't forget to do something charitable this season!
Posted at 02:43 AM | Permalink
Romney gave a push to try to become the new president but it isn't meant to be. Now Obama can pursue all the things he started and that was the focus of his campaign. I think at the end of the day most people didn't rust Mitt Romney and there were many global fears that America would become a closed nation that didn't care to work with their partners or neighbors.
Barack Obama had the worst situation given to him with George Bush destroying the economy but many people putting the blame on Obama. It appears to be a first time that the president that acquires an economy in recession usually doesn't get a second term but Obama had the best campaigners possible and that was enough to push them over the edge to capture a second term as President. Now what appears to be the last item in the way of having Obama getting anything done is the House vs the Senate.
In years to come political sciences will look at this marketing campaign by Obama and declare it the best ever done to date. He defied a lot of odds and kept a composure that Romney simply couldn't challenge.
In his victory speech made to his own campaign team it has been shown repeatedly on CNN which shows the human side of Obama as he cries and delivers yet another good speech. He was just thanking the team of his young campaign staffers and he wells up and gets a great ovation.
Now it is back to work for Obama as he prepares for yet another speech on Capitol Hill.
Posted at 01:02 PM in Celebrity News, World Business | Permalink
Tags: Obama victory over Romney
Lewis Hamilton has made the switch to Mercedes leaving behind his career with McLaren. That has caused a shift in drivers for 2013 as Sergio Perez will now replace Hamilton and right now Michael Schumacher has no seat left for 2013 but if he wants to drive he should decide soon. The only likely seat available for him is with Sauber. He could have avoided this if he had resigned with Mercedes but there is growing speculation that he will be retiring at the end of the year which probably caused Mercedes to pursue Hamilton harder.
His new teammate Nico Rosberg went to twitter to show his enthusiasm for having a quality driver like Lewis racing next to him on the same team. That will make Mercedes far more competitive, no offence Schumi. It could help Mercedes win the world constructors championship as the team could use more points and is always in the rear view mirror of Red Bull Racing and McLaren.
Hamilton had early success in 2008 winning the world championship in the last race of the year on the very last lap in stunning fashion. Ever since he has been a real competitor in every season racking up many wins and is always in the title hunt including this year in 2012. He would most likely be winning the season at the moment if it wasn't for many errors caused by their team which resulted in a lot of lost time, dropped places and most important lost crucial points. It should be him leading this season but it is currently Fernando Alonso.
Posted at 10:15 PM in Formula 1 Racing | Permalink
Effect of Global Food Price Hikes One of the most important things which people need is food.
Most of the food that we consume came from plants. Plants need the help of both water and light in order to process photosynthesis which then convert these materials to energy and make the plants grow and produce fruits and vegetables. But this year, most of the countries experiences long hot summer. This means that the supply of water will be limited and there will be too much sunlight. These would greatly affect the production of crops. In this manner, farmers will be able to harvest smaller portion of what they have planted. In basic economy, the lesser the supply of crops, the higher the demand of food, means that price of those crops will surely soar high.
If there will be an increased in the price of the food then most likely, the one that would be surely affected were those poor people who have no capacity on buying expensive food. Since those people can’t buy their own food, then a lot of people for example those who were in Africa dies from starvation. As we can see, hunger is one of the major problems our world is facing. From this kind of problem another problem will be born such as increase of crime rate.
We are aware of what is climate change; even America has no excuse with this phenomenon. America was known to be the most powerful country and has the largest grain exporters but still they struggles from worst production shortfalls. Fortunately, World Bank made an action by meeting up each country and discuss on making their laws and policies stronger in order to protect those people which made up the country.
Without those people, a country will never be called a country. In addition, World Bank also team up with the United Nations and some non-Government organization. They focus on how the government takes action when global food price hikes. In these manners, sellers, businessmen, and merchants will be able to sell their price with respect to the proper pricing.
Fernando Alonso goes into the Belgian Grand Prix not with the best chance to win but it is Jenson Button who won the pole position. For Button to win the title he'll need to basically beat Alonso every race for the rest of the season. The RedBulls are strong but it is expected they might not finish the season as strong considering their GP wins came early in the season when they had a design advantage that was later rejected by FIA for them to fix.
