Since it’s that obvious anyway.

Arguably the greatest three weeks in sports are upon us with the 2010 March madness bracket tournament tipping off. And of course Bodog will have everything a basketball bettor could ever need.

Yes, it’s that time of year when even the most amateur sports fan becomes an expert in basketball with the men’s NCAA tournament here. From the play-in game through the 2010 NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis, Bodog will have it all covered with basketball news, odds, contests and more.

That’s right, the road to the Final Four runs through Bodog and you won’t find any gaming site with as many basketball betting options on the NCAA tournament than those guys. They’ve been doing this for 15 years and they should already know what bettors want when it comes to the Big Dance. From odds to news to brackets, you’ll find it all at Bodog.

This year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament appears to be one of the most wide-open tourneys in recent year, and that could be good news for those basketball bettors. While the North Carolina Tar Heels were huge favorites going into last year’s Big Dance and came home with the title, the Heels are not even in the field this year.

The Kansas Jayhawks, the Kentucky Wildcats, the Syracuse Orange and the Duke Blue Devils are your four No.1 seeds in the bracket this year, but none of those four could be considered a lock Final Four team.

Last year’s tournament was very chalk, as for the first time since seeding began, all 12 teams seeded No.3 or better made it to the Sweet 16, and three No.1 seeds reached the Elite Eight for the third straight year.

There are probably about 20 or so teams that have a real shot at…

With Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui no longer part of the Yankees, can these guys return to the World Series this year?

That is the question most Yankee fans are asking themselves as we kick off the brand new 2010 MLB baseball season. Will the key additions of Javier Vasquez and Curtis Granderson be enough to fill the holes Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui left on the roster?

Without a shadow of a doubt, both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui were keys in the Yankees’ World Series run in 2009. Hell, Matsui was the 2009 World Series MVP for crying out loud. Thankfully, the Yankees are deep enough on both offense and with pitching that they can probably afford to lose out on those key elements on their title run heading to the season.

While some will remember Vazquez’s bad first go-around with the New York Yankees, things will be drastically different in that he won’t be counted on to be the ace or even second-best pitcher on the team. He’ll be the fourth starter behind CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte. There is no questioning Vazquez’s stuff and the second tour on duty with the Bronx Bombers should be a lot smoother.

Granderson can do a lot of things on offense, but would be so much better if he could hit lefties (.210 career batting average). Yet, in a lineup that includes Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, and newly (re)-acquired Nick Johnson, Granderson will be alright.

And so will the Yankees as they have a great shot to…

You ready?

As we move deep into the month of March, we inch ever closer to the 2010 March Madness bracket tournament and the madness that ensues each and every spring in college basketball. With just one week remaining in conference play, the right to automatic bids are already up for grabs.

On that note, here are the top five teams lording over the college basketball right now, starting with the best of ‘em all, the Syracuse Orange. Syracuse’s rise to the top of the national polls produced an Orange infusion in the college basketball power rankings.

The Orange’s 95-77 victory Saturday over Villanova helped Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim regain his position as the no.1 coach in the power rankings too, them rankings that measure the nation’s top performers at each position. Picked before the season to finish sixth in the Big East, Syracuse already has clinched at least a share of the conference title. With a 27-2 overall record and an incredibly effective two-three zone defensive scheme, Syracuse should be the team to beat once the brackets are here.

Following at the second spot are the Kansas Jayhawks. After suffering their first conference loss, the Jayhawks are determined to bounce back. Coach Bill Self said, ”I am believing we can get something out of (the OSU loss). I don’t think the thing is broken. I do think we need to evaluate our things. We need to take great pride in the things that help us win, especially this time of year.”

The loss at Oklahoma State could be a sign of fate for Kansas as the last time the Jayhawks visited Stillwater back in 2008, they suffered a one-point defeat. Then they went on to win out, capturing the NCAA title. The defeat also meant that the only team to ever go undefeated in Big 12 play remains the 2001-02 Jayhawks squad coached by…

Luckily, these guys know exactly what to do with him.

