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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats Sept. 28th

Burns’ Bad Beats: Singletary ruins under in 49ers-Chiefs

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

Mike Singletary is not an NFL-caliber coach.

He’s a coordinator or maybe a college coach at best. He proved that again Sunday, and his childish antics cost smart bettors who took the under in the 49ers-Chiefs game an easy winner.

The total opened at 36, but rose steadily and ended up going off at 38. In a matchup of two below-average offenses with shaky quarterbacks against improving defenses, the under was the sharp side.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats Feb. 15th

Bad Beats: West Virginia-Pitt delivers

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

It was smart scheduling to put the West Virginia-Pittsburgh on the Friday before NBA All-Star Weekend.

TV execs were rewarded with a triple-overtime thriller. But those of you who played the Mountaineers weren’t quite as thrilled.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats Feb. 11th

Bad Beats: Betting teams without the superstar

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

What’s your first reaction when you hear a player the caliber of Kobe Bryant is going to miss a game?

For the vast majority of sports bettors, the answer is to bet against the Lakers.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats Feb. 4th

Bad Beats: Super Bowl Edition

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

The ultimate goal of this masterpiece Bad Beats column is to find out the absolute, most disgusting beat ever to occur in the Super Bowl.

Categories
Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats Feb. 1st

Bad beats: Water boy costs USC backers

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

Out of all the trends, statistical analysis and injury reports, handicapping a team’s water boy is not normally a priority.

Anyone who had USC Saturday might be rethinking that.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats January 26th

Bad Beats: Even Saints fans can admit Vikings got hosed

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

My name is David Payne. I write for Ben Burns. I lived in New Orleans for 10 years before Hurricane Katrina blew me East. I am a diehard Saints fan. The Vikings were the better team and deserved to win.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats January 19th

Bad Beats: What was Ray Lewis supposed to do?

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

Mike Preston, a Ravens writer for the Baltimore Sun, called Ray Lewis’ vicious hit on Colts’ wide receiver Austin Collie a “death blow” or “kill shot.”

“It was a cheap shot, and Lewis had already done this two or three times this season,” wrote Preston. “It’s usually done on purpose and delivered under the chin, where it can cause serious damage.”

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats December 29th

Burns’ Worst Beats of 2009

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

It only seemed like there were 2,009 bad beats in 2009.

In reality, you guys are just really bad bettors.

Only kidding.

Categories
Cappers

2009 Emerald Bowl Handicapping

Emerald Bowl betting preview: USC (-7.5, 44) vs. Boston College

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

What is USC’s mindset coming into the Emerald Bowl?

That’s the No. 1 question facing handicappers betting Saturday’s tilt between the embattled Trojans (8-4, 3-9 ATS) and an overachieving Boston College squad.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats December 23rd

’Cause I gotta have faith.”

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

Hopefully, being reminded of George Michael’s fame, in a sports betting column of all places, is a bad enough beat to satisfy all us Sadomasochists, who enjoy tormenting ourselves by reliving and dissecting difficult defeats.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats December 18th

Who ‘dat going to screw the over?

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

In a season chock full of controversial coaching decisions, New Orleans’ Sean Payton made and got away with one Sunday in Atlanta.

Bettors who had over 50 weren’t so lucky.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats December 9th

Burns’ Bad beats: Painful loss for Redskin moneyliners

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

The time to bet big moneyline underdogs in the NFL is now.

The season is taking its toll on teams. Injuries are mounting, equalizing the talent gaps between the haves and have not.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats December 1st

Bad beats: Should Tiger Woods tell the truth?

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

The old moose left a bunch of us feeling like turkeys on Thanksgiving weekend.

There was Colorado, a 10-point underdog, hitting a 54-yard touchdown pass on the final play to cover in a 28-20 loss to Nebraska.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats November 24th

Burns’ Bad beats: What in the world was Les Miles thinking?

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

Black Friday super special discount – Les Miles’ coaching clinics. Get ‘em while they last.

Miles and his staff fell completely apart in Saturday’s 25-23 to Ole Miss.

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Handicapping

Ben Burns: Bad Beats November 10th

Bad Beats: Where have all the ‘Pick ‘em’s’ gone?

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

The old oddmakers’ joke goes like this: ‘You can’t make a game a Pick because the squares won’t know who to bet.’

It’s referring to the public’s love of favorites. But oddmakers aren’t kidding around about Pick ‘em games anymore. There aren’t any.

Categories
Cappers

Burns’ Week 9 2009 BCS Handicapping Tips

Beyond the BCS: Best and worst run defenses

Ben Burns
Ben Burns

Pop quiz: Out the 19 worst rush defenses in the nation, only one comes from a BCS conference. Who is it?

We could be really annoying and make you grind through the rest of the story before giving you the answer. No one wants that, so …