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This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z

by - 10/19/2016

Nick Kyrgios of Australia

A. ATP Tour . The ATP suspended Nick Kyrgios for eight weeks after he blatantly tanked a match last week in Shanghai. Kyrgios blooped in serves and often did not run for balls in a 6-3, 6-1 second-round loss to Mischa Zverev. The 21-year-old Australian can have the ban reduced to three weeks if he enlists the help of a sports psychologist. It's safe to say he needs one.

B. Byrd, Dennis . The former Jets' defensive lineman, who learned to walk again after suffering a spinal injury in 1992, was killed in a car crash last Saturday. He was 50 years old. R.I.P.


C. Colin, Kaepernick . In reference to Kaepernick's refusal to stand for national anthems, t-shirts with a rifle sight trained on San Francisco's QB were being sold outside Buffalo's stadium last Sunday. That's taking it a little bit too far. As for Kaepernick, he won't be taking the 49ers too far. They are 1-5 after getting blown out 45-16 by the Bills in what was Kaepernick's first start of the season. The Niners are +2 home underdogs against Tampa Bay in Week 7, per GT Bets.


D. Debut . What an NHL debut that was. Auston Matthews, the No. 1 overall selection in 2016, scored a whopping four goals in Toronto's opener against Ottawa last Wednesday. No matter that the Senators ended up winning 5-4 in overtime-that was still epic. The Maple Leafs are +117 underdogs at Winnipeg on Wednesday, as indicated by BetOnline Sportsbook.

E. Evander Kane . The Sabres' opener last Thursday could not have gone much worse. Not only did they fall at home 4-1 to Montreal, but they also lost Kane for at least a few weeks. Buffalo's star forward suffered a rib injury after crashing into the wall while battling Canadiens' defenseman Alexei Emelin for the puck. Kane had 20 goals and 15 assists in 65 games last season.

F. Fighting Irish . Notre Dame is 2-5. You cannot make this stuff up, folks. The Irish even got to face a Stanford team that was without Christian McCaffrey last Saturday, but they still lost 17-10. Notre Dame has scored a total of 13 points in the last two games-although the first in this stretch was played in Hurricane Matthew (a 10-3 loss at N.C. State).

G. Gary Kubiak . Denver's head coach missed a full week of practices and last Thursday night's loss to San Diego because of a complex migraine condition, but he returned to work on Monday. "Had too much rest, unfortunately," Kubiak commented. "I didn't want it, but I got it. I feel very good." He must be feeling better than his team, which has lost two in a row following a 4-0 start. The Broncos are +900 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the AFC.

H. Hazell, Darrell . Hazell was fired as head coach of Purdue last Sunday. Of course, Purdue telling Hazell that he can't coach its football team is kind of like the ATP Tour telling Kyrgios he can't play tennis. Who cares! The Boilermakers were 9-33 overall and 3-24 against the Big Ten during Hazell's tenure.

I. Indians . Cleveland is one win away from the World Series. It could have sealed the ALCS deal on Tuesday, but Toronto stayed alive with a 5-1 victory in Game 4.

J. J.R. Smith . Smith re-upped with the Cavaliers via a four-year, $57 million contract last Saturday. He celebrated, as indicated on Instagram, by throwing a birthday party for his one-year-old dog complete with party hats and cupcakes. Cleveland is +300 at BookMaker to win the NBA title.

K. Kevin Harvick . Harvick was dead last among the 12 drivers who are still alive in the Chase for the Sprint Cup heading into last weekend's race at Kansas Motor Speedway. He is last no more. Harvick became the second driver (after Jimmie Johnson) to automatically qualify for the next round of the Chase by taking home the checkered flag from Kansas.

L. Lucky . That's what Clemson is to still be undefeated-well, not according to head coach Dabo Swinney. "We're 15-2 in our last 17 games decided by seven points or less," Swinney explained after last weekend's 24-17 overtime win at home over N.C. State. "15-2 ain't getting lucky. That's a mentality. That's toughness." The Tigers turned the ball over four times against the Wolfpack and only got into OT when NCSU's Kyle Bambard missed a 33-yard field goal as time expired.Clemson is +500 at MyBookie.ag to win the National Championship.