During this time Alonso has only got faster and become more consistent of a driver. Perhaps Lewis Hamilton is the only driver that can really catch him but this could even be too late for him.
The fastest pit stops of the season belong to McLaren and Ferrari. At least Ferrari are the fastest on average because they don't bundle anything the way McLaren's have done all season. If McLaren cars have their act together maybe they can team up to make a push for either a world drivers championship title and also to challenge for the world constructors championship.
The odds for all of these don't look great but if you think that RBR are on the downturn and McLaren's can only go up, this looks like an easy decision to make and money in the bank for making any sort of bet like this.
Regardless of what happens for the rest of the season, the title is still up for grabs and should remain so late until the last race of the season. It will probably take until the Brazilian grand prix race to determine who wins both championship titles.
Goal Line Technology: Finally One Step Away!
With so many referee mistakes these days, more and more people stand behind the idea of the Goal Line Technology. What’s that you’d might ask? It’s simple. It will be a simple camera which will look over the goal line and it will be used to replay questionable moments, so everyone can see if the ball has crossed the line.
It’s quick, it’s accurate, it’s necessary! FIFA’s president Sepp Blatter has been against the introduction of this method for a long time, since according to his words it would get rid of the human error, which was part of the game. After World Cup 2010 and Lampard’s goal his vantage point change.
Michel Platini, the president of UEFA however, didn’t agree with this, and decided to put an extra referee on each goal line, claiming that ‘now they see everything’. After Euro 2012, and Ukraine’s equalizer that wasn’t counted, Platini was embarrassed and his theory was proven to be wrong.
The IFAB voted unanimously, shortly after the end of Euro 2012, for the goal line technology approval. The two systems that were approved are Hawk-Eye and GoalRef.
Here’s a little bit more info on both. Hawk-Eye is a British system that you are probably already familiar with if you watch tennis or cricket. It’s pretty convenient and accurate and is already in use in other sports. It was used in football for a first time on May 16th 2012.
GoalRef is a Danish-German system, that uses magnetic sensors to track a special ball. It will be most likely used in some of the Danish Superliga matches for testing purposes on May 23rd 2012.
What’s next? More testing of both systems and hopefully an implementation in all major leagues and tournaments across the world. While many officials are still against the technology impact on football, fans grow eager to see it in use with every day.
The truth is, if you want things to be hundred percent fair, you absolutely need this. Many sports have already seen the positive impact, why can’t football?
Currently both systems mentioned above are in a second phase testing, so we might see an implementation in a major European league pretty soon. The Premier League has promised to start using it as soon as it comes live.
Meanwhile, if you are looking for place to watch over 10,000 football games per year, bet365 is the place for you. Enjoy all games from Primera Division, Serie A, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, League 1, SAS Ligaen and more right in front of your PC or mobile.
Join today and get your 200.00 GBP free bet. Now you can see everything!
Posted at 06:13 AM in sports news, World Cup News | Permalink
Tags: goal line technology
There is a new online slot that is around called the Dark Knight which is the theme of the new the dark knight rises movie that just launched. It is the newest Batman movie and is already a huge hit with fans around the world despite the tragic debut of the movie in Colorado.
What this slot game brings to the table is a $1M jackpot as the starting largest progressive jackpot. There are 4 progressive jackpots in total and that is what makes this slot awesome.
The game has a starting video introduction which is made from the actual movie and it also includes some of the features of the slot game.
This slot game is worth a spin and it is certainly a lot of fun to try. There is bonus rounds featuring Batman. The expected house edge of this slot is estimated to be 5%. Not many casinos will allow you to play progressive slots with a bonus so you'll have to try your own luck on your own deposits and do it sans bonus.
Out of all the DC comic based slots that have launched, this is by far the best slot they have ever produced in conjuction with Microgaming software.
Nobody knows how large the progressive jackpot will get. It starts at a million dollars and can climb. It certainly has the potential to become one of the largest progressive jackpots in online casino history. Only time will tell if this already legandary slot can make legandary status with the largest in history.