Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 11/24/2015

by Doc's Sports - 11/24/2015

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton

It is rivalry weekend in college football, and in this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza we will get his thoughts on one or two of these annual showdowns that are high on his list of "must-see" matchups from a betting standpoint.

The former Vegas Sports Informer worked his way to the top of the list as one of the nation's best sports handicappers during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. Along the way he also worked his way to the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. Over the past few years he has devoted all of his time running one of the most diversified and successful sports investment services from both Las Vegas and New Orleans. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: All season long we have been tracking the betting public verses the Las Vegas sportsbooks when it comes to winners and losers in the NFL. Which side got the best of things in Week 11 with a number of mixed results between the favorites and the underdogs?

RE: It was a mixed bag last week with most of the books in town coming out slightly ahead with a small gain. The bettors hammered them on Carolina, but the books did well with Tampa Bay's upset of Philadelphia. The books also made money on the total line with so many games staying "under", but overall take was not that high.

Doc's Sports: Green Bay is still in the mix, but more and more it looks like it is going to be an unexpected showdown between 8-2 Arizona and 10-0 Carolina for the NFC title. Would you agree? And if so which one of these two surprising teams has the inside edge in your book?

RE: I have been wrong about Carolina all season long, but the Panthers are hard to ignore as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Cam Newton is playing the best football of his career, and a number of other players on both sides of the ball have been able to step up their game.

Doc's Sports : We have been talking about the Oklahoma Sooners for the past few weeks during their march to the Big 12 title and a possible berth in the College Football Playoff. They come into this Saturday's regular-season finale against rival Oklahoma State as four-point road favorites with some of the bigger books in town, so which way are you leaning in this matchup?

RE: The one thing that the Sooners could have going against them this Saturday is fate. More than a few times this season just when a team appears to be gaining momentum it gets strapped with an unexpected loss. I am staying away from this game, but I could easily see Oklahoma State bouncing back this week to pull off the upset.

Doc's Sports : Rivalry weekend in college football always offers some very interesting matchups between teams that have come to know and oftentimes dislike each other. Can you give us one or two showdowns on the slate that have captured your attention from a betting perspective?

RE: I am really interested to see how Navy does this Friday against a ranked Houston Cougars team. Another good test should be Iowa on the road against Nebraska, which is always a tough place to win a game no matter how the Cornhuskers are playing. The biggest matchup in my book is Notre Dame at Stanford given this game's potential impact on the playoff.

Doc's Sports: Canelo Alvarez came through as a solid favorite in this past Saturday night's 12-round decision against Miguel Cotto in the middleweight division. Do you see a bout against Gennady Golovkin coming together in the near future in an effort to unify the middleweight division?

RE: I think we are about a year and half away from seeing this bout. Both of these fighters will try and improve their leverage with a few more paydays, and you never know what might happen with Floyd Mayweather as far as coming out of retirement to fight his 50^th career bout.

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 .

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