World Cup Betting – One Favorite, One Darkhorse In South African Final

When placing a World Cup bet, it’s good to spread your wings and not put all your eggs in one basketball. This list of five teams to watch at the World Cup in South Africa when the tournament starts on June 11th includes a few favorites, and a couple of darkhorses who will be looking to make it interesting.

Spain (+425): The underachieving Spanish come into this tournament as the favorites after their 2008 win in the European championships, but they have a few injuries to worry about, like Fernando Torres, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas. Spain will hope to have Torres healthy, because with David Villa, the Spanish could have the best strike pairing in the tournament. But injuries could be their downfall, so beware of Spain.

Brazil (+450): Everyone is saying how Brazil isn’t an exciting attacking threat anymore, and maybe they’re not. But Dunga has the Brazilians playing excellent counterattacking soccer, and if it brings them a sixth World Cup, there will be few complaints. Kaka will be counted on to play better than he did in his first year at Real Madrid, while Luis Fabiano is their most dangerous striker.

Argentina (+675): The Argentineans struggled during qualification, and some of the decisions made by manager Diego Maradona haven’t been as sound as the decisions he made when he was leading Argentina to the World Cup in 1986. But he has a wealth of talent at his disposal, especially up front as Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Diego Milito are the deepest group of strikers in the tournament. They are the World Cup Group B betting
favorites to get to the second round, and Argentina could ride the wave all the way to the final.

Germany (+1400): The Germans have made it to the quarterfinals in each World Cup since 1978, but they were dealt a couple of severe blows as captain Michael Ballack and No.1 keeper Rene Adler will miss the tournament through injury. Now, the pressure is on Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger to carry the flag, as they were supposed to lead the country when Ballack retired after this tournament. Germany is still a serious threat when you bet soccer online.

Portugal (+2600): The odds are long, and like Argentina they struggled in qualification, but Portugal has as much talent as anyone in the World Cup, led by captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a brilliant debut at Real Madrid. The man who replaced him at Manchester United, Nani, is another player who will be counted on in South Africa along with Simao, while Portugal’s defense is underrated. They’re in the “Group of Death” with Brazil and the Ivory Coast, but that will only strengthen them for a long World Cup run.

Online betting picks: Argentina +675, Portugal +2600

Castroneves Attempts To Four-Peat

The top sports betting IndyCar racing teams in the world have converged on Indianapolis this week in anticipation of the upcoming Indianapolis 500, as the field was established for the 94th installment of the epic race. The 500-mile race is scheduled for May 30th, but there has been significant build up to the event since practice runs opened at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past Saturday, with last year’s winner Helio Castroneves the first to make his way on to the track just weeks before the World Cup betting.

Castroneves drove his Team Penske car to a 226.603 mile per hour finish in his opening practice run, setting the pace for the day with the best time, a feat that he would repeat on Sunday driving to a 227.046 time. The 35-year old opened in the inside position in the front row a year ago and was able to convert it in to a trip to victory lane. A three-time Indy 500 winner, Castroneves can put himself in excellent position to win in consecutive years for the second time in his career, and be just the fourth racer to become a four-time champion at Indianapolis, if he can finish the time trial week strong.

The Brazilian soccer betting fan will need to out-wheel one of the most competitive projected classes in the history of the race in order to win, with five different teams represented in the top five in the speed chart as of Wednesday. The top 21 drivers were separated by just .5755 of a second, and after the 2009 Indy 500 was the closest finishing field of all-time, this year may be the quickest turnover between the record ever.

A big part of that competition will be from five female racers, who will look to establish the largest starting field of female racers in the history of the Indy 500. Rookies Brazilian Ana Beatriz and Switzerland’s Simona De Silvestro, Milka Duno, the first female to secure the pole position at an Indy Car Sarah Fisher, and the first female to ever win an Indy Car race, Danica Patrick. Never before have women played such a prominent role in race-car driving, and with the influx of new talent and the level of competition at which they are able to drive, this race could make its mark in history for its diversity.

Scott Dixon has followed up his outstanding performance at the IZOD IndyCar Series at Kansas with excellent lap times in the opening Indy 500 betting practice sessions. Dixon finished ninth a year ago, despite leading for 73 laps. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished with a top time trial run of 226.549 MPH during Tuesday’s run. Will Power finished twelfth at Kansas, the first time this season that he has failed to either finish first or clinch the pole position in any of the first five races. The number-12 car will need a much better performance to have any chance of clinching a victory at Indianapolis, especially after another top performer, Dario Franchitti, captured the third spot pole position at Kansas, and ended up placing second in an excellent lead up to this weekend’s race.