Didn't quite make the monthly cut, finished (somewhere around) 3rd. Overall a good month though, ended up at 25-6 on locks for the month.
James Blake vs Milos Raonic
Now while the match isn't played on paper, I'd like to start with the rankings. Normally I hate rankings, all that is, is someone's opinion on which team is better than another. While tennis rankings are actually calculated, and thus, slightly more reliable, I still wouldn't pick on rankings. That being said, there is a HUGE ranking disparity in this one. Raonic is ranked 16th in the world compared to Blake who is 114th. That's a big difference. Now of course Blake is probably slightly better than that ranking (at one time he was 4th in the world) but has been having major knee problems since 2010. Additionally, Blake has only made it out of the first round once in his last four matches. Raonic has the highest percent of service games won in 2012. I'll take Raonic as my lock.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
August 7th
Lock: USA 3-0
Back to volleyball for my lock. The USA has won 3 straight matches by a score of 3-0. While the Dominican Republic lost only 1 game by a set score of 3-0, I think USA's group was stronger than the DR's. The USA is by far the best volleyball team, and so I like them to blow out the Dominicans
Back to volleyball for my lock. The USA has won 3 straight matches by a score of 3-0. While the Dominican Republic lost only 1 game by a set score of 3-0, I think USA's group was stronger than the DR's. The USA is by far the best volleyball team, and so I like them to blow out the Dominicans
Sunday, August 5, 2012
August 6th
Sorry I didn't post the lock yesterday, I was in a tight race for weekly and I didn't want to spoil my chances by letting my opponents know my lock, I ended up on 2 Jamaicans on the podium, which won, and I ended up in the top ten for the second straight week.
Will Gabby Douglas win gold?
This one seems easy. Gabby Douglas placed third in the uneven bars section of the all-around, and that competition didn't even include Tweddle and Kexin He, both of whom are uneven bars specialists. I'll gladly take any other competitor.
Will Gabby Douglas win gold?
This one seems easy. Gabby Douglas placed third in the uneven bars section of the all-around, and that competition didn't even include Tweddle and Kexin He, both of whom are uneven bars specialists. I'll gladly take any other competitor.
Friday, August 3, 2012
August 4th
Result of US vs Russia, US wins 3-0 or 3-1 vs AOR
The US has been on fire so far in the olympics, but I think they meet their match here and this match goes to the Russians. Either way, it will most likely be a hard fought match going 4 or 5 sets, I don't think either team will sweep 3-0, but I think the Russians end up winning, so I'm going to lock AOR.
The US has been on fire so far in the olympics, but I think they meet their match here and this match goes to the Russians. Either way, it will most likely be a hard fought match going 4 or 5 sets, I don't think either team will sweep 3-0, but I think the Russians end up winning, so I'm going to lock AOR.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
August 3rd
Result of US vs Serbia
Now this one is tough for me to lock because I almost lost the weekly prize by taking the US to win 3-0 over Korea, they basically collapsed and gave the 3rd set free to the Koreans before dominating the 4th like they dominated the first two. However, in three matches the U.S. has only lost 2 sets, and one was to a pretty strong Brazilian team (especially relative to Serbia) The Serbian team has only won 2 sets, stealing one from both China and Korea. The US beat China 3-0. I find it hard to convince myself the Serbians get a set, so I'll be going 3-0.
Now this one is tough for me to lock because I almost lost the weekly prize by taking the US to win 3-0 over Korea, they basically collapsed and gave the 3rd set free to the Koreans before dominating the 4th like they dominated the first two. However, in three matches the U.S. has only lost 2 sets, and one was to a pretty strong Brazilian team (especially relative to Serbia) The Serbian team has only won 2 sets, stealing one from both China and Korea. The US beat China 3-0. I find it hard to convince myself the Serbians get a set, so I'll be going 3-0.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
August 2nd
Who will have a better finish?
Alexander Raisman vs Gabby Douglas
The main reason this is even a prop is because in qualifying Raisman beat Douglas by .126 points. However, in qualifying Douglas notched only a 15.333 on the uneven bars, but her last two attempts on the uneven bars before that were 15.45 and 15.85, so I don't think she'll have any problem upping that score. Even more importantly, her floor score, 13.766, was the worst of anyone who qualified for the finals. She's scored as high as 15.8 on the floor. I have no doubt she does much better in the finals and takes silver, losing gold to Komova, though I wouldn't be shocked if she won gold either.
Alexander Raisman vs Gabby Douglas
The main reason this is even a prop is because in qualifying Raisman beat Douglas by .126 points. However, in qualifying Douglas notched only a 15.333 on the uneven bars, but her last two attempts on the uneven bars before that were 15.45 and 15.85, so I don't think she'll have any problem upping that score. Even more importantly, her floor score, 13.766, was the worst of anyone who qualified for the finals. She's scored as high as 15.8 on the floor. I have no doubt she does much better in the finals and takes silver, losing gold to Komova, though I wouldn't be shocked if she won gold either.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
August 1st
And so starts a new month! I was 29th last month, I hope to at least make the top ten board this time around.
Brazil wins by 2+ goals.
The biggest concern for Brazil has to be their defense. They're yet to keep a clean sheet, and this is against opponents of Belarus and Egypt (gross syntax on that sentence.) New Zealand might be the worst team in the Olympics, they'll need help and a win over Brazil to advance, so that's essentially impossible. Thus far they've given up 1 goal each to Belarus and Egypt, and only netted one themselves. I'd be very surprised if Brazil only scores one goal, and surely their coach will be harping on their defense to keep a clean sheet, so I'll take Brazil 2+, though this could also end up as a 4-0 blowout. Either way, I'd be surprised if New Zealand kept it close.
Brazil wins by 2+ goals.
The biggest concern for Brazil has to be their defense. They're yet to keep a clean sheet, and this is against opponents of Belarus and Egypt (gross syntax on that sentence.) New Zealand might be the worst team in the Olympics, they'll need help and a win over Brazil to advance, so that's essentially impossible. Thus far they've given up 1 goal each to Belarus and Egypt, and only netted one themselves. I'd be very surprised if Brazil only scores one goal, and surely their coach will be harping on their defense to keep a clean sheet, so I'll take Brazil 2+, though this could also end up as a 4-0 blowout. Either way, I'd be surprised if New Zealand kept it close.
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