Yeah, I've been getting beat up a bit on Twitter and through email today about my team grades for this winter. Again, I'll revisit those later on to have a final grade.

Obviously this kind of news will impact it. The Portland Timbers announced on Friday that forward José Adolfo Valencia will undergo surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee.

Click Here to Get a Free £50 Bet for All New Paddy Power Customers Chelsea v Man United On the face of it, Chelsea reaching for Bolton's best defender to help shore up their own leaky backline looks a bit odd. It'd be like the Belgians asking France to protect them from a German invasion [...]

Andy Carroll who has come under intense fire from the Liverpool faithful the past few weeks for his inconsistent performances, responded to his critics by scoring in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Wolves yesterday.

The £35 million signing from Newcastle opened the scoring for the Reds, to take his tally for the club to 7.

You can make the Super Bowl even funner to watch by laying down some money on a few prop bets. While there are dozens and dozens of prop bets available, here are a couple of our favorites. Oh, and we'll tell you how to bet!

How many yards will the first touchdown go for?
While it's tempting to bet the 1-7 yards option, that isn't the smart bet.

Our non-league videos of the week are twenty-four hours late this week, but we have four matches for you this evening two from the top of the Blue Square Bet Premier, one from the Blue Square Bet South and one from the FA Vase. First up are two matches from the championship battle at the top of the Blue Square Bet Premier.

Group B

Sudan went into this tournament having failed to score an ACN goal since 1976. Bet you didn't know that at kick-off against Angola last Thursday. Bet you were sick of hearing it by full-time.

Sudan broke this goalscoring duck (36 years, you know) moments after Eurosport's Matt Jackson declared he didn't know where their next goal is coming from.

We have all wondered about the situation regarding transfers now AVB is in charge. Reports were that he had 100% say on all comings and goings at the club. Well today, in his press conference ahead of the game tomorrow, AVB has confirmed that isn't the case.
We have been heavily linked with Genk's exciting winger Kevin De Bruyne for the last few seasons and things have come to a head this week with reports that a deal would be agreed between the two clubs for him to sign for Chelsea and be loaned straight back to Genk to finish the Belgian season.

Jurgen Klinsman, Jermaine Jones and Ricardo Clark. The first a German, and famous at that. The second a mix of American and German, currently playing his club ball with Schalke 04 in der fatherland. The third born in America, a defensive midfielder in the 2nd Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt. Could it be some hidden understanding from this shared German-ness that pushed Klinsman to pick Clark off the bench, and for Jones to find the late substitute with a perfectly dipped cross?

£50 staked again last week but only £20 returned as Falkirk's inability to break the deadlock against Ayr cost me £91 in the seven-fold accumulator. However, that still leaves the profit at £36 for the year to date. It's unusual that my first bet is a single, as I generally try and be a little [.

Fifa's World Rankings for January 2012 were published yesterday at FIFA HQ in Zurich, Switzerland.
2010 World Cup winners Spain remain on top followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Copa America champs Uruguay. England are in 5th.
Ranking Team
1 Spain
2 Netherlands
3 Germany
4 Uruguay
5 England
6 Brazil
7 Portugal
8 Croatia
9 Italy
10 Argentina
11 Denmark
12 Chile
13 Russia
14 Greece
15 France
16 Switzerland
17 Sweden
18 Côte d'Ivoire
19 Bosnia-Herzegovina
19 Japan
Full world rankings
Previous Fifa World Rankings
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Tags
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With just two weeks of the January transfer window left, Tottenham Hotspur yesterday made their first signing. Iago Falque's loan from Juventus was made permanent for a fee rumoured to be around £1.5m. The young Spaniard was immediately sent out on loan to Championship club Southampton.

Click Here to get a free £50 Bet with Paddy Power Liverpool v Stoke According to reports, Liverpool are desperate to offload Andy Carroll this January. Unfortunately, there's no great demand for Noel Fielding look-a-likes so they may be stuck with the Geordie. Add into the mix the drawn out Luis Suarez racism row and [.

