The Naval Academy’s future this season has already been determined as they are penciled in for the Eagle Bank Bowl against an ACC team on December 20th. Still, do they deserve to play in a better bowl? Are they for real?
Navy has tested themselves this season against some quality opponents and the Midshipmen have passed a few of tho ... read more
The Turkeys will soon be on the table, and that only means one thing. The college football season is winding down, and teams are jockeying for position, and the BCS Championship game still has some teams with chips on the table. There are still 5 teams with unblemished marks, and another 6 with just a single loss. Let's take a look at the week ahead, and see if the picture is getting any clearer. ... read more
There is certainly enough articles and opinions on the affects that a week of rest has on a team. Most of these are written on professional football as it appears that most believe that the "youngsters" in College Football don't really respond either positively or negatively to a week of rest. Although you could certainly make an arguement that once in the pro ranks the wear and tear eventual ... read more
The MAC conference has posted some success this year in non-conference games and one of those teams bringing them strong victories is Central Michigan. Last year the Chips were the MAC champions and lost a close game with Purdue in the Motor City Bowl 51-48. Now CMU enters a key game on Wednesday night versus Northern Illinois and the que ... read more
It has been another interesting week to say the least in college football. Penn St. bit the dust in Iowa City, and the BCS unbeatens are down to Texas Tech and Alabama, who need OT to survive the LSU TIGERS. We are now down to 5 unbeatens with 3 Cinderellas trying to crash the party in Ball St., Utah (a miracle finish), and Boise St. Here is a look ahead to this week's action, including 1 loss tea ... read more
Below are two NBA opinions for Friday night. You can also get tonight's strongest NBA Best Bet and NCAA Football Winner on Steve Merril’s Premium Selections page!
INDIANA +8½ (at Cleveland) – 7:35 pm ET #507
The Cavaliers are coming off two big wins versus Dallas and Chicago and the Cavs might overlook Indiana tonight, especially with another game at Chicago tomorro ... read more
It's that time of the year when the run for a BCS takes shape and the rank of the unbeatens starts to dwindle. Some hopes of participating in a BCS Bowl has vanished while others still consider themselves in the hunt. Without argument, teams that are in the Top 10 and are still unbeaten certainly have the right to believe that if they keep winning they should land themselve to the promise lan ... read more
If you go back in the NFL with the inception of Monday Night Football, the rage with the novelty was the home underdog, which seemed to present blind value each time an opportunity presented itself. It has long been established that the homefield advantage was worth 3 points to the home team. How do those numbers work out today, and what is leading to the change?
If you go back to 1983 and take ... read more
What a game between Texas and Texas Tech. It was a nearly impossible spot for Texas, having played 3 undefeated teams in a row, and heading to Lubbock to meet their 4th. They left with the loss, being the 2nd undeated team to drop from the ranks, as Tulsa went down to Arkansas as well. That leaves just 7 teams amongst the ranks of the unbeaten, with still 3 Cinderella teams alive in Boise St, Utah ... read more
Buying points when betting NFL Picks as gained popularity over the years. Heck, I remember when I began handicapping sports over 20 years ago that you didn't have an option to do that. You just looked at the point spread, tried to shop for the best line you could and then made your NFL Picks. So you have to wonder why you can now buy down or up, depending on which side you like, the point sp ... read more
There are many different ways to handicap College Football Picks. Although there are some "experts" out there that want you to believe that they have the secret formula there are really only three primary forms of handicapping. They are fundamental, statistical and technical. Your best handicappers will employ a little of all three. This week in looking at our lineup of College Football pick ... read more
South Florida burst onto the scene last year and climbed as high as #2 in the national polls by midseason. They faltered down the stretch, losing four of their final seven games, but still garnered a respectable 9-4 SU record. This year’s Bulls team isn’t surprising anyone, but that didn’t stop them from starting the season with five stra ... read more
This week saw the action at the top settle down, as the only causalty was Oklahoma St. in a head-to-head battle of unbeatens vs Texas Tech. We are now down to 8 unbeaten teams, and the Cinderella report includes Ball St.,Tulsa,Boise St., and Utah, still amongst the ranks of the unbeaten. I will begin with this week, not only to take a look at the week ahead, but also to try and unravel the Nationa ... read more
