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Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza


by Doc's Sports - 8/28/2018

jarrett stidham auburn tigers

It is the start of another football season at Doc's Sports and, with the help of our in-house team of expert handicappers, we will once again be offering some high-value selections packages featuring our top unit plays. Raphael Esparza is a big part of winning team at Doc's. During a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry in which he eventually retired as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Resorts' Aria, he honed his skills to become one of the best sports handicappers in the nation.

The jack of all handicapping trades will once again take on the books with a number of different selection packages for the NFL and college football season. However, if you are looking to go a bit off the beaten path, he also offers selections for the CFL, MMA fighting in the UFC, boxing, golf and anything else of interest he may come across. Every week, we sit down with the former Vegas Sports Informer to get his insight on some of the hottest betting topics on the board.

Doc's: The Washington Huskies are favored to win the Pac-12 title this season, and the Auburn Tigers remain Alabama's toughest competition in the West Division of the SEC. These two national powers collide in their 2018 season opener, but which one do you have coming out on top in this Saturday's showdown?

RE: My lean in this game would be towards Auburn as the slightly better all-around team. However, when it comes to betting on this game I would probably go with the "over" 48.5 on the total line. It first opened at 54, and I do believe that each of these teams should be able to put some points on the board.

Doc's: The Big Ten's Michigan Wolverines will be tested right out the gate in Saturday's showdown in South Bend against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If the Wolverines come up short in this one, would that automatically put head coach Jim Harbaugh on the early hot seat?

RE: Harbaugh is already on the hot seat in Michigan, and the only way he is getting off it would be with a victory over Ohio State and a serious national title run. A loss to Notre Dame right out of the gate would only fuel speculation that this will be his last season with the Wolverines ahead of a possible return to the NFL in 2019.

Doc's: Last season in the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams won the NFC West, the Jacksonville Jaguars went all the way to the AFC title game and the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl after each team posted a losing record the year before. Heading into the new NFL regular season, can you give us one or two losing teams from last year that are poised to turn things around in 2018?

RE: Cleveland has been one of the most heavily bet teams for the "over" on its win total and its odds to make the playoffs. More realistically, I think Indianapolis could be a team to watch in the AFC if Andrew Luck can return to top form. I also think that Oakland, under the guidance of Jon Gruden at head coach, has enough talent to quickly return to its winning ways after falling back to 6-10 last year.

Doc's: Last week we talked about the heated MLB division title race in the AL West between Houston and Oakland. With three teams still in contention for the title in the NL West, which one comes out on top; Arizona, Colorado or the Los Angeles Dodgers?

RE: I'm amazed just how tight most of the MLB division races are right now. When it comes to the NL West, I would have to stick with the Dodgers as they continue to get healthy heading into the month of September. Arizona should be able to keep things interesting right down to the wire. However, in the end, I would still bet on Los Angeles to claim the title in that division.

Doc's: Earlier this week, you posted a prop bet piece covering Facebook and the future of its stock price and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Where do you see the stock price going from its current trading level of around $173 a share, and can Zuckerberg survive as the company's embattled CEO?

RE: Zuckerberg should be able to survive all of Facebook's troubles to remain CEO as reflected in the -700 betting odds he does not step down from his current role. The stock price could actually bounce back a bit to the $180 level by the end of the year, but I would go with the +170 betting odds that it does not go over the $200 mark by Dec. 31 of 2018.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free-no obligation, no sales people - you do not even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sports Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza.

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