Click Here to get a free £50 Bet with Paddy Power Liverpool v Stoke According to reports, Liverpool are desperate to offload Andy Carroll this January. Unfortunately, there's no great demand for Noel Fielding look-a-likes so they may be stuck with the Geordie. Add into the mix the drawn out Luis Suarez racism row and [.

photo by ISIphotos.com

George John left the U.S. men's national team camp last week to pursue an opportunity abroad.

That move has been completed, with John moving to a club in England.

According to various reports out of England, FC Dallas has loaned John to West Ham United.

Goal: Wednesday's Bet of the Day: A low scoring match between Manchester City and Liverpool

After a correct tip in the first League Cup semi-final between Crystal Palace and Cardiff, Adam Bate doesn't see many goals between the two Premier League big boys on Wednesday

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-11 11:29:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

And don't bet on the draft becoming any less super, as this year's two-round format may not be etched in stone, according to the Commissioner.

"I hope to expand it in the years to come," he said, "as opposed to any alternative."

Garber Talks Draft with MLS Insider

That quote says to me that the number of internationals will increase in future years.

Mail: Didier Drogba caption competition: January 6, 2011

Each week, Sportsmail has a caption competition for you to battle it out for a brilliant prize of a £100 Sportsbook bet with our friends at Paddy Power. This week's picture features Didier Drogba and Stephen Warnock.

Goal: Friday's Bet of the day: Liverpool not to run riot over League One Oldham

As a hectic fixture schedule comes to an end and the League One side boasting a solid defence, top tipster Adam Bate thinks this one won't be a walkover for Kenny Dalglish's men

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-05 17:00:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

What can we expect in 2012 in terms of the business side of football? It's an almost unanswerable question because no one knows for sure what is going to happen to the world's main football economies, those of Europe. Asian countries are, of course, big and growing customers for televised games and the prospects there look reasonably good.

Tuesday's Bet of the Day Extra: Manchester City to win to nil against Liverpool

After a last minute loss to Sunderland on Sunday, Manchester City will be looking to bounce back against the Reds at home. Adam Bate previews where the value lies

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-03 08:58:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Cesc Fabregas caption competition: December 30, 2011

Each week, Sportsmail has a caption competition for you to battle it out for a brilliant prize of a £100 Sportsbook bet with our friends at Paddy Power. This week's picture features Cristiano Ronaldo with a dolphin.

Bet of the Day: A low scoring game between Liverpool and Newcastle

Adam Bate previews Friday's big match and points out where the value lies as Alan Pardew's men visit Anfield, where the Reds have been held six times already this season

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-29 12:57:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

The Carling Cup semi-final legs between Liverpool and Manchester City look set to be mouth-watering contests but who will be walking out onto the Wembley turf on February 26?
City have certainly been impressive to watch this season, as they have managed to cut out many of the mistakes against lesser side that made them slip up in the Premier League title race last term.

There are reports that Newcastle will be giving a trial to 23 year old Bognor Regis Town striker Jason Prior. Jason Prior Newcastle interested Newcastle stepped in after the Ryman League Division One South league leaders, nicknamed the Rocks, had said they would sell their top striker to Blue Star Square Bet South club Eastleigh, [.

There are reports that Newcastle will be giving a trial to 23 year old Bognor Regis Town striker Jason Prior. Jason Prior Newcastle interested Newcastle stepped in after the Ryman League Division One South league leaders, nicknamed the Rocks, had said they would sell their top striker to Blue Star Square Bet South club Eastleigh, [.

For the second part of our Non-League Videos Of The Week, we have two matches from the Blue Square Bet Premier Division. At the top of the table, Wrexham are continuing to hold Fleetwood Town at bay and, while Fleetwood had a Lancashire derby match at home against third placed Southport on Boxing Day, Wrexham, who are now owned by their supporters, made the relatively short trip to Shropshire to play another supporter-owned team, AFC Telford United, and over four thousand people turned out at New Bucks Head for the match.

Cesc Fabregas caption competition: December 23, 2011

Each week, Sportsmail has a caption competition for you to battle it out for a brilliant prize of a £100 Sportsbook bet with our friends at Paddy Power. This week's picture features Cesc Fabregas and Santa.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-12-23 16:15:00 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

On the pitch, Kettering Town have picked up a little of late. Two consecutive draws have lifted them just out of the relegation places in the Blue Square Bet Premier and, even though the club's transfer embargo remains in place, they even managed a full substitutes bench their match against on Tuesday night.