M. Michael Carter-Williams . After getting traded to the Bulls for Tony Snell, Carter-Williams on Monday chose uniform No. 1-previously worn by Derrick Rose. Immediate fan backlash prompted Carter-Williams to change his mind and go with No. 7.

N. Novak Djokovic . What's wrong with the world No. 1? Well, just about everything except for the fact that he is still No. 1. But even that status is up in the air because Djokovic has slumped since the French Open whereas second-ranked Andy Murray has won five of his last seven tournaments, including last week in Shanghai. Murray has a chance to overtake Djokovic at the top spot by season's end.

O. Overtime . Ohio State is still undefeated, but it needed extra time against Wisconsin to remain as such last Saturday night. Following five straight wins of at least 21 points, the Buckeyes edged the Badgers 30-23 by erasing a 16-6 halftime deficit. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Ohio State as a -19.5 favorite at Penn State this weekend.

P. Panthers . Cam Newton went all Drew Rosenhaus on the media following last week's 41-38 loss to New Orleans, responding to several questions with, "Next question." In total, the press conference lasted 90 seconds before Newton basically ended it himself. The next question now is when Carolina's next win will come. So far the Panthers have won just a single game (over lowly San Francisco) compared to five losses. They are +1000 at GT Bets to win the NFC South.

Q. Quentin Groves . The 32-year-old former Auburn defensive end died in his sleep last week while visiting Trinidad, where his wife is from. Groves played for the Tigers from 2004 through 2007 and recorded 26 career sacks, tying the school's all-time record. He played seven NFL seasons with five different teams. R.I.P.

R. Roethlisberger, Ben . Big Ben suffered a torn meniscus during Pittsburgh's loss at Miami last Sunday and he underwent surgery one day later. Roethlisberger is out 4-6 weeks.

S. Steele, Brendan . The 2017 PGA Tour season-that's right; 2017-began last week at the Safeway open in Napa, and Steele won it at 18-under par. Does his win come with an asterisk since Tiger Woods was not in the field? Oh, wait, this isn't 2001.

T. Tennessee . A five-game winning streak to begin the season must seem like a long time ago. The Volunteers, who recovered from double-digit deficits four times in their first five outings, have now lost two in a row to Texas A&M (45-38 in double-overtime) and Alabama (49-10). Fortunately for the Vols, their remaining schedule consists of garbage teams such as South Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt. Alabama is a -18 home favorite over Texas A&M on Saturday, according to Bovada Sportsbook.

U. Undertaker . The Undertaker has been seen on crutches recently and word on the street is that he underwent hip surgery. His status for WWE Royal and Wrestlemania 33 is obviously in serious jeopardy. Oh no!

V. Vanderbilt . Are you kidding me, Georgia? Vanderbilt? Really? Really? The Commodores went into Athens and upset the Bulldogs 17-16 last Saturday. It has to be said: Zach Cunningham's tackle on fourth-and-one during UGA's last possession was something special.

W. White Booty . That's the actual name of an actual movie in which Richelle Ryan actually acts in. Then again, that would make sense since she is a porn star. Ryan said last week of Giants' volatile receiver Odell Beckham Jr., "I can tame that kid a little bit, I think." Welp.

X. Xhaka, Granit . The Arsenal midfielder was sent off by a red card during last weekend's 3-2 English Premier League win over Swansea City. Xhaka now has eight red cards in the last two and a half years, although this was his first in his first season with the Gunners. BetOnline Sportsbook has Arsenal as a +500 third choice to win the EPL title.

Y. Yasmani Grandal . L.A. has shut out the Cubs in two straight games, but don't forget about the bats. Grandal launched a two-run homer in the fourth inning of Tuesday's contest to give the Dodgers a 3-0 cushion en route to a 6-0 victory. Los Angeles (Urias) is a -104 home underdog against Chicago (Lackey) on Wednesday, per BookMaker.

Z. 'Zona . Arizona is back in relative business after starting the season 1-3, as a two-game winning streak has it at .500. Running back David Johnson has been on fire for the Cardinals, who took care of the Jets 28-3 on Monday night. Johnson turned in his second career game with at least 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He already has eight TDs this season.

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