sAs A High School Football Player, Jones Was Ranked 5-foot-9, 190 Pounds. But Stuart Jones Said Saturday At 233 Weighed 2.1 Pounds.

Since the 70 is the heavyweight division has long been a liberator of classic games, fun nights and makes heroes of boxers. But it is fair to say that the current distribution of heavy spark missing from the days when Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis were around. The Klitschko brothers have held the mantle of the heavyweight champions for many years now, and since then many of Appeal has made him.
The real question should have been Klitschko are to blame for the decline of the heavyweight division? (Do not know why they are ruining) the answer is NO, is the sanctioning body of professional boxing and greedy developers in search of easy money are the main culprits. Currently, the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO organizations are recognized, but then there is the FMB NABF, IBO and WBU with all these sanctioning bodies, promoters and boxers of lesser rank to which we all seek money from him, so it is not surprising that the league has been reduced.
The Klitschko’s are not ruining Heavyweight boxing (and I admit that it was short sighted to say) but I reckon they do fail to appeal and connect to people outside of Eastern Europe. The heavyweight division needs a charismatic icon, somebody that excites a crowd just by the utterance of his very name. This was once Muhammad Ali a man who had the whole world in his corner. People remember him for his fast wit and humor, but mostly for great fight’s like RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE and the THRILLER IN MANILLA; these fights had the whole world watching and have long been talked about as some of the greatest bouts ever. Boxing needs this drama and I don’t think that the Klitschko’s last couple of fights has really been delivering on that.
I do not think the problem is that Klitschko years are not as charismatic or not a spiritual personality of Ali, who is there fighting styles and personalities more relaxed, not paid U.S. television. I think it's the same for most other talents that came from the former Soviet Union, people like Adamek, Povetkin, Denis and Ruslan Chagaev Boystov are other names that are leading the division in Today, these people are not really the kind of iconic showman, who are more focused on winning, adequate training, as right and doing the job of being an artist. This is probably one reason why people are not interested in trucks and turned their attention to the welterweight side of it, since it offers more excitement.
So if there is a spark? America has long been the boxing home entertainment, Las Vegas and New York has always been to put the show especially the heavyweights. America has a decent form of heavyweight Tony Thompson, Eddie Chambers and Chris Arreola, but all three of them are lost to Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko at some point in their career, and why these losses, none of them have really done all that distinguishes them.

NBA Betting – Boston Celtics Value

The demise of the Boston Celtics has been written over and over this NBA betting offseason. It seems many are giving the Miami Heat the best basketball odds to reach the NBA finals. Did we miss something here? Aren’t the Celts bringing back, essentially, the same team that was a few points away from winning the title?

Boston has been called aging and finished by the critics for a couple of years now. Still, their veteran stars continue to perform at a high level. NBA odds are starting to skew towards the Heat and all of their new acquisitions. However, basketball bettors at Sports Betting shouldn’t overlook the Celtics.

Boston had a very quiet offseason. They re-signed both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, two of their key veterans. Boston also managed to replace the retired Rasheed Wallace with Shaquille O’Neal. In Shaq, Boston loses some of the outside shooting ability that Wallace brought, but they now have less of a risk of technical fouls and they upgrade their rebounding ability. Boston was terribly outrebounded versus the Lakers in the final postseason game last year and knew they needed to correct that element.

Meanwhile, point guard Rajon Rondo continues to emerge for the Celtics. Each year, he becomes more critical to the Celtics success and his game becomes more well-rounded. If he can develop a reliable outside jump shot, Boston should be able to match up with anyone in the league, and yes, that includes the Miami Heat.

Right now the Celtics are a 10-1 shot to win the NBA title at the sportsbook. Now is the perfect chance to get in on those favorable future odds. With Miami and the Lakers listed as 6-4 co-favorites to win it all, the respect for Boston has waned considerably. Look for this experienced team to use this as motivation in their quest to get back to the finals and finish what they couldn’t this past June.

