Tag Archives: #sportsgambling

Elliott, Truex Jr. co-favorites for wednesday NASCAR

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

While NASCAR was founded in Daytona Beach, Florida, held its first race there and has its main headquarters on the east coast of Florida, no question that the heart and soul of NASCAR is located in Charlotte. The majority of NASCAR teams have a base in North Carolina’s biggest city or nearby.

The longest race on the Cup Series is the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, annually run on the American Memorial Day Weekend. That was won by Brad Keselowski on Sunday/early Monday (due to a rain delay). The drivers return to the same track already again Wednesday for the Alsco Uniforms 500, with a start time of 8 p.m. ET.

It’s the second straight week that NASCAR is staging a Wednesday night race in its top series. Before last week at Darlington, there hadn’t been a Wednesday event since all-time great Richard Petty won his 200th and final NASCAR Cup race on July 4, 1984, in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona.

The NFL “failed miserably” attempting pass interference reviews

The 2018 NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the LA Rams resulted in a change in rules the following season, all because one referee was too blind to see something that was taking place six feet away. Without being able to challenge pass interference on the part of Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, the Saints lost a huge play and, ultimately, a chance at the Lombardi Trophy. Everyone knew what happened – even those in the cheap seats saw it and league officials would later sheepishly try to make amends. Starting with the 2019 season, it added a rule that would allow pass interference calls (or non-calls) to be made by coaches. However, the league still can’t get things right and even NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent admits that it “failed miserably” at implementing the rule. As they say, the third time’s the charm, so perhaps the NFL will get things right in the upcoming season.

In speaking with NBC Sports on the idea of the new sky judge coming to the league this year, Vincent explained, “We cannot fail this year. We saw, a year ago, when [the pass interference rule] played out, starting with myself, what we put in place last year … Those outcomes were not good for professional football. Because we didn’t do the proper due diligence, it played out publicly. The last thing people should be talking about is the way the game is officiated. They [officials] should be faceless objects, managing and facilitating game flow. We failed. I’m first in line. I shared that [with league officials]. I failed as the leader of that department. I failed. We cannot allow that to happen again. What did we learn from that? We’ve got to do our due diligence. You can’t rush and just shove something in there without knowing all the consequences. And we found that out last year, live and in action, publicly.”

The pass interference review was only in place for one season as a test, and the league decided not tomove forward with it. The introduction of a sky judge for the upcoming season is meant to give more officiating eyes on the game, with this official able to countermand calls made directly on the field. He, or she, will have access to instant replay technology and can chime in at virtually anytime. Of course, if the official is chasing butterflies, it becomes a useless position.

The NFL is also exploring a different rule change regarding the onside kick. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network shared the change on Twitter, and it seems to address the lack of success of onside kicks in previous seasons. However, as with previous attempts to introduce new rules, the NFL brass apparently didn’t think things through. After just a cursory glance, one coach told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated that he saw gaping holes in the implementation, with the rule being turned into an offensive weapon that could easily compromise the sportsmanship of football. In his own words, “There are some interesting scenarios that could arise. Take the lead with 5 seconds left, choose the 4th-and-15 option and run out the clock. … Up by a score with 10 seconds left, instead of squibbing, take the 4th-and-15, run as much time off as possible, take a safety then kick with only a couple seconds left.”

Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning triumph against Mickelson and Brady

What do you get when you put four sporting legends together in a bid to raise money for charity? Answer: millions of dollars.

When the ideas team for a charity golf match put forward the prospect of Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning taking on Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady, it must have been one of the marketing slam-dunks of all-time. Two NFL legends, two golfing superstars who have previous, it had everything, potentially.

The reality is that the game itself was even better than the hype and the result of that was the raising of over $20 million to fight COVID-19 and help victims of the global pandemic.

With the PGA just two weeks away, the NFL has a little more lead-time on getting its biggest superstars fit and ready for the season. In a game that is as good for American Football as it has been for golf was a charity classic.

Saints duo highlight NFL season leaders odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

How is it that the New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees has never won an NFL MVP Award? He’s the league’s all-time leader in many regular-season passing categories and has won the single-season yardage title an astounding seven times.

