Category Archives: Major Sports

Election odds look worse for Trump after Covid, debate results

U.S. President Donald Trump has now publicly had Covid-19 for a full weekend. While information about his actual current status is still unclear, the world waits anxiously to find out if he’ll make a full recovery and give Joe Biden a real competition for the November election. For the sports books brave enough to offer markets on the contest, things are looking increasingly worse for Trump.

Sports books and punters determine their lines and wagers from information, mostly. Unfortunately, the White House has made such a muddle of distributing information regarding Trump that there’s very little data to be confident in.

White House physician Sean Conley has been cagey when providing answers about Trump’s medical status, providing half answers to questions, and later having to clarify what he meant. His overall diagnosis has been positive, and his team has teased that Trump could return to the White House, leaving his current confinement at Walter Reed hospital, as early as Monday.

“I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction,” Dr. Conley says when asked why he was reluctant to answer specific questions about the president’s health yesterday. pic.twitter.com/TbzY1JKplO

Eagles sign multi-year betting partnership with DraftKings

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced a multiyear partnership with DraftKings, who are set to be the team’s betting partner and daily sports fantasy sports partner. The deal with DraftKings will give the betting giant exclusive naming right to the Field Club at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia Eagles Vice President Catherine Carlson was delighted with the new partnership with DraftKings:

“The DraftKings Field Club will offer a true VIP experience and exclusive gameday access featuring an on-field viewing area in the north end zone, hospitality arrangements in the private club space, and additional benefits. The DraftKings Field Club will open its doors to ticketed guests once the in-person sports experience returns to Lincoln Financial Field.

“Our partnership with DraftKings presents many new and exciting opportunities that will help drive the fan experience at Lincoln Financial Field to the next level. DraftKings has established itself as an emerging leader in the sports and entertainment space with an already strong presence in Philadelphia. We look forward to a successful future with DraftKings and showcasing the value of our shared vision in fun and engaging ways for our fans.”

NBA Finals MVP odds: James and Davis lead the way in Game 1

The opening game of the NBA Finals, saw the LA Lakers claim a commanding 116-98 win over the Miami Heat. The size of the win saw the Lakers duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis shoot into favouritism for the NBA Finals MVP award. Both All-Stars were instrumental in the Lakers recovery: LA rallying from a 13-point first-quarter deficit to run away with the win.

Injuries decimated the Miami Heat, who’ll struggle to match the two-headed monster of James and Davis without star Jimmy Butler and veteran Goran Dragic. Butler has been instrumental in the Heat’s push to the finals, with the All-Star struggling with a sprained ankle in the first half of the opening game. Butler was able to recover to finish with 23-points and is expected to take his place in the line-up in game two this weekend in Florida.

Heat veteran Dragic wasn’t as lucky as a foot injury forced him out of the opening game. He was quickly followed by Bam Adebayo who succumbed to a shoulder complaint.

While the Heat floundered, Davis and LeBron were both standouts in Game One. Davis led the way with 34-points and was supported by LeBron with 25-points, 13-boards and 9-assists. The injuries to Miami saw the Lakers duo shoot to the top of the betting line. James is 4/6 odds on favourite to claim the Finals MVP, with Davis trailing on odds of 5/4.

Are Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on a Grand Slam collision course yet again?

As both men play their way through the early rounds of the Men’s Singles at the French Open, both Rafael Nadal (6/4) and Novak Djokovic (7/4) are earning their favourite status.

If the two men meet in the final, who would you rate to win? It looks to be something of a two-horse race already in the betting market for the outright win, with Dominic Thiem close at 4/1 but the next available player being Diego Schwartzman at a massive 40/1. 

The history of the two tennis greats Nadal and Djokovic is a fascinating one and is a rivalry that has swung from being dominated by Nadal to the Serbian having the advantage today. Indeed, Djokovic took Nadal’s world number one ranking when he won the 2020 Australian Open, the last open tournaments with stands full of fans.

