Mississippi is Ready for Some Football (Betting)

The state of Nevada cornered the market for legal sports betting in the United States for the past several decades. In fact, it was the only market for sports betting due to a federal law that prohibited any of the other 49 states from running a legal sportsbook business. That all changed in early May of this year when the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey and against the federal government in a court case involving several of the top professional sports leagues in the country such as the NFL as well as the NCAA for college sports.

The Garden State wasted little time getting in the game with the opening of sportsbooks at Monmouth Park and Borgata Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. Delaware quickly followed suit by opening sportsbooks in its casinos at Dover Downs and Delaware Park. Just this week, the state of Mississippi joined the party with MGM Resorts International taking the first legal sports bets at Gold Strike Casino in Tunica and at Beau Ridge Casino in Biloxi.

The Magnolia State is firmly in the middle of SEC country and we all know just how popular football is in this power conference. While you cannot bet on a Rutgers' football game in New Jersey or on a Delaware Blue Hens' game in the First Sate, betting on in-state college teams did get the green light in Mississippi. That means that diehard fans of Ole Miss or Mississippi State can back up their allegiance to their team with a wager on Saturday's football games in the fall and basketball in the winter.

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