This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 2/26/2019

by Ricky Dimon - 2/26/2019

A. Arizona . The water can't get any hotter for Sean Miller and Arizona than it was last season. If Miller can survive that, he can survive anything. But the 50-year-old will be subpoenaed to testify at April's federal criminal trial involving college basketball corruption. At least this latest distraction isn't impacting a potential National Championship run. The Wildcats are under .500 in the Pac-12 and have lost seven of their last nine games.

B. Boeheim, Jim . The long-time Syracuse head coach struck and killed a man last week after the man had been involved in a previous accident and was outside his car. ESPN's College Gameday for last Saturday's game between the Orange and Duke was cancelled, but Boeheim coached in a 75-65 loss. Syracuse is a +12 underdog at North Carolina on Tuesday, per Bovada Sportsbook.

C. Case Keenum . Keenum said he was "shocked" by the Broncos' recent trade for Joe Flacco, and it doesn't sound like there is any question regarding his own future in Denver. "My time with the Broncos has been really special," he reflected. "I have enjoyed every second of it. I have absolutely been so proud to wake up every day and to walk into that building to represent the Broncos as their quarterback.... It was an honor."

D. DeMarcus Cousins . Cousins likely is a luxury as opposed to a necessity for the Warriors this season, but they lead Denver by just 1.5 games in the Western Conference and would like their big man to get going. He has obliged, emerging from a four-game slump with three straight double-doubles-including 24 points and 11 rebounds in Monday's victory at Charlotte. Cousins also inexplicably got t-ed up for tossing an errant shoe off the court.

E. Enes Kanter . Unsurprisingly, a change of scenery from New York has been just what the doctor ordered for Kanter. Through three games with Portland, the 6'11'' center from Switzerland is shooting 17-for-29 with one performance of 18 points and nine rebounds and another of 16 points and eight rebounds-both in no more than 21 minutes of work. The Knicks are +7 home underdogs against Orlando on Tuesday, according to MyBookie.ag.

F. Federer, Roger . February is generally the dog days of the tennis season, but Federer is still making news. The 37-year-old Swiss is playing this week for the first time since the Australian Open, and he recently announced that he will begin his clay-court swing this spring in Madrid. Federer is currently bidding for career title No. 100 at a tournament in Dubai.

G. Grant Williams . Tennessee had won 19 games in a row and was ranked No. 1 in the nation. Then trips to Kentucky and LSU happened. The Volunteers got blown out in the former and lost the latter when Williams committed a foul 75 feet away from the basket with 0.6 seconds left in overtime. Tigers freshman Javonte Smart promptly sank two go-ahead free-throws before Williams missed a decent look at the buzzer. YouWager.eu has LSU as a -12 home favorite over Texas A&M on Tuesday.

H. Halftime show . Ja Rule. Last Saturday's halftime show at the Bucks vs. Timberwolves game worked out better than the Fyre Festival for Ja Rule…but that's not saying a lot! The sound wasn't working at the beginning of the performance, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was among the players who started warming up for the second half before the rapper had even completed his set. He later got into a Twitter war with the Timberwolves' account. Milwaukee is a +170 favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

I. Injured . Death, taxes, and Joel Embiid out due to injury…. Those might as well be the three certainties of life. It hasn't happened quite as much of late, but the Sixers' big man has missed the last three games due to a knee problem and he is expected to miss a couple more. Philadelphia is +350 at GT Bets to win the Eastern Conference.

J. Johnson, Dustin . Johnson should be feeling good about his chances at the Masters-assuming he doesn't from his own syndrome (or John Wall's) and get injured by falling in his home. The world No. 1 blitzed the field to pick up a win at last week's World Golf Championship-Mexico.

K. Kraft, Bob . It sounds like Kraft had a lot of fun in January, and not just because his Patriots were making another run to the Super Bowl. But the party is over, as the 77-year-old has been linked along with more than 100 others in a human sex trafficking bust in central Florida.

L. Le'Veon Bell . Bell, who is almost certainly on his way out of Pittsburgh, recently asked his Twitter followers where he should go. He responded to only one answer, which suggested Philadelphia. Bell offered a "hmmm" followed by a pondering emoji. Cue the freakout by the Eagles' fan-base.

