The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a disappointing 2012 campaign. Their season diminished rather quickly when Jose Bautista broke his wrist and the pitching staff suffered several Key injuries. This off season,General Manager Alex Anthopolous decided to go for it and try and win now. He had accumulated several high end prospects that weren't going to be ready for the majors in 2013, and acted ...  read more

Being a point guard always will be in my eyes, one of the most important positions in the sport of hoops. As a starting point guard, you are the one who keeps the engine running smoothly, the chemistry flowing, you are the team’s director, and catalyst, the “quarterback” on the basketball court. To be the best, you have to get the best out of y ...  read more

In this piece we will view each NBA Teams Record when playing with no rest as well as look at how each Conference and Division do in this scenario. ...  read more

read more

Last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Russell Henley became the first rookie in 10 years to win in his debut as a PGA Tour member. The PGA Tour leaves the island of Hawaii and heads to the mainland this week for the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, formally known as the Bob Hope Classic. The legendary entertainer had his name added to ...  read more

The NFL Pro Bowl is slowly approaching (I know, makes me sad as well). It is still the boring lame game that no one is tuning in and watching. The NFL Pro Bowl game is certainly one of the worst, to the point as of where Goodell was considering stopping it all together, which I would be okay with if it was decided. The players need to participate, at least give 75%. 
& ...  read more

The PGA Tour officially got underway last week with Dustin Johnson bringing home the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Tuesday which was a winners only event. This week, the Sony Open in Hawaii takes center stage with it being the first full-field event on the PGA Tour this season. You won't see many big names this week and you will see a lot of rookies, 23 in all, and we are officially off an ...  read more

Dallas Mavericks (2011-12: 36-30 SU, 32-34-0 ATS)

Odds to win division: +525

Season win total: 45.5

Why bet the Mavericks: Dallas won with defense last season as its offense was one of the worst in the NBA. The Mavericks have overhauled their roster this season and if the eight new players gel, Dallas should make the playoffs with relative ...  read more

Atlanta Hawks (2011-12: 40-26 SU, 36-28-2 ATS)

Odds to win division: +1,400

Season win total: 43.5

Why bet the Hawks: Atlanta has overhauled its roster and we see that as a good thing. The Hawks were getting too complacent with the guys they had and they just got stagnant. Atlanta went as Joe Johnson went, but he is now gone and the Hawks ...  read more

Golden State Warriors (2011-12: 23-43 SU, 36-29-1 ATS)

Odds to win division: +5,000

Season win total: 34.5

Why bet the Warriors: Golden State now has center Andrew Bogut and, if he’s healthy and remains that way for the entire season, the Warriors have a puncher’s chance. Bogut will make the Warriors defense much better than they’ve been a ...  read more

There are many ways to handicap NFL Picks each season. They include statistical analysis as well situational analysis. The statistical analysis, like it sounds, just looks at raw numbers to come up with teams power ratings. These ratings are then compared to that particular teams opponent. The difference in ratings generates a point spread differential.

After the last weeks NFL Picks ...  read more

Chicago Bulls (2011-12: 50-16 SU, 38-27-1 ATS)

Odds to win division: -190

Season win total: 47.5

Why bet the Bulls: Chicago will enter the season as a forgotten commodity. With Derrick Rose’s ACL injury sidelining him until at least February, the Bulls have low expectations this season. But head coach Tom Thibodeau is terrific and the Bull ...  read more

Boston Celtics (2011-12: 39-27 SU, 34-30-2 ATS)

Odds to win division: +165

Season win total: 51.5

Why to bet the Celtics: Boston has the premier point guard in the NBA with Rajon Rondo. The Celtics go as he goes, and as long as he stays healthy this team is dangerous. Boston still has veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and they added 3-point ...  read more

You really can’t criticize any SEC team for scheduling a cupcake nonconference schedule these days. For example, look at LSU’s conference schedule. The Tigers played and lost at No. 10 Florida last week, host No. 3 South Carolina this week, then have to go to No. 22 Texas A&M, host No. 1 Alabama and host No. 19 Mississippi State. That’s borderline criminal.

