We all knew that the teams from Los Angeles will be among the main competitors for the NBA Championship after the summer. The Lakers got Anthony Davis and a bunch of veterans, while the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

That was enough for the best online sportsbooks to declare them favorites and the regular season so far has proven them right. Both LA teams are doing well, without playing to their full potential.

That begs the question if someone can stop them on the road to the NBA title. Let’s take a look at the main contenders.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Eastern Conference is certainly weaker but there is a certain team that looks ready to challenge. The Milwaukee Bucks failed to reach the NBA Finals last year but they have managed to keep most of their roster.

Giannis is getting better every season and they have more playoff experience this year. The Bucks seem like a team that won’t have any issues winning the top seed in the East and the Conference Finals look certain.

The question is what happens when the teams start to focus mostly on Giannis in the post-season, like the Raptors did last year. The Greek Freak is having an excellent campaign so far and his stats are better in multiple categories, including his outside shooting.

But would that be enough? It might be for the Eastern Conference crown but the NBA Championship is another story. Both LA teams have at least two superstars and the Clippers have a much better bench.

The Bucks might be the favorite in the East but they seem to be a step behind the big guns in the West.

Denver Nuggets

For some reason, the Denver Nuggets have been under the radar since the start of the season, despite their excellent performance. The team is one of the best defensively and below average offensively. I don’t think that anyone expected that.

It was vice versa last season but the important point is that the Nuggets look strong. If they improve slightly offensively, they will be among the toughest teams to beat in the playoffs.

All of their stars, including Nikola Jokic, have room for improvement and they have playoff experience after the 2018-19 season.

They are one of the dark horses this season and might be one of the few franchises that could go all the way against the LA teams.

Houston Rockets

There were plenty of questions about the Houston Rockets before the season. Most of them were related to the potential partnership between Russel Westbrook and James Harden. Some people expected them to be the best team in the NBA, while others thought that the Rockets will fail.

So far, the truth is somewhere in between the extremes. The franchise is solid and in contention for a high playoff seed in the Western Conference. Harden is having another historical season, so at the very least, Russ is not harming his game.

At the same time, Westbrook showed flashes of brilliance at times. His shooting from the outside hasn’t been good enough but was to be expected.

The problem with the Rockets is that their style is great for the NBA regular season and not so good in the playoffs. They have a below-average defense and they will stop getting so many calls, once the post-season comes.

They don’t seem like a team ready to challenge the big guns in the West, so it seems that the second round of the playoffs is their limit.

Dallas Mavericks

I don’t think that anyone would’ve thought that the Dallas Mavericks might be a contender in the 2019-20 NBA season. And yet, Luka Doncic is one of the best players in the NBA and the Mavs are flying.

They have one of the best first scoring and playmaking options in the Slovenian. Tim Hardaway Jr. is having a solid season and the bench has been excellent.

The only guy that has been underperforming is Kristaps Porzingis. The big man needs to improve his efficiency, but he has plenty of time by the playoffs. After all, he’s coming back after a long-term injury and you can’t expect the best of him from day 1.

If he steps up, the Mavericks have a realistic chance for a top 4 seed in the West. They don’t seem ready to challenge the LA teams, but would you bet against Luka Doncic right now?

Philadelphia 76ers

According to most fans and specialists before the season, the 76ers were poised to challenge Bucks in the Eastern Conference. The problem is that the team seems worse compared to last year.

The roster is full of talent but they don’t seem to fit very well. The lack of outside shooting creates a lot of problems with the spacing because of the likes of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and other players that operate in the same areas.

If you add the weak bench, the 76ers don’t seem like a team that could realistically challenge for the NBA Championship. In fact, even going out of the East would be a monumental success for the franchise.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are one of the pleasant surprises of the NBA season so far. Gordon Hayward looked like his old self before the injury and Kemba Walker looks like a great fit. The point guard is not only scoring a ton of points, but he’s also helping the young roster improve.

