Tag Archives: sportsbiz

The NFL Sunday that almost wasn’t

Reports last week that several players and staff members tied to the Tennessee Titans threatened to upend the NFL’s Week 4 schedule. When it was later reported that New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and New Orleans Saints running back Michael Burton had also tested positive, things went from bad to worse. Fortunately for the Saints and Burton, the test was a false-positive, but not so for Newton. The result was an altered playbook for Week 4 that forces two games, not just one, to be played today. For the rest of the Sunday schedule, things moved forward as expected, but not necessarily as planned. 

The San Francisco 49ers were the clear favorite heading into their game against the Philadelphia Eagles, despite having much of the first-string line banged up. They were getting -334 before the game, but the Eagles decided to give their fans a huge win and upset the odds. QB Carson Wentz was held to just 193 yards; however, he still managed to pick up two touchdowns on the way to a 25-20 win. The Eagles are now in first place in the NFC East after yesterday’s upset.

The Denver Broncos brought in an up-and-coming QB to start the game against the New York Jets and Denver hopes he improves as the season progresses. Brett Rypien threw three interceptions in the game, but the Broncos still managed to take the win, 37-28. The Jets were sloppy, but so were the Broncos. It turned into a game of who could be more undisciplined, and the Jets won in that category. They racked up 11 penalties, of which six were personal fouls. 

Joe Burrow may have finally found his rhythm. Coming into the NFL as the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, he headed to the Cincinnati Bengals and was expected to shine. Things got off to a sluggish start, but he turned it all around yesterday in a key game. Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Burrow logged over 300 yards, making three in a row the times he has now pulled that off. He’s the first rookie QB to do so, and he and running back Joe Mixon hooked up several times to pull off the 33-25 win. Mixon ended the day with an impressive 151 yards on the ground, 30 in the air and three touchdowns. 

Heat vs. Lakers, and the race is on

If the outcome of any sports competition were truly known, watching the action would have less meaning. The LA Lakers advanced to 2-0 against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals best-of-seven series and, for most, they were on their way to a possible sweep. Game 3 last night wasn’t expected to give any surprises, especially since the Heat’s front five are pretty banged up, but this is what competition is all about. The Heat destroyed the Lakers and are still in a position to take the series, as long as they keep doing what they did last night. 

There’s no arguing that Heat forward Jimmy Butler played a crucial role in the Heat’s 115-104 whooping of the Lakers. He picked up 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds after having found his momentum heading into the game. It’s only the third time in the history of the NBA that any player has logged a 40-point triple-double in a Finals game, and one of the other two were both by Lakers players. One of those records is held by LeBron James, who found difficulty last night. In addition to his triple-double, Butler also outscored and out-assisted LeBron – the first time King James has been outperformed in a Finals game. 

The Heat came out early and grabbed control of the game, refusing to let go. They held James to 25 points, while Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma each picked up 19. The lead scorer for LA in Game 2, Anthony Davis, was nowhere to be seen. After getting to the basket for 31 points in the last game, the Heat knew they needed to stop him, and he was only able to put 15 points on the board.

Davis recognizes that the Lakers didn’t live up to the hype the team has earned last night. He said after the game, “We were getting confused on a lot of things. They had wide-open looks that they missed early and made late from three. We let Jimmy [Butler] get into a strong hand too many times, getting to the basket, getting and-ones or getting to the free-throw line. We were letting guys get to the rim easily with no contact. Our low-man help wasn’t there tonight.”

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

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.

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. 

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).

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. 

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.

Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo is set to find a new home in the NBA

Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat have emerged as the front runners to land Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo. The Pacers guard is entering free agency and has no plans to re-sign with Indiana for the long term.

Oladipo struggled to replicate the form that saw him selected the for the All-Stars in 2017-2018. The Pacers guard suffered a ruptured quad injury this season but showed flashes of form.

He averaged 14.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game in the 19 regular-season games he played. In the four playoff games the Pacers played against the Heat, Oladipo averaged 17.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

Miami have plenty of cap space available and with 34-year-old Goran Dragic not getting any younger he could form a big-three with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Dragic is heading into free agency meaning that Oladipo could slot straight into the starting five.

