Sports Betting Commentary Site Mock-Up

*EDIT* another example site that people might want to checkout is opensports.com. Also, for an example of how to incorporate author's images with their articles, check out huffingtonpost.com

betting war will be a sports betting community that offers commentary on upcoming games and sports in general. each user can make predictions, and a permanent record is attached to each user picks in their profile.

i am looking for an initial mock up for the home page. i have a web developer who can handle implementing the design. bettingwar.com currently has a basic template with the site's logo, but the home page is essentially a blank slate.

http://www.bettingwar.com

site design should not clash with logo, should focus on the articles, should be sports oriented but include the sports as war metaphor.  looking for a web 2.0, modern, sleek looking site (avoid all cheesiness)

ESPN.com, SI.com, Deadspin.com are all good examples of sports commentary sites.

i will continuous leave feedback and update the brief as necessary.

the elements of the design need to include:
- room for ten feature articles that include a picture of the author's avatar or an image related to the story, headline, and brief description
- a "betting lines" box that includes each weeks upcoming lines
- a submit article banner
- a text link list of past articles
- a search box

- sleek modern mock up for fledgling sports commentary website
- incorporate the above elements
- image files that can easily be handed to my web developer and incorporated on the site
- a designer who is willing to take an initial stab at it and work with me during the contest to get exactly what i am looking for at the end of the contest

- cheesiness
- no simple icons