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NFL Preseason Hall of Fame Game 1983-2022

by Al McMordie

Monday, Jul 31, 2023

The 2023 NFL Preseason will kick off again in Canton, Ohio this season when the New York Jets take on the Cleveland Browns.The Browns are currently a 2-point favorite, with the over/under set at 33 points (at Circa Sportsbook).Let's take a look at the point spread history of the Hall of Fame Game since 1983.There have been 37 games played, with one of the 37 (Green Bay vs. Kansas City, in 2003) shortened by weather, so all wagers on that game were nullified.  In three seasons, the Hall of Fame Game wasn't played.  In 2011, the game was canceled due to an NFL lockout.  In 2016, the field was in poor condition due to weather.  And, of course, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the game to not be played.Thus, there have been 36 NFL Hall of Fame Games since 1983 with point spread results attached to them.  And we find that the favorites have gone 19-13-3 ATS.  The smaller favorites have tended to do much better than the bigger favorites.  When the line was -1 to -2.5, the favorite went 13-6-1 ATS.  But when the line was -3 (or more), the favorite has gone 6-7-2 ATS.Not all games had over/under lines.  The oddsmakers started posting O/U lines for the 1996 game.  Twelve of the 23 games have gone under the total while 11 have gone over the total.  Interestingly, when the O/U line has been less than 33 points, the Overs have gone 5-1, while the Unders have gone 6-1 when the posted total was greater than 35 points.One other thing to note:  teams that were undefeated the previous preseason have gone 2-3 ATS in the Hall of Fame Game.  And teams that had a winning record the previous preseason (as well as a better preseason record than their opponent) have gone 6-12-1 ATS.  And teams that had a losing record the previous preseason (as well as a worse preseason record than their opponent) have gone 11-8 ATS.  Finally, teams with a worse preseason record the previous preseason than their opponent have gone 15-9-1 ATS.  (Last season, the Jets were 3-0 SU, while the Browns were 1-2 SU.)I have won each of the last 11 NFL seasons, so don't miss a single winner.  Join today.Good luck, as always...Al McMordie

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Max Scherzer Now Pitching for the Texas Rangers: What to Expect

by Team Del Genio

Sunday, Jul 30, 2023

Max Scherzer has not met the high expectations the New York Mets had for him this season. The 38-year-old was one of the best pitchers in baseball last season when he posted an 11-5 record for the Mets with a 2.29 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP in 23 starts and 145 1/3 innings. Yet going into his start on Friday at home against the Washington Nationals, the right-hander had just an 8-4 record with a 4.20 era and a 1.19 whip in 18 starts. With their 48-54 record going into their weekend series with the Nationals, the Mets are seven games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League playoffs. Yet New York had a 12-8 record this month. With six more games on deck against the lowly Nationals and Kansas City Royals, the Mets can still make some waves in the NL playoff race. While their dynamic duo of Justin Verlander along with Scherzer had not met their high expectations this season, Verlander has been quite good lately.  If those two veteran hurlers get hot, the Mets could still have made a run in the last two months of the season. Yet general manager Billy Eppler decided that the preferred approach for the organization was to trade assets. He traded away their closer David Robertson on Thursday or two bright prospects yet who are only in A-ball. He then traded Scherzer to the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The Rangers may have been convinced that Scherzer can make a critical difference for them the rest of the way. After the season-ending injury to Jacob DeGrom, the team lacks a viable number-one starter in their rotation. Scherzer held Washington to just six hits and one earned run in seven innings of work to earn his ninth victory of the season. Yet Scherzer's issues with the long ball this season continued in that effort with the Nationals' lone run coming on a home run. He served up four home runs in his previous start against Boston. He has given up 22 homers this season including 16 in his last ten starts. The 1.92 home runs per nine innings he is giving up this season is almost double the 1.04 homers per nine inning rate for his career. Scherzer has struggled to adapt to the new pitch clock this season, and he has not always had his slider operating at its highest level. After eight straight seasons of striking out 30.6% or more of the batters he has faced, his strikeout rate has dropped to a 27.3% clip this season. Yet he does have 61 strikeouts in the 51 innings over his last eight starts. That 10.76 strikeouts per nine innings average during that span is right in line with his 10.11 strikeouts per nine innings average last year. Scherzer has a 3.53 ERA in his last eight starts which matches up with his expected ERA of 3.65 for the season. That is the pitcher that the Rangers can expect. However, pitching at Global Life Field may compound Scherzers's gopher ball problem this season. The 132 home runs hit at the Rangers' home stadium is the most in the majors. The advanced statistics indicate that 5% more home runs are hit at Global Life Field versus the league average. On the other hand, the Mets' Citi Field has 5% fewer home runs than the league average. When Scherzer was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021, he posted a 7-0 record with a 1.98 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP for them in the regular season. Numbers that good are probably too much for the Rangers to expect. Yet Scherzer can expect to get more run support from the Texas lineup than what he had with the Mets. Given his home run issues this year, an ERA of 3.50 or so is a reasonable expectation for Scherzer the rest of the way. Yet given his improved strikeout rate over the last two months, the Rangers should have themselves an effective ace for the rest of the season. Good luck - TDG.

