This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 9/26/2018

by Ricky Dimon - 9/26/2018

A. Atlanta United . Atlanta can't seem to win anything in the four major sports, but is there anything its soccer team can't do? Led by goal-scoring machine Josef Martinez, Atlanta United erased a 3-1 deficit last week at San Jose with goals (two by Martinez) in the 70^th minute, 73^rd minute, and five minutes into stoppage time for a dramatic 4-3 victory. The club has won three in a row following this past Saturday's 2-0 shutout of Real Salt Lake and sits atop the Eastern Conference (and the entire league) with 63 points. Atlanta is a +300 favorite at Bovada Sportsbook to win the MLS Cup.

B. Butler, Jimmy . Butler is demanding a trade out of Minnesota. The grass isn't always greener on the other side, Jimmy….

C. Cleveland Browns . For the first time since the Jurassic Era (or since Dec. 24, 2016 to be exact), the Browns won a football game. They beat the Jets 21-17 last Thursday night, overcoming an early 14-0 deficit behind No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield. Mayfield, who replaced a concussed Tyrod Taylor in the second quarter, has been named Cleveland's starter for Week 4-and presumably beyond. The Browns are +2.5 underdogs at Oakland on Sunday, per MyBookie.ag.

D. Dabo Swinney . Clemson's head coach has named freshman Trevor Lawrence the starting quarterback over senior Kelly Bryant for this week's home game against Syracuse. Bryant is handling it about as well as Kanye West handled Beyonce's loss to Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, as he skipped practice on Tuesday and then announced he is transferring. XBet.ag has Clemson at +500 to win the National Championship.

E. Elton Brand . Brand, 39, was recently named the 76ers' new general manager. You might as well trust the process, because star center Joel Embiid certainly does. He posted the following on Twitter upon Brand's hiring: "Congrats EB.. Trust it". Embiid is +2000 at BookMaker to win NBA MVP.

F. FanDuel . FanDuel didn't pay up, and then it did. It listed faulty odds in the final moments of a Week 2 game between the Broncos and Raiders, with the Broncos at 750-1 despite trailing by just two points and driving for what eventually became a game-winning field goal. One New Jersey man earned $82,000 on a $110 bet after FanDuel initially said it wound not grant the ticket.

G. Gritty . The Flyers revealed their new mascot to the world during Monday's preseason date with Boston. Let's just say that it's going to be an entertaining season in Philadelphia regardless of how good or bad the team is. The Flyers are +1400 at GT Bets to win the Eastern Conference.

H. Hinch, A.J. Houston's manager and former closer Ken Giles recently got into a war of words over the culture of the team. A short summary: Hinch says it's great, Giles says it stinks. So who's right? Well, it's hard to argue with this: 101 wins last year, World Series champions, and 100 wins already this season.

I. Iannetta, Chris . Iannetta has been hitless in nine of his last 11 games, but Colorado has won five in a row and is back within a half-game of Los Angeles in the National League West. The Rockies (Marquez) are -190 home favorites over Philadelphia (Pivetta) on Wednesday, according to YouWager.eu.

J. Jose Mourinho . These are dark times for Mourinho's Manchester United club. Through six English Premier League matches, the Red Devils are tied for seventh on the table and eight points behind Liverpool following last Saturday's 1-1 home draw against unheralded Wolverhampton. They also got bounced out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, losing in penalty kicks (8-7) to Derby County.

K. Karl-Anthony Towns . Butler may be out of Minnesota, but Towns (with a five-year, $190 max extension last weekend) isn't going anywhere. Those two events could be related-and it involves Towns' girlfriend, Kawa Andrade. Uh oh….

L. Luck, Andrew . Luck went 25-of-40 for 164 yards and one touchdown before watching backup Jacoby Brissett attempt an incomplete Hail Mary on the final play of the Colts' 20-16 loss to Philadelphia this past Sunday. Indianapolis is -1 home favorite over Houston in Week 4 ( 5Dimes Sportsbook).

M. Maroon 5 . Atlanta is basically the current music capital of the United States and all it could come up with for the Super Bowl halftime show is Maroon 5?!?! This will be will-received…if Maroon 5 does nothing other than walk on stage and introduce Outkast as the actual show.

N. Niners . Is this the curse of porn star Kiara Mia? Who knows, but 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will have a lot more free time to spend with her because his football playing days are over in 2018. Garoppolo suffered a torn ACL in last week's 38-27 loss at Kansas City.

