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This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z

by - 1/11/2017

Draymond Green Golden State Warriors

A. Atrocious . That's how Draymond Green described the Warriors' fourth-quarter offense following a 128-119 overtime loss to Memphis last Friday. Golden State blew a 24-point lead and was outscored 32-13 in the final frame. Green said that his team's fourth-quarter offense had been bad all season and that he was "happy we lost" to get things cleaned up. The Warriors are -130 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the NBA title.

B. Brandon Phillips . The Reds are doing everything they can to unload the 35-year-old second baseman. They just can't do it. Phillips reportedly rejected a trade to Atlanta in November. He previously rejected trades to Arizona and Washington. Phillips, who has one year and $14 million remaining on his current contract, is allowed to do so because he has played something like 90 seasons in Major League Baseball-including at least five with his current team.


C. Chris Berman . You would think Boomer had died based on all the ESPN tributes made to him last week. But this is 2017, not 2016. He is simply stepping down as the program's NFL host.

D. Denver Nuggets . The Nuggets (14-23) have dropped consecutive games to Philadelphia, Golden State, Sacramento, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. It goes without saying that two of the five aforementioned teams are very beatable. But beat them Denver did not. The Nuggets watched Russell Westbrook torch them for another triple-double in the Thunder's 121-106 victory this past Saturday.

E. Everton . Everton got bounced out of the FA Cup in the third round by Leicester City last weekend. And this isn't the Leicester City of last season, folks. This is the Leicester City that is back to being bad at soccer. In any case, Everton led 1-0 before the Foxes answered with goals in the 66 th and 71st minutes.

F. Federer, Roger . Federer played for the first time since last summer (Wimbledon) at last week's Hopman Cup, a team event in Perth. The 35-year-old Swiss, who is back from a knee injury, contested three singles matches and won two. Federer is a +1600 sixth choice at Bovada Sportsbook to win the Australian Open, which begins on Monday.

G. Golf . The season got underway last week in Kapalua, site of the Tournament of Champions. Justin Thomas already knows he will be invited back in 2018, because he triumphed with a score of 22-under par. A red-hot Hideki Matsuyama finished runner-up, three strokes back of Thomas.

H. Hail Mary . The Giants' Hail Mary defense was, as Draymond Green would say it, atrocious. Still, Aaron Rodgers gets it done on an almost consistent basis whenever he heaves up prayers. The Packers' Hail Mary put them ahead 14-6 at halftime of last weekend's wild-card game en route to a 38-13 victory.


I. Indefinite . "Indefinite" turned out to be one game for Grayson Allen. But the Blue Devils couldn't win without him (lost at Virginia Tech the only time Allen was out) and they apparently cant win with him (got clobbered at Florida State on Tuesday). Duke is +400 at MyBookie.ag to win the National Championship.

J. Jon Cooper . The Lightning's head coach showed off some solid logic in the aftermath of his team's fourth straight loss last Sunday. "It's 82 games, not four," Cooper quipped following a 6-2 setback against Pittsburgh. With starting goalie Ben Bishop (lower-body injury) sidelined, Tampa Bay has given up a ridiculous 22 goals during its four-game skid.

K. Kyle Korver . Cleveland acquired the veteran sharpshooter from Atlanta last weekend in exchange for Mike Dunleavy Jr., Mo Williams, and a protected 2019 first-round draft pick. Korver played 18 minutes in his team debut on Tuesday, going 0-for-2 from long range and finishing with two points in a 100-92 loss at Utah. The Cavaliers are -5 favorites at Portland on Wednesday, as indicated by GT Bets.

L. Letter . Steve Smith Sr. sent a retirement letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell and it was all kinds of awesome. "This is to notify you," Smith typed, "that as of today I, Steve Smith Sr., will no longer be antagonizing defensive backs. I am retiring from the National Football League."

M. Murray, Andy . Now No. 1 in the world for the first time in his career, Murray is finally the hunted instead if the hunter. His first tournament of 2017 ended in defeat last weekend, when he fell to second-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the Doha title match.

