Brady raring to go

New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady has dismissed any fears that he could miss his side’s AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens after he was forced to sit out Wednesday’s practice with a left shoulder problem.

Brady missed the midweek practice to rest the problem but returned the following day as the team continued to run through their plays.

The 34-year-old used his day off productively by doing some extra research and has says he doesn’t feel like missing a day of practice will hinder him come Sunday. Those looking at the NFL odds may have their own views.

“It’s not the first practice I’ve missed over the years,” Brady said. “Coming off a game on Saturday or Sunday, you’re just doing everything you can to be prepared.

“When Coach [Bill Belichick] feels it’s best to do other things to get yourself ready, that’s what you do. You can still use all that time very wisely. You’re not lounging around taking naps or anything like that. “You’re just putting in extra work and make sure you’re getting prepared.”

Brady returned to full practice on Thursday and looked unaffected by his problem. Wearing light shoulder pads, he took part in the whole session which was held outdoors in front of the team’s fans. Those looking ahead to Betfair Super Bowl 2012 should bear this in mind.

The 2x Super Bowl MVP says he and his teammates are expecting a tough game against the Ravens after their previous encounters this season.”I just missed practice, that’s all,” Brady said.

“Not much more than that, really. We’re facing a great team, great challenges — certainly the best team we’ve faced all year. Everyone needs to be at full strength, though. It’s going to be a very physical, tough, hard-nosed game. We need everyone at full strength.”

Kings best Canucks in shoot-out

The Los Angeles Kings started and finished the game strongly as they beat Vancouver 3-2 in a shootout at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night to hand the Canucks a second home defeat in a row.
Dustin Penner opened the scoring for the Kings 9:06 in, before Justin Williams and Mike Richards sealed the win in the shootout. Jonathan Quick saved 32 shots through overtime and two of three in the shootout. Williams grabbed the other goal for the Kings in normal time.

Alex Burrows scored for the Canucks, while Daniel Sedin and David Booth scored the regulation goals. Vancouver lost for the third time in five games.

L.A. were highly fancied in the pre-game NHL betting tips and they duly dominated the early exchanges. They were rewarded for their dominance when Penner tipped Drew Doughty’s point blast past Roberto Luongo to make it 1-0.

Penner’s goal sparked Vancouver into life and they equalised early in the second period when Sedin scored in a power play. Sedin, Vancouver’s top scorer, beat Quick with a snap shot to score his 20th goal of the season.

Sedin almost gave the Canucks the lead just three minutes later but was denied by Quick. Williams then scored a power-play goal to give the Kings a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. He scooped Willie Mitchell’s rebounded point shot over the grounded Luongo to put the Kings back in the ascendancy.

Booth, who missed 18 games with a knee injury, tied the game again for the Canucks five minutes into the third period when he collected Jannik Hansen’s pass and snapped it past Quick.

Both sides pushed for a winner, with punters who bet on hockey struggling to decide who to back. But it was the Kings who prevailed in the shootout to get their season back on track after a 2-1 overtime defeat to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.

So Macho is no way to play poker

In the mid 1980s it was Sinitta who sung, “I don’t want no seven stone weakling or a boy who thinks he’s a girl. I’m after a hunk of a guy, an experienced man of the world.”

Simon Cowell’s first ever signing sung those lyrics in the hit song So Macho! and although we doubt the song populates the iPods in today’s poker rooms, there are a lot of people who like to think that they are so macho.

In the game of poker you need to retain certain poise and composure if you are going to have a successful shift. One sure fire way of throwing poise and composure out of the window is to find yourself in a war of machismo with a fellow player. Fans of betfairpoker.com should bear this in mind.

Flexing your biceps has its place in a bodybuilding arena and not the felt. Of course, there will always be that Clint Eastwood versus Lee Van Cleef: Old Wild West Shootout mentality to the game, but the one to one macho war should be avoided at all costs.

If you get into a war of attrition against one individual on the table then you have moved out of your logical thinking world and delved deep into the emotional one. Playing poker on a highly emotional level is a recipe for disaster. Poker is all about long-term mathematical probability and if you are focussed on one individual, then you will not be at the top of the game. If you want to learn how to play poker you need to remember this.

So don’t worry about being macho, worry about winning.

Rocker rolling on to Aintree

West End Rocker’s emphatic victory in the Becher Handicap Chase at Aintree has lifted him to near the top end of the market for the Grand National at the same course this year.

The Alan King-trained chaser finished 22 lengths ahead of the remaining field that was headed by Niche Market back in December over the trip of 3m2f. Anyone looking at the antepost Grand National odds online will have been very impressed.

The success was the horses first since winning at Warwick back in January, as Wayne Hutchinson rode him clear in the closing stages on heavy ground at the Merseyside track.

West End Ricker was part of the 40 runner field that took part in the Grand National in 2011 but was unfortunate to be brought down in the race that was won by Ballabriggs. Before the incident he appeared to be travelling well but didn’t get the stroke of luck needed to complete the trip over the big obstacles.

The 10-year old started his campaign this time around at Cheltenham but was pulled up in a Grade Three Handicap Chase at Prestbury Park where he looked like he needed the run following the summer break.

King has never won the Grand National and neither has his stable jockey Robert Thornton who is set to return to ride the horse in the world famous steeplechase race in April.

The man who took over the reins from former British champion trainer David Nicholson, where he was assistant trainer until his retirement, may decide to go straight to the National with West End Rocker without another run this season. Connections will be able to rate their chances for the big race next month when the weights are published.

Murphy wants to be crowd favoruite

Shaun Murphy revealed the Alexandra Palace crowd could go some way to deciding the outcome of his BGC Masters final against Neil Robertson on Sunday.

