AFC West Preview

The AFC West has the look of a very competitive division for this upcoming season. Denver won’t only be looking to repeat as division winners, but are also the defending world champions. Kansas City will be out to make the playoffs for the third time in four years under veteran head coach Andy Reid. Oakland seems to be a consensus pick as a playoff sleeper, and that’s usually a curse instead of the alternative. Head coach Mike McCoy and his Chargers will try avoid missing the playoffs for a 3rd consecutive season, and prove last year’s 4-12 record was a fluke.

2017 Futures Odds to Win AFC West

Denver Broncos (+190)

The AFC East will be arguably the best division in football this season from top to bottom. New England is once again the clear cut favorite, despite having to be without star quarterback Tom Brady (suspension) for their first four games. It should otherwise be competitively balanced regarding the other three teams. The Bills (8-8), Dolphins (6-10), and Jets (10-6) combined to go 24-24 last year. You can certainly make a strong case for either the Jets or Bills as a possible playoff team. Miami should improve upon last year’s disappointing 6-10 finish with new head coach Adam Gase in charge.

Futures Betting Odds on AFC East Division Winner

Patriots (-220)

Bills (+550)

Just when two of the big three American sports leagues – the NBA and MLB – have warmed up to the idea of US sports betting in the future, money-making enterprise NFL is having cold feet about jumping on the bandwagon.

Yahoo! Finance reported that the NFL is not rushing to join calls for the legalization of sports betting in the US, as it expresses their apprehension on how legalized gambling would affect the football games itself.

The NFL, known for being tight-lipped on all issues, gave a hint of its position on legalized sports betting through its senior labor relations counsel Brook Gardiner, who spoke at the 30th annual National Conference on Problem Gambling, in Tarrytown, New York.

Gardiner expressed fear that the integrity of the sport will be compromised should NFL throws its support for the legalization of sports betting.

The Denver Broncos have a major hole to fill at quarterback as Peyton Manning retires to golf and Brock Osweiler goes for the money in Houston.

The annual NFL free agency frenzy has just begun Wednesday, but it’s never too early to see some significant moves. Osweiler, drafted and groomed to succeed Manning, has agreed to sign a hefty four-year, $72 million deal with the Houston Texans, with $37 million guaranteed.

Apparently, the move was not much of a surprise when the Broncos didn’t hear back from Osweiler several days after they tabled their original offer. But since Osweiler was an offseason priority after the Super Bowl 50 victory,  Denver made a strong push to keep him and increased its bid to four-year, $64 million deal with more than $30 million. But it didn’t work.

It looks like money, although a big factor, wasn’t the only reason why Osweiler chose to leave Denver. Osweiler was benched in the 17th week and while he did most of the heavy lifting on offense to put the Broncos in the playoffs, the team stuck with Manning until the end of the season. With any luck, the Texans would be the team that finally lets him prove his worth.

The Denver Broncos have a major hole to fill at quarterback as Peyton Manning retires to golf and Brock Osweiler goes for the money in Houston.

The annual NFL free agency frenzy has just begun Wednesday, but it’s never too early to see some significant moves. Osweiler, drafted and groomed to succeed Manning, has agreed to sign a hefty four-year, $72 million deal with the Houston Texans, with $37 million guaranteed.

Apparently, the move was not much of a surprise when the Broncos didn’t hear back from Osweiler several days after they tabled their original offer. But since Osweiler was an offseason priority after the Super Bowl 50 victory,  Denver made a strong push to keep him and increased its bid to four-year, $64 million deal with more than $30 million. But it didn’t work.

It looks like money, although a big factor, wasn’t the only reason why Osweiler chose to leave Denver. Osweiler was benched in the 17th week and while he did most of the heavy lifting on offense to put the Broncos in the playoffs, the team stuck with Manning until the end of the season. With any luck, the Texans would be the team that finally lets him prove his worth.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s fantasy football lawsuit against the National Football League took a real life hit on Monday after a judge dismissed one of his claims.

On Monday, Judge Carl Ginsberg dismissed Romo’s claim of tortious interference by the NFL in last year’s cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Convention (NFFC). Romo’s claims for breach of contract and estoppel (aka legal hypocrisy) are still hoping to reach a trial by jury.

