My favorite part about the college football playoffs is that it gives me a legitimate excuse to get my New Year’s Even drinking started at lunch time. Well, I didn’t really need an excuse but it makes me fell less like an alcoholic. The two games taking place on December 31st are absolutely epic and will cap off a tremendous year of sports betting. Here’s where I’m leaning. Good luck and enjoy.
CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL
#1 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE -14.5 over #4 WASHINGTON HUSKIES
(UNDER 54.5)
Listen, I don’t know what the hell is going on. We’re looking at an AFC Wild Card playoff round that’s going to star Matt McGloin, Tom Savage and Matt Moore. What is happening here?!
Just so everyone knows, all the games are on New Years Day with the night game being flexed to a divisional title matchup between Green Bay and Detroit. Week 17 usually doesn’t ever mean much, and I’m not sure if this one will either. I’m in the same boat as most of you are – I just wan to get to championship weekend, enjoy the Super Bowl and then pretend that this season never happened.
1. New England Patriots (13-2 SU and 12-3 ATS)
Everyone in New England is making a big push for Tom Brady as the MVP of the league, but you’re going to be hard pressed to get Roger Goodell to sign off on that. Oh you don’t think he would flex his muscle to block that award? Get real.
The Dallas Cowboys‘ recent slump against the spread and the Detroit Lions’ resiliency makes their meeting more intriguing than the typical betting matchup with a touchdown favorite. The Cowboys are seven-point favorites against the Lions with a 44-point total for Monday night.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The Cowboys are on a 6-0 straight-up streak at home, but they are only 3-10-1 ATS in their last 14 home games against teams with winning records. Conversely, the Lions are 5-2 SU and ATS in their last seven games against teams with winning records.
Dallas has also failed to cover the posted spread in four consecutive games.
The Kansas City Chiefs drag a couple of negative trends into their meeting with the desperate Denver Broncos on Christmas night. The Chiefs are listed as 3.5-point favorites against the Broncos with a 37.5-point total in the Sunday Night Football matchup.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Kansas City is 10-2 straight-up but 4-8 against the spread over its last 12 home games. The Broncos are 6-1 ATS in their last seven visits to Kansas City.
Defending Super Bowl champion Denver, at 8-6 SU and ATS, is at risk of missing the playoffs. An offensive line which has allowed 40 sacks – and faces pass rushers such as DE Chris Jones and OLB Dee Ford on Sunday – and a 27th-ranked run game have held back the progress of first-year starting QB Trevor Siemian. The Broncos have 11 lost fumbles this season and Kansas City is +13 in takeaways, so that could work against Denver as well.
The Kansas City Chiefs drag a couple of negative trends into their meeting with the desperate Denver Broncos on Christmas night. The Chiefs are listed as 3.5-point favorites against the Broncos with a 37.5-point total in the Sunday Night Football matchup.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Kansas City is 10-2 straight-up but 4-8 against the spread over its last 12 home games. The Broncos are 6-1 ATS in their last seven visits to Kansas City.
Defending Super Bowl champion Denver, at 8-6 SU and ATS, is at risk of missing the playoffs. An offensive line which has allowed 40 sacks – and faces pass rushers such as DE Chris Jones and OLB Dee Ford on Sunday – and a 27th-ranked run game have held back the progress of first-year starting QB Trevor Siemian. The Broncos have 11 lost fumbles this season and Kansas City is +13 in takeaways, so that could work against Denver as well.
For only the third time in the Eli Manning era, the New York Giants are favored on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The Giants are listed as three-point favorites against the Eagles with a 41.5-point total in the Thursday Night Football matchup. The Giants are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite of three points or fewer, but the Eagles are also in a rut in divisional games – 0-4 SU and ATS in their last four games against NFC East teams.
The Giants, who are 10-4 SU and 7-5-2 ATS, will face some challenges when they have the ball on Thursday. New York’s offensive line often struggles to open running lanes, and while they have allowed just 21 sacks much of that stems from Manning’s quick release. The Eagles also have some marauding defenders such as DT Fletcher Cox, DE Brandon Graham and DE Vince Curry who can bring pressure from many angles.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has averaged 74.8 yards in five career games against Philadelphia. If Manning’s protection is strong, the Giants should be able to take advantage of the Eagles’ pass coverage. Philadelphia lacks depth at cornerback and allows 7.7 yards per pass, seventh-worst in the league.
For only the third time in the Eli Manning era, the New York Giants are favored on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The Giants are listed as three-point favorites against the Eagles with a 41.5-point total in the Thursday Night Football matchup. The Giants are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite of three points or fewer, but the Eagles are also in a rut in divisional games – 0-4 SU and ATS in their last four games against NFC East teams.
