Category Archives: sports

Best Bets: Early 2016 World Series Futures

miguel sano byron buxton minnesota twinsPitchers and catchers are due to report in baseball within the next two weeks. Online Sportsbooks haven’t put out over/under win totals yet, but they are due relatively soon.

Until win totals are released, World Series championship futures are fun to speculate.

If you can wait nine months for a payout, there’s plenty of value to be found.

The Cubs are by far the overall favorites to win the 2016 World Series with a +450 payout. The next in line are the Dodgers (+1200) and Mets (+1200).

We look at the overall value and pick some teams that could be worth the long wait for a payout.

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Super Bowl 50 – Betting Picks Against Spread & Prop Bets

SB50I LOVE prop bets. I actually get more joy out of betting Super Bowl prop bets than betting against the spread. Yes, most are a crap shoot, but with the right research, you can end up winning a bet with very favorable odds.

I’m not saying you can research who will win the coin toss, but there are many other player and team prop bets out there that have nice odds.

Some prop bets aren’t worth the money (the vig isn’t worth the slight risk), but sometimes you just have to lay a few bucks down, cross your fingers and wish for the best.

I picked out some of the most popular (and the most absurd) prop bets for Super Bowl 50. We also pick the game against the spread.

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Why the Carolina Panthers WILL win the Super Bowl this season

panthers-cowboys-luke-kuechly-interceptionAfter going 15-1 in the regular season, there were plenty of football fans who expected the Carolina Panthers to struggle during the postseason. So far, the Panthers have breezed through the playoffs and will now face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl for the NFL Championship.

Carolina are playing incredibly well on both sides of the ball, which stands them in good stead to win the Super Bowl for the first time. They reached the showpiece event back in 2003 but fell short as the New England Patriots scraped victory courtesy of an Adam Vinatieri field goal.

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2016 NFL Conference Championship Games – Betting Picks Against Spread

larry fitzgerald green bay packers nfl playoffsSorry about getting my picks up late this week. I had a busy week and it kept getting push back.

I went 5-2-1 with my NFL picks against the spread and over/under picks last weekend.

The East Coast got a bunch of snow dumped on them the last few days. Charlotte didn’t get as much as the D.C. area, so the playing conditions for the Carolina/Arizona game shouldn’t be too horrible. I don’t see it affecting the spread or over/under too much.

Both conference championship games have the top two seeds facing off. It should be a fun slate of games (although I wish the Carolina/Arizona game didn’t come on as the same time as the Royal Rumble).

We pick both NFL Conference Championship games against the spread.

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2016 NFL Divisional Playoff Games – Betting Picks Against Spread

vontaze-burfict-ben-roethlisberger-nfl-afc-wild-card-pittsburgh-steelers-cincinnati-bengals-1-850x560I went 6-2 with my NFL picks against the spread and over/under picks last weekend. I went 3-1 against the spread and 3-1 with my over/under picks. I believe I should have been 4-0 ATS, but Big Ben was nearly murdered by Vontaze Burfict…but you can’t predict injuries, so it is was it is.

Three of the four playoff games are being played outdoors this weekend, so check weather reports before kickoff. Denver, Charlotte and Foxborough are all supposed to be clear skies and relatively pleasant this weekend.

The road teams won all four playoff games last weekend. Will the trend continue?

We pick every NFL Divisional Playoff game against the spread.

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2016 NFL Wild Card Playoff Games – Betting Picks Against Spread

Teddy Bridgewater Minnesota Vikings 2016 NFL Wild Card picks against the spread america's white boyI limped into the postseason a bit after having a few .500 weeks to end the year. The last two weeks are always pretty hard to handicap, so I don’t feel too bad about staying even.

Three of the four playoff games are being played outdoors, so check weather reports before kickoff. Minnesota is supposed to be bitterly cold, so it could play a factor.

Will the teams that finished hot this year stay hot when the pressure is on?

Will two teams redeem themselves after being blown out by their opponents earlier in the season?

We pick every NFL Wild Card Weekend game against the spread.

