The Indiana Pacers gave the Miami Heat a run for their money in the postseason last year, coming within a single win of the NBA Finals, and are now the sexy pick to make it to the NBA Finals out of the East this year.
The New York Knicks took a major step forward last season, and after running into a buzzsaw in the postseason last year, the team reloaded in the offseason and looks to make another run toward the NBA Finals this year.
Coming off a trip to the Western Conference Finals, the Memphis Grizzlies look to continue their upward trend with a roster that remains largely intact and a new head coach.
College basketball season is just around the corner. Team media days have come and gone and practices are now in full swing. The first games of the season come on November 8. CappersPicks is going to give you a look at power rankings in many different conferences.
A rivalry that has been fairly one-sided in recent years takes on a different form this season, with the Fresno State Bulldogs favored over the Boise State Broncos for the first time in the last seven meetings.
This is Clemson’s ACC opener and a chance to remind everyone that they are still alive because we all kind of forgot about them after their big win against Georgia to open the season and every thing that has happened since.
The final event of the 2013 PGA TOUR season is here, as the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings head to East Lake for the TOUR Championship.
NFL Power Rankings – Where Every Team Sits After Week 2
Week 2 of the NFL season is in the books and as per usual, the weekend brought about some surprises that resulted in a reshaping of the Power Rankings landscape.
Both of these teams were in the playoffs a year ago but both are 0-1 heading into week 2 and in trouble. Whichever team exits 0-2 is going to be really behind the eightball to make it back to the playoffs and both play in competitive divisions.
Minnesota is on the road for yet another divisional game. Last week they lost at Detroit and a loss this week would be especially damaging because it would drop them to 0-2 and two games behind at least Chicago in the NFC North.
Buffalo almost started the Doug Marrone/E.J. Manuel era with a surprising win over the Pats last week while the Panthers almost smothered the hype around the Seahawks.
The Detroit Lions are looking to start the 2013 NFL regular season 2-0 for just the fourth time in 13 years when they travel to Arizona to take on a Cardinals team that lost their opener despite racking up a ton of yardage in St. Louis.
Bad penalties, including one that set up the winning score, killed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who lost their season opener to the New York Jets last Sunday.
Last weekend produced the tale of two Mannings, with Peyton playing lights out in the Broncos home opener against the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, while little brother Eli struggled to overcome a mass of early Giants mistakes in a loss to the Cowboys in Dallas.
Last week we got our first real look at all 32 NFL teams in action and while most of the favorites held true to form straight-up, there were some golden opportunities to cash-in on some bad lines against the spread. That is bound to hold true again this week so here is my two-team NFL parlay for Week 2 based on lines provided by [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′].
Pointspread: Green Bay -9
Total Line: 49.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
Washington is going to have to quickly rebound from a stunning 33-27 loss to Philadelphia this past Monday night as a three-point home favorite. The total in that game went OVER the 51.5-point line. It found itself down by as many as 26 points before rallying to keep the scoring closer than this game really was.
The good news is that Robert Griffin III finished on a strong note after looking extremely rusty in the first half.
Green Bay had a four-point lead with eight minutes to play in its season opener against San Francisco, but it could not hold on in a 34-28 loss as a five-point road underdog. The total in this matchup went OVER a closing line of 47 points.
Aaron Rodgers had no problem moving the ball up and down the field through the air against one of the best defenses in the league, so look for him to have another big day this Sunday as well.
Both of these teams come into this game with a number of question marks on defense, which should translate to quite a few points on the scoreboard.
The total has gone OVER in four of Washington’s last six games and in four of the 49ers’ last five, so I am going with the OVER 49.5 in this game as the front-end of this week’s parlay. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Pointspread: Seattle -2.5
Total Line: 44
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
Everyone wondered if Colin Kaepernick was the real deal after leading San Francisco to the Super Bowl last season and the third-year quarterback answered that question with 412 yards passing and three touchdowns on opening day.
These numbers are impressive but the 49ers are going to have to do a much better job running the ball to win this game after gaining just 90 yards on the ground against Green Bay.
Seattle has already proven it knows how to win ugly and that was clearly the case last week in a 12-7 victory over Carolina as a three-point favorite on the road.
The Seahawks were held to just three points in the first half and did not find the end zone until five minutes into the fourth quarter. The good news is that Seattle’s defense looked to be in mid-season form; holding the Panthers to 253 yards of total offense.
San Francisco is 1-5 against the spread in its last six trips to Seattle, which is one of the toughest places in the league to get a win.
The Seahawks went a perfect 8-0 at home last season and given that the half point on the spread in in their favor, I am going with Seattle covering the 2.5 points as the back-end of this parlay.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are trying to rise to the top of the SEC, while the No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks are trying to stay there.
