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This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z


by - 8/22/2018

Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna, Jr.

A. Acuna, Ronald . Acuna is so good that he's too good for his own good. The Braves' 20-year-old phenom had homered in five straight games and had hit leadoff homers in three straight before Marlins starter Jose Urena plunked him on the first at-bat of last Wednesday's game. That touched off a benches-clearing altercation, with Urena getting the boot. Acuna (.289, 19 HRs, 43 RBIs in 73 games) missed only the rest of that contest with a forearm issue before returning one day later.


B. Brandt Snedeker . Snedeker's 59 made the most headlines, but it did not make the most money. His win three days later did that. The 37-year-old American accomplished both feats at last week's Wyndham Championship, opening with a 59 and eventually winning on Sunday to pocket $1.08 million. C.T. Pan took a brief lead on the back nine, but both players went into the 72 nd hole at 20-under and Pan double-bogeyed before Snedeker birdied.


C. Crimson Tide . College football is in (it begins this Saturday), and the first AP Top 25 poll is out (it was released on Monday). Alabama comes in at No. 1. In related news, sky is blue and water is wet…or is it? 'Bama is a +170 favorite at MyBookie.ag to win the National Championship.

D. Delia, Alfred . Hi. His name is Alfred Delia. At home they call him "Big Al." And he hits dingers.

E. Elway, John . When asked last week if the Broncos would entertain signing Colin Kaepernick, Elway said that Kaepernick already passed up his chance when he declined a contract offer a couple of seasons ago. According to the QB's agent, Elway not only violated a gag order with those comments but that he is also "apparently suffering from some real brain trauma." This is getting fun.

F. Floro, Dylan . The Dodgers' bullpen has been awful of late, but they won't blow a game in any worse fashion than what transpired last Saturday. Floro issued a bases-loaded balk in the bottom of the 10th inning, allowing Seattle to prevail 5-4.

G. Gregorius, Didi . The Yankees' 28-year-old shortstop was taken to the hospital after colliding with Toronto first baseman Kendrys Morales while beating out an infield single this past Sunday. Gregorius sustained "a pretty bad bruise" on his left heel, according to manager Aaron Boone. Speaking of pretty bad bruises, New York trails Boston by nine games in the American League East.


H. Halep, Simona . It's time for tennis' final Grand Slam of 2018, as the U.S. Open begins next Monday in New York. On the women's side, no one is hotter than Halep right now. The world No. 1 lost last week's Cincinnati title match to Kiki Bertens, but she reached consecutive finals at huge tournaments in both Montreal (won the title) and Cincy.

I. Isaiah Wynn . The Patriots' rookie offensive tackle has seen his first season come to an end before it even started. Wynn, the 23rd overall pick out of Georgia, suffered a torn Achilles' in New England's preseason win over Philadelphia last Thursday night. He had been battling Trent Brown for the Pats' starting left tackle position. GT Bets has New England as a -6.5 home favorite over Houston in Week 1 of the regular season.

J. Josef Martinez . Martinez tied the Major League Soccer single-season record with his 27 th goal during Atlanta's 3-1 win over Columbus last weekend. Oh, and there are still nine matches remaining. No other player has more than 15 goals. BetOnline Sportsbook has Atlanta as a +400 favorite to win the MLS Cup.

K. Kurt Busch . With an assist from his younger brother, Busch snapped a 58-race winless streak and took home the checkered flag from last Saturday night's NASCAR festivities at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch spun out Martin Truex Jr. while Truex was battling for the lead with 68 laps remaining on the short track. It was mostly smooth sailing the rest of the way for the older Busch brother, who now has 30 career victories.

L. Life . That is how long Stephen Curry wants to play for the Warriors-well, if not for his entire life at least the entirety of his NBA life. "For sure I do," he told Bill Simmons last week. "This is home. This is where I want to be, for obvious reasons." Very obvious.

M. Meyer, Urban . Ohio State's board of trustees will meet on Wednesday, possibly determining Meyer's future as head football coach at that point. Meyer has been on administrative leave since Aug. 1. The Buckeyes face 16 th-ranked TCU on Sept. 15, so you can bet the board will have back by then!

