This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 2/6/2015
A. Assault
. There's just something about Super Bowls and soliciting prostitutes. This time it was not a player but a former player and now-former NFL Network
analyst. Warren Sapp was arrested on Monday in Phoenix for solicitation and for allegedly assaulting two women. Not surprisingly, the network immediately
fired him.
B. Betting losses
. Sports betting in Nevada was never bigger, and also never worse, than it was last year. According to Nevada Gaming Control, the state's 187 sportsbooks
received a record $3.9 million in wagers and profited a record $227.04 million. Of course, that should not-and has not-deterred gamblers. Approximately
$116 million was wagered on Super Bowl XLIX and the books kept "only" $3.3 million.
C. Call
. Hindsight is 20-20, but it doesn't have to be. The sign of a mediocre play call is when it doesn't work you look like an idiot and when it does works you
look like a genius. The sign of an awful play call is when it doesn't work you like an idiot, and when it does work…you still look like an idiot. Even if
the Seahawks' last offensive play in Super Bowl XLIX had produced a touchdown, they still would have required testing for extreme levels of stupidity. Seattle is a +550 favorite to win Super Bowl L, according to Bovada Sportsbook.
D. Djokovic, Novak
. Andy Murray has become the Buffalo Bills of the Australian Open, and he has Djokovic to blame. Murray is now 0-4 in finals Down Under after succumbing to
Djokovic in four sets on Sunday. Three of the Scot's four losses have come to the top-ranked Serb (Roger Federer got him on the other occasion). Djokovic,
by contrast, is a perfect 5-0 in Melbourne title matches.
E. English Premier League
. A draw is hypothetically a loss most of the time for Chelsea, but not when it already holds a five-point lead over Manchester City on the Premier League
table. Last weekend's 1-1 tie against City might as well have been a win for the Blues, who remain atop the standings with 53 points-comfortably clear of
the Sky Blues' 48 and Manchester United's 43. BetOnline Sportsbook has Chelsea as a -500
favorite to capture the title.
F. Fire
. It was only a matter of time before the Cavs caught it. Now they have. Cleveland has won 12 in a row after blasting the Clippers 105-94 on Thursday in a
game in which LeBron James and company led by 31 points after three quarters.
G. Gronkowski, Rob
. Gronkowski did not win MVP of the Super Bowl, but it's probably safe to say he garnered those honors for the Patriots' victory parade. In addition to
playing some toss with a deflated football and general dancing shenanigans, the star tight end chugged a beer and also changed into a Patriots No. 69
jersey. Just Gronk being Gronk.
H. Halftime
. If you bet on "Roar" being the first song, you won. If you bet on cleavage, you won (yay!). If you bet on dancing sharks (was that a prop?), you won. And
if you parlayed dancing sharks with dancing sharks completely botching the choreography, you won bigtime. All in all, if nothing else Katy Perry's halftime
performance certainly did not lack entertainment or intrigue.
I. Irvin, Bruce
. Irvin became the first player to be ejected from a Super Bowl when he was tossed for his role in a last-second scuffle on Sunday. At least it came at the
end of the game, so that he got to play the entire thing before it happened. Then again, Irvin may have been better off getting ejected earlier so that he
would have been spared witnessing Seattle's final-play disaster.
J. Jones, Andruw
. Jones, 37, is targeting a return to Major League Baseball after playing two seasons in Japan. Let's hope for his sake he underwent a Subway Guy-esque
transformation while overseas. Mybookie.ag has Washington as a +500 favorite to win the World
Series.
K. Koepka, Brooks
. The only thing better than Florida State's recruiting class was the play of one of its former golfers last week in Phoenix. Koepka, 24, carded a 15-under
total of 269 for his first-ever victory on the PGA Tour. FSU is +2500 to win next season's College Football Playoff, per Bovada Sportsbook.
L. Leafs
. What's cooler than being cool? Ice cold! That's what the Maple Leafs are, as they have lost 10 consecutive games and sit in 13th place in the
Eastern Conference with 48 points. That's only one more point than they had when the losing streak began back on Jan. 12, because only one of their 10
setbacks has come in overtime or a shootout. It looks like Toronto may have to become a basketball town-at least for this season. The Leafs are +115 underdogs at New Jersey on Friday, per Sportsbook.
M. Malcolm Butler
. The undrafted free agent was heading into an offseason in obscurity. One boneheaded play-call by Seattle later, he was heading to Disney World. In
fairness to Butler, the inexplicable call coincided with an outstanding defensive play of his own. The 24-year-old did not get MVP because his name isn't
Tom Brady, but his game-saving interception will live in Super Bowl lore forever.
