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This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z


by - 10/23/2018

Minnesota Vikings Wide Receiver Adam Thielen

A. Adam Thielen . As Vikings safety George Iloka put it on Twitter: "Death, taxes, and Adam Thielen." Yep, that just about sums it up. Thielen became the first player in the history of the Super Bowl era to begin a season with seven consecutive 100-yard receiving games when he caught nine passes for 110 yards and one touchdown during a 37-10 rout of the Jets this past Sunday. Minnesota is a -1 home favorite over New Orleans in Week 8, per Bovada Sportsbook.

B. Brooks Koepka . There's a new No. 1 in the world golf rankings, and it's Brooks Koepka. The reigning U.S. Open and PGA Championship winner took over from fellow American Dustin Johnson after winning last week's CJ Cup in South Korea. Koepka is +900 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win this week's WGC-HSBC Champions.


C. Carlos Hyde . The Browns' backfield belongs to Nick Chubb after fellow running back Carlos Hyde was traded to Jacksonville last week. Chubb did not disappoint against Tampa Bay, rushing 18 times for 80 yards and one touchdown. Cleveland, however, lost 26-23 in overtime.

D. Devin White . LSU's star linebacker will miss the first half against Alabama on Nov. 3 after getting hit with a targeting penalty during the fourth quarter of this past Saturday's 19-3 win over Mississippi State. MyBookie.ag has 'Bama at -200 to win the National Championship.

E. End . From now on, there will be an end in sight when Wimbledon matches go to fifth sets. The All-England Club has instituted a proverbial "John Isner Rule," with tiebreakers to be played at 12-12 in the final set. Isner, who outlasted Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth in 2010, lost to Kevin Anderson 26-24 in the fifth in this year's semifinals.

F. Fantasy football . If you have Todd Gurley II, congratulations. The Rams' running back scored three more touchdowns in Week 7 as Los Angeles routed San Francisco 39-10. Gurley already has 14 total TDs to go along with 956 yards from scrimmage for undefeated L.A. GT Bets has the Rams as +275 favorites to win the Super Bowl.

G. Golden Knights . Vegas recently signed forward Alex Tuch to a seven-year contract extension worth $4.75 million annually. The 22-year-old compiled 37 points last season and added 10 during the Golden Knights playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

H. Hail Mary . Although the Bears are actually good this year, it was still going to take a miracle for them to beat New England. In this case, they needed a miracle to force overtime. Chicago didn't quite get one, as a Hail Mary while trailing 38-31 was caught by Kevin White but he was tackled at the one-yard line. 5Dimes Sportsbook has the Bears as -7.5 home favorites over the Jets on Sunday.

I. Instant oatmeal . LeBron James says that chemistry among the Lakers is not like "instant oatmeal." "It is not that fast," LeBron assured. And let's be honest, the Lakers (now 0-3) are also not as good as instant oatmeal.

J. Jackie Bradley Jr. Boston's center fielder did not get many hits during the ALCS against Houston, but he made the ones he got count. Bradley went deep twice (including a grand slam) and drove in nine runs during the five-game series. The Red Sox won four straight following an initial loss to set up a showdown against L.A. in the Fall Classic. Boston (Sale) is a -142 home favorite over the Dodgers (Kershaw) in Game 1 on Tuesday, according to BookMaker.

K. Kemba Walker . Channeling his inner Connecticut 2011 Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament self, Walker is averaging 33.0 points and 5.3 assists through four games this season. Much unlike UConn, however, the Hornets are just 2-2.

L. Lionel Messi . Messi may be out for one month after sustaining an elbow fracture in Barcelona's 4-2 win over Sevilla this past Saturday. That means he will miss an El Clasico match for the first time since December of 2007.

M. McKenzie Milton . It probably doesn't matter who is under center when Central Florida plays the kind of schedule that it plays. Uncle Rico could be throwing passes and the Knights would still go undefeated. But Milton's Heisman Trophy status obviously takes a hit whenever he sits. The junior warmed up in full pads prior to last weekend's 37-10 romp over East Carolina but was a late scratch, perhaps stemming from a tweaked ankle sustained one week earlier against Memphis.