N. Northern Trust . The four majors have come and gone, but the season is far from over. Playoffs (culminating in next month's Tour Championship) begin this week with The Northern Trust, and this is also a Ryder Cup year. In other words, it's Tiger time! Or at least it could be. Dustin Johnson is a +900 favorite at XBet.ag to win The Northern Trust.

O. Opening weekend . College football season is here, starting this Saturday with Colorado State vs. Hawaii, Wyoming vs. New Mexico State, Rice vs. Prairie View, and Massachusetts vs. Duquesne. Colorado State is a -14.5 home favorite over Hawaii, according to MyBookie.ag.

P. Premier League . Arsenal's first two matches of the English Premier League season were expected to be too much to handle. And that did prove to be the case. Facing a brutal opening schedule, new manager Unai Emery watched his club follow up a 2-0 loss to defending champion Manchester City with a 3-2 setback at Chelsea last Saturday. A date with West Ham this weekend should provide a much-needed reprieve.

Q. Queen of Soul . Aretha Franklin died last Thursday at 76 years old. Do yourself a favor and heck out her national anthem at the 2016 Thanksgiving Day game between the Lions and Vikings. R.I.P.

R. Ramsey, Jalen . Jacksonville's star cornerback recently called out just about every quarterback in the NFL. Not many took the bait and fired back zingers in return, although Ramsey's comments did elicit a "who?" response from Eli Manning. The Jaguars are +2000 at BookMaker to win the Super Bowl.

S. Sale, Chris . Boston's ace has been put on the disabled list for the second time this month, first with a shoulder problem and now due to a back injury. Sale is 12-4 with an American League-best 1.97 ERA and he is 6-0 with a 0.20 ERA in his last seven starts. Fortunately for the Red Sox, they can keep him out as long as they want as a precautionary measure and still coast to the AL East title.

T. Twenty-four . That's how many runs the Mets scored against the Phillies in the opener of their double-header last Thursday. New York crossed the plate multiple times in six different innings, including a 10-spot in the fifth and five more in the eighth. That gave the Mets 40 runs in the span of two games, having previously routed Baltimore 16-5. Unfortunately for the Mets, they are 15 games out in the NL East and it is the Phillies who are in the midst of a serious division race.

U. U.S. Open . In the greatest comeback from injury since Henry Rowengartner in Rookie of the Year, Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon earlier this summer and also triumphed last week in Cincinnati. Emerging from perhaps rock bottom this March due to elbow problems and various other issues, the 31-year-old Serb has suddenly established himself at the U.S. Open favorite. He is +275 at Bovada Sportsbook to lift the trophy in New York City.

V. Vikings . Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five…. No, the Vikings saw six players go down with injuries during last Saturday's 14-10 preseason loss to Jacksonville. Three were carted off-defensive end Ade Aruna (knee), offensive lineman Cedrick Lang (lower leg), and fullback Johnny Stanton (lower leg). Ouch.

W. WNBA playoffs . Playoffs?!?! We're talking about playoffs?!?! Yes, the WNBA festivities are getting underway this week.

X. Xavier Woods . Woods, currently penciled in as a starter at safety for the Cowboys, is questionable for Week 1 of the regular season due to a hamstring strain. The Louisiana Tech product, who played in every game last year at nickel corner, was injured in last weekend's preseason loss to Cincinnati.


Y. Yu Darvish . Darvish left a recent rehab start for Triple-A South Bend after just one inning. Perhaps he realized that you're only supposed to play football in South Bend. In reality, of course, Darvish-who has been dealing with elbow and triceps injuries-felt more discomfort in his right arm as he warmed up for a second inning. That may end the 32-year-old's hopes of returning to the Cubs in 2018.

Z. Zamir White . White, the No. 1 running back recruit in the nation, tore his left ACL during Georgia's scrimmage last weekend. It is the freshman's second ACL tear, having suffered the same injury in his right knee this past November.

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