BetOnline's Blog
Posted Thursday, March 26, 2009 02:41 PM
For
the casual fan, the NFL is in the offseason season. For the hardcore NFL betting fan,
there is no such thing. The NFL Draft is April 25th and NFL betting sharps
know that this is one of the most important days of the year. Make the right
pick, like the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens did last season, and you
have a chance to make the playoffs. Make the wrong pick, like the Detroit Lions
do perennially and you have a chance to be…ahem…the Detroit Lions.
Those
very same kitty cats will be selecting at the top of the 2009 NFL Draft and
after the league’s first ever 0-16 season, there are obviously plenty of holes
to fill. The main question has always been: do you start with a quarterback?
If
that’s the case, sportsbook bettors might expect the Lions to take Matthew
Stafford or Mark Sanchez. Currently, according to odds makers, Stafford is the favorite
at -150. Endzone
betting recently noted that Sanchez would fall into the ‘field’ category at
+250.
If
it’s not a quarterback, many NFL betting
handicappers believe that the next most important po... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 26, 2009 02:40 PM
It’s time to start looking at the online betting options for National
League’s Cy Young award, and this prop is usually a hard one to gauge for
online betting players. Here is a look at the players who should be in the
running for the award, including the defending Cy Young winner, as well as two
previous winners and a World Series MVP.
Tim
Lincecum - San Francisco Giants
The pitcher they call the “Freak” exploded in 2008, going
18-5 with a 2.62 ERA, and his 265 strikeouts were tops in the majors. If there
had to be a concern about Lincecum’s season, it’s that he gave up a few more
walks than other pitchers of his caliber, but that’s nit-picking, more or less.
The key for Lincecum this season will be to prove that last year was no fluke,
as teams have had an offseason to figure out his unique delivery. Most
sportsbook odds should find Lincecum at or near the top of the list, and
fantasy owners will fall over themselves to draft the 24-year-old.
Johan
Santana - New York Mets
Santana won the Cy Young in the American League with
Minnesota in 2004 and 2006, and he may have won last year if he had some run
support. Santana was 16-7 with a NL-leading ERA of 2.53, but in a six-game stretch
that earned Santana four losses, the Mets scored more than two runs only once,
and four of the losses... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 26, 2009 01:44 PM
As awesome as the March Madness odds are, they’ve been strangely predictable this year – short on cute, fuzzy Cinderella stories, as all the online betting favorites (14 of the top 16 seeds are in the Sweet 16 odds) keep winning. If we want to “feel” something, if we want to be inspired, we must look elsewhere.
How about NHL betting? There’s been no shortage of uplifting stories in 2008-2009. Let’s look at the top five success stories of the season, featuring numerous teams and players who have defied sportsbook odds.
5. COMRIE AND FISHER MAKE EVERYONE JEALOUS
I was about to pencil Mike Green’s amazing offensive season into the No. 5 spot when I started having my daily celebrity chick fantasy…today’s was a threesome with Hilary Duff and Carrie Underwood, but the dream was shattered when Ottawa Senators Mike Comrie and Mike Fisher burst in the room and stole the beauties away from me. If snagging those two starlets isn’t a success story in NHL betting, nothing is.
4. SUNDIN AND THE CANUCKS BOUNCE BACK – AND THEN SOME
The Vancouver Canucks were the butt of online sports betting fans’ jokes come Christmas ... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 19, 2009 02:35 PM
March
Madness odds have a different meaning to each online sports betting fan.
For most people, they mean it’s time to make NCAA basketball picks. But for NHL
betting fans, March Madness betting
means hockey’s playoff push is in full swing.
We talked about the big Stanley
Cup betting contenders last month, but what about the sleepers? They range
from (a) under-the-radar teams to (b) teams making late pushes to (c) teams who
are slumping right now but have the talent to bounce back. Let’s break down the
top five sleeper contenders for the Stanley Cup odds.
(Note: Pittsburgh is not included. They Pens are
so hot right now that they’re already back among the major contenders,
especially considering they reached the Stanley Cup betting Final last year.)
