With the football season just around the corner, SportsBetting.com came up with the below offer for newly registered clients as well as current clients :

5% re-load bonus on Thursdays
5% juice on Fridays, including better parlay Odds
A chance to win $100,000 every weekend during the football season
10% Free Cash on your initial deposit
10% Free Cash when you Refer-A-Friend
Many deposit options (VISA, MasterCard, eCheck, NETeller, FirePay and more)
If Bets and Progressive Parlays; win 3 out of 4 and still get paid
12-team parlays and 15-team teasers
In Running wagering - new betting feature

Do not linger too long, starts your new season with a better book! - SportsBetting.com

Defending champions Chelsea will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Ewood Park to meet Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. The Blues were shocked by Middlesbrough in midweek with a late Mark Viduka goal sealing their fate.They have also been given a tricky Champions league group which consists of Spanish giants Barcelona and Bundesliga contenders Werder Bremen.

The season hasn’t started the way Chelsea would have liked it to. Mourinho will have to do without the services of Petr Cech and Joe Cole, with the duo not yet having recovered from injuries. Arjen Robben and Michael Ballack are expected to be available for selection, though. Robben suffered an injury in warmup prior to the game at the Riverside and missed the game as a result. Ballack has recovered from a hip injury.Frank Lampard and prolific Ukranian striker Andriy Shevchenko will be the expected sources for goals. The absence of William Gallas will mean that Ricardo Carvalho will partner John Terry in the heart of defence.

Blackburn also haven’t had the best start to their campaign, with a 3-0 loss to Portsmouth and a 1-1 draw against Everton.They put up a listless display against Harry Redknapp’s side and Tim Cahill robbed them of all three points with his late equaliser for the Toffees.Former PSV defender Andre Oojer could make his Premiership debut. Lucas Neill,who conceded the controversial penalty which sent the Aussies out of Germany, returns after missing out on the Everton game with suspension. Tugay is suspended for this game. Benni McCarthy, who scored his debut goal against Everton, will face off against his former manager at Porto,the wily Mourinho. Jason Roberts is expected to partner the South African upfront.Much will be expected of the young Norwegian, Morten Gamst Pedersen. The former Tromsa midfielder possesses immense talent and will be a player to watch throughout the game. He was one of the pillars in Rovers’ last season shock win against Manchester United at home and Blackburn fans will be hoping for an encore from him.

Verdict: Chelsea have lost their last 3 away games in the Premiership. One of them was a 1-0 defeat to Blackburn where Steven Reid scored the deciding goal.It will be tough for Chelsea to win at Ewood Park and they will have to put up an improved performance if they wish to get anything out of this game.The game is a perfect opportunity for the Chelsea stars to show their true mettle.Blackburn will be a tough nut to crack,but I expect Chelsea to nick this one perhaps just by an odd goal. 1-0.

The Minnesota Twins will make the short trip to Chicago to take on the White Sox tonight, in the beginning of a three game series. Going into the weekend set, the Detroit Tigers have a demanding five game lead over the White Sox, and a 5.5 game lead over the Twins. However, both teams are still actively involved in a run at the playoffs, as the White Sox currently sit in first place in the AL Wild Card race, and the Twins are only half a game behind. The two teams met just one week ago, where the Twins won two of three, in three highly contested ballgames. Both clubs have a mixture of veteran talent and young and upcoming prospects, which should make out for an excellent series, in which one of the teams can gain an advantage in the Wild Card race.

All three games of this series will feature excellent pitching matchups, and there is no exception in game one, as Brad Radke for the Twins squares off against Javier Vazquez for the White Sox. Radke is 12-9 on the season, with a 4.35 ERA, and pitched well against the White Sox a week ago, but was betrayed by his defense, and ultimately was given the loss. Vazquez also pitched well in his start against the Twins, but faced trouble in the third inning where he gave up four runs, adding to his 5.13 ERA, and notching another loss into his 11-8 record. Johann Santana and Jose Contreras are the scheduled starters for game two. Santana has been the Twins’ ace in 2006, leading the American league with his 3.03 ERA, and is in second place in the win column with his 15 wins and 5 losses. Contreras has also pitched exceptionally sound for the White Sox in 2006, posting an 11-6 record, and a 4.04 ERA. The series finale will be pitched by Carlos Silva and Mark Buerlhe. Silva has been very up and down this season, going on winning streaks, and also on losing streaks. Overall he is 8-11 on the year, with an astronomical 6.85 ERA. Buerlhe started off the 2006 season with great stuff, and excellent command, but has dropped off significantly as the season has progressed. In his last ten starts, Buerlhe is 1-7, with a 8.10 ERA, allowing over 80 hits and 51 earned runs. This tough stretch has dropped Buerlhe’s record to 10-11, and raised his ERA to 4.87.

Analysis: Both teams are great ballclubs – there is no denying that – but whoever wins this series will be the team with the better starting pitching. All three matchups are fairly even in the pitching matchups, and when you look at their offensive lineups you can honestly say it is also a toss up. Look for a series which may go into extra innings in multiple games, but a series in which the Twins will win two of three, and take over the lead in the AL Wildcard race.

Its the rematch of the FA Cup final of last season. And if the FA Cup final is anything to go by, we are in for a cracker as Liverpool entertain West Ham at Anfield. The Cup final was won by the Merseysiders on penalties after it ended 3-3 in regulation time.Liverpool will be looking to reinforce their superiority at Anfield while West Ham are still chasing their 150th Premier league victory after only being able to draw against  lowly Watford in midweek.