Having played each other 55 times, Djokovic has won 29 times to Nadal’s 26 victories, but it wasn’t always that way.

Thursday Night Football finds Denver taming the Jets

Thursday Night Football brought together two NFL teams with goose eggs in their wins column this season. The Denver Broncos and the New York Jets were staring down 0-3 starts heading into their battle, and everyone knew someone would have to continue their losing streak by the time the night was over. What many had thought would be a chance for Jets head coach Adam Gase and his crew to shine and finally turn things around didn’t develop, though, and Jets fans, as well as a large number of sports gamblers, walked away more than a little frustrated. 

The Jets were favored to win last night, partly due to Broncos injuries and a new-ish Broncos quarterback, Brett Rypien. The game got off to a good start to back up that prediction when quarterback Sam Darnold scrambled enough to find an opening and score the first touchdown of the game (and the only TD for the Jets on the night). However, it was all downhill from there, and the Jets’ offense would not see the end zone a single time, and would only see the red zone once. 

The Broncos’ defense took revenge on Darnold starting with the Jets next offensive series, planting his right shoulder in the turf. He was forced to limp off to be examined, but was able to return just a short time later. Joe Flacco stepped in to fill the void, but it didn’t do any good. The Jets only managed the one offensive touchdown, one defensive touchdown after an interception and five field goals. 

The Broncos offense and defense simply proved to be too much for the Jets, surprising since the team was riddled with injuries to many of its starters. Rypien, a third-stringer who had only once made a brief appearance on an NFL field, made his full debut last night, and his underwhelming performance is an indicator of how difficult things were for the Jets – not the Broncos. Rypien threw for 242 yards as he completed 19 of 31 passes, converting two of his aerials into touchdowns. However, he also put up three interceptions – one for a Jets TD. 

Election Odds off the board after Trump Covid test

U.S. Presidential Donald Trump has announced that he and his wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19. The news, which broke early Friday morning, has pundits scrambling to figure out what this means for the upcoming debates and election on November 3, and has forced sports books to pull their lines on the winner of the election.

It started to enter the realm of possibility that Trump could have caught the coronavirus earlier on in the evening, when it was announced that advisor Hope Hicks had tested positive. Then at 12:54 am EDT, Trump announced his own positive test:

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Authentic atop Preakness Stakes betting lines

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

For the first time, the Preakness Stakes will be the final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown as it will be run on Saturday from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore with an 11-horse field. Usually, the Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown and held on the first Saturday of May. Then comes the Preakness two weeks later and the Belmont three weeks after that. The coronavirus completely shuffled the schedule in 2020.

Unfortunately, the 145th running the Preakness Stakes likely will not draw much attention from the casual bettor because it’s smack up against college football. There will be no Triple Crown winner this year, either.

Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes in June and was the heavy favorite to win the Kentucky Derby – in fact, the race’s biggest favorite in 31 years – in early September but finished second to Authentic. Tiz the Law will not run the Preakness and is being pointed next toward the Breeders’ Cup Classic in early November.

Premier League preview – Gameweek #4

The Premier League’s fourth week of fixtures will give teams at the top or bottom of the league the chance to fight for three points for the last time before the forthcoming International break.

With Jose Mourinho bringing his Tottenham team back to his former home of Old Trafford and Pep Guardiola taking his Manchester City team to take on his former mentor Marcelo Bielsa’s side Leeds, there are renewed rivalries up and down the most popular league in world football. Can we find the sportsbetting value? Let’s look at the odds.

Leeds United vs. Manchester City (Saturday, 5.30pm GMT kick-off) 

The protégé takes on the teacher at Elland Road as Marcelo Bielsa’s self-confessed ‘student’ Pep Guardiola takes his porous Manchester City defence to Yorkshire.

UFC President Dana White tables fight offer to Conor McGregor

UFC President Dana White has made an offer for Conor McGregor to return to fight in the UFC. McGregor is set to fight Dustin Poirier in a charity match in Dublin, with proceeds going to both fighter’s charity organisations.

