Tag Archives: sportsbiz

UFC 256 odds: Figueiredo heavy favorite vs. Moreno

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The UFC usually stages a mega-card on the final Saturday of the year, but 2020 has changed plenty within the organization so the final big event instead is this Saturday from its Apex facility in Las Vegas with a flyweight title fight between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and top contender Brandon Moreno headlining UFC 256. The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view.

The UFC ranks Figueiredo as the No. 11 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, ahead of such big names as Conor McGregor, Robert Whittaker and Tony Ferguson. “Daico” is a 27-year-old Brazilian who is 20-1 as a professional.

If Figueiredo defending his flyweight belt in a major UFC event sounds familiar, that’s because he just beat fill-in Alex Perez – former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt had to pull out – on November 21 by first-round submission (guillotine choke). Perez was looking to become the first “Contender Series” alum to win a title in the UFC but was overmatched.

The Secret Coach: The Christmas football match

Christmas is one of football fans favourite times of the year. With what feels like wall-to-wall fixtures in the English Premier League, Boxing Day football on the television is a staple in most households. But what is the festive period really like for the players, coaches and staff who make it happen?

 To find out, we spoke to The Secret Coach. TSC is a professional football coach in English football… who will remain anonymous. The Secret Coach has worked with some of the biggest names in the game, been through the coaching badges and is currently part of the coaching team at an English league side… and that’s all we’re telling you. As ever, this week, The Secret Coach pulls no punches! 

“If Christmas goes well, it’s great mentally and you forget the physical impact, but if not it’s a difficult start to the New Year.” 

This week, we’re looking at the festive fixture pile-up, and we started by asking TSC about what a coach’s first concern is about their players at Christmas time. 

College Football Odds: Week 15 Lines & Trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It’s the final full weekend of the 2020 college football regular season, although some teams finished up in Week 14, while several others will try to play makeup games in Week 16 – which is when all the major conference title games will be played.

There’s an interesting scenario when No. 7 Cincinnati visits No. 24 Tulsa on Saturday as those two will turn right around and play one another in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game next weekend. Saturday’s winner will determine on which campus that is played. This matchup has been pushed back twice, from October 17 and then December 4 due to COVID-19 issues. The Bearcats haven’t played since November 21 due to cancellations. They are -12.5 favorites and have won 27 straight games when favored.

Arguably the best rivalry in the sport is renewed when Michigan visits No. 4 Ohio State – we hope. Both teams have had COVID-19 issues of late. The Buckeyes were able to play last Saturday and win easily at Michigan State but were without Coach Ryan Day. However, OSU has had two games called off and per Big Ten rules (barring a change), a third would mean the Buckeyes would be ineligible to play in the conference title game even though they clearly are the best team.

Champions League sportsbetting preview

There is a special tension and excitement to the last group stage game in the UEFA Champions League. To some, of course, the game is a dead rubber; there is little on all of the fixtures faced by three of England’s top clubs, as Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have already qualified for the knockout stage.  

The same cannot be said for Manchester United. With a tricky trip to Germany to face RB Leipzig, The Red Devils need to avoid defeat to make it to the promised land and look forward to Champions League rather than Europa League fixtures in the New Year.  

Elsewhere, there is the lip-smacking prospect of potentially the last-ever competitive club meeting between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, objectively viewed by many as two of the greatest football players of all-time.  

RB Leipzig vs. Manchester United  

Logan Paul to fight Floyd Mayweather in exhibition

Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather is set for a shock return to the ring with an exhibition bout against YouTube star Logan Paul. The retired boxing star confirmed on his Instagram that he is set to take on Paul in a “super exhibition” bout on February 20, 2020.

Mayweather hasn’t fought since defeating Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in an exhibition bout in Japan on New Year’s Eve 2018. Mayweather is one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of his generation. His 50-0 record is unmatched in the sport, with his resume including wins over Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez and UFC star Conor McGregor.

it’s official @FloydMayweatherhttps://t.co/fFRRaYoUCs pic.twitter.com/0kZhKrQAno

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) December 6, 2020

Who Will Win the Europa League?

