Rams Favored to Repeat in NFC West

Until last years unexpected run to an 11-5 record and a NFC West Division title, the last time the Rams won more than eight games was back in 2003. With Jared Goff at quarterback and a defense that was ranked fifth in the NFL in takeaways last season, the expectation level for a repeat performance in 2018 is running high.

BetAnySports online sportsbook has listed the Rams as heavy -140 favorites to win the NFC West followed by San Francisco as a +250 second-favorite. The Seattle Seahawks have fallen from the ranks of the NFC elite at +500 betting odds to win their division and Arizona is the longshot in the NFC West at +1200.

The Rams are the logical pick. However, the 49ers are the sexy pick with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback. He led San Francisco to five-straight victories to close out the 2017 regular season at 6-10. Mass defections from a once dominant Seattle defense has the Seahawks heading in the wrong direction and the Josh Rosen era in Arizona could take some time to get the Cardinals flying high again.

As part of my NFL preseason coverage for SportsBettingStats.com, click through the link below for my complete betting preview for the NFC West.

LINK: 2018 NFC WEST TITLE ODDS - PICKS & PREVIEW

Winning Bets on 2018 NFL Win Totals

BetAnySports online sportsbook has recently updated its betting odds for all 32 NFL teams when it comes to the OVER and UNDER for their projected win total in upcoming regular season. The one constant in the NFL is that nothing stays the same from one year to the next. New England and Pittsburgh are perennial powers in the AFC, but the balance of power in the NFL has shifted to the NFC, which is the early -130 favorite when it comes to which conference will field the team that eventually wins Super Bowl LIII.

Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles were listed as the third-best team to win the NFC East behind Dallas and New York in the futures odds after going 7-9 in 2016. Things gelled much quicker than expected with head coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Carson Wentz in their second year with the team on the way to an unexpected Super Bowl title run. Dallas missed the playoffs at 9-7 and the Giants slid to 3-13 to earn the second overall pick in the draft.

All told, there were eight brand new playoff teams in 2017 in a field of 12. Five of those new teams won their division with a complete turnover of division champs in the NFC. This all adds up to a high level of unpredictability when it comes to betting on the OVER/UNDER for any team's projected win total from one season to the next. None the less, there is some solid betting value to be found on BetAnySports' NFL betting board for this highly popular team prop if you know where and how to look.

As part of my preseason NFL coverage for SportsBettingStats.com, I took a closer look at the betting odds tied to each team's projected wins to come up with my top bet on the OVER and UNDER betting line. Please click through the link below for both free betting picks.

LINK: TOP BETS FOR 2018 NFL WIN TOTAL BETTING ODDS

Whitney Stakes Free Trifecta Pick

The summer horse racing season at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York is in full swing heading into Saturday's race card. One of the biggest events of the season at this storied venue is the $1.2 million Whitney Stakes for three-year old thoroughbreds and up. The field for this year's Whitney is highlighted by Mind Your Biscuits as a 2/1 favorite on the morning line. Also in the mix is Diversify at 7/5 odds as well as Backyard Heaven as a 9/2 third-favorite in the field of eight contenders.

As part of my weekly horse racing coverage for Scores and Stats, I broke down the entire field for the main event at Saratoga to come up with a winning trifecta pick. I am going out on a limb a bit for this race with a winner at longer odds than the top three favorites. Please click through the link below for my complete preview and free betting picks for the 2018 Whitney Stakes at ScoresandStats.com

LINK: Whitney Stakes Free Trifecta Pick

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