Miscellaneous Articles

NHL Predictions: Western Conference Championship Odds
by George Monroy - 9/11/2013

The Chicago Blackhawks are set to raise another banner—their second in four years, to be exact—when the 2013-14 NHL season begins in October. The end of the year may belong to the NFL and NCAA football, but there is still room for bettors to make a profit wagering on hockey. The new NHL season will feature realignment as the number of divisions will be reduced from six to four, while three teams will switch conferences as well.

Baseball Predictions: Angels at Blue Jays Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/11/2013

When will teams learn that "winning" the offseason rarely translates to winning in the regular season? Ask any Washington Redskins fan. They spent and spent on high-profile free agents like Albert Haynesworth and Deion Sanders with Dan Snyder dying to make an impression. All it did was empty Snyder's wallet (not that he's hurting for money), and the team didn't get good until it made a daring trade to draft Robert Griffin III.

NFL Predictions: Jets at Patriots Week 2 Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/10/2013

Maybe New York Jets embattled head coach Rex Ryan will make to October after all. His Jets are guaranteed to not be 0-4 entering the month, something that looked quite possible, thanks to a miracle 18-17 victory on Sunday over the visiting Tampa Bay Bucs (Jets were four-point underdogs).

College Football Power Rankings: Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 9/10/2013

The Ferringo 15 went a solid 9-6 against the spread in Week 1 of the college season. But like I warned against, weeks 2-4 are generally the worst for our ratings as we weed out the non-hackers. Naturally, last week was a down week.

NBA Predictions: Phoenix Suns Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 9/9/2013

The Phoenix Suns were in the Western Conference Finals in 2010. The Los Angeles Lakers knocked them out in that series, and the Suns have never been the same since. The team first tried to partially rebuild while keeping star Steve Nash on the roster. After that didn’t work at all, the Suns parted ways with Nash before last season. Phoenix went into complete rebuilding mode (albeit a strangely veteran one) before the 2012-13 season.

Live Betting another Great Way to Challenge Las Vegas Sportsbooks
by Zack Cimini - 9/9/2013

Offshore and UK sportsbooks offer many different options for wagering on a game, and Las Vegas has been somewhat lagging behind in that department apart from the standard side, total and prop bets offered on a particular matchup. However, Sin City bookmakers have recently taken a page from their overseas brethren by offering live betting at many establishments throughout Southern Nevada.

Baseball Predictions: Tigers at White Sox Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/9/2013

One year ago today, the Chicago White Sox had a two-game lead in the American League Central, a division they led most of the season, but would soon start a late-season collapse that saw the Tigers pass them, and the Pale Hose miss the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Alas, because that team came so close to winning the division, it was brought back pretty much intact.

Baseball Predictions: Nationals at Marlins Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/6/2013

I haven't really kept track, but I'm pretty certain I have previewed a game involving the Miami Marlins less than any other team -- OK maybe Houston. I am fairly certain this will be the last Marlins preview of the year as well, and the only reason I am previewing Friday's Nationals-Marlins opener is because of phenomenal Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez. Yasiel Puig gets all the publicity, but Fernandez frankly deservers to be the NL Rookie of the Year.

College Football Predictions: South Carolina at Georgia Odds and Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/5/2013

It sounds kind of silly to say that there is a must-win game in Week 2 of the season, but for Georgia this is a must-win game if they want to live up to their preseason National Championship potential. There is no real shame in losing a very close game — and an instant classic — at a very good Clemson squad. Because it happened early, it could be overcome with a great season ahead. There is absolutely no room for error left, though, and a home conference loss would almost certainly be fatal.

College Basketball Predictions: 2014 Men’s Championship Odds
by George Monroy - 9/5/2013

Wagering on futures is not necessarily an exact science, and many times the bet might require a hope-and-pray attitude. It’s difficult for a gambler to account for injuries and the hundreds of other unforeseen factors that go to winning a title in any sport. However, one thing that a futures bet does provide is excellent value on your money. For the upcoming men’s NCAA basketball season, eight of the top 10 schools are receiving double-digit odds in the range of 10/1 all the way to 35/1.