The Giants, who are 10-4 SU and 7-5-2 ATS, will face some challenges when they have the ball on Thursday. New York’s offensive line often struggles to open running lanes, and while they have allowed just 21 sacks much of that stems from Manning’s quick release. The Eagles also have some marauding defenders such as DT Fletcher Cox, DE Brandon Graham and DE Vince Curry who can bring pressure from many angles.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has averaged 74.8 yards in five career games against Philadelphia. If Manning’s protection is strong, the Giants should be able to take advantage of the Eagles’ pass coverage. Philadelphia lacks depth at cornerback and allows 7.7 yards per pass, seventh-worst in the league.
For only the third time in the Eli Manning era, the New York Giants are favored on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The Giants are listed as three-point favorites against the Eagles with a 41.5-point total in the Thursday Night Football matchup. The Giants are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite of three points or fewer, but the Eagles are also in a rut in divisional games – 0-4 SU and ATS in their last four games against NFC East teams.
The Giants, who are 10-4 SU and 7-5-2 ATS, will face some challenges when they have the ball on Thursday. New York’s offensive line often struggles to open running lanes, and while they have allowed just 21 sacks much of that stems from Manning’s quick release. The Eagles also have some marauding defenders such as DT Fletcher Cox, DE Brandon Graham and DE Vince Curry who can bring pressure from many angles.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has averaged 74.8 yards in five career games against Philadelphia. If Manning’s protection is strong, the Giants should be able to take advantage of the Eagles’ pass coverage. Philadelphia lacks depth at cornerback and allows 7.7 yards per pass, seventh-worst in the league.
Another week of total, non-stop mayhem and we are nowhere closer to figuring out who the real top teams in the league. Seattle, Dallas and New England are the only teams that have clinched their division and there’s just two more weeks to go. This is absolutely awesome. The best part? Games on Christmas Day! All other games are on Christmas Eve Day (December 24th) starting at 1pm EST and 4pm EST.
1. New England Patriots (12-2 SU and 11-3 ATS)
If Brady wins a fifth Super Bowl with this otherwise no-name team, then the conversation about him being the GOAT is simply over (if it isn’t already). And yes they deserve to be favored by every measure.
Next Game: NYJ at New England -16.5
Another week of total, non-stop mayhem and we are nowhere closer to figuring out who the real top teams in the league. Seattle, Dallas and New England are the only teams that have clinched their division and there’s just two more weeks to go. This is absolutely awesome. The best part? Games on Christmas Day! All other games are on Christmas Eve Day (December 24th) starting at 1pm EST and 4pm EST.
1. New England Patriots (12-2 SU and 11-3 ATS)
If Brady wins a fifth Super Bowl with this otherwise no-name team, then the conversation about him being the GOAT is simply over (if it isn’t already). And yes they deserve to be favored by every measure.
Next Game: NYJ at New England -16.5
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I’ll be attacking the College Football Playoffs with gusto starting next week, but for now we need a way to earn some coin prior to those matchups. So all the big time college bowl game betting picks are here including the Orange Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Outback Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Outback Bowl. A few others caught my attention for sheer value proposition alone, including the first one I’m going to go heavy on so I can start with a big bankroll as I enjoy the holidays like every gambler should be – with college football.
ARMED FORCES BOWL (Friday, December 23rd at 4:30pm EST)
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs -5.0 over Navy Midshipmen
As we saw in their shocking loss to Army, Navy is not the same without quarterback Will Worth who was the team’s best player by a mile. Louisiana Tech probably flew under your radar but are an outstanding college bowl betting pick because their offence can bury teams in a heartbeat. The Bulldogs averaged a blistering 44.0 points while amassing the 8th most yards in the country with 516.3 per game. Navy won’t be able to option their way to safe shores in this one.
Week 17 of the English Premier League sees Chelsea take a seven-point lead over Man City; Arsenal stumble to their second successive defeat, and Hull sinks to the foot of the table.
With Chelsea’s main rivals competing on Sunday & Monday, Antonio Conte’s men piled on the pressure with their 11th consecutive win. Their 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace was their fourth by a single goal in the past 11 matches. They have kept nine clean sheets and only conceded two goals.
You can sense the belief growing in the squad as they add another scalp to their collection. And with Diego Costa back to his best they have a striker who can ensure it’s your ribbons tied onto the silverware. The fiery Spaniard rose higher than anyone else to head home the only goal of the game just before half time. The only grey cloud was his fifth booking of the season ruling him out of Chelsea’s next tie against Bournemouth. Costa is the Premier League top marksman with 13 goals.
It’s not the first time Chelsea has gone on such a run. In 2009, they also won 11 games on the spin, before going on to win the title.
Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins need to continue their history of not faltering against sub-.500 teams in order to preserve their playoff hopes. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Washington is listed as a six-point favorite against the visiting Carolina Panthers with a 51-point total in the Monday Night Football matchup. Washington is 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games against teams with losing records while Carolina is 0-6 straight-up in their last six road games against teams with winning records.