Martial art sparring match in aid of charity. Dublin, December 12th 2020.

Free to air spar. McGregor vs Poirier.

List of chosen charities available soon. All donations welcome pic.twitter.com/cLfFbQ0IJF

Allegiant Stadium in Vegas opens to football fans, but not for the NFL

The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders have already broken in their new home in Sin City, Allegiant Stadium, when they took and – and beat – the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. However, they were forced to play their opening home game in front of an empty stadium, as the COVID-19 debacle still forced a prohibition on large gatherings. That made the inauguration of the new, $1.9-billion facility less than thrilling, but football fans will soon be able to step inside the stadium for games. Unfortunately, they won’t be rooting on the Raiders. 

[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak recently eased up on capacity limitations for public gatherings, moving to erase the 50-person cap. As long as a facility can host at least 2,500 people, they can accept up to 10% their capacity. Smaller facilities can accept up to 50% of their capacity, but have a cap of 250 in place. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) jumped on the opportunity, announcing that it is going to allow fans of its football team to attend upcoming games. 

Allegiant Stadium was designed to hold 65,000 people. Based on the governor’s new policy, this means that up to 6,500 UNLV Rebels fans can grab a seat for the first time at Allegiant. However, they need to be prepared to follow strict social distancing and mask policies, which Nevada has sometimes had difficulty controlling. Before opening the ticket counters, though, UNLV’s plans have to be approved by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, as well as the Southern Nevada Health District. 

NBA Finals Game 1 not the battle that was expected

Last night was the first game of the best-of-seven series to determine who will be the NBA 2020 champions. The LA Lakers and the Miami Heat fought to get to this point, both coming only a couple of games away from elimination in their respective conference title championship series. Before the opening tip-off last night, there was no shortage of speculation surrounding how things would play out, both for the game and the series, and everyone knew a battle was brewing. However, the battle last night ended not being between the Lakers and the Heat – it was between the Heat and injuries. 

The Lakers had been projected to take Game 1; however, there was no shortage of murmuring about the Heat being able to power through and score an underdog win. Several Lakers players, including LeBron James, were listed as dealing with minor injuries that could affect their play. In addition, the LA crew has traditionally used the first game of any playoff series to size up the competition before dropping the hammer. The most notable exception was the rally they had against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference title series.

LeBron’s groin injury didn’t stop him from coming out and leaving everything he had on the court last night. He put up 25 points as the Lakers found their rhythm after getting off to a strong Heat line that took the lead in the first quarter to 23-10. After that, though, Anthony Davis was all over the place, picking up 34 points and three blocks. The potential league MVP doused the Heat’s flames. At one point, the Lakers’ domination was so noticeable that they scored 18 unanswered points. 

Not only did the Lakers overpower the Heat in almost every way, but Miami suffered some major setbacks that will change the outlook for the rest of the series. If basketball fans expected this championship contest to go all the way to six or seven games, those odds just got really long as a result of devastating injuries suffered by Miami. Now at a clear disadvantage, the Heat could potentially be done in just four games. 

UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana Odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The UFC stays at its Fight Island in Abu Dhabi this Saturday for a fairly rare Fight Night card headlined by a women’s bout: Former champion Holly Holm against Irena Aldana in a bantamweight non-title fight. The main card begins at 10:30 p.m. ET.

This fight was to be the main event of an August 1 Fight Night card, but it was postponed when Aldana was forced to withdraw due to a positive test for the coronavirus. That virus is the reason why the UFC constructed Fight Island in the first place because of international travel restrictions to the United States.

The 38-year-old Holm (13-5), a former professional boxer, scored arguably the biggest upset in UFC history way back at UFC 193 against seemingly invincible women’s pound-for-pound queen Ronda Rousey. It was Holm’s UFC debut, and she claimed the bantamweight title with a stunning second-round knockout (head kick and punches).

