Ultra Sports Bet

Wow, has it ever been an awful week for bettors who backed Top Ten teams in college football action! From the top:
1. USC – Failed to cover against Washington
2. LSU – Beat Tulane but did not cover
3. Oklahoma – Lost outright to Colorado
4. Florida – Lost to Auburn
5. West Virginia – Lost to South Florida
6. Cal – won and covered against Oregon
7. Texas – Crushed lifeless by Kansas State
8. Ohio State – Beat Minnesota, did not cover
9. Wisconsin – Won, didn’t cover
10. Rutgers – Lost to Maryland
That means that five of the top ten teams lost, and only one, Cal, …read more

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The NHL season got off to a premature and slightly ridiculous start in London, England when the Los Angeles Kings beat the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-1. Before you file this under ‘Who really cares?’, you might as well pay a bit of attention because hockey can present a large number of betting opportunities if you pay a little attention.
A couple of things of note came out of this game. First, hockey takes a while to get interesting. The play was sloppy and uneven, the defending champs even looked disinterested at times, and it was barely more …read more

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We always see a lot of change at the quarterback position, but we rarely see as much as we are this week. Chicago, Buffalo, and Oakland are using new starters this week, Carolina might, and Baltimore and Arizona (and others) have their starters on very short leashes. Here’s a look at the betting impact of the certain changes:
Chicago – Rex Grossman is finally gone. Brian Griese is the better choice, and almost everyone knows it. This is a case, though, where the public will almost certainly overreact to the change. The woeful play of Grossman has been so well …read more

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I love Washington. They may be one of my favorite teams. Sure, I don’t know all of their players (parts of their lineup are so obscure that I doubt the coaching staff know them, either), I almost never watch them play, and as a Canadian I am a little bitter that they aren’t still in Montreal. None of that matters when it comes to the betting window, though. This team has had the perfect combination of circumstances this year – they are not that bad, yet the public thinks that they are terrible. That’s why I love them. They were …read more

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I think he’s somewhat kidding, but Jay Cronley wrote an interesting article on ESPN.com about how to hit 50/1 winners at the racetrack. His theory is that you only have to hit a $100 winner one time in 50 to break even. The math is obviously true, but I doubt that a lot of bettors have the discipline and mental strength to endure that many losses with the prospect of a win somewhere down the road. Most people would panic and change what they are doing as the inevitable losses piled up. Still, chasing the longshots can be a fun thing …read more

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There’s a very interesting post about the Kentucky Derby champion over at Handride. Basically, Patrick is not a believer. His argument is sound – Grasshopper almost beat Street Sense in the Travers, and then he was completely exposed in (not-so) Super Derby last weekend. Any Given Saturday also ran close to the Derby champ in Tampa Bay in the spring, and has turned into a bit of a wonder horse now. Though I don’t agree that Street Sense will flame out in the Kentucky Cup Classic and be retired before he heads to Monmouth at the end of the month, …read more

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There were nine games in the early part of the college football schedule on Saturday (kickoffs before 1:00 p.m. EST) that had teams favored by more than 15 points. Only three of those heavy favorites managed to cover the spread. That’s just another reminder that the public loves a favorite, and especially loves them if they are clearly much, much better than the underdog. It’s not as easy as just picking the underdog in these cases, but these games always need a second look. LSU this week is a good example – they were favored by 41.5 over Tulane, but …read more

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Despite the bizarre happenings that have been commonplace in the first few weeks of the season, there has been enough low hanging fruit to pick that it’s been a profitable start to the season. Here’s the games I will be looking at to try to keep the winning going:
Green Bay (-1) at Minnesota – I am as surprised as anyone by the start that the Packers have had, but I think that this is a place that they can keep up their winning ways. Minnesota’s quarterbacking situation is a mess, and they are a long way away from being …read more

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I think the Brewers (+138) are a sound bet to bet the San Diego Padres on Saturday. My opinion by itself is virtually meaningless, but the thought process might be interesting. The Brewers are already eliminated from playoff contention after a long fight with the Cubs. San Diego can clinch their playoff spot with a win Saturday. The Padres have been playing tight recently, and Chris Young, their starter, was lousy against San Francisco on Monday. The Brewers are young and proud and likely frustrated by their dismissal from the race. They will be looking to ruin the playoffs for …read more

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Every week has it’s shares of thrills and intrigue. Heading into this weekend there are seven games that I like, and a couple more that are intriguing but which I am too chicken to pull the trigger on.
The ones that I think will cover, but am not certain enough to put my money on:
Colorado (+24) vs. Oklahoma – Coach Dan Hawkins is going to make a breakthrough for Colorado eventually, and I think that Oklahoma’s freshman quarterback Sam Bradford, who has been truly phenomenal so far, is due for a step back. This, his first road trip to a BCS …read more

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