Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping News Articles

Sports Betting Futures Odds: NBA Stretch Run Begins Following All-Star Break
by Ricky Dimon - 2/21/2018

The Three-Point Contest caught fire, the Dunk Contest flopped, and the All-Star Game finally delivered at least some measure of competitiveness during last weekend's festivities in Los Angeles. Now the home stretch to the playoffs begins, with Houston and Golden State duking it out in the Western Conference while a new-look Cleveland squad is chasing Toronto and Boston in the East.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 2/20/2018

As the month of February continues to wind down, basketball betting action in both in the NBA and the college ranks continues to heat up for bettors at Doc's Sports. The final weekend of competition in the 2018 Winter Olympics highlights this weekend's betting slate, and the trail to the 2018 Kentucky Derby is on the radar coming off a key prep race last Saturday. To try and bring everything into sharper focus, we will check in with expert handicapper Raphael Esparza to get his take on some of the biggest trending sports betting topics this week.

This Week in Sports Betting A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 2/20/2018

C. Celtics. Aside from Boston, every other team in the top five of the Eastern Conference is enjoying at least a two-game winning streak. The Celtics, on the other hand, have lost three in a row. Combined with Toronto's seven-game surge, they are now second in the East and jeopardy of going up against Cleveland as early as the conference semifinals. BookMaker has Boston at +500 to reach the NBA Finals.

Case of the Mondays: Losing Streak Continues for Young and Oklahoma
by Ricky Dimon - 2/19/2018

Trae Young was the toast of the college basketball town in the early stages of this 2017-18 campaign, but things have gone south in a hurry. Oklahoma has lost five games in a row and it is 2-8 in its last 10 outings. At times, Young has been unable to throw the ball in the ocean. Now the Sooners need to throw some wins together in order to avoid the dreaded NCAA Tournament bubble. Speaking of losing streaks, the Celtics are hoping that the all-star break will halt their downward trend.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: Cavs Shake Up Playoff Picture-and Themselves-at Trade Deadline
by Ricky Dimon - 2/14/2018

The Cavaliers parted ways with Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, and Channing Frye-just to name a few-at the trade deadline. In exchange they welcomed Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, and George Hill to LeBron James' supporting cast. Is the balance of power shifting in the NBA as a result of last week's chaos? We will really start to find out at some point after the league returns from this weekend's all-star break.

This Week in Sports Betting A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 2/14/2018

A. ACL. Knicks' forward Kristaps Porzingis underwent surgery on his torn left ACL on Tuesday. He is expected to miss 10 months and is likely able to return at some point during the 2018-19 campaign. Porzingis (22.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.4 bpg) sustained the injury during last week's loss to Milwaukee. 5Dimes Sportsbook has New York as a +4.5 home underdog against Washington on Wednesday.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 2/13/2018

This week's betting action at Doc's Sports offers a mixed bag of opportunities across a wide spectrum of sporting events. This creates the perfect opportunity to turn to expert handicapper Raphael Esparza for some inside information and betting tips on some of the biggest action on the board.

Case of the Mondays: Rare Losing Streaks for Purdue and Kentucky
by Ricky Dimon - 2/12/2018

Purdue had been 23-2. Then last week happened. Kentucky had never lost three games in a row under head coach John Calipari. Then last week happened. It was a rough week on the college hardwood for a whole host of well-respected programs, as Villanova, Virginia, and Duke also went down. As for the NBA, last Thursday's trade deadline caused chaos.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: Patriots Lose, But Favored to Win in 2019
by Ricky Dimon - 2/7/2018

The 2017 football season is officially in the books, so it is not a moment too soon to start looking ahead at next year. Unsurprisingly, the New England Patriots are favored to win Super Bowl LIII despite last Sunday's loss to the Nick Foles-led Philadelphia Eagles. On the much more immediate horizon, the 2018 Winter Olympics begin on Thursday in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 2/6/2018

It is going to be hard to top one of the best Super Bowls in the 52-year history on the NFL's biggest game, especially for Philadelphia bettors going with the "over" in that game, but it is time to move on to a whole new week of sports betting action with the help of Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza's excellent insight into a wide array of upcoming events.

This Week in Sports Betting A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 2/6/2018

A. Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick. Arsenal signed the former Borussia Dortmund forward last week with a transfer fee of 60 million pounds, and the 28-year-old wasted no time making an impact. In the Gunners' 5-1 English Premier League win over Everton this past Saturday, Aubameyang scored a goal in the 37th minute.

Case of the Mondays: No Comeback This Time; Patriots Lose to Eagles
by Ricky Dimon - 2/5/2018

There will be no sixth Super Bowl victory for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick-at least not this year. In an absolute shootout from start to finish on Sunday night in Minnesota, the Philadelphia Eagles outlasted the New England Patriots 41-33. With that, a thrilling football season on both the college and NFL gridiron has come to an end.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 1/30/2018

the year. To help get you ready for all the action, we are turning to Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza to get his opinion on where the betting lines will move leading up to kickoff on Sunday as well as which props offer the best value on the board.

This Week in Sports Betting A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 1/30/2018

A. Australian Open. Only one athlete is aging finer than Tom Brady, and it's Roger Federer. The 36-year-old captured his 20th Grand Slam title this past Sunday when he won the Australian Open for the second season in a row. Federer has now triumphed at three of the last five majors dating back to the start of 2017. He is +1200 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the French Open.

Case of the Mondays: Cousins Shelved by Season-Ending Achilles' Injury
by Ricky Dimon - 1/29/2018

Down goes DeMarcus Cousins. The New Orleans Pelicans' big man-or one of the Pelicans' two big men, to be more accurate-sustained a ruptured left Achilles' tendon during last Friday's 115-113 win over the Houston Rockets. Elsewhere on the hardwood, head coach Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans picked up two victories in the last three days to extend their winning streak to four games. But that's just about where the good news ends for those guys.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: Patriots, Eagles Set for Super Bowl LII
by Ricky Dimon - 1/26/2018

Only one more game in the NFL season remains, and as usual it will be coached by Bill Belichick and quarterbacked by Tom Brady. The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl, to be opposed by the Philadelphia Eagles this time around. Brady vs…Nick Foles?!?! What more could you ask for?!?!

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 1/23/2018

The matchup for Super Bowl LII has been set and, even though the biggest single-day betting event of the year is still two weeks away, now is the time to put your betting strategy in place with the help of Doc's Sports. To get things started in the right direction, we will be checking in with one of our expert sports handicappers, Raphael Esparza, for his early thoughts on this game from a betting standpoint.

This Week in Sports Betting A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 1/18/2018

A. Army. Don't mess with the Vegas Golden Knights...if you're in the NHL, at least. The expansion Knights are leading the Western Conference with 61 points. Army, however, can mess with them. The U.S. Army filed a challenge with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board last week, claiming the NHL club's name and color scheme is too closely associated with the military branch.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: And Then There Were Four….
by Ricky Dimon - 1/17/2018

How wild has football been over the past few weeks? Living up the standards set by the Rose Bowl and the National Championship, the NFL produced plenty of drama itself during the divisional round of the playoffs. Now it's time for conference championships this weekend, with New England hosting upstart Jacksonville and Minnesota somehow managing to book a trip to Philadelphia.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 1/16/2018

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.