The NFFC was scheduled to take place last July at the Sands Expo, a convention center associated with Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. Romo, who own a piece of the show’s organizer, The Fan Expo LLC, was set to appear at the NFFC along with a number of other current NFL players.

But the NFL intervened one month before the event was supposed to take place, threatening those players set to attend that they would be in violation of the league’s anti-gambling policy, which prohibits players from participating in events held at or sponsored by casinos.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s fantasy football lawsuit against the National Football League took a real life hit on Monday after a judge dismissed one of his claims.

On Monday, Judge Carl Ginsberg dismissed Romo’s claim of tortious interference by the NFL in last year’s cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Convention (NFFC). Romo’s claims for breach of contract and estoppel (aka legal hypocrisy) are still hoping to reach a trial by jury.

The NFFC was scheduled to take place last July at the Sands Expo, a convention center associated with Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. Romo, who own a piece of the show’s organizer, The Fan Expo LLC, was set to appear at the NFFC along with a number of other current NFL players.

But the NFL intervened one month before the event was supposed to take place, threatening those players set to attend that they would be in violation of the league’s anti-gambling policy, which prohibits players from participating in events held at or sponsored by casinos.

A lawsuit claiming that NFL improperly shut down fantasy football convention led by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo in Las Vegas is heading to court on Monday.

Let us refresh your memory about this lawsuit. Romo was supposed to lead a fantasy football convention in Las Vegas in July 2015 but the National Football League (NFL) has threatened the players who were set to attend Romo’s National Fantasy Football Convention (NFFC).

NFL has no problem with fantasy sports as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell convinced himself that fantasy sports is not gambling. But it was location of the event that raised Goodell’s eyebrows, which was booked at the Sands Expo, a convention space of the Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. NFL began informing almost 100 NFL players that they could be subject to fines if they attend the event.

NFCC released a statement saying they were “postponing” their inaugural event until July 2016 due to “sudden and unexpected opposition taken by the NFL concerning player participation and their perceived association with gambling for an event in Las Vegas.”

The Super Bowl 50 has just ended but for the Las Vegas bookmakers it’s never too early to start looking at next year’s future-book odds.

While Von Miller, Peyton Manning and the rest of Denver Broncos are still celebrating for hoisting the Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl 50 champions, the folks over at Westgate Las Vegas sportsbook are already listing the early favorites to win next year’s big game to be held in Houston, Texas.

The Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers all open as the breakaway favorites at 8/1.

The Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals are next at 10-1 while this year’s Super Bowl entrants Panthers along with Cincinnati Bengals are at 12-1. Dallas Cowboys is at 14/1 and this year’s champion Broncos is lagging behind at 20-1.

The Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl 50, beating the Carolina Panthers by 24-10.

There can’t be a better storyline than Broncos, who entered the Super Bowl 50 as underdogs, wins the big game and the five-time MVP Peyton Manning completed what could be his final season with a Super Bowl title.

Carolina were the favorites on the odds to clinch the victory. With the regular season MVP Cam Newton at quarterback and Ron Rivera as the head coach, they have what it takes to win the game. But that is not the story today as the Panthers were upstaged by the Broncos who rushed in to an early 10-0.

The first touchdown came thanks to Von Miller who threw Newton off his game all day. Miller forced two fumbles to set up Denver’s two touchdowns, running back C.J. Anderson rushed for a touchdown and Brandon McManus kicked three field goals led the Broncos to its third Super Bowl championship since winning consecutive title in 1997 and 1998 seasons.

There’s no better place to start a Super Bowl 50 betting preview than with the betting line. It opened at CAR -3.5, but has since ballooned up by two points and might double by the time we get to kick-off on Sunday. Everyone is taking the Panthers, but a small faction is siding with the point cushion the Broncos are boasting.

Breaking down a Super Bowl 50 betting preview isn’t easy from two standpoints. First off, about a bazillion people are writing about this game. The second part is that anyone who has half a brain and watched Carolina this season knows that they’re the better team in this game.

Let’s be frank about this. The Broncos own an advantage on defense when it comes to the tale of the tape, but the Panthers have a clear advantage when it comes to offense. Carolina was the second best scoring team in the league this year, and have continued to put up huge numbers in the playoffs. Denver, meanwhile, is a shell of what it was two seasons ago.

That’s why a ton of action is standing behind Cam Newton and the Panthers in this one. Are there any reasons to bet on Denver? That’s actually a pretty good place to start.

