This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 7/19/2017

by Ricky Dimon - 7/19/2017

A. Atlanta Hawks .The Hawks' reign as the Eastern Conference's second-best franchise behind Cleveland lasted about as long as Kris Humphries' marriage to Kim Kardashian. Speaking of Humphries, he may get some playing time in 2017-18 based on how far Atlanta's roster has fallen. Former staples Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, and DeMarre Carroll are now all gone following Millsap's recent deal with Denver.

B. Beltran, Carlos . The Astros' current designated hitter has not played in the field since May 16. As such, his teammates held a mock funeral for his glove prior to a game earlier this week. What they should do is hold a mock funeral for the American League West, because Houston leads it by a laughable 16.5 games. BetOnline Sportsbook has the Astros as +210 favorites to win the American League Pennant.

C. Chris Froome . Froome is still the leader as he bids for a fourth Tour de France victory in the span of five years, but it is no foregone conclusion. The 32-year-old briefly lost the yellow jersey to Fabio Aru last week only to get it right back and he currently leads by 29 seconds.

D. DeChambeau, Bryson . If a PGA Tour title is a measure of success, there is method to DeChambeau's madness. The physics-loving 23-year-old got the job done at the John Deere Classic last weekend for his first victory. It also gave him a late berth in this week's British Open.

E. Ezekiel Elliott . When Elliott jumped in that Salvation Army pot, perhaps he should have never come out. Since then it has been nothing but a failed playoff campaigns and a host of off-the-field issues. The latter includes a recent incident at a night club and a citation for driving 100 MPH in a 70 MPH zone. 5Dimes Sportsbook has a Week 1 showdown between the Cowboys and Giants as a pick 'em.

F. Fired . Now former Carolina Panthers' general manager Dave Gettleman got fired earlier this week, and you'd think from the reaction that there is soon to be a ticker-tape parade in Charlotte. And that would probably be the only ticker-tape parade taking place in Charlotte in the near future.

G. Garbine, Muguruza . Serena Williams did the rest of the tour a favor by getting pregnant and missing the French Open and Wimbledon. She also did a favor by not playing at the All-England Club when she was eight months pregnant (who's to say she still wouldn't have won?!?!). But her sister could not quite walk through the open door. Venus Williams reached the Wimbledon final before losing to Muguruza 7-5, 6-0 last Saturday. It was Muguruza's first Wimbledon and second Grand Slam title.Serena is +140 at MyBookie.ag to win whichever is the first major she plays in 2018.

H. Houston Rockets . It has been an eventful offseason for the Rockets. They extended James Harden with a record deal, signed Chris Paul, and were put up for sale by owner Leslie Alexander.

I. Indians . It has been a tale of two second halves for the two World Series representatives from last fall. The Cubs are going one way and the Indians are going the other. Fortunately for Cleveland, the sample size is still small. Despite its 1-4 record since the break, the team leads the American League Central by 1.5 games over Minnesota.

J. Judge, Aaron . Judge actually got two hits on Tuesday-a veritable breakout by his recent standards. Call it the curse of the Home Run Derby or something. Judge won that thing in impressive fashion last week but apparently left all of his power in Miami. He is still searching for his first homer since the all-star break.

K. Kirk Cousins . Cousins will be playing under a franchise tag for the second time. Washington and its quarterback have once again failed to strike a long-term deal, which means we're gonna be going through this same thing next offseason. Make it stop! GT Bets has the Redskins at +510 to win the NFC East.

L. Lukaku, Romelu . The 24-year-old striker was heavily pursued by former club Chelsea, but he eventually signed with English Premier League rival Manchester United. Thus, Lukaku is reunited with manager Jose Mourinho, as the two were briefly together at Chelsea.

M. Michael Phelps . It will be Phelps vs. Shark on Sunday as Shark Week gets underway on the Discovery Channel. The marquee matchup is being billed as Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White . Here's thinking that both parties will win: the shark because it will finish first, and Phelps because he won't get eaten.

