SportsBet Magazine - August 2017

SEPTEMBER 2017

THE ECONOMICS OF THE MEGABOUT

NFL + EPL PREVIEWS

PAY DAY

BOXER OR BRAWLER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS IN EVERY ISSUE

Letter from the Editor 8 Masthead 10 Fantasy Sports 22 Industry Insider: Sports Betting Academy 50 Handicapper Directory 85

IN FOCUS

MegaBout: Mayweather V McGregor12 NFL Season Preview 22 The Colin Kaepernick Debate 29 Fall Fashion 70

SPORTS

Boxing 12 NFL 22 Soccer 32 MLB 40 NBA 44 Tennis 52 Surfing 54 Horse Racing 58 AFL 64

M ANLINESS

70 74 76 77

Fall Fashion The Men’s Mode Griller’s Corner Manscaping 101

HEALTH & FITNESS

80 Health is Your Wealth:

Sleep Right, Be Right

TRAVEL

46 Luxury London

BUSINESS

71 Cryptocurrency

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

EDITOR’S LETTER It is with a true passion that I bring to you our September issue of SportsBet Magazine.

Authentic in our expert analysis, accurate in the reporting of stats, up to the moment sporting news, betting trends and events.

MICK MCCABE The fighting exhibition of a lifetime is upon us, the day

editor-in-chief CONTACT EMAIL: MICHAEL@ SPORTSBETMAGAZINE.COM @SPORTSBETMAG @SPORTSBETMAGAZINE

many sporting enthusiasts thought would never arrive.

The ultimate in combat sports Floyd Mayweather will take on Conor McGregor in a 12 round boxing affair in Las Vegas with 8oz gloves. This fight has truly been talked into existence and the biggest payday in sporting history will be delivered. Speaking of Sports, should it be considered such an event? There’s no prize, no belt, just an exhibition of two different techniques coming together? Some may say more theatrical than believable, but none the less these men are getting paid!

Boxing vs UFC, Beauty Vs Beast, it’s on!

NFL is back with the first touchdown set to take place on September 7th. Our analysts have been working relentlessly this Summer to bring you the most accurate forecasts, the best teams to watch and Fantasy studs and duds. After an offseason of drama and disappointments, Football is back and in a big way.

The September issue will bring you all the latest in the Mega Fight, NFL, MLB, AFL, Soccer, Tennis, and all sports in between. We hope you enjoy the issue and SportsBet Magazine will continue to be your ultimate resource for always coming out on top. Welcome to the issue and to SportsBet Magazine. Happy Punting!

310 640 8989

We fly to more countries than any other airline.

MASTHEAD

PUBLISHER Michael McCabe

EXECUTIVE M AN AGING EDITOR Ian Wilson

FOLLOW US THE SOCIAL MEDIA YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO MISS For all the latest sporting news, injury updates and betting trends, follow SportsBet Magazine.

M AN AGING EDITOR Mark Nicholas

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS James Howard Adam Charles

ART DIRECTOR Alexandrea Achacoso

MULTI- MEDI A DIGITAL DIRECTOR Shannon Dannetelle

PUBLIC REL ATIONS DIRECTOR Amy McCabe

PUBLIC REL ATIONS M AN AGER Jill Winkler

PHOTOGRAPHER Dominic Petruzzi

@SPORTSBETMAGAZINE #SPORTSBETMAGAZINE

WWW.SPORTSBETMAGAZINE.COM

CONTENT M AN AGER Gillian Harvey

SPORTS DIRECTOR Jason McNeil

FOR ALL ADVERTISING INQUIRIES CONTACT: Advertise@sportsbetmagazine.com

PAY DAY BOXING/UFC

POETRY OR WORKING CLASS BOXER OR BRAWLER BEAUTY OR BRUTAL BOXING OR UFC

THE SIDESHOW

FLOYD “MONEY” M AY WEATHER ESTIM ATED $300 MILLION FOR 36 MINUTES CONOR “NOTORIOUS” MCGREGOR ESTIM ATED $100 MILLION FOR 36 MINUTES Have they played the paying public for fools? Ok we all mostly admit we want to see it, touted by some as the exhibition of a lifetime, after all nobody walks away with a trophy or a belt rather a big fat heavy paycheck. How does this really depict our current society? Donald Trump is President? Lavar Ball is somehow a household name? Are we all played for fools?

Which leads us to the upcoming encounter between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

Mayweather, 40, is a boxer, one of the best of his generation. He’s also a pain in the ass and a notorious beater of women. McGregor, 29, is a mixed-martial arts sensation who has never boxed professionally and is likely to be tattooed even beyond

his present state of body art by Mayweather. The purse for this fight is said to be the biggest of all time. A ringside seat is said to cost $10,000+.

This is a festival for fools, a carnival of greed.

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor already have demonstrated that there is no bottom to this particular barrel and no reason to believe one will be located by the time the fight occurs on Aug. 26. The fighters’ traveling press rollout, which visited four cities in three countries in four days last month, had enough homophobia and racism to last months. Mayweather called McGregor a “f----t.” McGregor called Mayweather “boy.” McGregor rubbed Mayweather’s head, something made even UFC president

Dana White queasy, and White has a cast-iron stomach for that sort of thing.

Supposedly, in 2017, we are beyond using crude bigotry to hype a sporting event. Supposedly, in 2017, we have matured as a society.

By now, not only are the principles behind this fight lost, but the principals are, too. Mayweather and McGregor are already halfway to becoming vessels for some of the worst impulses in our society, impulses on which the reins have been loosened over the past two years. The spectacle surrounding this fight already has set modern standards for public vulgarity and ostentatious indecency, both of which will be richly rewarded by a public with an apparently insatiable appetite for bread and circuses.

CAN CAN MCGREGOR MCGREGOR BEAT BEAT MAYWEATHER? MAYWEATHER? MMA FIGHTERS WITH BOXING EXPERIENCE GIVE US THEIR TAKE

On Aug. 26, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will make his professional boxing debut against arguably the greatest boxer in a generation, which right there sounds like a borderline unsanctionable mismatch.

But that hasn’t stopped McGregor’s many ardent supporters from insisting that he has a good chance to beat Floyd Mayweather. They point to his size and strength. They point to Mayweather’s age (he turned 40 in February). They point to McGregor’s powerful left hand.

You put them all together, they say, and maybe you have a recipe for a McGregor upset. It’s a fight, after all.

And while McGregor might not have a single boxing match to his credit, he’s got plenty of fights.

A lot of the defenses that work in boxing are ones you can’t even use in MMA.” Davis learned that lesson the hard way. He began his pro boxing career when he was still just a teenager, but transitioned to MMA a decade later. In his boxing stance, Davis said, he couldn’t stop a takedown or check a leg kick. Head movement techniques that helped him avoid punches in boxing got him kicked in the face in MMA. Trying to cover up with four-ounce gloves didn’t provide the same protection, and the fights often took place at completely different ranges.

It was a rough transition at first.

Still, those fighters with considerable experience in both sports say they aren’t optimistic about McGregor’s chances. While both boxing and MMA are built around two people punching each other in the face, ?the differences between the two sports are more numerous and more significant than many fans realize, according to those who’ve done both.

“But then sometimes I’d go to MMA gyms, and people who knew I boxed would want to put on the gloves and do some boxing sparring with me,” Davis said. “And when we did that, and I could use all my old boxing tricks, my boxing stance and defense, then I’d just destroy them.

They just couldn’t touch me because it was a completely different game.

I knew how to play that game, and they didn’t.”

“They’re not the same sport,” said Marcus Davis, a retired veteran of 20 pro boxing bouts and more than 30 MMA fights, nearly half of which took place in the UFC. “Once you understand that it’s not the same sport, you can’t keep telling yourself that it’s just a fight. The gloves are bigger, the tactics are different.

The same was true for Chris Lytle, a veteran of more than 50 MMA bouts and 15 professional boxing matches. He often trained for both sports at more or less the same time, showing up to fight gyms looking to do whichever kind of sparring was available that day. But his experience in boxing quickly taught

him his limits.

“I thought I was a very good boxer,” Lytle said. “But I was definitely not a great boxer or an elite boxer, and there’s a real difference.”

It’s for that reason, Lytle said, that he’s not expecting much out of McGregor. While he regards Mayweather as “probably my least favorite fighter on the planet,” Lytle also has to be realistic about the difference in skills and experience.

“Conor, he’s a very good and maybe even a great striker for MMA,” Lytle said. “But there is a very big difference between boxing striking and MMA striking. Let’s say you think Conor is a good boxer, which is a pretty big compliment for someone who’s never had a boxing match. But even then, he’s definitely not a great boxer or an elite boxer, and Floyd doesn’t get hit by elite boxers.”

K.J. Noons, who competed professionally as both a boxer and a kickboxer in addition to his MMA career, likened the difference between the combat sports to the difference between tennis and racquetball.

“They’re both sports where you’re hitting a ball with a racquet, but they’re also very different,” Noons said. “One’s all wrist, and one is no wrist. It’s a similar thing with boxing and MMA.” That’s not to say there aren’t options open to McGregor.

Cub Swanson, an MMA fighter who’s trained extensively with pro boxers, recommended a strategy that pushes the boundaries of the rules. His own sparring with boxers has taught him how different the sports can be.

While boxers often fight right on top of each other, trying to establish a jab the same way in an MMA fight can result in punches that fall short by half a foot or more.

Instead of trying to match technical boxing skills with Mayweather, Swanson said, McGregor needs to make things messy.

“If it was me against Mayweather, I would grab him and dirty box and just do as much as I could that the referee would allow me to of grabbing and hitting and trying to slow him down before starting to chuck at his head,” Swanson said.

“You’re not going to out-slick him in boxing. He makes amazing boxers look bad, so why box him?”

But as Lytle cautioned, that’s an approach that’s been tried before, only to be abandoned by those who attempted it.

“Everybody thinks the way to get him is to pressure him, make it a dirty, nasty fight, because you’re not going to outbox him,” Lytle said.

“But everybody who’s tried, after two or three rounds they stop pressuring him. Floyd must have a little more pop than everybody thinks. Nobody’s been able to make that work

against him.”

According to Davis, the real enemy for McGregor may be the sheer frustration of fighting a defensive genius like Mayweather.

“He’s going to have to work really hard just to get a clean look at him, but when he thinks he has an opportunity to hit him, then Floyd will tie him up,” Davis said.

“I think he’s going to get desperate, he’s going to start lunging, because he’ll realize he can’t lay a glove on him. That’s when I think he’ll start getting hit with the harder shots, and I think he’ll probably get stopped within six rounds. If McGregor can make it more than six rounds, that looks bad for boxing.”

Even the hope that Mayweather’s age will slow him down enough for McGregor to catch him rings false for Lytle. He watched as Roy Jones Jr., long one of Lytle’s favorites, slowed down enough for younger boxers to begin tagging him with the same punches that never came close years earlier.

“The difference with Floyd is that he’s a technically very sound boxer,” Lytle said. “Floyd might be getting older, but he doesn’t take those chances that Roy did, where he would fight with his hands down and rely on his speed. Floyd has his hands in position the whole time, his head in position, his shoulder in position, plus he’s fast and athletic.”

But even if he’s not expecting a competitive fight, that doesn’t mean Lytle won’t watch.

“I’m sure I’m going to watch it,” he said. “Of course I am. I’ve got to see the spectacle train wreck just like everybody else. But I know I’m going to leave disappointed. If Conor is able to land five clean punches the entire fight, and I’m not talking body shots, I’ll be impressed.”

As for Davis, he’s less committed to actually seeing the fight. He “won’t spend a dime” of his own money, he said, but if a friend invited him over to watch?

“Yeah, I might go watch,” Davis said. “Or I might wait and catch the highlights on Facebook, because every fight that ever happens you know you can find at least some highlights, and that might be enough for me. There’s no way this becomes competitive.”

Noons is holding out slightly more hope for a McGregor surprise.

Everyone with two fists and a willingness to throw them has a chance, he said, even if it’s not a great one. But whether McGregor can win is almost beside the point for him.

“Will it be competitive?” Noons said.

“I don’t know. But it’s fun; it’ll bring eyes to the sport. At the end of the day, it’s entertainment. I’m going to watch it for sure.”

BETTING * FLOYD M AY WEATHER JR 1.22 CONOR MCGREGOR 4.50 FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE? YES 3.2 NO 1.36 ME THOD OF VICTORY INFORM ATION M AY WEATHER JR POINTS OR DECISION M AY WEATHER JR KO, TKO OR DISQUALIFICATION DRAW MCGREGOR POINTS OR DECISION MCGREGOR KO, TKO OR DISQUALIFICATION

3.5 1.75 26 26 5

THE ECONOMICS & THE NUMBERS 0: In case you’re unaware, it’s the number of times McGregor, on the verge of facing a consensus all-time great, has stepped into a ring for an officially sanctioned amateur or professional boxing match. He has, however, had 24 mixed martial arts matches, winning 21 and scoring 18 stoppages.

5: Number of professional weight classes in which Mayweather, who began punching for pay at age 19, has won sanctioned world championships. He earned his first belt, at 130 pounds, in 1998, and has since added jewelry at 135 (2002), 140 (2005), 147 (2006) and 154 (2007).

50-0: The pro record Mayweather would reach with a win, eclipsing the 49-0 mark established by heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano between 1947 and 1955.

