Haskell Invitational Free Trifecta Pick

The first big graded-stakes race for three-year old thoroughbreds of the summer takes place this Sunday at Monmouth Park in New Jersey with the running of the $1 million Haskell Invitational. While Triple Crown winner Justify is sitting this one out, the Grade 1 event is headlined by Kentucky Derby runner up Good Magic. This Kentucky-bred colt will break from the No. 6 post in the seven-horse field as a 6/5 favorite on the morning line. Trained by Chad Brown, he will have jockey Jose Ortiz along for the ride.

Also in the field for this year's Haskell is Bavazo as a 3/1 second-favorite breaking from the No. 5 post. This three-year old Kentucky-bred colt is trained by D. Wayne Lucas and jockey Luis Saez is slated to be on board. As part of my weekly horse racing coverage for ScoresandStats.com, the link below is to my complete preview and free trifecta pick for Sunday's main event at Monmouth Park.

LINK: 2018 Haskell Invitational Free Trifecta Pick

CFL Free Betting Pick of the Week

The CFL rolled into Week 7 of the 2018 regular season on Thursday night with the Edmonton Eskimos rolling over the Montreal Alouettes 44-23 as 10-point road favorites on BetAnySports' closing betting line. Quarterback Johnny Manziel was traded to Montreal from Hamilton last Sunday, but he did not get the start in that game.

As part of my weekly CFL coverage for SBR Picks, I have focused most of my attention to Saturday's West Division tilt between the undefeated Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders as my 'Free Pick of the Week'. Please click through the link below for my complete game preview and 'best bet' pick.

LINK: CFL Pick of the Week: Calgary Stampeders at Saskatchewan Roughriders

Pressure Mounts on Pittsburgh in AFC North

It was not that long ago that the AFC North was one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. If you go back to the 2014 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers were divisions champs at 11-5 and both Cincinnati (10-5-1) and Baltimore (10-6) qualified for the playoffs as wild card teams. The Steelers went on to post double-digit victories in the next three seasons while winning the AFC North the previous two years. The Bengals and Ravens went in the other direction to create a fairly wide gap between the best and the rest in the division title race.

The updated NFL futures odds at BetAnySports online sportsbook to win the AFC North this season reflect this gap with Pittsburgh a heavy -250 favorite to win the division title for the third-straight season. It would be hard to bet against the Steelers winning the AFC North this year, but they know that they have much bigger fish to fry to try. The main goal is to close the gap with New England in order to get back to the Super Bowl as conference champs. The window of opportunity is still open, but the clock is ticking as the pressure continues to mount on a team that would have to be considered underachievers given the overall talent on its roster.

As part of my NFL coverage for SportsBettingStats.com, please click through the link below for my complete preview of the 2018 AFC North betting futures at BetAnySports.

LINK: 2018 AFC NORTH TITLE BETTING ODDS - ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS

Accelerate Leads the Field in the San Diego Handicap

The horse racing season is really heating up towards the end of July. This Saturday, Saratoga Race Course opens its summer meet in upstate New York on the East Coast and out on the West Coast in Southern California, Del Mar offers a race card with a few major graded events including the $200,000 San Diego Handicap. This is a key prep race for three-year old thoroughbreds and older looking to lock-up a spot in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on August 18.

The field of 10 is set for this Saturday's main event at Del Mar and as part of my horse racing coverage for ScoresandStats.com, I have broken down the list of contenders to come up with my free trifecta pick for this race. Please click through the link below for my free betting pick for the 2018 San Diego Handicap.


LINK: 2018 San Diego Handicap Free Trifecta Pick

2018 Alabama Football Betting Report

As part of my ongoing series for ScoresandStats.com covering the top college football teams in the nation, my latest installment goes right to the top of the list. The Alabama Crimson Tide have been the Gold Standard in college football since 2009 when they won their first of five national titles under the guidance of head coach Nick Saban.

