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