Doc’s Sports has worked its way to the top of the sports selection industry over the past four decades behind a strong commitment to provide our loyal customers with a steady stream of winning picks for all the major sports. We have already jumped out to fast start in our 43rd year in business in both the NBA and college basketball, and we are geared up to continue this run into the month of March.

Much of our success can be traced back to a strong working relationship with some of the top handicappers in our field. One of our top performers for close to eight years has been Raphael Esparza. He cut his teeth in this industry during a long and illustrious career working behind the counter of some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas to become known as The Vegas Informer. Raphael held the highly prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria right up to his retirement in August of last year.

Just because Raphael is retired from the sportsbook industry does not mean he is not hard at work sourcing valuable inside information from a vast network of key contacts that he developed over these many years. He has been able to use this ‘inside edge’ in all of his handicapping efforts, and his current and past track record speaks for itself. Raphael is also one of the few handicappers that offer selections for a wide array of sports, including the WNBA, boxing, professional tennis and soccer leagues all around the globe.

Doc’s Sports decided to tap into this “inside edge” through a weekly Q&A with Raphael that is designed to provide our readers with some valuable insight into the hottest trending topics in the sports betting industry today. Living and working in the undisputed sports gambling capital of the world has no doubt played a huge role in helping him become one of the top handicappers in the country. The following is this week’s discussion.

Doc’s Sports: Last week we talked about Syracuse’s chances to run the table, and you made the correct call by stating that the remaining schedule was just too tough to navigate, especially with so many games on the road. Are this team’s last few games just a blip on the radar, or should there be some genuine concern that the Orange may be primed for an early exit from this year’s NCAA Tournament?

RE: There should definitely be some concern that Syracuse could bow out early in this year’s NCAA Tournament, especially if they draw an up-tempo team that likes to push the ball up the court in one of the early rounds. The Orange still have a fairly youthful roster that has proven to have trouble at times keeping pace with high-scoring teams.

Doc’s Sports: Florida has moved into the top spot in both major polls, and No. 2 Wichita State is on the verge of closing out the regular season undefeated. Are both of these teams really legitimate candidates for a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance?

RE: I think that both of these teams have proven to be worthy of a No. 1 seed so far. Florida has beaten most of the quality teams it has faced, and it does not have a bad loss on its record. The Shockers have beaten everyone they have faced, so it would be hard to deny them one of the top four seeds.

Doc’s Sports: The Indiana Pacers appeared to be pulling away in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, but the resurgent Miami Heat have won 11 of their last 13 games to close the gap to just a game and a half. Which of these two teams do you have ending up with that all-important home-court advantage for the playoffs?

RE: Right now I would give the edge to Miami, but it faces a tough stretch of road games in March including back-to-back stops at Houston and San Antonio. The Heat will also face the Pacers two more times in the regular season, and the outcome of those games could ultimately be the deciding factor in this race.

Doc’s Sports: Turning to the upcoming MLB season, you went with Baltimore in the American League and Los Angeles in the National League as your early picks to meet in year’s World Series. This week, can you give us a couple of teams with longer odds that might have an outside shot at making an unexpected run at the pennant in their respective league?

RE: The odds are not all that long on the Los Angeles Angels, but they have a shot to make a deep run if their pitching holds up and Albert Pujols returns to form. My pick in the NL would probably be the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Central Division should remain a wide-open race all season long, and Pittsburgh proved last season that it has the talent to hang with St. Louis and Cincinnati. If the Pirates can win the Central, anything can happen from there.

Doc’s Sports: Floyd Mayweather turned 37 the other day and promptly announced that he will be fighting Marco Maidana on May 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas or possibly even the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to attract a bigger draw for this event. How big of a favorite do you think the oddsmakers will open Mayweather for this bout?

RE: I am not sure if any of the books in town have released odds for this fight yet, but I am hearing that Mayweather could open as high as -1500. This makes it really hard for me to get all that excited about this matchup given that he will be such an overwhelming favorite.

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.