BetAnySports online sportsbook opened the Tide as clear favorites to win the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship not long after they pulled off a dramatic 26-23 overtime victory against SEC rival Georgia in last year's title game as three-point favorites. Sports bettors are a little more than a month away from the start of another football season in the NCAA and Alabama remains at the top of the updated National Championship futures list to successfully defend that title.

All the pieces remain in place for another deep run and you cannot help but get the feeling that a sixth national title in 10 seasons is Alabama's to lose. Please click through the link below to Scores and Stats for my complete betting preview for the top team in the nation.

LINK: 2018 Alabama Football Betting Preview

Jacksonville Favored to Win AFC South

The Jacksonville Jaguars endured nine-straight losing seasons before breaking through last year with a 10-6 record and an AFC South Division title. They went on to stun Pittsburgh on the road in the Divisional Round of the playoffs before losing to New England in the 2017 AFC Championship. BetAnySports' online sportsbook has listed the Jaguars as slight favorites to win the AFC South again in 2018 in what could be one of the most competitive division title races in the NFL.

My big question mark with Jacksonville is how it will handle its new-found success as the frontrunner in this race after so many seasons of being an afterthought. The talent is there to repeat and so is the desire after going as far as the Jaguars went last season. Bettors need to decide if the value in their odds to win is worth the risk.

As part of my weekly NFL coverage for SportsBettingStats.com, I delve deeper into BetAnySports AFC South futures odds to uncover which of the four teams in this division actually has the best betting value in their odds to win. Please click through the link below for my analysis and top-valued play.

LINK: 2018 ODDS TO WIN THE AFC SOUTH - PICKS AND ANALYSIS

College Football Betting- 2018 Heisman Trophy Futures

The Heisman Trophy in college football is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in the nation for the regular season. Going back over the last 12 winners, 10 of those players were quarterbacks. The only exceptions were a pair of Alabama running backs with Mark Ingram taking home the hardware in 2009 followed by Derrick Henry's run to the Heisman in 2015.

Interestingly enough, the top two players on BetAnySports' futures odds list to win this year's Heisman Trophy just so happen to be ball carriers and very good ones given their stats from last season. As part of my preseason college football coverage for ScoresandStats.com, I took a deeper look at the betting odds for all the top players in the nation to come up the best value in the betting odds. Please click through the link below to Scores and Stats for my complete 2018 Heisman Trophy preview and betting picks.

LINK: Running Backs Lead the Way in 2018 Heisman Trophy Betting Odds

Betting on the 2018 NFL Most Valuable Player

Successfully betting on NFL futures would be a whole lot easier if you had a crystal ball, but it would be next to impossible to find a sportsbook to take that bet if you did.

Since no one knows exactly what will happen with any futures bet, it all comes down to making an educated guess. It also comes down to finding the best value when you are backing up that guess with a real money wager. The betting odds that sportsbooks do release for any futures bet are designed to minimize the value in the favorites. The risk/return on certain futures can make an actual bet prohibitive. For example, the New England Patriots are -500 favorites to win the AFC East this season. Just because they have won their division 14 times in the last 15 seasons does not guarantee they will win the AFC East again in 2018.

The educated guess for this futures bet points clearly towards the Patriots, but you have to ask yourself if you are willing to risk losing $500 to win $100. Tom Brady could go down for the season in Week 1, Miami could play way over its head as a +800 second favorite. You always have to keep in mind that there is no such thing as a "lock" when it comes to betting on sports.

The NFL futures odds to win this season's MVP honors offers solid value all over the board. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the favorite at +600 betting odds. If you want to bet that Brady does go on to lead his team to that 15th division title while winning another MVP trophy, the return on that $100 bet would yield $800.

In a recent NFL futures article for SportsBettingStats.com, I took a closer look at the MVP betting odds at BetAnySports to find the best value in the numbers. Please click through the link below for my MVP preview and picks.


LINK: 2018 NFL PROP BET ODDS- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Betting On LeBron James and the Lakers

The NBA's West has been the power conference in the league over the past several years and that balance of power against the East as shifted radically in its favor with the recent deflection of LeBron James from Cleveland to the Los Angeles Lakers.

