Australian Rules football Betting

Yes, they play funny. But Australian Rules Football, which isn't called that in Australia, of course, is nonetheless a very popular game, not just in Australia, but in the U.S. as well, in as much as over seven million viewers have seen in it North America.

BetUS Sportsbook customers have an opportunity to bet on Aussie Rules Football in the fresh, newly-designed interface. It's so big, it's not even in an "Other" category; it's got a category all its own!

The biggest event in the sport is the AFL Grand Final. And we have the advance Sportsbook:

BetUS Australian Rules Football Odds

To Win Grand Final

Geelong Cats -160

Collingwood Magpies +2000

Hawthorn Hawks +400

St Kilda Saints +1400

Sydney Swans +1800

Adelaide Crows +4000

Kangaroos +5000

Brisbane Lions +5000

Western Bulldogs +700

Carlton Blues +20000

Essendon Bombers +25000

Richmond Tigers +8000

I can handicap American football. Please do not ask me to handicap Australian Rules Football. Just yet.

And let's stop calling it that. In Australia, it's known in many circles as "footy," and at its highest level involves teams from the Australian Football League, or AFL.

I've got a long way to go; I don't even know which set of goal posts you have to kick the ball through. But I do know that quarterbacks with golden arms need not apply for jobs in THIS version of the AFL. You simply can not throw the oblng-shaped ball, under any circumstances. You can move it by kicking it, running with it, hitting it forward with your fist, but you can't throw it.

And in moving it ahead by running with it, you must actually bounce the ball on the ground on an intermittent basis. I wonder if they've got referees like they have in basketball, where they let the big stars travel with the ball. I will tell you this much - if you can bounce that ball and catch it running at full speed, there may just be a future as a point guard in the NBA.

News flash - Dean Smith's "Four Corners" offense (you younger fans wouldn't remember) won't work here. You see, you just can't hold on to the ball.

Another thing that is interseting is that the AFL is one of only a handful of sports leagues in the world where the average attendance at a live event is more than 30,000. The others would be the NFL, the American and National Leageues in baseball, the Premier League in England. And of course,m there is something of a cult audience for the sport on American cable television. One survey revealed that slightly more people from North America than Australia considered themselves occasional viewers of "footy."

Geelong is in first place in the AFL at the moment, sporting a 16-1 record. They are followed by thw Western Bulldogs at 13-3 and Hawthorn at 13-4. The AFL Grand Final is scheduled to take place on September 27 Last year's Grand Final drew 97,000 fans. It carries the pomp and circumstance that is Australia's version of the Super Bowl. It may be worth finding out more about.

You can bet cricket, or any number of other sports by jumping into the action at BetUS.com!

(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com is always looking to punch it ahead as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)