Early 2022 NBA Championship Futures Odds

 The Milwaukee Bucks ended a 50-year draught by winning the 2021 NBA Championship in six games over the Phoenix Suns.

Trailing the best-of-seven series 0-2, the Bucks went on to win four games in a row both straight-up and against the spread. Over the course of its championship run through the NBA playoffs, Milwaukee needed the full seven games to get past the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference semifinals. 

The Nets played that series short-handed with injuries to Kyrie Irving and James Harden as two of their best players. Add in Kevin Durant as one of the few elite players in the league and it is easy to see why Brooklyn has been opened as the favorite to win the NBA title in 2022.

As part of my weekly sports betting coverage for the popular site ScoresandStats.com, I dug deeper into the posted NBA futures odds to win the 2022 championship. While the Nets are a solid play at plus money, there are a few other teams on the board with value in their early odds.

                                                      2022 NBA Championship Futures

Free 2021 Haskell Stakes Picks

 The $1 million Haskell Stakes goes off at Monmouth Park today with Hot Rod Charlie as the 6/5 favorite on the morning line. As part of my weekly coverage of horse racing's biggest events for ScoresandStats.com, the following link is to my complete preview of this year's Haskell along with my free trifecta bet for the race.

2021 Haskell Trifecta Play

Hot Dog Eating Contest Highlights 4th of July Betting

 With the 4th of July falling on a Sunday, the biggest betting event of day involves a hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. 

The Tour De France moves onto the ninth stage, Wimbledon enters its later rounds, the PGA Tour wraps up its weekend tournament and there is a full slate of MLB Games on the slate. However, all eyes will be on Joey Chestnut and his quest to win yet another Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The reining champ set a new world record last year by consuming 75 hot dogs in the allotted time. This year, the OVER/UNDER on total hot dogs eaten is set at 73 1/2 with the betting odds favoring the UNDER at -130. The betting odds for the OVER are set at -110.

Chestnut is in a class of his own as a heavy -1400 favorite to win. Going all the way back to his first hot dog eating title in 2007, he has only lost this contest once (2015). On the women's side, Miki Sudo is an even heavier favorite to win at -3500 betting odds.

As part of my weekly coverage of the entire US sports betting industry for Doc's Sports, I dug down a bit deeper into the various betting options for Sunday's contest starting at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN. Below is a link to that piece.

                                         Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest

2021 CFL Grey Cup Futures

 Football north of the border is back with the 2021 CFL season kicking things off the first week in August. The league suspended operations last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and, after a delayed start this season, it is finally ready to return to play.

Acting as a lead-in for the new NFL season in early September, the CFL gives avid bettors a head start on a new season of football. Taking a closer look at each of the nine CFL team's chances to win this year's Grey Cup title, I came up with a couple of picks that offer the best value in their posted betting odds at BetOnline offshore sportsbook.

The link below is to my preview of 2021 CFL futures for the popular sports betting site ScoresandStats.com.

Betting 2021 CFL Grey Cup Futures

Betting on the First Pick of the 2022 NFL Draft

 The start of a new college football season is still more than two months away. Yet, you can bet on which college player will go on to become the first pick of next year's NFL Draft. Quarterback is always the hottest position on the board, so it is a good guess that the first pick will be a player at this position.

Over the course of the 2021 draft, five quarterbacks came off the board in the opening round to help prove the point. Most of the early attention will be on Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler as the favorite to go No.  1 in 2022. However, there are more than a few worthy candidates this far out.

North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell is also being touted as a possible No. 1 pick. Anything can happen this season as college teams return to a full schedule of games. If you are looking to get a jump on things, check out the link below to my predictions for the No. 1 pick as part of this week's NFL coverage for the popular sports betting site ScoresandStats.com.

The First Pick of the 2022 NFL Draft

Which NFL Division Wins Super Bowl LVI?

 There are any number of ways to bet on the futures odds posted for the upcoming NFL season. The most common NFL futures options cover which team wins the Super Bowl, either conference championship or one of the eight division titles.

DraftKings sportsbook has offered a unique twist by posting betting odds for which division will win Super Bowl LVI.

Led by the Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC West had the best odds on the board. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers as defending Super Bowl champs moves the NFC South high on the list. The trio of the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks add value to the NFC West as another division high on the list.

After the Washington Football Team won the NFC East last season at 7-9, it is no big surprise that this division has the longest odds on the board.

As part of this week's NFL coverage for the popular sports betting site ScoresandStats.com, below is a link to my complete breakdown of the betting odds for this NFL futures bet.

Which NFL Division Wins Super Bowl LVI?

Betting Saturday's Belmont Stakes

 This year's Triple Crown series of races for the best three-year old Thoroughbreds comes to a close on Saturday with the running of the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes. This Grade 1 event is the most grueling test of the three at 1 1/2 miles on the dirt track at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

Covering weekly horse racing for the popular sports betting site ScoresandStats.com, I dug deep into the field of eight colts to come up with a variety of ways to bet this race. 

Betting the Winner

The overall field is strong with five of the eight entries in excellent position to win this year's Belmont Stakes. However, I am still going chalk with Essential Quality as the top favorite at 2-1 odds on the morning line. Despite slipping to fourth place in the Kentucky Derby, I still believe the son of Tapit is the best three-year old in this year's class. Trained by Brad Cox, he has been preparing for the added distance of this race for more than a month.

Betting the Exotics

I made money on Hot Rod Charlie as my third choice at Churchill Downs on May 1. For the Belmont, I am elevating this Kentucky-bred colt to my second choice as part of an exacta bet.

As far as rounding out the trifecta play, I would add Known Agenda to the mix. Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer is a 3-1 second-favorite breaking out of the No. 3 post. This is another contender that could easily work his way into the money. Yet, I decided to move him to fourth place in this Saturday's featured event.

Race Preview Links

For my complete race preview and official betting picks at ScoresandStats.com, please click through to the two links below:

-- 2021 Belmont Stakes Odd, Preview & Predictions

-- 2021 Belmont Stakes Exotic Betting Picks