Bolivia vs Venezuela June 7, 2013

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Venezuela will look to re-establish itself among the top four in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers when it takes on Bolivia Friday.

The Venezuelans currently sit in fifth place with 15 points in 11 matches. The top four sides earn automatic berths to the World Cup in Brazil next summer. However, the fifth place squad must take on the fifth place side from the AFC. Venezuela is currently in a precarious situation. The 15 points have placed them in a tie with Chile for fourth place. However, Uruguay is behind them with 13 points and Peru has 11 points in the qualifiers; The Peruvians have only played 10 matches while Uruguay and Venezuela have already contested 11 games.

Venezuela has been unable to build any consistency over its last five matches. The team lost to Peru last September but managed to win against Paraguay a few days later. In October the Venezuelans earned a 1-1 draw with Ecuador but fell against Argentina 3-0 in their first match of the March qualifiers. However, the team pulled off a huge 1-0 win over Colombia in their latest game. Salomon Rondon leads the Venezuelans with four goals in the tournament.

Meanwhile Bolivia will look to salvage its tournament hopes. La Verde has nine points in 11 games and must essentially win the rest of its game if it has any hopes of clinching a World Cup berth. The team has a record of two wins, three draws, and six losses; however the team has achieved a record of two wins, two draws, and two losses at home. Marcelo Moreno Martins and Carlos Saucedo lead the team with three goals in the qualifiers.


Prediction: The altitude of La Paz stifles Venezuela. Look for these sides to battle to a 1-1 draw.

Start Time: 4 PM EST

Azerbaijan vs Luxembourg June 7, 2013

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Group F is one of the most exciting groups in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers as three teams are in a dead heat for the top two spots. However, the bottom of the group looks less promising with three teams essentially out of the running. Two of those sides are Azerbaijan and Luxembourg; the two squads will face off on Friday in group play.

Azerbaijan sits in a tie with Northern Ireland for fourth place in the group. The team only has three points in six points and has yet to win a single match in the tournament. Azerbaijan opened its tournament with a 1-1 draw against Israel. In the second game on September 11, 2012, Azerbaijan lost 3-0 against Portugal. Fortunately, the team did not allow a single goal against Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. After a 1-0 loss against Russia, the squad bounced back with a 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland and a 0-0 tie against Luxembourg. Ruslan Abisov and Rauf Aliyev are the only two players to score for the team.

Luxembourg sits at the bottom of Group F with two points. The squad opened its tournament with a 2-1 loss against Portugal. After a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland, Luxembourg imploded in two straight losses against Israel; the Israelis outscored the team 9-0 through two games. Fortunately, Luxembourg managed a 0-0 draw with Azerbaijan in its most recent match to salvage one point. Daniel da Mota has scored two goals for the team.


Prediction: The two sides have yet to prove themselves capable of putting up clutch performances. Expect a slow game that ends in a 0-0 draw.

Start Time: 12:00 PM EST

Finland vs Belarus June 7, 2013

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 Finland vs. Belarus 2013 (en vivo live score results below) heads to Helsinki for a critical soccer game today. Friday’s soccer match is a World Cup qualification match. As reps remind news, this game is for the UEFA Division’s Group stage, group I table. But only the top two teams in Group I advance. Yet neither of these two squads are currently ranked in the top two.

Finland vs. Belarus 2013 (start time 9 am PST) features two teams with overall decent records. But in qualifiers, they have struggled. In fact, both squads are facing elimination. Spain and France are in first place in group I with eleven and ten points respectively. But Finland is in last place with two points while Belarus is in fourth place with just three points.

Belarus has one win, no draws and three losses in qualifiers. Finland, however, has no wins, two draws and one loss. Belarus has not had any qualifiers this year, however, reps remind news. They will face Finland not just today but again three days later. Then in the fall, in September, they will battle France and Spain. Finland after today and next week’s Belarus matches faces Georgia and Spain in September, officials tell news.

Armenia vs Malta June 7, 2013

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Malta will look to pick up its first points of the group stage when it takes on Armenia in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers on Friday.

The Maltese lost all five of their matches and only scored once; Roderick Briffa is the lone scorer.  Despite the poor effort thus far, Malta can still qualify if it manages to win its final five matches. The top team in the group earns an automatic berth to the World Cup Finals in Brazil next summer while the runner-up must engage in one more playoff to earn passage. Malta started its tournament with a 1-0 loss against Armenia.

The team then lost 2-0 against Italy; one of the goals came in the 92nd minute of play. Malta finally scored its first goal of the campaign in a 3-1 loss to the Czech Republic before imploding against Bulgaria in a 6-0 blowout loss. In their most recent match, the Maltese lost 2-0 against Italy.

Armenia currently sits in fifth place but has a huge advantage over Malta; the club has only competed in four qualifying matches this campaign. The team earned its only points in its first game against Malta. After that 1-0 victory Armenia lost 1-0 against Bulgaria and 3-1 against the Czech Republic. In their more recent game, the Armenians lost 3-0 against the Czechs. The squad has only scored twice in the entire tournament; Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Artur Sarkisov were the lone goal scorers.
Prediction: Malta has one goal in the entire tournament and has yet to show any indications of making a deep run. Look for Armenia to put on a show for its fans in a 3-0 win.


Start Time: 12:00 PM EST

San Antonio Spurs vs Miami Heat June 6, 2013

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We’ve waited for over two months for this time to come and the NBA Finals are finally upon us. The Miami Heat suffered a scare against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals but they appear to possibly be coming into the Finals red hot off their Game 7 win. As for the San Antonio Spurs, this may be the final chance they have to win a title with their legendary core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

This is Miami’s third straight chance to win a title with their own legendary core of players but this one will perhaps be the hardest to achieve as the Spurs present a challenge they haven’t faced before. The Mavericks caught them still trying to adjust to the talent on the roster and Oklahoma City was still on the rise when they were beaten.

San Antonio’s been here before and they’ve been here against LeBron before. But it’s not 2007 anymore and LeBron has a taste for championship blood.

So what time do the Heat and Spurs tip off? We’ve got all of the information you will need to know to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the NBA Finals action.

Season Series: Heat 2-0

Playoff Seeds: Spurs No. 2; Heat No. 1

Playoff Records: Spurs 12-2; Heat 12-4

NBA Finals Schedule:

Game 1 Thursday, June 6, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 2 Sunday, June 9, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 3 Tuesday, June 11, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 4 Thursday, June 13, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 5 Sunday, June 16, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)*
Game 6 Tuesday, June 18, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)*
Game 7 Thursday, June 20, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)*