N. Nico Hischier . The No. 1 overall pick in this year's NHL Draft got his deal done with the Devils earlier this week. Hischier signed a maximum three-year, entry-level contract that will pay him an average of $925,000 annually.

O. Open Championship . The British Open will take place at Royal Birkdale from Thursday through Sunday. Weather conditions are expected to be just about what you would expect: lots of rain and wind gusts between 20 and 30 miles per hour. Sounds like fun (to watch-not play)! Jordan Spieth is a +1300 favorite at BookMaker to win.

P. Paul Pierce . It looked like Pierce might make it to 40 during his NBA playing career, but that won't be the case. The Truth, 39, signed a contract with Boston on Monday to retire as a Celtic.

Q. Quintana, Jose . The second half of the season could not have gotten off to a better start to the Cubs. They won their first five games, complete with a sweep of Baltimore and an outstanding start by newly-acquired Jose Santana. Traded across town from the White Sox, Quintana went seven innings against Baltimore this past Sunday and allowed no runs on just three hits while striking out 12 batters in an 8-0 victory. The White Sox (Rodon) are +142 underdogs against the Dodgers (Maeda) on Wednesday night, per BetOnline Sportsbook.

R. Roger Federer . Death, taxes, and Roger Federer being good at tennis…. Those appear to be the three certainties of life-no matter how old Federer gets. The 35-year-old Swiss captured his eighth Wimbledon title and 19^th Grand Slam title overall last weekend and he did so without losing a single set in the entire tournament. Is that good? It's not bad!

S. Summer League . NBA MVP sometime down the road would be a much greater accomplishment, but Lonzo Ball will take whatever he can get as a soon-to-be rookie. What he got was Summer League MVP honors, helping the Lakers to the title (despite missing the final with a strained calf). Well, this isn't going to shut up LaVar Ball anytime soon.

T. Trump, Donald . Trump became the first sitting president to attend a U.S. Women's Open last week. America, however, was not made great again in women's golf. The tour's Asian dominance continued as South Korean Sung Hyun Park beat countrywoman Hye-Jin Choi by two strokes.

U. Undefeated . The Patriots' receiver Julian Edelman recently said that it is "stupid" to talk about his team's potential to deliver a perfect 19-0 season. And the Falcons are like, "yeah, that's pretty stup--…oh, wait." New England is a +6 underdog at Arizona in Week 1, according to MyBookie.ag.

V. Vick, Michael . The reason Colin Kaepernick is still unsigned by an NFL team is because of his hair. That is according to Vick, who said in a recent interview: "First thing we got to get Colin to do is cut his hair…. The reason he's not playing has nothing to do with the national anthem. It's more solely on his play, but yeah, everything takes precedent, in terms of image (and) perception." Kaepernick hit back on Twitter and Vick backtracked soon after. Grab your popcorn.

W. Whitehead, Lucky . Whitehead saw the Blitz coming on Tuesday. About 24 hours after posting on Instagram that his dog had been stolen and held for ransom, the Cowboys' wide receiver posted on Tuesday that Blitz had returned. Bovada Sportsbook has Dallas' over/under regular-season win total at 9.5.

X. Xander Schauffele . Schauffele has one of the best name's in golf, and he is about to find out if he has one of the best game's at the British Open. The 23-year-old American earned a late spot in the event by winning his first PGA Tour title at the Greenbrier Classic earlier this month.

Y. Yankees . New York is looking up at Boston in the AL East standings and the team is also dealing with injuries. Starting pitcher Michael Pineda is out for the season because of Tommy John surgery. First baseman Greg Bird insists his season is not over, but he will be sidelined for the foreseeable future due to ankle surgery.

Z. 'Zona . Arizona needed a hot start to the second half if it wanted to throw a scare into the Dodgers in the NL West. Getting swept in a three-game series by Atlanta? Not a hot start. The Diamondbacks can pretty much turn their attention to the wild-card race these days, because they are now 10.5 games back of L.A.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 10:07 PM
Expert:	Vernon Croy
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