On 12 occasions, a quarterback has reached the 5,000-yard plateau. Brees is responsible for five of them. He set the NFL record of 5,476 yards in 2011, but Peyton Manning passed that by one yard in 2013 with the Denver Broncos.

This might be Brees’ last season in the NFL as he’s 41 years old and already has a TV gig lined up on NBC. He’s +900 to win another passing yardage title. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is the clear-cut favorite at +350. As good as Mahomes has been in his two seasons as a starter, he hasn’t led the league in passing yards yet. The Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott is +625 to win his first such title, while new Tampa Bay Buccaneer Tom Brady is +800 to win it a fourth time.

“The Match” charity golf event finds its winners after a close contest

The GOATS were out on the greens yesterday, playing golf to raise money for coronavirus relief. The Match: Champions for Charity pitted Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning playing against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady, and the contest had everything a high-profile event such as this should have – great shots, not-so-great shots, good weather, not-so-good weather and a finish that came down to the wire. It’s all good whenever charity wins. 

Woods and Mickelson make a living out of sending a golf ball down the fairway toward the cup, while Manning and Brady are better at sending a spiraling football through the air. Still, the NFL stars have dabbled in golf over the years and both have been able to develop their games to a level that made this an interesting match. It also made for some interesting betting lines, with the Woods team getting -225 and the Mickelson team the definite underdogs at +170.

The tournament, which had to be delayed 45 minutes because of weather, took place on Woods’ stomping ground, the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, FL. That may have given him and Manning a slight edge, even though Brady, who just signed on to be the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, recently became a member of the club, as well. Brady certainly hasn’t had the chance to fine-tune his skills on the course, but this didn’t dissuade his team from putting up a solid fight throughout the contest. Still, Brady’s game could only be described as sporadic, with his tee shots going all over the course. 

One of those tee shots was so far off that he was forced to take a penalty stroke. If that weren’t enough, he also suffered a wardrobe malfunction when his pants split. However, you don’t get to become the NFL’s best quarterback with six Super Bowl rings by choking or losing your cool, and Brady kept it together the entire match. That penalty stroke, which happened on the seventh hole, was followed by a massive 100-yard birdie that left everyone, including announcer, NBA legend Charles Barkley, flabbergasted. 

Harvick favored for Wednesday night NASCAR race

Perhaps back when stock car racing was essentially Southern guys running moonshine and racing each other in their free time, they might have competed twice in the span of three days, but it’s unprecedented for that to happen in modern-day NASCAR.

However, that will be the case Wednesday as the Cup Series stays at Darlington for the Toyota 500 after Kevin Harvick won Sunday’s Real Heroes 400 at the historic track in South Carolina – it’s NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway.

The coronavirus has changed all professional sports in the United States, so NASCAR had to be creative to get as much of its planned schedule in as possible (the goal is all 36). The difference between Wednesday’s race to Sunday’s is that Wednesday’s is at night (7:30 p.m. ET) and will be 500 kilometers (310.7 miles) instead of 400 miles.

Like Sunday, there will be no fans in attendance and no practice sessions or qualifying. Brad Keselowski was placed on the pole Sunday via random draw. He finished 13th but led the second most laps at 80. Keselowski is +750 for Wednesday.

“Tsitsipas and Zverev hate each other” Kyrgios and Murray blow up instagram

During the global Coronavirus pandemic, the art of bringing virtual sporting content to the masses has been one where legends have failed to make an impact while others have thrived. The outbreak of COVID-19 has forced everyone through a prism and viewing some through the aftereffects of simply chatting from home has highlighted just how many of our favourite sports stars are kept interesting by Media and PR outlets determined to do so to turn a profit.

Think of some of the English Premier League’s finest, reduced to entertainment rubble by the sheer force of personality of James Maddison. For fans of the Foxes midfielder, it was agonizing when his signal dropped and his image froze. For some of his contemporaries, sat mute on their sofas throughout, it was imperceptible if their WiFi crashed.

Tennis hasn’t been immune to this. Andy Murray was great to watch during the recent Virtual Madrid Open where he crushed the field laughing at himself and others while doing so. But for some others, it was just as easy to forget that they were even playing.

Cut to the action this weekend, then, and an organized chat between two of tennis’ most entertaining big hitters in Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios. There was only one problem with the Instagram Live session – the kick-off time. While Murray was opening up the app and connecting to the video-sharing stream at 3pm his time in the U.K., Kyrgios was booting up at 12 midnight in Oz.

