2012 March Madness Bracket Predictions: East Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2012

What a difference a loss makes. Last week Syracuse was 30-1 and was the clear-cut No. 2 favorite to win the National Championship. At the same time, Ohio State was coming off a mammoth win at Michigan State to earn a piece of the Big Ten title and was positioning itself to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

2012 March Madness Bracket Predictions: South Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2012

If Kentucky wants to claim another banner for the Bluegrass State it certainly is going to have to earn it. The Wildcats are the consensus No. 1 team in the country and they are the overall No. 1 seed in the entire tournament. They are the clear-cut favorite to win the National Championship at +185 and will be the sweetheart pick of the majority of brackets filled out this week.

2012 March Madness Bracket Predictions: West Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2012

Think small. The West (Phoenix) Region of the NCAA Tournament features mammoth Michigan State and its rugged frontcourt matched up against a seemingly endless roster of small, quick, guard-oriented teams. This region will be playing basketball at a frenetic pace and if you like little guards running and dunking and chucking up three-point shots then this is the region for you.

NCAA Tournament Field Projections and Predictions, Feb. 27
by Robert Ferringo - 2/27/2012

We are on the verge. We are on the verge of the month-long free-for-all that is March Madness. This month is an orgy of college basketball betting, buzzer beaters, and broken dreams. It is, in my opinion, the single-greatest event on the sports betting calendar and it is a five-week endurance trial that will test the nerve and daring of gamblers throughout the country.

College Basketball: 2012 Missouri Valley Tournament Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 2/27/2012

The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament is the first of the recognizable conference tournaments to be played each season. It marks the beginning of March Madness and is an appetizer for the upcoming month of knockout games, buzzer beaters, stunning upsets, and thrilling college basketball betting moments and situations.

College Basketball Handicapping: Bracket Buster Trends and Betting Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 2/16/2012

As a fan, this is a chance to see the game in pure form. I mean, what says, “College Basketball Perfection” like Presbyterian vs. Jacksonville State or Western Michigan vs. North Dakota State matchup. And the dozens of manufactured storylines that go into this weekend actually may do more to denigrate and condescend to mid-major teams than they do to actually give them a forum to pimp their wares.

NCAA Tournament Field Projections and Predictions, Feb. 14
by Robert Ferringo - 2/14/2012

If you had told me a month ago that Notre Dame would be looking like a sure thing to make the NCAA Tournament and Connecticut would be fighting to keep its head above water and out of the NIT I would have laughed in your face. Ah, college basketball.

Weekend College Basketball Handicapping Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 2/3/2012

Beware of the “All Of A Sudden” Expert. Football is coming to a grand end with the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 5. Once our National Pastime has been put to rest college basketball will become the forefront of our nation’s sports betting scene.

Super Bowl Handicapping: Under-the-Radar Players
by Robert Ferringo - 2/1/2012

Manning against Brady. Rob Gronkowski and his undisclosed ankle. The Nicks-Cruz-Manningham triumvirate. Belichick. Coughlin. Super Bowl 46 will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday in Indianapolis and New York and New England are poised to renew their ongoing regional rivalry. The Super Bowl is the grandest stage in American sports and is the time for football’s greatest players to earn their status and carve out their names in history.

NCAA Tournament Field Projections and Predictions, Jan. 27
by Robert Ferringo - 1/27/2012

This week I decided to do something a little different. In past NCAA Tournament field projections and predictions articles I was making blanket predictions about how many teams from each league would find their way into the field. But now that we are approaching February and we are two-thirds through the season I feel comfortable starting to actually project the field.

College Basketball Handicapping: Personnel Subtractions
by Robert Ferringo - 1/25/2012

Two weeks ago the Syracuse men’s basketball team was a godless killing machine. They were the No. 1 team in the country and were decimating opponents with a roster that went 10-deep and with an attack that sent wave after wave of skilled players pounding against their opponents.

College Basketball Handicapping: Kentucky Worst ATS Team in Nation
by Robert Ferringo - 1/21/2012

The Kentucky Wildcats are the worst men’s basketball team in the country. Well, that is, they are the worst team in the country if you are trying to turn a profit betting on college basketball. At 18-1 straight up Kentucky is No. 2 in the country and at 4-to-1 they are presently the odds-on favorites at Bovada to win the National Championship. They are the cream of the SEC crop and they have a roster dotted with future NBA players.

AFC Championship Game Picks: Ravens at Patriots NFL Odds Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 1/18/2012

Old warriors die the hardest. For the last decade Tom Brady and Ray Lewis have been the standard bearers for offense and defense, respectively, in the National Football League. They have each gone to war nearly 200 times in their careers and both have won every accolade, both individual awards and titles, that a player can ever hope for. They are first-ballot Hall of Fame players and they will match wills once again with everything on the line.

NFC Championship Game Predictions: Giants at 49ers Odds and Betting Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 1/18/2012

The 49ers and Giants advanced to the NFC Title Game thanks to incredible defensive efforts last week, outmuscling the No. 1 and No. 3 offenses in football, respectively, in wins over the Saints and Packers. San Francisco and New York forced turnovers and took advantage of weaker defenses in both games, and now they will bang heads in what should be another NFC Championship Game between these long-time rivals.

NCAA Tournament Field Predictions and Projections, Jan. 13
by Robert Ferringo - 1/13/2012

The nonconference portion of the college basketball season is getting further and further away with each passing day. What teams did and how they were playing back in late November and early December is starting to matter less and less, both in terms of making NCAA Tournament field projections and in terms of teams playing well enough to build their resumes now that we are full-bore into league play.

NFL Divisional Round Predictions: Giants at Packers Odds and Betting Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 1/10/2012

The New York Giants are the most predictable team in football. A litany of diehard, “Joey” fans of the G-Men might not agree. Nor would a sea of football bettors, national prognosticators, or other members of the bobblehead media. However, when it comes to betting on or against, or predicting on or against the Giants, you need to follow one simple guide:

NFL Divisional Round Odds: Texans at Ravens Predictions and Betting Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 1/10/2012

If you ask football fans to name the most difficult venues in the NFL for visiting teams to get a win you will get a list that includes the usual names: Lambeau Field, the Superdome, and even Qwest Field in Seattle. But even though most people don’t even know where M&T Bank Stadium is or who plays there, this site has been, in terms of against the spread success, the gold standard of home field advantage over the past decade.

NFL Predictions: Saints at 49ers Odds and Betting Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 1/9/2012

“Can anyone stop the New Orleans Saints?” Beyond debates about Tim Tebow’s transcendental qualities, this has to be the second-most asked question in the NFL these days. New Orleans has scored 40 or more points in four straight games (and five of seven) and after demolishing one plucky upstart, Detroit, last week in the opening round of the NFL postseason. They will try to dispatch another surprise team, San Francisco, in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs this weekend.

NFL Picks: Broncos at Patriots Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 1/9/2012

Apparently it is a miracle nowadays when a team advances deep into the postseason on the back of a powerful running game, a forceful defense, and some clutch big plays and turnovers. It is funny: I always thought that was what football was all about. But when Tim Tebow is the man leading that winning team the only real explanation is that there are Higher Powers involved.

College Basketball Handicapping: Weekend Betting Primer
by Robert Ferringo - 1/6/2012

If you were waiting for Syracuse to finally lose, dropping from the ranks of the unbeaten and yielding their No. 1 ranking to a “sexier” college basketball program, I would avoid the Carrier Dome around 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Orange have been college basketball’s dominant team so far this season. Yet, because they don’t play on Tobacco Road, in Lexington, or in the Big Ten, I feel like they are the least heralded No. 1 team this deep in the season in several years.