2010 NFL Odds: Rookie of the Year Betting

Well, if things remain as they currently are, betting on the NFL Rookie of the Year is going to be pretty easy at your favorite sportsbooks – just put your money down on the Cowboys’ Dez Bryant and get set to collect the cash. This of course, is because Bryant is the part of a pretty lonely group – he’s the only member of the Class of 2010’s first rounders who has signed and in training camp.

The Cowboys came to terms with their first-round wide receiver out of Oklahoma Sate (which is amazing considering Bryant is good friends with San Francisco 49ers wideout Michael Crabtree, who held out until Halloween last season).

Bryant has been anything but a wallflower since arriving at camp.

Early reports are that he was “electrifying” with a number of “one-handed catches” during the weekend workouts…and oh yeah, there was that whole “Screw you, I’m not carrying anyone’s pads” rookie hazing incident with fellow wideout Roy Williams.

Don’t fret if your favorite team as yet to wrestle their first-rounder into a contract as a good percentage will sign before the regular season kicks off. But missing even a portion of camp makes things more difficult.

The fact Dez Bryant will have a full camp under his belt should bode well for the upcoming season, as he will be ahead of the curve compared to his counterparts.

Bettors have picked up on this and are getting some action down on him to be the “NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year” at online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.COM.

They currently have Bryant listed as the odds-on favorite at +200. Said Sportsbetting.com sportsbook manager Brian Taylor, “Bryant had some heat on him before camp started, but with him being the first guy to put the pads on and then have all the media attention on him the last few days due to that rookie hazing incident, we have seen a bit of a spike in wagering volume on him.”

 - Another top contender for the award will have his work cut out for him in St. Louis. The Rams selected Heisman trophy-winning QB Sam Bradford first-overall and it sounds like they’re getting close to a deal, one that would be, according to ESPN,  the richest contract in NFL history.

The question obviously is, does he have a shot at winning the offensive rookie award? He’s playing for the Rams after all.

Bradford’s NFL odds are currently listed at +500 to take this year’s honor.

All NFL training camps will be in full swing soon, some before others, and the stragglers should start to roll in, albeit late.

Dez Bryant has a leg up on them; will it make the difference for bettors backing him?

Keep an eye on the camps.

Check out all the NFL odds

2010 NFL Draft: Bettors Like Chris Johnson

It took all of 10 minutes for the first two maximum wager bets to come in at online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com after they posted up the prop “Which NFL running back will lead the league in rushing this year”.

And who was it that attracted the money right off the top? Not surprisingly it was the Tennessee Titans’ Chris Johnson.

Said sportsbook manager Brian Taylor, “we put up a bunch of betting options for the upcoming season focused on specific positions such as QB and running back and the “most yards” ones have been very popular. Bettors are tipping Johnson for another big season, with Adrian Peterson as the second most popular choice so far.”

The Titans’ Johnson was the king of the NFL’s rushing hill last season, becoming only the sixth player in NFL history to crack the 2,000 yard mark in NFL history (he ran for 2,006).

After that performance, a raise was in order. Johnson has only been around two years and was still earning rookie wages, but he’ll be making a tidy sum more this season.

Will the boost in salary lead to a repeat of Johnson’s 2009 performance?

The last repeat rushing champ was LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 and 2007.

Suffice to say, it’s tough to lead the league in back-to-back years. Bring over-worked is one of the issues and Johnson was certainly used a lot last season, rushing the ball 358 times with 14 TDs; he also had 50 receptions for 503 yards.

Online sportsbooks have him listed at +250 to capture the rushing crown again this season.

In the last 10 years, the defending rushing champ hasn’t fared well the following season.

Not counting Tomlinson, Ricky Williams, Jamal Lewis, Shaun Alexander and Adrian Peterson are the last four backs to capture the NFL’s rushing title.

After rushing for a league-high 1,853 yards in 2002 for the Miami Dolphins, Ricky Williams still had a good season in 2003 but didn’t come close to matching his stats from the year before, with only 1,372 yards rushing.

Like Chris Johnson in 2009, Jamal Lewis also cracked the 2,000 yard mark in 2003 as a member of the Baltimore Ravens and followed that up rushing for 1,000 yards less (1,066) in 2004 in only 12 regular season games.