As the leaves here outside my New England home find their way to the ground, it can only mean one thing. The NBA season is upon us once again. Seems like just yesterday the Boston Celtics, and their powerhouse trio of Stars, Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, were the crowned jewel of the NBA for the 2007-08 season. I thought it would be an interesting topic to see how the Champion, as well as the runner ... read more
The NFL season is quickly approaching the half way point and it has certainly been an interesting. Not only have we had some surprises but there have already been three head coaches fired for their teams lack of performance. The most recent in San Francisco as Singletary takes over for Nolan. Even with all of the turmoil it's still important to remember that it is football and every year has ... read more
Entering this weekend, the list of undefeated teams features some of the usual suspects… a Big 10 squad, a SEC team, a couple of Big 12 squads, Utah, Boise state, Ball state and Tulsa... wait a second, did i just type Tulsa… the Golden Hurricanes? The school that produced Steve Largent is producing some impressive offensive numbers thi ... read more
In College Football Picks many twists and turns happen during the season based on the emotions of any particular team. In fact, it can be argued that in college football emotions can carry a team to levels that even the experts can't figure out. However, as we approach week #8 of the season you have to wonder if those same emotions that carried a team earlier are as much a factor now if they ... read more
There was only one casualty this week from the ranks of the unbeaten, as BYU went down hard to the tenacious defense of TCU. As we head to week 9, there are now 9 undefeated teams left. The BIG-12 continues to be most impressive as of the 5 BCS Conference schools with undefeated teams, 3 reside in the BIG-12. The Cinderella teams remain in force, with 4 unbeaten teams. Let's take a look at the wee ... read more
Although you can point to any season in which injuries have just about spoiled the season of a team this year it seems that more than a fair share of teams have been affected. Much has been written about the Patriots and Brady but there are other teams that have struggled with the injury bug as well. While handicapping NFL Picks this week it's certainly important to take injuries into account ... read more
In handicapping sporting events there are certainly enough opinions to support whatever team you feel will win in any given week of College Football Picks. However, the astute handicapper understands which ones are of value and which ones have no bearing on making a correct selection. One that I believe has a strong influence on the outcome of any particular game is the performance of a team ... read more
When the college football season began seven weeks ago, there were 49 teams ahead of Oklahoma State in the BCS title odds and the Cowboys were a whopping 200-1 at some sportsbooks. Oklahoma State is now 6-0 straight-up and 5-0 ATS after a surprising 28-23 outright win as a 14-point road underdog at Missouri last week. Oklahoma State’s national title odds are now down to 22-1 and the Cowboys ... read more
There is always a lot of talk about how Homecoming is a big game on teams schedule, and how motivated they will be to win on what is perhaps the most exciting day on the home schedule, for fans, and players, as well as family, and alums. Truthfully, it is a nightmare for the coaches, as they try to clear the path of distractions in the players minds from Saturday to Saturday, but this is one unavo ... read more
The NFL season is quickly approaching the mid point and just like in years past there are pretenders as well as contenders imerging from the confusion. So, how do you separate the "BS" from the "Facts" to come up with come profitable NFL Picks? It's all in the numbers as they say, and one approach that has served well as a starting point is analysis of past angles and trends within the weeks ... read more
If you have been around sport handicapping for any period of time I am sure that you have heard talk about the experience of one team versus another. That is especially true when talk turns to playoffs or "big games". There is no doubt that it does have an impact as the season progresses and games become more important. The question however you have to answer is does the experience of a team ... read more
Until this week, Ball State was best known for being the alma mater of late-night TV host David Letterman, but now the Cardinals are getting attention for their football program with their best start since 1965 and first Top 25 ranking in the school’s 84-year football history. So the question now arises… is Ball State for real?
