A week after being named the New York Jets starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez rewarded his first year NFL coach with a victory. Rex Ryan got his first win at the helm of the Jets as his team held off a 4th quarter comeback to nip the crosstown rival New York Giants 27-25.

NFL preseason betting enthusiasts who took the Giants as +3 point underdogs were rewarded with the outright victory. The Jets improved to 2-1 against the pointspread, while the Giants dropped to 1-2 against the money as they dropped their second straight ATS verdict. The combined 52 points went well OVER the posted total of 36. The Jets have gone OVER in all three of their exhibition games, while the Giants have exceeded the total in two of three.

Sanchez finished with 149 yards on 13 of 20 passing and a touchdown pass to former University of South Carolina standout receiver Chansi Stuckey. After the game, he was pleased with his effort and the victory:

“You get a little more confidence when you know your coach believes in you and has named you the starter. It was similar to that at SC. Once you’re the guy, you talk a little different, you walk a little different and you act a little different.”

Giants defender Mathias Kiwanuka was even impressed with Sanchezs touchdown play, which came with two defenders right in his face:

“I thought we had him. It was a great play. You have to give him credit for seeing down the field with two guys in his face.”

Sanchez remembered it thusly:

“It was one of those plays where you get hit throwing it and you don’t really see what’s going on. You kind of listen. I knew if it was a big roar, it was probably a big play by the Giants, maybe an interception and I’d have to get up quick. But I heard a quiet roar and I said: ‘Oh boy, I think he caught it.’”

Winning coach Ryan commended Sanchez’s play:

“He was poised. He is what we thought he was.”

Giants QB Eli Manning had something of an off game, finishing with 91 yards on 9 of 21 passing with a touchdown and interception. He also had receiver Steve Smith drop a perfect pass that would have been a 50 yard touchdown play. Afterwards, he sympathized with his receiver:

“Sometimes it’s good to get those out of the way now. I know Steve feels bad about that. He hasn’t done that all training camp. I know he won’t drop it next time.”

The Giants finish up the NFL preseason slate with a trip to Foxboro, Massachusetts to take on the New England Patriots on Thursday night. The Jets wrap up their exhibition schedule by hosting the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

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Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira left a lot of questions unanswered in the wake of his UFC 92 loss to Frank Mir. He had been dominated in his defeat to Mir and in the process suffered the first stoppage of his career. After the fight it was revealed that hed suffered from a staph infection during training, severe enough to land him in the hospital for five days. He insisted that the loss was entirely attributable to his illness. At UFC 102 from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, Big Nog made a compelling case that his loss to Mir was a definite aberration. Nogueira dominated a determined Randy Couture over three rounds, en route to a unanimous decision victory over the UFC Hall of Famer. Nogueira’s decisive victory culminated the UFC’s first ever event in the Pacific Northwest and after a bit of hand wringing over slow ticket sales the show came off very well on PPV.

Nogueira entered the arena first to his usual entrance music of Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones. He received a respectful welcome from the Rose City crowd, but nothing like the rousing ovation afforded local hero Couture. Couture lived in suburban Gresham, Oregon for a number of years and trained at Team Quest before leaving to start Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Hes still a beloved figure in the Portland area, and his wide grin during Bruce Buffers introductions give the impression that he still has a lot of affection for his former hometown.

Despite the lopsided outcome of the fight, The Natural gave his fans plenty to cheer about. Though hes no longer able to outwork opponents and earn victories, hes still an amazing physical specimen for a 46 year old man. Furthermore, he still has the amazing toughness and resilience that made him a legend. He was knocked down twice, and came close to being choked out in each of the three rounds.