No other widely recognized world champion has retired with a better record with zero losses and zero draws.

TMT50 and TBE50: The trademarks applied for by Mayweather Productions with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. TMT is short for “The Money Team,” while TBE stands for “The Best Ever.”

19.5 million: The number of buys

Mayweather has helped generate as a pay-per-view fighter, including the three most-purchased bouts in history—2.4 million against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, 2.2 million against Canelo Alvarez in 2013 and 4.6 million against Manny Pacquiao in 2015. $600 million: The total projected gross revenue for the bout, which would place it second only to the aforementioned MayweatherPacquiao show two years ago. $235: The proceeds of the public assistance check cashed by McGregor, shortly before his UFC debut in 2013.

substitute opponent Nate Diaz in 2016.

11, 1 and 2: The chronological and statutory advantages—in age (29 to Mayweather’s 40), height (5’9” to Mayweather’s 5’8”) and reach (74 inches to Mayweather’s 72)—that McGregor will have when he enters the T-Mobile Arena.

2,170 days: The length of time, come fight night, that will have elapsed since Mayweather last scored an inside-the-distance victory, via fourth-round KO against Victor Ortiz.

$4.8 million: The price tag for the rare luxury car, a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita, that Mayweather added to his collection in 2015. The magazine said the ride maxes out at 254 mph and goes from 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds.

13 seconds: The amount of time it took McGregor to stop Jose Aldo for his signature UFC win, capturing the organization’s featherweight (145 pounds) championship in December 2015. He’s since picked up the UFC lightweight (155 pounds) belt as well.

154 pounds: The agreed-upon weight for the Aug. 26 fight.

Mayweather, most recently a full-time welterweight, has previously ventured into the junior middleweight for defeats of De La Hoya, Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. His heaviest weigh-in number was 151 pounds against Cotto. McGregor, meanwhile, fought at a 170-pound limit for a stoppage loss against

22 seconds: Duration of the sparring video released by the UFC showing McGregor working with former two-division world champion Paulie Malignaggi. Malignaggi has since left the McGregor camp and claimed on social media that the clip, including what McGregor labeled a knockdown, wasn’t at all representative of the 36 total minutes of sparring.

FOOTBALL

→ FANTASY FOOTBALL STUDS & DUDS TO U N L O C K 2017 /18 SUCCESS

Fantasy Football season has finally arrived. No more days trying to fill in your lunch break with boring activities or silly reality shows. Now it’s common knowledge to load up on big-name running backs and wideouts. Most likely understand quarterback is an eye-of-the-beholder ordeal too. Whether a player is worth a pick outright is something of a roll of the dice, though. Each year, some guys will retain stud status without a problem, but the entire list starts to look like a minefield thanks to potential duds who fall off for various reasons, whether it’s age, schematic changes or otherwise.

Here’s a look at a potential stud and dud for 2017 at each of the key spots.

QB

STUD: DREW BREES, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

It isn’t time for fantasy owners to shy away from New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees just yet.

Brees might be 38, but the offense and weapons around him ensure he won’t have a sudden dud-like performance in 2017. He’s thrown north of 4,000 yards every year dating back to 2005 and in that span hasn’t missed more than a game during a regular season.

The best part might be Brees’ average draft position (ADP), which has him coming off the board at 4.06. He’s the perfect target for owners who want to bridge the gap between ignoring the position for a few rounds and still grabbing an elite signal-caller to plug and play every week.

DUD: T YROD TAYLOR, BUFFALO BILLS Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor quietly finished as a top-10 scorer at his position a year ago. The team has since added notable rookie wideout Zay Jones, reliable target Anquan Boldin and traded for Jordan

Matthews. But the Bills also traded away Sammy Watkins.

On one hand, Taylor didn’t have Watkins on the field often. On the other, he’s relying on a rookie and a 36-year-old wideout to act as his main targets who can keep defenses honest. It’s a risky play for owners, especially when rising names like Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz keep popping up by the year.

RB

STUD: DAVID JOHNSON, ARIZON A CARDIN ALS David Johnson isn’t anything close to a one-hit wonder. The Arizona Cardinals decided to finally unleash the Northern Iowa product in 2016 and took owners along for the ride.

He led all backs in scoring, with 327.8 points, as the lone one to break the 300-point barrier on the back of 1,239 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns as a rusher and another 879 and four as a receiver. Given the aging offense in Arizona and the desire to contend

season above names such as Julian Edelman and Dez Bryant while regressing from 14 to seven touchdowns (expected, but still). He’s not going to climb higher, but Seattle hasn’t added much in the way of players who will steal his targets, and he’s one of the most reliable names on the player list, last year inhaling 94 of those 126 targets.

DUD: JARVIS L ANDRY, MI AMI DOLPHINS Not all target hogs are equal. Miami Dolphins wideout Jarvis Landry received 131 a year ago, catching 94 of them and being unable to register a top-15 performance at the position by the end of the season.

Landry is a monster in points-perreception (PPR) formats, but he has averaged all of 10.6 yards per catch before quarterback Carson Palmer departs, it only makes sense Johnson will keep seeing 300-plus touches and produce in similar fashion.

DUD: DEM ARCO MURRAY, TENNESSEE TITANS DeMarco Murray finished as one of 2016’s bigger surprises, posting 240.8 points in workhorse fashion to land fifth in scoring among running backs.

The problem, though, is the team added Derrick Henry in the second round of the 2016 draft and fed him 110 attempts to Murray’s 293.

Murray wound up scoring nine times while rushing for 4.4 yards per carry, but he’s 29, and it’s not hard to see why the coaching staff might look to keep him fresh by evening out the workload. As the Titans keep adding weapons like rookie Corey Davis to the passing game, it’s hard to see Murray getting another career-high 67 targets, either.

WR

STUD: DOUG BALDWIN, SEAT TLE SEAH AWKS It’s entirely too easy to sleep on Seattle Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin. Baldwin is an iron man of wideouts, having missed just two games since 2012. He happens to be a target monster too, receiving north of 100 targets in each of his past two seasons.

A year ago, Baldwin turned the attention into a top-10 wideout

during his career and has scored only four touchdowns in each of his past two seasons. It gets worse: Landry flirted with dud status before taking into account DeVante Parker is breathing down his neck and swapping out signal-caller Ryan Tannehill for Jay Cutler.

TE

STUD: KYLE RUDOLPH, MINNESOTA VIKINGS Most owners might have left the Minnesota Vikings for dead once Sam Bradford assumed the starting role under center, yet the biggest winner of the ordeal was tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Line-of-scrimmage usage or not, Rudolph wound up leading the team in targets at 132, getting him to 840 yards and seven touchdowns, good for a top-three performance at the position. It doesn’t seem like much

will change in Minnesota this year, even if the Vikings hope for a bigger output from young weapons such as Laquon Treadwell. Bradford remains under center and won’t forget the rapport he has with his tight end, who happens to have an ADP of 9.02.

DUD: CAMERON BRATE, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS Cameron Brate catapulted himself into household-name status a year ago by exploding for a top-six season at tight end.

That didn’t stop the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from selecting O.J. Howard at No. 19 in the 2017 draft.

Brate’s usage won’t necessarily go the way of the dinosaur thanks to the presence of a rookie tight end, but it’s important to keep in mind the offense also added wide receiver DeSean Jackson to the mix, making it unlikely he slots in the top 10 again.

→ FOOTBALL FEVER NFL IS BACK!

With NFL training camps completed and now midway through pre season at the time of print, all 32 teams have largely taken form for 2017. So before injuries, benchings, firings and (more) suspensions start shaping the season, here's our annual prediction of how the season will unfold with record projections for each team based on picking all 256 games.

NFC EAST

New York Giants (11-5): They open with four of six on the road. Survive that stretch and maybe establish some semblance of a ground game to complement their aerial weapons, and the Giants should take out the division.

Dallas Cowboys (10-6): The league should be ready for Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott assuming he isn't suspended for the entire 6 matches.

Reports are mixed, so its dificult to speculate. This time around, that celebrated O-line is breaking in two new starters and the defense could be a hot mess. Still, there's no denying this club's offensive

firepower. The Cowboys play four of their five November games at home, a good point to make a move in the standings. I still think Dak and Zeke were made to look a lot better than they are with the most talented O/ line in Football.

Philadelphia Eagles (9-7): The offensive line is intact, and Carson Wentz has some fancy new weapons.

But the defensive front seven better dominate, or else that shaky secondary could be fatally exposed.

Back-to-back West Coast games in December make things tough.

Washington Redskins (5-11):The questions about Kirk Cousins' future will be on constant loop. And he may not enjoy the present all that much after losing two 1,000-yard receivers.

The defense has to be spectacular.

NFC NORTH

Green Bay Packers (12-4): They open against Seattle and at Atlanta and only play at Lambeau twice after Thanksgiving. Still, they should once again be the class of this division.

Minnesota Vikings (8-8): They don't look significantly different from last

year's edition. The defense should again be special and Sam Bradford steady. Despite some free agent additions, the O-line could still be a weakness, though newcomers Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook should ensure Vikes don't again own league's worst rushing attack.

Playing five of their first seven at U.S. Bank Stadium should set the tone.

Detroit Lions (7-9): It just feels like they lived on the edge way too often in 2016, and smoke and mirrors may not be enough against this year's lineup. However if DE Ziggy Ansah rebounds, and RB Ameer Abdullah finally gets going, cynicism could turn to optimism.

Chicago Bears (4-12): None of their first six opponents finished below .500 in 2016 quite a stern test for a club coming off a franchise recordtying 13 losses and breaking in at least one new quarterback.

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons (12-4): They may have the most loaded roster in the league and should get a boost opening their new stadium. The

big questions about the NFC champs are the dreaded Super Bowl hangover and the Falcons went on an unprecedented bender. The loss of OC Kyle Shanahan and a midseason stretch of four road games in five weeks that includes trips to New England and Seattle.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7): They seem poised to make their first playoff appearance in a decade after diversifying a lopsided offense with WR DeSean Jackson and rookie TE O.J. Howard. RB Doug Martin is apparently recharged, too, though he remains suspended for three games. They'll see Falcons twice and Packers once during Weeks 12-15.

New Orleans Saints (8-8): Same old Saints? Adding Adrian Peterson to the backfield provides great intrigue, yet this team still looks like it will be in a shootout every week. And will it survive the first month? The Saints open with three of four on the road, including a game in London, and

their only Superdome game in that stretch is a visit from former WR Brandin Cooks and the Patriots.

Carolina Panthers (8-8): Cam Newton has a surgically rebuilt arm and must settle into a surgically rebuilt offense that could be a real departure from what typically made Carolina successful before last year's disaster. October looks rough with just one of five games in Charlotte, and that's a tough Thursday nighter against Philly.

NFC WEST

Seattle Seahawks (11-5): They're still the divisional front runners, especially with Russell Wilson and Earl Thomas healthy again. But a tough non-divisional road schedule (Packers, Titans, Giants, Cowboys) and even a 1 p.m. ET start in Jacksonville could make it awfully tough to earn an extended stay at CenturyLink Field in January. They are also dealing with the rumors of Richard Sherman and his QB not

being over friendly in the locker room.

Arizona Cardinals (10-6): They've got a special, special player in David Johnson. But will Carson Palmer and Tyrann Mathieu max out their abilities again? And how long can Larry Fitzgerald (league-high 107 catches), who will be 34 next month, handle such a heavy workload?

(NOTE: In our projection, the Cardinals failed to earn a wild card based on a worse conference record than the Giants or Buccaneers.)

Los Angeles Rams (4-12): They're a young team undergoing significant resets on both sides of the ball. And after opening with two winnable games (Colts, Redskins) at home, the Rams play five of the next six away from the L.A. Coliseum, including a "home" game in London bracketed

by East Coast games in Jacksonville and New York.

San Francisco 49ers (2-14): Even

if the records match, they should be a better team than Chip Kelly's 2-14 club from 2016. But the talent base is largely deficient and so is the players' familiarity with what new coaches want them to do on either side of the ball.

AFC EAST

New England Patriots (16-0): Is it bold? Sure. Kinda. But it's not like Tom Brady hasn't gone 16-0 before ... (and, really, wouldn't he and Bill Belichick secretly love to add 19-0 to their otherwise incomparable resumes?). And from the FWIW department, Brady went 14-1 last season and appears to be surrounded by an even better cast now, especially if Rob Gronkowski is, in fact, back to 100%. The division should be a cakewalk, and even one

of New England's toughest road games against the Raiders will be at a neutral site (Mexico City). The most difficult stretch comes from Weeks 13-15, when the Pats play at Buffalo, at Miami (where they typically struggle) and at Pittsburgh coming off a short week Dec. 17.

Miami Dolphins (7-9): Coming off a playoff campaign in coach Adam Gase's rookie season, much obviously rides on the health and continued development of Ryan Tannehill. The schedule isn't all that friendly, with trips to the West Coast, London, a road date with Baltimore on a Thursday and December trips to Buffalo and Kansas City.

Buffalo Bills (4-12): New regime.

New schemes. Tough schedule against the NFC South and AFC

West.

New York Jets (1-15): Some Jets fans would tell you this is a glass half-full assessment. The first two games are on the road and so are three of the last four.

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): With the exception of an October foray to Kansas City, which concludes an opening stretch of four of six on the road, Pittsburgh's most challenging non-divisional games will occur at Heinz Field.