...  read more

1. ATLANTA FALCONS - Time for the Falcons to take advantage of the Saints turmoil. Disclaimer alert. I like Matt Ryan a lot. He has a pair of great WRs in Roddy White and Julio Jones. He has the big veteran TE in Tony Gonzalez. He has a solid RB behind him in Michael Turner. They are nearly unbeatable at home, but for them ...  read more

1. SAN FRANCISCO 49ers - After going 13-3, the Niners can only really go down. I mean that record wise, not production wise. Harbaugh has Alex Smith doing what needs to be done. And that is ball-control and not lose games. San Fran has some nice weapons on offense. TE Vernon ...  read more

The Red Sox and Yankees take center stage once again for Sunday Night Baseball in the Bronx.

THE YANKEES BECKON

Josh Beckett is having a season to forget for Boston, and the Red Sox fans are letting him hear about it. Beckett left a recent start due to a back ailment and he was serenaded with boos from the Fenway faithful. He will be making his second start against ...  read more

The Mets and Braves take over Sunday Night Baseball in New York where the home team hopes to make one last push for the playoffs.

SHEETS OF SUCCESS

Ben Sheets has been incredible this season after having not started since July of 2010. The righty is 4-1 with a 1.41 ERA in five starts for Atlanta. It came at a great time as Jair Jurrjens was ineffective and Brandon ...  read more

1. NY GIANTS - This pains me to write as a lifelong Cowboys fan. But lets be honest. This team wins when it has too. They went 9-7 last year, but went on a run to win the Super Bowl for the 2nd time in 4 years! I have always liked Eli. I thought h ...  read more

It's a N.L. Central battle on Sunday night as the Cardinals host the Brewers.

LOHSE ON POINT

Kyle Lohse is 11-2 with a 2.91 ERA for the Cardinals this season. He ended July with his worst start since May although it was in Coors Field which can be forgiven. Lohse is ranked third in the National League with 16 quality starts this year. The Cardinals’ starter faced ...  read more

There is a lot of back and forth discussion about the NFL Picks PreSeason and whether or not it should be shortened to lenghten the NFL Picks Regular Season! I personally don't know about all of that banter, but what I can tell you is that there is money to be made with PreSeason NFL Picks.

What the NFL Picks PreSeason boils down to, in my opinion, is the head coach. There are some NFL ...  read more

Hall of Fame Game

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints (-3, 34.5)

Week 1

Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills (+2,35)

New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots (N/A)

Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles (-2.5, 34)

Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons (-2.5, 34) ...  read more

The Yankees host the Red Sox for the finale of a 3-game series on Sunday Night Baseball.

FELIX THE CAT

Felix Doubront gets the call for Boston. This will be his third look at the Yankees this season. Way back on April 21st, the southpaw allowed just 1 run and four hits over six innings; Boston lost that game 15-9. His most recent attempt at beating the Yankees wa ...  read more

Every NFL team has to deal with injuries – it’s part of the game. But perhaps no club’s season was derailed earlier in 2011 by major injuries than the Kansas City Chiefs’. Fresh off a surprising AFC West title in 2010, many had the Chiefs as a chic pick to reach the AFC title game a year ago. But stud running back Jamaal Charles, who was second in the NFL in rush ...  read more

The A.L. West race continues to be one of the best, and it will be featured on Sunday Night as the Angels host the Rangers.

HAREN'S HOPE

Dan Haren should be activated in time to make Sunday's start against the Texas Rangers. Haren threw a bullpen session on Friday and if he comes out of it healthy, he will make the start. The righty struggled before going on the dis ...  read more

With all due respect to the PGA Championship, to me the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open all stand out much more significantly than the year’s final major. At the Masters, it signals the start of golf season and seeing all those azaleas in bloom reminds those stuck in cold climates that spring is here. The U.S. Open means it’s summertime and it’s great to watc ...  read more

The Reds and Cardinals have the spotlight on Sunday Night as they continue to battle for supremacy in a crowded NL Central division.

GO WEST YOUNG MAN

Jake Westbrook gets the start for the Cardinals. He has pitched consistently for St. Louis over the past month after a rough patch in May. The righty has allowed two runs or less in three of his last four starts. We ...  read more

Week 0

Sunday, Aug. 5 - Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints, 8 p.m. ET (NFL)

Week 1

Thursday, Aug. 9 - Green Bay Packers at San Diego Chargers, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Friday, Aug. 10 - New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals, 7:30 p.m. ET (NFL)

Saturday, Aug. 11 - Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers, 7 p.m. ET (NFL)

Saturday, Aug. 11 - Tennesse ...  read more

For Tuesday nights All-Star Game I will be going UNDER the total of 8.5. A lot of pretty decent pitchers on both squads. Even with inter-league, hitters aren't that familiar with these front-end stud arms.