Couture in no way embarrassed himself, but he never really threatened Nogueira either. After the fight Nogueira expressed his respect for Couture and appreciation for the Portland fans before politely calling out current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

In the co-main event, Thiago Silva demonstrated why hes considered among the most underrated fighters in mixed martial arts as he dismantled Keith Jardine. After a feeling out process, Silva perfectly countered one of Jardines kicks with a nasty straight right hand. He followed up with a quick ground punching barrage before the referee called a halt to the fight early in the first round.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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The good news for the Kansas City Chiefs as they prepare for the start of the NFL regular season is that their starting quarterback is back at practice. The bad news is that they still don’t know when hell be able to play. Matt Cassel returned to the Chiefs practice field on Monday for the first time since he injured his left knee in a NFL preseason game on August 29th. Still, there’s been no confirmation from either he or the team as to when hell return to action. It would be an ironic twist if Cassel lost significant time due to injury, as it was a knee injury to Tom Brady while in New England that first brought him mainstream attention

Cassel, who saw his stock shoot up precipitously as an NFL QB following his solid play in New England after starter Tom Brady went down to a season ending injury, signed a six year, $28 million contract with the Chiefs in the off season. Although Cassel was in full uniform at Mondays practice, head coach Todd Haley was noncommittal about whether he or Brodie Croyle would start Sundays NFL regular season opener on the road against the Baltimore Ravens:

“I think that as the week goes on, we’ll know a little bit more. We’ll know a little bit more with Matt for sure. But it was good that he was out there. He was able to get through some things. As the week goes on a little further, we’ll know a little more as far as where he’s at.”

“It’s good this is a long week. That will help with anybody who’s nicked up. I would say generally you would need to have a full practice to have a chance to play. Generally, you need to have a full Friday practice to have a chance.”

With or without Cassel, the Chiefs offense sputtered in the preseason scoring only two touchdowns. The lack of productivity cost offensive coordinator Chan Gailey his job and Kansas City stumbled to a 0-4 record in their NFL exhibition contests. Haley has taken over the offensive play calling for the time being, though it made no difference in the Chiefs final preseason game. Neither Croyle nor third stringer Tyler Thigpen was particularly sharp in preseason play, though Croyle got the most work and should get the nod on Sunday if Cassell is unable to play. Better to bring Cassel back slowly even if it means losing a game or two rather than rush him back and potentially have him re-injure his knee.

The Chiefs face a tough assignment as they get the 2009 NFL regular season underway, pitted against the defensive tenacity of the Baltimore Ravens on the road. The Chiefs will host the Oakland Raiders in week 2 of the NFL season before traveling to Philadelphia on September 27 for a game against the Eagles.

Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

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How often has it happened to you? You are minding your own business when a mysterious email pops into your inbox. It claims to be from a lottery operator, often located in the UK, and advises you that you have won a lot of money. It will usually also be listed as urgent and give you a very short period of time in which to contact them and lay a claim. These scams, known sometimes as advance fee fraud, work by mimicking the websites, logo’s etc. Of genuine lottery operators or companies that sell UK lottery tickets to people all over the world. In actual fact they are not connected at all and just use this to try and win your trust.

So how does one ensure that a notification is genuine and not fall for the tricks of these con artists. A fake lottery notification can be identified by a few tell-tale signs. Look for them and you can greatly lower your risk of being taken for a ride and losing money.

Remember too that you have no chance of winning a competition that you never entered in the first place. This seems like an obvious statement but some people really are tricked like this. If you suddenly receive an email telling you that you won a lot of money in a competition you never entered then you should immediately be suspicious.

The secrecy they ask you to observe is another tell-tale sign of this type of scam. They reason they give for this is that there has been a mix up with some names and addresses. Terms like email draws might also be used as well as a statement that the prize is from a draw in which no tickets were sold. No real lottery does this type of thing.

The email will typically ask you to get in contact with a claims agent. A legitimate lottery operator will have one of their staff directly contact you not an agent. If you do reply to this alleged agent you will be requested to pay them money upfront to cover some sort of charges before the prize money can be paid out. Examples used are banking charges, courier costs, processing or admin fees and others.

No genuine lottery operator charges upfront amounts that must be paid before you can claim your winnings. In any case this is illegal in most countries. A real lottery will deduct any charges for the winnings, so you should be very suspicious of anyone who asks for money upfront. If you pay any money over to this agent its almost a guarantee that you will never hear from them of see your money ever again.

Another clue is the type of language used. Terms like Lottery Sweep Stake or Winning Notification are typically not used by legitimate operators, whether official lottery companies or for example other businesses like those that sell UK lottery tickets to non-UK residents.

Wondering whether it is safe to purchase UK Lottery Tickets in ZAR ? Get inside information now in our UK National Lottery Winners review.

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