Virgil van Dijk conceded he had to respect greatness after losing out on the 2019 Ballon d Or to Lionel Messi.

Barcelona and Argentina forward Messi won the prize for a record sixth time having scored 41 times in 44 club appearances for Barcelona, with whom he won a 10th LaLiga title last season.

Success in the Champions League eluded him, though, as Van Dijk helped Liverpool oust Barcelona in the semi-finals en route to a sixth triumph in Europe s most premier club competition.

Van Dijk s performances for the Reds in that competition and with Nations League finalists Netherlands ensured he finished second in the voting for the Ballon d Or, though he had no qualms about being pipped to the prize by Messi.

It was amazing, Van Dijk said of his 2019.

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The Premier League kicked-off earlier today and there were some very interesting results. Newly promoted QPR suffered a nightmare start to their return to the top flight, as they lost 4-0 at home.

The Trotters took the lead just before half-time through a superb strike from defender Gary Cahill.

That lead was doubled as QPR defender Danny Gabbidon put the ball past his own keeper. And they were three up in the 70th minute as Ivan Klasnic’s deflected shot beat Paddy Kenny.

The home sides misery was completed in the 79th minute as midfielder Fabrice Muamba slotted home from a through ball from Ivan Klasnic.

Wolves enjoyed a good first day of the season with a 2-1 victory at Blackburn’s Ewood Park. Argentinian attacking midfielder Mauro Formica opened t…

As the weather gets colder, the NFL betting action heats up. We’re rolling full blast down the home stretch of the schedule, which means you not only have to be on the right side but get the best of the number.

We help you plan your NFL Week 14 betting picks by analyzing the opening odds, early action, and public perception to get our best spreads and totals to bet now and the best NFL lines to bet later.

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The Detroit Lions are coming off their first win of the season and head to Empower Field at Mile High to take on the Denver Broncos in Week 14 of NFL action. Oddsmakers aren’t expecting them to make it two in a row, with NFL betting lines having the Broncos installed as 10-point home favorites with the Over/Under at 42.

Here are our best free Lions vs. Broncos NFL picks and predictions for Sunday, December 12, with kickoff at 4:05 p.m. ET. 

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Justin Fields and the Bears make it to prime-time for the second straight week as they take on the improved defense of the New England Patriots Monday night.

It’s looking like Mac Jones will be under center for the home side, but for what projects to be the slowest game in Week 7, should bettors’ offensive expectations be scaled back significantly?

Find out in my free NFL prop picks for Monday Night Football between the Bears and Patriots.

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Sack props have been money this year for bettors, with many of the top pass rushers in the league continuing to terrorize opposing quarterbacks. Leading up to Week 5, we’ve had success dipping into the NFL odds markets for sacks, so now we’re expanding this column to include a couple of player tackle props as well.

That has me backing tackle machine Zaire Franklin, along with a cornerback who has stepped up in run support. Here are my best free sack and tackle NFL picks when it comes to the Week 5 odds. 

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With Christmas less than three weeks away, your holiday schedule is likely filling up with parties and get-togethers between now and New Year’s.

These events range from the “kid-friendly” Christmas party with Santa in attendance, to a Friday final night of Hanukkah to the out-of-hand office shindig that makes for an uncomfortable Monday morning.

All these celebrations have their pros and cons depending on your yuletide temperature and you’ll fill out your calendar accordingly.

It’s a lot like looking at the NFL odds and deciding which underdogs I’ll include in my weekly column. They all have positives and negatives, offering a different party path when taking the points.

I’m making a list of the underdogs in the Week…

The Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings will open up their respective preseasons on Saturday afternoon out in the Midwest, and there will be plenty to watch for with both teams figuring things out at quarterback.

Sam Darnold is expected to open the year as the starter for Minnesota over rookie JJ McCarthy and will do the honors of beginning this one for the home side, while the Raiders will give two candidates a quarter each.

What do we make of this matchup, and better yet — how do we make money from it?

Let’s get right into it with our Raiders vs. Vikings predictions and NFL picks for August 10.

Raiders vs Vikings prediction

My best betUnder …

In 2011 Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the emir of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates, received a letter. It came from a group of Emirati intellectuals inspired by the recent wave of pro-democracy protests sweeping through the Middle East and north Africa, and requested a range of modest reforms, including an extension of the voting franchise which at the time encompassed just 2% of the country’s population.

No marching on the streets. No popular unrest. Certainly no disorder of any kind. Just a letter. Nonetheless, with a regime petrified to the point of paranoia by the spectre of political Islamism, the reprisals would be swift and merciless.

Ramifications of City’s two-year ban may be seismic – not least for U…