Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping News Articles

This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 12/20/2016

A. Alabama. Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban clearly has a thing for former Southern Cal delinquents. Lane Kiffin is out as offensive coordinator (to coach at Florida Atlantic, of all places), and guess who's in? None other than Steve Sarkisian, who was fired as head coach of the Trojans last fall for making a drunken fool of himself in public. Alabama is a -230 favorite to win the College Football Playoff, per Bovada Sportsbook.

Case of the Mondays: Chiefs Lose AFC West Lead to Raiders
by Ricky Dimon - 12/19/2016

The AFC West has been going back and forth the last few weeks. Surprisingly, the defending champion Denver Broncos have not been involved. They saw their playoff chances take a huge hit on Sunday with a loss to the New England Patriots, while the Kansas City Chiefs fell at home to the Tennessee Titans and were overtaken at the top spot in the division by the Oakland Raiders. Speaking of getting overtaken, things have gone south in a hurry for Minnesota Vikings.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: Usual Suspects Saban, Brady Still on Top
by Ricky Dimon - 12/14/2016

Will December (the 31st, to be exact), January, and February (the fifth, to be exact) be dominated by Nick Saban and Tom Brady? It wouldn't be a huge surprise if that turns out to be the case. Saban has perennial powerhouse Alabama as the No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff. Brady, arguably the frontrunner for NFL MVP, has New England on the inside track for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 12/13/2016

It's crunch time in the NFL with a playoff picture that still remains rather foggy with just three weeks left in the regular season. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza, we are hoping that he can add some clarity to the situation with his own NFL power rankings for the top five teams in the league.

This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 12/13/2016

A. Aroldis Chapman. Chapman is taking his talents from the lovable losers to the evil empire. Well, the Cubs are not losers anymore and the Yankees are not as evil as they once were given how little winning they have done of late. In any case, the flame-throwing closer signed a five-year, $86 million deal with New York last week after helping the Cubs win their first World Series in 108 years. The Yankees are +1300 at MyBookie.ag to win the World Series.

Case of the Mondays: Tough Week for NFL Quarterbacks
by Ricky Dimon - 12/12/2016

It was a difficult Week 14 for various NFL quarterbacks, and it started last Thursday, when Derek Carr of the Raiders saw his MVP hope's take a hit. A different kind of hit has likely put Ryan Tannehill out for the season as Miami's signal-caller apparently suffered a torn ACL against Arizona. Seattle's Russell Wilson was picked off a whopping five times in an alarming loss to the Packers at the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: Alabama, Lamar Jackson are Heavy Favorites
by Ricky Dimon - 12/8/2016

Aside from Army vs. Navy, the 2016 college football regular season is over. The Heisman Trophy presentation is this weekend and the semifinals of the College Football Playoff are later-albeit much later-this month. Can either Washington, Ohio State, or Clemson take down Alabama? Can one of the other Heisman Trophy finalists beat Lamar Jackson in what would be an even bigger upset? We will soon find out.

This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 12/7/2016

A. Atlanta Hawks. Well, so much for that 9-2 start. The Hawks are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and are 1-10 in their last 11 contests. Three of Atlanta's setbacks during the current skid have come by at least 27 points, including two last week by a combined 80 points. At this rate, at least the city won't have to deal with another playoff meltdown by one of its teams.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Dave Schwab - 12/6/2016

Alabama is a heavy favorite to win another national title this season as the top seed in this year's College Football Playoff. This week we will check in with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza to see if he thinks there is any value in the betting odds for the other three teams on the CFP Championship futures list.

