The football season wears on as the basketball season starts up, and Doc's Sports is right in the middle of things with selection packages for both the college ranks and the pros. We have been at this game for 43^rd years, and you do not get to the top of the heap in this business without picking winners. A big reason for this unprecedented level of success has been the ability to surround ourselves with some of the top expert handicappers in the business. One of the best of the best over the last eight years has been Raphael Esparza, who cut his teeth as an expert handicapper during a long and illustrious career behind the counter of some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas.

The former Vegas Sports Informer rose all the way to the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement from the Las Vegas sportsbook industry in August of 2013. Raphael stays busy these days developing and expanding an already vast network of relationships with some of the biggest and most influential Las Vegas insiders in the sports betting industry today. These professionals know the gaming world inside and out, and much of his success can be attributed to the ability to incorporate this "inside edge" into all the selections he releases.

Raphael has been able to separate himself from most other expert handicappers by not only offering selection packages for all the major sports but also releasing ones for betting opportunities such as the WNBA, horse racing, boxing, professional tennis and soccer leagues all around the globe. Recently, he has gone as far as to offer picks for professional wrestling, high school football and even political elections.

Doc's decided to give readers a glimpse into the Las Vegas betting scene through a weekly Q&A with Raphael that covers some of the hottest trending topics in the sports betting industry today. We have found that there is no better source than someone that is a true "insider" in the undisputed sports gambling capital of the world. The following is this week's conversation.

Doc's Sports: A few weeks back you gave us your top four teams in college football, but in light of Mississippi State's loss to Alabama this past Saturday, what does your list look like now heading into the final few weeks of the regular season?

RE: I would have to move Alabama all the way up to the top spot after last Saturday's win as the Tide continue to pass every test down the stretch. Oregon would move into the No. 2 spot, followed by Florida State and TCU. The Seminoles continue to win ugly, but it would be hard to deny them a spot in the top four given their perfect record. Mississippi State and Baylor would fill the next two spots on my list.

Doc's Sports : In your blog, Straight Bet Talk, you pointed out just how bad the Las Vegas sportsbooks got beat up in Week 10 of the NFL season. Were they able to bounce back this past week with a couple of big upsets in Sunday's games?

RE: The books in town got back into the black last week with big gains on both New Orleans and Denver losing straight up. The fact that so many games stayed "under" the total helped to wipe out quite a few parlays. However, it still was not one of the best takes of the NFL season with quite a bit of money going back to the bettors after Green Bay's dominant win.

Doc's Sports: The Arizona Cardinals have stunned the betting world with a 9-1 record straight up while covering against the spread in eight of the 10 games. Drew Stanton looked pretty good at quarterback last week against Detroit in place of an injured Carson Palmer, but can Arizona continue on this kind of pace over the remainder of the season?

RE : You cannot completely discount any team that wins nine of 10 games in this league, but I am still not overly impressed with the Cardinals, especially with Stanton as their starter. Looking at the final six games on their schedule starting with this Sunday's road game against Seattle, Arizona could easily struggle to go 3-3 down the stretch.

Doc's Sports : New England in the AFC and Green Bay in the NFC appear to be on a collision course for a showdown in Super Bowl XLIX, according to the NFL futures odds, with quite a few sportsbooks in town. Heading into Week 12 of the regular season, would this matchup be your pick as well?

RE: Right now, it would be hard to argue against these two teams facing off in this year's Super Bowl. Both Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are playing at a very high level, and if both the Patriots and the Packers go on to secure home-field advantage, you can almost guarantee they will win their respective conference.

Doc's Sports: A new season in men's college basketball got underway this past weekend. Can you give us a couple of teams that you might be betting with or against in the early part of their nonconference schedule?

RE: I think Kentucky lives up to all the hype with this year's added experience, and I also like North Carolina as another high-profile program to bet on early. My top team to watch in the nonconference portion of the schedule would be San Diego State, out of the Mountain West. The Aztecs may not get the notoriety they deserve playing on the West Coast, but they are a very good team. Being such a huge West Coast hoops fan, my top team to go against right now would be Hawaii.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza . Also be sure to follow him on Twitter @VSIDocsports.