Sports Betting Futures Odds: Cubs Heating Up Again as Home Stretch Nears

by Ricky Dimon - 8/18/2016

The Rio Olympics will soon come to a close and the NFL and college football regular seasons have not yet begun, so baseball is about to take center stage-at least for a while. As pennant races loom, the Chicago Cubs are making sure there will be no such drama in the National League Central. Chicago has won three in a row and 14 of its last 16 games to take a commanding 12.5-game lead in the division.

Odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated .

National League Pennant

Chicago Cubs (+140) -It is safe to say the Cubs will have home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. They have a six-game advantage over the Nationals and a nine-game cushion on everyone else. Chicago also boasts an unbelievable run differential of +206.

Washington Nationals (+333) - Everyone in the NL East is currently on a losing streak (although that of the New York Mets stands at just one). It will take a massive slump by Washington in order for either New York or the Miami Marlins to surge from behind. But can the Nats reverse their recent playoff woes?

San Francisco Giants (+475) -There are only two intriguing division races in all of baseball-the AL East and the NL West. As it stands now, San Francisco would be in the dreaded one-game wild-card playoff because it trails L.A. by 1.5 games. But even years always turn out well for the Giants, don't they?

Los Angeles Dodgers (+650) -The Dodgers have won four straight games and San Fran has dropped two in a row, thus making for a change at the top of the division. Shortstop Corey Seager is going to win NL Rookie of the Year and ace Clayton Kershaw is 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA.

NFL Most Rushing Yards (BetOnline Sportsbook)

Todd Gurley, Rams (+400) - Running back has become a young man's position in the NFL, and youth is exactly what Gurley has on his side. In his rookie season with St. Louis, the former Georgia star rushed 229 times for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns. Even bigger numbers could be on the way in Los Angeles.

Adrian Peterson, Vikings (+600) - And then there's the veteran in the group, as Peterson is on the other side of 30 (31 to be exact). But he is showing no signs of slowing down. Minnesota fed him the rock 327 times last season, which Peterson turned into 1,485 yards and 11 scores.

Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys (+800) -Elliott is a rookie, so he is obviously unproven-at least at the NFL level. But he arrives on a team that has a veteran QB (Tony Romo), a star receiver (Dez Bryant), and an awesome offensive line. The former Ohio State standout is going to have his fair share of opportunities.

Doug Martin, Buccaneers (+800) -Peterson won the rushing title for the third time last year, but Martin gave him a run for his money. The Muscle Hamster finished with 1,402 yards and six touchdowns on 288 carries (4.9 average). Nobody else is better than +1400 (Houston's Lamar Miller).

Men's basketball gold medal

United States (-1200) -Team USA went on a sleepwalking tour of round-robin competition, beating both Serbia and France by only three points. It also trailed Australia by five points at halftime before winning 98-88. But the Americans picked up the pace to hammer Argentina 105-78 on Wednesday.

Spain (+1200) - Spain has never won the gold medal, but it has finished runner-up three times dating back to 1984, including in each of the last two Olympics. Unfortunately for the Spaniards, they have to go up against the United States in the semifinals this time around.

Australia (+1300) - While Spain boasts Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, and Rudy Fernandez, the Aussies are led by Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, and Matthew Dellavedova. They have been outstanding so far in Rio, with only a 10-point loss to Team USA in addition to double-digit win after double-digit win.

Serbia (+1800) -The good news for Australia and Serbia, of course, is that they are on the opposite side of the draw from the United States. If Spain can pull off a semifinal upset, everything is suddenly wide open. The Serbs have three losses in Rio but edged Croatia 86-83 in the quarterfinals.

U.S. Open (women's)

Serena Williams (+115) -Serena won the first three majors of 2015, but her quest for the calendar-year Grand Slam came to an end in the U.S. Open semifinals with a stunning loss to Roberta Vinci. Momentum from the world No. 1's recent Wimbledon title was erased by an early loss at the Olympics.

Garbine Muguruza (+700) - Muguruza also tumbled out of Rio de Janeiro in the early stages as she got clobbered by eventual gold medalist Monica Puig. An additional concern for the Spaniard is that the U.S. Open has been by far her worst slam; in fact, her overall record in New York is a mere 1-3.

Simona Halep (+1000) - Not too much unlike Muguruza, Halep has often underachieved at the U.S. Open relative to other majors. In 2014 she reached at least the quarterfinals of the other three, only to lose in round three at Flushing Meadows. But the fourth-ranked Romanian advanced to the semis last summer.

Angelique Kerber (+1000) -Kerber was the clear favorite going into the gold-medal match against Puig last weekend, but the German went down in three sets. Still, settling for silver sure isn't bad. She also finished runner-up to Serena at Wimbledon in what was her second slam final of 2016 (won the Australian Open).

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 8:00 PM
Expert:	Scott Spreitzer
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