CFL Week 2 Best Bets

 The CFL is back in action after taking last season off. That means I have once again teamed up with Vegas Insider to bring you my "best bet" pick each week's games.

The rust was evident last week during the season openers with a couple of big upsets on the board. Both Hamilton and Calgary lost their openers straight-up as favorites on the closing point spread. British Columbia came up just short in its comeback bid against Saskatchewan but the effort was good enough to cover with the points.

The rust was also evident with my picks in those three games but I am expecting a much more productive effort this week.

Below is the link to the CFL Week 2 picks at Vegas Insider:

                              CFL Week 2 Game Odds, Preview & Picks

NFL Hall of Fame Game Betting Preview

 It is hard to get too excited for the first NFL preseason game of the year but we have to start somewhere. The Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers kick things off this Thursday night with a matchup in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

The best bet for this game is little or no playing time for each team's starters. As far as the actual betting lines, Pittsburgh remains a 1.5-point favorite as the designated home team. The total line for Thursday's 8 p.m. (ET) start on FOX is set at 33 points.

I actually like Dallas in this game given that the Cowboys need a win far more than Pittsburgh after sliding to 6-10 last season. Even though this game means nothing in the standings, getting a new season off to a winning start would signal a fresh start in Big D.

For my full game preview and betting pick for Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game, please click the link below to ScoresandStats.com as one of the most popular sports betting sites for avid bettors.

                                         2021 NFL Hall of Fame Game Preview & Picks

As a bonus play on a popular NFL player futures bet, I also added a link to my betting picks for most passing touchdowns in the 2021 regular season.

                                                2021 NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader

Top 5 NBA Draft Prop Bet Picks

 The 2021 NBA Draft takes place this Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The general consensus among NBA draft gurus is that former Oklahoma State standout Cade Cunningham will be the first overall pick.

Most online sportsbooks tend to agree given his current -10000 odds to end up with the Detroit Pistons, who are on the clock first. Jalen Green is a heavy -500 favorite to be drafted second by the Houston Rockets. 

Evan Mobley should go third to the Cleveland Cavaliers behind -400 odds and the Toronto Raptors are expected to draft Jalen Suggs (-200) with the fourth overall pick. Rounding out the Top 5 picks is Scottie Barns at -225 odds with the Orlando Magic on the clock.

After that, things start to open up a bit. As part of my first round draft coverage for the popular sports betting site ScoresandStats.com, I came up with five draft position props that offer the best value in their posted odds.

                                     2021 NBA Draft Position Prop Bet Odds & Free Picks

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