Monday, January 10, 2011

Sports World

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Giants fume as Seattle reach the playoffs Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:31 AM PST As the dust settles on Seattle's shock wildcard playoff win at the weekend, the argument as to the fairness of their inclusion rumbles on. The NFL certainly can't afford to start kicking teams out of the playoffs just because they are not going to win their conference and stroll to the Super Bowl, but there is some strength in the argument that teams with a losing record have no right to be in the playoffs at all. With the New York Giants not enjoying their best season, they still managed to only have a slightly worse record than the regular season NFC conference champions, something that cannot be said of the abysmal (though apparently not as abysmal as the rest of the NFC West) Seattle Seahawks. Despite the fact that Seattle is a fantastically supported team who certainly bring a bit of spice and interest to the NFL, as we saw at the weekend, the fact is that their current team does not deserve to be in the playoffs after the way the team performed this season. Although their record was not the worst losing record you will see in the NFL, the fact remains that it was still a losing season which would mean, in any other sport, that a team would be finishing mid-table or worse. However, the NFL seems to be saying something along the lines of "we reward awful teams" by continuing to support a system that sees division winners qualify automatically for the playoffs, something that can only be seen as weakening the quality of the whole competition and the NFL odds reflect this. American Football is certainly one of the better run sports in the world, but the fact remains that it can also be one of the more predictable when it comes to judging who is going to advance to the Super Bowl, something that has only been added to by this year's disgrace that is the Seattle Seahawks qualifying for the playoffs ahead of teams such as the New York Giants.

Super Bowl weekend not just about the football Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:52 AM PST The Super Bowl is one of the most famous sporting events around the world and, at the moment, franchises up and down the country are preparing for the play-offs in their bid to make it all the way to the big day and the promise of being beamed from TV screens globally. However, as is so often the case, much of the build-up to the Super Bowl, and much of the fun on the day itself, has nothing to do with the action during the game. Even as far ahead of the Super Bowl as we are now, the event is making headlines across the world, but not necessarily for the football action on offer as there is plenty more on offer other than just the Super Bowl betting odds. One of the big pulls this year in terms of TV audience is sure to be the Super Bowl interview, which will see Bill O'Reilly of Fox News talk to President Barack Obama ahead of the game. The interview itself is a long-standing tradition and Fox will be hoping to raise the tempo before the game, which will be broadcast by Fox Sports this year. This of course won't be the first time the President has faced O'Reilly, who interviewed him when he was a senator and the presidential nominee for the Democrats. The interview this time around is likely to have a slightly different tone to say the least but will nevertheless be one to watch, although it remains to be seen if Obama will be offering Super Bowl betting tips! In other news, events are being organised to raise awareness of the massive problem of sex trafficking over the Super Bowl weekend, with the weekend of February 6th in Arlington targeted as a time during which fans need to be aware of the dangers of the more seedy side of major footballing events. Traffick911, a local Christian group, has started a campaign to raise awareness, while law enforcement experts have confirmed that they'll be doing all they can to curb the problems that arise from major sporting events attracting men willing to pay for sex.

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