Baltimore Ravens (9-7): Maybe a little heat on John Harbaugh after missing postseason three of the past four years. Tough break hosting the Steelers on Oct. 1 just seven days

after playing in London.

Cincinnati Bengals (5-11): The offensive line's outlook is troubling, to say the least, especially with three consecutive road games against stout defensive teams (Jacksonville, Tennesee, Denver) in November.

And will Marvin Lewis' lame duck status only ratchet up the pressure on a team that tends to underachieve when it counts most?

Cleveland Browns (4-12): Even if they only improve by three games in the win column, not insignificant I expect this outfit to be far more competitive as its nucleus of talent continues to coalesce.

AFC SOUTH

Tennessee Titans (12-4): Only a tiebreaker (for a woeful 2-4 division record) kept this rising club out of postseason last year. As long as Marcus Mariota remains on the field, the Titans might not only turn the corner but roar around it. They will hit a rough patch from Weeks 1115, with a Thursday night game in Pittsburgh and consecutive games on the West Coast as part of a stretch when they play four of five away from Nashville.

Houston Texans (9-7): We know, Bill O'Brien has never failed to go 9-7 in any of his three seasons. But when your team's top two quarterbacks have two combined NFL starts, it's easy to foresee a season that serves as one step back before two steps forward occur in 2018.

Jacksonville Jaguars (7-9): Everything looks to be in place — a potentially dominant defense, upgraded O-line and (most exciting for Jags fans) rookie RB Leonard Fournette — to restore this franchise to relevance ... if Blake Bortles can get back on track. The team will make its annual pilgrimage for a London "home" date in Week 3, immediately followed by two more road trips. If the Jags weather that, maybe they can make a run in December, which begins with three straight at EverBank Field.

Indianapolis Colts (5-11): How healthy, really, is Andrew Luck

coming off major shoulder surgery?

How much protection can he realistically expect from what's been a suspect line, not to mention a running back (Frank Gore) who just turned 34? And that defense ....

Making two West Coast trips in the first month to face rude defenses (Rams, Seahawks) could be telling.

AFC WEST

Oakland Raiders (11-5): They open the season with three of four on the road and play their final two games away from Oakland, including the season's final Monday night affair on the East Coast (Philadelphia).

In between, they'll play three consecutive homes games on two separate occasions, but one of those will occur against the Patriots in Mexico City not exactly The Black Hole. This record depends on a 100% healthy return of Derek Carr.

Los Angeles Chargers (9-7): Plenty to overcome, most notably adaptation to a new city and the smallest venue in the league (the StubHub Center will host its first NFL games in Weeks 2-4). Then there are personnel changes coming to the offensive line and a major schematic overhaul defensively. Still, the Bolts have done a nice job restocking their talent pool, especially on defense, and have the juice to be L.A.'s first playoff club since the 1993 Raiders.

If they can break the injury hoodoo, they are a solid unit!

Kansas City Chiefs (8-8): Of their five non-divisional road opponents, four were playoff teams last year (Patriots, Texans, Cowboys, Giants) ... as if their AFC West battles didn't present challenge enough. But if the Chiefs can hold it together until December, playing at Arrowhead from Weeks 14-16 could give them a decisive edge. They have a tough schedule and lost a few offensive weapons.

Denver Broncos (7-9): They've got major questions at quarterback ... and running back ... and on both lines. Also, a schedule front loaded with home games and a Week 5 bye means the Broncos won't be in Denver for seven of the final 11 weeks. That will hurt

this mile high unit. If you ask me, they missed their window of Super Bowl contention by not adding a legitimate immediate impact Quarterback to a defense that won them a ring.

A F C P L AY O F F S

Wild card: (6) Chargers def. (3) Titans; (4) Raiders def. (5) Ravens Divisional: (4) Raiders def. (2) Steelers; (1) Patriots def. (6) Chargers AFC Championship Game: (1) Patriots def. (4) Raiders NFC playoffs Wild card: (6) Giants def. (3) Cowboys; (4) Seahawks def. (5) Buccaneers Divisional: (2) Packers def. (4) Seahawks; (1) Falcons def. (6) Giants NFC Championship Game: (2) Packers def. (1) Falcons Super Bowl LII: Patriots def.

Packers

→ THE COLIN KAEPERNICK DEBATE Last Season, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a widespread movement to bring attention to police brutality and the systematic oppression of minorities in the United States by refusing to stand for the national anthem. Simultaneously, he launched himself into the center of a polarizing conversation over the state of race relations in the country, and the meaning of patriotism.

Fast forward to 2017 and Colin Kaepernick is now unemployed and not even signed as a backup QB in the NFL. Has the NFL Black Balled Colin

Kaepernick?

To be clear Kaepernick managed the 17th-best quarterback rating last season among starters while coming back from injury. His touchdown percentage was 13th best, better than Washington’s Kirk Cousins, who wound up in the Pro Bowl and with a new franchise-tag contract worth $24 million this season.

His interception percentage was sixth, just behind Aaron Rodgers and just ahead of MVP Matt Ryan.

And Kaepernick did all of that on a team that was abysmal because of disarray in its ownership and front office, as well as its sidelines.

Kaepernick, not yet 30, was not without failure on the field. His yards per attempted pass was in the bottom third of the league, but so was Eli Manning’s. He was one of just six starting quarterbacks not to achieve at least a 60 percent completion rate.

Yet, 37-year-old Josh McCown, who completed just 54.5 percent of his passes last season and posted an anemic passer rating of 72.3, was awarded a new contract earlier this week by the New York Jets.

Truth is, Kaepernick’s numbers have nothing to do with what entering

Thursday became his 4th week of unemployment in the league.

However what has everything to do with his predicament is optics, the same one that ultimately derailed other African American athletes, for example Craig Hodges.

Call it audaciousness. It wasn’t just that Kaepernick last season dramatically protested the extrajudicial killings of mostly unarmed black men in this country by police who rarely get charged for their actions, let alone prosecuted or convicted. It was that he chose the anthem as his platform. By kneeling during its rendition, he appeared to mar the package of patriotism the NFL put together over the last half century that helped it overtake baseball as America’s sporting pastime. The NFL juxtaposed itself to the urban sports of baseball and basketball.

It became the sport of America’s burgeoning suburbs, where many white families sought solace from rebellion in big cities. As a result, the NFL became the sport of middleand working-class white America, whose distaste for Kaepernick’s

pro-#BlackLivesMatter, apparent anti-police stance, was summed up Monday night in Louisville by the new president who carried most of that NFL demographic.

“Your San Francisco quarterback, I’m sure nobody ever heard of him,” President Trump said of the NFL player who made transcendent news last season. “There was an article recently, it’s reported, that NFL owners don’t want to pick him up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump.

Can you believe that?”

What I can believe is that the NFL’s coldness toward Kaepernick is not accidental or rooted in analytics, advanced or otherwise. It may not have come down directly from commissioner Roger Goodell’s office, or up from the owners but is some way shape or form is clear to the public eye, it in fact exists.

But the NFL doesn’t have a rule like the NBA’s H-2 under Player/Team Conduct and Dress that demands: “Players, coaches and trainers are to stand and line up in a dignified

posture along the sidelines or on the foul line during the playing of the National Anthem.” As a result, a stiff arm in free agency was the only punishment for Kaepernick available to the NFL for his remonstration during its game’s manufactured opening.

Kaepernick is being made an example of by the NFL not unlike Hodges was in the NBA for his fearless departure from the prescribed behavior of athletes, particularly those of color.

It doesn’t matter that there are laws, rooted in freedom of speech, in some places in this country that protect employees from punishment by their employers due to their political views or activities. Washington, D.C., is one such place. California, where Kaepernick played since entering the league as a rookie in 2011, is another.

What Kaepernick dared to do was bold and brave, however the NFL may view it as dipping your pen in the company ink.

Unless and until Kaepernick is back in the league under a contract commensurate with his résumé, blackballing is football’s payback.

SOCCER

→ PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW The Premier league is back in action for its 26th season. We preview all 20 elite organizations and players to watch for season 2017/18.

ARSENAL

The disappointment of finishing fifth and missing out on a Champions League place was somewhat mitigated by winning the FA Cup last season, but Arsenal will be determined to come back with a vengeance in 2017-18.

While uncertainty surrounds the futures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, the fact that both players have reported back with the club ahead of the new campaign is a positive sign.

Arsene Wenger’s future was resolved last term after he signed a new twoyear contract and the Frenchman has been busy during the summer, adding much-needed reinforcements in the form of Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac to the club.

ONE TO WATCH: ALEXANDRE L ACAZE T TE

With 37 goals in all competitions last season, Alexandre Lacazette was one of the top scorers in European football. The France international almost single-handedly hauled Lyon into a fourth-place Ligue 1 finish as well as finding the net in the Champions League and Europa League. Lacazette brings a different dimension to the Gunners attack and has looked impressive in pre-season.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 5TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 6TH

BOURNEMOUTH

Eddie Howe guided Bournemouth to their highest ever league finish last season as they secured a top-half berth in the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.

The Cherries have managed to hold on to their key players as well as add quality in the form of Asmir Begovic and Jermain Defoe, while Nathan Ake returned to the club on permanent deal in a £20m move.

Considering his performance at the helm of the south coast side, there

will be added expectation on Howe to deliver yet more forward strides in 2017-18, but the main aim will be to consolidate the progress they have made thus far.

ONE TO WATCH: JOSHUA KING

Norway international Joshua King was Bournemouth’s top goalscorer last season and the forward has come a long way since his time as a youth at Manchester United.

Now 25, King demonstrated tremendous maturity during the 2016-17 campaign and he will look to lead from the front once more in the upcoming season.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 9TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 12TH

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION

Chris Hughton’s side were beaten to the Championship title by Rafa

Benitez’s Newcastle United last season, but there was very little between the teams as they swept to promotion.

As a result, the Seagulls are embarking on their first ever Premier League campaign in 2017-18 and, while there may be a steep learning curve in store, their squad has plenty of experience, as well as a sprinkling of quality.

Hughton has spread his net as far as the Bundesliga and La Liga for reinforcements, with Mathew Ryan joining from Valencia, while Pascal Gross and Mark Suttner arrive from Ingolstadt.

Their main aim will be survival, but they are certainly capable of springing a few upsets along the way.

However, with a home game against Manchester City in the first weekend, they are in for a baptism of fire.

ONE TO WATCH: ANTHONY KNOCKAERT

Former Leicester winger Anthony Knockaert will feel that he has a point to prove in the Premier League, having failed to make his mark in the division with the Foxes.

The 25-year-old was named the Championship Player of the Year for 2016-17 after hitting 15 goals from midfield on the way to promotion and he possesses the kind of star quality that is required at the highest level.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 2ND (CH AMPIONSHIP, AUTOM ATIC PROMOTION) PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 17TH

BURNLEY

Having successfully steered Burnley away from relegation last season, Sean Dyche will be expected to repeat that feat this term and perhaps make some improvements, but it will be a difficult task.

The Clarets have lost one of their key men in Michael Keane, who joined Everton during the summer, and their acquisitions this summer have not been particularly exciting.

Nevertheless, additions such as Jon Walters and Jack Cork bring with

them much-needed experience in key areas.

While they have not pulled up many trees in pre-season, Burnley have looked like a solid unit and, just like last season, will be a difficult proposition for visiting teams at Turf Moor.

ONE TO WATCH: ROBBIE BRADY

Robbie Brady arrived at Burnley from Norwich City in January last season and the Republic of Ireland international showed glimpses of his quality in 14 league appearances, but his stellar showing in a 1-1 draw against eventual champions Chelsea stands out due to the brilliant free kick he curled past Thibaut Courtois.

The former Manchester United starlet has been scoring in pre-season and can push on to the next level this year to become a key man for Sean Dyche’s side.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 16TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 19TH

CHELSEA

Antonio Conte pulled off an impressive feat in his first term at Stamford Bridge, pioneering a new tactical approach with Chelsea as they finished seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.

However, it will inevitably be a different story this season as Chelsea add the Champions League to their fixture schedule and prepare to contend with stronger challenges from their rivals, who have all strengthened.

In addition, the loss of Nemanja Matic to Manchester United and the impending departure of Diego Costa will surely see a change in style, which may not necessarily be for the better.

the services of Alvaro Morata and plenty will be demanded of the former Real Madrid forward as a result.

A two-time Champions League winner, Morata has already proven himself in both Serie A and La Liga, so Conte will expect him to hit the ground running in the Premier League. The 24-year-old offers versatility in attack and contributes his fair share of assists as well as goals.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 1ST PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 5TH

C R Y S TA L PA L A C E

Frank de Boer has taken the reins at Selhurst Park, replacing Sam Allardyce as the Eagles’ boss.

The former Ajax and Inter coach will bring an altogether different philosophy to the club and has added Netherlands international Jairo Riedewald to his squad, as well as bright Chelsea prospect Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Having brought in a highly rated young coach and kept the majority of their squad together, Palace will be optimistic about their chances of improving upon last year’s 14th-place finish.

ONE TO WATCH: CHRISTI AN BENTEKE

Belgium international Christian Benteke scored 15 goals in 36 league appearances last season and he will be crucial if the Eagles are to push up the table.

Now 26, the former Liverpool striker is maturing into an accomplished attacker and will be expected to assume greater responsibility this season.