5. New York
Rangers
Perhaps because they foolishly threw so much money
around in the late 1990s and early 2000s, everyone seems to love watching the
Rangers fail in NHL
betting. After starting the year hot, they hit the skids in a big way,
falling out of the top eig... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 19, 2009 12:00 PM
It has been a crazy offseason in the baseball world but as
per usual, the New York Yankees stole the headlines and now headline the MLB odds for
the World Series. It has been a while since they won it and since the bar is
set so high in New York, it’s win a World Series or go home for the Yanks.
They started the offseason out well by bolstering their
bullpen with the additions of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Then they added
All-Star first baseman, Mark Teixeira. With Sabathia, Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and
Andy Pettite, the Yankees now have the starting rotation of a potential
champion. That’s been the key because the hitting and power has always been
there from their deep and versatile lineup.
If it’s not the Yankees, then it’s the Boston Red Sox who
are next in line on the MLB odds for
the World Series. It’s hard to argue with them as the Red Sox made it to the
American League Championship Series but fell just short to the Tampa Bay Rays.
And that was just one year removed for a World Series Championship anyways.
In the National League, the Chicago Cubs are the team
expected to win according to the MLB odds and
are the only team in... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 19, 2009 11:59 AM
Preseason action is underway, which means it’s time for
online betting players to start
thinking about their MLB odds. An
intriguing option among MLB odds are the Cy Young props, and this year’s
American League winner should emerge from the powerful East division.
C.C.
Sabathia, New York Yankees
The AL winner in 2007, Sabathia left Cleveland for
Milwaukee in July 2008, where he went 11-2 with a microscopic 1.65 ERA and
seven complete games to carry the Brewers to the playoffs. Sure enough, the
Yankees made Sabathia the highest-paid pitcher of all time, and now he’s the
ace of a retooled staff designed to win the World Series. The only worry that sportsbook players
should have about Sabathia is whether or not all of his work over the last
couple of seasons have worn him down as he led the majors in total innings, but
his large frame appears to be handling the workload just fine. Look for him to
be a favorite all season long.
Roy
Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
“Doc” racked his second 20-win season in 2008 with a
20-11 mark, and he’d probably have at least two to three more if the anemic
Toronto offense had done their job. Halladay led the AL in innings last ye... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2009 03:32 PM
It
has been a very exciting year for boxing betting fans
already, but it’s about to get better. On May 2nd at the MGM Grand
Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, international boxing icons will collide as Ricky
“The Hitman” Hatton will face the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world,
Manny Pacquiao.
The
Pacquiao
vs Hatton odds favor Pacquiao, even though Hatton is naturally the bigger
fighter. Pacquiao has dominated every weight class and division he’s joined,
and he flashed those same skills when he jumped up another weight class to face
Oscar De La Hoya. When Pacquiao faced De La Hoya, there were some real concerns
as to how Pacquiao would handle a bigger fighter, or how Pacquiao’s speed would
be affected with more weight on his body. But Pacquiao dominated De La Hoya
from start to finish, knocking out the Golden Boy.
Boxing betting fans
have to realize the implication of the knockout. Not only is Pacquiao fine with
the added weight and his speed hasn’t been affected, but he still has the power
in higher weight classes. Hatton will be well-aware of this going into the
fight after De La Hoya underestimated him.
This
will be the second time that Hat... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2009 02:10 PM
March Madness
betting is almost complete, as the conference tournaments will all be over
this weekend, and Selection Sunday hands out the remaining bids. Here is a look
at five teams who need big performances in their tournaments, and those who bet on sports should pay attention,
because it’s often the bubble teams that can emerge as Cinderella for the “Big
Dance”.
Miami
The Hurricanes were a preseason top-25 team, but they
endured a brutal nine-game stretch in which they won only twice, and lost three
overtime games. Outside of home wins over Florida State and Wake Forest, the
Hurricanes haven’t really beat anyone this year, and they have to be one of the
biggest sportsbook
disappointments this year.
Saint
Mary’s
The Gaels were hurt by a nine-game injury to star guard
Patty Mills, and a massive loss to Gonzaga in the West Coast tournament was the
last thing they needed. The Gaels have two solid wins on their resume, against
Utah State and San Diego State, but will that be enough?