The Europa League has reached the crucial stage of the group phase, with clubs such as the English Premier League of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City  

North London Favourites

Of the two North London based favourites, who is the team to pick? It’s Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur who are the current betting favourites at 6/1, while Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are a best price 7/1 at the time of going to press.

 

Seahawks take down the Eagles as DK Metcalf has best game ever

There were several takeaways from the Monday Night Football (MNF) game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles last night, but one will stand out among the rest for the next several seasons. Don’t make DK Metcalf angry – you won’t like him when he’s angry. The Seahawks wide receiver had the best night of his career last night and was a definite factor in his team’s win over the Eagles. His personal best performance came off of a single comment he received before the game, which apparently was enough to get him fired up.

Metcalf, in his second year in the NFL, recorded ten passes for 177 yards, beating his previous 160-yard game last January. That was an NFL rookie record, and everyone’s eyes are now clearly focused on the 6’4” big man. Prior to the game, he reportedly had a little pow-wow with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz that didn’t please Metcalf, prompting his outstanding performance. The receiver explained after the game, “[Schwartz] came up to me and made me mad that he was like, ‘I was in Detroit with Megatron [receiver Calvin Johnson], but you aren’t there yet.’ In my mind, I am not trying to be Megatron. I am trying to be me. I had a little chip on my shoulder the whole game.”

Partly because of that chip, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson ended the night with 230 yards in the air, connecting with, in addition to Metcalf, Tyler Locket, Chris Carson, Jaco Hollister and Carlos Hyde for positive yardage. On the ground, Carson and Hyde helped push the chains down the field, with Carson adding a touchdown to his credits. Wilson is now 29-8-1 in primetime games and 10-2 on MNF. According to ESPN, that’s the best record for any starting QB with at least 20 starts since 1950.

The Seahawks defense was on fire, as well. It took out the Eagles series after series, sacked QB Carson Wentz six times and wouldn’t allow Philly to put more than nine points on the board until the team finally went for, and completed, a Hail Mary to add another score. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Eagles fell 23-17. With that, the Seahawks are in great shape in the NFC West, taking a one-game lead over the LA Rams, who just lost to the then-4-6 San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday. The NFC postseason race is heating up as Week 13 begins, and the playoff picture is going to prove to be hot.

Gonzaga sits atop 2021 NCAA tournament odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Because the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of slowing in the United States anytime soon, the NCAA announced recently that the entire 2021 NCAA Tournament will be held in one location – from the First Four through the Final Four. That site is expected to be the greater Indianapolis area as that city was set to host the Final Four in early April as it was, and it’s a very centralized location in the country.

A final decision should be made fairly soon and means that 13 sites across the country will no longer host a preliminary round of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA has to ensure the 2021 Big Dance goes off because the organization (and schools) lost hundreds of millions of dollars last year when it was canceled. The NCAA makes most of its money off the Big Dance as it has no part of the College Football Playoff.

So which team will be cutting down the nets on the night of Monday, April 5 (again, assuming the date and location stay the same)? Oddsmakers favor Gonzaga (+650), which is the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25. This could easily be the best team Coach Mark Few has had in Spokane and he landed the school’s highest-ever ranked recruit in freshman Jalen Suggs.

Mickelson looks for revenge against Peyton Manning in golf’s The Match

This past May, pro golfer Phil Mickelson took on former pro football player, and two-time Super Bowl winner, Payton Manning in a charity golf tournament. For that event, Mickelson partnered up with another NFL great, six-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, while Manning connected with Tiger Woods. The competition, The Match: Champions for Charity, ultimately found Manning and Woods emerging victorious, but Mickelson now has a chance to exact a little revenge. He’s going to face off in yet another The Match: Champions for Charity event coming up today; however, oddsmakers aren’t convinced he can get the victory. 

This next installment, which gets underway at 2 PM Eastern Time, finds Mickelson partnering with NBA legend and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and opposite them will be Manning and another NBA superstar, Steph Curry. The competition is described as a method of “[highlighting] diversity, equality, and inclusion through donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) while raising awareness and spotlighting opportunities for diversity and equality in sports.” 

Manning and Curry are getting odds of -175, while Mickelson and Barkley are facing +138 odds. Apparently, bookmakers don’t believe the format of the contest favors the underdogs, with players first teeing off before deciding which ball to play. From there, the team takes alternating shots until getting the ball in the cup. In addition, even though he has spent a lot of time on the links, Barkley is a self-proclaimed amateur aficionado, having once stated, “I don’t like talking about golf. Golf is not my favorite. The only thing good about golf is drinking and smoking.”

However, Manning, who has a 4.8 handicap, and Curry are both almost as good at golf as they are the sports that made them household names. Besides Manning’s win earlier this year, Curry shoots with a 2.1 handicap and regularly plays at the California Golf Club of San Francisco. According to the United States Golf Association, Barkley doesn’t record a handicap.

BetMGM teams up with Pittsburgh Steelers

As sports partnerships go, it’s a touchdown, a slam dunk and a top corner piledriver all in one. BetMGM, the market leading sports betting and digital gaming entertainment company, have partnered with the runaway leaders of the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Having come together from GVC Holdings, the company associated with partypoker and World Poker Tour among others in a stellar business history, and MGM Resorts, BetMGM is the one-stop shop for land-based and online sports betting, as well as tournament poker and online gaming.

Partnering up with the Steelers is a good move, for both parties in the deal. The Pittsburgh Steelers are flying high in the AFC North, with ten wins from ten games so far in the regular season. Though incredibly successful this season, the Steelers have a rich history in the game. As the fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers have won six Super Bowl titles, tied for the most in the NFL, and have appeared in eight finals overall. With an incredible 31 former players, coaches or contributors inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ryan Huzjak, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, can’t wait for the partnership to begin. 

“We are excited to introduce BetMGM to Steelers Nation,” he said. “Not only will BetMGM be elevating some of our existing platforms, but they will be introducing new and exciting opportunities to Steelers fans. We are looking forward to kicking off this partnership.” 

Diego Maradona dies aged 60

To some, he was the enemy, a thorn in their side. To those he played for, he was God. Diego Armando Maradona, who won the World Cup in 1986 almost single-handedly, as well as transforming the fortunes of Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona, has died aged 60 of a suspected heart attack.

 

Born into Argentinian slums, Diego Maradona was the 5th of eight children. To him, football wasn’t just a way of life – it was his way of escaping it. The sport became an obsession to him, the reason for him being on the planet, and aged 15, he made his professional debut. He would go on to transform the country of his birth purely by way of the football he played in Argentina, but his outrageous skills would soon make it to Europe, too.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmyssDtOiLMVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Diego Maradona Top 50 Amazing Skill Moves Ever | Is this guy the best in history? D10S (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmyssDtOiLM)

NFL odds roundup: Week 12 lines & trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

There are fewer games than normal on Sunday in Week 12 because of the three Thanksgiving Day matchups around the NFL, although the league helped boost the Sunday slate by wiping out byes this week.

Let’s say the NFL ceased to exist in 15 years or so. At that point, it’s easy to see a scenario where historians say the two best quarterbacks ever were Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. They have met three times as professionals, with Brady holding a 2-1 edge including playoffs – all while he was with the New England Patriots.

By far the marquee matchup this Sunday is Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs at Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. It could easily be a preview of Super Bowl 55, which also will be held in Tampa. Or, it could be the final time they ever face off because the Chiefs and Bucs won’t be scheduled to play for another four years in the regular season, and we presume the 43-year-old Brady will have retired by then. Kansas City is a 3.5-point favorite and is a stellar 15-4 ATS in its past 19 games.

Election Success

The overwhelming gaming win in the November elections spread sports betting to three more states while three other states expanded gaming that included more casinos and looser regulations. Sports betting was legalized in Louisiana, Maryland and South Dakota and expanded casino gaming in Colorado, Nebraska and Virginia. Most parishes in Louisiana approved sports betting, Maryland… Read more »

The post Election Success appeared first on GGB Magazine.

Back in Action

When casinos were closed for months, slot machines were also shut down, obviously. And when the casinos started to reopen, there were concessions to social distancing and most casinos turned off every other slot machine. While this is certainly not the business model casinos use when setting up their casino floors, no one expected slot… Read more »

The post Back in Action appeared first on GGB Magazine.