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Five Teams Who Could Be Overrated Entering This Season

by Kyle Hunter

Sunday, Jul 30, 2023

In less than 30 days, we’ll have college football back on our televisions. The sports betting world is better when college football is an option! There’s nothing like the weeks leading up to college football. College football has been a strength for me (70% on my CFB selections last year and 66% two years ago). A couple of days ago I took a look at five teams who could be underrated heading into this season. Now, let’s take a look at five teams who could be overrated going into this season based on their ATS success from a year ago.  Tulane Green Wave (12-2 ATS) I love Coach Fritz and that will definitely make me hesitate to fade this Tulane team. Three things about this team make me think they will be overvalued. First, there are very few teams who are able to go 12-2 ATS in a season. That kind of success gets noticed by bettors all over the world. Second, they are coming off a last second upset of USC in their last game. That is the last thing bettors will think of coming into this season. Finally, Tulane really lost a lot of key production. The linebacker spot takes a big hit without Anderson and Williams. Tyjae Spears won’t be easy to replace at RB either. Troy Trojans (11-3 ATS) Troy was able to go 11-3 ATS last year despite having a very poor offense. They couldn’t run the football, and they lost their starting quarterback from a year ago. Troy will still be a good Sun Belt team, but I think it will be hard for them to keep covering spreads. Carlton Martial finished his Troy career as the FBS leader in career tackles. He’s obviously a massive loss at linebacker. The Trojans still have weaknesses on offense, and now the defense lost its best player too.  Tennessee Volunteers (10-3 ATS) Josh Heupel has done a really good job with this Tennessee program. They outperformed all expectations for them a year ago up until the point that Hendon Hooker was injured. Joe Milton steps in as the starting quarterback. Milton claims he can throw the ball 90 yards. I want to see it to believe it. Also, Milton isn’t nearly as accurate of a passer as Hooker. There were a lot of key losses at the wide receiver position as well. A good team, but there isn’t likely to be a lot of value here on an ATS basis.  Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-5 ATS) Mitch Griffis might do alright as the quarterback at Wake Forest, but it is a big downgrade from Sam Hartman to the guys who Wake Forest will try under center this year. Dave Clawson is a good coach, so it won’t surprise me if Wake Forest improves a lot by the end of the season. Early on though this team might be overvalued. The offensive line is a big weakness. They averaged only 3.4 ypc last year, and now they are without Hartman and star WR A.T. Perry. Five of their top six defensive linemen from last year are gone as well. It will take some time.  Illinois Fighting Illini (8-5 ATS) Chase Brown was the star running back for Illinois, and the Fighting Illini are going to miss him a lot. They’ll probably miss defensive coordinator Ryan Walters even more. It’s my opinion that Walters really led the Illinois turnaround the last couple years. The job he did with the Illinois defense was nothing short of fantastic. Illinois lost three key players from the secondary, and they’ll have to try to put it back together without their star coordinator now. 

