2010 World Cup: USA vs. Ghana

Big Game today in the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup... and who do we, as Americans, like to win this game? America, of course!

We know that this is a Ghana squad that essentially knocked the United States out of the tourney four years ago, but this is not the same United States. The momentum behind this club has that special destiny feel about it that you only find once every, well in the case of the USA soccer team, 80 years (their only place in the World Cup was in 1930, finishing third in the first Cup ever held).

And so, the pick is in:

United States +130 over Ghana

We like the moneyline in this case for a straight up USA win.

Fellow Americans, enjoy the clip above and hope for more of the same heroics from the Algeria game. We try not to be partial to any teams (never a good betting strategy), but go USA!

Tooting Our Own Vuvuzelas as the USA Wins Group C

We hate to say we told you so when it comes to the United States winning their group in the World Cup for the first time since 1930, but hey, we told you so! We even told you how! And at +400 odds and with a thrilling ride, we're sorry if you still didn't pick them to win it. We did all we could!

With England beating Slovenia, the United States needed a win over Algeria to advance. It wasn't looking so good as the game went into extra time scoreless, but Landon Donovan changed that in the 91st minute and the rest, as they say, is history.

We're having a pretty successful run at the World Cup so far, so stay tuned as we go to the round of 16 with more 2010 World Cup Picks and analysis.

Mock Lemon: 2010 NBA Mock Draft

In all of our World Cup Fever (more on that later), we have barely had time for our annual NBA Mock Draft. Well, fortunately we have come down from the high of correctly picking the United States to win Group C (more on that later), meaning it's time for our 2010 NBA Mock Draft (more on that now). Let's get straight to our picks, headlined by Kentucky's John Wall to the Wizards.

1. Washington Wizards: PG John Wall, Kentucky

2. Philadelphia 76ers: SG Evan Turner, Ohio State

3. New Jersey Nets: PF Derrick Favors, Georiga Tech

4. Minnesota Timberwolves: SF Wesley Johnson, Syracuse

5. Sacramento Kings: PF Greg Monroe, Georgetown

6. Golden State Warriors: C DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky

7. Detroit Pistons: PF Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest

8. Los Angeles Clippers: PF Ekpe Udoh, Baylor

9. Utah Jazz: SF Luke Babbitt, Nevada

10. Indiana Pacers: PF Ed Davis, North Carolina

11. New Orleans Hornets: C Cole Aldrich, Kansas

12. Memphis Grizzlies: SG Xavier Henry, Kansas

13. Toronto Raptors: PF Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

14. Houston Rockets: C Daniel Orton, Kentucky

15. Milwaukee Bucks: SF Paul George, Fresno State

16. Minnesota Timberwolves: C Hassan Whiteside, Marshall

17. Chicago Bulls: SF Gordon Hayward, Butler

18. Oklahoma City Thunder: SF Damion James, Texas

19. Boston Celtics: PG Eric Bledsoe, Kentucky

20. San Antonio Spurs: PF Kevin Seraphin, France

21. Oklahoma City Thunder: PF Larry Sanders, VCU

22. Portland Trail Blazers: SG James Anderson, Oklahoma State

23. Minnesota Timberwolves: SG Dominique Jones, South Florida

24. Atlanta Hawks: PG Avery Bradley, Texas

25. Memphis Grizzlies: SG Elliot Williams, Memphis

26. Oklahoma City Thunder: SF Devin Ebanks, West Virginia

27. New Jersey Nets: PF Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech

28. Memphis Grizzlies: PF Craig Brackins, Iowa State

29. Orlando Magic: SG Jordan Crawford, Xavier

30. Washington Wizards: SG Terrico White, Ole Miss

As always, we guarantee our mock draft to be 100 percent accurate at tomorrow night's NBA Draft. Check back for more coverage of the 2010 NBA Draft and 2010 World Cup here at Stock Lemon!

An Unlucky Push as the USA "Ties" Slovenia

By now you've surely seen the United States get robbed in their game against Slovenia yesterday, and while it's a shame that the Americans' third and probably game winning goal was mysteriously disallowed, nobody is talking about the real victims in all of this--the bettors!