If you add the strong defense, it seems like the Celtics are one of the sides that could surprise many of the favorites. They might be a year or two early in terms of attacking the NBA Championship, but any team that underestimates them will suffer.

When discussing the best utv riding gear, a lot of information can be thrown around, which can lead to most riders, especially newcomers, wondering what gear is essential and what are just preferences. This confusion can also lead to these new adventure riders looking for UTV, ATV or motorcycle aftermarket parts, completely ignoring the equipment that will allow them to ride safely and comfortably. Therefore, to make the conversation simpler, when you are an off-roader or adventure rider just starting out with UTVs, you should focus your efforts on the following three essentials before anything else.

1. Helmets

The best women’s atv riding gear and men’s starts with a helmet. This piece of equipment is essential for off-roading and exploring trails. You will want to find a full-face helmet. While you might think that the full-face option is a little overkill, especially since you are not on a motorcycle, consider the number of flip-over accidents that can occur on a UTV or ATV, which are considered extreme sports vehicles for a reason. Have complete face protection allows you to ride with confidence. Also, you should get a pair of goggles to protect your eyes from flying bugs, rocks and other debris.

2. Boots

After you have a helmet squared away, you should look into purchasing a sturdy pair of riding boots. While you might feel comfortable riding in regular tennis shoes or boots, consider that accidents are common in motor sports, especially off-roading. UTV boots offer some rigidity to support the ankle and protect the soft-tissue of the foot. They are typically mid-calf height, and some are weatherproofed, which is necessary, especially for all-weather riders. For summer riding, you can find pairs that have integrated ventilation and wicking technology to keep your feet dry and the sweat at bay.

3. Gloves

Last, you will want to find yourself a good pair of gloves, but not for the reason you might initially think. When most people think of gloves, they think of warmth. For UTV riders, however, gloves are another layer of protection. See, off-road riders experience a lot of debris, rocks and branches flying at or scraping their arms, hands and legs. Therefore, gloves help to protect against impacts and abrasions. Therefore, depending on your riding style, you will want to find a pair that has rigid padding over the knuckles, and probably extra grip on the palms.

Adventure riding and racing are considered an extreme sport for a reason. As a rider looking to break into that niche of the sporting world, you will need to take certain precautions in the gear you choose. While there are debates about what products are best and which purchases you should make first, the three items above should always be your first purchases. The key to enjoying off-roading is to take the necessary precautions to ensure your safety like investing in a good set of System 3 tires.” at the location in the screenshot below. Therefore, before you get all wrapped up in the tweaks you can make to your ride, consider your safety and pick up a helmet, boots and a well-made pair of gloves.

Have you recently fell in love with the wonderful sport that is soccer? If you enjoy watching or playing this game, it’s really no surprise because billions of people love this sport. In fact, the 2018 FIFA World Cup garnered a combined 3.752 billion viewers across the globe. That’s more than half the world’s population! But if you’re new to the game and still get lost with the different terms and statistics, don’t worry. Here is a guide to understanding soccer term and statistics for beginners.

Soccer Terms

Before we dive into the common soccerstats that teams and fans track during each season, let’s discuss these four terms that you’ll often come across when watching or playing soccer.

  1. Shot

When a player attempts to score a goal, that attempt is called a shot. But not every kick is considered a shot, even when they are directed at the goal. Some of them are called a cross, which is a long kick, usually from a wide position, that enters the penalty area and is intended to help another player score. Therefore, if a goalkeeper stops a cross, they are not credited with a save, except for when a cross would have entered the goal. In that case, the cross is also considered a shot.

  1. Goal

When an offensive player kicks a goal, their team earns a point. A point is also credited to the offensive team if a defensive player accidentally kicks the ball to the defender’s goal; this point is credited to the total offensive team’s goal statistics even though a defensive player technically scored it. When a goalkeeper deflects a shot by an offensive player, that goal is credited to the latter. A goal is also credited to an offensive player if their shot is deflected by a teammate or a defensive player as long as either takes full control of the ball.

  1. Assist

An assist is only awarded to an offensive player if their pass leads directly to a goal. On one play, up to two assists can only be awarded.