Head of Paraguayan soccer club permanently booted from the sport

About the only thing left for Marco Antonio Trovato Villalba to do is dream about soccer. The president of Olimpia, a soccer club out of Paraguay, has been given a lifetime ban by FIFA from anything and everything related to the sport after he was found to have tried to rig games in an embarrassing match-fixing scandal. The embattled executive could choose to appeal the decision, but that isn’t likely to find much sympathy. 

FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee met about a week ago and cut in time to discuss Villalba and his antics. According to the committee’s notice, he was ultimately found guilty of “match manipulation and of failing to comply with his duty to collaborate during disciplinary proceedings in violation of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.” While it doesn’t explain how the match-fixing had taken place or which specific games were involved, the committee explains that the games had taken place in 2018 and 2019.

Villalba was determined to have violated two specific articles of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, Article 18, which addresses manipulation of games, and Article 20, covering individuals’ obligations to respond to requests by FIFA regarding investigations into possible wrongdoing. Apparently, Olimpia’s leader decided he didn’t have to help the organization determine what had happened, which only incriminated him more. According to that same code, and its Article 56, Trovato Villalba has ten days to appeal, and that appeal will go before the same FIFA Appeal Committee that delivered his sentence. 

In addition to having been given the boot from soccer, Villalba will also have to break out the wallet. FIFA has slapped him with a fine of 100,000 Swiss Francs, or $108,520. It wasn’t clear if he will be forced to relinquish his seat as the president of Olimpia, which he had won during an election by the team’s shareholders in 2014. He took over for Oscar Carisimo Netto at the time, getting 1297 votes of the roughly 1516 that were cast. 

The NFL just got intercepted by COVID-19

Everything had been running smoothly in the 2020 NFL season. Through the first three weeks, other than a spate of injuries, there had been no problems with COVID-19; only one case had been reported. That all changed yesterday, however, when the coronavirus stepped up its game and took out nine people on a single team. The ramifications are troublesome and now have the league and all franchises scrambling to figure out how best to contain the situation. 

The Tennessee Titans reported yesterday that three of the team’s players and five members of its staff had tested positive for COVID-19. To avoid the possibility that the results were a false alarm, everyone had to go through additional testing, which confirmed that they are definitely infected. DaQuan Jones, Beau Brinkley and Tommy Hudson were placed on the Titans’ Reserve-COVID-19 list as a result. The staff members weren’t named. 

The announcement forced the Minnesota Vikings to jump into action, as well. They had hosted the Titans this past Sunday and, in addition to losing by one point, could have seen COVID-19 jump the lines and infect someone on the squad. However, according to initial tests, no Vikings player has returned a positive result. 

Still, both teams have decided to temporarily close their facilities and halt practices – the Titans don’t anticipate getting back to work until this Saturday. That’s not necessarily a good game plan, though, as going into a Sunday game after four days of no practice is not a smart move. The Titans, which are supposed to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers this coming weekend, would simply be asking to have more players end up on the injured reserve list. 

Cubs Take Down Yankees In Strat-O-Matic’s 2020 Baseball Playoff Simulation

Anthony Rizzo (credit: Arturo Pardavillo III)

It has been more than eight decades since the Cubs and Yankees met in the World Series, but according to the simulation posted today by Strat-O-Matic (www.strat-o-matic.com), the leader in sports simulation games, those two storied franchises will survive three rounds of playoffs and match up for the title next month. Chicago, behind four home runs and 10 RBI by MVP Anthony Rizzo, won it in seven games, a two-run single by unlikely hero Victor Caratini in the eighth inning of the deciding contest providing the winning margin in what would be Chicago’s second crown in five years and fourth in its history.

After edging sixth-seeded Miami in the N.L. Wild Card round, two games to one, No. 3 Chicago won its next series more efficiently, 3-1 over Atlanta and 4-1 over San Diego. The Yankees, the A.L. No 5 seed, had a similar run to the Series, sweeping Cleveland in the Wild Card round, taking Toronto, three games to one, and Minnesota, four games to one.