There’s no better place to start a Super Bowl 50 betting preview than with the betting line. It opened at CAR -3.5, but has since ballooned up by two points and might double by the time we get to kick-off on Sunday. Everyone is taking the Panthers, but a small faction is siding with the point cushion the Broncos are boasting.

Breaking down a Super Bowl 50 betting preview isn’t easy from two standpoints. First off, about a bazillion people are writing about this game. The second part is that anyone who has half a brain and watched Carolina this season knows that they’re the better team in this game.

Let’s be frank about this. The Broncos own an advantage on defense when it comes to the tale of the tape, but the Panthers have a clear advantage when it comes to offense. Carolina was the second best scoring team in the league this year, and have continued to put up huge numbers in the playoffs. Denver, meanwhile, is a shell of what it was two seasons ago.

That’s why a ton of action is standing behind Cam Newton and the Panthers in this one. Are there any reasons to bet on Denver? That’s actually a pretty good place to start.

Cam Newton is waging an impossible war this week, and it’s not even against the Denver Broncos. Instead, he is facing an uphill battle against race relations within the NFL. Most of it is from racist idiots on Twitter, but a lot of it is being perpetuated by the media.

This particular frenzy is popping up at an opportune time. It’s black history month. Some girl I used to have a crush on from Clueless raved about how we don’t need to celebrate such an occasion. So naturally, people are going to gravitate towards the fascination that Cam Newton is a black quarterback (or African American if that’s what he prefers).

The question isn’t about black quarterbacks. It’s more so about running quarterbacks. Well beyond that, it’s about whether or not the old guard of the NFL is ready to accept that a new type of athlete could potentially play the position.

I’m not attempting to strafe from the argument about race. I made a point last week that discussions over “mobile quarterbacks” will often abandon a sense of dignity and begin to reek of racism. But we can attempt to alleviate the conversation if we look at this from an historical perspective.

Cam Newton is waging an impossible war this week, and it’s not even against the Denver Broncos. Instead, he is facing an uphill battle against race relations within the NFL. Most of it is from racist idiots on Twitter, but a lot of it is being perpetuated by the media.

This particular frenzy is popping up at an opportune time. It’s black history month. Some girl I used to have a crush on from Clueless raved about how we don’t need to celebrate such an occasion. So naturally, people are going to gravitate towards the fascination that Cam Newton is a black quarterback (or African American if that’s what he prefers).

The question isn’t about black quarterbacks. It’s more so about running quarterbacks. Well beyond that, it’s about whether or not the old guard of the NFL is ready to accept that a new type of athlete could potentially play the position.

I’m not attempting to strafe from the argument about race. I made a point last week that discussions over “mobile quarterbacks” will often abandon a sense of dignity and begin to reek of racism. But we can attempt to alleviate the conversation if we look at this from an historical perspective.

In the past we’ve done the MGM indicator and extended it into boxing with Mayweather Pacquiao. The MGM indicator turns green when visitor volume there increases. It generally means that people have more money in their pockets to gamble with, and provides a decent proxy for how much people are willing to spend in the rest of the economy. MGM volume is up 2% over the last 9 months, so we’re not in any bust phase yet. While the cue won’t give investors any workable clues as to when and when not to buy MGM specifically, it does seem to work for the rest of the economy.

The last time the MGM indicator went green was in November of 2014. MGM itself hasn’t done much since then in terms of its stock price, and neither has the US stock market in general, but the economy does continue to trudge slowly forward with unemployment continuing to step down. There may be another important proxy indicator in the Super Bowl, and what direction it moves in this year could say a lot about where we are headed in 2016 and 2017.

The LA Times had a telling piece out yesterday plotting regulated Las Vegas betting on Super Bowls since 2003. Here’s the chart:

There are three notable things about the data here. First, we saw a peak in regulated Super Bowl betting in 2006, the same year the housing market topped. Second, after that the numbers dragged down slowly through 2008, and 2009 was the huge drop off, for obvious reasons. Then there was a big boom in 2014 followed by the first drop in regulated Super Bowl betting volume since 2008. The last time that happened we were two and a half years away from a major recession, so the numbers could be quite telling this year.  Considering the size of the boom though from 2013 to 2014, last year’s drop could simply be noise from any number of factors, but if the drop continues it could mean trouble.