  1. Save

A save is credited to a goalkeeper if they manage to block or catch the ball that would have gone into the goal. However, a save is only awarded if it is against a shot and not a cross, unless the cross would have gone into the goal.

Soccerstats

With a basic understanding of these soccer terminologies, let’s discuss soccer statistics.

  1. Goals per game

Goals per game is calculated by dividing the total goals a player has scored with the total number of games they played.

  1. Assists per game

Assists per game is calculated by dividing the total assists a player has made with the total number of games they played.

  1. Goals-against Average

The goals-against average is calculated by multiplying the goals allowed by 80, and then dividing the product by the total minutes played.

  1. Save Percentage

The save percentage is calculated by dividing the total number of saves by the sum of saves and goals allowed.

These statistics determine the performance of a player and a team in the overall league. The next time you play or watch soccer, keep an eye out for these statistics to know where your favorite team stands in the season.

St. George Illawarra Dragons seem to be in a pretty good position, especially after the addition of James Graham and Ben Hunt. As least that’s what the experts are saying. The most surprising thing to see this season is that Sydney Roosters and North Queensland Cowboys have gained a lot of attraction and support. Since the Cowboys have added the amazing trio of Jordan McLean, Matt Scott, and Johnathan Thurston, the team has gained momentum and it seems like adding these players to the team was a worthy decision.

The Predictions of the NRL Experts

The mid season NRL predictions suggest that Parramatta, Brisbane, Cronulla, Melbourne, St. George Illawarra, Cowboys, Roosters, and Penrith are the teams that are destined to land in the top eight teams of the season. The predictions made by the experts show that fifteen out of the total sixteen teams got votes for the top eight teams. The only team that didn’t get any love from the experts was West Tigers. Sorry West Tigers fans. It seems like your favourite team won’t be able to land in the top eight this year.

The Top 8 Teams for This Season

At the moment, the line up for top 8 NRL premiership teams looks like this:

  1. Sydney Roosters
  2. Parramatta Eels
  3. North Queensland Cowboys
  4. Cronulla Sharks
  5. Penrith Panthers
  6. St. George Illawarra Dragons
  7. Melbourne Storm
  8. Newcastle Knights

Now that the premiership has reached its mid season, it seems like Sydney Roosters and North Queensland Cowboys happen to be the favourites. But as it turns out, Parramatta Eels cannot be overlooked. They’re up to something special this season for sure. The experts say that the inclusion of James Graham and Ben Hunt will take the Dragons straight to the finals and Melbourne Storm will fall off the ladder owing to the departure of Cooper Cronk.

Predictions for the Best Roughie

All the hopes for Canterbury Bulldogs rest on the fitness and performance of Kieran Foran. If the player manages to play 80 percent of the games, then the Bulldogs will be able to fix their attacking woes and will surely be playing the finals. But as it turns out, there are doubts that Foran’s body will not be able to withstand the pressure of a 24-game season.

Team That Might Not Meet the Expectations

When Ben Hunt left Brisbane Broncos, the loss for the team was huge. Following that, the team has lost some other key players as well, including Herman Ese’ese and Tautau Moga. Nobody is very confident about Jack Bird’s performance and Anthony Milford’s ability to lead the team. This makes Brisbane Broncos the team that might fail to meet the expectations this season. For more interesting bets and predictions, you can visit BlueBet.

There are few other experts that do not understand the hype around Penrith Panthers. They are not including the team in their list for the top 8 teams of the season. They admit that the Panthers have players like Josh Mansour, Reagan Campbell, James Maloney, Nathan Cleary, and Dylan Edwards, but something about the team feels off to them, making them think the team might falter in the games to come.

As much as we love football, and we’re not ashamed to admit that this is more than our wives would like, there are times when going out and playing or watching a game is just not on the cards. Whether through injury or cost, distance or weather, there can be an enormous amount of reasons that going out into the world for the real thing just can’t happen. With that in mind, we thought it would an interesting idea to look at a few alternatives.