My side selection will be on the AMERICAN LEAGUE. As I said above, I think both teams possess very ...  read more

I remember watching the 'old-school' HR Derby on ESPN during the summer back in the late 80s and early 90s..

Then, you would have the 'STARS' going 1 on 1 with each for 9 innings. Back then, the "STARS" needed that extra grand.

Enough of my nostalgia...

Prince Fielder +600

Mark Trumbo +550

...  read more

SUPER NOVA

Ivan Nova has begun to find his form after a rough start to the season. The Yankees' starter has allowed three earned runs or less in six straight starts with the team winning four of those outings. Nova's been able to keep the walks down and the strikeouts up. He gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings his last start in Boston which came all the way back o ...  read more

East Coast versus West Coast on Sunday night baseball as the Mets conclude their four-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

The Weakest Link

The Mets have been successful this season by using a four-man pitching rotation of R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana, Jonathon Niese, and Dillon Gee. However, of those four starters, Gee has been by far the weakest link. The other ...  read more

The final game of interleague play this season takes place on Sunday night and features two heated rivals and two excellent pitchers.

THE THING

The Mets' starter, R.A. Dickey, has been reborn thanks to the knuckleball. Dickey was a first-round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 1996, but took five years to reach the Major Leagues in 2001. He was a mediocre starter at best ...  read more

A – Arrests. In the most telling sign that nobody gives a shit about hockey, the Los Angeles Police Department reported only six arrests after the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup. No word on if those fans even watched the game or if they were just standard Los Angeles Monday night arrests. The six "rioters" were about 40,000 less than when the Lakers won ...  read more

Right now everyone thinks they are a Super Bowl contender.

Super Bowl XLVII (47) will take place on Feb. 3 at the Superdome in New Orleans. And while players and fans alike spend the summer dreaming of world domination in the fall and championship glory in the winter, the truth is that only about a half-dozen NFL teams have a shot to hoist the Lombardi Tr ...  read more

Below are 2 free MLB plays, with analysis, for Tuesday night:

TWINS (-105) at PIRATES – 7:05 pm ET #961

Not an official play, but I would rate the Twins as a light lean tonight.

Pittsburgh returns home after a 2-4 road trip through Cleveland and Baltimore. Minnesota comes to town after a 4-5 homestand. Home has not been a comfortable place for Kevin ...  read more

Below are 2 free MLB plays, with analysis, for Sunday afternoon:

YANKEES at NATIONALS (Over 8, +105) – 1:35 pm ET #961-962

Not an official play, but I would rate the Over as a light lean today.

The Nationals have only been swept once in a 3-game series this season. They try to prevent it from happening again on Sunday afternoon when they wrap up thei ...  read more

Two of the oldest franchises in baseball meet in Wrigley Field on Sunday night as the Cubs host the Red Sox.

BOSTON BANGS AND BRUISES

It's been a rough season for the Red Sox with regards to injuries. Josh Beckett will miss his scheduled start on Sunday due to shoulder inflammation. Fellow starters John Lackey and Aaron Cook are out. Joining them on the disabled list are ...  read more

Interleague play continues on Sunday Night as the Reds host the Tigers. Below is a preview:

Tale of two seasons

Drew Smyly has been up and down this season. He was fantastic during his first five starts, giving up just six runs. He defeated the Yankees at New York back on April 28th in his fourth career start and things were going great. It began to turn on Smyly on May ...  read more

Since the first game of the second round Miami’s Big 3 has been a Big 2. Chris Bosh has been sidelined with an abdominal strain, and his return is still uncertain — and surrounded in some mystery. He’s working out, but the efforts have still been light, and no one around the team is indicating just when he might be back in action.

For bettors the absence of ...  read more

A pair of National League teams that are hanging around second place in their divisions meet for Sunday Night Baseball as the Mets and Jon Niese host the Cardinals and Jake Westbrook.

