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Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza

by Doc's Sports - 6/27/2017

Manny Pacquiao, boxer

Baseball remains front and center with sports bettors this time of the year, and in this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza we will get his betting viewpoint on University of Florida's chances to win this year's College World Series heading into Tuesday's Game 2 of a best-of-three championship series as well as his beloved Chicago Cubs' chances to win this year's MLB World Series heading into the halfway point of the regular season.

Along with rising to the top of this list as an expert sports handicapper, Raphael also made a name for himself as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry that culminated with him holding the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria. He retired from the sportsbook industry back in 2013, but he remains as busy as ever splitting his time between Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: For most of this season's NCAA baseball tournament right up to this week's championship series, it appeared that Oregon State had the inside track to the title as the No. 1 seed in the country. Instead, the Florida Gators are now just one victory away from a national championship after beating rival SEC foe LSU 4-3 on Monday night in Game 1 of this series. Can you give us your thoughts on how you see things playing out from here?

RE: The Gators had the edge on the mound on Monday night, but that will not be the case for Game 2 for LSU listed as a heavy -245 favorite to even things up at a game apiece. If this series does move to a Game 3 on Wednesday, I would have to call that one a toss-up. The total line for Game 2 is set at 7 runs, but I would still lean towards a play on the "under".

Doc's Sports: The Chicago Cubs are just one game out of first place in the NL Central, but they are also just a couple of games above .500 at 39-37 in defense of last season's MLB world title. Do you have the Cubs pulling away in this race during the second half of the regular season, or will their run towards this year's postseason continue to be a grind?

RE: St. Louis is still plagued by injuries and both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati could easily be considered sellers after the All-Star break. I do not see Milwaukee fading in this race. And while the Cubs should still win the NL Central, I am expecting this two-team race to remain a grind for Chicago all the way to the end of the season.

Doc's Sports: A new season of football in the CFL got underway last week, and the underdog was able to cover against the spread in all four games. Are you looking for that trend to continue in light of the opening betting lines for Week 2?

RE: In light of some bigger-than-expected spreads in the opening betting lines for Week 2, I would tend to lean towards the underdogs again in this next round of games. While I am still working on my weekly free CFL pick for Docs, you can almost rest assured that I am taking the points in whatever game I choose.

Doc's Sports : There is quite a bit of chatter in the world of boxing given some of the mega-events on the slate later this summer. Flying under the radar in the midst of all this hype is 38-year-old Manny Pacquiao's attempt to get back in the spotlight starting with this Sunday's fight against Australia's Jeff Horn for his WBO welterweight title in a free TV event on ESPN. Are you going to be betting on this fight?

RE: In general, I think this fight is great for the sport of boxing, which in my opinion is making some great strides to rekindle the betting public's interest after MMA fighting and the UFC took center stage for the past few years. Pacquiao may be past his prime at age 38, but he is still a draw, especially in a free fight on ESPN. As far as betting this fight, I would probably go with the over on 9.5 rounds in a bout that should go the distance.

Doc's Sports: With the 4th of July right around the corner, you have to be cooking up a few picks for next Tuesday's Nathan's famous hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. Can we expect to see something posted on Doc's blog in the coming days for this iconic event, or is there something else you are working on right now?

RE : I just posted a piece with Tiger Wood's props concerning his future with some of his current sponsors. As we speak, I am working on the Hot Dog Eating Contest and that should be up on Doc's blog by the end of the week. Just as a sneak preview, one of my top plays for next Tuesday at Coney Island is the 'under 39.5' on the top number of hot dogs consumed on the women's side of the bracket.

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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