In the World Series, the Cubs took a three games to one lead before the Yankees earned wins in games five and six to set up the winner-take-all finale. Despite two home runs by Giancarlo Stanton, Caratini’s pinch hit put the Cubs up for good in the 8-5 victory. Rizzo hit .483 and also scored seven runs in the series, which pitted the same franchises who were paired in 1932 and 1938.

“It’s been a season unlike any other in so many ways,” said Hal Richman, Strat-O-Matic President. “And while these may not be the favored teams in either league, anything can happen in a short series, and the Strat-O-Matic simulation, which has annually been a good predictor of the winner, reflect that.”

Each round’s series results are below; fans can see linescores for each contest at www.strat-o-matic.com.

2020 Strat-O-Matic Baseball Playoff Simulation Results:

A.L. Wild Card Round
Toronto 2, Tampa Bay 1
New York 2, Cleveland 0
Minnesota 2, Houston 0
Chicago 2, Oakland 0

N.L. Wild Card
Los Angeles 2, Milwaukee 0
San Diego 2, St. Louis 1
Chicago 2, Miami 1
Atlanta 2, Cincinnati 1

A.L. Division Series
New York 3, Toronto 1
Minnesota 3, Chicago 1

N.L. Division Series
San Diego 3, Los Angeles 2
Chicago 3, Atlanta 1

Championship Series
New York 4, Minnesota 1
Chicago 4, San Diego 1

World Series
Chicago 4, New York 3

NFL odds roundup: Week 4 lines & trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

All NFL teams will reach the quarter point of their regular-season schedule in Week 4, and thankfully there have been no major COVID-19 issues in terms of players sidelined or games postponed – unlike college football, which has a lot of virus-related issues and cancellations.

Teams that are 0-3 can essentially forget about the playoffs as just six clubs to start a season that way since 1980 made the postseason. The last was the 2018 Houston Texans (who are 0-3 again). On the flip side, more than 75 percent of teams over the past 40 years to start 3-0 reached the playoffs.

While Week 3 had a handful of marquee matchups, Week 4 is lacking a bit. Clearly the biggest one is a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs from Arrowhead Stadium in a potential AFC playoff preview. Both teams come off facing tough opponents, with the Patriots beating the Las Vegas Raiders 36-20 and the Chiefs largely dominating 34-20 in Baltimore on Monday night.

Premier League review – gameweek #3 – Man City torn to shreds by Fabulous Foxes

Premier League Review – Gameweek #3 – Man City Torn to Shreds by Fabulous Foxes

The third gameweek of the Premier League season had it all. Shock results, penalty drama after the final whistle and controversy in virtually every game due to the new handball laws. It was one for the books, but what happened at each ground? Let’s digest the results in full.

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-3 Manchester United 

A truly remarkable game took place at the Amex Stadium as the Seagulls were undone after the final whistle. The match kicked off with Brighton taking apart United time and time again, particularly on the counter-attack. With the pace and trickery of players such as Tariq Lamptey and Leandro Trossard, The Seagulls could easily have led by more than the one goal they scored after 40 minutes through Neal Maupay from the penalty spot. 

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have an easy night against the Ravens

Monday Night Football (MNF) for the NFL last night was expected to be a battle of the ages. Two teams with 2-0 records, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, duking it out on the football battlefield to see who was the best. If that was the best the Ravens could muster, they’re in for a long, cold winter. It seems the oddsmakers were completely off-base with this game, but those who selected the underdog had a great day.

Patrick “His name isn’t Pat!” Mahomes was on fire for the Chiefs. The Super Bowl MVP quarterback took control of the contest early on and refused to let go. He was able to move around in the pocket and avoid getting hit while looking for his targets downfield. By the end of the night, Mahomes would go 31 for 41, picking up 385 yards and four touchdowns. He even picked up 26 rushing yards and scored another touchdown on his own while throwing no interceptions and not getting sacked. By the end of the first half, the Chiefs were already up 27-10.