NBA Finals odds: LeBron, Lakers big favorites

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

LeBron James led the Miami Heat to four NBA Finals in a row from 2011-14 and won two titles. Some believe James left after that 2013-14 season because he was never going to “run” the franchise with Pat Riley around. Now LeBron tries to beat his former team as the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat open the 2020 NBA Finals on Wednesday from the Orlando bubble. The Lakers are 5-point favorites for the game and -350 favorites to win the series. Miami is +275.

The Heat were the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and underdogs in both the conference semifinals against top-seeded Milwaukee and in the East Finals against No. 3 Boston. Miami knocked out the Bucks in five and then eliminated Boston in Game 6 on Sunday. The Heat are now the only NBA franchise with six NBA Finals appearances in the last 15 years. They are 7-3 ATS in their past 10 games as underdogs.

Rookie Tyler Herro has been one of the breakout stars of these playoffs. Herro looks like he’s about 15 years old but is a spectacular shooter. Third-year player Bam Adebayo, who like Herro went to Kentucky, also has been great in these playoffs. He has seven 20-point double-doubles this postseason, tying the second-most for a single postseason in Heat history.

Overtaking the Enemy: The Battle Between England’s Two Most Successful Clubs

The biggest mission in many sports is to overtake your main rival. In Formula One this aim might be literal, making the car faster and better to handle than the one you want to finish ahead of. In rugby, it might be to make your pack stronger and fitter than the current champions. In football, the demands of style and success are often focused on the actions of others.

They tell us different, football players and managers. They profess that they are concentrating on playing their ‘own game’, or ‘focusing on ourselves’. They say these things after studying videos of their opponents all week.

One of the most interesting battles to take the title in the world of football is the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. The Red Devils have won a record 20 top-flight titles, but Liverpool’s incredible success in the extended 2019/20 season earned them a famous victory, their first in 30 years, to bring up their 19th.

How can United bridge the gap between the two sides – which last year stood at 33 points – to limit the chances of their North West rivals of making it to 21 titles before they do? 

Presidential election odds: Who wins if vote is contested?

Just as we thought we were entering the home stretch of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, some wild comments from President Donald Trump threaten to flip everything we thought we knew about the election. With the first debate set to take place on September 29, we have up to date odds from Bodog, a contest from Fan Duel, and some insight on what will happen if the vote gets thrown out.

Let’s start with the big question: What happens if Trump tries to throw out the election result? Although practically unthinkable from a certain principled perspective, don’t act like this hasn’t happened before. The Supreme Court gave George W. Bush the presidency in 2000 before all ballots in Florida had been counted, creating precedence for presidential election shenanigans.

Trump’s administration, seeing that they are losing in important polls, have started to ask important states to consider ignoring their popular vote totals, citing a lack of confidence in mail-in ballots. They couldn’t possibly get away with it, right? Well, much like in 2000, such a move would likely end up in the courts, and Donald Trump is likely to get a new right leaning Supreme Court Justice.

Five votes could matter more than anything else to decide the next president. There are currently three left leaning judges on the court (Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan). Chief Justice John Roberts has been the deciding vote in most controversial decisions of late, and could side with the more liberal side of the court. After that, Joe Biden has to pray that someone like Neil Gorsuch likes him, and democracy, better than Trump.

Sachin Tendulkar signs on as brand ambassador for PFG

Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar has agreed to a partnership with Paytm First Games (PFG), to become the platforms fantasy sports ambassador for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Widely considered to be one of the finest players of a generation, PFG will be looking to Tendulkar to help them capitalise on India’s lucrative fantasy sports market.

We are excited to announce @sachin_rt as the brand ambassador for @PaytmFirstGames #SachinIsBack

Read more: https://t.co/iTKdyHZ98B

Vegas Rebound

Las Vegas continues to be one of the hardest-hit markets in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown. When the casinos opened after being closed for three months, players didn’t rush back as they seem to have done in other jurisdictions. Las Vegas has become largely a locals market consisting of Las Vegas residents and Southern… Read more »

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