Carolina, which is 5-8 SU and 4-7-2 ATS, is just playing out the string, so how focused Cam Newton and Co. will be is hard to predict. Newton has been resting his arm in practice after having an MRI on his right shoulder, but it’s doubtful he would not play. On paper, there is potential for the Panthers offense to be productive. Newton’s favorite receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, will likely occupy the attention of shutdown CB Josh Norman, but teams can pick on CB Bashaud Breeland and CB Kendall Fuller.
The Redskins allow 4.5 yards per rush (28th in the NFL), so Carolina should be able to create some lanes for veteran Jonathan Stewart. That said, the Panthers are 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine road games.
History suggests Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys could break a three-game skid against the spread when they face a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team which is on a five-game winning streak. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The Cowboys are listed as the seven-point favorite against the Buccaneers with a 47-point total in the Sunday Night Football matchup. Dallas is 6-0 straight-up and 5-1 against the spread in their last six games as a favorite of 6.5 points or more, as well as 18-6 SU in their last 24 home games after consecutive road games.
The Buccaneers, whose five-game roll includes wins against the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, are 8-5 SU and 8-5 ATS. Quarterback Jameis Winston and WR Mike Evans help furnish Tampa Bay with a much better passing game than that of the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, whom Dallas held to a combined 25 points in its last two games. This is a major test for Winston, though, but for most of the season he’s been able to prop up a one-dimensional offense.
The disparity between the Bucs’ passing and running games could be even more pronounced this week. Led by OLB Sean Lee, the Cowboys have a fierce run defense. They can have lapses in pass coverage and might struggle to stop underrated TE Cameron Brate.
Week 16 of the English Premier League ensures that Chelsea will sit on top of the Premier League this Christmas after their 10th win on the spin; Arsenal loses for the first time since the opening day, and much more.
If history is anything to go by then my prediction of Chelsea winning the Premier League looks likely to come true.
The Blues 1-0 win over a stubborn Sunderland at the Stadium of Light means they will dive underneath the Christmas Tree safe in the knowledge that they lead the Premier League table. And six of the past seven teams to hold that honour has gone on to win the title.
Consistency has been the key for Chelsea in recent games. Antonio Conte has not tinkered with his side in eight of the previous nine games. But the Italian’s hand was forced in this one after Eden Hazard missed the match with an injury. Willian came in, and you hardly missed the diminutive Belgian.
Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks are facing their largest point spread in three seasons as they take on the beleaguered Los Angeles Rams. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
With the Rams installing Jim Fassel as interim coach after finally axing Jeff Fisher, the Seahawks are now listed as a 16-point favorite against Los Angeles with 39-point total in the Thursday Night Football matchup.
Since the start of Wilson’s career, the Seahawks are 17-1 straight-up and 10-7-1 against the spread when favored by at least 10 points.
Los Angeles, which is 4-9 SU and 4-8-1 ATS, has been a 16-point underdog only twice in the last 20 seasons. For what it is worth, the Rams did not cover either time. The Rams are dead last in points and yards per game and have had difficulty springing RB Todd Gurley into the open field. Seattle MLB Bobby Wagner is also one of the best run defenders in the league, so another long night for Gurley apparently beckons.
The Celtic eSports League comprises of some of the best FIFA players in the UK representing eight professional clubs from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and Lee Davy sits down with the founder Geoff Wilson to get the lowdown.
Cristiano Ronaldo recently won the Ballon d’Or for the fourth time. The kids look up to him. They want to be him.
But for how long?
Technology is advancing at a rate of knots never before witnessed in our short tenure in this universe. How long will it be before the thought of sliding around in the mud on a wet Sunday morning in Cardiff will seem as ridiculous as watching movies using an old Betamax?
Real Madrid and Portugal’s man main, Cristiano Ronaldo, won the Ballon d’Or golden boot for the fourth time after scoring 48 goals in 52 games and winning Champions League and European Championships honours.
Back in the 90s, we all wanted to be Diego Maradona when the jumpers came off. These days all the kids want to be Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Football fans are living in an unbelievable age. While I believe the games are getting tougher due to the advancements in tactics and the financial pressure that comes with turning your football club into a business, we get to watch two of the greatest players in the history of the game battle it out for supremacy. They are football’s version of Batman versus Superman.
And as the pair once again topped the betting order for the 2016 Ballon d’Or we were all waiting in anticipation to see which superhero was going to be triumphant.
A Japanese court has sentenced former yakuza member Yoshimasa Sakai to prison in connection with charges of taking bets on baseball games that involve ex-players of the Yomiuri Giants, Kyodo reported.
According to the news outlet, Tokyo District Court Judge Yuko Ito ordered the 37-year-old to spend 18 months in prison, suspended for three years.
Sakai, an ex-member of Japanese crime syndicate Yamaguchi-gumi, was found guilty of collecting some ¥1.27 million ($11,093) in bets on baseball games. According to the court ruling, the man took commissions from bets placed on 22 professional and high school baseball games between March and October 2014.
“His criminal offense was chronic and the amount of money was not small,” Ito said in the ruling. However, the judge noted that Sakai is already “remaking his life” after reflecting on his actions and breaking from the syndicate.