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Premier League Futures (2023/24 Season)

by Amedeus Mastrangelo

Sunday, Jul 30, 2023

August is approaching quickly and with that comes the start of the Premier League season which is right around the corner now. The first Premier League matches of the season kickoff on August 11 so it is time to see which teams are real contenders and which teams are just pretenders when it comes to winning this season’s Premier League title.  To Win Outright Manchester City -138: Man City is coming into this season as the team with the best chance to win the title and for good reason as they are the defending champions from last year and also completed the Treble as they also won the Champions League title as well as the FA Cup. Man City has lost some talent this year in the transfer window as they have seen the departure of right winger Riyad Mahrez as well as central midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and left back Benjamin Mendy. The departure of these players will definitely be a bit of a blow to Man City but they also have so much depth on their bench that they will be able to fill the holes with players just as talented and the 1 silver lining is that none of these players have decided to stay in the Premier League either. They did pick up central midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea as a replacement for Gundogan and they also have countless other players on the bench so as far as their strength of team goes, nothing has really changed much from last year and they are going to be a just as dominant team as they were so they still have a very good chance at winning the Premier League title this season.  Arsenal +500: Arsenal is coming into this season as the next team with the best chance to win the Premier League title according to the books. Arsenal had a very good team last season as they finished in 2nd place in the league and were actually leading the table for most of the season before letting it go to Man City in the final weeks. Arsenal is not a close 2nd to winning the title but they are the next best team according to the books because of their great season last year along with the fact that they have spent money to bring in more players to try and improve this team. They did lose a key player in defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka but they also signed Declan Rice to replace him as well as adding some other players to boost both their attack and their defense. They have brought in attacking midfielder Kai Havertz as well as bringing back centre-forward Folarin Balogun from his loan to add some dynamic talent to their attack and they also added centre-back Jurrien Timber as well as right back Cedric Soares to boost their defensive depth. Arsenal has definitely made some moves to improve their team and they are going to have their sights set on the Premier League title this year after almost winning it last season, but this season they are also going to have Champions League matches to worry about and it is their 1st time back in Champions League in years so they will definitely be more focused on that competition and that could negatively affect their Premier League matches down the road as we get late into the season with the build up of the condensed schedule. Arsenal has definitely improved their team from last year but they do not have the depth to win the Premier League title this season.  Liverpool +800: Liverpool is coming into this season as the next team with the best chance at winning the Premier League title according to the books but this is a Liverpool team that was already on the down trend last year and even failed to finish in the top 4. They will have an easier time focusing on Premier League matches this season as they are only in Europa League and likely do not care that much about the competition so getting back into the top 4 of the Premier League will be their focus for this season. Liverpool is also in the middle of a changing of the guard though as they brought in a lot of new players last year which took some time to mesh and now they have seen a lot of their core players depart from the team in this transfer window as well. Central midfielder Jordan Henderson, centre-forward Roberto Firmino, central midfielder Naby Keita, central midfielder James Milner, and central midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain just to name a few players who have left the team in this transfer window and even though a lot of those players did not do much for the team last season, these were the core players that were around during their dominant years in the Premier League and the departure of these players signifies a rebuild with this Liverpool team as they desperately try to fix the problems they had last year. They have brought in some quality players to fill the gaps now as they signed attacking midfielder Alexis Mac Allister as well as attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai which will definitely bring a much needed direction to this attack that was in disarray last season, but considering all of the attacking talent they have now in the midfield as well as their forwards, they are clearly going for an overly dominant attack this season and have done nothing to bring in players to strengthen their defense and defensive midfield which was the areas they struggled the most in. Liverpool can continue to overload their attack with talent but just like last year it will not do anything for them until they stabilize their awful defense and midfield. Liverpool is going to struggle once again this season to even make the top 4 and they will not be a threat to win the Premier League title.  