I think the first love of Americans is sports betting and it can be judged from the fact that $10 billion worth bets were placed on the latest Super Bowl season. Today people place a bet on just anything and everything for e.g. like who is going to win the coin toss or who will go for the first touchdown.

Most of us are involved in sports betting but very few of us know about its history. The English were a big fan of betting but it was in United States where the first wave of sports betting started in the nineteenth century with horseracing. Bookmakers organized betting into auction plans through which off bets were auctioned in case of specific horses. This created problem as bettors didn't get a choice if the horse they wanted to bet on was already taken. Realizing this bookmakers came up with an idea to generate more money by setting odds on individual horses.

After horseracing, baseball was the next big thing in sports betting. Poolcards were used for betting in baseball as they gave a number of options to bettors which could be purchased for as low as ten cents.

The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series created a blot on the image sports bettors as the case of compromise of integrity of country's favorite sports was exposed. Even this did not affect the passion for betting and the twenties came to be known as the golden decade of betting as other sports such as boxing, college football and college basketball joined the league.

It has been ninety years since then and the dream run still continues. Unimaginable sums of money are being used on betting, players and administration. Poolcards have given way to online betting and sports betting. Many things have changed since then but Americans love for betting and sports have just got stronger with each passing day.

For some football is a religion, for some it is a daily diet and for all such football crazy fans I would like share some of the best football games which you can either play online or on your playstation.

NCAA Football 10

This is an adrenaline pumping game with some real life collegiate animations, new Mascot challenge and true to life home field advantage. It has been dubbed as one of the most authentic and realistic college football games ever played and you should definitely not miss it.

FIFA 08

This game can be termed as closer to reality and puts you in the position of the player where you can control you moves as if you are playing for real. FIFA 08 gives you an opportunity to become a real player but only in the gaming mode.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2007

It offers new gameplay options for soccer crazy fans and here you can experience a bunch of fresh teams, advanced AI and better offense and defense. You can experience some of the most realistic actions and slick moves. You will come across new moves, gameplay modes and licensed clubs. With the random mode you can play quick games within randomly generated match day settings. You will stay glued to this game with its real world gameplay, aging players and injuries and pressure from the board which gives a truly realistic experience.

These online games are truly exciting and you cannot miss out on any of these if you are an avid football fan.

image source: Darron Cummings / AP
"I am free", this is what Thomas Jones will be singing this Friday. He will be released by New York Jets giving him an opportunity to become a free agent. Jones was expecting a $3 million roster bonus besides $2.8 million base salary for the 2010 season but talks between him and the management for restructuring contract over pay cut reached a deadlock and the management chose to show him the door.

Last season Jones made a mere $900,000 in base salary but created doors of opportunity for himself by rushing for 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns which propelled the New York Jets to reach the AFC championship game against Indianapolis.

Jones is the latest star to join the free agent bandwagon after Eagles gave the signal to Brian Westbrook, Cleveland to Jamal Lewis and San Diego to LaDainian Tomlinson.

Having the job of a designated hitter is like the job of janitor, a job which you would certainly like to avoid. These positions of designated hitters are generally filled by aging and injury prone players who demand a fat pay package based on their golden days and not the present and this makes many feel that it is not a good idea to overfeed them.

Here are some of the players who could be labeled as 'designated hitters':

Ken Griffey Jr
This guy may be past his best after his chronic injuries have forced him to barely go past .210 in batting average. He is just one injury away from missing a major season. When at his best he scored 19 home runs last season but the miserable plate ratios and inconsistent form may not help him.

David Ortiz
He disappointed last season during the first half though he did make up for it by scoring 16 home runs and 52 RBI after All Star break but the best seems to be over for now.

Andruw Jones
Jones has been struggling since 2007 season and since then has contributed very less in terms of batting average.

Hideki Matsui
On his arrival at the Los Angeles Angels camp he made an announcement that his knees were not 100% fit so you can't expect much from him but on his day he can shred the opponents to pieces.

Vladimir Guerrero
He rose to the ranks of fantasy DH player after playing only two games in the outfield in 2009 for Angels but now he plays for Texas and will be seen very little on the field. This would help him to recover well and then he can produce a gem of an innings.

Earlier blacks had a better chance of excelling in the army rather than sports but that seems to be changing with rise of blacks to position of top football coaches. They are being hired for the coveted jobs by football teams. Larry Porter got the cap at Memphis, Joker Philips was handed over Kentucky and Charlie Strong got his program to run Louisville and we are still counting. Even UT has hired a black head coach for a major sporting event. Also there seems to be less or no resistance from top bosses to hire black coaches, so it seems the trend is changing.

College football has always lagged behind in hiring black head coaches and as a result Black Coaches & Administrators or BCA was created in 1988 for advocating hiring of minors. It even maintains a report card of schools conducting hiring every year. 2010 season is expected to see a total of thirteen black head coaches. History was created in 2008 when London won a Football Championship Subdivision national title at Richmond under a black. One of the reasons why blacks don't get the coveted job is that they tend to lag behind on the progression ladder. In very rare circumstances schools offer top coaching jobs to candidates who have not been a head coach at lower level and this creates an obstacle for the blacks. The past two hiring seasons have been good and therefore it has given a ray of hope to black candidates. I feel this has to change forever and discrimination on the basis of color has to become a thing of the past.