Written by Bobby Dolan (follow him on twitter @bdolan12) Group D: France, Sweden, England, Ukraine Snap Shot: Group D appears to be a very balanced group that gives us arguably the best matchup in the first round of group games between England and France (yes, we haven’t forgotten Germany vs Portugal either). All eyes will be on those two powers but the co-hosts Ukraine will look to steal the spotlight with their fans behind them and a sneaky offensive attack that could and should cause problems for their opponents. Fans of the Swedes will have to look at one player and hope Zlatan Ibrahimovic can carry their squad into the knockout phases. Group C Schedule: Monday June 11 12 EST: France vs. England Monday June 11 2:45 EST: Ukraine vs. Sweden Friday June 15 12 EST: Ukraine vs. France Friday June 15 2:45 EST: Sweden vs. England Tuesday June 19 2:45 EST: England vs. Ukraine Tuesday June 19 2:45 EST: Sweden vs. France France FIFA ranking: 16 After the disastrous World Cup performance in 2010, it was hard to imagine that France would emerge from the soccer abyss as a threat for Euro 2012. Coach Laurent Blanc has done exceptionally well in changing the culture around the team and he is confident in his squad entering this year’s tournament, hoping it’s a spring board for Brazil in 2014. Coach Blanc’s confidence comes with good reason as his French side is flying very much under the radar given their current talent. It starts up front for France as they boast Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), who is coming off of a career year. Benzema should score goals aplenty and receive quality service from the midfield behind him. Franck Ribery, another Bayern Munich star who looks to rebound from their...

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Written by @bdolan12 Group C: Croatia, Italy, Ireland, Spain Snap Shot: Group C looks to be an interesting mix of teams that has everything from the tournament favorite (Spain), a team playing their first EURO in 24 years (Ireland), and a side caught in the middle of major match fixing allegations (Italy). Group C offers intriguing questions, most importantly: Can Spain continue its dominance and win EURO 2012 on the heels of their 2010 World Cup championship? Group C Schedule Sunday, June 10 12 EST: Spain vs. Italy Sunday, June 10 2:45 EST: Ireland vs. Croatia Thursday, June 14 12 EST: Italy vs. Croatia Thursday, June 14 2:45 EST: Spain vs. Ireland Monday, June 18 2:45 EST: Croatia vs. Spain Monday, June 18 2:45 EST: Italy vs. Ireland Croatia FIFA ranking: 8 After missing out on the 2010 World Cup, Croatia will be happy to be involved in a major tournament once again. However, this tactically strong team measures their success based on results not just appearing on the big stage. The key to their squad is Tottenham’s star midfielder Luka Modric. The playmaking midfielder is by far the most well known player on the squad needs to serve as primary distributor if the Croats are to advance from Group C. Niko Krancjar, also of Tottenham, and captain Darijo Srna strengthen the midfield which is clearly the team’s overall strength. With a less than spectacular defense, there will be an emphasis on scoring goals to take pressure off the back. Up front, there are a few decent options in Eduardo and Ivica Olic who have 45 and 77 caps respectively. However, Olic suffered a thigh injury this week in a friendly and might be limited entering the tournament. Another interesting option is Nikica Jelavic,...

Written by @bdolan12 Group B: Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal Snap Shot: Group B has been rightfully labeled as “The Group of Death” and features both Germany and Holland, the 2nd and 3rd favorites on most future boards to win the entire tournament. In any other group Portugal and Denmark would receive a lot more consideration as tournament dark horses but just getting out of their group should be considered a major triumph given this year’s competition. Group B Schedule Saturday, June 9 12 EST:  Netherlands vs Denmark Saturday, June 9 2:45 EST:  Germany vs Portugal Wednesday, June 13 12 EST:  Denmark vs Portugal Wednesday, June 13 2:45 EST:  Netherlands vs Germany Sunday, June 17 2:45 EST:  Denmark vs Germany Sunday, June 17 2:45 EST:  Netherlands vs Portugal Denmark FIFA ranking: 10 It’s hard not to feel a little sorry for the Danes after the draw they received. Denmark has  confidence knowing they finished first in qualifying Group H, which included Portugal. Denmark possesses a solid squad that is effective and efficient, even if it lacks star power. Captain Daniel Agger, a Liverpool player, will lead the defense against the potent offenses the Danes will encounter throughout Group B. In addition to the draw, Denmark was dealt a blow recently when first-choice goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen (Stoke City) pulled out of the tournament with an injury. Young midfielder Christian Eriksen (Ajax) will be counted on to make plays going forward and serve as playmaker but he might not be ready for this stiff task just yet. The main source of offense appears to be Nicklas Bendtner, the 24 year old forward who is never low on confidence but can be short on actual production. If Denmark is to have any success, they will likely need to...

Written by @bdolan12 Euro 2012 kicks off  June 8th in Poland / Ukraine and will culminate July 1 with a champion being crowned. This will be the last installment of the tournament before the field is expanded to 24 teams four years from now so expect the 16-team field to provide excellent entertainment and inevitable drama. I’ll be breaking down each group and offering  some predictions and analysis of each group starting with today’s installment. Group A: Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Russia Snap shot: Group A appears to be the weakest of the four groups and certainly the most wide-open of them all. The group isn’t home to any elite European power or traditional blue blood so the question remains which up and coming nation will seize the opportunity on the big stage? Group A Schedule Friday, June 8 12 EST: Poland vs Greece Friday, June 8 2:45 EST: Russia vs Czech Republic Tuesday, June 12 12 EST: Greece vs Czech Republic Tuesday, June 12 2:45 EST: Poland vs Russia Saturday, June 16 2:45 EST: Greece vs Russia Saturday, June 16 2:45 EST: Czech Republic vs Poland Poland FIFA ranking: 65 The co-hosts hope to take advantage of a favorable draw on home soil. Poland looks to get off to a hot start with the opening game of the tournament against Greece. With automatic qualification ensured, the squad has not played many competitive matches over the past few years. The team leans heavily on young forward Robert Lewandowski, one of three players on the squad who play for German Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund. Lewandowski had an excellent season for Dortmund and will attempt to make the difference up front for the Polish team. In addition to the young striker, the Polish side also features...

Written by Andrew Choe (@choe20) I was sitting outside with a few of my friends who happen to be very knowledgeable and successful working in the stock market.  They listened to me vent about the bad streak I was going through betting bases which saw my ROI drop from 78% to 17%. We started talking about the correlation between sports betting and the stock market – comparing yearly return on investments as the main similarity between the two. I then brought up the question, “What yearly return on investment would you be happy with, in order to walk away satisfied every year?”. My friends both answered firmly, “20 percent.” I asked why and both merely said “Look at it this way, I double my investments in five years.  Fives years!” In my head I started relating it to sports and thinking to myself how easy 20% was for me to reach and surpass. At that point, all of a sudden everything clicked: What if you set realistic goals on your desired returns at the end of each season using previous data from your handicapping history to figure out an attainable percentage (note: this requires strong record keeping so you understand exactly where your strengths and weaknesses are, not just a 1 year sample size) For someone like me, I prefer to play across the board in almost every major sport (MLB, NCAAB, NHL, NBA, NFL, and NCAAF). Many good handicappers go through hot streaks, with most of their profit margin occurring early in the season. Inevitably, what everyone will faces at some point is regression. No matter how good of a handicapper you are, with every hot streak is a cold streak waiting right around the corner. A good strategy  is back tracking your...

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