This move also had a major impact on the betting futures at BetAnySports to win next season's NBA Championship. The reining champions are the Golden State Warriors and they are still heavy favorites to win their fourth NBA title in five seasons. The Lakers have quickly ascended to second-favorites with the addition of King James even though they only won 35 games last season. The odds drop off from there with the 'best of rest' scrambling to make the necessary additions in personnel to close their current gap with the Warriors.

In a recent betting article posted on ScoresandStats.com, I dug a bit deeper into the updated betting odds to win next season's NBA title to find where the best value in the numbers now lies. Please check out the link below at Scores and Stats for my complete analysis.

LINK: Updated Betting Odds to Win the 2019 NBA Championship

Coke Zero Sugar 400 Top Betting Picks

NASCAR's Monster Energy Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway this Saturday night for the running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Austin Dillon stunned the field back in February in the 2018 Daytona 500, but this season has been dominated by Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and defending Cup Series Champion Martin Truex Jr. with a combined 13 victories in the first 17 point races on the schedule. Saturday night's main event will mark the halfway point on the 36-race slate and it promises to be a good one in true wide-open restrictor-plate racing style.

I have been covering NASCAR's Cup Series for SBR Picks for the past several years and the link below is to my complete preview and top-value betting picks for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 based on posted odds at BetAnySports.


LINK: NASCAR Back at Daytona for Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400

2018 Georgia Football Betting Report

The Georgia Bulldogs made a run all the way to the College Football Playoff Championship Game last season where they lost to SEC rival Alabama in overtime. To come that close to winning their first national title since 1980 and walk away empty-handed could work for or against the Bulldogs in this year's campaign as one of the top favorites to go all the way. I am betting that Georgia uses that devastating loss as motivation to make a return trip to the four-team playoff at the very least. It also helps to have a boat load of talent on both sides of the ball to help get it there.

As part of an ongoing series for Scores and Stats, I am taking a closer look at all the top college football teams in the nation in preparation for the new season getting underway in less than two months. The link below is to my complete betting preview for Georgia as recently posted on the ScoresandStats.com website.


LINK: 2018 Georgia Football Betting Preview

Eagles Open Title Defense as NFC Favorites

It is fairly common for the previous season's Super Bowl Champion to open as favorites to at least win its conference title the following season when it comes to the NFL futures odds at online sportsbooks. The Philadelphia Eagles' dramatic run to the 2017 Super Bowl title has them listed as +500 favorites to win the NFC in 2018. The Eagles are +800 second-favorites behind New England (+625) to successfully defend that title in 2018 with a victory in Super Bowl LII and they are expected to be the top team in the NFC East as -160 odds-on favorites to once again win their division.

While Philadelphia may be the front runner in the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings at +600 betting odds and the Los Angeles Rams at +650 are expected to be the top contenders to take its place in this year's Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints should also be in the NFC-title mix at +800 odds to win.

BetAnySports continues to update these betting odds in light of the action coming in, but the top five teams in the NFC remain the same. In a recent post for SportsBettingStats.com as part of my early NFL coverage, I have come up with my top favorite, top contender and top longshot to win the NFC title this season based on the value in their betting odds. Please click through the link below for my complete preview and free betting picks.

LINK: 2018 NFC ODDS TO WIN - PICKS AND ANALYSIS

Betting 2018 NFL Players Props- Most Passing Yards

The only game in town right now when it comes to betting on the NFL is in the form of futures odds and special props. Some of the most popular player props on the board at BetAnySports are the betting odds for which player will throw for, run for or catch the most yards in the upcoming regular season. While it can be pretty hard to look that far into the future to try and cash in on a preseason prop, there is definitely some solid value in the betting odds if you know where and how to look.

As part of my NFL coverage for ScoresandStats.com, I will be taking a closer look at all three of these popular player props starting with which quarterback will throw for the most yards this season. The link below is to a previous post on Scores and Stats with my free betting pick for this prop.

LINK: 2018 NFL Player Props - Most Passing Yards