We correctly picked an American victory yesterday, as we correctly predicted a tie against England, however their comeback was stopped short by the man in the middle. Fortunately for us, we bet the Americans at -200 rather than taking the more appealing moneyline, thus rendering a draw as a push rather than a loss. Still, this has to go down as the worst beat of the World Cup thus far, especially considering how late in the game the apparent non-goal occurred. Add to that the fact that it was a roller coaster game for betters regardless.

Still, we hope to rebound and once again correctly predict the outcome of the USAs Group C matchup against Algeria on Wednesday.

Giving Arena Football Another Chance

Our first Free AFL Pick didn't go as planned, but thankfully, there's more of the war indoors for us to bet on. And this time, we're betting on the Arena Football League in the league's biggest stage... The NFL Network!

While the AFL is no NFL, it's still football. And in the midst of all the futbol action of the World Cup, we are ready for some hard hitting action.

Jacksonville Sharks -4 1/2 over the Orlando Predators

So after the World Cup action tomorrow morning, be sure to catch the action indoors at night.

Good luck!

2010 World Cup: USA vs. Slovenia

This is the squad that gave us our first winner in the 2010 World Cup, and we're banking on the United States to get it done again--this time, with an outright win.

USA -200 over Slovenia

The Americans were able to draw even with England thanks to a lucky strike by Clint Dempsey and some rock solid goalkeeping by Tim Howard. The current group leader, Slovenia, poses some threat tomorrow, but not enough to overtake the Americans (who we predicted to win the group).

This Legoland is Your Land...

We'd be remiss if we didn't throw this up. A great find by the folks over at The Bucky Channel, whose World Cup coverage has been second to one (our own), this Lego video reenacts the goals scored in Saturday's England vs. United States showdown--which we correctly predicted to end in a tie.

The highlights of the video are that 1. it includes the audio feed from the game, which is brilliantly called by the announcers and 2. there are no visible Lego vuvuzelas in the very calm stands.

Enjoy the video, and enjoy our continuing coverage of the 2010 World Cup.

2010 World Cup: South Africa vs. Uruguay

So far, we've correctly predicted the outcome to the biggest game in the 2010 World Cup when the United States and England played to a draw. Not a bad start to betting the Cup. And yes, we are tooting our own vuvuzela horn.

Our next task? Ride the home country. We still don't think South Africa gets out of the group, but we'll hedge our bet against the home nation (who, by the way, has always advanced to the round of 16 in the history of the World Cup) by picking them to beat Uruguay tomorrow.

Uruguay is already predicting a victory for, well, themselves. But no so fast. By the power vested in the vuvuzela, we declare the South Africans winners of tomorrow's showdown. And once again, our win will net us more than we lay.

South Africa PICK (+125) over Uruguay

We could take the moneyline for +200, but the extra +75 is worth sacrificing to save ourselves from the ties that have so far plagued the cup. We like South Africa in this spot for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are home field advantage and Uruguay's incompetence since 1990 (last time they've won a game in the Cup). This is the host nation's best chance to get a win, and we just have a hard time seeing them winless in their group.

Good luck and stay tuned for more betting analysis and picks on the 2010 World Cup!

A Revolutionary Tie... We Told You So!

It might not have been how we drew it up, but it was still a draw as we predicted. The USA and England ended at 1-1, making us 1-0 on the individual games that we've actually picked. At +325 for the tie, we picked a good game to win.

And with that, we will stop gloating. But be sure to follow us throughout this 2010 World Cup for more winners and great betting analysis.

2010 World Cup: Top Goal Scorer Prop Bet

We like Argentina to win the 2010 World Cup. Why? Two words: Lionel Messi. So naturally, we are going to try and take advantage of Messi's talent by winning some money on his performance during the World Cup.

At 10/1 odds, we like Messi to score the most goals in this year's cup, largely due to the fact that he'll play in the most games (well, tied for the most).

Messi has a knack for the ball around the goal, and this World Cup, he should put it all on display. The chance to win 10 times our bet on something that reflects our 2010 World Cup prediction is too good to pass, much like Messi, who will pass instead of shoot every time he touches the ball.

We hope.

2010 World Cup: South Africa vs. Mexico Props

In case you haven't heard, the 2010 World Cup begins TOMORROW! We promised props, and we're here to deliver on our first one in the very first game. Here's the prop in the South Africa vs. Mexico match:

What will be the time of the first goal?