Ball State has benefited from a relatively easy schedule; ... read more
The last 2 weeks has now seen 11 teams vanish from the ranks of the unbeaten. Georgia, USC, Florida, and Ohio St, thought to be the top 4 coming into this season have now dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten. Their were 3 more causalties this week, as S. Florida, Uconn, and Kentucky suffered their first defeats. There are now only 15 teams left amongst the ranks of the unbeaten. The ACC, Pac-10, ... read more
Much has been written about bye weeks in the NFL and how it affects a teams performance in subsequent games. However, most of these articles focus on the bye week in it of itself. For the purposes of this article I decided to factor in a bye weeks affect on winning teams versus losing teams. Low and behold there certainly was something in this angle. In fact, losing teams faired better than ... read more
The College Football Season is rolling along and this week marks the first week where the Conference Matchups really heat up. Along with that it is also far enough into the season where teams start to believe that they have a shot at a BCS Bowl birth. Especially when it comes to teams that roll into this week unbeaten at 5-0. However, for the bettor the important thing is whether or not thes ... read more
The Southeastern Conference is the strongest college football conference and by the third week of the season they became the first conference to ever have five teams ranked in the Top 10. The league is extremely deep from top to bottom and this was evident last weekend when Florida lost outright as a 22-point home favorite versus Mississippi.
While the media has been focusing on powerh ... read more
We have now completed five weeks of play in NCAA Football, and the perfect teams are down from 26 a week ago to 18 this week. The National Championship game which was supposed to go through Florida, USC, Georgia, or Ohio St., now looks like it will be determined elsewhere, as all 4 have suffered a loss. There are now just 13 BCS schools left unblemished, and still 5 Cinderella hopefuls undefeated ... read more
If anything that history can tell you when looking for NFL Picks it is that expect that unexpected. Who would have thought that Indy would be 1-2 and that the New England Patriots will be lucky to even make the playoffs. Regardless, it is also important to remember that the unexpected happens every season so focusing on the hear and now, although an important factor in picking winners, histor ... read more
There are certainly no shortage of articles that talk about the value of having a week off in college football. Does it make a team rusty, does it give them the rest they need to adjust game plans if off to a poor start to the season, etc. Although you can argue any and all positions I decided to just look at some of the facts as opposed to conjecture. Since we have begun week #4 of the Coll ... read more
Well the season is now 4 weeks old, and the undefeated teams went from 33 a week ago, down to 26 this week. The Non-BCS Conference teams are still carrying 6 Cinderella hopefuls, while the BCS Conferences have 20 teams holding onto the goose-egg in the loss column.
This week has just 2 guaranteed departures from the list of 26, as the YCU vs Oklahoma game loser will vanish from the list, as wil ... read more
I have had a great deal of success in major league baseball, as I'm about to cap off my 7th straight winning season, and look forward to the post-season, where the success has been equal. It would be a bit disconcerting not faring well in baseball, since I played professionally, and certainly have a vast knowledge of what transpires, emotional, mentally, and physically, but that alone, by far, off ... read more
Below are 2 daytime MLB selections for Sunday afternoon. You can also get an awesome NFL Sunday Night winner (Cowboys/Packers) on Steve Merril’s Guaranteed Selections page!
MINNESOTA +100 (action) – 1:40 pm ET #973
The Devil Rays completed one of the greatest turn around stories in MLB history by clinching a playoff birth last night for the first time in franchi ... read more
Below is a free MLB selection for Wednesday night. You can also get an awesome MLB Steamroller Blowout on Steve Merril’s Premium Selections page!
