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This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z

by - 2/4/2016

Angelique Kerber, tennis player from Germany

A. Angelique Kerber . In of the biggest upsets in the history of Grand Slam finals, Kerber stunned world No. 1 Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at the Australian Open last weekend. Serena's bid to tie Steffi Graf for second on the all-time major championship list at 22 will have to wait.

B. Barnes, Harrison . The Warriors almost lost to…wait for it…the 76ers. You can't make this stuff up, folks. They got outscored 33-17 in the fourth quarter last Saturday but held on for a 108-05 road win thanks to a three-pointer at the buzzer by Barnes. Stephen Curry made sure they didn't almost lose on Wednesday, when he scored 51 points in a 134-121 victory at Washington. The Dubs have won eight in a row. They are +110 favorites at Bovada Sportsbook to repeat as NBA champions.

C. Curtain of Distraction . Arizona State's "Curtain of Distraction" reached new heights last week when none other than Michael Phelps was unveiled to wreak havoc on an Oregon State free-throw shooter. Wearing nothing but a speedo, a swim cap, and handful of Olympic gold medals, Phelps helped cause Stephen Thompson Jr. of the Beavers to miss both of his attempts from the charity stripe. 5Dimes Sportsbook has the Sun Devils as +4.5 underdogs at Washington on Thursday.

D. Djokovic, Novak . Aside from making an outrageous 100 unforced errors in a fourth-round match against Gilles Simon that went to five sets, Djokovic was once again dominant Down Under. He captured a sixth Australian Open title, beating Roger Federer in the semis and Andy Murray in the final.

E. Elway, John . "Stay in the moment" was Elway's advice to Peyton Manning when asked about it at media night on Monday. Here's some other advice: don't throw interceptions, don't fumble, and don't play like you're 39 years old. The Broncos are +6 underdogs against Carolina in Super Bowl 50, per GT Bets.

F. Flames . Calgary will be without defenseman Dennis Wideman for a whopping 20 games, the NHL announced on Wednesday. Wideman is suspended for cross-checking linesman Don Henderson into the boards during a loss to Nashville last week. The 32-year-old veteran claimed it was accidental and that it happened because he couldn't see straight after sustaining a hit, himself. Yeah. Right. Nashville is a -165 home favorite over Philadelphia on Thursday, as indicated by BetOnline Sportsbook.

G. Guardiola, Pep . The current Bayern Munich boss will take over Manchester City starting this summer. Guardiola signed a three-year contract on Monday to replace Sky Blues' manager Manuel Pellegrini. The 45-year-old, who was once in charge of Barcelona, has lost a mere 19 times in 239 career league matches.

H. Hield, Buddy . In a showdown between arguably the two best players in college basketball, Hield and Oklahoma edged Ben Simmons' LSU Tigers 77-75 last Saturday. But it was a different Sooner, Isaiah Cousins, who hit the dagger with four seconds left to break the hearts of the home team. OU won again on Tuesday, playing at home in front of Kevin Durant and hammering TCU 95-72.

I. Investigation . The NBA is conducting an investigation into the incident involving Blake Griffin and the Clippers' equipment manager. On Jan. 23, Griffin channeled his inner Mike Tyson's Punch-Out and slugged the some guy named Matias Testi outside a Toronto restaurant. Like...yes…that actually happened. At the investigation's conclusion, L.A. will decide if Griffin-who is out for at least the next month-will accompany the team on its upcoming road trip.

J. Johnny Manziel . Manziel was allegedly involved in a domestic disturbance with his ex-girlfriend last weekend in Fort Worth, Tex. But it looks like a complete win-win situation for the former Heisman Trophy winner. One, he didn't get arrested; two, he is no longer in the Browns' plans!

K. Krzyzewski, Mike . So apparently all it takes for Duke to actually win a game is Krzyzewski not being there. The Blue Devils had lost four of their last five contests prior to Tuesday's tilt at Georgia Tech, a trip Coach K did not make because he was "under the weather." With assistant Jeff Capel at the helm, the Devils recovered from a slow start to beat the Yellow Jackets 80-71.

L. Last year . That's what Calvin Johnson told his family 2015 would be for him in the NFL, and he appears to be making good on his word. Multiple sources confirmed on Sunday that Johnson will retire, although the Lions hope there is still time for him to change his mind. And why wouldn't they? Megatron caught 88 passes for 1,214 yards and nine touchdowns in 2015, his ninth season in the league.