FINAL 2016-17 POSITION: 14TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 15TH

EVERTON

Furthermore, star man Eden Hazard will miss the first few weeks of the season through injury, which does not bode well for their chances.

Ronald Koeman secured Europa League football in his first season as Everton boss and the Dutch coach will be aiming to go one better in his second term at the helm.

ONE TO WATCH: ALVARO MORATA

While he lost the goalscoring talents of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester

Chelsea forked out a cool £70m for

United, Koeman has bolstered his squad with a number of high quality additions, with former Ajax captain Davy Klaassen and ex-Barcelona forward Sandro Ramirez among those to join the ranks during the summer.

The capture of England international Michael Keane, who was reportedly a target for Manchester United, is a sign of the club’s burgeoning ambition as they look to challenge the top four.

ONE TO WATCH: WAYNE ROONEY

Wayne Rooney brought an end to a 13-year spell at Manchester United to return to his roots and there will be plenty of intrigue surrounding the man who made his breakthrough as a teen at Goodison Park.

The England captain, who will turn 32 in October, suffered downturn in fortunes in his last two seasons at Old Trafford, but he has been offered a fresh start and will be expected to lead the Toffees to greater heights.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 7TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 7TH

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN

Huddersfield are competing in the Premier League for the first time in 2017-18 and they will have to muster every possible resource if they are to stand a chance of remaining in the division.

Manager David Wagner is an energetic presence who boasts plenty of experience as well as tactical nous and he will relish the challenge of keeping the Terriers up.

Laurent Depoitre has joined from Porto, Steve Mounie is their record £11.5m signing from Montpellier, while midfielder Aaron Mooy made a permanent switch from Manchester City and Wagner will hope that all three can play a big part in the club’s survival bid.

ONE TO WATCH: AARON MOOY

Australia international Aaron Mooy made his stay at Huddersfield permanent during the summer, having spent last season on loan from Manchester City.

The 26-year-old, who was a club-

record signing, was a key performer for David Wagner’s side as they earned promotion through the playoffs, scoring four league goals along the way.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 5TH (CH AMPIONSHIP, PROMOTED VI A PL AY-OFFS) PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 20TH

LEICESTER CITY

Leicester’s Premier League title triumph is a distant memory now after the Foxes came crashing down to earth in 2016-17, finishing in the bottom half of the table.

Claudio Ranieri left mid-way through last season as a toxic atmosphere enveloped the club, but Craig Shakespeare managed to revitalise the team somewhat and steer them away from relegation.

While uncertainty remains over the future of star player Riyad Mahrez, Shakespeare has shored up his squad with the signing of three-time Europa League winner Vicente Iborra and Kelechi Iheanacho, who joined from Manchester City.

A renewed assault on the Premier League seems unlikely, but they will be able to perform free from the unrelenting glare that was fixed on them as defending champions last year.

ONE TO WATCH: KELECHI IHEAN ACHO

In Kelechi Iheanacho, Leicester have secured the services of one of the brightest prospects in the Premier League.

The 20-year-old Nigerian international has already shown himself to be clinical in front of goal, scoring 17 goals in all competitions for Manchester City over the course of the last two seasons despite featuring predominantly from the bench.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 12TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 8TH

LIVERPOOL

Jurgen Klopp has yet to win a trophy with Liverpool since taking over from Brendan Rodgers in late 2015 and he will be determined to rectify that this season.

The German coach guided the Reds to a fourth-place finish last term and has pulled off some good work in the transfer market by signing Mohamed Salah from Roma.

With Philippe Coutinho set to remain at Anfield for another campaign at least and the Liverpool forward line among the best in the division, there is lots of optimism around the club heading into the new campaign.

Klopp will feel that a top-three finish is well within his side’s capabilities, but he will need some luck on the injury front in order to achieve such aspirations.

ONE TO WATCH: MOH AMED SAL AH

Part of Liverpool’s problem last season was their over-reliance on Coutinho and Sadio Mane; when one or both were out, they struggled badly.

The addition of Mohamed Salah not only adds an extra dimension to the Reds’ attack, it takes the pressure off Coutinho and Mane to haul the team

over the line.

Salah scored 34 goals for Roma in the last two seasons and returns to the Premier League with a point to prove having failed to make his mark at Chelsea.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 4TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 2ND

MANCHESTER CITY

Pep Guardiola failed to deliver a Premier League title in his first season at the helm and, after getting to know the lie of the land in England, the Catalan will be even more determined to win the title in 2017-18.

The disappointment of missing out last season has led to a squad overhaul, with the club spending over £200m on new players and a host of established team-members departing.

New signings Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy, Ederson and Bernardo Silva add strength to key areas and Guardiola will expect them all to make an immediate

impact as City challenge for honours on several fronts.

If the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Gabriel Jesus can stay fit, there are few teams who will rival them.

ONE TO WATCH: GABRIEL JESUS

Gabriel Jesus scored seven goals in 10 league appearances last season, but his debut campaign was frustratingly disrupted by a foot injury.

The 20-year-old is set to play a major part in Man City’s assault on the Premier League title in 2017-18 and, with a full pre-season under his belt at his new club, he will be a tantalising prospect.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 3RD PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 1ST

MANCHESTER UNITED

Jose Mourinho may have guided Manchester United to League Cup, Europa League glory and Champions League football in his first season

as manager, but the Portuguese will be far from content with his side’s league finish.

While they boasted one of the best defences in the division, the Red Devils lacked ruthlessness in front of goal and struggled to turn draws into wins.

Mourinho has sought to ameliorate that deficiency by bringing in the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic as he looks to steer the club to their first league title since 2013.

Having enjoyed a successful preseason United will aim to hit the ground running when they kick things off against West Ham.

ONE TO WATCH: PAUL POGBA

Paul Pogba did not live up to expectations following his worldrecord move to Manchester United last season.

The France international scored nine goals in all competitions, but he did not dictate games in a manner befitting the world’s most expensive player and fans were left somewhat disappointed by his overall contribution.

Now divested of the ‘world’s most expensive player’ tag by Neymar and with Nemanja Matic behind him in the engine room, Pogba will have greater freedom to play his natural game, which bodes well for the Red Devils.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 6TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 3RD

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Rafa Benitez ensured that Newcastle bounced straight back from the disappointment of relegation by winning the Championship and the Spanish coach will relish the opportunity to make strides in the Premier League with the Magpies.

Survival will be the main aim, but the Newcastle squad is certainly strong enough to set their sights higher and fans will be hoping to see ambition when they return to the top flight.

Christian Atsu has joined the club permanently from Chelsea having

spent the 2016-17 season on loan at St James’ Park and Javier Manquillo signed from Atletico Madrid, giving the Magpies a major boost for 201718.

ONE TO WATCH: AYOZE PEREZ

Ayoze Perez scored nine goals and provided six more in Newcastle’s Championship-winning campaign.

The 24-year-old forward has been a key member of the team since arriving from Tenerife three years ago, scoring his fair share of goals each campaign, and he will be one of the first names on Rafa Benitez’s team-sheet this season.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 1ST (CH AMPIONSHIP, AUTOM ATIC PROMOTION) PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 13TH

SOUTHAMPTON

Mauricio Pellegrino will lead Southampton into the 2017-18 season having replaced Claude Puel as Saints manager during the off-season and there is a sense of intrigue attached to the former Alaves boss, who previously served as assistant to Rafa Benitez at Liverpool and Inter.

Puel’s services were dispensed with even though the Saints reached the final of the EFL Cup and finished a respectable eighth, so there will be pressure on Pellegrino to deliver.

The uncertainty swirling around Virgil van Dijk’s future at St Mary’s makes things somewhat more difficult for the Argentine, but he has a robust core to his squad, to which he has added Polish defender Jan Bednarek.

ONE TO WATCH: N ATH AN REDMOND

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 8TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 10TH

STOKE CITY

The Stoke squad will have slightly different complexion this season following the departure of a number of established players.

Marko Arnautovic has left for West Ham, while Jon Walters signed for Burnley and Glenn Whelan joined Aston Villa.

However, they have brought in fivetime Premier League winner Darren Fletcher from West Brom and the 33-year-old will add a much-needed winning mentality to their midfield.

Having finished ninth for three consecutive seasons, last year’s 13thplace finish was a disappointment and Mark Hughes will have to show the club’s owners an improvement as he enters into his fifth campaign as Potters boss.

ONE TO WATCH: XHERDAN SH AQIRI

Diminutive midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is the most talented player in the Stoke squad and he will be key to their hopes of securing a top-half finish.

The Switzerland international, who counts Bayern Munich among his former clubs, possesses tremendous shooting ability, as well as excellent technique, which makes him a handful for opponents.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 13TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 14TH

SWANSEA

Goalscoring winger Nathan Redmond enjoyed an impressive debut season with Southampton last year and will be hoping to raise his game further in 2017-18.

The 2016-17 season was Swansea’s worst-ever Premier League campaign as they finished 15th after managing to pull themselves clear of a relegation battle.

Having previously excelled at Norwich City, the 23-year-old showcased his attacking prowess by scoring seven goals in 37 league appearances for the Saints last term and he can play a central role for the club if given the opportunity.

Paul Clement imposed stability on a team that had been in disarray following the tenures of Francesco Guidolin and Bob Bradley, subsequently overseeing a relative upturn in fortunes.

Star player Gylfi Sigurdsson has attracted attention from admiring Premier League rivals, but the Iceland international remains at the club for now, which is a major boost heading into the new campaign.

As well as keeping Sigurdsson, Clement has strengthened his squad with the addition of Chelsea starlet Tammy Abraham on loan, while Spanish midfielder Roque Mesa joins from La Liga outfit Las Palmas.

ONE TO WATCH: TAMMY ABRAH AM

Chelsea youngster Abraham has a bright future ahead of him and the 19-year-old demonstrated his talents in abundance while on loan at Bristol City last season, scoring 23 goals for the Championship club.

A tall and powerful forward, Abraham can add potency to a strike force that managed just 45 league goals last term.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 15TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 18TH

T OT T E N H A M

Unlike their rivals, Tottenham have not made any new signings ahead of the 2017-18 season and they head into the new campaign ostensibly weakened by the loss of Kyle Walker to Manchester City.

Nevertheless, the north London outfit possess a formidable squad, with players such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and HeungMin Son combining to create one of the most effective attacking units in Europe.

In the last two seasons, Mauricio Pochettino’s men were denied Premier League glory by Leicester and Chelsea, so they will be desperate to finally make it over the line to clinch their first title since 1961.

However, they could be hindered by playing games at Wembley rather than White Hart Lane as they prepare to transition to a new stadium in 2018-19.

ONE TO WATCH: H ARRY KANE

In Harry Kane, Spurs boast the best striker in the Premier League and, needless to say, he will be key to their ambitions of winning the league.

The 24-year-old has claimed the Golden Boot in the last two campaigns and did so last season despite missing a number of weeks with an ankle injury.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 2ND PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 4TH

W AT F O R D

Marco Silva will attempt to steer Watford clear of relegation this season after taking over the reins from Walter Mazzarri.

The Hornets narrowly avoided the drop last year and they have added a number of players in a bid to prevent themselves from being sucked into a relegation battle in 2017-18.

Former Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has signed from Everton and Spanish right-back Kiko Femenia will add competition in defence, while former England Under-21 midfielder Will Hughes joins from Derby County.

Having managed to keep the core of the squad together, Silva will hope that such acquisitions can help the club push away from the drop-zone.

ONE TO WATCH: E TIENNE CAPOUE

Watford possess a combative midfielder in the form of Etienne Capoue and the France international will be central to their fight in the upcoming campaign.

The ex-Tottenham and Toulouse man enjoyed one of his best seasons last term, scoring seven league goals, including a strike in the crucial win over Manchester United.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 17TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 16TH

WEST BROM

Tony Pulis’ West Brom were performing above all expectations in the first half of last season before allowing their form to dip somewhat

in the second stage, losing seven of their final 10 fixtures.

While they still managed to finish in the top half, the Baggies will be aiming to avoid a repeat of that scenario in 2017-18 and Pulis will demand that his players do not take their foot off the pedal as they strive for greater consistency.

The signing of Jay Rodriguez from Southampton will take some pressure off Salomon Rondon in attack and the 28-year-old will hope to add more goals to his game following his successful return from injury.

ONE TO WATCH: SALOMON RONDON

Former Zenit attacker Rondon was West Brom’s top goalscorer last season and the Venezuelan will once again be the focal point of the Baggies’ attacks in the upcoming campaign.

The 27-year-old, who played Champions League football during his time in Russia, is a tidy finisher, but he also endeavours to bring his team-mates into the game in his overall play.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 10TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 11TH

WEST HAM

Slaven Bilic came under a lot of pressure last season and the Croatian will be keen to answer his critics by exceeding expectations in 2017-18.

To that end, he has brought in a clutch of players who can help propel the Hammers on towards a European finish. Joe Hart has arrived on loan from Manchester City, while Pablo Zabaleta also moved south from the Etihad and the club forked out £20m for Austria international Marko Arnautovic from Stoke.

As well as that, Bilic landed former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, whose quality is undoubted. At the age of 29, still has plenty to offer in the Premier League.

ONE TO WATCH: CHICH ARITO

The signing of Hernandez is a shrewd

move by Bilic, who has added a proven goalscorer to his ranks.

Hernandez hit double figures in his first three seasons at Man Utd before falling out of favour and he continued to find the back of the net during spells at Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen.