N. National Championship . How 'bout that for an encore? The sequel was even better than the original, as a second straight Alabama vs. Clemson title game resulted in the Tigers getting revenge with an epic 35-31, last-second victory.

O. Osweiler, Brock . That awkward moment when the Texans had a more reliable quarterback than the Raiders…. That certainly wasn't the case throughout the regular season-at least not until Derek Carr went down with a broken leg in Week 16. Osweiler was decent last Saturday and was made to look even better by a hopeless Oakland offense led by third-string QB Connor Cook. Houston rolled 27-14 and its reward is a road date with top-seeded New England.

P. Paul Richardson . Who?!?!? That may have been what people were asking when Richardson made a series of brilliant grabs in the Seahawks' 26-6 wild-card win over Detroit last Saturday. Doug Baldwin may have led the way in the receiving department for Seattle, but Richardson finished with three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks are +5 underdogs at Atlanta this weekend, per BetOnline Sportsbook.

Q. Quits . That's what Carl Edwards called it in a surprising announcement on Tuesday. The 13-year NASCAR veteran is retiring, effective immediately. His 28 wins are the fifth most among drivers without a championship. And, no, the championship won by Chicago Cubs' pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. does not count.

R. Roethlisberger, Ben . Despite the fact that Pittsburgh was leading Miami by a billion points in the final minutes of last Sunday's AFC wild-card game, Roethlisberger was still in the game. He suffered an ankle injury and arrived at his press conference in a walking boot following a 30-12 victory. The veteran QB should, however, be ready to face Kansas City this weekend. 5Dimes Sportsbook has the Steelers as +2 road underdogs on Sunday.

S. Serena Williams . Serena's first tournament as an engaged woman did not end well, as she lost in the Auckland second round to fellow American Madison Brengle. Of course, at this point in her career Serena is probably not too concerned with random tournaments like Auckland. The Australian Open? That could be a different story.BookMaker has Serena as a +300 favorite to win the Aussie.

T. Tiger Woods . Tiger had already committed to Riviera in February, but it turns out that will not be his first tournament in 2017. The 14-time major champion announced last week that he will return to Torrey Pines beginning Jan. 26, and he will also play in Dubai the very next week.

U. United . Wayne Rooney tied Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time Manchester United scoring record after recording his 249th goal in a 4-0 FA Cup victory over Reading last weekend. Rooney did it 543 games with Man U, 215 fewer than Charlton.

V. Villanova . The defending champions took their first loss of the season last Wednesday at Butler, 66-58. But it's safe to say they bounced back like the champs that they are. 'Nova beat Marquette by 12 this past weekend before hammering Xavier 89-54 on Tuesday. Butler is a 5.5 underdog at Creighton on Wednesday, according to Bovada Sportsbook.

W. Washington Capitals . Before their inevitable collapse in the playoffs, the Capitals are getting along quite nicely at the moment. Their current six-game winning streak includes a 5-0 victory over Columbus that brought an end to the Blue Jackets' 16-game winning streak. Washington (26-9-5) has given up a grand total of one goal in its last three contests. MyBookie.ag has the Capitals as -125 home favorites over Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

X. Xavier . Senior guard Myles Davis is back from a semester-long suspension stemming from a misdemeanor charge after he damaged his ex-girlfriends' property. His 2016-17 debut certainly didn't help Xavier in its blowout loss to Villanova: zero points on 0-for-5 shooting in 13 minutes.

Y. Yovani Gallardo . The Mariners made a pair of trades last week, acquiring Gallardo from Baltimore and outfield Jarrod Dyson from Kansas City. Gallardo, for whom Seattle shipped Seth Smith to the Orioles, went 6-8 with a 5.42 ERA last season.

Z. Zach Zenner . Prior to their wild-card showdown last week, Seattle defensive lineman Michael Bennett called Zenner the best white running back in the NFL. "It sounds like he said some pretty nice stuff, so I'm appreciative of that," Zenner responded. Nobody on the Lions could do much against the Seahawks, but Zenner at least contributed 88 yards from scrimmage on 11 carries and six receptions. Seattle is +450 at GT Bets to win the NFC Championship.

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