JAKE AND THE FAT ERA

Jake Westbrook is a consistent pitcher. For his career he is 89-88 with a 4.32 ERA and 4-4 record this season, although he has registered two straight losing decisions. ...  read more

Sunday Night Baseball features the Nationals and the Braves in Atlanta as these two teams continue to battle for National League East supremacy.

ESPN LOVE

In the past, the Nationals were never a team considered for ESPN's programming, but this up and coming team is now making their second Sunday Night appearance on the network this month. They lost the earlier showing on M ...  read more

Below are two free plays for Wednesday afternoon:

GIANTS at BREWERS (Over 8, Even) – 1:10 pm ET #903-904

Not an official play, but I would rate the Over as a light lean today.

The Brewers close out the homestand on Wednesday afternoon with the Giants. Marco Estrada makes his sixth start of the season for the Brew Crew. He's 0-3 with a 4.97 ERA in th ...  read more

Below are two free plays for Sunday afternoon:

ARIZONA (-) (Miley/Adcock) - 2:10 pm ET #971

A series victory is at stake Sunday when the Royals host the Diamondbacks. Wade Miley has pitched well for Arizona this season. He's 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in five starts. The southpaw has shown good control walking only eight in 30.2 innings. Miley won in Los Angeles against ...  read more

This Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville marks the running of the 138th Kentucky Derby, which is the Crown Jewel of the Triple Crown racing season for the top three-year-old thoroughbred horses in the United States.

While the betting public tends to focus most of their handicapping efforts on picking the winner for this race, there are a number of prop ...  read more

Jim Miller and Nate Diaz will meet in the main event of the latest UFC on FOX card this Saturday. Miller (-225) has long been at the top of the division, but despite an 8-1 record since mid-2009, a shot at UFC Lightweight Title has eluded him. Diaz (+175) has been living in the shadow of his older brother, but with back-to-back impressive performance he has thrust ...  read more

ROYALS at TWINS (Over 8 ½, -105) – 1:10 pm ET #969-970

Not an official play, but I would rate the Over as a light lean today.

The Royals and Twins continued their tradition of slugfests on Friday night. Now they'll try to do the same on Saturday afternoon. Bruce Chen is looking for his first win this season; he is 0-2 with a 2.52 ERA in four games. He has lo ...  read more

Houston Rockets

The Rockets have had their ups and downs over the past two weeks. Houston jumped into the #6 seed last week after winning four consecutive games, all on the road. But after their triumphant trip, the Rockets lost six straight games and have since gone just 1-7 SU over the past eight games, including blowing a 13-point lead at Miami on Sunday against a Hea ...  read more

Dallas Mavericks

The defending NBA champs have had a tumultuous season. The Mavericks are just 6 games over .500 (34-28 SU) with a losing record on the road at 13-18 after back-to-back overtime losses against the Lakers and Jazz. Dallas had been playing without point guard Jason Kidd recently; he missed four games with a strained right groin muscle. The Mavericks lost t ...  read more

Boston Celtics

Ray Allen missed six straight games with a right ankle injury until his return last week. But his absence was actually been a blessing in disguise for the Celtics as they won five of those six games, while going 5-1 ATS. Avery Bradley started in place of Allen in five games, and he emerged as a significant contributor for Boston on both ends of the court. ...  read more

Louisville

Aside from Kentucky, the Cardinals have played the best basketball of any team remaining in the tournament. The Cardinals have been on a major role since the Big East conference tournament when they won four games in four nights to take home the title. Louisville has won and covered the pointspread in 8 consecutive games. The Cardinals’ defense has been outst ...  read more

The MLB regular season starts this week with two brief games in Japan between Oakland and Seattle. The Athletics agreed to give up two home games, so they will technically be the home team in both games, even though Seattle will probably have the crowd support because of super star Ichiro Suzuki.

Both Oakland and Seattle are long shots to win the American League West division and each ...  read more

East Region

The East held form in the top half of the bracket with #1 Syracuse and #4 Wisconsin advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. From the bottom half, #2 Ohio State is still alive with #6 Cincinnati rounding out the group. There were no upsets in the East in the first eight games played as the higher seed won every game. And we only saw one upset in the Round of 32 when ...  read more

We are down to a Sweet 16 from 68, with the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend set to tip off on Thursday night in the East Region (Boston) and West Region (Phoenix). So it’s time to do a Bovada props reset from the opening of the Big Dance.