College Football Power Rankings: Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 9/4/2013

It was a really nice start to the season for the Ferringo 15 last week as we picked up where we left off in 2012. The F-15 went a solid 9-6 against the spread in Week 1 of the college season. Dating back to last year, that is now 9 of 10 winning weeks for the teams listed in my Ferringo 15 College Football Power Rankings.

Hockey Predictions: Los Angeles Kings Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 9/4/2013

All in all it was a successful 2013 lockout-shortened season for the Los Angeles Kings. They finished with 59 points, good for second in the Pacific Division behind Anaheim. L.A. was an underdog to No. 4 seed St. Louis in the conference quarterfinals, and the Kings looked like toast after losing their first two games in St. Louis. But as usual, Los Angeles dominated at home and won the next four, including an overtime Game 5 in St. Louis that all but ended things.

Baseball Predictions: Orioles at Indians Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/4/2013

Doesn't anyone want the American League's second wild-card spot? It's starting to look more and more like the AL West runner-up between Texas and Oakland will claim the No. 1 wild-card spot and home-field advantage in that Oct. 1 playoff game. Meanwhile, the top three teams jockeying for the second spot, the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians, are all scuffling.

Baseball Predictions: Nationals at Phillies Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/2/2013

What a difference a calendar year makes for Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals. On Sept. 2, 2012, the Nats took to the field with the best winning percentage in Major League Baseball, and all the talk was about when the team was going to institute Operation Shutdown for young ace Strasburg. Of course, he was on an innings limit a season ago -- much like Matt Harvey would have been this year before getting hurt and like Marlins rookie star Jose Fernandez is -- off Tommy John surgery.

Baseball Predictions: Rays at Athletics Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 8/30/2013

Keep a close eye on Friday night's game between Tampa Bay and Oakland as it very well could be a preview of the one-game wild-card playoff between the teams -- they currently hold the top two spots. Friday's matchup involves the team's two aces in Rays lefty David Price and young Oakland right-hander Jarrod Parker. Whether both would be available on Oct. 1 would obviously depend on what happens in the final weekend of the season.

College Football Predictions: Syracuse vs. Penn State Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 8/29/2013

There was a time when a Syracuse-Penn State game would’ve been a headliner for the opening week of the college football season. Instead, these two programs will meet this weekend in a game that features two programs just trying to pick up the pieces and wipe off the dust of their former glory.

NBA Predictions: Can Knicks Remain Top Team in New York?
by Aaron Smith - 8/29/2013

The New York Knicks have always been New York City’s team, but this squad has some real competition now in the form of the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn wasn’t far behind the Knicks this past season, and the Nets have been one of the most active teams in the offseason. If you think the players don’t care about whether the Knicks are the top team in New York, you would definitely be wrong.

NHL Predictions: Anaheim Ducks Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 8/29/2013

It might be hard to remember after a crushing first-round loss to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the Ducks were pretty much the second-best team in the Western Conference the entire 2013 season and were battling Chicago for the No. 1 seed for a while there. Anaheim still finished 30-12-6 for the best winning percentage in team history.

College Football Predictions: USC at Hawaii Week 1 Picks
by Raphael Esparza, the Vegas Sports Informer - 8/28/2013

College football is here! And we want to start the season off strong with a free college football prediction for Week 1. Tomorrow (Thursday) at 11 p.m. (ET) we will be watching the highly-anticipated USC Trojans travelling to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu to do battle against the Warriors.

NHL Predictions: Chicago Blackhawks Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 8/28/2013

Hard as it is to believe, but NHL training camps open in less than two weeks with the puck dropping on the 2013-14 season on Tuesday, Oct. 1. It's going to be a very compact season, and I don't mean as in lockout form. With the players taking a nearly three-week break for the Olympics, that means games will have to be crammed in more than in a normal season. It also could lead to some late-season fatigue for teams who have several Olympians and who played deep into the summer. A team like the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.