If you’re ever feeling like you’ve been hit with the dumb stick, remember: The numbers don’t lie. Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson were a combined 4-53-1 as first-year NFL coaches. We can’t promise you’ll become a Hall of Famer, but we can give you 10 of the weekend’s most interesting football stats and factoids.
The Miami Hurricanes have a huge game tonight hosting the Virginia Tech Hokies, and the winner will have a great chance to win the ACC Coastal Division.
Sportsbook.com has Miami-FL as 4 ½-point favorites with a Total of 43. ESPN will broadcast this game at 7:45 pm ET.
Whether you’re out on the Strip or gambling online, you see the same thing: casinos and sportsbooks, operating out of the same venue. It seems like a natural fit – both provide licensed betting to their customers. The clientele is much the same; Blackjack players love to bet on sports, while handicappers often switch hats and hit the Roulette tables. The two are joined at the hip.
You know it’s crunch time in the NFL when they start cranking out the Thursday night games. Last week’s Broncos-Browns tilt in Cleveland was definitely worth watching, even on the NFL Network. They have the honors again in the first of this week’s three top betting matchups (for current lines, visit Bodoglife.com).
A post-election lull has swept over the United States. All those man-hours spent fixated on polls and pundits have to be diverted elsewhere. Excellent timing, because college basketball is here. Preseason tournaments are underway; there are a lot of cupcakes on the menu, but this is when sharp handicappers swoop in and get fat.
The Ball State Cardinals are dreaming about an undefeated season, but they first have to get past the Miami of Ohio Redhawks tonight. Sportsbook.com opened Ball State as 15 ½-point road favorites and they have leapfrogged all the way to 19.5 with a Total of 54.5. ESPN2 will broadcast starting at 7 pm ET.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are a perfect 8-0 against the spread as they head to Lubbock, Texas for a showdown with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This is another in a long line of huge Big 12 games and ABC will have the national broadcast at 8 pm ET. Texas Tech is currently only 3 ½-point favorites.
We’re into the second half of the NFL season. How’s your bankroll holding up? Are you on a full tank, or are you running on fumes?
The sad truth is, many football bettors have already emptied their wallets. Think of the full 17-week regular season as a triathlon. Everyone starts out hopeful, but through poor money management or a simple lack of handicapping ability (often both in considerable amounts), some people have to give up early. You don’t want to be one of those people. You want to be an ironman.
Wholesale quarterback changes are on the docket for Week 10 of the NFL season. Rex Grossman is definitely in; Byron Leftwich and Daunte Culpepper might be joining him. But the most bizarre situation is in Cleveland, where it’s as plain as day that coach Romeo Crennel is not calling the shots. The Browns will start Brady Quinn on Thursday, and that’s where we start our preview of the week’s three most important matchups (for current lines, visit Bodoglife.com).
The 2008 baseball season ended in October after all. We hope yours was a profitable one – a special shout-out to all those Phillies supporters out there who filled their bankrolls with a 13-3 run to end the regular season and an 11-3 record in the playoffs. It’s all about finishing strong, as fans of the New York Mets (7-10 down the stretch) can attest.
College Football comes to Tuesday night as the Miami of Ohio Redhawks and Buffalo Bulls collide in an important MAC East contest. Sportsbook.com has Buffalo as 8½-point favorites with a Total of 51.5. ESPN2 will have this matchup starting at 7:30 pm ET.
The Texas Longhorns have a great chance to make the national title game, but first they need to get by the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock.
Bet on another Big 12 showdown that will be nationally broadcast at 8 pm ET on ABC. Texas (8-0) is currently only 3 ½-point favorites after opening at five.
Well, that was a long time coming. The San Diego Chargers (3-5 SU, 3-4-1 ATS) finally gave defensive co-ordinator Ted Cottrell his walking papers on Tuesday. Inside linebackers coach Ron Rivera is his replacement.
Millions of people are waiting a little longer than they’d like for their payouts. Game 5 of the World Series was suspended in the sixth inning Monday night with the Phillies and Rays tied 2-2. Play will resume whenever the weather clears up in Philadelphia – which could be next June.
If there is a Game 6, that’ll be one of the definite must-bets of the week. For now, here are the Top 5 games that we know about (all times Eastern):
There’s no place like home for the holidays – even for Columbus Day. Home teams were 11-3 SU and 8-6 ATS last week in the NFL; home dogs won three of five games outright, led by the St. Louis Rams (+9) beating the Dallas Cowboys 34-14 and causing panic throughout the great state of Texas.
Last week’s USC-Washington State matchup was one for the history books. The Trojans were 42.5-point away favorites, the highest spread USC has faced on the road since Pete Carroll took over the program. That was enough chalk to send bettors scurrying to Washington State’s side.