Florida
The Gators were back-to-back champions in 2007, but
they find themselves in trouble in 2009. The weakness of the SEC doesn’t help
any, and neith... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2009 01:36 PM
“UNDER-RATED! Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap”
If you bet sports, you know that’s a chant you’ll never hear in the bleachers of an MLB stadium. The big names – especially the overrated ones – draw all the heckles, while the underrated guys go unnoticed and underappreciated.
How do you classify an underrated player in MLB betting? Usually, they fall under three categories: guys who make you say “Who?”; guys you’ve heard of but just didn’t realize were good because they play in obscure markets; guys who are lost in the shuffle on star-studded teams. Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia both fit the third category a year ago and have since shed their underrated labels. In fact, they may be overrated now. Anyway, let’s look at the 10 most underrated players in MLB betting – guys who boost your chances at the sportsbook more than you think.
10. Randy Winn, outfielder, San Francisco Giants
A tall lankster with a droopy face, Winn just looks boring. While he doesn’t wow anyone in the field, he gives consistent production from the top of the order every year. Winn has seven straight seasons with 150 or more hits, 11 or more home runs, 70-plus runs and 10 or more steals. He also hit below .275 just one during that span. He’s a consis... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 05, 2009 03:42 PM
Although most of us are examining the WBC
odds right now, the Major League Baseball season is just around the corner,
which means it’s time to start looking at the futures. There are plenty of MLB betting futures
up right now and now is a good time to take a look at who will win the MVP this
season. There is an MVP for both the American League and the National League
each season, so here is a preview with a prediction and a runner-up for each
League:
American League MVP:
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
We’re going with a long shot, but with Alex Rodriguez no
longer a factor in the WBC
odds or the MLB for about the first six weeks because of a hip injury, the
race is wide open. Cabrera switched to the American League last year and it was
a tough transition for him. Even so, in that lineup, he should post monster
numbers this year. If the Tigers are competing, he’ll be among the front
runners.
Runner Up: David
Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
Speaking of players off a down year, the Red Sox Big Papi,
David Ortiz, struggled last year and now has to move on without Manny Ramirez
in t... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 05, 2009 02:04 PM
While online
betting players are going over their NASCAR
Atlanta odds for this week’s Sprint Cup race, the Kobalt Tools 500 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway, it’s also a good time to look ahead to March 22nd.
Anytime NASCAR goes to Bristol Motor Speedway, it’s a big event, and this
month’s race should be no exception. Bristol fits the banking of a superspeedway
into a tiny half-mile track, and drivers have likened it to “flying jets in a
toilet bowl”.
The Food City 500 won’t lack for excitement, either in
the sportsbook
or on the track. Kurt Busch has two top-tens in the first three races of the
year, and he’s won this event four times, which is second only to the late Dale
Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace, who both have five wins. However, it’s either
feast or famine with the No.2 driver here. Outside of his four wins, he’s never
finished in the top ten.
Jeff Gordon, the current points leader, is also a fan
of this race as he won four straight between 1995 and 1999. With six top-tens
in 10 spring races, combined with the way the No.24 is running right now, you
can bet that Gordon will challenge for the lead at some point.
Kevin Harvick appears to have Bristol figured out, as
the No... [More]
Posted Thursday, March 05, 2009 11:49 AM
The NHL trade deadline
chaos is over! Finally, we can sleep at night, get stuff done at work and
rekindle the passion with our significant others. While the day’s worth of
trade deadline deals on March 4 can’t quite be characterized as a bust – a late
flurry brought the total up to 22 trades, down only three from the previous
year – yesterday was short on Earth-shattering deals. Let’s break down the most
significant NHL trade deadline deals. Whose Stanley Cup odds changed the most
at the sportsbook?
CALGARY
TRADES MATTHEW LOMBARDI, BRANDON PRUST AND A 2009 OR 2010 FIRST-ROUND PICK FOR
OLLI JOKINEN
Easily the biggest deal of the day. After getting
a boost by reacquiring Jordan Leopold, the Flames landed what many NHL trade
deadline analysts think is their first true number-one centre in at least a
decade. Some NHL betting fans think Jokinen is overrated, especially since he
has zero career playoff games. But wouldn’t you rather have a guy with no
playoff experience – who could turn out to be a revelation come April – than a
guy who has playoff experience but is a proven bust when the chips are down?
Calgary is easily the NHL trade deadline’s big winner. Online betting fans have to start... [More]