Teams of the Century: Chelsea 2014/15

As the 2014/15 season kicked off, a familiar face was back in the Chelsea dugout for the start of the season, as José Mourinho, who had departed Chelsea under a cloud in 2007 had cleared out players he didn’t rate such as Juan Mata in 2014, had built his new squad with the crucial purchase of Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid for around £32m.

While Mourinho’s first season had been one of dismantling the work that had gone before him, Mourinho’s second season was – as it often was during the Portuguese’s early managerial career – highly successful and ended with his team as champions.

The set-up for Chelsea in the 2014/15 season was breathtakingly simple. Protecting his ageing back four with players like Nemanja Matic crucial. New signing Diego Costa was the battering ram, with Didier Drogba the returning hero who was the back-up plan. Cesc Fabregas, brought in from Barcelona and Eden Hazard were the creative players given reign to cause chaos at the other end, with Willian and Oscar both contributing on that front too.

Chelsea’s tactics were to push forward and score early goals, preferably getting two goals ahead, then lock up the shop and play with brutal efficiency on the counter-attack. It worked like a dream in the first half of the season, and in particular the first four games, where Chelsea won 3-1 at Burnley, 2-0 at home to Leicester, 6-3 at Goodison Park and 4-2 at home to Swansea. Of those games, the nine-goal thriller away to Everton was a classic.

Is the NFL commissioner trying to renege on date with Dave Portnoy?

Last week, the founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy, was the highest bidder in a unique auction that would allow the lucky winner to spend an evening watching an NFL game with league commissioner Roger Goodell. Portnoy paid $250,000 for the opportunity, which will see Goodell invite the entrepreneur into his home when, and if, the football season gets underway. However, Goodell may not be totally pleased with the outcome of the auction, and might try to do something to sabotage it. There are even lines up on the odds of whether or not the encounter will take place.

Goodell and Portnoy don’t exactly see eye to eye on a lot of subjects. It could because the commissioner was slammed by Portnoy during “DeflateGate” in 2015. At one point, Portnoy became so incensed with Goodell that he began wearing a T-shirt of the commissioner sporting a red clown’s nose. Things got so heated that, last year, Portnoy was booted from Super Bowl LIII and banned from NFL Media Night.

The money raised was for a good cause – providing relief to those who have been economically impaired from the coronavirus. Portnoy is publicly excited about his ability to give some assistance, made possible by the acquisition of his company by Penn National Gaming, explaining in a video posted on Twitter, “Two hundred and fifty grand. A quarter Milly. That’s how much it cost me. Good charity. Great charity. I’m happy to give the money. Let’s help people. Let’s go watch some football, Roger. I got some questions. We got all day. Football takes, what, three, four hours? No handcuffs, no jail. I paid fair and square. I won. Quarter Milly. Me and you, Roger. Let’s put that money to good use. You know, I’m happy to donate it. Let’s talk.”

The NFL and Goodell saw the auction as a perfect opportunity to support financial relief efforts, but probably didn’t think things all the way through. If Goodell were to reject the encounter, the NFL would have to return Portnoy’s money and hold the auction again. That could lead to a weaker response and even a lawsuit by Portnoy for breach of contract. However, if the commissioner invites Portnoy into his mancave, there’s no telling what will happen. Portnoy admits that he is a “walking GoPro” and will have no qualms about airing everything he encounters, much to the chagrin of Goodell.

Spalding out, Wilson in as official NBA basketball provider

The sports world is already taking a huge financial hit because of the coronavirus and the stoppage of athletic competitions that is now in its second month. Billions of dollars are reportedly going to be lost because of the global pandemic, and anyone operating in the industry would definitely prefer to hang onto every dime they can. Unfortunately for Spalding Sports Worldwide Inc., a major manufacturer of sporting equipment for leagues around the world, it now has a huge void to fill. The NBA has, through a mutual agreement with the company, brought to an end its agreement on the supply of official league basketballs. Coming off the bench to make a return to the game is long-time rival Wilson.

