For those unaware of what AI is, it´s artificial intelligence and this is currently being utilized on a variety of things that can range from video games to cars and even our own cell phones has AI integrated into them.

Siri and Cortana are types of artificial intelligence which is used in mobiles while in cars it´s being tested for automobiles that drive themselves without any kind of human interaction.

These are just a few of the examples on how artificial intelligence is being utilized, it´s important to take into consideration that there are many other cases and fields where it has already been implemented in different ways.

One of the more innovative or latest fields where it´s currently being experimented on, is involving the world of sports betting.

There is a startup by the name of: Stratagem is trying to find patterns in results of soccer and basketball matches with the objective of identifying ways to make money off of them. Continue reading →

Sam ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce once opined that top English Premier League clubs would havechasedhim vigorously had his name sounded Italian – an obvious tongue-in-cheekreference to the dearth of English men at the helm of affairs of top English clubs.

His argument wasn’t farfetched, opining that if he could get the results he got despite the small budgets and being under the whims of bigger fishes, who had what it took to pluck vital players off your team with the caprice of an interest and stroke of a pen; then it was only logical he would achieve far more success if given the chance at a bigger club where he wouldn’t have to worry about tight budgets and every other ugly duckling that befall small clubs.

Only the English national team offered reasonable chance to men of English origin to be in charge of a team brimming with talent. With the FA’s sacking of Roy Hodgson and the media-drums of Big Sam’s name, the 62-year old took the opportunity with both hands. Continue reading →

Barcelona take on Real Sociedad hoping to recover from an astronomical slip in form, which is threatening to end the season on a premature note.

The 2-0 loss against Malaga came about in surprising circumstances. Just when it seemed that Barcelona would be able to return to winning ways with the Champions League, the team suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Juventus. This quarter-final first leg result places the club at a serious disadvantage in terms of being able to reach thesemifinals. Last season, the club made an exit at a similar stage.

The game against Real Sociedad will be extremely tough for the Catalan club, who will be without Neymar for the game. The Brazilian striker is suspended for the match and he will be huge miss even though he has only scored nine league goals this season. Continue reading →

Joey Barton is a controversial football player that has had a history of being involved in legal issues due to his own actions and this has seen the English performer having to spent time in jail back in 2008 after being entangled in a street fight.

Fast forward to 2012 and Joey Barton received a 12 matches long suspension due to making a number of violent actions during a game in the Premier League. It’s 2017 now and Joey Barton is still involved in legal problems which could lead up to the 34 year old English player either returning to jail, being suspended once again or having to pay a fine.

The latest dispute that Joey Barton is being involved with is in relation to him placing over 1,200 bets on matches or tournaments in the span of around 10 years. Continue reading →

Retired top referee Howard Webb has said that Manchester United were denied a penalty kick after a foul on Antonio Valencia in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Saturday.

The former Premier League referee told BT Sport:

“I think on balance, it was a penalty. Was it cast-iron, stonewall penalty? No. I saw it in slow motion and the contact was less significant than I first thought. But do I think Monreal in his attempt to get the ball impeded him? Yes I do. I think it’s a penalty and I’m surprised Andre didn’t give it.

“I don’t think there would have been much reaction if he had and I’m sure [Arsene] Wenger would have been screaming for it down the other end.”

Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho did not direct his anger at the referee despite being visibly upset with the decision of the ref. Mourinho might have been watchful f his reactions as he recently served a one-match touchline ban after the FA deemed his reaction unfair to the officials. United had a foul during the 0-0 Burnley game denied and it made the Portuguese tactician furious.

Rather Mourinho said that he wanted to “reaffirm that the referee tried to do his best” in a news conference after the hard-fought match. Mourinho said he did not want to say what he thought about the decision, preferring to speak on other happenings in a game United almost won.

The score line was 0-0 when the Valencia incident happened but Man United eventually broke the deadlock in the 68th minute courtesy of Juan Mata. The playmaker dictated the pace of the game but was eventually substituted late in the game before the visitors equalized. Arsenal got a late goal through an Olivier Giroud header to share points with the hosts.

Crystal Palace was surfing in the bottom of the Premier League as they were in danger of being relegated until Tony Pulis was appointed as the new coach of the team in on November 23 of 2013.