M. Major League Soccer . The shortest offseason outside of tennis or golf is over. Dec. 8 marked the end of the 2018 season, and the 2019 campaign begins this weekend. The New York Red Bulls are +475 favorites at BookMaker to win the MLS Cup.

N. NFL combine . The combine begins today and goes through next Monday. Wait, it lasts an entire week now? Perhaps Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have to work more than four days a year now. BetOnline Sportsbook has Nick Bosa as a -200 favorite to be the No. 1 pick; Kyler Murray is a +300 second choice.

O. Over . James Harden's 30-point streak got what it deserved on Monday, when he went 0-for-10 from three-point range in Houston's win over Atlanta. Harden shot a ridiculous 16 free-throws and made 14 of them, but the Hawks declined to foul him in the closing seconds while trailing by eight points and he finished with 28. It ended at 32 straight games with at least 30.

P. Predators . One of the best white guys in basketball (Dirk Nowitzki) is on the way out, but one of the best black guys in hockey (Wayne Simmonds) is still a hot commodity at 30 years old. The Predators snagged Simmonds from Philadelphia at the trade deadline to bolster their playoff push. He has 16 goals, 11 assists, and 90 penalty minutes during the 2018-19 campaign.

Q. Quiet . That's what the Dodgers are being in regards to Clayton Kershaw, who threw again on Monday and did not feel good. Manager Dave Roberts called the inflammation in Kershaw's left shoulder "not ideal," but neither manager nor coaches has expanded much. Bovada Sportsbook has the Dodgers at +700 to win the World Series.

R. Rivers, Doc . Speaking of Dirk, Rivers grabbed the mic on the PA in the final seconds of Monday's Clippers-Mavericks game and implored the crowd to give him a standing ovation. It was Dirk's final appearance at the Staples Center.

S. Space Jam 2 . It was announced last week that the sequel to the greatest movie of all-time will be released in the summer of 2021. This may be an even worse idea than The Sandlot 2.

T. Tiger Woods . Count the 14-time major champion among those whom Johnson trounced in Mexico. Tiger hit the ball well enough, but his putting was atrocious en route to a T10 finish at 8-under par-13 shots behind the winner. He is +1400 at MyBookie.ag to win the Masters; Johnson is a +1100 favorite.

U. UT . Kerwin Roach II, Texas' leading scorer, has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. Roach (15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.1 apg), has now been suspended twice this season and three times in his career. In other words, he is going to disappear from the team faster than Kevin Hart disappeared from the Oscars.

V. Vegas Golden Knights . The Golden Knights have lost three games in a row, but at least they are doing something about it. Vegas acquired Mark Stone-the most prized player available at Monday's trade deadline-from Ottawa. Stone, 26, has 28 goals and 34 assists this season. The Golden Knights are -183 home favorites over Dallas on Tuesday, as indicated by BetOnline Sportsbook.

W. White Sox . It's back to the drawing board for Chicago, which lost out on the Manny Machado sweepstakes to San Diego last week. "Well, I'm wearing my shades so that you guys don't see the shock in my eyes," executive vice president Ken Williams said after Machado inked a 10-year, $300 million contract with the Padres. "It is disappointing; very surprised. There are a few other words you can put on that."

X. XFL . The XFL's Seattle franchise announced on Monday that Jim Zorn is its head coach and general manager. Zorn, 65, was head coach of the Redskins in 2008 and 2009. So, he may be downgrading in league prestige, but the quality of his team's football probably won't suffer much of a hit!

Y. Yankees . Bryce Harper and other stars are still unsigned, but the Yankees are still plowing ahead. They recently extended center fielder Aaron Hicks with a seven-year, $70 million deal. XBet.ag has New York and Boston as +290 co-favorites to win the American League Pennant.

Z. Zion Williamson . The Blue Devils are back in action on Tuesday. Zion, who infamously got hurt in the first minute of last week's home loss to UNC, is not. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Duke as a -4.5 favorite at Virginia Tech.

Start:	November 22, 2024 @ 8:00 PM
Expert:	Vernon Croy
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