This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 9/13/2017

by Ricky Dimon - 9/13/2017

A. Antonio Cromartie . The veteran cornerback welcomed his 14^th child late last month. It's his third since an alleged vasectomy. Safe to say the doctor in question fumbled that procedure!

B. BMW Championship . The penultimate event in the FedEx Cup Playoffs-and last one before the Tour Championship-takes place this week in Illinois. Jordan Spieth is a +600 favorite at GT Bets .

C. Cycle . Jose Abreu of the White Sox became the seventh player this season to hit for the cycle when he did it all in a 13-1 rout of San Francisco this past Saturday. "I'm a warrior," the first baseman said of grinding out a triple in the eighth inning.

D. Donald, Aaron . The Rams' star defensive end missed his team's 46-9 humiliation of Indianapolis, but his 44-day holdout is over. Donald is expected to play on Sunday against Washington. Los Angeles is a -2.5 home favorite , per BetOnline Sportsbook.

E. Ezekiel Elliott . We haven't seen this much on-again, off-again since whatever Taylor Swift's last relationship was. Elliott was suspended. Then he wasn't. Then he sort of was. Then he sort of wasn't. Or maybe he was. And maybe he wasn't. Whatever the case, the Cowboys' running back played in Week 1 and is expected to do the same on Sunday while his suspension is pending an appeal.

F. Fifty-four . Giancarlo Stanton has gone two straight games without a homer. That's not a lot-except that this is Giancarlo Stanton and he had a whopping twelve at-bats in those two games. The Marlin went 2-for-6 in a 10-8 loss to Atlanta on Sunday and 1-for-6 in a 9-8 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.

G. Goal-line stand . Week 1 success does not a Super Bowl win. But following last season's meltdown in the biggest single game in American sports, the Falcons needed something good to happen more than any other NFL franchise. They got it-barely. Atlanta held on to win at Chicago 23-17, stopping the Bears on four consecutive plays from first-and-goal at the five-yard line with less than 25 seconds remaining.

H. Hunt, Kareem . New England is the hunted after winning yet another Super Bowl last season. Kansas City is among the hunters. With Hunt replacing an injured Spencer Ware, the Chiefs went on the road and stunned the Patriots 42-27 in the NFL opener last Thursday night. Hunt, a third-round draft pick out of Toledo, rushed for 147 yards, had 98 receiving yards, and scored three touchdowns. Hello! Kansas City is +190 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the AFC West.

I. Irma . Most importantly, prayers go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Irma. Less importantly, the Buccaneers will begin their season this week. Despite widespread damage in the Tampa Bay area, they will be able to host Chicago on Sunday. The Week 1 Tampa Bay vs. Miami game was postponed.

J. Josh Brown . Roger Goodell flat out loves suspending people; so much so that he is now suspending people who don't even play in the NFL. Former Giants' kicker Josh Brown, who was docked one game last season, has been suspended for an additional six games. The thing is, Brown is a free agent-and a free agent who won't be signing with anyone anytime soon.

K. Kevin Sumlin . Texas A&M's head coach received racist, threatening hate mail after his team collapsed in epic fashion against UCLA, blowing a 34-point second-half lead and losing 45-44 on Sept. 3. The Aggies beat Nicholls 24-14 this past weekend. A 10-point win over Nicholls sure isn't going to do much for Sumlin-or for his inbox.

L. Lamar Jackson . It's early, but the Louisville quarterback looks well on his way toward another Heisman Trophy. Jackson is already setting records this season, becoming the second player in FBS history-and first from a Power 5 team-to throw for 300 yards and run for 100 yards in back-to-back games. Louisville is a +3.5 home underdog against Clemson on Saturday, according to MyBookie.ag.

M. Milwaukee Brewers . Three teams atop the NL Central are within 2.5 games of each other. No other division in baseball has two teams closer than four games at the top. What is shaping up to be an epic race really got started when Milwaukee swept the Cubs in Chicago last week.

N. Ninety-three .Third-and-93. You can't make this stuff up, folks. On second-and-goal from the Mississippi State six-yard line during last Saturday's contest, Louisiana Tech lost a ridiculous 87 yards. It started with a snap over the head of quarterback J'Mar Smith, after which the ball got fumbled and bumbled all the way back to the Bulldogs' seven-yard line. Naturally, Louisiana Tech punted two plays later en route to a 57-21 loss.