Manchester United +1100: Man Utd is coming into this season as the next team with the best chance to win the Premier League title according to the books. Man Utd is coming off of a great season where they finished in 3rd place and were much improved after so many years of struggling. They have continued to add players in this summer transfer window that will boost their team while also getting rid of some players that were holding them back. They have seen the departure of left winger Anthony Elanga, goalkeeper David de Gea, and centre-forward Wout Weghorst who went back to Burnley at the end of his loan but none of these players were key pieces in their lineup last season and the biggest blow to this team in the transfer window this year was actually the departure of central midfielder Marcel Sabitzer who went back to Bayern Munich as his loan ended but he had some very good flashes of play for this team last year. Man Utd has been signing a lot of talent to improve though as they have brought in attacking midfielder Mason Mount to add some flair to their already strong attack as well as signing goalkeeper Andre Onana who is definitely a step up from the goalkeeper they had. They are also in talks with centre-forward Rasmus Hojlund which would really strengthen their attack if he were to join, but Man Utd has not done anything to improve their defense which they did have some issues with last season, specifically with the flanks and their defensive depth, so until they add some players to boost their defense, they are not a true contender to win the Premier League title, especially when they will also have Champions League matches to focus on as well which is a competition they have not been in for a few years now. The focus on the title is not going to be there and they do not have the depth to make a run at the title this season.  Chelsea +1200: Chelsea is coming into this season as the next team with the best chance at winning the Premier League title according to the books. Chelsea is coming off of an awful season where they finished in the bottom half of the table and a big problem they had was with the owner of the team after purchasing the club from the old owner as their new owner started to buy up any players on the market just because they were talented and wanted to keep them away from the other clubs. This led to a big problem with the team as they had an excess of players on the roster and there was absolutely no direction in which the team was headed in as they had also gone through quite a few managers during the season. Now they have another new manager but this time they will have some stability as they have departed with a majority of their players from last season and have just left a solid core to build on. They also added centre-forward Nicolas Jackson and second striker Christopher Nkunku to bring some consistency to their attack as scoring goals was a big issue for them last year. Now that they have improved their attack, which was their biggest issue, and have narrowed down the talent on their team to gain some stability with their lineup, an experienced manager like Pochettino will be able to guide the talent on this team to a much improved season as there is definitely no shortage of talent on the team, for them it is just all about putting it together on the pitch in an organized way. Chelsea has some real value here as a dark horse Premier League title contender because they have the talent and potential to be very good and due to their poor performance last year, they are not in any European competitions this season which means they will be well rested for their Premier League matches and fully focused on performing well in the league all year. Chelsea is definitely a dark horse to win the Premier League title this year.  Newcastle +1400: Newcastle is coming into this season as the next team with the best chance to win the Premier League title according to the books. Newcastle is coming off of a very good season where they came out of nowhere to finish in 4th place, but they were also a dominant team in the league all season and a lot of that has to do with their new owners and the money they have been spending on the team. Newcastle had one of the best defenses in the Premier League last season and their attack was also very good but it could be inconsistent at times. They did lose their left winger Allan Saint-Maximin in the transfer window which was their biggest blow, but he also missed a lot of the year due to injury so it will not have a huge impact on this team. They also picked up left winger Harvey Barnes to replace him who will have a much bigger impact on this attack while also adding defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali to boost their midfield even more. Newcastle was a surprisingly dominant team last season and managed to maintain that good form all season. They are going to be just as good this season if not better with the improvements they have made but they are still not going to be a title contender this year. There are still a lot of strong teams that will be around them in the table this year and they were barely holding onto their top 4 spot near the end of last season. The fact that they finished in 4th place also means they will be playing in Champions League this season which is an extra competition that they did not need to focus on last year and never had to rotate their squad as much. It will be a lot more difficult for them this year to juggle both competitions with the depth they have so even though they are still going to be a very good team, they are not going to be a title contender this season.  RecommendationsManchester City is the obvious favorite to win the Premier League title this season after the year they had last season but even when looking at the squads, they still have the most talent and the deepest bench in the league which gives them the best chance at winning the title. Manchester City to win the Premier League title at -138 is not a bad price either considering they are usually closer to -200 or more. If looking for more of a longshot though, Chelsea at +1200 definitely has the most value as they are not going to be as bad as they were last season with their new direction now and also not playing in any European competitions can only help them from a depth standpoint. Manchester City at -138 is the best way to go here and Chelsea at +1200 is the best longshot.