When writing about the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player before the tournament, one guy I really liked was Nort ...  read more

A – Adam Schefter and Chris Mortenson. The ESPN tag team of Adam Schefter and Chris Mortenson broke the Peyton Manning to Denver news with a simple tweet around 11:30 a.m. EST on Monday morning. Kind of like how the LeBron James to Miami Heat story broke minus a one-hour ESPN primetime special with Jim Gray.

B – Big Ten. The Big Ten has four teams in the ...  read more

1. Top Two seeds should always be advance thru the sweet 16 without any hesitation. Over 93% of the time all the top 8 ...  read more

ACC:

North Carolina headed into the ACC tournament as the #1 seed in Atlanta. North Carolina was mightily impressive in their final regular season game as they went into Cameron Indoor and waxed Duke 88-70. The Tar Heels closed as a 2-point road favorite in that game as heavy money came in on UNC. In the first meeting, North Carolina thoroughly out-played Duke, but the Blue De ...  read more

A couple months ago the Milwaukee Brewers expected to be without Ryan Braun at the beginning of the season. Fans were preparing for a disappointing season without Prince Fielder and Braun for the first 50 games. Fast forward to today and the fan base is rejoicing after Braun stunningly won the appeal of his 50-game suspension. Major League Baseball is up in arms reg ...  read more

With as much depth and talent as any mid-major league in the country the Atlantic 10 Tournament should be one of the most competitive and hard-fought March Madness brackets played this weekend. With as many as eight teams with a realistic chance to win the A-10 tournament a lot of teams on the bubble should be watching this one closely this week and hoping that ...  read more

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/03/3462208/big-12-tournament-bracket.html

The Favorites - In Big 12 country you have to start with the Jayhawks. Kansas is the #1 seed. Missouri #2, Iowa State #3 and Baylor #4 round out the top 4 seeds. Kanas and Missouri have first round byes.

To me, it looks as though Missouri has an easier r ...  read more

Now, let's take a look at this hot-mess

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/bracket/_/id/99/2012-pac-12-tournament

The Favorites - Well, the #1 seed Washington Huskies have ...  read more

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/2012_MBB_Champ_Bracket.pdf

The Favorites - Temple is the #1 seed, STL the #2, Xavier #3, St Bonaventure #4. Richmond the #10 seed, won this last year. Temple won the previous ...  read more

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/bracket/_/id/83

This conference is huge. #1 Syracuse #2 Marquette #3 Notre Dame and #4 Cincy all have a double bye. #5 Georgetown #6 South Florida #7 Louisville and #8 West Virginia all have a bye.

We see 'name' programs seed ...  read more

ACC

Miami (Fla) received some more bad news from the NCAA last Sunday. The Hurricanes’ best player, center Reggie Johnson, was suspended for “impermissible travel benefits” allegedly given to Johnson’s family by a member of its former basketball coaching staff. Current Missouri head coach Frank Haith was the coach at Miami during the time that this allegedly happened. Haith is ...  read more

The Faves - Drexel at 16-2 in conference and VCU at 15-3 are the Top Seeds. Let's not overlook George Mason who went 14-4 and Old Dom at 13-5.. Did I mention Delaware went 12-6 in conference play. I for one am discounting the Blue Hens here. I am actually playing on underdo ...  read more

This conference has a North and South Division. The South seems to be the stronger of the two this season

Teams with byes - S1 Davidson S2 Wofford N1 Greensboro N2 Elon ... Those are your Top 4 teams.

Sleepers - I am liking Wofford and Georgia Southern here. ...  read more

You need to know where these games are being played.

http://www.northeastconference.org/documents/2012/1/31/bracket.pdf?id=13371

http://www.americaeast.com/pdf8/828269.pdf

http://www.atlanticsun.org/media/2011-12/pdf/MBB%20Bracket%20-%202012.pdf

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/patr/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_even ...  read more

All games are being played at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. 1 seed St Mary's and 2 seed Gonzaga have byes till the semi-finals.

Favorites. Well you probably heard of this Gonzaga team before. St Mary's is a good club and showed it by winning their first outright conference title since 1989.

The Sleepers. I am not going to call BYU a sleepe ...  read more

Top Seed is Murray State. You might have heard of them. Undefeated most of the year. This team did everything that was asked of them. They beat everyone in front of them. Their 2 big non-conference wins would be bea ...  read more

All games will be played at the ScottTrade Center in St Louis, Missouri.