Buoyed by their qualification into the group stage of the Champions league, Liverpool will be looking for their first victory of this year’s Premiership campaign. But they have a long injury list to worry about. Jamie Carragher and John Arne Riise are sure to be absent in defence. And with Gabriel Palleta and Stephen Warnock likely to miss the game as well, the onus will be on the experienced heads of Hyppia and Finnan to marshal the defence. Mohammad Sissoko and Harry Kewell are the high-profile absentees in midfield. Gerrard and Xabi Alonso will start in the centre of midfield, while Pennant and Zenden will man the wings. Big money signing Dirk Kuyt should make his Premier league debut, but whether he will start or not is not sure. A 1-1 draw against Sheffield United was not the way the 5 time European champions would have liked to start their campaign and they will be keen to take all three points from this one.
West Ham were pushed on the backfoot at Vicarage Road and were lucky to escape with a point. They will have to improve their performance if they want to get out of Anfield with a point, if not all three. Talismanic winger Matthew Etherington is out of the clash with a knee injury and there are serious doubts over Lee Bowyer and Yossi Benayoun making the line-up. Bobby Zamora has made a thunderous start to the new season, scoring thrice in two games and will be Liverpool’s main threat. A win at Anfield would equal West Ham’s best ever start to the Premiership campaign, but as of now it looks highly unlikely.

My Verdict: Liverpool 2-1 West Ham. Robbie Fowler and Dirk Kuyt to score for the Reds. Zamora to nick one for the Hammers.West Ham have never won at Anfield so far and I do not expect that to change.

Both Arsenal and Manchester City would like to register their first wins of the new Premiership season when they meet at the City of Manchester Stadium this Saturday.

Arsenal nearly lost their first competitive game at their new home, the Emirates Stadium, but a late equaliser from Gilberto Silva ensured that the points were shared. Having beaten Dinamo Zagreb in midweek, Arsenal are high on confidence and would like to carry on their winning streak at Eastlands.

Team selection is a bit of a worry for Wenger. Jose Antonio Reyes is out with a groin injury. There will be no Freddie Ljungberg too for Wenger,with the Swedish medio’s ankle injury ruling him out of this clash. Henry and Adebayor will lead the line as always with Theo Walcott likely to make another substitute appearance. Another point of contention is the left back position. Matthew Flamini might just get the nod ahead of the confused Ashley Cole for the left back spot. Dashing Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky is likely to make his first Premiership appearance for the Gunners.
Manchester City are in a bit of a slump. Having picked up just a single point from their first two games, Psycho’s City have a lot of work to do. Nicky Weaver will mostly stand between the posts as Andreas Isaksson still needs ankle surgery. Bernardo Corradi will be available for selection after his red card-on-debut fiasco at Stamford Bridge. City have great problems on the left of midfield. They have no natural left-footed player to slot into that position and as a result we might see Claudio Reyna playing out of position on City’s left. Pearce would be tempted to go for a 4-3-3 too, with Samaras or Ismael Miller playing as the left forward. Ben Thatcher was very lucky to stay on the pitch in the Portsmouth game after his challenge on Pedro Mendes.However City have suspended Thatcher and Stephen Jordan might step in for him. Distin, Dunne and the prodigal figure of Micah Richards will man the defence for City ad will have their work cut out in stopping the likes of Henry and Walcott.

My verdict: Arsenal to win this one. It won’t be convincing. A 1-0 scrap perhaps. Psycho will try to make the game difficult for Arsenal. But City’s lack of striking finesse up front would ensure a clean sheet for Arsenal and a win by an odd goal.

Just a few weeks ago, the race in the AL West could not have been any tighter, with all four teams within a few games of each other.  Well anyone hoping for a four team race in September will be disappointed, as the Oakland Athletics have pulled away from the field, establishing a 4.5 game lead over the Angels, a 7.5 game lead over the Rangers, and a 14 game lead over the Mariners.  Despite pulling away within the division, the A’s do not have the luxury of losing baseball games, as they know they can lose their lead in the division just as quickly as they gained it.  That being said, the A’s will travel to Texas, to take on the Rangers in a three game series.  The A’s are coming off an up and down series against the Royals where they split the four games, and a three game series with the Blue Jays in which they won two of three.  That being said, the Rangers have been playing awful baseball as of late, losing three straight to the Devil Rays.

In game one, the lefty Barry Zito will take the mound against Edinson Volquez.  Zito has recovered in the second half of the season after a shaky start, posting a 13-8 record, and a 3.76 ERA.  Volquez is 1-2 on the year, with a 4.02 ERA, but is questionable to start because of a blister on his pitching thumb.  Volquez has been up and down so far in 2006, largely depending on the batters he is facing.  Opponent hitters batting lefty are hitting a mere .167, whereas the right-handers are hitting .342.  In game two, Joe Blanton and Adam Eaton will pitch for their respective teams, in what should be a high scoring game.  Blanton is 13-10 on the year, but has a high 4.47 ERA.  Eaton has a 3-3 record in 2006, but also has a high ERA of 4.45.  Dan Haren and Vicente Padilla are the scheduled starting pitchers for the series finale on Sunday.  Haren is 12-9 on the year, with a 3.79 ERA, and has won six consecutive games with some help from his offense.  Padilla has a 12-8 record, and a 4.38 ERA, and has struggled recently, allowing forty three hits in only thirty five innings within his last six starts.  Not to mention the fact that Padilla has struggled immensely against the A’s in 2006 with many of their big hitters.

Analysis:  The Rangers have fallen out of the race to make the playoffs, and will have difficulty on the pitching mound in this series.  Oakland has the clear momentum and also the strength on the mound.  Look for the Oakland A’s to sweep the series against the Rangers, and show that they are worthy to make the playoffs and be serious contenders for a World Championship.