N. Nets
. Brooklyn went 3-12 in January, losing its last four games of the month. The Nets suddenly find themselves out of the current playoff picture, which would
generally be good news (think: lottery pick). Unfortunately, Atlanta-already the best team in the Eastern Conference-has the option of swapping draft picks
with Brooklyn this summer as a result of the 2012 Joe Johnson trade. Oops. 5Dimes Sportsbook has the
Nets as -7 home favorites over New York on Friday.
O. Oregon
. Oregon may be a football school, but don't overlook the hoops team. Shooting guard Tyler Dorsey committed to the Ducks on Monday, giving them a trio of
four-star recruits in the 2015 class (Dorsey joins Trevor Manuel and Kendall Small). Dana Altman's squad is currently in the midst of a mediocre season at
16-7 overall and 6-4 in the Pac-12.
P. Pacquiao-Mayweather
. Just wake me up when the first punch is actually thrown. Until then, I won't be holding my breath.
Q. Quinn, Dan
. The last few possessions of the Quinn-as-defensive coordinator-in-Seattle era did not go especially well, but the Atlanta Falcons are without question
giddy that they aren't getting the Seahawks' offensive coordinator. Quinn was officially introduced (finally) as head coach in Atlanta on Tuesday.
The Falcons are +1800 at Bodog Sportsbook to win the NFC Championship.
R. Rehab
. They didn't make him go to rehab, but he said yes, yes, yes. Johnny Manziel admitted himself to a treatment facility earlier this week. You don't have to
root for the kid on the field, but there is no reason not to root for him off the field in this particular situation.
S. Suge Knight
. Knight, founder/CEO of Black Kapital Records and co-founder/former CEO of Death Row Records, has endured a death row of a last eight days. He is on trial
for killing a friend and for attempted murder of another friend after he ran them over in his truck last Thursday. This Wednesday he was admitted to a
hospital for chest pains before being released back into custody. Knight pleaded not guilty, so buckle down for a long haul.
T. Tiger Woods
. How much lower can Tiger go? Technically, he can't. He finished last place at his own tournament in December, did the same last week in Phoenix, then
withdrew citing back pain during the first round at Torrey Pines on Thursday. Whenever Tiger returns (again), it would help if the former world No. 1's
short game stops resembling that of Happy Gilmore. He is +1800 at SuperBook to win the Masters.
U. Undefeated
. Kentucky is all alone after Virginia finally went down last Saturday. The Cavaliers appeared to be on the verge of keeping pace with UK in the loss
column, but they squandered a nine-point lead with barely more than nine minutes remaining and fell to Duke 69-63. Only 998 to go until Coach K gets to
2,000 wins!
V. Vickers, Brian
. If you can take time out of your NASCAR fandom schedule to root for someone other than Dale Earnhardt Jr., Vickers should be your man. The guy has been
medically cleared to come back in March, which will be just three months after undergoing corrective heart surgery to repair a hole. Vickers is expected to
miss only the Daytona 500 and the QuikTrip 500 in Atlanta on March 1. Earnhardt is a +1000 favorite at GT Bets to win at Daytona.
W. Williams, Serena
. Serena captured her 19th Grand Slam title last weekend by triumphing at the Australian Open. She broke a three-way tie for second on the
all-time list with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, now standing alone behind Steffi Graf. If Serena wants to get to Graf's 22, she'll get there. She
is a +225 favorite at Sportsbook to win the French Open.
X. XLIX
. Although one play dominates the headlines, this Super Bowl had just about everything: a big comeback, a fight, breakout stars, a legendary quarterback
and coach, some fun commercials, and a decent halftime show. Especially after last year's disaster, this was a great one.
Y. Yes
. That's what John McCain wants to say to sports betting in the United States, or at the very least to Congressional discussion of the topic. McCain argued
last week that Congress needs to hold hearings to discuss potential legalization in the United States. What can you say? The guy has a point!
Z. Zero
. That's where the Atlanta Hawks' winning streak stood after they lost at New Orleans 115-100 on Monday. They had previously won 19 straight games, a
stretch that featured the best month in NBA history (17-0 in January). Mike Budenholzer's team has now won one in a row (beat Washington on Wednesday) and
34 of its last 37 and is 41-9 overall. Where would you set the spread on this prop: Hawks' wins in 2014-15 (they play 82 games, plus playoffs) vs. Atlanta
Braves' regular-season wins in 2015 (they play 162 games)? The Hawks are +220 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the Eastern Conference.
Read more articles by Ricky Dimon
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