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Umpires, referees, sports officials, call them what you like, they are the ones in charge once any sporting contest starts. The result of most competitive sports can hinge on the decisions they make, or fail to make. They can report, send off, fine or penalize players for infringements.

However, when these officials make mistakes themselves, particularly mistakes that impact on the outcome of a game, they get away with it, often without penalty.

One member on SportsViews blogs came up with a novel, perhaps not new, but interesting way to handle these mistakes - fine the officials.

Unfortunately, match officials seem to be protected species. Even when they make horrendous mistakes, the governing body supports them without question.

It is very rare for any senior official to actually admit that a mistake has been made. If they don’t admit to any errors, we can’t fine them - I guess we just have to put up with them!

There are new members joining SportsViews.com every day so the number of bets being created is growing quickly. Here are the newest handful of bets created. Test your knowledge and prediction ability on them.

Couture is defending his belt against Lesnar on November 15 - who will win, Couture or Lesnar?

Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers - who will win?

Diego Maradona is about to be appointed as the new coach of Argentina. They have had a poor start to the World Cup campaign. Can the former champion captain lift them enough to qualify?

The UEFA cup is the cup A.C. Milan never won. Can they do it?

Wofford @ Appalachian State October 30 - who is going to win this game?

SportsViews.com has a great promotion running where you can win a pair of tickets to one of your favorite sports games. Become a member and be one of the top three point scorers in any month.

He did it as a player - in fact many attribute Argentina’s last win in the World Cup to Maradona. Without him, they would not have made the finals let alone won. Now, Argentina is in trouble again and it looks like they will be calling on their favorite son to come to the rescue.

Argentina are close to not qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They have sacked their coach and called for applications. One of those applications has the name Diego Maradona on it and from all reports, he is almost guaranteed the position.

The feeling is that, while he may not be a skilled coach, he is a great motivator and with the help of assistant coaches, can get their team to lift sufficiently to make it to South Africa. From there of course, anything can happen.

It’s a great plan. Maradona will lift not only the team, but the nation as well. The problem is, first, the nations expectations may be greater than Maradona’s, or the teams, ability. Therein lies the problem. The team is one of the weakest put together by Argentina for many years. Without the talent on the field, even the great Maradona may struggle. You may have another opinion - if so, let me know!

The suspension of play in game 5 of the World Series sets a new historical mark - the first suspended game in the history of the season. With the series at 3-1 the Phillies, game 5 tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the 6th, it is all set for a cliff hanger.

What has many people intrigued is the ramifications of the Rays winning game 5 and sending the series into game 6 and perhaps 7. These games will need rescheduling with transport and accommodation big issues. Not only that, if the travel day is maintained, both sides will gain a bonus from rotations. Players from game 2 and perhaps game 3 will be available.

If game 7 is played on Friday, Rays choices could include game 4 starter Andy Sonnanstine or Scott Kazmir. The Phillies could include game 4 starter Joe Blanton or his ace, Hamels, who pitched six innings in Monday’s suspended game.

It makes for an interesting scenario that I am sure will have everyone guessing.

Newcastle have doubled their season victories with a win over West Bromwich. More importantly, the three points have lifted them out of the relegation zone - at least until after tomorrow nights games.

With four of the six bottom teams playing each other, Newcastle could find themselves at 17th tomorrow night, still outside the zone. However, a couple of drawn games and a win by Stoke against Sunderland and Newcastle could be back to 19th.

The win by Newcastle is more important than just the three points. Young Joey Barton, despite all the troubles so far this year, bounced back from suspension and three months in jail to score the first goal to set up Newcastle’s win.

One you get that winning feeling and the team starts to gel together properly, more wins will follow. What do you think? Is yesterday’s win the start of a mini-revival for Newcastle?

It’s the long awaited opening night in the basketball and everyone is talking about it. The rain wont stop these games going on. The opening games should be interesting to watch; interesting to see who is tuned in to the new season and who is fit and just as excited as us.

The new basketball season is a great time to get involved with all the activities on SportsViews.com. Do you have a favorite basketball team? Keep everyone up to date with what is happening on the team, the results, next matches, who is playing well and who is injured.

Use your special knowledge to create interesting bets that will challenge even the best of punters. If you grab any video footage then upload it and share it with everyone else.

Baseball hasn’t quite gone, but basketball is back and ready to replace it.

Will the Lakers win their first match or will they still be throwing the cobwebs off? Let everyone know your opinions - it’s free to join and free to participate - all at SportsViews.Com

When you create a bet on SportsViews you can state when the bet closes and how much the bet investment is. If The bet investment is 1,000 SVpoints, then it will cost you 1,000 SVpoints. If 10 people take up the bet, there will be 10,000 in the bet pool. If 5 people win, then the bet will pay 2,000. This is the principle behind many of the original tote betting establishments.

The key is to find that special bet where everyone is backing the obvious and the long shot wins - and your the only one to back the longshot. You collect the lot then. Perhaps one of these bets holds the key to a nice win?

10 of the past 11 Game 1 victors have gone on to take the World Series. Can the Phillies overcome the Rays and become the 11th team to do the trick?

There are a lot of unsung heroes out there and for sure, one player’s performance will spell the difference in the World Series. Who do you think would be that player?

Who will win the Brazilian GP - *The Race (71 Laps)?

Football fans love their coaches. Which coach was the best of all time?

Hull face Chelsea on Wednesday then backup to play Manchester United on the Saturday. they have had a brilliant start to the season - can they continue and beat Man U.

Don’t forget, you can win free tickets to a sporting event of your choice. How, just earn more SVpoint than any other member - at least, be in the top three.

In every sport there are routine questions that often create lively discussions. One of the questions that I love debating are the ‘who is the best player never to have won a ………’. For example, ‘who is the best quarterback never to have won a Superbowl?’

Sergio Garcia, the golfer, is often argued as the best golfer to have never won a major. This year we saw young Jelena Jankovic gain the number one ranking for women tennis players, yet she had never won a major - at 23 she is just reaching her prime.

One tennis player that probably does fit the argument is Elena Dementieva. Going on for 28, she has still not won a major title, in fact she has only got as far as the semi-finals in most of her matches, yet she has, over time, beaten all the top ranked players.

She is highly skilled in her craft but lacks the outgoing persona that come with many of her contemporaries. She also lacks one other trait - consistency. Is it too late for her? Probably not. There have been older players that walked off with the silverware from a major tournament. It’s debatable as to whether she wants to win desperately enough now. She makes a good living from the sport now which is great for her. We shall never see her at her best.

SportsViews.com has a great new promotion running that could help you score a pair of tickets to one of your favorite sports games.

To be eligible to win you must first join up. It’s free and only takes a moment to join. Once you have joined, you will receive 50,000 SV points. The top three points earners for the month will each receive free tickets to a game of your choice.

How do you earn points? Couldn’t be easier. First, participate in the bets. If you win a bet, you receive your share in the prize pool.

Invite friends to join SportsViews and for every friend who does join, you will receive 1,000 SV points. You can also earn points when other members vote on what you do. Create a bet, write a buzz post, submit a video or photo. For each of these activities, you can receive up 200 SV Points every time someone votes on that activity.

Just as importantly, you can leave comments and build a network of like minded acquaintances. And don’t forget the free tickets will you?

The Rugby League World Cup is currently under way with the Australians once again the raging hot favorites to win. Their thrashing of New Zealand over the weekend is an indication of the gulf between Australia and the rest of the world.

It has reached a point where the World Cup has little meaning anymore. If a team other thank Australia does win, it is often due to luck rather than being the best team. Australia appears to be so much better than any other team. They do have their off days, as witnessed last year when New Zealand defeated them in one match.

England struggled to beat Papua/New Guinea and now face Australia in their game. This match will provide a clear indication of gulf between Australia and the rest of the world given England’s current standing as number two in the world.

If you feel that England can beat the Australians then take the bet on at SportsViews.com.