29th minute or before... EVEN

After 29th minute... EVEN

No goal... +550

In the prop bet for the time of the first goal in the entire 2010 World Cup, we like it to happen in the 29th minute or before. With all the excitement of the World Cup in South Africa, we think the host nation will get a goal on Mexico early in this one. We're not saying they'll win, but we do think they'll score early. And hey, if they don't Mexico can always knock one in on their way to a 5-0 win.

2010 World Cup: Betting on Revolutionary War II, USA vs. England

The second Revolutionary War will take place on Saturday, with the United States of America taking on Mother England to open their Group C schedules in the 2010 World Cup.

Had we been alive in 1976, we certainly would have bet on the results of the first Revolutionary War (and probably would have laid the chalk on Great Britain, like fools!). Fortunately, we get our chance to bet on the England-USA matchup in 2010.

While we won't be betting on every game this World Cup, this high profile matchup is definitely worth the attention and the hype it is receiving.

Obviously, we all know how this went down in the 1950 World Cup, the only time these two squads met previously in a cup. The American's makeshift team knocked off the English, and have been waiting 60 years for the chance to prove it was no fluke. That chance is Saturday, and they will prove their point--kind of.

The best bet in this one, in our view, is a draw. At +325 odds, you can really cash in on this one by pounding the tie figure. If you're feeling adventurous, the Americans at +450 is a fun little bet to make, but as we said in our Group C preview, we see a tie here and a group win by the USA based on point differential.

So why will they tie?

Really, it's simple. The United States has A LOT more to play for in this one. While this is the biggest game in the history of U.S. Soccer, the Brits are yawning at the competition in the group and are already looking forward to their inevitable advancement. Some might argue that it is more important for the United States to beat England than it is to advance out of the group.

The USA will have to be nearly perfect on the pitch to get the win, and will definitely have to match and exceed the physical play of their rivals, to earn the victory. In our view, it's unlikely they'll come away with the win. A tie, however, is a different story. The key to this one is making sure to come out with intensity right off the bat. If the Americans can get an early goal, or even show a significant attack, we like the chances at a 1-1 or even 0-0 draw.

So there you have it. The biggest soccer game in the history of the United States, and you can tell your grandkids that you bet on it. If you're not pumped for the big game yet, brush up on your Schoolhouse Rock and get ready to win some cash on Revolutionary War II.

2010 World Cup: The Next Champion Will Be...

It's time for our 2010 World Cup champion pick. Who will it be?

At 4/1 odds, Spain and Brazil are the front runners, but cross them off the list. How about Italy, last year's champion, at 14/1 for the repeat? No thanks. 2006 Runner-up France at 20/1 won't be sniffing the Cup championship this year either.

We could go with a homer pick, the United States at 50/1, but while we picked the Americans to win Group C, we aren't that big of homers. Their Group C rival, England, is sitting on 8/1 odds, but we predict more struggles for the English when it comes to dealing with the expectations. All you can expect is an upset from them in the round of 16.

In our view, it's down to Netherlands (9/1) and Argentina (6/1), and we're going with the Argentines. Injury concerns have us frightened on the Dutch front, though you can expect them to be one of the final four teams remaining.

So there you have it. Your 2010 World Cup champion, according to the new and improved Stock Lemon gurus, will be Argentina.

But hey, there's only one way to find out--playing the games! Kick-off of the 2010 World Cup is tomorrow in South Africa, and you can bet that we will have plenty of coverage throughout!

Welcome to the New and Improved Stock Lemon!

If you've been hitting F5 all night waiting for us to pump out some more 2010 World Cup coverage (coming later tonight, for you nighthawks), you've probably noticed some changes throughout the night. As you can see, we have implemented a new template here at Stock Lemon for the first time since our inception in December of 2007.

We feel like the layout, while not drastically different, gives us a cleaner overall look. The use of charcoal as a background color for the text makes the site more readable, while the addition of a left sidebar gives us the potential for more content in the future, including polls and other links.

But enough about how we feel about it, how do you feel about the changes around here. Shoot us an e-mail at stocklemonblog@gmail.com.

Keep in mind that we will continue to provide betting analysis on all major sports and sporting events, and will remain your main squeeze on stocks and sports wagers, even if we pretty much never talk about stocks.