NFL: Can Brees Shake the “Madden Curse”

Strap on the helmets boys, the NFL offseason has come to an end and pigskins are about to fly again.

Training camp draws near for a number of teams, including the defending champion New Orleans Saints, who begin prepping for the regular season on July 29 in Metarie, Louisiana.

It’s been a good offseason for many of the returning Saints, especially quarterback Drew Brees.

Brees has done the talk show circuit after leading his team to the Super Bowl back in February and more recently, he took home a number of ESPY awards.

On top of that, he was selected to be on the cover of the Madden 2011…queue the scary music…as we all know this honor can be more of a curse than anything else.

Will the “Madden Curse” strike Brees?
Online sportsbooks are weighing in on that exact question. SPORTSBETTING.com posted up a “Madden Curse” prop. Bettors can wager on whether Brees will start all 16 games this season. Currently they have Brees listed at -150 not to be the Saints’ starting QB in all 16 regular season games and on the other side, he is +120 to start each one.

Last season the New Orleans Saints’ pivot completed 70.6 percent of his passes (NFL record) for 4,388 yards with 34 TDs and a league-high 109.6 QB rating.

Brees is also a popular choice in a couple of other NFL Future betting related categories. The sports betting public have been betting that he will lead the league in passing yards this season. Last year he ranked sixth overall amongst all quarterbacks. He is listed at +400 to toss for the most yards in 2010-2011.

He is also getting action in the MVP category. Brees has odds of +1400 to be the MVP of the league. So far, he is right in the mix with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in terms of wagering volume. Manning has the most action, but Brees is second with 15% of all MVP betting on him.

As for the actual team, the Saints went 13-3 during the last regular season, jumping out to a 13-0 record before losing their final three games and would regain that winning form in the playoffs en route to a Lombardi Trophy.

What about this season?

The Saints are listed at +450 and +900 to repeat as NFC and Super Bowl champions respectively.

Saints Season Win Totals:
As for the regular season, the Over/Under on New Orleans’ regular season wins is set at 10.5.

Are the defending champs headed for another 13-win regular season?

The Saints haven’t done well against teams from within their own division, going 5-6 straight up and 3-8 against the spread in their last 11 overall vs. NFC Southerners.

The AFC division that New Orleans will be playing this season is the North and the Saints are once again on the losing end of things as they are 3-5 SU and 2-5-1 ATS in eight games against the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens  dating back to 2002.

Regardless, as you’d expect, the Saints are still the odds-on favorites to take the NFC South division, currently listed at -175.

It was a magical season for New Orleans last year, but the party is over as they start the defense of their championship.

You can check online sportsbooks for all the updated NFL Future Odds.

NBA Odds: Future Betting “Heats” Up

With a tip of the hat to Dennis Green…”don’t crown their asses just yet”.

We speak of the Miami Heat of course, as fans, commentators and of course, the sports betting public have been weighing in with their thoughts on the 2010-11 NBA Championship since the Lebron decided to “take his talents” to South Beach. Joining him down there is, of course, Chris Bosh and with D-Wade re-signing Miami has become the center of the NBA universe for the time being.

The big question is can they close the deal?

After the big announcement, online sportsbook Sportsbetting.com had the Heat listed as the odds-on favorite to take next season’s NBA title with odds of at +175. Sportsbook manager Brian Taylor said, “not surprisingly, we’ve seen more interest in our NBA Future betting options than any other off-season I can remember. And also not surprisingly, the Miami Heat are seeing lots of the volume, but we are seeing a reasonable amount of money coming in on the Orlando Magic in the East and the LA Lakers”

But until Miami actually wins a fourth game in the 2011 NBA Final, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are the defending NBA champions.

Though a Lakers and Heat matchup in the next NBA Final is far from certain (despite what will undoubtedly be obsessive meddling by David Stern and co.), LA got an early punch in against Miami.

The Heat were said to be heavily courting Derek Fisher but the guard decided against joining LeBron, Bosh and Wade and opted to re-sign with his old team.