When the two Manchester clubs were drawn together in the FA Cup third round, it opened the door to other clubs with aspirations of lifting the famous old trophy.

One of the best two sides in England at this present time will be out of the FA Cup and that opens the competition up to the rest.

Fifa's World Rankings for December 2011 were published today at FIFA HQ in Zurich, Switzerland.
2010 World Cup winners Spain remain on top followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Copa America champs Uruguay. England are in 5th.
Ranking Team
1 Spain
2 Netherlands
3 Germany
4 Uruguay
5 England
6 Brazil
7 Portugal
8 Croatia
9 Italy
10 Argentina
11 Denmark
12 Russia
13 Chile
14 Greece
15 France
16 Côte d'Ivoire
17 Switzerland
18 Sweden
19 Japan
20 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Full world rankings
Previous Fifa World Rankings
Bet with Bet 365
Soccer betting tips
Soccer Books & DVDs
Tags
Soccer News soccer football fifa

Fifa's World Rankings for December 2011 were published today at FIFA HQ in Zurich, Switzerland.
2010 World Cup winners Spain remain on top followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Copa America champs Uruguay. England are in 5th.
Ranking Team
1 Spain
2 Netherlands
3 Germany
4 Uruguay
5 England
6 Brazil
7 Portugal
8 Croatia
9 Italy
10 Argentina
11 Denmark
12 Russia
13 Chile
14 Greece
15 France
16 Côte d'Ivoire
17 Switzerland
18 Sweden
19 Japan
20 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Full world rankings
Previous Fifa World Rankings
Bet with Bet 365
Soccer betting tips
Soccer Books & DVDs
Tags
Soccer News soccer football fifa

The Premiership is entering one of the most crowded times of the year when teams are playing every few days, things are getting interesting and statistics can change in the blink of an eye. In the festive period many people like to have a bet on their favourite team so here is a little guide [...]

After all the excitement of the recent rounds of cup matches in the FA Cup and FA Trophy over the last couple of weeks, it was back to the league for non-league football this weekend, and we have highlights from six matches for you this evening. From the Blue Square Premier, we have the match between Forest Green Rovers and Lincoln City.

As we draw closer to the 2012 MLS Draft, Major League Soccer is moving closer and closer to trying to secure the services of the players who will make up its Generation adidas draft class, and things are still very much in flux with less than a month to go before the draft.

MLS is expected to announce the first of its signings in the coming week, and offers have already been sent out to most of the top targets.

Justin Bieber and Fernando Torres caption competition: December 16, 2011

Each week, Sportsmail has a caption competition for you to battle it out for a brilliant prize of a £100 Sportsbook bet with our friends at Paddy Power. This week's picture features Fernando Torres meeting Justin Bieber.

After winning an impressive £156 last week from our £55 stake, we look to again prize profit out of the hands of the bookies. First bet concerns the Premier League, and backs Blackburn to win consecutive home games for the first time in 46 years, or at least since Steve Kean took charge. They are [.

Frimpong laughs at Manchester, Lucas has good news and Wilshere denies Arsenal bet in the tweets of the week

The best of Twitter's Premier League footballers (and David Seaman's brilliant new golf balls)

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-12-09 11:43:03 from: Talksport

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The big winners in our Premier League bet of the week this week are Norwich. With Newcastle having Coloccini, Taylor, Guthrie, Marveaux and Tiote out, their centre backs could be Danny Simpson and James Perch. The Canaries at odds of 2.5 at a ground where they have beaten Sunderland, Swansea and QPR seems generous.

Caption competition: December 9, 2011

Each week, Sportsmail has a caption competition for you to battle it out for a brilliant prize of a £100 Sportsbook bet with our friends at Paddy Power. This week's picture features Bryan Ferry and cyclist Mark Cavendish.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-12-09 07:00:18 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Frei and Streller put the hammer to Man U and the Red Devils are knocked out of the CL in the quarters. Ouch. Guess the RAF time just didn't go United's way tonight. Hope you didn't bet on them to win it all. At least Man U can now focus on winning the League. What? They're in a close 2nd with Spurs catching up?