Wichita State (26-4, 16-2)is the 1 seed, Creighton (25-5, 14-4) the 2. Both have a bye for Thursday. Both teams should get to Friday action barring a major upset.

The Favorites - Well, I am hearing the t ...  read more

It’s more or less the final weekend in the regular season. You’ll see some of the mid-major leagues begin their conference tournaments in the next week or so, and this last week in February pretty much wraps up the schedule in terms of a full load of games.

Around this time is when it starts to get a bit tricky for a college basketball handicapper. The unde ...  read more

First up is the Big South -

NC Asheville would have to be considered the favorite after a 16-2 conference run. Losses to Coastal Carolina (2) and Charleston Southern (T3) in conference.

Coastal Carolina did lose 5 of the last 7 down the stretch.

Charleston Southern bri ...  read more

First off you have to know that the home court is in play here. This isn't the Big East and everyone shows up at MSG.

Valpo (21-10) is the top seed after a 14-2 run in conference, but Cleveland State (22-9) 12-6 in conference appears to be ...  read more

ACC

Virginia’s roster is becoming extremely thin. The Cavaliers had been playing with just 8 scholarship players when another injury hit them at North Carolina last Saturday. Second leading scorer Joe Harris (12.5 points per game) broke his non-shooting hand; he somehow played through the pain before learning of the fracture after the game was over. Harris is an integral part ...  read more

ACC:

Florida State sits tied atop the ACC standings with a 7-1 conference record. The Seminoles are in first place along with North Carolina; the Seminoles handed the Tar Heels their only conference loss by a whopping 33 points (90-57). Florida State has been a strong defensive team in recent years and they are once again this season. But their biggest improvement has come on ...  read more

Hey, Giants fan, the rest of the NFL outside of New England (and probably Philly and Dallas) was happy for you for winning the Super Bowl. For about 12 seconds.

But now the 2011 season is in the books and it is officially the start of the 2012 NFL betting season. And whether it is a new wave of Super Bowl futures odds or a brand-spanking new NFL mock draft ...  read more

A – Austin Rivers. The older sister of Duke guard Austin Rivers, Callie Rivers, is dating North Carolina guard Dexter Strickland. This news surfaced just in time for the first Duke/UNC game this season. Rivers drilled the game winning three-pointer Wednesday night in the rivalry game so apparently he is not affected by his sister’s dablings in Carolina Blue. A ...  read more

If you are looking to make some serious money, then get my Top Rated 10* and Best Bet side and total selections this Sunday $

All lines from Bovada.com

MVP

Hakeem Nicks 12-1

Deion Branch 40-1

First Touchdown of Game

Brandon Jacobs 12-1

Chad Ochocinco 25-1

How many times will Jim Irsay be mentioned on TV du ...  read more

ACC:

Virginia starting center Assane Sene will miss as many as six weeks of action because of a broken ankle that required surgery. Sene is a 7'0" senior averaging 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21 minutes per game. He started every game for the Cavaliers and they went 15-2 SU over their first 17 games. Since Sene’s injury, Virginia has gone 2-1 SU but just 1-2 ATS with their ...  read more

The New York Giants play the New England Pat ...  read more

ACC:

North Carolina has lost starting guard Dexter Strickland for the season after he tore his ACL in his right knee in the Tar Heels last game at Virginia Tech. Strickland was only averaging 8 points per game, but he was the catalyst for North Carolina’s transition game and he actually led the team while shooting 57% from the floor. Strickland’s biggest impact came on the defe ...  read more

But, I will also say, times change much more frequently in today’s sports than they ever have, and I dejectedly imagine they will o ...  read more

ACC

Virginia Tech got some good news this week as their leading scorer, point guard Erick Green, is expected to return to the lineup. Green is averaging 16.1 points, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game this season. But he has missed game time because of a sprained left knee he suffered in practice. The Hokies have really missed Green’s presence on the court as they turned the ...  read more

Apparently defense does still win championships.

San Francisco will host New York at 4:30 p.m. EST on Sunday for the NFC Championship Game. The winner advances to the Super Bowl (you may have heard of that) to face either Baltimore or New England.

