This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 8/20/2015

by Ricky Dimon - 8/20/2015

A. Arkansas . The Razorbacks will be without running back Jonathan Williams for at least the entire regular season. Williams suffered a foot injury during a scrimmage last weekend and will require surgery. The senior was a preseason All-SEC second team selection after leading Arkansas in rushing in 2014 with 1,190 yards and 12 touchdowns.

B. Belinda Bencic . Switzerland's tennis headlines are usually being dominated by Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. But this 18-year-old not only won a huge title last week in Montreal but also beat six consecutive opponents who are Grand Slam finalists. Bencic has extended her winning streak to eight with a pair of victories in Cincinnati. She is +2500 at Sportsbook to win the U.S. Open; Serena Williams is a -160 favorite.

C. C.C. Sabathia . Sabathia has been getting hit just about all the time this season (4-9, 5.24 ERA, 1.42 WHIP), so on Friday night/Saturday morning he tried to do the hitting, himself. The 35-year-old southpaw was part of a nightclub fracas that was caught on video. He went after some guy ("I just flipped out") but was restrained before things could escalate.

D. Donald Trump . He's not just leading the Republican primary polls right now. He's also having some real estate sold to Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. Reports indicate that Ronaldo has purchased a 2,509-square-foot loft in New York's Trump Tower. Cue the rampant speculation that he will eventual join one of the New York-based Major League Soccer franchises.

E. English Premier League . You have to go all the way down to 16^th (tied) on the EPL table to find Chelsea, which has one point (0-1-0 record) and a -3 goal differential. The Blues opened with an unceremonious 2-2 draw against Swansea and sank to another depth altogether when the club got blown out by rival Manchester City 3-0 last Sunday. Man City is a +125 favorite to win the league title, according to Bovada Sportsbook.

F. Farrell, John . Farrell will take a break-that will last at least the rest of this regular season-from managing the Boston Red Sox to undergo treatment for Stage 1 lymphoma. It goes without saying that everyone is rooting for him to get healthy and be back in the ballgame in 2016.

G. Geno Smith . Unless you don't know what sports are (in which case you wouldn't be reading this), you know Smith got socked by a little-known New York Jets' teammate and will be out for six to 10 weeks. IK Inemkpali delivered the blow during an alleged disagreement about who owed who money and how much. For what it's worth, Inemkpali promptly got released by New York and picked up by-you guessed it-Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills. The Jets are -1 home favorites over the Atlanta Falcons on Friday, per Bovada Sportsbook.

H. Hard luck . Shelby Miller of the Atlanta Braves was an all-star this year and is without question one of the best starters in baseball (2.43 ERA, 128 strikeouts in 152 innings). He also does not have a win since…wait for it…May 17. Miller was once 5-1; how he's 5-9 thanks entirely to a lack of run support. In 16 outings since his last start, the Braves have scored more than three runs only twice. In 10 of those 16 games he went at least six innings while giving up two runs or fewer.

I. Instagram .That's where Julianne Hough announced her engagement to Washington Capitals' star Brooks Laich. The two-time "Dancing With the Stars" champion went public with the news-and with her massive diamond ring-earlier this week. It's safe to say Laich has scored an impressive goal here.

J. Jason Day . It was only a matter of time for Day, who had nine top-10 finishes in majors heading into the PGA Championship. He also either led or had a share of the 54-hole lead at both the U.S. Open and British Open earlier this summer (ended up missing a playoff at the latter by one stroke). Day finally came good, dominating the PGA at Whistling Straits with a final score of 20-under, holding off none other than new world No. 1 Jordan Spieth.

K. Kenseth, Matt . Kevin Harvick ran out gas seconds before the finish line earlier this month at Watkins Glen, thus opening the door for Joey Logano to take the checkered flag. Kenseth needed no such help from Harvicklast weekend in Michigan. Harvick endured another near-miss with a second-place showing, but it really was not that close. Kenseth led 146 of 200 laps en route to his third victory of the season. MyBookie.ag has Harvick and Kyle Busch as +330 co-favorites to win the Sprint Cup championship.

L. Lionel Messi .It's unclear how FC Barcelona ever loses with Messi on its roster, but somehow it does. The club actually tied Athletic Bilbao 1-1 on Monday, but that might as well have been a loss. Barca already trailed the aggregate score 4-0 after getting blown out in the first match of the Spanish Super Cup final, so Bilbao had no trouble securing the title.

