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.