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Review: “Super Bowl Gold: 50 Years of the Big Game”

Super Bowl Gold sports illustrated bookI’m a sucker for books with beautiful pictures. I’ve been his way since I was young, not because I hated to read, but because a beautiful photo can sometimes say what words cannot describe.

The editors of Sports Illustrated has put out a book called “Super Bowl Gold: 50 Years of the Big Game”. It’s everything you have come to expect from Sports Illustrated, but in a fantastically laid-out book.

If you’re a fan of the NFL and want to fondly remember some of the best pictures and detailed descriptions from the Big Game over the years, this is a perfect book to sit on your coffee table.

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2015 NFL Week 17 – Betting Picks Against Spread

pouting cam newton week 17 america's white boy NFL picks against the spread gambling carolina panthersThe Carolina Panthers had their bid for a perfect season end against Atlanta. My bid for the perfect betting season ended in Week 1, so Cam shouldn’t pout too much about his ending in Week 16!

It is important to look at potential playoff scenarios before placing any bets. A few top teams have already cemented their spot in the playoffs, so a team like the Washington Redskins could sit their starting quarterback. Also, there will be a few teams that will bench their kind-of-banged-up stars this week.

Will we finish strong heading into the NFL playoffs? We’ve had a pretty good season so far, so we hope to have a solid Week 17.

We pick every NFL game against the spread and throw out a few upsets in Week 17 of the 2015 NFL season.

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2015 NFL Week 16 – Betting Picks Against Spread

Teddy Bridgewater Minnesota Vikings Chicago Bears NFL 2015 picks against the spread America's White BoyAfter killing it for nearly a month, I’ve went .500 in back-to-back weeks. I’m glad that this week is almost entirely made up of division games. You have some history to go off from and are a little more predictable.

The one major thing I make sure to study this late in the year is the standings and injury reports. A lot of teams that don’t have much left to play for can be cautious with their young players and keep them out of games. Also, some teams that are near the bottom of the league could end up tanking. I don’t see much tanking this year, so that’s a good thing.

After a close game last weekend, can Carolina stay perfect against the Atlanta Falcons?

We pick every NFL game against the spread and throw out a few upsets in Week 16 of the 2015 NFL season.

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2015 NFL Week 15 – Betting Picks Against Spread

manziel 100 dollar bill autograph signedI hovered around .500 last week and finished 7-9 on the week. I didn’t have any bad beats, just a some poor outings from quarterbacks that I thought would play better.

Make sure to keep an eye on the playoff standings from this point forward. You need to figure how which teams have something left to gain by playing hard. Also, keep an eye on weather reports. You never know when a game could turn into an ice bowl. If a team is playing outdoors in the Midwest, it shouldn’t be a huge factor since we have weird Autumn-like weather right now.

Can the Steelers keep airing out the ball against the Broncos secondary?

Can Carolina stay perfect against the New York Giants?

We pick every NFL game against the spread and throw out a few upsets in Week 15 of the 2015 NFL season.

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2015 NFL Week 14 – Betting Picks Against Spread

antonio brown pittsburgh steelers indianapolis colts goalpost celebration touchdown picks against the spread nfl america's white boy 2015Last week, I had a weird week picking against the spread. I missed some early games, but then my picks were hitting non-stop. I even picked the Philly moneyline in the New England/Philadelphia game. That kind of negated any early losses.

I went 10-5-1 last week against the spread. I’m on a four-straight ‘strong week’ streak. I want to thank the bookmakers for the lack of double-digit point spreads so far this season. It seemed like they were all double-digits by this time last season. 

We pick every NFL game against the spread and throw out a few upsets in Week 14 of the 2015 NFL season.

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 40

wwe elite 40 Umage IRS Rick Rude John Cena Tyson Kidd Sami Zayn mattelI’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.

Mattel has been including more flashback figures, which I love. I think it’s largely due to the success of the Target exclusive Hall of Fame series (by the way, series three should be in stores in the near future).

Elite 40 might be the best overall series released this calendar year. The WWE Superstars included in Elite 40 are Sami Zayn, Umaga, I.R.S., Rick Rude, Tyson Kidd and John Cena.

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