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This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z


by - 4/16/2019

Philadelphia 76ers Center Joel Embiid (21) celebrates after a dunk in the first half of a home game.

A. Amir Johnson . The first-round series between the 76ers and Nets has produced a little bit of everything through two games: a cell phone on the bench, a 51-point quarter, etc. Philadelphia lost the opener at home while Johnson and Joel Embiid got caught looking at Johnson's cell phone, but it rebounded on Monday for a 145-123 victory after pouring in 51 points in the third.

B. Boogie Cousins . Cousins went down with a dreaded non-contact injury in Golden State's 135-131 Game 2 loss to the Clippers on Tuesday, appearing to favor his left quad. Of course, Cousins' exit and the 135-131 score hardly tell the real story of what transpired. The Warriors-playing at home-unbelievably blew a 31-point lead midway through the third quarter for perhaps the most shocking single-game collapse in NBA playoff history.


C. Champions League . FC Barcelona went into Old Trafford and beat host Man United 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal last week. In an all-English Premier League showdown, Tottenham Hotspur took care of Manchester City 1-0. BookMaker has Tottenham at +340 to win the title and Man City at +345.

D. Davis, Chris . Break up Chris Davis! The Orioles' much-maligned first baseman has finally ended his record-setting streak of hitless at-bats. Davis endured a 0-for-54 stretch dating back to last September before going 3-for-5 with four RBIs in last Saturday's win over Boston. He also hit his first home run of the season during Monday's 8-1 victory over the Red Sox.

E. Elimination game . The Penguins have won two of the last three Stanley Cups. They won't win a single game in the 2018-19 playoffs if they lose to the Islanders on Tuesday. New York leads the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series 3-0. Pittsburgh is a -170 home favorite in Game 4, per MyBookie.ag.

F. Fifteen . Tiger Woods had been stuck on 14 major titles since 2008. The wait is finally over; the comeback complete. Tiger won major number 15 and Masters number five when he triumphed on Sunday afternoon in Augusta. Fifteen is also the hole on which the 43-year-old became the betting favorite, carding a birdie to tie for the lead-temporarily with four others-while third-round leader Francesco Molinari made a double-bogey. Tiger is a +900 favorite at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the Masters again in 2020.

G. George, Paul . "Four days ago I couldn't even lift my shoulder," George said following the Thunder's 104-99 loss in Game 1 against Portland this past Sunday. "Fast forward to today; it was the first day I shot the ball." George, who missed OKC's regular-season finale, finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds but could not throw it in the ocean in the first half and dished out zero assists. Oklahoma City is a +2 road underdog on Tuesday, according to Bovada Sportsbook.

H. Home runs . The Mariners have hit at least one home run in 18 straight games to begin the season. For a while that translated into wins, as Seattle started 13-2. But it has since lost four in a row and now leads the American League West rival Astros by just a half-game in the standings. The Mariners are +1200 at XBet.ag to win the AL Pennant.

I. Israel Adesanya . If you were too busy watching the Masters, NBA playoffs, or Instagram models' videos from Coachella, you may have missed one of the best fights in UFC history. Adesanya beat Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision in a five-round thriller in Atlanta to take the middleweight title.

J. John Football . Johnny…. John…. Joh-not gonna work here anymore. Johnny Manziel is out of a job due to the AAF's folding, and apparently he's also out of his old name. According to Manziel, himself, he is now going by "John."

K. Kaku . Kaku went cuckoo during the Red Bulls' 2-2 draw against Kansas City this past weekend. New York's midfielder booted a ball into the stands, striking a fan in the face and drawing blood, late in the second half. He was hit with a red card for his efforts.

L. Lightning . Warriors: "We had the most epic playoff collapse of all time (other than the Falcons)!" Lightning: "Hold my beer." While Golden State's meltdown was just in a single game (so far at least), Tampa Bay's woes are about to cost it the whole season. The NHL-best Lightning blew a 3-0 lead in Game 1, lost it 4-3, and now trail eighth-seeded Columbus by a shocking three games to none. They are one Game 4 loss away from becoming the first team in NHL history to win the Presidents' Trophy and then get swept in the first round. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Tampa Bay as a -135 road favorite on Tuesday.