The 49ers and Giants advanced to the NFC Title Game thanks to incredible defensive efforts last week, o ...  read more

ACC

Miami (Fla) is finally starting to resemble the team that had high expectations coming into this season. The Hurricanes had to play their first nine games of this season without their best player, Reggie Johnson, who was recovering from knee surgery. Miami was also without DeQuan Jones for their first eleven games as he was suspended indefinitely on accusations of receiving i ...  read more

ACC

Wake Forest is missing their best player as guard C.J. Harris is out with a groin injury. Harris ranks second in the ACC in scoring at 18.7 points per game. “We are sideways offensively,” said Demon Deacons head coach Jeff Bzdelik. Even opposing head coaches are sympathizing over the absence of Harris. After Wake Forest lost at home 56-52 to Wofford, their head coach Mike ...  read more

NFL Oddities

Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s 27-year-old NFL passing record of 5,084 yards. Brees has thrown for 5,087 yards in 15 games. Tom Brady can also do it this week; he has 4,897 yards and needs just 187 yards to eclipse Marino’s mark. The Steelers have lost 8 regular season games since 2010. In their next game, their defense has allowed an average of just 8.9 points pe ...  read more

ACC

Virginia has lost two players to transfer. KT Harrell and James Johnson have decided to leave the Cavaliers after they were both relegated to the bench. Head coach Tony Bennett plays a very slow, half-court game and that style didn’t fit the player’s strengths. “I think we’re getting a better handle on what will work here and what we’re trying to get and filling holes,” Be ...  read more

A recent discussion in A Sports Betting Forum prompted a reply from about these wagers. While anything short of a straight up is considered a exotic wager by many, NFL teasers are value bets in my opinion. I have a video on the homepage of my site where this is explained. Here is my respone from that forum discussion....

There are many times that a number is sharp i ...  read more

College Oddities

Norm Chow has been an assistant coach for 39 years. Currently the offensive coordinator at Utah, Chow has been named the head coach of Hawaii. Perfect place for Chow to get his first head coaching job as he was born in Honolulu and started his career at Waialua High School on the North Shore of Oahu way back in 1970. Former Patriots and Steelers linebacker Mik ...  read more

ACC

Miami (Fla) finally got one of their best players back on the court as center Reggie Johnson returned to game action after having knee surgery over the summer. Johnson is a key cog in the paint for the Hurricanes, and his return will be a major boost. “You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to choke my doctor to get him to let me play,” said Johnson. “My knee didn’t bot ...  read more

NFL Oddities

The Colts are the sixth team to start 0-12 since 1978. Only one of the previous five teams went winless. The Packers have won 18 consecutive games. The Dolphins have out-scored their last five opponents 139-54. Kansas City ran just 2 plays on the Chicago side of the field in the first half, yet they led 7-3 at the half thanks to a Hail Mary touchdown pass caught ...  read more

NFL Oddities

Tim Tebow has won 83% (5-1) of his starts this season; the second highest of any QB with multiple starts this year – Aaron Rodgers 100% (11-0). Arizona rookie Patrick Peterson has 4 punt returns for touchdowns. Raiders’ kicker Sebastian Janikowski accounted for 19 of Oakland’s 25 points (6 FG’s and 1 extra point) versus Chicago. Arizona’s RB Beanie Wells ran for 2 ...  read more

Family and feelings are the enemy of good gambling and good writing about gambling. So I apologize for the soggy lead in this week, but I am trapped in Northern New York with my kin and only have a quick moment here in between dodging passive-aggressive barbs from my in-laws and skirting out to refill my cocktail from my depleting liquor supply to pass on this ...  read more

by Robert Ferringo - 11/10/2011

The weather is getting colder, the hits are getting harder, and the games are getting more critical as teams ride the elevator of expectations and expanded standings. In my opinion, November is the most crucial of months on the NFL schedule because it really sets the tone for the stretch run: some teams gain momentum and find the will for a strong finish, ...  read more

There were a handful of upsets in Week 9 that hopefully you avoided (and did if you took my top pick of the week) and kept you going in your survivor pool.