Case of the Mondays: Penn State Wins but Doesn't Get In
by Ricky Dimon - 12/5/2016

Penn State is the champion of what was arguably the toughest conference in college football. But it won't be playing for a national title. Speaking of titles, Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers played for one last season. They didn't win it, and it looks like they won't get a shot at it this time around. Carolina fell to 4-8 with a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. And how about Tiger Woods? Are titles in his future for next season? A question once scoffed at now seems legitimate.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: Tiger Returns at Hero World Challenge
by Ricky Dimon - 11/30/2016

Tiger Woods is back. Well, he will be back when-and if-he strikes his first tee shot at this week's Hero World Challenge. This weekend will also decide the four spots in the 2016-17 College Football Playoff. Clemson and Washington are in position to join Alabama and Ohio State in the semifinals, but conference championship games could have an impact.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 11/29/2016

Doc's Sports Services has always had close ties to the Big Ten given our Wisconsin roots, and in this week's discussion with expert handicapper Raphael Esparza we will get his thoughts on this Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game between Penn State and Wisconsin as well as his take on the upcoming College Football Playoff.

This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 11/29/2016

A. Arena, Bruce. After five-plus years as coach of the U.S. men's national team, Jurgen Klinsmann is out. The German was fired last Monday, and U.S. Soccer immediately replaced him with Arena, who coached the team from 1998 through 2006.

Case of the Mondays: Rivalry Week Shakes Up CFP Picture and Heisman Race
by Ricky Dimon - 11/28/2016

That is what rivalry week is all about. Alabama may have taken care of business in routine fashion against Auburn, but there was plenty of craziness to go around. Ohio State outlasted Michigan in a double-overtime thriller, Penn State earned a surprising trip to the Big Ten title game, Georgia Tech staged a borderline miracle comeback to stun Georgia, and Kentucky shook up the Heisman Trophy race by upsetting Lamar Jackson and in-state foe Louisville.

Football Betting Weekly Public Action Report: Sharps vs. Squares
by Trevor Whenham - 11/18/2016

It was another solid week for the Public Action Report last week. We wound up profitable at 3-2 ATS last week, and that moved us to 14-4 ATS on the season. There is nothing at all worth complaining about when it comes to that. We have a full card again this week, with our first NFL games of the season. It's an interesting collection of games - like last week we are pointed at teams by the criteria that we otherwise probably wouldn't be that interesting to look at.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 11/15/2016

In one of the wildest college football Saturdays in quite some time, three of the top four teams in the current College Football Playoff rankings went down in defeat to completely turn this season's playoff picture upside down. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza, we will get his take on which four teams he is now betting on to compete for a national title this season.

Football Betting Weekly Public Action Report: Sharps vs. Squares
by Trevor Whenham - 11/11/2016

After a week last week with no games fitting the criteria, we are back with a massive slate of five games for the Public Action Report this week. Two weeks back we went just 1-1 ATS, but that still leaves us at 11-2 ATS on the season - hardly anything to complain about. A lot of the games this week are strange ones - not entirely attractive bets if it weren't for the line movement and what that means. It's a case, then, where we just have to trust the criteria and go for it.

This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z
by Ricky Dimon - 11/11/2016

A. Andy Murray. For the first time in 122 weeks, Novak Djokovic is not the No. 1 player in the world. That distinction belongs to Murray, who ascended to the top spot on the ATP Tour for the first time in his career on Monday. Murray has won seven of his last nine tournaments, a streak that continued at last week's Paris Masters and also includes titles at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics.The Scot is a +125 favorite at Bovada Sportsbook to win the upcoming World Tour Finals in London.

Sports Betting Futures Odds: Cubs Favored to Repeat as World Series Champions
by Ricky Dimon - 11/9/2016

As it turned out, this was "next" year for the Chicago Cubs. But it's never too early to start thinking about the actual next year. With a young nucleus intact, the Cubs should have a good chance of parlaying their first World Series triumph since 1908 into a real dynasty. But with an amazing 2016 Fall Classic now over, football and basketball can take center stage for the time being.

Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
by Doc's Sports - 11/8/2016

A new season in the NBA is underway, and the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers are the only undefeated team in the league heading into Tuesday night's action. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza, we will get his take on the early results from a betting standpoint.