Lack of Intrigue for 2010 Belmont Stakes
by Robert Ferringo - 5/18/2010

Last week we talked about how Kentucky Derby winners were essentially a 50-50 shot to win the Preakness, as they now have in 70 of the last 135 opportunities. However, this year the Derby winner and the Preakness winner will have zero opportunity to win the Belmont.

2010 Preakness Stakes Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 5/14/2010

The Preakness Stakes is not only my favorite of the Triple Crown horse races but it’s also a favorite’s race in the Triple Crown series. The favorite has won this race in 70 of the 134 runnings at Pimlico, which is great news for Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver. Super Saver has been instilled as a slim favorite for this race for the Black Eyed Susans. The Preakness will be run at 6:15 p.m. EST on Saturday, May 15 at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland.

Best and Worst MLB Announcers
by Robert Ferringo - 5/14/2010

The passing of Ernie Harwell, a true gentleman and a baseball legend, last week got me thinking about the current crop of Major League Baseball announcers. I spend, quite literally, thousands of hours each summer watching baseball and listening to the announcers for all 30 of the current teams. And while only one of the current Voices of Summer can be considered in the same category of Harwell there are still plenty of great groups doing good work from March to October.

World Cup Predictions: Spain Odds to Win World Cup Group H
by Robert Ferringo - 5/12/2010

I start my Major League Baseball preview the same way every year: by saying that the Cubs aren’t going to win the World Series this year. I suppose you could start any FIFA World Cup soccer predictions article the same way. Only in this realm it would be Spain playing the role of the Loveable Losers and continuously disappointing their desperate fan base.

MLB Handicapping: Nationals are MLB’s Best Bet
by Robert Ferringo - 5/11/2010

One of the most interesting stories early in this MLB betting season has been the success of the Washington Nationals. Yes, the same Washington Nationals that have posted a record slightly above that of the Washington Generals over the course of the last two years and the team that has been treating the legacy of the Montreal Expos like a necropheliac at a funeral parlor.

World Cup Predictions: Brazil Odds to Win World Cup Group G
by Robert Ferringo - 5/7/2010

What if I told you that I knew of a betting situation this summer that hadn’t lost in more than 30 years? That’s precisely the case in the 2010 World Cup as one of the easiest wagers that you could make is on Brazil to win its Group and advance to the Knockout Stage. Presently, the odds of Brazil winning its World Cup group are an appetizing -150. And if you ask me that is a steal considering their performance in the tournament’s first round over the last seven World Cups.

New Zealand Odds to Win World Cup Group F
by Robert Ferringo - 5/6/2010

Every four years one thing is for certain: New Zealand is going to be one of the teams with the best odds to advance from their Group at the World Cup championship and any World Cup group prediction invariably must focus on their national team’s dominance and skill. The only problem is that these New Zealand World Cup projections have nothing to do with soccer.

MLB Handicapping: Boston Will Be One of Worst Bets in Majors
by Robert Ferringo - 5/5/2010

There is an oft-quoted clichй in baseball that you can’t win a pennant in April but you sure as hell can lose one. The idea is that a slow start in this sport is not nearly the harbinger of ill tidings that it appears to be in certain other sports. And that because of the sheer overwhelming volume of innings, outs and appearances that construct a Major League Baseball season that a shaky first 25 games doesn’t add up to much when you consider what lies ahead.

2010 Kentucky Derby Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 4/30/2010

We’re just over 24 hours away from the Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports as we set up for the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby. This year’s field is as wide open as any in recent memory. California turf horses are dominating the roster, turf horses are prohibitive favorites, the weather could again be a factor, the best three-year-old in the country isn’t in the race, and beyond that it’s just like every other race at Churchill Downs.

Kentucky Derby Handicapping: The Post Position Draw
by Robert Ferringo - 4/29/2010

Well, it wasn’t exactly the NBA lottery draw, but the Kentucky Derby post position draw took place on Wednesday evening and the field for the Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports is now set. To the untrained eye the post positioning may seem like a random factor of little consequence. After all, it’s a race, right?