Ad for those of you sick of the ads on the page, or those who don't like that they get top billing above our posts--you can do something about it! Just send us a donation using the paypal icon on the left and we will be one step closer to not having to put our Adsense in such prime location. Hey, we gotta eat!

So let us know, and in the meantime, check out our 2010 World Cup coverage, with much more to come as the first kick is now hours away!

2010 World Cup: Send in Your Picture Contest Answers

As we mentioned earlier this week, our 2010 World Cup analysis comes with a twist--a contest involving the pictures that we post of the teams we predict to win each group.

Your challenge is to name the player or year or date or whatever makes the posted picture in each one of our group breakdowns significant. You can see them all in the right hand column.

Send in your answers to stocklemonblog@gmail.com. The first person to correctly guess each one (and come on, there are some easy ones in there) will receive a prize courtesy of Stock Lemon.

Good luck!

2010 World Cup: Group H Betting

And now, it's time to conclude our 2010 World Cup group-by-group betting analysis with Group H. Let's take a look at the odds to win it:

Spain... -400
Chile... +500
Switzerland... +1000
Honduras... +4000

Clearly, the Spaniards are heavy favorites in this group, and, well, why wouldn't they be? Aside from the obvious talents of Spain, look at that group! Who is going to contend with them?

We think, minor upset alert, that Switzerland will give them their biggest test. Chile has the capacity to pull of a couple of upsets, though they certainly won't beat Spain. Which leaves games against Honduras and Switzerland, and we like the Swiss in that spot. Upsets are rare in the World Cup, so you have to pick your spots, so Swiss it is. Hopefully the soccer team can draw upon the professionalism and experience shown in another Olympic sport of theirs in the below clip (you might have to skip a minute to get to the Swiss).

Chile will finish a solid third, and unfortunately Honduras will be the team that doesn't show up in Group H. Our final standings:

1. Spain

2. Switzerland

3. Chile

4. Honduras

That concludes our group analysis of the 2010 World Cup, but we are far from done. Plenty of 2010 World Cup prop bets and even individual matchups will follow throughout the Cup, so keep coming back to Stock Lemon, your home for the 2010 World cup.

World Cup. World Cup. World Cup.

2010 World Cup: Group G Betting

Our 2010 World Cup analysis by group rolls on, with just two more groups to g0. So let's take care of one of those remaining groups, G. Your odds to win the group are as follows:

Brazil... -175
Portugal... +275
Ivory Coast... +450
North Korea... +10000

We want so badly to pick upsets just for the sake of picking upsets, but as you can see from the odds above, they are pretty appropriately assigned. We simply cannot bet against Brazil to take Group G, even if they don't play with their usual flashy style. This year, we will probably see the most complete team effort by the Brazilians, and while it might not be their most exciting squad, it will certainly be one of their best in terms of playing team soccer.

Good as Brazil is, Portugal is not far behind. They wouldn't be a horrible gamble at +275 to win the group, but they would have to play perfect soccer against Brazil for you to see a payday. Then again, we are not sure if they won the battle below to determine whether they are the greatest nation on Earth:

Ivory Coast will muster up a win against the hopeless North Koreans, but can only pray for a tie against one of the stronger two in the group. Once again there is a pretty clear cut 1-2 punch that will likely advance to the round of 16. Our final standings are:

1. Brazil

2. Portugal

3. Ivory Coast

4. North Korea

So, yes, no upsets again. Our standings reflect the odds, but with good reason. And so, we are down to one group left before we throw some 2010 World Cup prop bets your way.

As always, stay tuned!

2010 World Cup: Group F Betting

We are less than a week away from the 2010 World Cup, which means we better continue to pump out the rest of our group analysis. Group F, you're next. Here are your odds to win the group:

Italy... -225
Paraguay... +300
Slovakia... +700
New Zealand... +4000

The 2006 World Cup champs figure to have one of the easiest roads to a group win. We like the Italians to win all three of their matchups in Group F play, with or without key Italian stars Mario and Luigi.

As for the rest of the group, we think it's pretty much a crap shoot, possibly without the "shoot." Paraguay will probably rebound from their last World Cup performance and advance by default, because Slovakia and New Zealand don't pose much of a threat.

Our final standings:

1. Italy

2. Paraguay

3. Slovakia

4. New Zealand

Once again, not much on the upset front, as we have these teams finishing in order of their odds to win the group. Either way, feel good about betting Italy--hard--to win this group.

