2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions: West Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/19/2013

There is already an emerging theme heading into this year’s NCAA Tournament: The Rise of the Little Guy. The concept is not a fresh one. In fact, it is kind of a tried-and-true axiom that March Madness is a time for underdogs as much as it is a time for champions. But this year’s tournament field seems to be taking that theme to its logical conclusion: at some point the Little Guy will eventually become the Big Guy.

2013 March Madness Bracket Predictions: East Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/19/2013

The East is one of the most dangerous brackets in the tournament because I could realistically see any of five teams survive this region. At the same token, three of those teams I could also realistically see losing in the first round, and I think that all four of them will have to claw their way out of the opening weekend if they even want a chance at a berth in Atlanta.

2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions: Midwest Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/18/2013

The Louisville Cardinals earned the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed By virtue of being the best team from the best conference in college basketball. But that top seed is certainly a paper crown. And, if the Cardinals want to earn back-to-back Final Four appearances, they will have to fight their way through potential matchups with Top 10 staples Duke or Michigan State.

2013 NL East Picks and MLB Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/18/2013

The Nats enter the 2013 MLB season as one of the top teams in the National League and one of the frontrunners to win the World Series. However, they will get stiff competition in the East from both the stocked Atlanta Braves and the veteran Philadelphia Phillies. The National League East is always one of the most competitive and hard fought of all division races, and with three powerhouse teams vying for the crown, this promises to be a wild summer race.

Indiana vs. Wisconsin Picks and Big Ten Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/16/2013

Indiana, the top team in the conference, will take on Wisconsin in a Big Ten tournament semifinal at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday in Chicago.The winner will advance to Sunday afternoon’s Big Ten title game. Both teams are securely in the NCAA Tournament field, which will be announced Sunday evening. But both are hunting or regional bragging rights as well as an opportunity to improve their overall tournament seeding.

2013 NL Central Picks and MLB Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/15/2013

In the 18-year history of the National League Central there have been only three teams that have managed to win back-to-back division titles. Now-departed Houston pulled a three-peat from 1997-1999, the Cardinals won three straight from 2004-2006 and the Chicago Cubs pulled a rare double in 2007-2008. That is a far cry from the National League East, which has been dominated by two teams for 20 years, and it doesn’t bode well for last year’s division winners, Cincinnati.

2013 Big Ten Tournament Picks and College Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2013

It has become a generally accepted theory that the Big Ten is the best college basketball conference in the country. That hypothesis has been spewed by the bobblehead media for months and has now become indoctrinated into the general college basketball betting public.

2013 ACC Tournament Picks and College Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2013

Last year I said it was “a pretty safe bet that either Duke or North Carolina is going to win the ACC Tournament.” And it was, since one of those two schools had won the ACC Tournament 15 times in 16 years. But Florida State pulled a major surprise and beat both Carolina powerhouses en route to the school’s first title.

2013 Big 12 Tournament Picks and College Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2013

Only two teams have won the Big 12 Tournament Championship since 2006. And one of them is no longer in the league. Kansas (five) and Missouri (two) have dominated the Big 12 Championship over the past seven years. And the Jayhawks, after winning their ninth straight Big 12 regular season crown, are the heavy favorites to cut down the nets again this weekend.

2013 Pac-12 Tournament Picks and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2013

Last year at this time the Pac-12 was a complete afterthought on the national college basketball scene. On the eve of the Pac-12 Tournament they had exactly zero teams in the Top 25 and were on the way to an insulting two bids – both double-digit seeds – in the NCAA Tournament.

2013 Mountain West Tournament Picks and MWC College Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2013

It has been a banner year for the Mountain West conference. Perpetually underrated, the MWC is home to some of the best programs west of the Mississippi. And heading into this week’s action they have the No. 1 conference RPI in the nation.

2013 Big East Tournament Picks and College Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/11/2013

The dissection and desecration of the Big East has been one of the underlying themes of this college basketball season. The best, most competitive, most successful conference of the last quarter-century will cease to exist a month from now. But, before the league is blown up, it will have one final battle royal in the Mecca of basketball.

2013 SEC Tournament Picks and College Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/11/2013

The conference tournaments taking place across the country this week are set to be the final determinant of which teams are invited and left out of the NCAA Tournament. And perhaps no league in the nation has as many teams trying to fight their way into The Big Dance as the SEC.

2013 NL West Picks and MLB Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/9/2013

Style or substance? Flash or finish? Hype or heart? Those are truly the themes of the 2013 National League West. The Los Angeles Dodgers have dominated the headlines on the West Coast this offseason, and they enter the season with a team that is basically a fantasy baseball team roster. The Dodgers, as well as the Colorado Rockies with their highly-touted talents, have the name recognition and star power to lure in bettors.

2013 AL Central Picks and MLB Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/9/2013

The A.L. Central will once again battle its National League counterpart for the title of The Worst Division in Baseball. And last year the A.L. Central teams certainly made a case. Three of the five teams lost 90 or more games, their division winner, Detroit, did go to the World Series. But they also entered the playoffs with just the seventh-best record in baseball.

LaSalle at St. Louis Picks and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/9/2013

Instead, we’re going to turn our attention to an under-the-radar mid-major battle that really could be one of the more meaningful regular season games played on Saturday. How meaningful? Well, let’s just say that defending National Champion Kentucky, Big East powers Cincinnati and Villanova, and venerable programs like Maryland and California all better take notice because this game features one team looking to steal an NCAA Tournament bid from one of the big boys.

2013 AL East Picks and MLB Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/8/2013

For the first time in what feels like forever, neither the Boston Red Sox nor the New York Yankees enter the season expected to win the division. The Red Sox are in the beginning stages of a massive franchise overhaul after last summer’s housecleaning. The Yankees are stubbornly holding onto their aging core of veterans and hoping that they have just one last run in them.

2013 AL West Picks and MLB Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/8/2013

Last year it was, “poor, poor Seattle Mariners.” Seattle was clearly the worst team in a loaded American League West, and they entered the season with nothing to look forward to but a beating by the Angels and Rangers. But this year the Houston Astros are going to make the 2012 Mariners seem like a division champ.

NCAA Tournament Field Projections and Predictions, March 6
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2013

You don’t need to be Christopher Langan to know that there is plenty of uncertainty in the college basketball landscape right now. Who is the best team in the country? Who will be the No. 1 seeds? Who has a realistic shot at winning the NCAA Tournament, and will this be one of the craziest dances we’ve seen in a decade?

Miami at Duke Picks and NCAA Basketball Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/2/2013

The Duke Blue Devils will find themselves in kind of a strange situation when they wake up Saturday morning. No. 7 Miami will head up to Tobacco Road to take on No. 3 Duke in a crucial ACC clash. The game is set to tip off at 6 p.m. EST on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a venue where the Blue Devils have won 92 of the past 97 times they have taken the court.