NRL (R17) for July 5
Melbourne
Storm v Brisbane Broncos, AAMI Park, Friday, July 5, 7.35pm
Rugby
league’s “unofficial” Queensland derby inevitably brings the best out of
Melbourne and the Broncos. It was only a week or so ago that the core of each
of these sides was standing alongside one another as brothers in arms as the
Maroons levelled the State of Origin series at Suncorp Stadium. Now Billy
Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk will be looking to add a telling nail to
the Broncos’ premiership coffin.
For
Melbourne, who never really looked like beating lowly Wests Tigers in the big
wet last Saturday night, the end of the representative season can’t come soon
enough. After winning their first seven games of the year, they have now
slipped a full five points behind competition leaders Souths on the
ladder, having lost their past two matches and won just
three of their past eight. Melbourne have lost just four games at AAMI Park
since the start of the 2012 season and beat Brisbane 34-10 at this venue when
they played last year.
After last week’s disappointing loss to the
Warriors in NZ, the Broncos have dropped two points out of the eight and with the
business end of proceedings rapidly approaching they must start winning games
now if they are to keep their impressive record of reaching the finals going
(the Broncos have missed the finals just once since 1991). With cold and windy
conditions forecast for tonight, combined with the Broncos’ defensive mindset,
the ‘under’ game total looks a solid play here. – Preview thanks to Ben Blaschke, NRL.com
Suggested
bet: Game total -38 (one unit @ $1.90) WIN, Broncos +9.5 (one unit @ $1.91) LOSE (32-0)
AFL (R15) for July 5
Carlton (6-7) v Collingwood (8-5), MCG, Friday, July 5, 7.50pm AEST
Place a bet on the “head to head”
market in any AFL Round 15 match and if your team scores 90 points or more but
loses, Centrebet will refund your first bet up to $100 cash!
There’ll be a crowd of more than 85,000 braving the cold and wet conditions in Melbourne tonight for the battle of the League’s two greatest rivals. Former Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse faces his former side for the second time this year, and patience is fast running out among Carlton fans who’d expected their side to be challenging for a top four position. Instead, they are 6-7, backing up from a loss to Sydney last week in atrocious conditions and have their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
Despite their record, Carlton has been competitive in every game this season and regain skipper Marc Murphy and Andrew Carrazzo here. Collingwood, themselves smarting after a shock loss to Port Adelaide last week, won the equivalent fixture back in round 3, and have claimed victory in six of the last eight meetings with Carlton. However, they’ll be without disgruntled running defender Harry O’Brien and versatile tall Quinten Lynch, while small forward Andrew Krakouer and key defender Ben Reid returning.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley will be desperate to find another avenue to goal as his key forward Travis Cloke is playing a lone hand and Collingwood have struggled to consistently convert their inside 50s onto the scoreboard. The books have this game at coin-flip odds but there’s excellent value at the game total line. The weather will be cold and windy at the MCG meaning the ball will swirl unpredictably and, with such high stakes for both sides, the ‘under’ looks a smart play.
Suggested bet: Carlton WIN (2.5 units @ $1.61) LOSE, game total -173.5 (1.5 units @ $1.88) LOSE (77-118)
Racing for July 5
I won't be posting any racing tips today due to a combination of lousy fields and a persistent flu bug! AFL and NRL analysis for tonight will be posted later today but look to bet the -173.5 game total in the Carlton v Collingwood match as the line is almost certain to fall once the wet weather arrives.
CFL (week
2) for July 5
Toronto
Argonauts (1-0) @ BC Lions (0-1), BC Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Friday, July
5,12.10pm
Some of
the league’s top talent will be on display in Vancouver, as the BC Lions play
their home opener against the defending Grey Cup Champion Toronto Argonauts at
BC Place. For two teams that expect nothing less than an appearance at the
101st Grey Cup in Regina just over four months from now, the second half of
today’s double-header serves as an important measuring stick. While the Argos
look to prove their Cinderella run in last year’s playoffs was no fluke, the
Lions hope to re-assert their dominance as a CFL powerhouse. Toronto was the
only East Division team to secure a winning record versus the West last season
and are 7-1 ATS in their last eight road games.