MILWAUKEE +110 (Sheets) – 8:05 pm ET #963
The Brewers have struggled this month, but they are still one of the best teams in the league and they should receive a spark now that manager Ned Yost has been fired. Milwaukee p ... read more
Anyone that has followed me, realizes I am big on situational handicapping, as well as fundamental handicapping. I am always on the alert to situations pertaining to a game that are meaningful, show an elongated history of performing well, and areas where an otherwise efficient market goes inefficient. So let's get into a little conversation about Monday Night Football. For the longest time, in th ... read more
Unless you have been in a coma, there is no doubt your aware of the edge the American League has had on the National League. Is this the year that the NL finally gets redemption? If you look at interleague play, the All-Star game, and prior years, one would be hard pressed to reach that conclusion. The AL once again stormed through interleague play with a combined 149-103 record vs the senior ci ... read more
I mentioned in many of my articles, that if you want to win in the efficient market of sports wagering, you have to continuosly search out inefficiencies within the marketplace. It is something I pride myself on, it is tedious work of countless hours, but the return is substantial. Here is one more gem that is in my arsenol, and although it yields a minimum amount of plays per season, when you hav ... read more
The Mountain West Conference took care of business as the teams combined for a 7-1 record that included the upset of the week when the UNLV Rebels went into Tempe, Arizona to take on The Arizona State Sun Devils and came out with a thrilling 23-20 overtime victory. San Diego State lost to San Jose State 35-10 and was the only loser in the conference. BYU made a huge statement by thrashing the inju ... read more
The Fighting Irish have always been a public team, so last year’s collapse and 1-9 SU start to the season was national news. Their eventual 3-9 SU losing record for the year was especially surprising since Notre Dame had been a combined 19-6 SU in 2005 and 2006 and entered their BCS bowl games with #5 and #11 national rankings.
Notre Dame’s sudden fall led to a 0-4 ATS start in 2007, b ... read more
You've heard it all before, don't rely solely on trends as they can send you to the poor house pretty quickly. When you think about College Football it the noises become even louder with the experts pointing to the fact that teams at this level have constant personnel turnover yielding those same trends useless. Although one could argue either way the fact of the matter is that if you look so ... read more
The Eagles are coming off a straight up loss to the Georgia Tech and their first year coach Paul Johnson. The Eagles were able to force three first half fumbles but were not able to capitalize. Chris Crane, a fifth-year senior at quarterback, struggled for the second straight game. Crane was 18-35 for 142 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Although Boston College shu ... read more
The first few weeks of the NFL can be tricky for the bettor as teams are coming off a pre-season that was more of an audition for players trying to own a spot on the roster rather than a bon-a-fide look into the true performance of a team. Teams that were active in the off season tend to present a challenge as well for the bettor who is trying to assess if the new acquisitions will have alread ... read more
Although there is more to handicapping than going by straight trends and angles as teams in the College ranks changes from year to year can through historical performances right out the window. Look at the recent performance of the Floriday Seminoles who dominated for so long creating trends that if followed recently would have put us in the poor house. However, they are important to consider ... read more
With the conclusion of the first full Saturday of NCAAF action one can certainly reflect on the happenings and upsets but that most always lends itself to 20/20 hindsight. Although looking back can certainly help us for our future wagers as we factor in what happened but it is only an indicator at this point in the season. Instead of taking that track I would like to switch gears and look at ... read more
College Football has kicked off it's season and today brings the first full Saturday of action. It is that time of the year now to dust off all of those handicapping angles and trends so that we might put the odds in our favor to make it a profitable Saturday. Although there is more to handicapping than just trends and angles it is an important factor to indentify as it will allow you to hone ... read more
Below is look at 2 of the NFL preseason games for Friday night. You can also get an awesome NCAA Football Steamroller Blowout for Saturday on Steve Merril’s Guaranteed Selections page!
SAN FRANCISCO -2½ -120 (vs. San Diego) – 10:00 pm ET #140
The 49ers have a decisive scheduling edge in their ... read more
The Ragin Cajuns will have 16 returning starters from last year’s teams. RB Tyrell Fenroy will be the featured running back and quarterback Michael Desormeaux will be running the show. The team will be able to move the ball. The defense will have to tighten up against the run if they want to improve and compete against Troy and Atlantic Florida. The linebacker corp ... read more