Team-by-Team NFL Draft Grades
by Robert Ferringo - 4/26/2010

The NFL Draft is in the books and there were, as always, plenty of successes and failures. As always, we won’t be able to accurately assess how each organization managed until about three or four years from now, but based on value, addressing need, and overall talent hauled in I have put together my 2010 NFL Draft grades.

NFL Draft First Round Draft Grades
by Robert Ferringo - 4/23/2010

Despite all of the bobbleheads going berserk on Friday recapping the “winners” and “losers” of the NFL Draft’s first round we still have six rounds to go. There is no way to fully evaluate each team’s draft because there are still so many significant picks to be made, which may or may not address specific team needs. I actually feel like Day 2 – the second and third rounds – are more important than the first round because that’s when teams have historically gotten the best value.

NFL Draft “Don’ts”
by Robert Ferringo - 4/20/2010

“Don’t do it man.” We’ve all been there. Whether it’s advising your hammered homeboy not to rail some sloppy sweat-dumpster at the end of some dank townie bar or trying to talk your college roommate out of doubling down on a Norv Turner team in the playoffs, we’ve all uttered the same desperate, but sage, advice: “Don’t do it man.”

NFL Draft - Quarterbacks as No. 1 Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 4/16/2010

While the NFL Draft is one of the biggest gambles in sports I will say that it isn’t rocket science. And over the past 20 years the modern draft has given front office folk a pretty steady blueprint of what you should and shouldn’t do with your first round picks. Despite this fact, teams repeatedly ignore those signs, symbols, blueprints, tarot readings, and previous cautionary tales, passing by the rotting corpses of past first round failures on their way to the guillotine.

MLB Handicapping: Early Winners and Losers from the N.L.
by Robert Ferringo - 4/13/2010

Yesterday I laid out some random thoughts and general musings about what I learned about the American League through the first week of the season. Below are some observations I’ve had while watching the National League clubs at work through the first week or so of this Major League Baseball season:

MLB Handicapping: Early Winners and Losers from the A.L.
by Robert Ferringo - 4/13/2010

One week of the 26-week grind that is the Major League baseball regular season is in the books. And amidst the home openers, blown saves, exciting plays, beautiful weather and monster home runs there has been plenty of information for the discerning baseball handicapper to pick up. Some of our preseason hunches may have been confirmed or debunked and other wait-and-see situations may have started to unfold.

MLB Handicapping: Young Pitchers to Avoid
by Robert Ferringo - 4/8/2010

Below is a list of young “up-and-coming” pitching that I’m not quite as high on as a lot of fans, scouts, bettors and oddsmakers. The names on this list are ones that some people might recognize and think, “Yeah, that kid is going to be good.” While others are names that only fantasy baseball players or diehard fans would be able to opine about. But in my opinion the list below is full of guys that I expect Reality to slam in the face with the force of an Albert Pujols 42-ounce Louisville Slugger.

MLB Handicapping: Potential Breakout Pitchers
by Robert Ferringo - 4/7/2010

Last week I discussed some veteran arms that I think could pose some excellent MLB betting value if they can bounce back and achieve some of the success that they’ve experienced in the past. In this space I’m going to go the opposite direction and try to tab some young, up-and-coming arms that could be the next generation of aces, value arms, and piсata pitchers to fade away.

MLB Handicapping: Ranking the Pitching Staffs
by Robert Ferringo - 4/6/2010

The Major League Baseball season is only two days in. but let’s get down to brass tax here. Pitching doesn’t win championships, it wins money. Lots and lots of money. And gamblers need to be able to take the long view with teams and staffs and be able to look at each starting rotation along the lines of how it relates to the others in the league.

MLB Handicapping: Veteran Pitchers Primed for Big Year
by Robert Ferringo - 4/2/2010

Baseball is a game of habit, routine, ritual and method. The most accomplished players are the ones that can repeat their motions, their approach, and their successes consistently, in spite of constant failures. Betting on Major League Baseball shouldn’t be any different.