PPH World Cup Betting -- U.S. Changes Everything With Win Over Ghana

Well, the United States may not have played real well in between, but they got off to a great start and executed a rousing finish to create more of a possibility of advancing through the group stage of the World Cup, and at the very least, those American sports fans (not to mention PPH sports bettors at WagerHome.com who figure they can get excited a little about soccer once every four years have something to feel very good about at the moment. 

Clint Dempsey put one into the net with thirty seconds gone, which is the fastest any U.S. team has ever scored a goal in the finals of this event, and then, after the disappointment of a tying goal by Ghana's Andre Ayew, came right back with the game-winner from John Brooks, in the 86th minute. 

The 2-1 victory not only helped the Americans exact revenge for defeats in consecutive World Cups to the Black Stars, which effectively knocked them out of the competition, but also took a lot of pressure off, because Jurgen Klinsmann had inspired quite a bit of controversy on the road to Brazil.

Klinsmann, who some people know as one of the superstars from Germany's 1990 World Cup champions, made some genuine waves when he left London Donovan off the 23-man U.S. roster, prompting a load of criticism as to why he seemed to disrespect the leading international goal scorer in the history of the U.S. soccer program. And then there were the comments from WagerHome.com sports bettors and others that his team really did not have a hope of actually win the World Cup, which may have been true enough but brought backlash nonetheless from many directions, including that of the vanquished Donovan, who almost immediately transitioned into a role (much to the chagrin of U.S. soccer head honchos) into an expert commentator for ESPN's coverage. 

Maybe Klinsmann's commentary actually DID take some of the pressure off the U.S. squad. But there are speed bumps ahead, to be certain. Leave aside the fact that they have to play Germany in the third and final Group G game. Next up on Sunday is Portugal, which, of course, features Christiano Ronaldo, a contender for the unofficial title as best player in the world, as well as one of the favorites at WagerHome.com for the tournament's outstanding player (well, at least at the start). But luck is with the Americans to some extent, as the Portuguese, in the process of being torched 4-0 in their first game against the Germans on Monday, also may have lost three of its starters for the next contest. 

One of them, defender deluxe Pepe, certainly won't play, as he got a red card. But striker Hugo Almeida and defender Fabio Coentrao suffered injuries and may not recover in time. All the U.S. needs is a draw in that game to assure itself of advancing to the elimination phase. The draw, by the way, is +250 at WagerHome in the PPH World Cup betting lines, with the U.S. priced at +410 and favored Portugal at -150. 

Maybe Klinsmann will come out smelling like a rose after all. 

There is no telling what the Miami Heat will have left when the summer is over, or where they will wind up when the NBA futures betting odds are posted for PPH bettors at WagerHome.com. That's because we don't really know what the residual effect of losing the NBA Finals is going to be. Will it make LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh want to stay together and go after one more title after failing so badly in their attempt at a third championship? Or will a couple of them see the writing on the wall and opt out for a new experience? Something tells us LeBron might like to end his career in Cleveland.

Of course, the talk about the eventual destination of Carmelo Anthony is a very hot topic among PPH bettors at WagerHome, and it seems like the Knicks may be begging him to stick around. Heat fans are already talking about what it would be like to have him in Miami. The Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets are also said to be contenders for his services. 

From this angle, we don't see what the fuss is all about. It's not as if Anthony has ever brought a championship atmosphere with him. And when he is on the floor, you can rest assured that one basketball isn't going to be enough. Didn't anyone learn from his tenure in Denver? And how is it that Phil Jackson, the new head of basketball for the Knicks, could actually look at him as the best player on a title team? He would never fit in with a crew like the San Antonio Spurs, who we hope will set a standard to which other teams will aspire in the future. 

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