FIN AL 2016-17 POSITION: 11TH PROJECTED 2017-18 POSITION: 9TH

PREDICTED PREMIER L E A G U E TA B L E

1st = Manchester City 2nd = Liverpool 3rd = Manchester United 4th = Tottenham 5th = Chelsea 6th = Arsenal 7th = Everton 8th = Leicester City 9th = West Ham United 10th = Southampton 11th = West Bromwich Albion 12th = Bournemouth 13th = Newcastle United 14th = Stoke City 15th = Crystal Palace 16th = Watford 17th = Brighton 18th = Swansea 19th = Burnley 20th = Huddersfield Town

BASEBALL

→

MLB WORLD SERIES CONTENDERS

As we set our sights on September, the race for the 2017 MLB title is getting real. That’s especially true with the non-waiver trade deadline now behind us.

Sure, seismic swaps could go down provided players clear waivers. However for the most part, contenders’ rosters are set.

As such, we can calibrate World Series predictions with a degree of confidence, allowing for the usual fluctuations that come with hot streaks, cold spells and, above all, injuries. Dive in as we take a look at the legitimate class of 2017 World Series contenders.

LO S A N G E L E S DODGERS

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best record in baseball. They pace the game with a plus-201 run differential.

Then, at the deadline, they added one of the top right-handers in baseball by acquiring Yu Darvish from the Texas Rangers.

The only caveat for L.A. is the health of Clayton Kershaw’s back. The left-hander offered reassuring words Tuesday.

“I feel healthy,” Kershaw said, per

Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. “So I think now it’s just a matter of building back up at a good pace, obviously understanding where we’re at and the timeline and all that stuff.”

Assuming they get the best pitcher on the planet back in the fold at full strength, the Dodgers are the prohibitive favorites to win their first pennant and championship since 1988.

HOUSTON ASTROS

The Houston Astros didn’t make any major additions at the deadline, much to the consternation of ace lefthander Dallas Keuchel.

“I’m not going to lie,” Keuchel said, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.

“Disappointment is a little bit of an understatement.”

The ‘Stros and Detroit Tigers have “had contact” about right-hander Justin Verlander, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Even without such a needle-moving deal, however, Houston owns the best record (71-41) in the American League.

Reinforcements would be nice, but

this club is built for a deep October run.

CHICAGO CUBS

After looking uncharacteristically hapless for much of the first half, the Chicago Cubs have gone 16-8 since the All-Star break to reclaim the top spot in the National League Central at the time of print.

Their 59-53 record isn’t going to blow anyone away, but the defending champions are trending in the right direction at the right time.

Plus, they acquired left-hander Jose Quintana at the deadline from the crosstown Chicago White Sox, bolstering a suspect rotation. They also nabbed lefty reliever Justin Wilson and veteran catcher Alex Avila from the Tigers.

Those ho-hum early results leave them open to doubters, but the Cubbies are poised to ascend the October stage once again and battle for a repeat.

WASHINGTON N AT I O N A L S

The Washington Nationals got Max Scherzer back from a neck injury.

Miller from the New York Yankees.

“When you look at the guys we have returning from injury with [starting pitcher] Danny [Salazar], [second baseman] Jason [Kipnis] and [outfielder] Lonnie [Chisenhall], those guys definitely shaped our view of the deadline,” president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said, per Bud Shaw of Cleveland.com.

Fair enough. And the Tribe did bolster its bullpen by nabbing exemployee Joe Smith from the Toronto Blue Jays. With a 60-50 record and the only positive run differential in the AL Central at plus-99, the Indians are a near-lock to win the division.

Now, we’ll see if they can end baseball’s longest active championship drought.

Now, they need healthy returns from oft-injured right-hander Stephen Strasburg and speedy Trea Turner.

Other than that, the Nats are cruising to another NL East crown.

Their offense is loaded, with Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy and unheralded star Anthony Rendon leading the Senior Circuit’s highest-scoring attack.

Washington addressed its deficiency in the bullpen by acquiring Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle from

the Oakland Athletics and Brandon Kintzler from the Minnesota Twins.

Now, the Nationals will try to get out of the division series for the first time since taking residence in the nation’s capital.

CLEVELAND INDIANS

The defending American League champions didn’t go big at the deadline, as they did in 2016, when they acquired relief ace Andrew

BOSTON RED SOX

At time of print the Boston Red Sox hold a four-game lead in the AL East.

They’ve won eight of their last 10 and are finally doing what they were supposed to do: dominate.

The addition of speedy infielder Eduardo Nunez and right-handed setup man Addison Reed helped the cause, though there’s uncertainty in the rotation with expensive lefthander David Price nursing an elbow injury.

The Sox are a safer bet to win the division than they were even a few weeks ago, but they remain a tick below the Junior Circuit’s top contenders.

N E W Y O R K YA N K E E S

The Yankees still have the best run differential in the AL East at plus113. Yet, they’ve dropped six of 10 and sit four games back of the rival Red Sox.

They were aggressive at the deadline, netting relievers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle and slugger Todd Frazier from the White Sox. They then landed ace right-hander Sonny Gray from the A’s.

In the process, general manager Brian Cashman wisely avoided mortgaging the farm.

With questions in the back of the rotation and a protracted slump by rookie Aaron Judge, however, the up-and-coming Yanks are holding onto wild-card hopes rather than legitimate World Series dreams.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Arizona Diamondbacks are overshadowed by the Dodgers in the NL West, but make no mistake: These Snakes are for real.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is an MVP contender, while resurgent ace Zack Greinke is ready to pitch in a potential one-and-done wild-card play-in.

Overall, the D-backs rank fourth in the NL in runs scored and OPS and second in ERA. They won’t catch L.A., but they wouldn’t be the first squad to ride a wild-card berth to a champagne-andconfetti shower.

Colorado Rockies Speaking of NL West clubs with October aspirations, the Colorado Rockies sit at 64-49, just a halfgame back of Arizona for the Senior Circuit’s top wild-card position.

As per usual, Colorado has scored its share of runs and ranks third in that category in MLB. These Rockies can

also pitch a little, however, as they own the eighth-best road ERA in the game.

They added All-Star right-hander Pat Neshek and veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy at the deadline.

Neither is a game-changer by himself, but both signify a rising winnow mentality in the Mile High City.

KANSAS CITY R O YA L S

The Kansas City Royals could have sold at the deadline, offloading a cache of soon-to-be free agents including outfielder Lorenzo Cain, third baseman Mike Moustakas, first baseman Eric Hosmer and lefthander Jason Vargas.

Instead, K.C. is going all-in for one more run with the core that brought it a pennant in 2014 and a Commissioner’s Trophy in 2015.

It’s not a ludicrous notion. At 57-55, the Royals are four games behind the Indians in the AL Central and one game back of the AL’s second wildcard slot.

They didn’t have the MiLB chips to add any headline-grabbing cavalry at the deadline, though they did snag outfielder and old friend Melky Cabrera from the White Sox. Kansas City is mired in the AL’s second tier, a group that includes teams not mentioned here because of their FanGraphs’ odds, including Seattle, the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels.

These Royals have a recent championship pedigree, however, and while that doesn’t mean everything, it does mean something.

* BETTING WORLD SERIES WINNER LOS ANGELES DODGERS 3.50 Houston Astros 6.00 Boston Red Sox 7.50 Cleveland Indians 8.00 Washington Nationals 8.00 Chicago Cubs 8.50 New York Yankees 13.00 Arizona Diamondbacks 26.00 Colorado Rockies 34.00 St. Louis Cardinals 34.00 Kansas City Royals 41.00

BASKETBALL

→

LEBRON TO THE LAKERS

W H Y L A K E R N AT I O N SHOULD THINK T W I C E ...

The notion that LeBron James could one day join the Los Angeles Lakers has been rumored from time to time over the years, but until recently,

it always seemed like a pipedream.

This past month, however, the story has gained considerable traction.

There was the unexpected departure of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ General Manager, David Griffin, shortly before the draft and free agency were about to occur. James was said to be shocked and disappointed by the

development. The team was without a GM for a lengthy and important part of the offseason.

After losing in the finals in June, the Cavaliers knew they had to markedly improve their roster this summer to have a realistic chance of beating Golden State next

year. When so many elite players unexpectedly joined new teams, but none went to Cleveland, James could not have been happy. Adding Jimmy Butler or Paul George could have tipped the scales in Cleveland’s favor next season.

Then came the shocking news that Cleveland’s all-star point guard, Kyrie Irving, was tired of playing Robin to James’ Batman and was demanding a trade. Who wants to leave a team that has gone to three straight NBA finals, is likely to go again next year, and features the game’s best player? The answer is, no one, unless there is something else going on.

Reports of friction between James and Irving began to leak. There was a story that James had privately recommended to the front office that Irving be traded for Chris Paul. It was also rumored that Irving wants to leave now because he knows James is going to depart after next season, possibly to join the Lakers, and he does not want to be stuck on a depleted Cavalier’s squad at the bottom of the standings.

Then there was the incident at Harrison Barnes’ recent wedding.

Irving attended the reception and was caught on videotape joining other NBA stars, notably rival Stephen Curry, in mocking James.

James has a home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, where it is reported that his wife would prefer to live full time. He owns a successful business in Los Angeles known as “Uninterrupted,” which has its offices on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.

Finally, just this week, James cleared up any question about where he calls home these days.

In response to a tweet from Jamal Crawford inviting him to visit Seattle, James responded: “May have to make a day trip up there when I’m back home in L.A., bro!

For at least the past decade, James has been the best player in the NBA. He is arguably the greatest player of all time, or at least in the discussion along with Michael Jordan and a few others. Even today, as he prepares for his 15th NBA season, he is the

only player in the league whose mere presence on any NBA roster makes that team an immediate title contender.

If James wants to join the Lakers next year, Magic Johnson will sprint over to Brentwood with the contract in hand. Yet, no matter how anxious Johnson might be to see the team become a contender again, he might want to think twice about it.

For his career, James has averaged 27.1 points per game on 50% shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists, but he will turn 34 early next season. He has already played in 1,061 NBA games since the age of 18 and averaged an astounding 39 minutes a contest over 15 straight years in which his teams went deep into the playoffs nearly every season.

That is a lot of wear and tear on the body even for Superman.

It is hard to forget that Kobe Bryant suffered his Achilles injury when he was 34 years old which in effect ended his career, although he continued to play off and on for three more seasons depleting the team’s cap space.

Are the Lakers going to give James, at 34, the five-year contract at $40 of $50 million a year that he will want?

They can’t take a risk on a short term deal because to sign him at all will require getting rid of most of the players the team has invested in over the past three years to clear enough cap space. If he were to leave after a year, where would that leave the Lakers franchise?

Then there is the look and feel of the situation. Will Lakers fans embrace James after he has been a fierce opponent of the purple and gold for 16 years? Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers late in their careers. Even though the team went to the finals that year, does anyone look back on their iconic careers and connect them with the Lakers?

All players have earned the right to move to a new team when they become a free agent. But even if James eventually leaves the game

as the best player of all time, it will be hard to look back on his career and think of him as a true Laker.

He will be joining the team too late to be remembered in the same way that Lakers fans will always worship Bryant, Johnson, James Worthy, Jerry West or Elgin Baylor, who spent their entire careers with the team.

Many fans already have a favorite player on the roster. As noted above, signing James puts everyone other than Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball at risk. Players like Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance, Jr. and Ivica Zubac could be shipped out reminiscent of the controversial trade of D’Angelo Russell this summer.

The Lakers couldn’t even afford to keep David Nwaba’s meager salary on the books when they had to clear cap space to sign Kentavious Caldwell Pope this summer.

Finally, James will dictate the style of basketball the team plays. When you have a superstar on your team, everything is built around that player and he is the real coach. This will require a major adjustment to the system Luke Walton has been trying to install where all the parts are interchangeable.

Of course, those who advocate for the Lakers signing James scoff at all these concerns: As soon as he leads the Lakers to a title, all will be forgiven and forgotten.

There is always a possibility that James and Irving will repair their relationship, win a championship together in Cleveland next season, and spend the rest of their careers in harmony with the Cavaliers. But with each passing day that seems less and less likely.

If the Lakers are his preferred destination, the front office must realize they are not getting a 28 year old James. Great as he is, in signing him to a long term deal at age 34, the risks could outweigh the potential rewards.

LUXURY

LONDON

CORINTHIA HOTEL

London| www.corinthia.grandluxuryhotels.com/ The flagship property of the Grand Luxury Hotels, the world class Corinthia Hotel, stands in gracious grandeur at the heart of Westminster overlooking the River Thames. Nearby, iconic Big Ben’s distinctive bell tower rings in British ascendance into contemporary modern design brushed with the distinguished heritage of luxury reminiscent of Victorian bling. Impeccable service with engaging hospitality sets the standard known throughout Grand Luxury properties.

Imagine the breathtaking views across the roofs of London, the treetops of sheltering garden parks, and the treasured sights of London’s skyline from one of the Corinthia’s seven spacious two storey penthouses. The height of luxury, your penthouse features rooftop terrace with garden, spa, and comfort seating to indulge in the romance of London’s magical panorama. Each of the penthouse rooms has a uniquely designed decor and style reflecting elegance in furnishings, seating areas, desk and work areas, luxuriant linens, and stellar baths with deluxe towels and high end ESPA bath amenities.

