Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 12/6/2016

by Dave Schwab - 12/6/2016

Alabama is a heavy favorite to win another national title this season as the top seed in this year's College Football Playoff. This week we will check in with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza to see if he thinks there is any value in the betting odds for the other three teams on the CFP Championship futures list.

Raphael was once known as the Vegas Sports Informer a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry in which he held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. These days he is best known as one of the top handicappers in the country while running a very successful and diverse sports investment service in the sports gambling capital of the world. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: The favorites got the best of things in the NFL by covering the spread in nine of last week's 15 games. Who got the best of things at the betting window in Las Vegas, the bettors or the books?

RE: The Las Vegas sportsbooks were once again on the losing end of things in the NFL on the strength of New England and Oakland's ability to cover spreads. A resurgent Green Bay team also piled onto the losses by covering against Houston, and the only reason why things were not a total disaster for the books was the big chunk of money on Atlanta in the Falcons' stunning loss to Kansas City.

Doc's Sports: Speaking of Kansas City, one of the better matchups on NFL's Thursday Night Football schedule sends the 10-2 Oakland Raiders on the road to square off against the 9-3 Chiefs as three-point underdogs. Which AFC West power do you have in this key late-season division showdown?

RE: This should be a great game between two of the top teams in the AFC this season, but I would have to lean towards Oakland and the points. The Raiders have been a cover machine on the road this season, and I am just not sold on Kansas City's ability to run with the Raiders on offense if this turns into a shootout.

Doc's Sports : Alabama has two more obstacles in its way to another national title after pounding Florida in the SEC title game. It is no big surprise that the undefeated Tide are prohibitive favorites to win the College Football Playoff Championship this year, but which of the other three teams in the race has the best chance to derail this run?

RE: This may be a bit of a West Coast bias, but I honestly believe that Washington can give this team some trouble in their CFP semifinal matchup. Everyone is looking past this game towards an Alabama rematch against Clemson or a showdown with Ohio State in the national title game, but the Huskies are still more than capable of keeping things close. At the very least, they are a solid bet as two-touchdown underdogs.

Doc's Sports : There are over 40 games on this season's college football bowl schedule starting on Saturday, Dec. 17. Before all the betting action does get underway next week, do you have any insider tips for betting on college football bowl games?

RE: I like to focus on the bowl games that feature a mid-major underdog going up against an average team from a Power 5 conference. Most times these can be a high-value play, especially when there is a big spread. The mid-majors are often far more hungry for a win since they feel they still have something to prove.

Doc's Sports: Nothing has changed all that much with the NBA futures odds when it comes to Cleveland as a heavy favorite to win the Eastern Conference and Golden State listed as a heavy favorite to win the West. Given what you have seen through the first month or so of the regular season, is there any other NBA team out there with some solid betting value to upset either of these odds-on favorites?

RE : I like the way that Houston has been playing in the West. The Rockets strike me as a team that can continue to get better as the season wears on. I would add both Chicago and Toronto to the list in the East for the same reason. There is still a really long way to go, and anything can happen between now and the start of the NBA postseason next April.

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 .

Pick:	CHICAGO BEARS +3
Start:	November 24, 2024 @ 1:00 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #256 Chicago Bears +3 over Minnesota Vikings (1p.m., Sunday, November 24 FOX) We used the Bears as a free play winner last Sunday and easily covered the spread and should have been an underdog outright winner. Now we will ride them for a second straight week against another NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are 8-2 on the season, yet are only around a field goal favorite. I still do not trust Sam Donald to win consistently over the course of a 17 game regular season. Minnesota is not as good as their 8-2 record would indicate and playing outdoors in Chicago on Sunday will cause issues for them on both sides of the ball. Chicago has been hit or miss this season, but they will be up to play another divisional rival and we expect them to take this down to the wire as well. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend Card featuring top plays in college and NFL football. Read More Read Less

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