Since Tony Pulis arrived at the Selhurst Park, the club has managed of securing important consecutive victories against Chelsea, Cardiff City, Aston Villa and Everton which has helped Crystal Palace on escaping the bottom relegation zone and get into the middle section of the tables.

The head coach of West Ham, Sam Allardyce talked to the france honduras cote site about the recent success of Tony Pulis in Crystal Palace as well as saying that it is a good thing for the British managers.

“We found that Palace were extremely tough when we played them away in December. We lost the game 1-0 because we couldn’t break down a well-drilled defensive outfit. They’ve improved both aspects since then so it will take thought as to how to break them down without leaving the back door open.

“Pulis’ success says a lot for the experienced British manager. There’s enough quality and experience to use in this country and he’s proven that quality and experience at Crystal Palace. He’s getting the best out of his team.” Allardyce stated.

Allardyce even supports Tony Pulis as he considers that the Crystal Palace should not only be nominated for the coach of the year award but should win it although he will be facing tough competition from Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers who is getting closer and closer on securing a league title with Liverpool which is something that no coach has been able to do in over 23 years.

Even if Pulis does not manage on actually winning the award, his work will still remembered by the fans and players of the club for the years to come.

Italy boss, Cesare Prandelli, insists that Germany will be favourites when the two sides meet in their Euro 2012 semi-final, on Thursday.

The Azzurri were impressive in their last-eight victory over England, but they were made to go the distance, and will meet a fresh Germany side in Warsaw.

“Germany are definitely the favourites, not least because they’ve had two more days to recover,” said Prandelli. “But if we show the same attitude and desire to win again, then we can expect to play another great match.”

Italy midfielder, Daniele De Rossi, and right-back, Ignazio Abate, are fitness concerns after they came off with muscle problems in Kiev, while centre-back, Giorgio Chiellini, and midfielder, Thiago Motta, sat out the quarter-final with hamstring injuries.

Fans placing online bets on Bet365 will need little encouragement to gamble on the fixture.

Prandelli admitted that much rests on getting those players back fit for the fierce challenge against Joachim Loew’s Germany, who go into the match with a 100 per cent record.

“We’re very satisfied but we’ve got to try to get the injured players back, as well as our force and energy,” added the Italy coach, who will also be without suspended defender, Christian Maggio.

Prandelli’s side controlled the game against England, but failed to take their chances, before holding their nerve to win 4-2 on penalties.

De Rossi and Alessandro Diamanti both hit the post with shots, while De Rossi and Mario Balotelli were guilty of spurning gilt-edged chances. Antonio Nocerino also had an effort ruled out for offside late in normal time.

“I wasn’t surprised – I knew we could dictate the play. Our only worry was about not conceding too many counters, but we did really well in stopping those before they developed,” said Prandelli.

A weary Italy outfit are unlikely to see as much of the ball against Germany; in fact, the soccer betting tips indicate that the Azzurri could struggle to end the match with anything other than a loss in Warsaw.

The English football Association has said that QPR midfielder Joey Barton should not be predicting the outcome of football matches on Twitter and various other social networking sites. This move comes as a major development in the fight against illegal football betting.

There have been various cases of illegal soccer betting in recent years, and it seems that social networking is only adding to the fuel.

Hence, the English football Association has come out with the decision to ban footballers from making tweets regarding the outcome of the football matches, which could in some way promote illegal soccer betting.

Even though this role will be mainly applicable to the players involved in the matches, the FA have taken the decision to warn most of the players who constantly tweet or use social networking sites. Some other players have been giving out information that might help punters with their Europa League betting.

QPR midfielder Joey Barton is one among them and there have already been complaints over the excessive usage of Twitter by the former England midfielder.

However, the newly appointed QPR manager Mark Hughes has said that the choice of using the various social networking sites rests entirely upon the person and it is something that he could not place a restriction upon. There have been different views regarding the usage of social networking by players.

“Just received my weekly warning letter from FA headquarters, this time regarding me tweeting about predicting the weekend’s Manchester double. According to the FA, I am not allowed to give my opinion of possible results in case that is seen as insider information. These people are so out of touch with reality it’s untrue,” Joey Barton said on his Twitter account.

Twitter has been somewhat beneficial for Joey Barton because it has helped him transform the bad boy image he has been acquiring at places like Manchester City and Newcastle United. I think I’m going to have to start following him – if only to get some euro 2012 betting tips!?