M. Manning, Peyton . Manning was not the star of the regular season or the conference playoffs and he is not expected to dominate the Super Bowl, but he has been second to none in the pregame quotes department. Paying homage to Bill Belichick's infamous "we're on to Cincinnati" comment, Manning quipped, "we're on to Carolina" when politely declining to reveal what Belichick said to him during their postgame encounter at the AFC Championship. He is +322 at BookMaker to win MVP.

N. Newton, Cam . Well, we already know Super Bowl 50 will be a success. Regardless of what happens, after it ends the sports world can finally talk about things other than why Newton is criticized. Is it because he is black, or is it because of his on-field antics? Or both? Make it stop! Make. It. Stop! And it will stop-but not until the Super Bowl starts. BetDSI Sportsbook has Newton at -143 to win MVP on Sunday.

O. Out . Jeff Hornacek is out as head coach of the Suns. With his team at a horrendous 14-35, Hornacek got his marching orders after Sunday's 91-78 loss at Dallas. Earl Watson is the interim coach and he dropped his first game 104-97 at home against Toronto on Tuesday. Phoenix is a +8 home underdog against Houston on Thursday, according to Bovada Sportsbook.

P. Pro Bowl . What a pathetic excuse for a football game that was. Already a disaster even before this year, the Pro Bowl sunk to new lows last Sunday in terms of both entertainment and television ratings. Among the things that are more exciting are the Philadelphia 76ers playing basketball, Robert Griffin III's 2015 season, and Ben Carson doing anything.

Q. Quentin Tarantino . Tarantino got snubbed from a Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards. "The Hateful Eight" is, however, in the running for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

R. Randle, Joseph . Randle was arrested on Monday for speeding. The former Cowboys' running back reportedly told police, "this is the end of my career." Based on how his career has progressed, that's probably good news for Randle.


S. Segura, Jean . The Diamondbacks acquired Segura from Milwaukee in a five-player trade last weekend. Thus continues a spending spree in the desert that also includes starting pitchers Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller. The 25-year-old shortstop batted .257 and stole 25 bases for the Brewers in 2015. Arizona is +2800 at MyBookie.ag to win the World Series.

T. Tyronn Lue . It was the greatest interim coaching job since Luke Walton of the Warriors…. And then Wednesday happened. The Cavs had won five in a row (a stretch that included a blowout of San Antonio) to improve to 5-1 under Lue since he replaced David Blatt. But Cleveland suddenly lost at Charlotte 106-97 on Wednesday after getting outscored 33-17 in the third quarter.

U. UT . Good news for Charlie Strong: Texas landed a great recruiting class. Bad news: he has no more excuses for a lack of talent. The Longhorns went into National Signing Day with the 32nd-ranked class in the land but finished 10th thanks to a huge last-day haul. Strong has welcomed nine four-star recruits since Jan. 28, including eight on Wednesday.

V. Virtual tie . That's how the incredibly close race in the Iowa caucuses between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders was defined. Other "virtual" ties: John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut, Syracuse vs. UConn, and Penguins vs. Flyers, just to name a few. Somehow, some way, there's always a winner.

W. Wayne Selden Jr. Kansas won another overtime thriller-although this time it needed only one OT. The Jayhawks edged visiting Kentucky 90-84 last Saturday behind 33 points from Selden. The guy knows big games when he sees 'em, as his two highest point totals in the last eight contests have come against OU (21) and UK. GT Bets has Kansas at +1000 to win the National Championship.

X. Xabi Alonso . Is Xabi hinting that he may be interested in making a move from Bayern Munich to Arsenal? Good friend Mikel Arteta plays for the Gunners and Xabi said last month that he wants "to know how it works there in Arsenal." Bayern is a +260 second choice at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the Champions League.

Y. Year of the Monkey . The Chinese New Year begins next Monday, and the Sacramento Kings planned to commemorate it with a t-shirt giveaway featuring purple monkeys on black shirts. But big man DeMarcus Cousins caught wind of the idea (the shirts were on all of the seats during warmups, so it wasn't hard to see) and pretty much nixed it. Better safe than sorry.

Z. 'Zona . Apparently one loss out of 50 games is one too many for head coach Sean Miller, who went off on his Wildcats following their loss to Oregon last weekend. They had been on a 49-game home winning streak prior to the setback. "I've never been more down looking at a team I coached than what I just saw," Miller explained of his outburst. "Leadership, effort, togetherness, playing for the win…. And right now things are going to get worse before they get better." Ouch. Arizona is a -10 favorite at Washington State on Thursday, per by BookMaker.

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