All of Corinthia’s 294 spacious rooms and suites, designed for memorable luxury and comfort, also feature amenities including flat screen TV, coffee and tea making facilities, free Internet, iPod dock, safe, mini bar, and ESPA bath products, and balconies with city viewing. Choose from views of Scotland Yard, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square or River view of the Thames and London Eye.

Unrivaled spa enjoyment is guaranteed at ESPA with indoor pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, and classic Hammam steam room designed to make each guest feel like royalty. The practitioners of the Corinthia’s world class spa are specialists in integrative and restorative therapies toward wellness. The extensive menu of services encompasses a range of relaxation and rejuvenating therapies, sport and deep tissue massage, and massage techniques from around the world, Swedish, Thai, Japanese Shiatsu, and the use of healing oils to invigorate muscles and engage the senses. Your stay at the Corinthia will be enhanced with consultations with the personal trainer and the facilities of the fully equipped fitness center.. Emerge reenergized mentally and physically, detoxified and renewed for sightseeing,

travel, and business decision making.

The Corinthia features memorable dining at the popular Massimo Restaurant and Bar with innovative interpretations of classic Italian cuisine, divine antipasto selections, wine pairings, and mouthwatering desserts. The Northall Restaurant is popular for its modern take on British fare, nuanced familiar dishes and fun with old favorites.

Discerning travelers will delight in the Corinthia’s exemplary style honoring and successfully capturing elements of traditional and modern. Enjoy a wealth of amenities, outstanding worldclass spa, dining, and premium central location. It is certain to become a favorite London destination.

LUXURY LONDON HAM YARD HOTEL

London| firmdalehotels.com London’s SoHo is iconically edgy, leading in trendy style and sophistication. In the heart of Soho, the Ham Yard Hotel is popping with modern chic and vibrant energy captured by hotel co-owner and Design Director Kit Kemp whose vision has taken contemporary decor to a new level. The Ham Yard has reached new heights in creating an artful display of individuality in color, textiles, and design. Bold and inspired, Kit Kemp has incorporated stunning natural elements, the leafy greens of the courtyard and gardens, the glass, stone, and metal elements key to the hotel’s architecture and the stunning centerpiece art of Tony Cragg’s bronze sculpture, to define an urban lifestyle dimension that captivates and engages all the senses. In the heart of the Theatre District, the Ham Yard contributes its own theatre with color and dramatic fun, boutique shopping, indoor and outdoor terrace dining options, dynamic bar, and private event rooms - a true urban lifestyle oasis.

Guest rooms and suites, as well as long stay apartments, are uniquely individualized from the signature headboards that will seduce with their colorful charm as the centerpiece of

each room’s design theme, cozy seating arrangements with pillows, lighting, and contemporary collections of local artists that will brighten even the most dreary London day. Say goodbye to tradition and welcome a new design concept with amenities that ROCK. RIK RAK toiletries

by Kit Kemp are her latest in bath and Spa amenities enhance the experience of luxury. Choices of rooms and suites address the wishes and needs of all guests, from the business traveler, the dedicated tourists, couples seeking romantic interludes, and families with children. The bespoke contemporary luxury includes spacious modern bathrooms with showers, some with soaking tubs, flat screen TV, free Internet, safe and minibar, plush towels and high end linens, duvet and four body length pillows…..”to sleep, perchance to dream” Aaah.

Surprises await from underground to rooftop, beginning at the lower level with an actual transplanted 50’s style bowling alley transported (really) from Texas. The Croc is unforgettable with splashes of neon colors, and huge driftwood crocodiles curiously hanging from the ceiling. Nearby is the staggering 190 seat theatre popping with orange and blue decor, a venue for

exclusive showings.

The Ham Yard boasts a state of the art hypoxic Gym for maximizing your workout routines and the Soholistic Spa offering a full menu of body and beauty treatments to work out the kinks and rejuvenate after days of sightseeing London.

Guests will enjoy the retreats of the Drawing Room and Library, honor bar, books to be read, and Instagram worthy art, floral arrangements, and creative patterned seating you will definitely want to share.

The rooftop garden is an actual English Garden, with creative seating areas populated with unique custom benches, even a horse shaped one, and splashes of color and exclusive pattern amidst the greenery. Discover the perfect retreat to capture the sun while contemplating SoHo rooftops; a plush place to enjoy the veggie and fragrant herb gardens, the natural organic source for the restaurant.

Dazzle and delight in a SoHo stay at the impressive, remarkably designed Ham Yard Hotel. Modeliste promises it will be a most unique and memorable stay.

I N D U S T RY I N S I D E R SPORTS BE T TING ACADEMY

Recently our Editor in Chief jet setted to London for the Sports Betting Academy presented by Totally Gaming. The intensive three day training course for sports betting professionals was the ultimate platform to engage with the industry’s finest minds and upcoming talent.

In a classroom and hands on relatable structure, trainer Jonathan Smith teaches vital compiling, modelling and probability strategies to ensure the accuracy and reliability of odds and empower you with the expertise and confidence to deliver solid margins. All delegates receive the trainer’s own Cash Out Simulator, ELO Rating Model, Multi-Purpose Simulator and BT Rating Model.

The course was an outstanding platform to gain fresh understanding of sports betting methods, to help elevate your career in sports betting and drastically improve revenue margins of sports betting businesses.

I highly recommend the course to any professional currently in the Sports Betting industry or looking to kick off their career. The course teaches you all the fundamentals,

not just the how but the why.

COURSE BENEFITS

• The ability to create new strategies to complement existing working practises in your business • Walking away with in-depth knowledge of the key mathematical principles of bookmaking • Learning the best practises to increase margins • Leave with an understanding of classical, experimental and subjective ideas of probability • The ability to analyse how to estimate probabilistic outcomes of sporting events • Learn how to evaluate data to produce methods of calculating meaningful probability • Learn how to compare competition to produce efficient prices • The ability to examine sports models to understand how data is manipulated

NEXT COURSE DATES TUES 21ST - 23RD NOVEMBER

The Totally Gaming Academy have created a fantastic platform for industry participants from all across the globe to seek the highest level of education specific and unique

to their workplace. The course structure was best evidenced by the attendees and how far and from they had come to attend. In the class of some 20 students, trainer and expert Jonathan Smith had attendees from Africa, Australia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Asia, UK, USA just to name a few. This speaks volumes of the Academy and the worldwide standard set for the industry and the need for education. More so than just any other course, through the diversity of the attendees is gives you a great understanding of legislation and challenges other Countries and regulations may face, allowing you to bring that practical knowledge and foresight to your workplace. This is a must attend event for anyone looking further there career in the sports betting industry.

TRAINER -JON ATH AN SMITH

A renowned sportsbook consultant with over 25 years’ experience, Jonathan has held positions with some of the most notable trading providers. He is also the founder of Sportsbook Training Services. If your looking to elevate your career in Sports Betting or invest in the future, look no further.

W W W.S P O RT S B O O K T R A I N I N G.C O M

TENNIS

→

THE US OPEN

INJURIES, ELDERLIES & UNRELIABLES

A star-studded men’s field including past champions Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray is set to compete at the iconic 2017 US Open of Tennis.

World No. 1 Andy Murray, No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Roger Federer headline an impressive list of the biggest stars in the men’s game, which also includes 99 of the world’s top-ranked men, representing 39 countries.

In total, five former men’s singles champions will be competing in this year’s tournament. In addition to Murray (2012), Nadal (2010, 2013) and Federer (2004-08), 2014 champion Marin Cilic, the No. 6 player in the world and a finalist at 2017 Wimbledon, and 2009 winner Juan Martin del Potro have entered the draw.

Two-time men’s champion Novak Djokovic and last year’s winner Stan Wawrinka announced their withdrawals from the tournament.

Djokovic is suffering from an elbow injury, and Wawrinka pulled out with a season-ending knee injury.

Murray won his third major and

second Wimbledon title last year after finishing runner-up to Djokovic in the 2016 Australian and French Open finals. This year, the Scot advanced to the semifinals of the French Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He defeated Djokovic in the 2012 US Open final to win his first Grand Slam championship.

Fifteen-time Grand Slam winner Nadal captured his 10th French Open singles title this year, defeating Wawrinka in the final. The Spaniard was also a finalist at the Australian Open in January, falling to Federer in five sets. Nadal won the 2010 and 2013 US Open singles titles, defeating Djokovic in both finals.

Federer claimed his record eighth Wimbledon title in July and is the all-time leader in men’s Grand Slam singles titles, with 19. The Swiss has won two of the first three majors this year, having also picked up his fifth Australian Open title in January. Federer, who sat out last year’s US Open with a bad knee, will be competing for his sixth US Open title this year, which would surpass Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors for the most US Open men’s singles championships in the Open era. He last won the US Open in 2008.

Other Top 10 players in the field are:

No. 7 Dominic Thiem of Austria, a French Open semifinalist this year; No. 8 Alexander Zverev of Germany; No. 9 Kei Nishikori of Japan, a finalist at the 2014 US Open; and No. 10 Milos Raonic of Canada, a finalist at last year’s Wimbledon. No. 17 Jack Sock is the highest-ranked American entered in this year’s Open. He leads eight other U.S. men who earned direct entry into the field, including No. 19 John Isner, No. 20 and Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey, No. 35 Steve Johnson, No. 44 Ryan Harrison, No. 61 Donald Young, No. 66 Jared Donaldson, No. 84 Frances Tiafoe, No. 85 Ernesto Escobedo and No. 102 Tennys Sandgren.

The July 17 Emirates ATP Rankings were used to determine the maindraw entry list. Sixteen additional players will gain entry through the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which will be held before time of print and eight others will receive wild cards into the tournament from the USTA. The 2017 US Open will be played Monday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Sept. 10, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The US Open Men’s Singles Championship is presented

by Mercedes-Benz.

SURFING

→

SURFING WITHOUT SLATER

CAN THE WORLD SURF LEAGUE SURVIVE?

The first contest without Kelly Slater has just been completed, and we can all agree it just wasn’t the same. Over the years, Kelly established himself as the king of Teahupoo. In the nearly 20 years the contest has been running he made seven finals, winning five of them. His first victory came in 2000, with his latest a year ago when he beat John John Florence. After breaking his foot in J-Bay (for the fourth time in his career) and then returning to California for successful reconstructive surgery, he’s expected to be out another four to six months.

With such a long recovery time, it’s doubtful he’ll return for the rest of the season, one that was supposed to be his victory lap.

This brings up the subject of the “Slater Void”. We live in a postSlater world. Nobody knows what he has in store for next year. We may never see him in a jersey again.

And while that seems doubtful, it is something we’ve had to reconcile with in the past. When Slater walked away from the tour in 1998 the reaction was similar: what the hell do we do next?

His hiatus allowed Sunny Garcia and Mark Occhilupo to win their titles, but the sport of surfing was decidedly less interesting. Now, at 45 years old, Slater stands as the last link on tour between the old guard and the new guard. When Slater first took to the tour, he was the young pup upsetting ageing world champions like Martin Potter and Tom Curren. After he convinced that generation that it was time to hang up the jersey, he proceeded to beat his own generation into submission. After winning his first title in 1992, he slid down to fifth in the world in ’93, then owned the title from ’94 through ’98. Nobody on tour’s ever been so dominant.

After his brief sabbatical, Slater returned to the tour in 2002 and the greatest rivalry in surf was born.

The years between 2002 and 2008 marked some of the most competitive and compelling of his career, as he and Andy Irons elevated the sport to never-before-seen heights. For a brief moment competitive surfing was actually interesting. Follow-up titles in 2010 and 2011 cemented his legacy. Now he’s gone. Well, not gone, but he’s not in Tahiti and the foreseeable future holds a dark cloud of the unknown.

Who can fill his place? The sport of competitive surfing has struggled, just this year on the eve

of competition losing their major sponsor in Samsung. Now it’s looking at losing its only celebrity, only headline, only drawcard for sporting fans outside of the Surfing world.

Im sure the World Surf League will survive, probably by backed endorsements from Slaters very own brands and his iconic wave pool. But the thing is, nobody on tour right now has a penchant for pulling off the impossible like Slater did. Posting perfect heats and pounding Hinano’s in the barrel, who does that?. The competitive fire that Slater competed with was unequaled. Mind games were his game. Everyone on tour has stories.

Hell, in ’95 he baited best friend Rob Machado into giving him the now-famous high five in the channel at Pipe, costing Machado the title and essentially handing it to Slater.

When we say there’s a “Slater Void” that’s what we’re talking about.

It’s not just the fact that he’s not physically here (most of the time nobody even knew if he was on the island anyway). Without Slater, we’re missing a big chunk of what makes competitive surfing so fun to watch. It remains to be seen who will rise-up and take his place. Maybe nobody will. He may just go down in history like Michael Jordan, as the best-ever. Period.

→

UFC EXEC JOE CARR JOINS THE FIGHT FOR THE WSL

A paywall is coming. We can’t confirm the rumour, but we can read between the lines.

Right now, signs point towards plugging in 16 digits and a CVV number for your future WSL viewing pleasure.

Last week the WSL introduced their new Chief Strategy Officer, Joe Carr, the UFC’s former senior exec of content and international biz, who played a significant role in developing the UFC Fight Pass (a “Front row ticket to MMA worldwide. Bringing you action from five continents” all for $7.99 USD a month). Carr leaves the octagon after five years of service, ready to bring his experience developing new ways to get fans to pay to the WSL’s struggling business model.

