Ultra Sports Bet

This is a column I do every week for Doc’s Sports. You can, and should, check them out at docsports.com for all sorts of information, insights and picks. I do a lot of writing for them.

A – Amazing. They may not be the best team in the league, but no one has consistently delivered thrills and memorable endings this year like the Cleveland Browns. They threw away a 27-14 lead, looked dead before kicking a tying field goal with no time left on the clock, and then won in overtime with a truly bizarre field goal. It’s not always pretty, …read more

Comments Off

There are more NFL games this weekend than we have seen since before the bye weeks started, yet there are only three that strike my fancy. I am intrigued by Buffalo and their mountain of points at home, but I can’t convince myself to pull the trigger on it.
New York Giants (-3) at Detroit – I know I said I was done with betting on the Lions, but I just can’t quit them. I don’t trust the Giants at all, and Detroit has been great at home, So the value lies in the Lions and the points. Pick: Detroit.
St. …read more

1 Comment

Five games capture my attention this weekend. None of them, of course, will be nearly as interesting to me as watching my beloved Wolverines crush the life out of the Buckeyes will be.:
Western Michigan (+14.5) at Iowa – Western Michigan is hit and miss and have not been a great team to bet on this year. that being said, I like them here. It comes down not to what they bring to the table, but rather that I have no faith in Iowa’s ability to beat anyone by more than two touchdowns right now. Pick: Western Michigan.
Iowa State …read more

3 Comments

It’s a bit of an odd night. There are some reasonably interesting things going on in several sports, but nothing too thrilling anywhere. To add some excitement, I am going to give myself a bit of a challenge, and extend it to you. I am going to start with five mythical units, bet them wherever I want, and see how I do. You regular readers (or anyone else) out there should do the same – list the games, your bets, and number of units in the comments, and we’ll see who has a better night. Only bragging rights are on …read more

1 Comment

Oregon (-10) at Arizona – I’m going to play this game because I have a good streak going on Thursday nights, and to give you all something to read, but it’s one I would probably pass most days. On the surface, I really like Oregon here. The Wildcats only have an average defense, and they look better than they really are thanks to their two game winning streak. They have won two in a row by beating up on struggling teams – Washington and UCLA. In both cases they gave up more points than I would have liked. I …read more

1 Comment

Davidson (+11.5) vs. North Carolina in Charlotte – A good friend of mine is in Charlotte on business and is going to this game. He knows nothing about college basketball and could care less. That drives me crazy. In his honor I’ll make a quick pick on the game. The game is in Davidson’s backyard, they are going to be fired up to play against the top team in the country, and North Carolina will be pacing itself far more – they have bigger fish to fry this year than Davidson. This is North Carolina’s first game, while Davidson already …read more

Comments Off

Last year the story in college basketball was all about two freshmen. Greg Oden at Ohio State had the spotlight early, but was held back by an injury that limited him until Christmas. In his absence, Kevin Durant stepped up for Texas and put together one of the greatest freshmen seasons in college basketball history. Oden came on strong at the end of the year, though, leading his team to the national championship game, while the Longhorns were knocked out in the second round. Both guys moved on to the pros and left the stage to the next class of …read more

1 Comment

There is one bet tonight that absolutely can’t lose when it comes to football: Find something else to do – absolutely anything else – instead of watching San Francisco visit Seattle. The Seahawks are pretty bad, and they will likely be playing without Shaun Alexander and Deion Branch. The Niners are pretty much terrible. I bet that there are at least 17 million things that would be more interesting than watching this game. Don’t do it. Spend time with your family instead. Go for a walk. Alphabetize your CDs. Dance with your imaginary friend. I don’t care what you do, …read more

3 Comments

Three college basketball games that I’ll be following as I watch football today:
Brown (+13.5) at Michigan – The John Beilein era at Michigan started strong, and I expect that to continue. Michigan played with some solid tempo in their opening game, and I don’t expect Brown to be able to match it. Pick: Michigan.
Pepperdine (+9) vs. Western Michigan – I expect pretty good things for Western Michigan this year. A trip to the dance at the end of the year wouldn’t surprise me. That being said I think that this line is a bit optimistic. Pepperdine likes to run, and …read more

Comments Off

The second race at Churchill Downs today was as standard and unexciting as a race can be – a $7,500 Claiming race at six furlongs with a dozen horses. Every so often, though, a forgettable race can turn into something that can seduce the imagination of horseplayers forever.
The favorite, Wrzeszcz (easily the hardest to pronounce name in the country), was never a factor. Neither were the second or third choice. A 40-1 shot somehow found the lead at the start and never gave it up. A 45-1 horse made a ridiculous move all the way from last to second at …read more

Comments Off