M. Magic Johnson . In a stunning, bizarre press conference on the final day of the regular season, Magic stepped down as president of basketball operation for the Lakers. The Lakers' soap opera continues….

N. Newcomb, Sean . The Braves are channeling their inner 1990s with one of the most stacked young pitching rotations in the majors. But there isn't enough room for everyone right now, and Newcomb got sent down to them minors following a rough start last weekend.

O. Orpik, Brooks . At least one NHL Eastern Conference blueblood is not in trouble-well, not a lot of trouble. Orpik scored an overtime winner for the Capitals in Game 2 against Carolina and the defending champions lead the series 2-1 despite losing on Monday. Washington is a +550 favorite at MyBookie.ag to win the Stanley Cup.

P. Patrik Laine . Laine has lit the lamp in each of Winnipeg's first three playoff games. Unfortunately, it has not helped a whole lot for the Jets, who lost the first two contests of their series against St. Louis at home before prevailing on the road in Game 3. YouWager.eu has Winnipeg as a +130 road underdog on Tuesday.

Q. Quarterback . The Seahawks have their quarterback. Not a moment too soon before the expiration of Russell Wilson's self-imposed deadline, Seattle signed him to a four-year, $140 million extension on Monday night. Wilson already was the richest man in the NFL for being married to Ciara. Now he's the richest in terms of dollars, too.

R. Robinson, Devin . The Wizards' forward got into a fight with Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills outside a nightclub in Washington, D.C. last weekend. Well, now Robinson is an ex-Wizards forward. Both guys were charged with disorderly affray (basically fighting in a public place), and the Wiz promptly announced that they will not make him a qualifying offer for next season.

S. Stephen Curry . Not much is going right for the Warriors, but Curry is still cooking. He became the NBA's all-time leader for postseason three-points during a Game 1 win over the Clippers. The former Davidson star, who passed Ray Allen on this list, has now drained 391 playoff threes. Curry is +5000 at Bovada Sportsbook to have a credited role in Space Jam 2.

T. Twelve . There is almost always that one hole on the second nine on Sunday that plays the biggest role in the Masters' outcome. Fifteen was big, but once again none was bigger than 12. Molinari went in the water. The third participant in the final pairing, Tony Finau, did the same. Brooks Koepka was wet, too. So was Ian Poulter. Tiger, on the other hand, played it safe and hit the middle of the green en route to a routine two-putt par. The rest is history. GT Bets has Molinari at +1600 to win next month's PGA Championship.

U. UCLA . Mick Cronin?!?! Seriously? How far has UCLA fallen? That's like Britney Spears (in her prime) settling for Kevin Federline.

V. Vacancies . The NBA coaching carousel is already underway in earnest. Sacramento's job wasn't open for more than 24 hours, but Cleveland, Memphis, and the Lakers all have openings. LeBron James player/coach?!?!

W. Walton, Luke . Sacramento's gig opened and closed in a hurry. General manager Vlade Divac gave Dave Joerger the boot and immediately hired Walton, who had parted ways from the Lakers. Unless L.A. does something drastic in free agency or via trades, that actually looks like an upgrade for Walton right now.

X. XFL . The XFL, which will relaunch in 2020, announced some new rules last week. Among them: teams can go for one-point, two-point, or three-point conversions following touchdowns, and overtimes will feature two-point conversion shootouts with both teams' offenses and defenses playing at the same time on different ends of the field. However it goes, the XFL can't do any worse than the AAF!

Y. Yasiel Puig . Puig may not be playing in L.A. anymore, but he still knows how to get his name in the news. The Reds' outfielder tried to take on Pittsburgh's entire club during a bench-clearing incident last week, and he homered off his former team-Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, to be exact-in Monday's 4-3 loss. Cincinnati (Mahle) is a +160 road underdog at Los Angeles (Maeda) on Tuesday, as indicated by BetOnline Sportsbook.

Z. Zion Williamson . It's official: Zion is going pro. Duke's star freshman made the announcement on Monday, and all kinds of media outlets promptly offered "breaking news" headlines. In other breaking news, sky is blue, the Pope is Catholic, 2+2=4, Tiger is good at golf, and Ariana Grande has some Instagram followers.

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