N. Newton, Cam . At this point it's nothing to write home about when you beat the Eagles. But when you beat them on the road from 17-0 down in the fourth quarter, now that's impressive. And that's what the Panthers did in Week 7, as Newton led the way to 21 unanswered points in the final 10:41. Newton tossed two touchdown passes, including the game-winning to Greg Olsen with 1:22 remaining. Carolina is +300 at XBet.ag to win the NFC South.

O. Old Dominion . In the wildest finish since Remember the Titans, Old Dominion vs. Western Michigan last weekend ended with three untimed downs. It would require more manuscript than War and Peace to recap, but the Monarchs finally won it 37-34 on a 26-yard field goal one play after Western Michigan was called for facemasking while Old Dominion was returning a Broncos missed field goal. YouWager.eu has ODU as a +4 home underdog against Middle Tennessee State this weekend.

P. Purdue . "The glaring shortcomings we have were exposed," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer admitted following a horrendous 49-20 loss to Purdue this past Saturday night. Well, we already knew Meyer and company had plenty of shortcomings off the field. Their on-field woes weren't so obvious. Against the Boilermakers, though, they showed up to the tune of 539 yards allowed and 10 penalties committed.

Q. Quick, Jonathan . The Kings' goalie played one game before being put on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He probably wishes he had never been reactivated. In two outings since his return, Quick has allowed 10 goals on 44 shots. L.A. lost those contests 7-2 to the Islanders and 5-1 to Buffalo. Los Angeles is a +130 underdog at Dallas on Tuesday, as indicated by GT Bets.

R. Ranked . For the first time in school history, Appalachian State is ranked in the Top 25. The Mountaineers lone loss has come at Penn State in overtime, and they have since won five in a row-all by double-digits. App State is a -8.5 favorite at Georgia Southern on Thursday night, per MyBookie.ag.

S. Suspensions . Lakers players have combined for seven more game suspensions than wins so far this season. That is not exactly what they had in mind for the beginning of the LeBron era. Brandon Ingram (four games) instigated a fracas during last Saturday's loss to Houston, after which Rajon Rondo (three games) joined the fray and mostly went after Rockets guard Chris Paul (two games).

T. Trae Young . The No. 3 overall pick had his breakout game last weekend, torching the Cavaliers for 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting (6-of-14 from three-point range) to go along with 11 assists in Atlanta's 133-111 victory. No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III, meanwhile, is averaging a modest 12.7 ppg. His Kings are +11.5 underdogs at Denver on Tuesday, according to BetOnline Sportsbook.

U. Usain Bolt . Is there anything Bolt can't do? The eight-time Olympic champion scored twice (this is soccer we're talking about) with his Australian club Central Coast Mariners during a friendly last Friday. He was promptly offered a contract by Maltese champion Valletta FC but turned it down to remain Down Under.

V. Vontaze Burfict . The Bengals' linebacker was fined a total of $112,000 for unnecessary roughness hits on Antonio Brown and James Conner during a Week 6 loss to Pittsburgh. Burfict's fine total for his career is up to $415,637-more than $162,000 more than the next highest-fined player since he entered the league in 2012.

W. World Series . The stage is set: Dodgers vs. Red Sox. Boston is a -165 favorite at Bovada Sportsbook to win the World Series.

X. XP . Perhaps the only person having a worse week than Pete Davidson (his engagement to Ariana Grande was recently called off) is Justin Tucker. And the Tucker development is far more surprising than the Davidson thing. Yes, Tucker actually missed an extra point; and he missed it at the worst time. After going 222 for 222 to begin his NFL career (316 for 316 dating back to college), he erred with 24 seconds left as Baltimore trailed New Orleans 24-23. Just like that: game over.

Y. Yasiel Puig . Puig always talks the walk, and for once he is also walking the walk. The Dodgers' outspoken right fielder hit what amounted to be an NLCS-clinching three-run homer that gave his team a 5-1 lead in the sixth inning of Game 7 against Milwaukee this past Saturday.

Z. Zion Williamson . Williamson says he is paying "no attention" to an FBI investigation involving his recruitment, with tapes indicating that his father asked for money from Kansas. And why would he? Hell would freeze over before either the FBI or NCAA went after Duke. BookMaker has the Blue Devils as a +475 favorites to win the National Championship.

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