The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 6/21/2011

The game of baseball is an allegory of pre-industrial America and is the elemental sport in our national consciousness. However, it is also a very sophisticated mathematical construct, a symphony of statistics and a physical interpretation of integers that create the foundation of the sport. Baseball is a perfect dichotomy and every action within its natural framework - from pitch selections to hitting matchups to player positioning – is dictated by the digits.

2011 NFL Free Agent Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 6/20/2011

The current labor situation in the NFL is a debacle (brought to you by 32 sadistic and sociopathic owners).But to me the lockout is simply an annoyance; in the end, a deal will eventually be reached and football will resume. When that will happen and how many games will this season entail are the parlor game-type questions open to rampant speculation. But a deal will be reached, most likely there will be between 8-16 games played, and the sport will not be altered all that much.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 6/17/2011

To be a winning baseball bettor you need to understand these numbers. You need to immerse yourself in these integers and really get at the core of how things are developing on the diamond. Winning and losing can come down to the simplest of equations; a statistical regression here or a missed mathematical opportunity by not pinch hitting there can have a huge impact not only on the outcome of a game, but, by extension, on your bank account. And that’s what really counts, eh?

Yankees vs. Cubs Predictions and MLB Series Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 6/17/2011

Cubs enthusiasts were thrilled when Major League Baseball schedule-makers announced that the New York Yankees would be making their first appearance in Wrigley Field since 2003. However, while the luster may remain for this marquee series the reality is that the Bronx Bombers are bringing some big sticks to the North Side this weekend and represent a tall task for a struggling Cubs team that has lost 12 of 17 games.

MLB Odds: Rangers vs. Braves Series Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 6/17/2011

The Rangers, the prohibitive favorites in the who-can-score-less American League West, are coming off a disappointing series in the Bronx where the Yankees bombed them. Texas has lost five straight, and since a big four-game sweep of the lifeless Indians the Rangers are just 2-8. Despite that slide the Rangers are clinging to a slim lead out West.

NFL Predictions: Teams Hurt Most by Lockout
by Robert Ferringo - 6/15/2011

“Silent Spring”, by Rachel Carson, is one of the most influential books in American literature. The book, which documented the detrimental effects of Big Business – specifically the chemical industry and pesticide producers – on the environment, particularly birds, is credited with helping to launch the environmental movement. The premise of the book was that uncontrolled pesticide use was killing animals and birds and could lead to a spring season where no birds could be heard because they had all vanished.

2011 Belmont Stakes Post Position Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 6/9/2011

It is a common belief that because of the distance of the Belmont Stakes – at 1.5 miles it is by far the longest of the Triple Crown horse races – that post positions are less important here than they are in the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness. I don’t think that belief is necessarily true – and the distribution of winners over the last 100 years seems to back up my assertion – but I do think that post positions should be handicapped differently here in Belmont than at the Derby or the Preakness.

2011 Belmont Stakes Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 6/3/2011

Once again, 2011 has given horse racing unique winners for both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. With no possibility of the sport’s first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978 – were he alive I’m sure he’d pop a bottle of champagne, a la the 1972 Dolphins, every time a potential Triple Crown horse falters – there is very little intrigue or interest surrounding what has become “the other Triple Crown race”.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 5/31/2011

The numbers don’t lie. Baseball is a perfect study in dichotomy. With no clock, an outdoor playing area, and a reliance on elemental aspects like wood, leather, dirt and grass, the sport is an allegory of pre-industrial Americana. It’s a game played in communion with nature and seems to be a welcome relic of a distant time and place.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 5/24/2011

Bring back steroids. Immediately. That is my professional opinion about Major League Baseball these days. This sport is nearly unrecognizable from the ‘roid-ragin’, HGH-hyped, homer-enhanced, scoring free-for-all that we witnessed from the mid-90s until the Salem Steroid Trails of 2005-2006. Now it more closely resembles a game of tee ball, where everyone goes bonkers when someone just hits it out of the infield.

2011 Preakness Stakes Post Position Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 5/19/2011

The Preakness, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, will be run around 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 at Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore. On Wednesday the track officials drew the Preakness Stakes post positions for the 14-horse field and the results have helped to clarify what is already a murky lineup of mounts.

Horses That are Real Preakness Stakes Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 5/18/2011

The Preakness is not only the shortest of the three Triple Crown horses races, but also it routinely posts one of the smallest fields. With a maximum of 14 mounts this mile-and-a-quarter race is perhaps the most wide-open, lightning fast, no-holds-barred of any of the three Triple Crown runs.

2011 Preakness Stakes Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 5/11/2011

Call it Fate. Call it good fortune. Call it what you will, but for whatever reason it looks like Animal Kingdom’s bid for the Triple Crown continues to get easier by the day. The Kentucky Derby-winning colt benefitted from a sketchy field at Churchill Downs and may once again be stacked up against the “B Team” in the next leg of the Triple Crown horse races, the Preakness Stakes.

2011 Kentucky Derby Post Position Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 5/5/2011

Post positioning in the first of the Triple Crown horse races may seem like a random factor of little consequence. It’s a race, right? The fastest horse should win regardless of where they start. However, historical trends and the styles and gameplans of the horses all conspire to produce a unique race at Churchill Downs year in and year out.

NFL Draft Grades: First Round
by Robert Ferringo - 4/29/2011

The first round of the 2011 NFL Draft is in the books. Since it takes at least three years to properly grade an NFL Draft it is tough (see: impossible) to make snap judgments and accurate NFL draft grades on how teams handled their first round selections. However, since we live in a now-isn’t-fast-enough society and since I’m a Populist (sometimes) I will give the masses what they want.

2011 Oakland A’s Predictions and MLB Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/24/2011

For over a decade the Oakland A’s have been a quintessential small ball team. They have utilized excellent pitching, solid defense and timely hitting to compete despite a slim payroll and the lack of any top-end hitting talent. And the results have been generally superb, as they have finished .500 or better in 10 of 13 seasons while averaging 87.2 wins a season.

March Madness Bracket Predictions: Southwest Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/16/2011

Perhaps no other region in the NCAA Tournament has as many talented-yet-obviously-flawed teams vying for its slot in the Final Four. There are no less than seven teams that I could see coming out of this region and not be completely surprised. But then again, I won’t be stunned if five of those seven teams aren’t even playing next weekend. And as a result I get the sense that this is going to be the most chaotic region in the entire bracket and the place where next Monday morning people are pointing to and saying, “Who saw that coming?”

March Madness Predictions and Bracket Help: West Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/15/2011

The West Region of the NCAA Tournament should be known as The Defending Champs and the Dangerous Dozen. Duke, the defending National Champion, has the inside track to another Final Four berth. But in order to make their way to Houston they will have to navigate a region that includes five other teams that were ranked in the Top 10 this year and at least a half-dozen others – Michigan, Memphis, Oakland, Missouri, Temple, Penn State – that are capable of stringing together two or three wins and busting brackets across the country.

NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions: Southeast Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/15/2011

If this were the World Cup then the Southeast Region would be considered the Group of Death. The 2010 runner-up is the No. 8 seed (Butler). The best scorer in the country is with the No. 3 seed (BYU). Two programs with a combined nine Final Four appearances in the last 12 years are playing one another (Michigan State vs. UCLA) as the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds.

March Madness Bracket Predictions: East Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/15/2011

The East (Newark) Region of the NCAA Tournament features four of the top 10 most heavily favored teams to win the national title. Top seeded Ohio State presently has the third-best odds to win the title (+465) while Kentucky (+1615), North Carolina (+2050) and Syracuse (+2550) are all among the Top 10 teams deemed most likely to win it all.