M. Murray, Andy . Murray losing to Novak Djokovic appeared to be the third certainty of life, but it is a certainty no more (well, at least until they play again at the U.S. Open!). The Scot upset Djokovic in last week's Montreal final. Perhaps the best news about that victory is Murray is now No. 2 in the world ahead of Federer and-if he stays there for one more week-will be on the opposite side of the draw from Djokovic in New York. Murray is +355 at BookMaker to win the U.S. Open; Djokovic is a +112 favorite.

N. Northwestern .The National Labor Relations Board ruled on Monday that Northwestern players are not employees and cannot unionize. Of course, this whole thing is not ending anytime soon. Fortunately, what is starting soon is some actual college football!

O. Oden, Greg . The Jiangsu Dragons just signed Oden. Last time I checked, that was not an NBA franchise. And a quick google search confirms that team still is not a part of the association. No, the former Ohio State Buckeye will be taking his talents to a Chinese league after inking a one-year, $1.2 million deal.

P. Ponder, Samantha . Christian Ponder's gain (making a baby with his wife) is everyone else's pain. Spending more time with her daughter was the reason Samantha Ponder is leaving her sideline reporting duties, according to her announcement last week. Fortunately for all those who enjoy what she brings to the table, she is still with ESPN in other capacities-including College Gameday.

Q. Quarterback battle . Braxton Miller has long since taken himself out of the competition, which means the Ohio State job is down to two: J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones. Miller and Jones have said they do not want to split time. Opposing defenses do not want to see either one at any time. The Buckeyes are +300 favorites at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the National Championship.

R. Robert Griffin III .RG3 still thinks he's the best quarterback in football…or something like that. He actually said as much earlier this week. Then the Washington Redskins promptly banned him from talking to the media. Ah, the Redskins. They aren't good for much in the way of winning football games, but they are certainly good for this kind of nonsense.

S. Stan Wawrinka . Federer could win the calendar-year Grand Slam in 2016 and tennis still wouldn't get as much mainstream pub as it did last week. During a Montreal match, Nick Kyrgios told Wawrinka that a fellow player (Thanasi Kokkinakis) banged his girlfriend (Donna Vekic, who is on the women's tour). Wawrinka did not hear it at the time, but he-and the whole world-soon got wind of a viral vine. This controversy is not going away anytime soon.

T. Tim Tebow . It may not be Tebow time in Philadelphia, but hey-Skip Bayless can dream, right? If nothing else, the former Heisman Trophy winner at least appears to be on his way back to relevancy and to becoming one of Sam Bradford's backups. In last week's preseason opener, Tebow completed six of 12 passes for 69 yards and rushed for a score as the Eagles drubbed the Indianapolis Colts 36-10. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Philly as a -3 home favorite over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

U.Unlikely . That is Joel Embiid's status for the upcoming NBA season. The Philadelphia 76ers' big man channeled his inner Oden and underwent another surgery (right foot) and will be out for another year. If he ever begins his professional career, it may not be in Philadelphia because the Sixers have like a hundred centers-all of whom they drafted in round one.

V. Valanciunas, Jonas . Valanciunas' name just sounds like he should be some kind of three-point sharpshooter specialist, like fellow Lithuanian Sarunas Jasikevicius from back in the day. But Valanciunas is actually seven feet tall and 245 pounds. His ability to use that size to his advantage has earned him a four-year, $60 million extension from the Toronto Raptors.

W. Washington Nationals .The Nationals have actually won two games in a row. Two actual baseball games-for the first time since July 29-30. They are still 6-13 in their last 19 contests and 3.5 games back of the New York Mets in the National League East. Washington (Scherzer) is a -205 favorite at the Colorado Rockies (Flande) on Thursday, according to Sportsbook.

X. Xander Bogaerts . The Red Sox crossed the plate a ridiculous 22 times last Saturday while clobbering Seattle Mariners by 12 runs (that's right; Boston gave up a 10-spot). Bogaerts came to bat seven times and hit safely on four of those occasions. The 22-year-old shortstop has six multi-hit performances this month, including two of the four-hit variety.

Y. Yu Darvish . Darvish began throwing earlier this week for the first time since Tommy John surgery. The Texas Rangers' ace obviously won't be back this season to help his team battle for a place in the playoffs. Texas is in third place in the AL West and in contention for either the division title or a wild-card spot.

Z. 'Zona . That is Chris Johnson's next destination. The veteran running back signed a one-year with the Arizona Cardinals on Monday. An incentive-based contract could be worth up to $2 million depending on how Johnson performs. The Cardinals are +1000 to win the NFC title, per GT Bets.

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