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


by Doc's Sports - 1/2/2018

Alex Smith Kansas City Chiefs

The NFL Playoffs get underway this weekend with four games in the opening Wild Card Round. The pairing has also been set for this season's College Football Championship next Monday night in what has quickly turned into an all-SEC affair between Alabama and Georgia. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza , we will get his take on both of these betting events as well as early Big 12 play in college basketball.

The former Vegas Sports Informer was able to fully hone his craft as one of the top sports handicappers in the nation during his days working in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. After rising all the way to the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria, Raphael decided to retire from the sportsbook industry in 2013 to spend all of his time running a successful and diverse sports investment service from his home base in Las Vegas as well as from the Big Easy in New Orleans. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: We already know that you have not been overly impressed with the SEC as a whole this season in college football, but you have gone on record as stating that Alabama was your clear choice to win this year's College Football Playoff Championship Game.

Georgia has opened as a 4.5-point underdog against the Crimson Tide for this all-SEC national title showdown. Did anything you took away from the Bulldogs' performance against Oklahoma in the CFP semifinals give them any shot of completing their storybook run with a straight up victory next Monday night in Atlanta?

RE: I would still contend that this is Alabama's game to lose given its current form coupled with the disappointment from last season's loss in the national title game. With that in mind, I do not see them slipping up against Georgia. My personal thought is that Central Florida should be in this championship game given the way that the undefeated Knights handled Auburn in Monday's Peach Bowl.

Doc's Sports: Turning to this Saturday's NFL Wild Card slate, which matchup on the board offers the best value in light of the current betting odds for each game?

RE: I think Atlanta's playoff experience gives the Falcons the clear edge against Los Angeles in a possible SU win given that this will be the Rams' first postseason game since 2004. In the other matchup, Kansas City should prevail SU, but you never really know what to expect from this team given the Chiefs' up-and-down ride in the regular season.

Doc's Sports: Every NFL bettor knows just how hard it is to beat the same team three times in a single season. Does this add more value to Carolina in Sunday's playoff game against New Orleans after the Saints won the season series 2-0 both SU and against the spread?

RE: I would tend to agree. It is hard to beat a team three times in one season, especially in this matchup where they know one another's strengths and weaknesses to a tee. I actually like the "under" in this game as my top pick. Any play on a side will depend on how the spread moves as we get closer to kickoff.

Doc's Sports : West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kansas are all ranked in the Top 10 of the latest AP Top 25 poll for men's college basketball coming out of the Big 12. Last week you singled-out Arizona State as the team to beat in the Pac-12 this season, so which one of these three teams would be at the top of your list in this power conference?

RE: Right now, the slight lean is towards West Virginia as the best all-around team, but I would not go to sleep on the No. 18 Texas Tech Red Raiders. They are playing a huge road game against Kansas on Tuesday night. And while I am not expecting them to get the SU win, a good showing against the Jayhawks could add a fourth team to the mix in what is shaping up to be a very competitive race to the Big 12 regular-season conference title.

Doc's Sports: MMA fighting took center stage last Saturday night with the Holms/Cyborg showdown in UFC 219. What is the next big MMA event or boxing match on your betting radar heading into the New Year?

RE : Heading into the first weekend of the New Year there is definitely a lull in the action coming off a few big betting events for both sports. Things should start to heat up in a couple of weeks with UFC Fight Night on Jan. 14 in St. Louis with the featured fight pitting Jeremy Stephens against Doo Ho Choi in the featherweight division.

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 don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

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