Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

Case of the Mondays: McIlroy Must Wait to Complete Career Grand Slam


by - 4/9/2018

Rory McIlroy, PGA Tour golfer.

Rory McIlroy contended at the Masters-again-and came up short-again. Thus, it remains the lone missing major on his mantle of titles. And now golf will remain on the backburner until it heats up again this summer with the U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship. In the meantime, baseball season is well underway, and playoffs in both the NBA and NHL are on the immediate horizon…well, not if you're the St. Louis Blues.

Odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated.

Rory McIlroy . For the sixth time in his illustrious career, McIlroy went into Sunday at the Masters with a chance to don the green jacket. For the sixth time, he did not need to get fitted. The Northern Irish immediately cut his three-shot deficit behind Patrick Reed to just one after two holes, but a two-shot swing in Reed's favor on the third sent McIlroy into a downward spiral. He never contended again, as Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler became Reed's closest competitors by a mile. Reed held them all off, while McIlroy stumbled to a 2-over 74 and tied for fifth. Only four golfers shot worse than McIlroy on Sunday, and none until you go all the way down the leaderboard to a tie for 38th (Matthew Fitzpatrick, who carded a 75). Spieth is a +900 favorite to win the U.S. Open in June ( Bovada Sportsbook ).

Kyrie Irving . Irving will miss the entirety of the playoffs after undergoing left-knee surgery last week. It is a bookend blow to the Celtics, who lost Gordon Hayward for the season when he suffered a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia in the opener against Cleveland. Meanwhile, the team is just 1-3 in its last four games and is locked into the No. 2 seed in the East-four games behind first-place Toronto. Boston is +1600 to win the Eastern Conference.

St. Louis Blues . The Blackhawks are not the only team making surprisingly early tee times on the onside looking in during playoff hockey. Chicago's streak of nine straight postseason appearances has come to end, while the Blues' streak is over at six. In a head-to-head battle with Colorado for the last spot in the Western Conference festivities, St. Louis needed a win or even a regulation loss on Saturday. Instead, the Avalanche cruised 5-2 to steal a place in the playoffs. "It's hard to put it into words to be honest with you," Blues' head coach Mike Yeo admitted. "It's not a good feeling…but as far as the effort that the guys gave, couldn't ask for more." Added defenseman Joel Edmundson: "It doesn't really feel like our season's done right now. It's definitely a shock. I thought we battled hard out there; we battled right to the end.... It's tough on us all. I'd like to take a couple days to reflect on it, but for now it's definitely a shock." Colorado is +315 to win its first-round series against Nashville.


Florida Panthers . It was a case of too little, too late for the Panthers. Despite winning their final five games of the regular season, they were the last team eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff race. Florida needed a Philadelphia loss this past Saturday, but it did not get the required help. The Flyers took care of the Rangers 5-0 to clinch a postseason berth and set up a first-round showdown against Pittsburgh. Philadelphia is +1600 to win the Eastern Conference; Tampa Bay is a +275 favorite.

Dillon Peters . The Phillies hit two grand slams in their 20-1 demolition of Miami this past Saturday, and they victimized Peters on both occasions. Peters gave up one to Maikel Franco in the first inning and watched another slam leave the park off the bat of Aaron Altherr in the third inning. The 25-year-old lefty allowed five runs in the opening frame and ended up lasting 2.2 innings while yielding nine runs on nine hits and three walks. Miami (Urena) is a +178 home underdog against the Mets (Syndergaard) on Monday.

C.C. Sabathia . The Yankees' left-hander is making an early-season trip to the disabled list after leaving last Friday's start against Baltimore after four innings due to a hip injury. Manager Brett Boone said the move to place Sabathia on the 10-DL was a precautionary measure. The 37-year-old gave up three runs-all via homers-to the Orioles and is 0-0 with a 4.00 ERA though nine innings across two starts so far this year. New York, which is an even 5-5, has lost each of Sabathia's outings. The Yankees are -110 favorites to win the American League East.


Manchester City . Man City had a golden opportunity to clinch the 2017-18 English Premier League title in perfect fashion-with a win in front of its home fans over arch rival Manchester United. It was all right there for the Sky Blues to do just that, as they led 2-0 at halftime. With the trophy in their clutches, however, they melted down throughout the second 45 minutes and watched the Red Devils reel off three unanswered goals en route to a stunning 3-2 upset. "We should have either buried the game in the first half or maybe realized we had to be a little bit more cautious in the second half," captain Vincent Kompany commented. "But fair play to them. No blame to anyone, but the reality of this game is we should have buried it." Man U is +225 to win the FA Cup.


Read more articles by

Most Recent Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers