BetOnline's Blog
Posted Thursday, November 26, 2009 03:50 PM
Brian Urlacher,
Linebacker (Dislocated Wrist)
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears lost linebacker Brian Urlacher early in
the first game of the year and sports betting cappers know that their defense
hasn’t been the same since. Urlacher was the Bears leader on defense, and he
was the key player who got everyone lined up, made key tackles and was the
captain of the defense. Without him, the unit has turned completely soft.
Owen Daniels,
Tight End (Torn ACL)
Houston Texans
While the Texans were never a popular bet in the sportsbook,
their tight end was a popular pick among NFL pundits as the best in the NFL
through the first half. The Weatherman, Owen Daniels, was tearing it up with 40
receptions, 519 yards and five touchdowns. Matt Schaub is going to miss his
safety valve and so will the Pro Bowl, which is where he would have headed had
he stayed healthy.
Kris Jenkins,
Defensive Tackle (Torn ACL)
New York Jets
The New York Jets were never an offensive juggernaut –
with or without Mark Sanchez’ struggles – but what they were was a nasty, mean
defen... [More]
Posted Thursday, November 26, 2009 03:49 PM
It’s safe for NFL
betting fans to say we’ve reached the stretch run of the 2009 season. With
Thanksgiving and Christmas and bowl games and so many other things to juggle on
our busy schedules over the next month, it’s a good idea to mark down the most
important remaining NFL games on the calendar. Here they are, in chronological
order.
Monday,
November 30: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Everyone’s talking this one up and for good
reason. We have the undefeated Saints in their rowdy Louisiana Superdome on Monday Night Football. The Saints have
the NFC’s best offense and the Patriots lead the AFC in scoring. Tom Brady,
Drew Brees, Randy Moss – what more could you want?
Saturday,
December 19: DALLAS COWBOYS @ NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
It’s already a treat to make NFL picks for a Saturday
game, so the fact that we see two contending teams clash is gravy here. Aside
from New England, the Cowboys probably pose the greatest threat to the Saints’
undefeated season. Tony Romo will have to shake his history of December woes to
make this a game but I like his chances to do so indoors.
Su... [More]
Posted Thursday, November 26, 2009 03:48 PM
The NHL
betting season has reached the one-quarter mark and we’ve seen some strange
things. Top contenders like Detroit and Boston stumbled out of the gate while
Colorado and L.A. saw their Stanley Cup odds skyrocket. Sometimes, a big
reason for the change in a team’s status is injuries. Here are the five most
important injuries to note so far this season; some are now healed but did
major damage when they happened while some are wreaking havoc right now.
5. BOSTON:
Marc Savard’s broken foot
The Bruins already lost Phil Kessel in a trade and
Milan Lucic to a broken finger. When Marc Savard went down, the Bruins had to
play for a month without their entire top line from a season ago. One of the
league’s most underrated players, Savard is a scrappy, creative center who
makes others around him better. He’s been back for two games and the Bruins’
have won four straight. Here they come.
Bettor
need-to-know: Consider betting on the Bruins’ Stanley Cup futures now;
their odds went down during their injury-affected slump, so you can get great
value for them right now.
4. PITTSBURGH:
Evgeni Malkin’s shoulder strain<... [More]
Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 04:11 PM
1. Mike Shanahan
Mike Shanahan is a sexy choice for a number of teams
right now, because his track record is one of a very successful coach - and
there are plenty of teams with worse coaches right now. How good would Shanahan
look in Buffalo? Consider some of the previous coaches: Gregg Williams, Wade
Phillips, Mike Mularkey and Dick Jauron. Sports betting fans would again start backing the
Bills.
2. Jon Gruden
This is probably an outside candidate, especially since
he just signed an extension with ESPN to stay on the Monday Night Football
crew, but he did immediately say that he will coach again in the future. Would
he coach in Buffalo? Probably not. He seems to like the warm weather programs
and the Bills don’t have a quarterback to mentor.
3. Mike Martz
Now this is a move that would actually make sense, to
some extent. While the Bills don’t have an offensive line, they do have plenty
of weapons such as Terrell Owens, Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish, Fred Jackson and
Marshawn Lynch. Yet one thing the Bills have failed to do in recent years is be
entertaining; Martz could do exactly that. You know that it’d take him about
two weeks to find a quarterback, and if they got a line that would protect... [More]
Posted Friday, November 13, 2009 10:03 AM
1st
Overall – Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The sportsbook favorite at this point would be Ndamukong Suh,
who is the best defensive tackle in the nation, but as we all know, a
quarterback has more value than a tackle. Jimmy Clausen has arguably been the
best quarterback in the nation this year, even if the Fighting Irish have been
struggling. He’s smart, he’s efficient, he comes from a pro style offense and
he’s worked with a coach who was an excellent offensive coordinator in the NFL.
That will appeal to many teams.
2nd
Overall – Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska Cornhuskers
This might be high for Suh, who is an excellent defensive
tackle. The NFL has turned into a passing league, and NFL
betting fans have to agree that a great defensive end is more valuable than
a great defensive tackle nowadays.
3rd
Overall – Russell Okung, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Going with the previous point, a potential bookend left
tackle will provide plenty of value to NFL teams. When you look at who may be
drafting near the top of the board – teams like the Detroit Lions and Kansas
City Chiefs – you quickly see that they would snat... [More]
Posted Thursday, November 12, 2009 03:57 PM
Sportsbook players know that the NCAA basketball betting
season is pretty slow until the conference portion of the schedule begins, but
there are usually a handful of games involving the nation’s best. Here’s the
cream of the crop to fill up your December with.
Michigan State at
North Carolina (December 1st)
In a rematch of last year’s national-championship game, the
Spartans will be out to exact some revenge on the Tar Heels, who no longer have
Ty Lawson running the show. Instead, it’ll be Larry Drew III who has the task
of chasing Lucas around, but the Tar Heels will have the advantage in the post.
Carolina has won six of eight against the Spartans, including the last four,
which is good sportsbook knowledge to have.
North Carolina at
Kentucky (December 5th)
Sportsbook betting players will get their first big-game
look at Kentucky coach John Calipari and point guard John Wall, who some say
will be the top pick in the NBA draft if he decides to leave school. Most will
be watching to see how the Wildcats
adapt to Calipari’s dribble-drive offense that was so effective at Memphis, and
they get to test it against another top-10 team in the Tar Heels, who have won
their last five against Kentucky.
North Carolina at
Texas (De... [More]
Posted Thursday, November 12, 2009 03:56 PM
Pacquiao Cotto betting. Couture vs Vera.
What a weekend for fight fans.
Dang it! Turns out the boxing world and UFC still
can’t get along. They’re counter programming against each other this Saturday,
forcing us to choose which event to watch. All we can do is break down the two
events based on various fun factors and try to make a decision. Let’s see if we
can come to a verdict by answer the following questions:
Which event
is more significant for its sport?
The Pacquiao fight, without a doubt. Not only are
Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto both putting titles on the line, many fight
fans also feel this bout is the final bridge to the fight of the decade. If
Manny Pacquiao wins, he’ll almost certainly draw undefeated Floyd Mayweather
Jr. next.
UFC 105 features no title fights. The headliners,
Randy Couture and Brandon Vera, are top-five guys in the light heavyweight
division at best, though you never know if Dana White will just hand Couture
another title shot. The bigger UFC fight is the Mike Swick/Dan Hardy bout,
which will determine the No. 1 welterweight contender.
Edge: Pacquiao
fight
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Posted Friday, November 06, 2009 09:58 AM
Everyone in the sportsbook world thinks that they know who the
participants in the BCS Championship Game will be: Texas, and the winner of the
possible Florida-Alabama showdown for the SEC crown. Who else could sneak in
through the back and overcome some major NCAA football odds?
Iowa (+1500)
The No.4 Hawkeyes are one of the biggest surprises of the
year, and they don’t win pretty: seven of their nine wins have been by 11
points or less. This could come back to bite the Hawkeyes, especially as the
Big Ten isn’t known as the power conference it once was (thanks for getting
blown out in two straight BCS title games, Ohio State). The Hawkeyes first have
to get past their visit to Ohio State next weekend, and then if they make it to
the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champions, they’ll most likely have to blow out
their opponents for their NCAA football odds to be considered.
TCU (+2000)
The No.6 Horned Frogs, out of the Mountain West, should
thank Utah for making a fuss about the smaller conferences being left out of
the BCS title race after last year, and they’re powered by the No.1 defense in
the country. They beat Clemson and Virginia on the road, and they also went to
... [More]
Posted Friday, November 06, 2009 09:57 AM
NFL
betting circles have plenty of MVP discussion going on; that’s
understandable considering that the season is half over. A month into the NHL
season, however, it’s probably time for our first MVP chatter. Here’s a look at
the top five candidates so far.
5. Craig
Anderson, goaltender, Colorado Avalanche
It’s been a bizarre, improbable sportsbook run
for the Avs so far this season and unheralded netminder Craig Anderson is the
driving force behind that run. When we stop and realize that he’s just 28 – not
ancient for a goalie – and has a .914 career save percentage, maybe he’s not
flash in the pan after all. How long before Tim Thomas starts sweating about
his Team USA roster spot?
4. Marian
Gaborik, winger, New York Rangers
Online betting fans shouldn’t be too shocked to see
Marian Gaborik light up the scoreboard. He tends to do that whenever he plays –
which is rarely. The oft-injured sniper is loving life in the Big Apple so far,
tied for second in the league with 11 goals in 14 games. But how long before
his next serious injury?[More]