2010 World Cup: Picture Contest

In case you haven't noticed, we are currently in the process of providing picks and analysis on the 2010 World Cup. With each group prediction, we have included a picture relevant to the team we pick to win each respective group and we will continue to do so.

With only a few groups remaining, we think we've given you enough time to look over some of the first photos and alert you to the fact that this is all part of our first ever Stock Lemon contest! The first person to correctly identify all of the group prediction photos will receive an authentic Stock Lemon prize!

We're looking for either the name of the player(s) in the photo or the game or at the very least year that the photo was taken from (mostly, this applies to the picture for Group D).

Once we have completed our group predictions, e-mail us your answers for the picture contest at stocklemonblog@gmail.com. If you're answers are correct and you are the first to submit them, you will receive a prize courtesy of Lemmy (possibly similar to the picture posted above)!

2010 World Cup: Group E Betting

So far, we've forced you to lay a lot of chalk if you want to pick the correct group winners for the 2010 World Cup, and in Group E, that won't be any different. Let's take a look at our Group E odds.

Netherlands... -200

Denmark... +425
Cameroon... +450
Japan... +1400

We've mentioned that we aren't sure how big of an impact home field advantage will have for the African nations, but in this case, we do think it will give Cameroon an edge and help them to advance to the second round, a minor upset over Denmark. The Netherlands, Dutch and Holland will be the top teams in this group when all is said and done. What's that? They are all the same? Who knew?

No doubt, the Netherlands will look like three quality teams wrapped into one by comparison to this group, and that's more a testament to their skill level than it is a knock on the competition. Although, it is still a knock on the competition, especially the Japanese. Although the video below shows their unique practice methods, Japan will have more fond memories of World War II than they will of their group play performance this year. They are simply outmatched.

And so, our final standings look like this:

1. Netherlands

2. Cameroon

3. Denmark

4. Japan

Again, the upsets haven't been huge so far, but that's kind of how the pairings worked out this year. Big upsets in group play are relatively rare anyway, but this year in particular seems to have at least one and oftentimes two teams that are clearly a cut above the rest. In this group, the orange-clad Dutch are the runaway favorites.

With Group E in the rear-view mirror, we will continue to go right down the alphabet with our 2010 World Cup Betting analysis in the coming days. Keep coming back early and often as we keep giving you the World Cup group winners!

Our First Ever Free Arena Football League Pick!

We've stayed away from betting on the reformatted Arena Football League, mostly because it includes such premier teams as Bossier-Shreveport and Tulsa. But, the bottom line is, it's June and we miss football.

And so, with that, we present to you our first ever Free Arena Football League Pick. The new AFL has made it to about the midway point without folding, so we think it's finally safe to bet on it.

Milwaukee Iron -3 1/2 over the Arizona Rattlers

Home field advantage is important in the arena game, but on paper we just don't think the Rattlers match-up with the Iron, despite a two-game win streak.

So there you have it. Look out for possibly even more AFL Picks if this goes well, because like we said, we really miss football.

2010 World Cup: Group D Betting

The World Cup is coming up, which means we're going to continue to bang out our group predictions (as well as much more). Today is D-day for the Cup, as we give our betting advice on, you guessed it, Group D.

Here are the odds:

Germany... -125
Serbia... +275
Ghana... +500
Australia... +900

We wanted to do it, Serbia, but we just can't. The Germans are not the powerhouse they once were, but this group won't challenge them much. Serbia is playing well and is the only real threat. They should advance easily, but Germany should be able to lock up Group D, so long as the aren't playing at Normandy. Unless, of course, the Serbian's are able to secure this guy:

Speaking of game locations, Ghana does have a home field advantage but they just aren't quite at the point yet where they could take down the Serbians, and they certainly won't be taking the Germans to task either. Australia figures to struggle mightily in this group, but there are worse things you can do with your money than bet on the Aussies to win Group D.... like burn it.

Our final standings reflect the odds:

1. Germany
2. Serbia
3. Ghana
4. Australia

For more on the World Cup Brackets or the World Cup Betting Odds, check out Doc's Sports. They've got some insightful World Cup Soccer picks to check out now that you've read our Group D analysis.

Stay tuned for more 2010 World Cup Betting analysis here at Stock Lemon as the opening kick nears!