When it comes to wagering on sports, Doc’s Sports has spent the last four decades working its way to the top of the selection industry with a steady stream of winners for all the major sports. We have already jumped out to a fast start in our 43rd year in business with a solid track record for the NBA, NHL and college basketball seasons. A good deal of the credit for such an incredible run has been an ongoing relationship with some of the top handicappers in their field.

One of our handicappers that has been at the top of his game for quite a while now is Raphael Esparza. He was previously known as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and illustrious career working behind the counter of some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas. At the height of his career he held the highly-prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria.

Raphael decided to retire from the sportsbook industry this past summer, but he still goes to work each day sourcing valuable inside information from a vast network of key contacts that he developed over these many years. He then incorporates this ‘inside edge’ into all his handicapping efforts. The results speak for themselves with a winning track record for a wide array of sporting events, including many that other handicappers will not even touch. Chances are that if you want to bet on it, Raphael can provide the right pick!

Doc’s Sports decided to tap into this “inside edge” through a weekly Q&A with Raphael that is specifically designed to uncover valuable insight into the hottest trending topics in the sports betting industry today. He continues to prove that living and working in the undisputed sports gambling capital of the world has made him one of the top performers in his field. The following is this week’s discussion.

Doc’s Sports: A few weeks back you tipped us off that Cal had a good chance at covering against then-No.1 Arizona, and the Golden Bears went on to win that game straight up. Do you have an ‘upset special’ in mind for any top-ranked teams when it comes to this week’s games?

RE:The one game to watch would be No. 8 Duke on the road against North Carolina this Wednesday night as anything can happen in that matchup. I am a big fan of the Mountain West, and if you are looking for another solid play on a likely home underdog on Wednesday, take Boise State over New Mexico.

Doc’s Sports: Heading into this weekend’s NBA all-star break, teams will have completed well over half of their regular season schedule. One betting trend that stands out when you add up all the results is road favorites covering 54.3 percent of the time. Do you pay attention to trends like this, or do you still concentrate on handicapping individual matchups?

RE: I have followed this trend in the past and am always on the lookout for a solid play involving road favorites. I normally look for decent road teams giving a few points to the bottom feeders in the league as these type of scenarios tend to pay off the most.

Doc’s Sports: Speaking of this weekend’s all-star activities, do you ever get involved in handicapping any of these events?

RE: I usually treat this weekend as a couple of days off from handicapping the NBA. I am actually headed to New Orleans to attend all the festivities, but at the most, I will release a free pick on which conference wins Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Doc’s Sports: Most sportsbook’s futures odds for winning the Gold Medal in men’s hockey for the Winter Olympics have Canada as the favorite followed by Russia and Sweden. Do you think that the United States has any shot at pulling off the upset as the fourth-favorite on this list?

RE: There will be no miracles on ice this time around as a silver or even a bronze medal at Sochi would be a major accomplishment for the USA. They are good, but not nearly at the level of the Canadians or even the Russians.

Doc’s Sports: We all know what a huge boxing fan you are, so what is your take on Floyd Mayweather using a social media poll to determine his next opponent, which if he stays true to his word would be Amir Khan?

RE: It comes as no big surprise to me that Khan won the poll as he was already at the top of the list as the leading contender to fight Mayweather next. It is hard to get too excited about this matchup. My guess would be that Khan comes into this bout as a prohibitive underdog of +800 or more.

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.