“I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles. While this may not be the most lucrative contract I’ve been offered this off season, it is the most valuable,” Fisher said on his website.

“I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin…”

The team also brought back the Zen Master, head coach Phil Jackson, who has been bench boss for the Lakers’ last five NBA titles.

Besides Fisher, the Lakers probably won’t be adding any big-name talent – the team is four players away from the association’s roster minimum of 13 players.

The Lakers are listed at +300 to repeat as NBA champs at the sportsbooks.

If the Miami Heat do become the power in the Eastern Conference, which team will present the biggest challenge?

The Boston Celtics, who are listed at +1000 to win the 2011 title, have re-signed Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and added Jermaine O’Neal and should pack some punch.

But the intra-state rivals, the Orlando Magic could be the major hurdle for the Heat.
The Magic have re-signed backup shooting guard J.J. Redick and have added point guard Chris Duhon from the New York Knicks and shooting guard Quentin Richardson from the Miami Heat and they already have the likes of Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson.

The Magic are listed at +200 to win the Eastern Conference title and +1600 to take the NBA championship during the 2010/11 campaign.

The Miami Heat have struck gold so far this off-season…but there are several teams who are ready to step up and keep the big prize out of South Beach.

You can check out all the NBA Future Odds.

We’ll keep an eye on the NBA Championship betting throughout the summer.

Have a great week.

2010 FIFA World Cup Final: Spain vs Netherlands Live Updates

Sports fans all over the world are less than 96 hours away from dealing with a painful withdrawal as World Cup 2010 wraps up. But there is one thing left to do – crown a champion!

All eyes will be on that championship game in Soccer City Stadium on Sunday, featuring the all European matchup between the Netherlands and Spain.

The Dutch earned a berth by defeating Uruguay in a 3-2 thriller in the semifinal, while the Spanish played their best game of the tourney in defeating the Germans 1-0.

Online sportsbooks have released odds for the title game. SPORTSBETTING.com have the Dutch at +198, while the Spaniards have been established as -111 favorites.

Over/Under bettors note that the Total has been set at 2.5.

Spain is no stranger to championship games recently, as they are the defending Euro champion, having taken the 2008 tournament in Vienna. In fact, looking at the World Cup odds heading into the 2010 tournament, Spain was the favorite to win it all at odds of +400.

The Spanish, however, have been slightly one-dimensional on their offensive attack.

The team has only netted seven goals through six games in South Africa, but five of them have come from forward David Villa.

On the other hand, goalkeeper Iker Casillas has been brilliant, allowing only two goals and making 12 saves thus far.

Spain has amassed 5 wins, 0 draws and 1 loss during its 2010 campaign and with that, 1 Over and 5 Unders as well.

Despite being listed as underdogs by sportsbooks, the Netherlands have come through to the final game boasting a nicely balanced attack.

The Dutch have scored 12 goals, which is good enough for second amongst all the teams in this World Cup (Germany currently is the highest scoring team with 13).

Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder leads the squad with five goals, like Villa, but has had more support.

Fellow midfielder Arjen Robben has a pair of goals followed by four players with a goal each.

But while the Netherlands has scored more goals than Spain, they have also allowed more as well – goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has watched five balls go by him.

The Dutch have had the honor of going through South Africa 2010 without conceding a loss thus far (6-0-0 SU) but then the question is, will they finish with a perfect record or are they due for a loss?

They have 4 Overs and 2 Unders to go with the six wins.

SPORTSBETTING.com manager Brian Taylor gave us some insight into the World Cup betting for the final, “it’s been pretty even action so far, with 41% on Spain, 36% on the Netherland and 23% on the “Draw after regulation” option.”

Total bettors have 61% on the “Over” 2.5 goals heading into Friday betting action.

As a side note, Uruguay and Germany will play the third-place game on Saturday and sportsbooks have the Uruguayans listed as heavy +410 underdogs and the Germans as -188 faves with a Total of 2.5.

It’s been a fun month filled with great goals and some really bad officiating (we won’t dwell on the negative though).

Enjoy the World Cup final.