Things would only get worse for the Ravens from there. Head coach John Harbaugh had difficulty countering a Chiefs playbook that brought in dominating plays on both offense and defense, and said of the Chiefs after the game, “They beat us, they out-executed us. They out gameplanned [sic] us. They just beat us. That’s the story tonight. Big picture stuff, all that, I don’t know. They’re better obviously, they’re a better football team at this point in time.”

Before last night, the Ravens had been on a regular-season winning streak that lasted 14 games. The Chiefs made easy work of breaking that trend, while capturing their twelfth win in a row. Mahomes would make sure haters recognized that he’s worth every penny of the $503-million, ten-year extension he signed in the offseason as he placed an exclamation mark on his team’s 27-20 lead. Heading into the final minutes of the fourth quarter, he led a 13-play drive that helped chew up precious time, converting a third-and-five and a third-and-ten to keep the clock running. With just over eight minutes left, he flicked the ball to an unexpected target for the final touchdown of the night, extending the Chiefs’ lead to 34-20. That target was right tackle Eric Fisher, the most unexpected target the Ravens could have imagined. 

The NFL’s Tennessee Titans the latest to hook up with sportsbook

After first laying the groundwork for a legal sports gambling market in the state more than a year ago, Tennessee is almost ready to start the clock. The market is expected to go live on November 1 and would join a growing number of states that have made the leap into the sportsbook pool. The idea of keeping sports and sports gambling separated is no longer an option anywhere, and this is evident by the continuous stream of deals being made between sports organizations and sports gambling and casino operators. The latest, right on the heels of new partnerships between the PointsBet sportsbook and the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the Tennessee Titans are in the game, having secured an agreement with BetMGM.

Tennessee only just approved licenses for sportsbooks a few days ago, and the ink is still wet on the contracts. DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM are all set to go in the Volunteer State, warming up and exercising ahead of the opening whistle in just over a month. The Titans announced the new partnership with BetMGM yesterday and, with that, the team is the first professional sports team in the state to connect with a sports gambling operator. Asserts the NFL team’s senior VP and chief marketing officer, Gil Beverly, “We are thrilled to bring BetMGM to the state of Tennessee. BetMGM will deliver new experiences and levels of engagement to our fans and we’re excited to welcome them in as an official partner.”

BetMGM will now be featured on the digital platforms controlled by the Titans and will also see its name run alongside field goal attempts, video board replays and more during live games. The sportsbook, controlled through a partnership between MGM Resorts International and GVC Holdings, is also going to hold an upcoming raffle to raise money for the Titans Foundation, and will be the exclusive naming rights partner of the Titans’ Saint Thomas Sports Park television studio. In addition, it will also appear in connection with Titans All Access and the Coach Mike Vrabel Show. 

As opposed to most states, Tennessee is going the virtual route with its sports gambling. It will offer an online-only market, which should appeal to most people, anyway. In terms of revenue, online sports gambling has been winning the race against retail hands-down, and is inarguably the future of most sports betting everywhere. 

NBA Finals 2020 Preview: Lakers vs. Heat

The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Miami Heat for the 2020 title in Florida. The Heat confirmed their place in the finale with a gritty 125-113 win over the Celtics in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s been a six-year drought for Miami, who last visited the NBA Finals in 2013.

The #NBAFinals presented by YouTube TV are set!@MiamiHEAT/@Lakers Game 1 tips Wednesday night at 9:00pm/et on ABC. pic.twitter.com/HV0RZak6ZZ

— NBA (@NBA) September 28, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

LeBron James lines up for the Lakers, who have gone 12-3 in the post-season and claimed their place in the NBA finals with a 117-107 win in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. In the process James rewrote the record books; since 2000,, 17 of the last 21 NBA Finals have featured the Lakers or James.