The Sale cue man needed to be at his best to see off a determined John Higgins, who came back from 3-0 and 5-3 deficits to threaten a final-frame decider on Saturday night, and will now take on former world champion Robertson in a meeting of the old enemy.

England’s Murphy and Australia’s Robertson have never previously been beyond the quarter-finals of the Masters, so both are entering potentially choppy waters. Those looking at the favourite in the snooker odds need to remember this.

The final will be contested over 19 frames and at stake is the trophy and a prize of £150,000, with world number six Murphy confident he will have the majority home support.

“I thought I played very well, I scored very well. Obviously I came second in the tactical department as you always do against John, but I was pleased when I did get my chances I scored heavily,” Murphy said, after beating Higgins.

“John’s absolute granite, hard as nails. He never gives up and that’s why he’s the champion he is. He never knows when he is beaten, and just keeps going for your throat. He is a tough man to play.”

Murphy, who will be playing in his first BBC final since the 2009 World Championship, has already seen off the likes of home fancy Martin Gould and current world number one Mark Selby, as well as Higgins, in north London.

He said he and Robertson would set off on a level playing field but that he was determined to make home advantage count.

He added: “For both of us it’s new venue, new start. I can’t wait for the action tomorrow and can’t wait to get stuck in.

“I will be looking for the 12th man as I’m in London, I’m English and I’m playing an Aussie, so I hope they will be on my side.”

5,235 yards but can he get going when the Patriots are under pressure?

The current total of 5,235 yards that Tom Brady has thrown this season is impressive, there’s no doubting that, but the fact that Brady has been at his best when the Patriots have arguably not been on top form makes his stats appear even more impressive.

With Brady having already won three Super Bowl rings, and normally finding himself one of the very first players to be picked for the All Star NFL game, it cannot be disputed that this is a man who is going to go down in the NFL history books as a true legend. Those looking at the Super Bowl Betting will be wondering if he can add to his success.

That said, there is one minor (very minor!) fault to Tom Brady as a player and that weakness comes to light when he fails to perform at his best when the game starts running away from him and he is forced to work at a speed forced upon him rather than at his own pace.

While all quarterbacks are forced to learn how to scramble and be speedy in the pocket, there are some like Michael Vick who know how to do so almost by instinct, and seem to be in their element when they are being chased. Having enjoyed watching Brady in the past, it is fair to say that he is not one of those quarterbacks and it is unlikely that he ever will be. Fans of Betfair NFL should bear this in mind.

With this in mind, it would be interesting to see how Brady would cope with the pressure that would be placed upon his shoulders should he come up against the San Francisco 49ers and their amazing defence. Although it is unlikely that the 49ers would put too much pressure on the Patriots with their offensive skills, they wouldn’t make it an open game, meaning that Brady would be forced to hurry his play despite not wanting to.

If he can cope with this, however, and get himself a fourth Super Bowl ring, he will be able to put to bed any notion that he can’t deal with pressure.

Leave the Past Behind

When it comes to the game of poker, past results count for nothing. You must start each session with the philosophy that it is a completely new game. Of course you should draw on all of your experiences in order to help you make the best decisions, but there is no need to share these with anyone but yourself. Telling someone about your past glories is just plain bragging and a little stupid. If you happen to be a very good poker player with a glittering past then why would you want to scare your fish away? Those using the Betfair poker site should remember this.

If you do not start each new session afresh there is a danger that you will start to develop a little bit of a superiority complex. This complex is very likely to damage your game in very subtle ways. A superiority complex always show itself in the form of tilt and this is because you are expecting to win. But the past is the past and it doesn’t really mean anything once you have started a new game. People searching for a Betfair Free Poker Bonus need to bear this in mind.

The other problem that you get when you refer to your past is it will often wind your opponents up. You will appear cocky and over-confident and unless you are a super-talented individual this will work against you. It is always better to keep your enemies close by and this is why it is sensible to build relationships during the game and not enemies.

Giants stun champions

Eli Manning was the hero as the New York Giants stunned reigning Super Bowl champions the Green Bay Packers in their NFC divisional play-off at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

The Packers were the punters choice in the pre-game NFL bets but they had an unusual off day and Manning took full advantage. The quarterback threw for 330 yards and three touchdown passes as the Giants stormed to a 37-20 victory and booked a meeting with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game on January 22.

Manning had to share the limelight with Hakeen Nicks, who collected seven throws to make 165 yards and score two touchdowns.

Manning and Nicks combined for the first touchdown of the game. Manning found Nicks with a short pass and the wide receiver ran 66 yards for the touchdown.

The pair was to the fore again just before halftime when the Giants capitalized on poor defending to make it 20-10 going into the break. Nicks collected Manning’s Hail Mary for his second touchdown of the game.

The Packers rallied briefly with a field goal in the third quarter, but the Giants pulled away in the fourth with Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs scoring either side of a 16-yard touchdown catch by Donald Driver for the Packers.

It was a disappointing end to the season for Green Bay, after a season which promised so much. Punters who bet on NFL and had backed the Packers were left bitterly disappointed, especially as they had cruised through the regular season and looked well set for another Super Bowl appearance.

However, the week off appeared to have an adverse effect as the Packers produced an uninspiring performance full of errors.

New York’s season goes on with a trip to San Francisco. The Giants are just one game away from a Super Bowl appearance against either the New England Patriots or the Baltimore Ravens.

Something a brewing with Bobby Ewing

David Pipe is regarded as something of a big handicap race specialist but has yet to win the prestigious Betfair Trophy at Newbury. In the unexposed Bobby Ewing the Nicholashayne handler could have just the right horse to correct that omission from the trainer’s already impressive CV, writes Elliot Slater. Read more