Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 8/17/2016

by Doc's Sports - 8/16/2016

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck

The Little League World Series is one of the most popular sporting events in late summer. And if you are interested in actually betting on this year's tournament, then be sure to check out Doc's expert handicapper Raphael Esparza's early thoughts on a few teams with the best value in their odds to win in this week's discussion.

Raphael rose through the ranks to become one of the top sports handicappers in the nation during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry in which he became known as the Vegas Sports Informer. At the height of this career, he served as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement from the sportsbook industry in 2013. Since then, he continues to run a very successful and diverse sports investment service from the sports gambling capital of the world as well as from the Big Easy in New Orleans. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: Last week you were all over Michael Phelps as a solid bet to keep on winning gold medals in the 2016 Summer Olympics, and it paid off in a big way. Heading into the final week of competition, is there a particular athlete or team that we should be riding right now?

RE: Right now I would keep going with the US Women's Beach Volleyball team and the US Women's Basketball team in each of their remaining matches. I have been very disappointed with the US Men's Basketball team so far to the point where I would have to go against them giving so many points.

Doc's Sports: We all know that the Little League World Series is one of your favorite sporting events to handicap. With action from Williamsport getting underway later this week, can you give us your top US team as well as international team to watch as your early favorites to win?

RE: Right now as far as a US team, I would probably go chalk with the Great Lakes team as a slight favorite to win, but the Midwest team's depth at pitching could make things interesting on that side of the bracket. As far as an international team, I really like Mexico's chances to make some noise at 8/1 betting odds. This team has some veteran experience and its pitching remains pretty deep.

Doc's Sports : Moving through all eight NFL division races this season, our next stop takes us to the AFC South. Indianapolis is favored to win the division title in 2016 with the majority of the sportsbooks in town, but are you betting on the Colts to get back on top this year?

RE: With Andrew Luck at quarterback, the Colts are still the team to beat in this division. However, the gap between Indianapolis and the three other teams in the AFC South is not as wide as the current futures odds might suggest. Houston's issues at quarterback could come back to haunt the Texans' chances to repeat, and Tennessee is still a few seasons away from putting it all together. The sleeper team that could make a run at Indianapolis this year is Jacksonville with a stockpile of talent on both sides of the ball.

Doc's Sports : Carolina has won the NFC South the past few seasons, and the Panthers would have to be considered as prohibitive favorites to win the division title again in 2016. Losing a Super Bowl has been known to take its toll on teams the following season, so how do you see this title race shaking out?

RE: I would definitely be concerned about a Super Bowl hangover in Carolina. So many things went right for this team last season that it would not take all that much to derail another run to the top of the division this year. I actually like Atlanta's chances to turn things around with a NFC South title in 2016 as a distant second favorite.

Doc's Sports: The Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz bout highlights this Saturday night's UFC 202 fight card. McGregor will be looking to avenge an earlier loss to Diaz as a slight favorite to win this time around, so which way are you leaning in this matchup?

RE : I am really shocked that so much of the betting public's money has gone to Diaz so far adding quite a bit of value to McGregor's betting odds. The motivation factor alone pushes me towards McGregor in this fight, and, as one of the big faces for the sport, I think the UFC needs him to win this fight.

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 .

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 2:30 PM
Expert:	Tony George
Free $60 Account Sign Up

Most Recent Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping