Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 6/28/2016

by Doc's Sports - 6/28/2016

The 4^th of July is the biggest holiday of the summer, and it also sets the stage for the one of the biggest eating contests of the year. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza, we will get him to weigh in on his top betting options for Nathan's 2016 Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island.

The former Vegas Sports Informer honed his craft as an expert handicapper during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. At one point, Raphael held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. Since then, he can be found splitting his time between Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: Spain just made an unexpected early exit from the 2016 Euro Cup with a stunning loss to Italy in the Round of 16. Which country left in the competition would rise to the top of your list as the new favorite to win this tournament?

RE: The only thing minimizing this defeat was England losing to Iceland.Germany would be the obvious choice, but they could have their hands full with Italy in the next round. Thinking outside the box, I would go with Belgium as my favorite and keep Iceland in the mix as a high-valued long shot since they are already playing with house money.

Doc's Sports: Last week you commented that Coastal Carolina was the 'team to watch' in this year's College World Series, and the Chanticleers made it all the way to the championship series against Arizona. The Wildcats have the early 1-0 edge in this best-of-three showdown. So, can this team still pull off the upset?

RE: I actually like Coastal Carolina in the next game, and anything can still happen in a winner-take-all Game 3. The Chanticleers were a bit hesitant at the plate on Monday night, but I expect those early jitters to dissipate on Tuesday night.

Doc's Sports : Novak Djokovic is the No. 1 tennis player in the world, and he has been unstoppable in Grand Slam Tournaments lately. Is there anyone at Wimbledon that can stop him from winning an amazing sixth straight Grand Slam title?

RE: I would never say any player is unbeatable given the nature of upsets in this sport, but I am not about to go out and bet against Djokovic keeping his streak alive. That being said, Andy Murray is always a threat at Wimbledon, and I like what I have seen so far from the Canadian Milos Raonic.

Doc's Sports : A new season of football 'north of the border' in the CFL got underway last week, and the underdogs went a perfect 4-0 both straight up and against the spread in Week 1. Looking at this week's slate of games, would you keep riding the dogs based on the current betting lines?

RE: I was disappointed with Toronto and Winnipeg's performance in their opening -weekend losses as favorites, and I did not see Ottawa winning on the road against Edmonton as an underdog, making things a bit upside down in Week 1. I am still going to take things at face value for each individual game in Week 2 as opposed to riding any kind of underdog trend.

Doc's Sports: One of your favorite betting events of the year in the field of entertainment takes place this Monday with Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. Can you give us an inside pick to cash in on for this year's event?

RE : I will be digging a bit deeper into all the betting props for this event later in the week as they become more readily available. Right now my top pick would be Miki Sudo as an early -200 favorite against Sonya Thomas (+150) in a head-to-head matchup between the top two female competitors in Monday's contest.

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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