With the overall no.2 draft pick, the Memphis Grizzlies selected Hasheem Thabeet for the 2010 NBA basketball season. Unfortunately for him, things are not doing so well as far as his rookie year in Memphis is concerned.

You read it, Hasheem Thabeet has been, well, a letdown if you will considering that he was the overall no.2 draft pick in last year’s draft. You know who else was selected that high and turned out to be a disappointment? Darko Milicic. Only God knows where this dude is playing in now.

As for the Memphis Grizzlies, they don’t want to waste a talent like Thabeet. That’s why they’re sending him over to the NBA D-League in hopes of polishing his talents further for a brighter NBA career ahead.

If only Darko was given the same second lease in life.

Thabeet, 23, is averaging just 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game for the Grizzlies. With this move, the Grizzlies will most likely add a late-season free agent. Several players are rumored to be negotiating buyouts, for instance Larry Hughes that could fill a gap for the Grizzlies until Ronnie Brewer’s return.

Hopefully going to the NBA D-League will teach Thabeet that if you can touch the top of the backboard, there’s no need to try to block a shot at the other player’s hands below the rim. Hopefully he’ll learn how to cut through the back-door, and, more importantly, defend against cutters.

Hopefully, and more importantly at that, it will teach him how to…

My my, teams are really letting some once great running backs go these last couple of days huh?

Brian Westbrook won’t be playing for them Eagles no more once the 2010 NFL football season gets here. Yes, just like LaDainian Tomlinson not playing for them Chargers anymore. You see, after two cases of concussions last season, the Eagles finally let him go, stirring up some rumors that he may just call it quits and walk away from football.

However, Brian Westbrook claims that is simply not the case. ”My plan is not to retire. My plan is to continue to play football,” he said in an interview with a local radio station in Philly. ”There’s 32 teams out there. Hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to go and play with another team.”

Yes, after two concussions that kept him out for a good portion of Philly’s last campaign in the NFL, Westbrook feels he can still play football and bang heads with guys like Jared Allen and Patrick Willis. And in case you’re wondering, no, he doesn’t have a death wish.

Westbrook, who thanked Philadelphia Eagles fans and coach Andy Reid for all their support, said his agent has already heard from three or four teams about his availability for 2010. Of course, we don’t know if those three or four teams play in the NFL. Hell, he may end up playing for some team in Canada for all we know.

Westbrook also said that he understood why the Eagles…

Of course, all them trades that happened a few days ago will have a huge impact on who these sportsbooks favor.

The trade deadline this 2010 NBA basketball season has come and gone and while the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t get Amare Stoudemire like they wanted, they still were able to score Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards and Sebastian Telfair from the L.A. Clippers.

”We are very excited to have an experienced all-star player of Antawn’s caliber and character join us,” said Cleveland Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry after making the deal. ”He has the ability to add a special, unique dimension to our team with a strong inside presence and the ability to stretch teams defensively, while impacting the entire court.”

As it stands, online sportsbooks have Cleveland as the odds-on favorite at -110 to win the Eastern Conference and +225 to win the NBA championship. The trade was consummated on Feb. 18 and Jamison made his debut a day later and since then, the Cavaliers are 0-2 straight up and against the spread.

After a game against the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night, LeBron James and the rest of the Cavs will hit the road for a two-game Atlantic division swing with games against the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors.

Let’s look ahead to that road trip…

Oh yes, it’s really in Canada.

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games continue in what should be a plethora of fantastic sporting events with the World Cup and the NBA playoffs just around the corner.

But as far as the Winter Olympics are concerned, Germany is leading the gold medal count with three. The Germans also have four silvers and two bronzes to rack up 9 medals.

Gold medal winners for team Germany are Neuner Magdalena, who won in Biathlon, Loch Felix in men’s singles luge and Huefner Tatjana in women’s singles luge.

