Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 6/13/2017

by Doc's Sports - 6/13/2017

The Golden State Warriors wrapped up their second NBA title in three years just a day after the Pittsburgh Penguins won the NHL's Stanley Cup for the second year in a row. This means it is officially time to move on to the summer sports betting season at Doc's Sports. Our expert handicapper Raphael Esparza is just the guy to give you the betting edge for a few of the other things going on right now in the world of sports.

Known as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry, Raphael was able to build quite a following as one of the nation's top sports handicappers. After rising to the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria, he decided to retire from the sportsbook industry in 2013 to focus all of his efforts on running a highly successful and diverse sports investment service from his home base in Las Vegas 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: It did not take all that long for the sportsbooks in town to open both Golden State and Pittsburgh as the early favorites to repeat as champions next season in their respective leagues. Would you jump on that bet right now for each of these two teams?

RE: Right now there is no value in Golden State at such a high number. Once we know where players like Paul George and Chris Paul will be for next season you might be able to get a lower number on the Warriors. During my time in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry there was very little action on NHL futures this time of the year, and I would have to believe that this is still the case. Save your money and wait until the early fall to try and find the value in a NHL futures bet.

Doc's Sports: Professional golf's second Major of the year gets underway this Thursday with the first round of the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills Golf Club in Erin, Wisconsin. Seeing how this year's tournament is in our neck of the woods, can you give Doc's readers some insight on how you might be betting on this event?

RE: The combination of some deep rough and some impending rainy weather has me a bit leery about making any bold predictions for this week's US Open. I would still look at some head-to-head action on Dustin Johnson against a few of the other top contenders depending on the actual numbers, but I might just pick out a few of the more 'off the wall' props and stick with those as my top plays.

Doc's Sports: The Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA are off to a perfect 9-0 start after beating Dallas 91-74 on Sunday night. Would you consider this team to be the Golden State of the women's professional league or are we getting a bit ahead of ourselves in light of this early winning streak?

RE: The Lynx have been a very successful WNBA franchise for quite some time with their current core of players, and much like Golden State they are highly motivated to get back on top after losing to Los Angeles last season in the Western Conference Finals. I would still keep Seattle on the back burner in the West as a team to watch since they should only get better as the season wears on.

Doc's Sports : Football fans dying for some betting action can turn to your selection package for the upcoming CFL regular season starting next week. Calgary dominated the last year's regular season with a record of 15-2-1, but the Stampeders were stunned by Ottawa 39-33 in overtime of the 2016 Grey Cup title game. What is your early outlook for this season in terms of which team has the best chance to win it all?

RE: Calgary is still the team to beat in the CFL, but its defense just took a big hit with the loss of defensive end Cordarro Law. Edmonton should also be in the mix in the West, and I expect much better things from Saskatchewan this season. Despite Ottawa's stunning upset, I see Montreal and Toronto battling it out for the top spot in the East.

Doc's Sports: Over the years, you have earned the reputation of having one of the most diverse betting radars in the sports betting industry. Is there anything else on this week's screen that we may have missed?

RE : At the top of the list would be Saturday's light heavyweight boxing bout between Andre Ward as the reining champ and Sergey Kovalev in the role of challenger after losing a decision to Ward the last time they fought. Neither of these fighters wants to put things in the hands of the judge's this time around so look for this bout to be decided by a KO one way or the other.

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 .

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