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Posts Tagged Sports betting

NHL Betting – The Torch Is Theirs For The Canadiens To Hold High

Apr 20

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Stanley CupWhen Montreal Canadiens’ legend Jean Beliveau walked towards the Bell Centre ice with the franchise’s torch held high, the sell-out crowd stood tall and cheered at what they were witnessing. The first Canadiens’ home game of the 2011 NHL playoffs, and with 24 Stanley Cup banners hanging from the rafters a reminder of all that has been accomplished and all that can be this postseason. Montreal came close to reaching the big one before falling short in the Eastern conference finals a year ago, but after taking the first two games of their opening round series against the division rival Boston Bruins, the optimism in the city is alive. The Canadiens would lose game three to their Original Six opponents, but even after winning the first two few thought they would sweep the series.Montreal’s focus now turns to game four, and with every intention on embarking on another long run as the Kentucky derby betting approaches.

The Canadiens have shown early on that they have the speed and skill to compete with the best in the conference. Goaltender Carey Price has been the team’s most valuable player all season, and that has continued into the opening round. With Price keeping Montreal in every game, their systemic approach and opportunistic style has allowed them to show how dangerous they can be. The Canadiens have gotten scoring from all three lines in the postseason, just enough to compliment the play of Price in the first two games. If they can continue to move with that magic, there is no reason to think that hockey’s proudest franchise can’t make it over that sports betting hump and go all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 2011.

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Horse Race Betting – Uncle Mo The Early Favorite To Win This Year’s Derby

Apr 6

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lj-smithHistoric Churchill Downs will once again be ready for the most prestigious event in horse racing this May 7, when the 2011 Kentucky Derby goes for its 137th running. Once again, 20 of the finest three-year-old thoroughbreds in the country will get the call to post for the annual “Run for the Roses”, and while everything from post position to how the horses fare in the sports betting races leading up to the Derby will factor heavily in the outcome, there are still a couple of favorites that have separated themselves as legitimate contenders already.

If the 2011 Derby was run this week, the undoubted favorite would be Uncle Mo, a Todd Pletcher-trained horse that was last year’s Juvenille Champion, and is unbeaten in four previous starts. Ridden by John Velazquez, Uncle Mo won’t debut as a three-year-old until this coming sports betting bonus weekend at the Aqueduct in the Wood Memorial.

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March Madness Betting – Panthers Have All The Tools To Make Deep Run In NCAA Tournament

Mar 9

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lj-smithThe top-seeded team in the nation’s toughest conference will have the best shot at winning this year’s college basketball betting March Madness tournament. The No. 3 Pittsburgh Panthers enter the 2011 Big East playoffs as the top seed, and will get some much-needed rest through the tournament’s first two rounds to gear up for when it matters most. Despite some sloppy play down the stretch, the Panthers have all of the tools to not only win a conference championship, but also make some noise in the national title tournament, and it begins on the boards.

Pittsburgh finished sixth in the nation in rebounding with an average of 40.3 boards per game, which was also a big contributor to finishing third in assists. The Panthers moved the ball efficiently, registering an average of 17.5 assists. Ashton Gibbs and company flexed their muscle with a couple of double-digit wins over South Florida and Villanova to close out the season on top of the Big East, and will undoubtedly carry that momentum over to the conference tournament. Gibbs averaged 16.4 points per game to lead the Panthers, while senior forward Brad Wanamaker finished second on the team in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 11.9 and 5.3 respectively. Pittsburgh outré bounded their opponents by an average of 11 per game, and that will be the key when the sports betting Madness begins.

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Looking At The Best Second Stars Of The NBA

Nov 9

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nba-europe-live-tourToday in a rather shocking moment, we discovered something that sports betting fans have long speculated, there are more than just one star on the majority of NBA teams. That’s right, as we are discovering in Cleveland and in Washington, there are other stars aside from the one superstar each team has had. For fans looking to bet on well rounded teams here is a look at three secondary stars for some of the NBA franchises.

  • Brook Lopez New Jersey Nets - While many fans have come to associate the NJ Nets with Devin Harris, the team actually has a second and perhaps bigger star in forward Brook Lopez. Devin Harris is the guy that you want on the floor for a big offensive come back in the final minutes of the game, the clutch guy who can put the team on his back. However, Lopez is an excellent secondary star, who does most if not all of the defensive dirty work in the paint. He is a rebounding machine and can quietly put in 20 points a game.
  • Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks - First with Vince Carter in New Jersey and now with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas, Jason Kidd is one of the best if not the best secondary star any NBA team could ask for. While quietly putting up over 10,000 assists, Kidd has established himself as one of the elite point guards of the game. Ultimately we recognize that the Dallas offense is focused on big Dirk, but if it weren’t for Kidd’s return, the Mavericks may be an average team at best.
  • Pau Gasol Los Angeles Lakers - Gasol initially was the center of attention for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2004 to 2008. During this time, Kobe Bryant and Lakers really struggled to perform in the playoffs as they desperately needed a big man to fill former Laker Shaq’s shoes. Enter a trade with Memphis for Pau Gasol and you have one of the most impressive duos in the league. In three years together, Gasol and the Lakers have two of a possible three NBA Championships, with three finals appearances.

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Baseball Favorite Betting System

Aug 14

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mlb1MLB betting is one of the trickiest niches to develop a consistent formula for, as there are more winning and losing streaks in baseball than in any other major sport. Sports betting fans have discovered that although formulas are difficult in baseball, they can still make the biggest profit at the end of the season. Today we look at the baseball favorite betting system.

