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Based in his up and down performance in the London Olympics and some comments from him and his mom, many suspect that Ryan Lochte started celebrating his Gold medals while he was in London. But now the Olympics are over and as you can see from the photos above Ryan Lochte is in full party mode.

Lochte is obviously having a blast with a bunch of bikini babes at Maxim Fridays at TAO Beach. The night before he partied the night away at Worship Thursday at TAO.

The guy definitely deserves to enjoy himself. He busted his ass preparing for the Olympics and came away with two gold medals. He’s not quite in the Michael Phelps league, but he’s one of the best swimmers in the world.

Mad genius Bill Belichick is getting props for his off-season moves, and the odds-makers also like the free agent coups of the Eagles. Of course, they also respect Aaron Rodgers and the Pack, even though they’ve been quiet.

Here’s how they are ranked when you look at the NFL futures on the odds to win the Super Bowl:

New England Patriots: 6.5/1 odds

Green Bay Packers: 7/1 odds

Philadelphia Eagles: 7.5/1 odds

The Jets are at 12/1 and the Steelers are at 14/1.

Check out the rest of the odds and get ready for a fun season.

Many fans are sweating the ridiculous fight between the owners and the NFL players as they try to divide billions of dollars in one of the few business areas thriving in this down economy, but the pain will be felt by many others as well if a settlement is reached.

One casualty would certainly be Las Vegas, as betting on NFL games drives a huge amount of business for the Vegas casinos. The Vegas casinos have been having a very difficult time throughout since the financial crisis of 2008, and the last thing they need is losing waves of bettors who are addicted to the NFL spreads. Of course college football will still be a draw, but the NFL turns boring Sundays into big events in Vegas. It’s not just Vegas, as fantasy football sites and online gambling in general will also suffer as well. On the other hand, it could be a big opportunity for others, as players addicted to football will be looking for other ways to generate excitement and spend their gambling dollars.

Let’s see if it comes to that.

The WEC puts on its next show tonight as WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2 takes place from Las Vegas.

The card features a WEC Bantamweight Championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez along with a lightweight contest between Shane Roller and Anthony Pettis.

The main card airs live on Versus at 9PM ET. Here are my picks for the winners.

WEC Bantamweight Championship Bout – Dominick Cruz (15-1) vs. Joseph Benavidez (12-1): This fight is a rematch of a bout that happened a little over a year ago where Cruz won a unanimous decision. Now Cruz is the champion and Benavidez is the challenger and in this fight, look for Benavidez to get the nod. He underestimated Cruz and his wrestling in the first fight and anticipated more standup, which left him flat footed and allowed Cruz to control the fight. This time around, Benavidez should be able to dictate the pacing and placement of the fight. I like Benavidez to win by submission in round four.

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With his state’s budget sinking into a financial black hole, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed a sports wagering bill into law last week. An old argument was revived once again – should sports gambling be legalized in the United States? Why not? Gambling has been a part of Americana since our inception.

Government has been the biggest promoter of gambling, as 44 states have a lottery system and 29 states are home to casinos. It is time for our lawmakers to examine the idea of licensing and regulating the sports betting industry.

Politicians use to avoid gambling like the plague, but that has all changed since the advent of riverboat gambling and Indian casinos in recent years. According to several different studies, approximately $380 billion is bet legally or illegally on sports in the United States each year, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, a certified public accountant firm, has estimated that the federal government could earn $2 billion over the next decade if they begin taxing rather than policing sports gambling.

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