One game I warned you to stay away from was the winless Dolphins visiting a suddenly streaking Chiefs team. But if you looked closely at that matchup, Miami had come close to winning in back-to-back wee ...  read more

The old adage you see crop up from time to time is , it isn’t the picking winners and losers that does in sports bettors but rather the inability to control your emotions. While this is true most guys don’t know exactly what this means and entails and thus don’t recognize how it hinders their efforts. Every season you will encounte ...  read more

The AFC West remains one of the weaker divisions in football right now. But the division as a whole has improved this season as compared to last. When the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Oakland Raiders, it'll be a game with a classic, intense rivalry with a lot at stake. The Raiders are currently 4-2 and in second place, and the Chiefs have rebounded with two straight wins after an ugly 0-3 ...  read more

In my Week 6 player props story, there weren’t too many immediate results for us to look back on – in other words I tackled a few season-ending totals for NFL players, such as 50-yard field goals for Oakland’s Sebastian Janikowski (he was two-yards shy of adding one in Week 6), sacks for Minnesota’s Jared Allen (he added No. 9.5 against the Bears on Sunday) or t ...  read more

One of the most overrated angles in NFL betting is to bet on a team that is off a bye week. Most people assume that a week of rest and preparation is just what the doctor ordered for pro football players and that they will return extra focused and fresh the next week when they finally get back on the field.

The problem is that betting on NFL teams coming ...  read more

We are a quarter of the way through the NFL schedule, and we have four teams — Indianapolis, Minnesota, Miami, and St. Louis — that haven’t won a game yet. It’s always interesting to watch which team stays winless the longest. Tracking futility is especially significant this year, though, since the worst team in the league will have a chance to draft Stanford’s An ...  read more

Below is a free MLB play with analysis for Friday night:

DIAMONDBACKS at BREWERS (Under 7 ½, -120) – 5:00 pm ET #987-988

Not an official play, but I would rate the Under as a light lean tonight.

We head back to Milwaukee for Game 5 of the NLDS series between the Diamondbacks and Brewers. It's a rematch of Game 1 when the Brewers won 4-1. Yovani Gall ...  read more

At this point of the football season the term “MUST WIN” is heard often as some teams face crucial games earlier in the season that will often determine their fate in the future. Of course in college football they are all must win games for teams who have designs on a national championship but in the NFL you start hearing this term around week 5 and 6 ...  read more

In the AFC East we pretty much know the Patriots ar ...  read more

Lions (4-0) vs Cowboys (2-2); The Lions beat the Cowboys, 34-30. The Lions have been more than showing they are a team to be taken very seriously. Putting something pretty special together early in the season. I, who was once unsure of the hype, am buying in on the Lions, they are legit. Turning a 24 point deficit from the 2nd quarter, roaring back to win the game 34-30 o ...  read more

Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets

If you have ever met a Winnipeger — and they are everywhere because it seems like everyone leaves the city when they are old enough to do so — you have heard about the Jets. A Winnipeg native is incapable of speaking for more than two minutes without mentioning the Jets. It’s a law.

The town was obsessed with their te ...  read more

When creating profitable NCAAF Picks there are all sorts of trends and angles to consider. Obviously some are just supposed "experts" just flapping their gums and others are bonafide NCAAF Picks information. Over this past week I was looking at Week 4 NCAAF Picks teams who were coming off a bye week to see if that really helped or hurt their changes of making us money. After much searching, ...  read more

Who needs the preseason?

Scoring is through the roof in the National Football League and through two weeks of the year seasoned quarterback play and horrendous defense have been front-and-center. With the lack of a traditional offseason and with a truncated training camp the thought was that teams would be a little sluggish out of the gate and that we may ...  read more

This NFL season may be headed into Week 3, but that doesn't mean we can't continue to search out value in the NFL futures betting market. There have been a few early surprises this season, such as the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins, and some early disappointments, like the Kansas City Chiefs. The trick now is to figure out if there's any long-term value in an ...  read more

Below is a free MLB play with analysis for Wednesday night:

Tigers/Royals OVER 9 +111 (Scherzer/Paulino) – 8:10 pm ET #977-978

Not an official play, but I would rate the Over as a light lean tonight.

Two of the hotter teams in baseball take the field in Kansas City when the Royals host the Tigers. Kansas City has won eight of their last nine games, d ...  read more

The Auburn vs. Clemson match up on the third weekend of college football action in 2011 will pit two 2-0 squads against one another. It's also a rematch of two previous encounters between the schools which have gone to overtime. The defending BCS champions are back in the top 25 and are riding an emotional high after two hard fought, close victories, and are starting to gain some backers o ...  read more