They might not quite be the real thing, but you might be surprised at just how much some of these game stick with you. We know we were.

Bubble Football

Not the most seriously competitive alternative, but still one which we would recommend every time the opportunity presents itself. Players in this game are encased in the inflatable bubbles known as ZORBS, and otherwise, the rules are much the same. That is, except contact, which is not only permitted, but encouraged.

It can be a bit tricky to track down enough of these for full teams but, luckily, party rental services like Zorbing Hire will often have you covered. Great for parties and stag dos, we would never recommend combining this game with a few drinks, but we sure are thinking it loudly.

Car football

If you think bubble football was chaotic, then take a look at the Top Gear inspired game of car football.

Not for the faint of heart or light of wallet, this is a game which thrives on carnage, though, in this case, we do seriously recommend keeping any amount of liquor out of the equation. While there aren’t any strict rules to follow in this version of the game, as players can only really be expected to the best with whatever used car or flat-out junkers they have, it’s a very good idea to go dressed in safety gear before giving this a go.

Every group has a Steve, and Steve, as you well know, can hardly be trusted behind the wheel.

Rocket League

Going digital with this one, the now extremely popular game of Rocket League is essentially a digital version of car football, only with rockets. A lot cheaper than the real-life alternative, Rocket League is available over most major platforms, including PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch, with cross-play even allowing friends to compete over different devices. Though, it should be noted that the PlayStation version will not be playable in this way until early next year.

We hate to drone on, but we can’t really undersell the popularity of Rocket League, which even has considerable earnings to be made for skilled players in the eSports arena. Even major online betting services like Betway offer odds on major events, making this closer to real-life football fun than almost any alternative.

Footvolley

The name for this one really gives it away, as a combination of both football and beach volleyball. Footvolley was invented in Brazil by Octavio de Morales in 1965, according to the Footvolley website, and has remained popular ever since. Originally starting out as 5v5 game, over time, the skill of the players would become so great that this number had to be reduced to 2v2. It’s difficult to score if nobody ever makes a mistake, after all.

Played only with feet, Footvolley has spread to beach-cities all over the world, with many major events held in Portugal, Thailand, Greece, and beyond. Of course, playing this game requires not only a decent beach but also great weather, which can be more than a little tricky to find where we live. At least it could work well on a holiday.

Don’t Underestimate the Alternatives

Some of these might seem silly, but then that’s also the opinion which the uninformed or uneducated can have on football itself. Even as a spectator sport, we would recommend the likes of bubble and car football especially, as the amount of laughter on offer makes for a great night of watching with a few friends.

We can’t promise that success in any of these will give you the chops as being a real football star, but it’s enough to rub in your friend’s faces and, really, isn’t that enough?

In a World Cup year, like 2018, it can seem as if the rest of the sports world grinds to a halt. There’s just a great deal to talk about at such a massive international event, from how the stars perform, to who the up-and-comers are, to individual match previews and outcomes – and even how various businesses profit from the action. Through all of this intrigue the World Cup pauses the rest of the sports world in a way that perhaps only the Olympics can do otherwise. But with the world’s biggest tournament now behind us, those interested in the world of sport are looking ahead.

Here are some of the next big stories to expect to be reading about and engaging with in major sports around the world.

The Development Of The U.S. Gambling Market

If you follow sports at all you may well have come across the story that the U.S. courts have paved the way for legalized sports betting through the country. It isn’t happening overnight, but this is adding a massive industry to the already lucrative U.S. sporting markets, which should make for a major story in all kinds of ways. We don’t know yet how many people will start betting, how the different leagues will get involved, or what new platforms and apps might emerge. But the entire sports betting landscape is going to be changed by this massive soon-to-be movement.

Serena Williams’s Motherhood Slam

Perhaps this is putting undue pressure on Serena Williams, particularly given that she recently experienced a rather shocking upset. But after Williams made it to the final of Wimbledon less than a year after childbirth, it seems as if she’s destined to win another Grand Slam eventually. This will be remarkable not just because she’s now fairly old for a tennis champion, nor because she’s a mother. Rather, it’s because Williams nearly lost her life with delivery complications and their aftermath, and appears to have made it back to the top of tennis by sheer willpower. A motherhood Slam for Williams would be the biggest story of the year in sports.