Following at second spot is the United States of America with 8 total medals, that’s two gold, two silver and four bronze. Kearney Hannah won the gold medal in women’s moguls for freestyle skiing. While Wescott Seth bagged the gold for snowboarding in men’s snowboard cross.

At the third spot is France with seven total medals; 2 golds, 1 silver and 4 bronzes. Jay Vincent and Lamy Chappius Jason got gold medals in biathlon and nordic, respectively.

Rounding the fourth and fifth spots in gold medal count are Canada and South Korea, tallying two and three golds, respectively.

Athletes that gave pride glory for team Canada are Bilodeau Alexnadre, who…

Apparently, the only dude who still thinks so is none other than Shaquille O’Neal himself.

With the 2010 NBA basketball season closing in on its final stretch for the postseason, the last thing you want is a seven-foot, 300-pound monster like Shaquille O’Neal after you. Well, Dwight Howard got Shaq’s attention, all thanks to this stupid little nickname that lets the rest of the league call you Superman.

You read it, Shaquille O’Neal hates the fact that the rest of the league has been calling Dwight Howard ”Superman.” Shaq feels Howard stole the moniker from him and he still feels he should be the only guy who can carry the name even at this point of his career.

Shaq made his displeasure towards Howard and his new nickname public after his Cleveland Cavaliers beat Howard’s Orlando Magic just before the All-Star break. Shaq even remarked, ”Superman my ass,” after the game, clearly trying to instigate something with Orlando’s big man.

Shaq hates Howard so much that the Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t lost a game to the Orlando Magic this season. There’s something about playing against Howard that brings the best out of Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq claims he finds it offensive every time people compare him to Howard. After beating Orlando again a few days ago, Shaq remarked, ”You tell me who the real Superman is.”

As for Dwight Howard, he could care less about the ”Superman” nickname…

We sure heard a lot of these before and during Super Bowl XLIV.

And since we all now know that Peyton Manning missed out on winning his second Super Bowl title after his Colts lost to the Saints in Super Bowl XLIV to the score of 31-17, we’re asking again. Can Peyton Manning still be considered as the best quarterback to ever play football if he doesn’t win another Super Bowl?

You bet. Peyton Manning can still be considered as the best quarterback to ever play football because nobody has consistently won games better than he did the last few years. Sure, his crucial mistake late in Super Bowl XLIV cost him his second ring but that won’t take away the things he has already accomplished in his fantastic 12-year career in the NFL.

Heck, this is the guy who led the Indianapolis Colts to become the only team in NFL history to reach the playoffs ten times in the last 11 years. Absolutely nothing can take that away from him.

Manning was drafted by the Colts as the 1st overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. He has spent all 12 years of his career with the Colts and is well on his way to compiling one of the best careers in NFL history.

Manning has already won three NFL MVP awards, tying Otto Graham, Brett Favre, Jim Brown, John Unitas, and Randall Cunningham for most all time. He has been selected to seven Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl in 2007, and has been named Super Bowl MVP. Through the 2006 season Manning has thrown for…

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is still pondering about his retirement.

After his team suffered a 45 – 14 blowout versus the Super Bowl XLIV bound New Orleans Saints, Kurt Warner talked to his head coach and said he needs some time to think about his future.

I case you missed it, the 38-year-old Kurt Warner took a vicious hit in their divisional playoff game with the Saints and left the game briefly after throwing an interception. That probably convinced him to reevaluate his future with the Arizona Cardinals.

”I have some ideas in my head, but you want to get away from the season for a minute and make sure what you’re feeling stays that way. But I don’t think it will be a long process,” Kurt Warner said.

Warner has missed only one regular season game in the last two seasons. He threw 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions this year, and played a nearly-flawless wild-card game against the Packers, completing 29 of 33 passes with five touchdowns.

”It’s really going to come down to what I want to do moving forward, what’s the best thing for me,” he said.

It is easy to find reasons he would step away, even with one year and as much as $11 million left on his contract. Many athletes ”Favre it” and unretire because they fail to find comparable means to fill the void. Little can match the rush of an NFL stage. Warner is a…