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


by Doc's Sports - 1/16/2018

Blake Bortles Jacksonville Jaguars

The NFL's version of the Final Four take the field this Sunday with the AFC and NFC conference title games to determine next month's matchup in Super Bowl LII. The underdogs continue payoff at a high rate in this year's NFL playoffs with a 7-1 record against the spread through the first two rounds. In this week's discussion with Doc's expert handicapper Raphael Esparza , we will get his thoughts on this trend continuing in this Sunday's games based on the current spreads.

Raphael earned his place among the ranks as one of the best sports handicappers in the nation during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. Once known in betting circles as the Vegas Sports Informer, he held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until retiring in 2013 to pursue other sports betting endeavors. These days he continues to run 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: There have been mixed reports as to the betting impact of Minnesota's highly-improbable last-second 29-24 victory against New Orleans in Sunday's Divisional Round matchup. Can you give us some insider perspective on the overall impact this game had on the Las Vegas sportsbooks?

RE: I would have to believe that the majority of the books in town closed at 5.5 points and lost money with quite a bit of betting action on the Saints as well as "over' on the total line. The most interesting thing about that game was the four six-figure swings back and fourth between the bettors and the books in a span of about 20 minutes as that wild finish played itself out.

Doc's Sports: Staying in the NFC, Philadelphia already proved the oddsmakers wrong with a straight-up victory in its Divisional Round matchup against Atlanta as a 2.5-point home underdog. Do the Eagles have what it takes to defy the odds again this Sunday as 3.5-point underdogs at home against Minnesota?

RE: You have to like Philadelphia as a home underdog again on Sunday given its ability to run the ball and play shut-down defense, but the chance to get the Eagles at 3.5 points has probably passed. I would look for most of the books to settle in at three points while adjusting the juice to move some money around.

Doc's Sports: The New England Patriots have been a covering machine since early October with an 11-2 record ATS in their last 13 games. They covered last Saturday as 13.5-point home favorites in a 35-14 romp against Tennessee in the Divisional Round, so does it make sense to keep riding the Patriots this Sunday as 9.5-point favorites at home against Jacksonville?

RE: I will be rooting hard against the Patriots because I would love to see Jacksonville in the Super Bowl, but I would have to agree that it is probably not all that wise to bet against New England on Sunday given the way it has been able to cover big spreads lately.

Doc's Sports : We have been talking about the top college basketball teams in each of the major conferences over the past few weeks. While it appears that No. 1 Villanova is the cream of the crop in the Big East, you still have teams such as Xavier, Seton Hall and Creighton making some noise in the standings. Can you give us your top 'up-and-coming' team to watch in this conference?

RE: Villanova is still the top program in the Big East, and it should actually get more credit as one of the top college basketball programs in the nation given its overall consistency of play the past several seasons. I was impressed with the way Xavier handled Creighton at home last Saturday with relative ease coming off back-to-back losses to Providence and Villanova on the road in the Musketeers' previous two games.

Doc's Sports: As NFL betting continues to wind down with the final pair of games leading up to the Super Bowl on this Sunday's slate, what are some of the other betting options on the big board grabbing your attention heading into this weekend?

RE : One of the betting events at the top of my list this weekend is Saturday's UFC 220 in Boston featuring a heavyweight fight between champion Stipe Miocic and challenger Francis Ngannou. Look for Ngannou to become the next heavyweight champ as a -180 favorite in this fight.

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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