World Cup Aftermath In Domestic Football

There’s always something a little more special about the domestic football leagues around the world following a World Cup. More of the world is paying attention, certain star players are elevated, and the landscape always seems to shift just a little bit. Case in point, early looks at the Premier League are tabbing World Cup stars Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah as likely Golden Boot winners, and are even giving Liverpool – a club boosted back to prominence by Salah – as a possible league winner. There isn’t one specific story here, but domestic football will demand more attention after a thrilling World Cup.

Formula 1’s Finish

For a few years now, Formula 1 racing has been a foregone conclusion. British star and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has been a virtual shoe-in for end-of-year titles. This year however, former champion Sebastian Vettel is staying hot on Hamilton’s heels, to the point that we may have the closest finish in recent history.

Donald Trump Vs. Athletes

This is not a very good story for sports, as it brings an air of negativity to the whole spectacle. But unfortunately, U.S. president Donald Trump has shown a tendency to inject himself into sports stories, typically in order to berate or attempt to disqualify African-American athletes in one way or another. There was an eruption of responses when Trump recently took to Twitter to suggest LeBron James lacked intelligence (in the aftermath of James opening a school for at-risk youth, no less), and this sort of thing only figures to intensify. It feels like we’re heading for some fairly large-scale conflict between American athletes and the president.

Tokyo 2020 Announcements

We’re still two years away from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but rest assured the athletes who figure to be competing are already getting ready. And that means we should begin to hear about who’s in and who’s out soon, which always makes for a few good stories. For instance, many remain skeptical that U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps is really ready to call it quits, and there’s always speculation about who will return and who will age out of prominent gymnastics teams. The next six months or so should begin to produce answers to these questions that much of the sports-loving world is asking.

The World Cup is back and in just a few days the biggest football competition in the world will be kicking off in Russia to find out who is the very best team on the planet. Today we are going to look beyond the football and scratch beneath the surface of how businesses in just about every country in the world, are able to use this competition to boost their profits.

The World Cup provides a unique opportunity for money making, and here are the nuts and bolts behind how it is done.

Frenzy

The first step to making money off the back of a World Cup is simply to embrace it, this is a marketing opportunity which needs little input from your own business. Any fans of football are already whipped up into a frenzy over the competition which makes them far more inclined to spend money on football related gear. As a business you can use this free marketing, to sell products and services which can be coupled with the spectacle.

Merchandise

Selling World Cup merchandise is a greta way to make money during this tournament, be it official or unofficial equipment. Over recent months and the coming weeks, national pride takes over and consumers are more than happy to invest in clothing, flags, trinkets and just about any other type of memorabilia which has their teams colors emblazoned across them. As an indication of how much money can be made, during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, over 3,000 vuvuzelas were sold in England alone.

Events

One thing that is for sure is that when the football starts, everybody stops what they are doing and switches their gaze to the nearest television. What this means for anyone who runs a bar, a restaurant or an events location, is an opportunity to make big cash on match day. In order to do this you have to have the perfect set up, tag on drinks and food promotions and most importantly, get the word out there that your place is the best to watch the action.

Offers

Many companies will make huge money and gain a great amount of new clients by offering unique World Cup experiences. For the small investment of some tickets for the finals themselves and a plane ticket or two, you can then open up a competition which consumers will automatically enter upon being a certain product, with the chance to see the action live. Many businesses will do this on items such as televisions and speakers, offering the perfect medium to watch the finals, as well as having a chance to actually go should someone win. Imagine if a company invests $5,000 on tickets and plane travel, and as a result sells 10 televisions at $1,000 each, a license to print money!

Worldwide events such as the World Cup provide a wonderful opportunity for many businesses to cash on the hype that surrounds the tournament, as well as being able to boost their company’s reputation.