“I see a ton of parallels between both companies and am leaving for the

same set of challenges that attracted me to the UFC,” said Joe. The decision to add Carr to the roster is a result of the further globalisation of the WSL. He will lead strategy for the WSL’s international business, as well as the integration of Kelly Slater’s Wave Pool. It’s no secret that it’s an anaemic moment for media, and the WSL as a media house has endured as thorough a bleeding as any. Considering the cost to run each WSL event (men’s only) is somewhere between three to five mill, on the low-end the Men’s CT season runs the WSL a cool $33 mill. And currently, for the fan, it’s all free. No matter how many Coronas or Michelob Ultras you drink out of Hydro Flasks, or how many mentions the “Jeep Leader Yellow jersey” gets, it’s hard to fathom that the WSL is currently sailing smoothly in the black. Our

prediction: they’ll be banking on WSL fans to keep them floating on green.

“Joe has a very impressive background with groundbreaking achievements in driving the growth of UFC’s global business,” Sophie Goldschmidt, official tennis aficionado and WSL CEO, said.

“He will bring deep experience of developing and executing international growth strategies.”

Historically, Carr’s strategy is simple: pay-to-play.

As Jordy Smith told us a few months back, on the same topic, “I think a lot of people would pay 20 bucks an event, people are spending that much on bagels and coffee every day!”

Would you watch?

HORSE RACING

→

MELBOURNE SPRING RACING GUIDE

The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is undoubtedly the highlight of the racing year in Australia, bringing together the very best of Australian and International thoroughbreds for 50 days of worldclass horse racing action. The whole event produces a carnival like atmosphere which brings the city of Melbourne to life during spring time.

If you’re a Horse racing fan, this is a once and a lifetime experience you will never forget. Below we break down the major races and dates for Spring 2017 down under.

The major racing carnival during the spring is the four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival held at Flemington racecourse in early November.

Flemington is home to Melbourne Cup Day on the first Tuesday of the month.

In October, the three-day Caulfield

Cup carnival kicks off big-time racing at Caulfield racecourse, with WS Cox Plate day upping the ante the following week at Moonee Valley.

Sandown Classic day rounds at the metropolitan spring carnival at Sandown racecourse in November, one week after the Flemington carnival ends on Emirates Stakes day.

The new racing season kicks off in early August with the Aurie’s Star Handicap the first group race of the new season. The first Group One race takes place in late August with the running of the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield.

A number of high quality feature races take place in the early spring before we get to the important Caulfield, Moonee Valley and Flemington racing carnivals in late October and early November.

The Caulfield Cup is the second of the big spring cups and it’s a tough Group One handicap event over 2400m that takes place in mid October. The Caulfield Cup forms part of the big feature spring cups betting double with the Melbourne Cup. Moonee Valley racecourse is host to the Group One WS Cox Plate over 2040m in October, one week after the Caulfield Cup, and it’s widely recognised as the weight-for-age championship of Australasia.

The jewel in the crown of the spring racing carnival is Australia’s most famous race, the time honoured Melbourne Cup, which is always run on the first Tuesday in November over a distance of 3200m (2 miles) at Flemington racecourse in Melbourne.

Here’s a quick list of not to be missed races in Spring 2017.

2017 MELBOURNE SPRING RACING CARNIVAL GUIDE

SEPTEMBER

2017 MELBOURNE SPRING RACING CARNIVAL GUIDE

OCTOBER

→

AFL 2017 RETIREES: A CHAMPION TEAM

DRIVERS in this year’s motorcade of retiring AFL players on grand final day might want to bring their autograph books. This year’s list of retiring stars combine for more than 3000 AFL matches, 2000 career goals, 17 premierships medals as well as three Norm Smiths and a couple of Brownlows.

Never before, it seems, has the game seen so much talent hang up the boots in one season.

We’ve even got a 350-plus game coach, Rodney Eade to oversee the team.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to try to pick a team from the ‘Retiring Class of 2017’. It wasn’t an easy task.

Yes, we’re aware a few stars are yet to formally announce they’re giving it away at the end of the year. We’ve put an asterisk beside their name.

Will ‘Joey’ Montagna join Nick Riewoldt in retirement? Does Mark LeCras feel he’s on his last legs? And could Gary Ablett hang them up if

he can’t get a trade back to Geelong?

We suspect we’ll find a place in the team for him should he do so. Ditto, uncontracted Swans champ Jarrad McVeigh.

There’s always an element of guesswork, and we hope those yet to declare their playing intentions do go on.

We’ll know a lot more in coming weeks but for now, here’s our stab at the best of this year’s retirements.

→ AFL 2017 SEASON THE YEAR OF CONFUSION ON THE EVE OF SEPTEMBER

In a season of wild fluctuations, how do you sort the flag contenders from the pretenders? We dive into the top 8 on the eve of one day in September.

ADELAIDE

THE HIGHS: Crushing win over pre-season premiership favourites Greater Western Sydney may be their best win, but there have been other demolition jobs at Adelaide Oval over Fremantle (100 points), Richmond (76), Essendon (65), Western Bulldogs (59) and St Kilda (57). They also finally ended their losing streak against Geelong and comprehensively defeated the Demons in Darwin. Matt Crouch, Rory Laird, Rory Sloane, Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts and Jake Lever have been the standouts.

THE LOWS: A stunning capitulation against struggling North Melbourne in Hobart where the Roos led the previously unbeaten Crows 10.4-0.0 at quarter-time was followed by a rare drubbing at home at the hands of Melbourne. When they lose they look as though they could do with one more star midfielder.

G R E AT E R W E S T E R N SYDNEY

THE HIGHS: The Giants won nine games out of 10 between rounds two and 11 to go atop the AFL ladder for the first time in the club’s history.

Particularly impressive was their record in close games in that period, winning a terrific Friday night clash against the Western Bulldogs by two points, while also beating Collingwood, Richmond and West Coast by single-digit margins. It was all the more impressive because it came amid a terrible run of injuries.

Out-of-contract midfielder Josh Kelly has elevated his game.

THE LOWS: Put in a round-one stinker against Adelaide on the road, while the defeat to lowly Carlton in round 12 was unexpected.

Arguably the worst showing came just last weekend, an insipid and error-riddled fade out in the MCG wet against the Tigers. The injuries have barely abated, with coach Leon Cameron suggesting that a lack of pressure at the selection table was hurting his side.

RICHMOND

THE HIGHS: Perhaps their best win of the year came when they took care of GWS by 19 points in the driving rain at the MCG. Their 13-point,

come-from-behind win over Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval was also a highlight. Wins over fellow top-eight sides Essendon and Melbourne were impressive as well. Their more direct game style with the use of damaging small forwards has worked very well. The recruitment of Toby Nankervis has been a masterstroke and the form of Dustin Martin has been sensational. Martin could easily win the Brownlow Medal this year.

Alex Rance, Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt have also been pivotal.

THE LOWS: To their credit, they’ve only been smashed twice this year by Adelaide (76 points) and St Kilda (67). But how easily they could be on top of the ladder if they hadn’t suffered last-gasp losses to Fremantle and GWS and narrow defeats to the Bulldogs and Sydney. The Tigers could probably do with an extra key forward to help out Riewoldt and the ongoing unavailability of Ben Griffiths (concussion/shoulder) could prove costly in the long run.

SYDNEY

THE HIGHS: Before losing to Hawthorn, had lost only once since round six - also to the Hawks.

Comfortable away wins against North Melbourne and St Kilda before the bye sparked a warning

that they were on the right track, but it was their form after the break that showed they remained a major threat, trouncing the Western Bulldogs on a Thursday night before coming from behind to down Richmond at the MCG. Yet again they have managed to unearth talented new players, with young defender Lewis Melican proving a revelation.

THE LOWS: Their slow start is the only reason they aren’t clear flag favourites, Six losses in a row was a barely believable beginning to the year for an uber-consistent club coming off a grand final defeat. Then came in a round-six loss to Carlton, at which point Sydney’s season looked shot. Injuries to key players like Dane Rampe didn’t help the cause.

G E E LO N G

THE HIGHS: Five straight wins to start the season, highlighted by an 86-point Easter Monday drubbing of Hawthorn, was the perfect tonic.

Three subsequent defeats were offset by a trifecta of victories at their new-look home ground, meaning they were only briefly out of the top four. The Dangerfield-Selwood

combination has again been a highlight with Paddy D right in the running for another Brownlow.

THE LOWS: There haven’t been many. Their biggest loss was a shock 29-point defeat to Collingwood in round six and was followed by defeats to Gold Coast and Essendon.

The Cats had a huge scare against Fremantle but again took the points at Simonds Stadium. A week later a draw against GWS was more like a win even though Tom Hawkins had a chance to snatch victory after the siren. A ankle injury to Mark Blicavs might hurt them in the run to the finals.

PORT ADEL AIDE

THE HIGHS: When they’ve won – and that’s been often enough – they have usually won big, and not just at the Adelaide Oval. The Power have destroyed Fremantle, Carlton and the Brisbane Lions and also dined out against Gold Coast, Hawthorn and North Melbourne. The 89-point mauling of Freo in round two was important, setting the foundations for their positive season thus far.

Port’s mids have been especially, especially Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and Robbie Gray.

THE LOWS: This was undoubtedly the loss to Essendon. Quite uncharacteristic really. They were humbled by 72 points as the fastflowing Bombers played their best match in some time on their favourite surface at Etihad Stadium.

Not many other blemishes expect for a chance gone begging on the road when Geelong pipped them by two points at Simonds Stadium. A healthy injury list has been hugely beneficial.

WEST COAST

THE HIGHS: Have beaten some decent teams this year, particularly at home where they remain a serious side. They are especially hard to score against at Domain Stadium, as shown in wins over Sydney, the Western Bulldogs and Geelong. They also maintained their strong recent record at Adelaide Oval by beating Port Adelaide in round seven by 10 points. Eagles fans would also be well pleased with their double over Fremantle. The form of utility Elliot Yeo has again been a highlight.

THE LOWS: Have gained a reputation as arguably the competition’s most dishonest side,

* BETTING AFL PREMIERS 2017

with away defeats to Hawthorn – who at the time were struggling – Essendon, Gold Coast and Collingwood all very disappointing showings. The Eagles had advanced to 6-2 but have fallen away since, winning just three of their last nine matches, heaping pressure on coach Adam Simpson. Injury troubles for Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy have hurt, while Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis has come under fire for a lack of influence and plans to retire at the end of the season.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

THE HIGHS: Showed good signs early in the year as they won their grand final rematch with Sydney in round two by 23 points and a month later were victorious in a thriller against Richmond. Their ruthless side was on show in wins over St Kilda (40 points) and Gold Coast (54). Marcus Bontempelli has been just about their best player this year while Jack Macrae, Luke Dahlhaus and Lachie Hunter have also been consistent performers.

THE LOWS: Losses to Sydney (46 points) and Melbourne (57) were very humbling but they reached their nadir when Adelaide smashed them in round 16 with a secondhalf onslaught that resulted in a 59-point defeat. Coach Luke Beveridge described that loss as the most disappointing of his short career at the Dogs. The seven-point loss to the Eagles in round 15 at Etihad Stadium was also pretty bad and you could argue their narrow wins over North Melbourne by a combined total of four points were hardly flattering either. Injury and/or form have led to Stewart Crameri, Josh Dunkley, Tory Dickson, Jack Redpath, Clay Smith, Jordan Roughead, Matthew Boyd, Dale Morris, Mitch Wallis, Marcus Adams, Fletcher Roberts, Shane Biggs, Lin Jong and Bob Murphy missing sizeable chunks of the season while mental health issues have unfortunately affected Travis Cloke and Tom Boyd.

ADEL AIDE CROWS 3.25 GWS GI ANTS 3.75 SYDNEY SWANS 4.50 GEELONG CATS 9.00 RICHMOND 11.00 PORT ADEL AIDE 21.00 MELBOURNE 26.00 WESTERN BULLDOGS 41.00 ESSENDON 51.00 WEST COAST EAGLES 67.00

STYLE 5 STYLE MYTHS TO AVOID

1. DESIGNER CLOTHING IS ALWAYS EXPENSIVE Yes, most, but not all, designer clothing is expensive and some items never get price reductions, but many do. If there is something you really want, but it’s not within your budget, just keep your eyes and mouth open. Check websites often, subscribe to mailing lists, and don’t be afraid to ask a sales associate when a particular item might be discounted. Another way to get a discount involves making a purchase on a website for the first time. Many companies offer you a discount outright or in exchange for your email address and other information. If there is a particular label you like, check out flash sale sites such as Gilt, or try outlets and their websites, such as Barney’s Warehouse, OFF 5TH, Last Call, or Nordstrom Rack.

2. YOU H AVE TO BUY EXPENSIVE CLOTHES TO LOOK ST YLISH This is so false. Stylish clothing comes in a range of prices. Even brands and stores that are known to sell higher priced items will generally offer some more affordable

pieces each season.

Additionally, there are a variety of brands that offer high style at a fair price, such as J.Crew and Frank & Oak. Fast fashion shops are also a great option to find trendy items you only want to wear for one season.

Check out Forever 21, H&M, and Uniqlo.

3. THE KEY TO GOOD ST YLE IS TO FOLLOW THE TRENDS This is just plain wrong. Having style is about finding what looks best on you and what your personal preferences are. In fact, classic menswear often looks more stylish than seasonal trends do.