In essence, the good teams in baseball are those that can limit the losing streaks and overwhelm with long consistent winning streaks. Since the system was created, it has an over 500 average winning percentage. Here is how it works:

Basically what you want to do is bet on any team with a winning percentage of .470 or greater, with a moneyline of -110 or higher as the home team and lost its last three games. Last year we found that team’s in this specific situation went 24 and 13. However we also found that of the 13 losing teams, nine ended up winning the very next game after the one that worked in the situation above.

After the system lost on the first premise, fans that bet on their home team to rebound in the second game, went 33 and 17. Meaning to suggest that teams with a .470 or greater win percentage had little difficulty if any winning at least one home game in a given series.

Some fans enjoy backing a team with a .470 or higher win percentage regardless of the three game losing streaks. Instead they arrange their baseball favorite betting system in a double up manner in which they back a team over a bigger span than three games.

However, the double up system is rather risky, as leaning on a team enduring a losing streak, can see you lose most of your profit. The reason for this is that you are investing so much on the team winning that you would actually be better off focusing on another team that endured the three game losing streaks, prior to becoming the home favorite at – 110.

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NHL Voids Kovalchuk’s Contract

Aug 12

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espn_g_kovalchuck_300This year’s annual flexing of the muscles by the NHL comes at the expense of star winger Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils. In the middle of July, Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils agreed on one of the biggest contracts in the history of sports, at 17 years and $102 million. Devils fans futures betting online for their team to become the next NHL dynasty were foaming at the mouth when Kovalchuk agreed to such a long contract. However sports betting fans around the world were disgusted at how much money Kovalchuk was receiving when the question on everyone’s mind was, what has he accomplished lately?

Enter the NHL administration, who after last year’s disaster with the Phoenix Coyotes, felt they should step in and nullify the deal between the Devils and Kovalchuk. Last year as many may recall, Blackberry founder Jim Balsille a diehard hockey fan with a lot of money, attempted to buy the struggling Phoenix Coyotes franchise and move the team to Southern Ontario. The goal was to not only make the Coyotes an instant money maker in Southern Ontario’s untapped hockey market, but also to show that owners still want to win.

However, the NHL’s administration similar to the Kovalchuk situation decided to flex their muscles and disallow Balsille from buying the Coyotes and move them back to Canada. Ever since the NHL lockout in 2004 – 2005 when the salary cap was instituted, it appears more and more that the NHL under current Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly want to run the league as a dictatorship rather than a democracy.

For instance, one of the pushing points for nullifying the Kovalchuk deal is that it undermines the salary cap on an ethical standpoint. Essentially the contract is setup so that over the first 10 years of the contract Kovalchuk makes seven million a season. Yet for the last seven years he makes the league minimum, and many believe Kovalchuk will retire before the contract finishes. Now the only trouble with this is that it gives the Devils cap relief they may not have had, if Kovalchuk signed a 10 year deal at $102 million. After voiding Kovalchuk’s contract, the NHL is deciding whether to void several other superstars contracts to send a message about trying to get around the salary cap.

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2011 Stanley Cup Prediction

Aug 12

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logo_stanley_cup_2008jpgSports betting fans are beginning to get their predictions in for who will win the 2010 – 2011 Stanley Cup. Well online betting enthusiasts beware as although this offseason was quiet in terms of free agent talent, one of the busiest teams will be this year’s Stanley Cup winner.

That’s right fans out in Canada, this year we think that a Canadian team will finally break the 17 year curse. Ever since the Montreal Canadians won the Stanley Cup back in 1993 against the Los Angeles Kings, no Canadian team has been able to hoist the greatest prize in all of sports. However, Vancouver Canucks fans, your 16 year drought without making it to a final may be over this year.

This offseason, the busiest team from June 26th the day of the NHL Entry Draft until now were the boys on the West Coast. Already having a relatively solid core of the Sedin brothers, Ryan Kessler, Alex Burrows, Mason Raymond and Roberto Luongo, Canucks GM Mike Gillis felt his team was lacking a punch. Instead of improve from within the organization, Gillis went out and bought two of the best defenseman in the league in Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard. On top of this, Gillis felt his bottom six forwards were really lacking, so he went out and got the best faceoff man and penalty killer in the game, Manny Malholtra.

Although he acquired all of the free agents mentioned above, perhaps the biggest move Gillis made was finally deciding on bringing up goalie prospect Cory Schneider. Fans when the Canucks hoist the 2010-2011 version of Lord Stanley’s Mug, you can thank Schneider. Essentially on any other team Schneider is your starting goalie, but on Vancouver he will be the backup goalie to long term star goalie Roberto Luongo.

Why Will This Move Put Them Over The Top?

Since Luongo arrived in Vancouver, the man has been a workhorse averaging at least 70 games a season. As a result by the time the Canucks get to the playoffs, Luongo is on his last legs and can’t make it through a long playoff drive. Enter Schneider, who himself is a workhorse. Do not be surprised if two things occur this season, first Schneider plays at least 25 to 30 games which will give Luongo enough time to rest. Secondly, Schneider has been amazing in the minors to say the least. If he can convert that success to the big show, and Luongo struggles in the playoffs, do not be surprised if Schneider comes in and guides the Canucks to their first Stanley Cup.

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