This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 7/27/2019

by Ricky Dimon - 7/27/2018

A. Anthony, Carmelo . The trade sending Carmelo from the Thunder to the Hawks became official on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, the Hawks signed Vince Carter. That would have been a really productive day for Atlanta…if it had come about 15 years ago. As for Carmelo, he isn't sticking around long; he will be waived and Houston is the frontrunner once he becomes a free agent.

B. Brad Hand . The Indians needed a hand for their bullpen, and they found it well in advance of the trade deadline. Cleveland worked a deal with San Diego to acquire Hand, who earned his first save with his new team on Wednesday. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Cleveland (Carrasco) as a -185 favorite at Detroit (Fiers) on Friday.

C. Carpenter, Matt . Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five…. No, Carpenter homered in six straight games for the Cardinals from July 14 to July 21-including three during an 18-5 rout of the Cubs.

D. Detroit Tigers . The Tigers have actually managed to win two of their last three baseball games. Of course, they have will to get a lot hotter than that if they want to climb back into contention in the American League playoff race. Detroit is 8-23 over its last 31 contests, ending the proverbial first half of the season with a 5-20 stretch.

E. Extension . Julio Jones was hoping to get one this offseason, but that won't be the case. Team management recently informed the star receiver a long-term deal is not going to be reached prior to the 2018 campaign. This is perhaps the Falcons' biggest blunder since…well…you know…. Jonea is a +325 second choice at MyBookie.ag to gain the most receiving yards in the NFL this season.

F. Francesco Molinari . In a sea of Americans on the leaderboard and with Tiger Woods holding the solo lead after his front nine on Sunday, it was none other than Molinari who eventually stole the show at last week's British Open. The 35-year-old Italian carded a bogey-free 69 in the final round to triumph by two shots over Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose for his first major title.

G. Garoppolo, Jimmy . If Jimmy G thought he was going to get away with a date with a porn star, he needed to think again. Plenty of photos were leaked from his dinner last week with Kiara Mia. "Jimmy and I had an amazing dinner, and he treated me with so much respect, and class," the 41-year-old said of the 49ers' quarterback. "Honestly, we're friends." Friends with benefits, one can only assume. San Francisco is +1200 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the NFC.

H. Hand, foot, and mouth disease . Is there anything more Mets than Noah Syndergaard being on the disabled list because of hand, foot, and mouth disease? You can't make this stuff up, folks.

I. Ibrahimovic, Zlatan . Leave it to the only man more braggadocious than LaVar Ball to weigh in with some self-love following LeBron James' signing with the Lakers. "Now L.A. has a god and a king," Zlatan quipped. He also said, "Everything with (a) ball, I'm phenomenal. So if I played [basketball], I could play with LeBron without a problem." Welp.

J. Josh Hader . Apparently having a history of racist, homophobic, and misogynist tweets in your past is the key to getting a standing ovation. But, hey, if that's what is going to get Hader through all of the bad stuff that comes with what he posted on Twitter seven years ago, then good for him.

K. Kawhi Leonard . The question seems to be not if but when Leonard is going to become a member of the Lakers. Right now the answer looks like next offseason. For now, Leonard appears to be disgruntled with the thought of playing in Toronto, but he at least appeared to have a civilized meeting with team management last week.

L. Los Angeles Dodgers . In every sport these days it seems like the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Hey, if a GoFundMe page is set up to get Kylie Jenner to the $1 billion mark, the Warriors should be free to get DeMarcus Cousins and the Dodgers should be free to get Manny Machado without getting crucified for it. The Dodgers (Kershaw) are -175 road favorites over Atlanta (Foltynewicz) on Friday, per MyBookie.ag.

M. Manziel, Johnny . Manziel got traded from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to the Montreal Alouettes last week. He did not play on Thursday, but the good news for him is that starting QB Vernon Adams completed only 14 of 27 passes for 217 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in a 44-23 loss. The bad news for him is, well, he did not play even though the starter completed only 14 of 27 passes for 217 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in a 44-23 loss.

N. Nationals . Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer appeared to have a war of words in the dugout after Strasburg exited last Friday's loss to the Braves. Of course, by Nationals' dugout-altercation standards it was a rather cordial affair. Strasburg, meanwhile, was placed on the DL earlier this week due to a pinched nerve in his neck.

O. Ozil, Mesut . Ozil's 2018 World Cup-and it certainly wasn't a good one for Germany-will go down as his last with the national team. The 29-year-old announced his retirement from the German club last weekend, stemming from racial tension regarding his Turkish roots. "I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement, but now I don't," said Ozil, who plays throughout each year for Arsenal of the English Premier League. Arsenal is +2600 at BookMaker to win the EPL title.

P. Pepperell, Eddie . The current era of golf may have its answer to John Daly. Pepperell admitted he was hung over for the final round of the British Open, during which he fired a 4-under 67 to surge into a tie for sixth.

Q. Quarterback update . For the first time in 574 days, Andrew Luck actually participated in full at a Colts' practice. Head coach Frank Reich called Thursday "good" and "solid" in regards to Luck, who is expected to be ready for the upcoming season. Check out our breakdown of the Colts' 2018 road schedule .

R. Revis, Darrelle . Revis announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this week. He played 11 seasons in the league and, unfortunately for him, most of those were with the Jets.

S. Sparano, Tony . The former Dolphins head coach passed away last week at 56 years old due to heart disease. Sparano was also interim head coach of the Raiders in 2014 following his four-year stint in Miami. R.I.P.

T. Tour de France . Team Sky's Gianni Moscon got booted from the Tour de France for striking French rider Elie Gesbert during stage 15 last week. But it looks like the team won't need him. Geraint Thomas is still in first (now by almost two minutes), and three-time champion Chris Froome is in third.

U. Ujiri, Masai . The Raptors' team president has apologized to DeMar DeRozan for the way in which the deal with San Antonio was handled, but the star guard still isn't happy. "It's B.S. to me," DeRozan commented. No; B.S. would have been trading him to someone like the Hawks, Kings, Magic, or Grizzlies. Toronto is a +325 second choice at Bovada Sportsbook to win the Eastern Conference.

V. Victor Espinoza . Espinoza fractured a vertebra in his neck during a fall from his horse this past weekend. The 46-year-old will wear a brace for several weeks and is expected to make a full recovery. Espinoza guided American Pharoah to the 2015 Triple Crown.

W. Woods, Tiger . The British Open provided a mixed bag for Tiger and his supporters. The 42-year-old seriously contended at a major for the first time since 2013, but it was all right there for him to hoist the Claret Jug when he led after the front nine on Sunday. "It felt great to be part of the mix and build my way into the championship," Tiger commented. "Today was a day I had a great opportunity.'' GT Bets has Tiger at +1800 to win next month's PGA Championship.

X. Xavier . Is it too early to start thinking about college basketball? Heck no! The Maui Invitational bracket was revealed on Wednesday, and it includes a first-round showdown between Xavier and Auburn. Duke, Arizona, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Illinois, and Iowa State are also part of a loaded field.

Y. Yoenis Cespedes . The Mets' veteran outfielder is set to undergo surgery on both of his heels and will be out for the rest of the season. Cespedes batted .262 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs in 38 games during this 2018 campaign.

Z. Zero . That's how many hits Daniel Poncedeleon allowed in his major-league debut on Monday. The Cardinals' right-hander went 7.0 innings before exiting with his pitch count at 116 and his team eventually lost 2-1. Making the debut all the more impressive is that Poncedeleon underwent brain surgery a little more than a year ago after getting hit in the head with a line drive during a Triple-A game. The Cardinals are +1800 at XBet.ag to win the NL Central.

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