The key is to create a signature look that you feel confident in. If you love bow ties, wear one every day.

If you want to wear a blazer over everything from T-shirts to dress shirts, make that your thing. You don’t have to wear the latest and greatest in order to stand out.

4. YOU ARE THE SAME SIZE IN EVERY BRAND Most men wish this was true, but standard sizing just doesn’t exist

anymore. Every brand has its own sizing, but even that can vary from item to item. You could be a medium and a large within the same label. Certain brands are even vanity sized, so a size 36 might really have waistline of 38 inches. Buy everything based on fit, not on size.

5. ONLY CELEBRITIES H AVE PERSON AL ST YLISTS If you aren’t the kind of man who is good at choosing wardrobe options for himself, you should consider using a stylist either in person or online. Whether you need casual clothes, formal wear, or something in between, a professional stylist can help you discover what looks best on you and how to coordinate everything with your current wardrobe.

Trunk Club and Bonobos have retail locations where you can schedule an appointment with a stylist. If meeting with an actual person just isn’t for you, Trunk Club has online stylists. You can also try services like Bomb Fell and The Mr. Collection.

WH AT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY?

21ST-CENTURY UNICORN OR THE MONEY OF THE FUTURE? TODAY CRYPTOCURRENCIES HAVE BECOME A GLOBAL PHENOMENON KNOWN TO MOST PEOPLE. VIRTUAL CURRENCIES, PERHAPS MOST NOTABLY BITCOIN, HAVE CAPTURED THE IMAGINATION OF SOME, STRUCK FEAR AMONG OTHERS, AND CONFUSED THE HECK OUT OF THE REST OF US. BEYOND THE NOISE AND THE PRESS RELEASES THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF PEOPLE EVEN BANKERS, CONSULTANTS, SCIENTISTS, AND DEVELOPERS HAVE A VERY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCIES. THEY OFTEN FAIL TO EVEN UNDERSTAND THE BASIC CONCEPTS. WE BRIEFLY TALK YOU THROUGH THE CONCEPT, WHAT IT IS AND TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHY YOUR BOOKMAKER IS NOW TRYING TO MAKE YOU CONVERT.

the

MEN’S

MODE

FALL MUST HAVES RIP CURL MIRAGE MF FOCUS ULT 20" BOARDSHORT $69.50 ripcurl.com

HURLEY PH ANTOM FREE ELITE MEN’S SANDAL $80 hurley.com

BEATS BY DRE SOLO2 WIRELESS $299.95 beatsbydre.com

1 2 3 4

ARBOR TIMELESS PREMIUM SKATEBOARD $199.95 arborcollective.com

SCHULZ & M ALLEY TRADING COMPANY POST SH AVE DAILY MOISTURE $22 schulzmalley.com

6 58 7 DANIEL WELLINGTON CL ASSIC SUFFOLK 40MM WATCH $229 danielwellington.com

A GOLDE DENIM SKINNY FIT IN BEDFORD $158 agolde.com

Z GALLERIE JAXXON POOL TABLE $6499 zgallerie.com

GRILLERS' Corner GAME DAY GRILLING TIPS

Grab your team’s jersey and fire up the grill—it’s football season, and no game day is complete without a full spread of grilled meat and vegetables.

Whether you’re rusty on your grill skills or looking to impress your buddies with some new tricks, our grill hacks will punch up your game day experience by saving you time and effort while punching up the flavor of your favorite game day foods.

HOT DOGS

Spiral cut your hot dogs using a skewer and a knife so that they grill evenly throughout. And rather than have a slew of condiments scattered across your tailgate table, use a muffin tin to separate and place condiments. Bonus – this also cuts down on the number of dishes you have to clean and the amount of waste from your tailgate. Got an empty six-pack? (Sure you do) Use this to hold and carry condiment bottles, napkins, and other essentials.

Don’t forget the bottle opener.

RIBS

Turn your grill into a smoker by placing a tin foil pouch filled with wood chips on top of one of your burners.

Spraying apple juice on your meat as it grills or smokes

will enhance the flavor appearance, and tenderness of the finished product.

BURGERS

For those of you who don’t use pre-formed patties for burger, A) good for you, and B) hiding a single ice cube in the patty is a great way to ensure that the inside of the burger stays moist while cooking. This trick works best if you are forming the patties immediately before placing them on the grill—that way, the ice cube doesn’t melt and soak the whole burger. To retain that moisture as well as heat, allow the meat to rest for ten minutes under a loose tent of aluminum foil.

POST-GAME CLEANUP

While your grill is still hot, scrub it with the cut side of a freshly halved onion. Not only will the oils in the onion get rid of most of the residue left over on the grill, but they’ll also season the grill and add flavor for the next time it’s used.

Using these grill hacks, your tailgate or game-viewing party will crush the opposition and be a success— whether or not your team actually wins you’ll still be talk of the town.

manscaping 101 FOR MOST MEN, BODY GROOMING IS STUCK SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN LOOKING LIKE A ULTRAHIPSTER CAVEMAN OR ONE OF THE GUYS FROM ONE DIRECTION. TO HELP STRIKE THAT BALANCE, WE HAVE THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT YOU NEED EVEN FOR THOSE DOWN LOW SPACES YOU PROBABLY NEVER THOUGHT OF COULD USE A LITTLE UPKEEP.

THE CHEST

Get yourself a good pair of clippers.

Trim your chest, going in the direction of the grain. Do it dry and use a toner or moisturizer after to prevent redness.

Try: Tendskin $15 tendskin.com

ARMPITS

Simple deodorant guys. And a light buzz with your clippers if your pit hair is creeping out your shirt sleeves.

Try: Task Essential Keep Fresh Deodorant Stick $25 taskessential.com

THE BACK

I think we can all agree that back hair is never sexy. That’s right, it’s time to book an appointment.

Tips for your first time: Take an Advil or a couple of Aspirin before your appointment. Get this done generally every four to six weeks to make it less painful . Don’t put any product on the area for up to 24 hours to prevent irritation. Use a product in between appointments to help keep hair growing back at a rapid pace.

Try: Inhibitif Body Serum $47 inhibitif.com

DOWN UNDER

It’s good to be groomed in this area.

Think in terms of keeping hair, but having less volume. A quick pass with clippers can usually do the trick. If you’re tempted to go ‘balls deep’, then be sure to use lots of shaving cream and a very good sharp razor. Use tiny strokes, one stroke and then clean the razor. Then, go back for the next one.

Try: The Art of Shaving Lexington Collection™ Razor & Cartridge $125 theartofshaving.com

SLEEP R I G H T, BE RIGHT

So it’s 2:30AM and you’re wide awake. You’re well aware you have got to be up in four hours when that alarm bell is sounding. Why didn’t I finish that report? I wish I hadn’t stayed up so late last night. If I fall asleep now, I might sleep through my alarm. Only 3 more days till the weekend…”

Sound familiar? If so, you might be suffering from sleep maintenance insomnia: a condition that sees you waking up far too much during the night. The Journal of Epidemiology found that 56% of sufferers take over an hour to get back to sleep. In a different study, women tended to go to bed earlier and wake up later than men, found consistently in huge banks of data collected across 100 different countries.

Stress is one major factor keeping you awake, of course, but other modern-day behaviours contribute to your crap-naps when you should be deep in REM sleep. We’ve grilled a panel of experts and compiled both prevention and cure to save your sleep schedule. Head to slumberland

and stay there.

T H E R E L A X AT I O N MUSCLE

The reason many men find it tough to switch off is what Neil Shah, director of the Stress Management Society, calls the Roadrunner Effect.

“In the cartoons, the roadrunner’s feet come to a halt and his head still vibrates back-and-forth.”

Shah claims that men are similar, although your body stops moving, you’re combing through inboxes and social media, answering texts and watching TV until the small hours.

Basically, your brain is still running back and forth.

Men need to re-learn to reduce our stimuli before bedtime, training what’s referred to as ‘the relaxation muscle’. “You can’t go to the gym once and expect to get fit,” says Shah. “The same is true of relaxing. Common stress-induced behaviours like drinking alcohol, coffee, watching TV and exercising are all counterintuitive to sleep.”

Don’t think your nightcap will

HEALTH is your

WEALTH

help: the journal Current Topics in Behavioural Neuroscience shows small quantities of alcohol act as stimulants, not depressants. Best to stay off the drinks (which also prevents the need to pee and get up in the wee hours) and switch off all devices before bed. Instead, pick up MH’s recommended reading material.

back to sleep. “There’s a reason men can just roll over and nod off after sex, a big dopamine hormone release occurs during ejaculation, a natural sedative.” Not an option? Lisa Artis, from night-time experts The Sleep Council, recommends slow stretching or extremely light yoga.

SEXERCISE

Your diet has a major influence over sleeping soundly. A good night is dependant on tryptophan, an amino acid commonly found in protein or one more reason to pile your plate with muscle fuel. Tryptophan is instrumental in producing melatonin, the hormone that controls your body-clock.

But it’s not all good news for shake-happy gym bros. “Although protein is important, carbs act as a neurotransmitter and are responsible for carrying the right proteins to the brain,” says nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert. If you’re still struggling at 1am, she recommends a dish of porridge oats, high in both protein and complex

“While you’re stressed, your body’s “flight-or-fight” response is anticipating exercise,” says Shah.

“The best way to get rid of stress is to give it what it wants.” Don’t start doing burpees at 2am though, with the exercise-induced endorphins also comes adrenaline, which will pump you up and keep you awake.

Shab recommends leaving the gym no later than 3 hours before your bedtime to banish stress and boost sleep.

There is one exception to the rule, however Shah recommends sex as the best form of exercise to put you

CHOW DOWN

carbs, to help you drift off. “If you feel sated, you’re more likely to drift off,” hence the infamous Food Coma.

GET UP

Don’t feel trapped in your bed, unable to sleep but unwilling to get up in case the Sandman does turn up. “Rather than lying in bed, struggling to sleep, if you’re still awake after 30 minutes get up and do something,” says Altis. She recommends putting on a dim light (as flicking the ‘big light’ on tricks your body-clock into thinking it’s daylight) and reading, or getting up for glass of water or, even better, milk. Milk contains the tryptophan that’s essential for nodding off.

Getting up and distracting yourself (without devices) effectively resets you. Settling down fifteen minutes later means you’re more likely to crash than remaining in bed fretting over the time, which can act as a source of anxiety all over again. This is known as stimulus control, trying to trick your brain into falling asleep by ‘going to bed’ all over again.

SCORECAST SPORTSBET EXCLUSIVE! GE T DAILY SCORE SIMUL ATIONS FROM OUR EXPERTS SENT TO YOUR INBOX DAILY FREE TO SIGN UP WWW.SPORTSBE TM AGAZINE.COM

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR SPORTS BE T TING ADVISOR There are literally thousands of sports handicappers, so it can be overwhelming to determine the best one for you. From the full time guru, worth every penny to the bloke who drinks beer and has an opinion and a web link, a true handicapper in sports requires an intense amount of time, dedication, skill and analytical

knowledge. Quality time is required to study lines, trends, historical angles, power ratings, statistics, game analysis and more. But even with all that in the book, most of all it requires control, focus and goals.

So, you have decided to make a little extra side income on your favorite sport, have established a realistic goal and bankroll, what’s next?

Just like you wouldn't find a stock broker you trust on Instagram, don't spend your hard earned savings without a solid referral for a legitimate business. Here are the major questions you should ask yourself before diving in the deep end and letting the good times roll: 1. Track Record? Do they provide statistical evidence for success.

2. How Much? How much value am I getting for my dollar?

3. Do they provide accurate

historical data and is it overseen by a trusted third party?

4. What Is their sports betting model? Does it suit my goals and bankroll?

5. Do they specialize in a particular sport that interests me?

6. Customer service, can I get an answer?

WARNINGS

Watch out for the “Affiliate Guru” type. With a flashy website, free tips and a high ranking on search engines, you think, it must be good right? Wrong. Many self-proclaimed Sports Handicappers make a full time living on referring you to bookmakers where they make a percentage of your deposits and losses. If you're with the right Handicapper they should research and provide you with the best odds for that event on the market, not just the one he gets a slice of the pie!

HANDICAPPER DIRECTORY

ATS WINS - MLB, NCAA, NFL - DOCUMENTED, BEST GUARANTEES, DAILY, MONTHLY & SEASON AL PACKAGES AVAIL ABLE. DISCOUNTED RATES AT WWW.ATSWINS.COM CALL 1-800-772-1287

BOOKERS PICKS - MLB, NCAA, NFL - DOCUMENTED, AFFORDABLE MONTHLY & YEARLY SUBSCRIPTIONS WITH COMPLE TE BANKROLL SYSTEM. WWW. BOOKERSPICKS.COM EM AIL INFO@BOOKERSPICKS.COM

OLBG - SPORTS & RACING DAILY BEST BE TS - AFFORDABLE, NO CONTRACTS, DAILY PICKS AND ACCUMUL ATORS. REGISTER AT WWW.OLBG.COM

RACENE T - THOROUGHBRED RACING - PROVIDING THE BEST RACE DAY EXPERIENCE WITH BEST BE TS, SPEED M APS & RATINGS. WWW. RACENE T.COM.AU EM AIL INFO@RACENE T.COM.AU