O. Oklahoma . The Sooners went on the road last weekend and bamboozled Ohio State 31-16. Adding insult to injury, quarterback Baker Mayfield celebrated Oklahoma's win by planting an OU flag on the Buckeyes' logo at midfield. He said afterward that he regrets it. And OSU quarterback J.T. Barrett regrets completing only 19 of 35 passes for 183 yards. Mayfield is a +400 second choice at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the Heisman Trophy.

P. Premier League . Liverpool is licking some serious wounds after its most recent outing in the English Premier League. Manchester City scored a dominant 5-0 victory over the Reds, who were reduced to 10 men when Sadio Mane incurred a red card in the 37^th minute. Liverpool is now tied for fifth on the EPL table with seven points, three behind league leaders Man City and Man United.

Q. Quarterback quandary . Houston, we have a problem. After just one half of football in 2017, the Texans already have a quarterback controversy. Head coach Bill O'Brien benched Tom Savage at halftime after the veteran went 7-for-13 with 62 yards while losing two fumbles during a 29-7 loss to Jacksonville. Enter first-round draft pick Deshaun Watson, who was 12-for-23 with 102 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That's not an amazing line, but it's at least better than Savage. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Houston as a +6.5 underdog at Cincinnati on Thursday night.

R. Rockies . Colorado has won six in a row to maintain a 3.5-game lead over St. Louis for the NL's second wild card. Included in the streak is a four-game sweep of the Dodgers, who had lost a shocking 11 straight games before finally beating San Francisco on Tuesday. Ain't nobody got time for the rest of the regular season when you're 92-41 (now 93-52).

S. Seminoles . Florida State will not win a game this season until at least Sept. 23. The Seminoles dropped their opener 24-7 to Alabama, had last weekend's matchup against Louisiana-Monroe cancelled because of Irma, and rescheduled this Saturday's scheduled tilt Miami (FL) for Oct. 7. They will also be without quarterback Deondre Francois for the remainder of the year as he suffered a torn patellar tendon against the Crimson Tide.

T. Taylor, Michael . Taylor hit an unusual inside-the-park grand slam in the Nationals' 11-10 win over the Phillies last Friday. Ironically, it was Taylor who blew a sinking liner in the outfield that allowed Philadelphia's Aaron Altherr to hit an ITPGS almost exactly two years ago. Washington (Scherzer) is a -350 home favorite over Atlanta (Gohara) on Wednesday, as indicated by GT Bets.

U. U.S. Open . Rafael Nadal won his third U.S. Open title on Sunday, beating Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. The world No. 1 did have to face a single opponent ranked better than 28^th throughout the entire tournament. Nadal was one match away from going up against Roger Federer in the semifinals, but the 36-year-old Swiss lost in the quarters to Juan Martin Del Potro.

V. Venus Williams . The older Williams sister has turned in an outstanding 2017 campaign, but she did not win any of the Grand Slams. In an all-American semifinal lineup at the U.S. Open, Venus lost a three-set thriller to Sloane Stephens, and Madiston Keys destroyed Coco Vandeweghe. Stephens ended up crushing Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the final.

W. Winning streak . Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six…. No, the Indians have won an incredible 20 games in a row (21 as of posting time for this article). They are now 89-56, 13.5 games ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central and now 1.5 games ahead of Houston with the best record in the American League.

X. Xavier Colvin . Colvin, a linebacker at Butler University and son of former NFL star Roosevelt Colvin, came out to his teammates and coaches and gay last month. "I have yet to encounter anyone on the team, on campus or in my life, who has been super negative about it," Colvin said. "Obviously you have to be prepared for that because you can't please everyone. But as of this moment, I have no regrets about it."

Y. Yunel Escobar . The Angels' third baseman was on course for a return from a strained oblique muscle, but he suffered a setback during a rehab assignment last week. He has not played since Aug. 8. Manager Mike Scioscia says he still expects Escobar to return at some point this season.

Z. Zips . Penn State opened its season with a 52-0 drubbing of Akron. But head coach James Franklin wasn't done taking shots at the Zips-or at Pittsburgh. After the Nittany Lions took care of the Panthers last weekend to avenge a 2016 loss, Franklin quipped, "I know last year for their win (against us), it was like the Super Bowl. But for us, this was just like beating Akron." Savage! BookMaker has Penn State at +1800 to win the National Championship.

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