When you have been successful in the highly-competitive sports selection industry for well over four decades, you must be doing something right. This has been the case with Doc's Sports as we continue to prepare for another winning season with both our college football and NFL selection packages. We already tore it up this year with college basketball and the NBA, and the results for the first half of the MLB regular season have been impressive to say the least.

Along with every selection we release, Doc's employs a Unit Betting System that has proven to be an excellent money management tool for building your bankroll. Another key to our continued success has been the relationship we have established over the years with a very talented team of expert handicappers that continue to produce winners on a regular basis.

Raphael Esparza has been a part of that team of expert handicappers for close to eight years. He worked his way to the top of the ranks in the sports betting industry during a long and illustrious career working behind the counter for some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas. Formally known as The Vegas Informer, he rose to the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria.

Raphael decided to retire from the sportsbook industry late last summer to spend his time further developing an already solid network of some of the biggest and most influential insiders in Las Vegas. These professionals know the sports betting industry inside and out, and he has done an excellent job at incorporating this "inside edge" into all of the selections he releases. What really makes Raphael's handicapping service unique in a very crowded field is selection packages for a wide array of sports that include the WNBA, horse racing, boxing, professional tennis and soccer leagues all around the globe.

Doc's Sports has been sitting down with Raphael for quite some time now in a weekly Q&A format to provide our loyal readers with exclusive access to this "inside edge". The primary goal of these discussions is to get his expert insight into some of the hottest trending topics in the sports betting industry today. What better source is there than someone with inside access to the undisputed sports gambling capital of the world? The following is this week's conversation.

Doc's Sports: The 2014 FIFA World Cup is down to its final four countries, and most sportsbooks in town have listed Argentina as the slight favorite to win it all. Which of the four teams left is at the top of your list to win the championship?

RE: Argentina is definitely the slight favorite when it comes to the betting odds, but I do not see this team getting past the Netherlands in the semifinals. I have Germany and the Netherlands in the Championship match, with the Germans winning it all. Germany lost me for a bit in group play, but it has regained its championship-caliber form during the knockout round.

Doc's Sports: Switching gears to some of the MLB division races at the halfway point of the regular season, which team do you have emerging as the title winner from the extremely-competitive American League East?

RE : Before the season started I had Baltimore coming out on top in the AL East despite three other teams having better odds to win this year's division title. Toronto's impressive run earlier this season appears to be running out of gas, and New York is not nearly as good as I thought it would be.

Doc's Sports : The tightest division race in the National League is in the Central. St. Louis was a heavy favorite to win that title before the season began, but which team has what it takes to rise to the top of the heap over the second half of games?

RE: Once again I am going to stick with my preseason pick (which was another team with much longer odds) by taking Milwaukee in a wire-to-wire run. St. Louis still has the talent to keep things interesting, and if Pittsburgh can land some pitching help it should remain in the mix, but the Brewers have been the most consistent team in the NL Central throughout the first half, and I do not expect that to change over the next few months.

Doc's Sports: Starting our two-month tour of the NCAA Division 1A conferences in college football, can you give us your early thoughts on how the ACC is going to shake-out this season?

RE: Some of the faces in the ACC may have changed with Louisville filling Maryland's vacant spot, but the results should remain the same. I do not see Florida State being as dominant as it was last year, but the Seminoles would be my pick to win the conference again this season. The one team that can make some noise out of the Coastal Division would be North Carolina.

Doc's Sports : The Denver Broncos are prohibitive favorites to win another AFC West title this season in the NFL, but are there any other teams in that division that can make things interesting in 2014?

RE: There are no such things as locks, especially in the NFL, but Denver winning the AFC West again in 2014 is about as close as it gets. I see Kansas City taking a step backwards this year after posting 11 wins in 2013, and while San Diego could once again make a run to the playoffs, it will not be able to win enough games to avoid going in as a wild-card team.

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.