O. Old Dominion . Virginia Tech was a -28.5 home favorite over Old Dominion last weekend. The Hokies scored 35 points, so simple math reveals that they would have had to limit the Monarchs to six points in order to cover the spread. They came within 43 points of accomplishing that feat! ODU racked up 49 points in a stunning 49-35 upset of the Hokies, dominating the fourth quarter by a ridiculous 28-7 margin. "We get all feeling good about ourselves and we got brought back down to Earth," head coach Justin Fuente said of his previously undefeated and 13^th-ranked team. "We got what we deserved."

P. Point spread . Based on the spread, the Vikings' loss last weekend was not as bad as Virginia Tech's. But it was still pretty darn terrible. In fact, it was so bad that no favorite as big as Minnesota has lost in the last 23 years of the NFL. Giving 17 points to visiting Buffalo, the Vikings would not even have covered if they had been getting 17 points. The Bills led 17-0 after one quarter and 27-0 by halftime as they cruised to a shocking 27-6 victory.

Q. Quack . That's the sound you hear of a duck-and in this case one in serious distress. Oregon suffered an inexplicable 38-31 overtime home loss to Stanford last Saturday after leading 31-28 when a couple of kneel-downs would have all but run out the clock. Instead, freshman C.J. Verdell fumbled on Stanford's 40-yard line in the final minute and the Cardinal promptly kicked a game-tying field goal to force OT. YouWager.eu has Oregon as a -3 favorite at California this weekend.

R. Ronaldo . It's safe to say Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League debut with Juventus did not go as planned. He incurred a red card in the 29^th minute last week, but the Zebras still managed to beat Valencia 2-0. Adding insult to injury, Luka Modric earned recently earned FIFA Player of the Year honors over Ronaldo and others.

S. Space Jam . The sequels are never as good as the originals…well, with the exception maybe of Cheaper by the Dozen. Whatever the case, LeBron James has his producer (Ryan Coogler) in place and the ball is starting to roll for the next Space Jam.

T. Tiger Woods . In a mob scene on a golf course the likes of which we haven't seen since Happy Gilmore, Tiger marched up the 18^th hole and soon won on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2013. But there is no time to celebrate last Sunday's triumph at the TOUR Championship, as the 14-time major winner and the rest of Team USA has headed to Paris for this week's Ryder Cup. The United States is a -200 favorite at MyBookie.ag, while Tiger is +650 to be his team's top point-scorer.

U. UT . Texas has bounced back from a season-opening loss to Maryland with three straight wins, including two over top 25 opponents (first USC and then via a 31-16 decision against TCU this past Saturday). The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, are going in the other direction. Since leading Ohio State 21-13 in the third quarter earlier this month, TCU has been outscored 58-23-losing to the Buckeyes 40-28 and then at Texas.

V. Vegas Golden Knights . The Golden Knights have announced the first-ever partnership between an NHL franchise and a bookmaker, as they reached an agreement with William Hill for signage and updated odds displayed at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

W. Wildcats . Kentucky is in the top 25…in football. You can't make this stuff up, folks. The Wildcats boast top-25 victories over Florida and Mississippi State among their 4-0 record. Kentucky is a -2 home favorite over South Carolina on Saturday, as indicated by Bovada Sportsbook.

X. Denotes clinched division . Four teams have clinched their divisions: the Red Sox, the Indians, the Astros, and…the Braves?!?! Yes, Atlanta-expected to be one of the worst teams in the NL East-wrapped it up as far back as last Saturday. As surprising as the Braves are, they also have the Phillies to thanks. Philadelphia has been the worst team in the NL over the past two months and its current six-game losing streak has it under .500 at 78-79.

Y. Yankees . New York activated Aroldis Chapman from the disabled list last week and he worked a scoreless seventh inning against Tampa Bay on Monday. Is the flame-throwing left-hander back just in time for another dramatic October?

Z. Zobrist, Ben . Don't blame Zobrist for what is developing into a Cubs collapse. He is batting .310 this season and has three multi-hit performances in his last eight games, but Chicago has lost 2.5 games to Milwaukee over the past three days and leads the NL Central by just a half-game. BetOnline Sportsbook has the Cubs at +800 to win the World Series.

Start:	November 22, 2024 @ 8:00 PM
Expert:	Raphael Esparza (VSI)
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