Spalding, which was formed by Albert Goodwin Spalding, the inventor of basketball, and the NBA have been working together for the past 30 years when the company took over from Wilson in 1983. The decision to terminate the agreement is said to have been mutual, and Wilson will take over at the beginning of the 2021 season.

A press release issued by the NBA added, “The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Wilson Sporting Goods Co. announced a multiyear global partnership today that will make Wilson the official game ball of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League (BAL).

“The partnership will tip off at different times by league. The NBA Wilson game ball will first be used during the league’s 75th anniversary season in 2021-22. The other debuts will be during the 2022 WNBA season, 2021-22 NBA G League season, 2021 NBA 2K League season and the inaugural BAL season.

Two NFL pros sought for armed robbery in Florida

The coronavirus has certainly caused a lot of financial damage to people and businesses around the world, but professional athletes stooping to robbery seems to be an extreme reaction. Unfortunately, this is allegedly what has happened, as police in South Florida now want two NFL football players to come in for questioning after they were accused of committing armed robbery of a house party Wednesday. Warrants have already been issued for their arrest.

Cornerbacks DeAndre Baker, 22, of the New York Giants and Quinton Dunbar, 27, of the Seattle Seahawks are reportedly behind the criminal activity, which took place at a home in Miramar. A neighborhood cookout was underway at the time, and a fight broke out that resulted in Baker brandishing a firearm. The two football players, along with two other accomplices, then began to rob the partygoers, taking everything from money to jewelry. They reportedly made off with thousands of dollars in cash.

Stealing thousands of dollars for athletes on multimillion-dollar contracts is puzzling enough, but is compounded by the thieves’ exit. There getaway cars weren’t exactly low-profile, and included a Mercedes Benz, a BMW and a Lamborghini. Confusing the situation even more is the fact that the witnesses told investigators that the cars had been parked in a manner to allow for a quick escape, which leads detectives to believe the entire ordeal was planned from the start.

Baker was picked up in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Giants last season and went on to start in 15 games for the team. He picked up 61 tackles on the season, and should have been well-set financially. He reportedly signed a four-year contract worth $10.525 million that included a $5.6-million signing bonus. The Giants said after being contacted about the incident, “We are aware of the situation. We have been in contact with DeAndre. We have no further comment at this time.”

Kyle Busch favored in NASCAR return to action

Major professional sports is starting to trickle back in the United States. The UFC is staging two different cards this week, while NASCAR marks its return Sunday with a Cup Series event at historic Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The race will be 400 miles and begins at 3:30 p.m. ET. It will be the first of three Cup Series races at Darlington this season, including another one already Wednesday.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

There will be no fans in attendance on Sunday and there will be no practice sessions – the lineup will be determined in part by a random draw for starting positions. The betting favorite is Kyle Busch in the No. 18 car at +600. There had been four official points races this season before the coronavirus pandemic forced a shutdown. Busch ranks 12th in points and has two Top-5 finishes but hasn’t won yet in 2020. Busch has raced 15 times in NASCAR’s top series at Darlington and has 10 Top-10 finishes and a win in 2008. His 716 laps led there are first among all active drivers.

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 car) is +650 and Kevin Harvick (No. 4) is +700. Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500 in February for the second year in a row – just the fourth driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s – but hasn’t run well otherwise with an average running position of 16.9 overall that ranks 16th in the circuit. Hamlin has been strong in his career at Darlington with two wins in 14 races and an average finish of 7.8.

The Bundesliga is back…but who will win the title?

With just two days until elite-level football is back and the German Bundesliga returns, everyone is talking about the league where Jadon Sancho is the best player, Erling Braut Haaland is the most valuable player yet Bayern Munich sit at the top of the league.

While Robert Lewandowski leads the current goalscoring charts, an overwhelming 1/4 to maintain his current leading position until the end of the season, there are lots of other sportsbetting opportunities with which to fülle deine stiefel or fill your boots if you’re not a native.

Who will win the Bundesliga?

Bayern Munich kick off the final nine games with a four-point lead, but while that may make it look like they’re been in steady control since August, it’s been quite the opposite for the Bavarian champions. Until the turn of the year, they were in real trouble, and at one point sat seven points behind the leaders. However, 10 wins from their most recent 11 league games have put them in pole position to make it eight seasons in a row that they will have become champions and they are 2/9 favourites to do so.

Kentucky Derby implements schedule changes to keep races moving

The Kentucky Derby schedule has already been thrown off by the coronavirus pandemic, with plans for the races to be moved from the beginning of this month, when they should have taken place, to possibly September. While a virtual Kentucky Derby was held as a peace offering in lieu of the live event (Secretariat won, just as oddsmakers predicted), it wasn’t the same, and fans are anxious for the real deal to take place. Churchill Downs is ready to put some races together this weekend, which should keep fans excited, but the impact COVID-19 has had on the industry is forcing the Derby to make some changes to prepare jockeys and horses for a new season. The qualifying system used for the Road to the Kentucky Derby will now temporarily include a few more races in order to award a few more chances for jockeys to pick up some points ahead of the Triple Crown.

The updated list includes, among others, the Grade II Blue Grass Stakes (the date still hasn’t been decided) at Keeneland, the TVG.com $1 million Haskell (G1) at Monmouth Park in July, Del Mar’s Shared Belief (no date as of yet) and the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) on May 23. TVG and NBC Sports plan on airing coverage of the races that will be getting underway this weekend at Churchill Downs.

In an announcement (in pdf) about the changes, Mike Ziegler, executive director of racing for Churchill Downs Inc, stated, “We’re in the midst of an unprecedented year, and this year’s Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown will be one of the most memorable of our lifetimes. There are a lot of moving parts and there are still a lot of unanswered questions, including who will be running and when.”

The Matt Winn Stakes event has been given an extra boost, with more points added to the top four finishers. The winner will take 50 points and, most likely, a guaranteed spot in the Kentucky Derby. Ziegler explained about these changes, “Based on measured interest from horsemen and limited racing opportunities for 3-year-olds across the country, the Matt Winn at the home of the Kentucky Derby appears to be the lone race in May on the national calendar for horsemen to use as a prep to possible important stakes engagements in mid-to-late June. For that reason, we’re pleased to be able to fill the void and raise the significance of the Matt Winn.”

UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris odds

While the coronavirus pandemic has had a negative effect on just about every facet of life in the United States and Canada, it has transformed this week into one of the best ever for mixed martial arts fans and bettors. That’s because UFC president Dana White wanted badly to grab the sporting spotlight while he could, so he’s staging three cards over a seven-day period – all at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, and with no fans in attendance.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The last of those three is Saturday’s Fight Night event headlined by Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris meeting in a heavyweight bout. They are ranked No. 8 and 9, respectively, in the division; Stipe Miocic is the champion.

At age 39, Overeem (45-18) is near the end of a likely Hall of Fame career. The Dutchman is a former Strikeforce and DREAM heavyweight champion, not to mention a one-time world kickboxing champ. He fought Miocic for the UFC heavyweight crown at UFC 203 in September 2016 but lost by first-round knockout.

U.K.’s PM not entirely optimistic about a quick sports return

On the heels of the U.K. Brexit, the country suddenly found itself dealing with its first major issue as an ex-member of the European Union. How it deals with the coronavirus may set the stage for its ability to rise again as an independent country, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had to personally overcome the virus, is diligently working on a recovery plan with members of parliament. While the rebuilding process gets underway, the country’s economy will start to find its footing little by little, but sports competitions most likely won’t be a priority.

Johnson addressed the four nations that make up the U.K. Sunday night, explaining that the government is preparing a three-part plan to help the economy reinvent itself. During the entire address, which focused on different aspects of consumer activity and measures being taken to prevent a return of COVID-19, he didn’t bother to touch on professional sports, leaving a lot of doubt about where they fall in the overall recovery plan.

Starting tomorrow, sports activity is possible, but only between members of the same household – family pick-up games to help relieve the stress caused by the global pandemic. Some tennis courts and golf clubs will also be allowed to start back up, provided governing bodies agree, but there are no specific guidelines for sports like the Premier League and others. An update to Johnson’s speech yesterday, included in a document called “Our Plan to Rebuild: The U.K. Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy,” indicated that “cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact” could be permitted as of June 1, but the path that leads to that date is long and complicated.

Should the June 1 target date be achieved, allowing fans to attend games is an almost certain impossibility. The update asserts that fans “may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in numbers of infections,” adding, “Some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to reopen safely at this point, or may be able to open safely only in part.”