There will
be no lack of motivation for the Lions this week, especially after 44-32 loss
to the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium last week. Lions quarterback
Travis Lulay finished Week 1 with three TDs on 283 passing yards and added 55
rushing yards, but BC could not overcome a 25-point first-half deficit en route
to a 44-32 loss. Toronto posted a 39-34 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to
open its season after raising the banner for its Grey Cup victory. Quarterback
Ricky Ray’s 368 passing yards and four touchdown tosses paced the Argonauts,
who also received 112 rushing yards from Grey Cup Most Outstanding Player Chad
Kackert. – Additional information thanks to covers.com
Suggested
bet: Toronto +7.5 (one unit @ $1.95) LOSE, game total -53.5 (one unit @ $1.91) WIN (16-24)
Hot dog
eating for July 5
Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot
Dog-Eating Contest, Coney Island, New York, Friday, July 5, 2am
How does
it work? Well the dogs are grilled and cooled slightly so no one gets burned.
That’s good news, no need for a lawsuit. Condiments are optional. Drinks are
permitted; most competitors choose water to wash the dogs down. Competitors are
allowed to dunk the dogs and buns in their beverages to make them easier to
swallow. When time
is up, any hot dog that's still in the mouth counts, provided it goes down and
stays down. A "reversal" – that's what they call it when you throw up
– means immediate disqualification. The winner is obvious, the one who eats,
and keeps down, the most hot dogs and buns.
Joey
Chestnut (pictured above) of San Jose, California, holds the world record for eating 68 Nathan’s
Famous Hot Dogs and Buns in 10 minutes, and he will seek his seventh straight
title this year – a world record. Sonya Thomas of Alexandria, Virginia, will defend
her title as Female Champion. She consumed 45 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes
last year, setting a new women’s world record. The Hot
Dog-Eating Contest hasn’t been the same since the retirement of Chestnut’s
great rival Takeru Kobayashi and, at a price of $1.01, Chestnut is an
unbackable favourite this year. However, the dog-line of 63.5 offers some
value, with Chestnut declaring his hot dog eating days won’t end until he
cracks 70!
Suggested
bet: Joey Chestnut +63.5 WIN (69)
MLB for
July 5
Happy
Fourth of July to everyone in the US – hope we can find you a winner to go with
a few beers before the fireworks. Our best of the day comes up in the late game
featuring the high-flying Cardinals and the roller coaster Angels. The
Cardinals have won nine straight road outings by Adam Wainwright while the
Angels are 1-7 in home starts by Joe Blanton in a pitching matchup that
overwhelmingly favours St Louis.
These teams have split the first two of this
three-game set with the Cardinals ending the Angels’ seven-game win streak with
Wednesday’s 12-2 rout. St. Louis
has to like its chances of salvaging a split of an eight-game road trip behind
Wainwright (11-5, 2.22 ERA), the NL pitcher of the month for June after going
4-2 with a 1.77 ERA over six outings. He improved to 8-0 with a 2.32 ERA in his
last nine road starts Saturday with a five-hitter in a 7-1 victory over Oakland
for his major league-best fourth complete game.
If those
gaudy figures for Wainwright don’t make this contest enough of a daunting task
for Los Angeles (40-44), how Blanton (2-10, 5.07) has fared in Anaheim only
adds to how difficult gaining a victory could be. Blanton is 0-4 with a 5.04
ERA in eight home starts, with the Angels losing each except a 12-9 win over
the White Sox on May 18. He is tied with Tampa Bay’s Roberto Hernandez for the
AL’s most defeats.
Suggested
bet: Cardinals WIN (three units @ $1.75) LOSE, game total +8 (one unit @ $1.95) WIN (5-6)
Other tips
IL: Cubs @
Athletics WIN $1.61 WIN (0-1)
AL:
Orioles WIN $1.98 @ White Sox LOSE (2-3)
AL:
Mariners @ Rangers -8.5 $2.13 LOSE (4-5)
AL: Rays
WIN $1.65 @ Astros WIN (7-5)
NL:
Brewers @ Nationals WIN $1.60 WIN (5-8)
NL: Giants
@ Reds WIN $1.80 POSTPONED
NL:
Marlins @ Braves -1.5 $1.87 LOSE (4-3)
NL:
Dodgers @ Rockies WIN $1.79 WIN (5-9)
* Prices
with thanks to Centrebet, correct at time of publication – for most people
gambling is an exciting and fun recreational pursuit. For others it can become
a problem with devastating consequences for them, their families and friends.
We want you to enjoy your gambling experience. We want you to stay in control of
your gambling and not allow your gambling to control you.
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