Christmas is a time for giving, and we think football should be no different.
Generosity on the pitch is at the very heart of the game, whether it be in the form of scoring crucial goals, giving the ball to your team-mates, or even gifting the odd free-kick to the opposition.
With the spirit of the (football) season very much at its peak in late December, we have decided, with a little help from Opta, to compile the most munificent players in Europe s top-five leagues in 2018-19. This is for league football only, mind you. Christmas is all about being close to home.
To offer some balance to this most extravagant time of year, we are including both positive and negative aspects of football s gift-givers. Be they kings of the assist or a little too eager to hand o…
Sunday May 15, 2004 will go down as one of the most significant dates in English football s rich history.
That was, of course, the day Arsenal beat Leicester City 2-1 to become the first team to go an entire league season unbeaten since Preston North End in 1888-89.
When Arsene Wenger hoisted aloft his third Premier League title in seven seasons on that sunny Sunday at Highbury, nobody would have predicted that, 11 years later, the Frenchman would still be awaiting number four.
There have been near misses since.
Wenger often cites Arsenal s failure to last the course in 2008 when they were five points clear at the top in late February, but fell away as the psychological impact of Eduardo s horrific leg break at Birmingham City took its toll as a source…
Spanish midfielder Xavi was named player of Euro 2008 by UEFA on Monday.
The 28-year-old Barcelona dynamo scorer of eight goals in 63 internationals was judged to be at the heart of Spain s triumphant campaign which saw them top it with a 1-0 victory over Germany in Sunday s final ending a 44 year title drought.
It was him (Xavi) who gave the team its tempo, said UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh.
Xavi scored once in the tournament and also created the goal for Fernando Torres in the final.
…
Raphael Varane says France must avoid comparing their current squad to the team that won the 2018 World Cup, after reaching the knockout stage at Qatar 2022.
Les Bleus are looking to defend the title they won in Russia, and are into the last 16 after opening victories against Australia and Denmark in Group D.
Varane, who returned from an injury sustained on club duty with Manchester United to feature in his country s second game, was a member of Didier Deschamps side that beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in Moscow four years ago.
But the centre-back says the current crop must dodge the pitfalls of measuring their current achievements against those set before, despite the presence of several World Cup-winning players.
You have to avoid making too many compar…
Tom Brady will make his return to Foxborough on Sunday Night Football to take on the team he led to six Super Bowl titles.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coming off their first loss of the season, enter the primetime game as 7-point betting favorites after opening at -5.5. All the money has been coming in on the Bucs, who will be without another longtime Pat in Rob Gronkowski when they take on the New England Patriots.
Will Brady work his magic and help the Bucs cover the TD spread at the place where it all started?
Find out with our free NFL picks and predictions for the Buccaneers vs. Patriots on October 3.
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With NFL Free Agency in full gear, the NFL Draft is just around the corner. But even with new testing data at our disposal, there are still many unknowns heading into this draft.
With the combine in the rearview mirror, more betting options will be on the way as NFL Draft odds are available, so here is version 3.0 of my 2022 NFL Mock Draft to help get us prepared. You can also review Mock Draft versions 1.0 and 2.0.
•JAX •DET •HOU •NYJ •NYG •CAR •NYG •ATL
•SEA•NYJ •WSH •MIN •HOU•BAL •PHI •PHI
•LAC •NO •PHI •PIT •NE •GB•ARI •DAL
•BUF •TEN •TB •GB •MIA •KC •CIN •DET
…
The term “upset” gets thrown around a lot when it comes to sports shockers. If the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles and come through as my Super Bowl 57 pick, it’s debatable if that would qualify as a true upset.
With the Super Bowl Odds showing the Chiefs currently as low as 1-point underdogs for February 12, a victory over the Eagles certainly wouldn’t be on par with Big Game stunners like the New York Giants’ win over the New England Patriots at Super Bowl XLII, or the New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
But, Kansas City is the underdog nonetheless.
The Chiefs are already a popular pick to win outright when it comes to the Super Bowl moneyline odds, and they’ll draw even more action at plus money…
Our first look at the NFL Week 8 odds comes on Thursday Night Football, as the Buffalo Bills host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game Buffalo fans hope will get the Bills back on the wagon.
Buffalo is coming off a surprising loss to the New England Patriots last week. That follows two uninspired performances in a win over the New York Giants and another loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Many people are predicting a bounce back performance for the Bills, but it’s hard to know if they’ll put together a complete game even as a big favorite in our Thursday Night Football odds.
If you’d rather look to NFL player props markets for your NFL picks on Thursday, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to see my top selections for th…
The Dallas Cowboys backed into a home playoff game by snatching the NFC East title from the fading Eagles in the final three weeks of the season — a huge lift for a team that plays its best football in front of the Dallas faithful.
AT&T Stadium welcomes the Green Bay Packers and a long history between these storied franchises for Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Weekend game, with the NFL odds dealing Dallas as a 7.5-point favorite for this 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
I size up the spread and Over/Under total for this Wild Card contest and give my best NFL picks and predictions for Packers vs. Cowboys on Sunday, January 14.
For more angles on this intriguing game, be sure to check out our Packers vs Cowboys props and our Dak Prescott odds and props spot…
The Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys are both looking for bounce-back wins in Big D after shocking upset losses.
Our Ravens vs. Cowboys predictions expect Dallas to come up short at home for a second straight week, and these NFL picks for Sunday, September 22 outline why.
Additionally, Rob Paul offers his three best Ravens vs Cowboys props to fill out your Week 3 betslip.
Ravens vs Cowboys prediction
My best betRavens -1 (-110 at BetMGM)
My analysis
The Baltimore Ravens were a toenail away from possibly upsetting the Chiefs on opening night and now they find themselves in danger of falling to 0-3. Only one team had made the playoffs after an 0-3 start since 2000 and that was the 2018 Texans. John Harbaugh and comp…