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Baseball’s New Pitch Clock - How It’s Working So Far

by Oskeim Sports

Sunday, Jul 30, 2023

After several years of enduring baseball games that lasted longer than three hours, MLB finally implemented a pitch clock. It was tried out in a number of minor leagues before arriving in MLB in 2023. How has it worked so far? The Pitch Clock If you're unaware, the MLB pitch clock regulates how long a pitcher may wait between pitches. A pitcher has 15 seconds to throw his next pitch if there are no runners on base. He is given 20 seconds when there is at least one runner on base. Prior to the pitch clock running out, the pitcher must be in his windup. A ball is automatically awarded for any pitch clock infraction. There must be at least eight seconds left on the pitch clock when batters enter the batter's box. A hitter commits a violation and gets called for a strike automatically if he is not in the box at that time. There are some additional nuances, but those are the fundamentals of the new rule. Of course, the pitch clock has generated a lot of discussion among fans and within the league. The Purists of Baseball Purists of traditional baseball despise the pitch clock. They assert that the game was intended to be played at its own pace. A clock has never been used in baseball. It was never intended to, and purists think it takes away from the original game. The pitch clock does eliminate some of the psychological tricks that pitchers could employ against hitters. The most ardent baseball purists will find that to be an important aspect of the game.  Many people also claim that games today move too quickly. While 2:03 may be a little too short for an MLB game, three and a half hours is definitely too long.  Scoring Is Up Compared to last season, MLB games now average 9.1 runs per game. It's interesting to note that MLB games in 2021 also featured an average run total of 9.1. The numbers are back up this season after declining last year. But is the increase in scoring connected to the new pitch clock? Los Angeles Dodgers were the MLB team with the most runs scored in 2022. Last year, they scored 5.17 runs per game on average. The Texas Rangers have held the top spot for the majority of the season. They currently score 5.83 runs per game on average. Six teams average at least 5.00 runs per game currently. Last season, only the Dodgers were over the 5-run mark.  Change in Pitching A look at pitching statistics also provides some useful information. Starting pitchers have almost certainly been the group that has been most impacted by the pitch clock.  The Dodgers also held the majors record for team ERA in 2022. LA's pitchers had an overall ERA of 2.82. With 2.84, Houston's staff came in second. The Dodgers were No. 1 once more in 2021 with a team ERA of 3.02. The league-leading Dodgers posted a 3.11 ERA even during the abbreviated 2020 MLB season. The key takeaway is that the best baseball pitching staff have had team ERAs that have tended to be around 3.00. Tampa Bay has the top pitching staff in MLB in 2023 based on ERA with the new pitch clock. The Rays' ERA as a whole is 3.70.  Injuries Pitcher injuries were one of the arguments raised against the use of the pitch clock. The numbers show that there is no connection between the two. A spike in pitcher injuries occurred in 2021, and through the first 75 days of the season, 195 pitchers had been placed on the injured list. In 2022, it decreased to 157. It's interesting to note that there were fewer this year (146). It's interesting to note that this year's average fastball and breaking ball velocities are higher than they were in 2022. Through the first 75 days of the season last year, the average fastball clocked in at 93.8 mph. It was 94.0 this year. Breaking ball speed increased from 82.6 to 83.0 miles per hour. Actually, those figures are more suggestive of an increase in injuries. The torque on the elbow increases with the speed at which these pitchers throw. Compared to the time between pitches, that can unquestionably result in more injuries. Games are being sped up by the pitch clock, which eliminates about 30 minutes from each game. It won't disappear any time soon. To determine its actual impact on the game, if any, we'll need a larger sample size.

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Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB, CFL and Women's World Cup Previews and Odds - 07/30/2023

by Big Al Staff

Sunday, Jul 30, 2023

The Sunday sports card features action in MLB, the CFL, and the Women’s World Cup.Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Toronto Blue Jays host the Los Angeles Angels on Peacock at 12:05 PM ET as a -195 money-line favorite, with the total set at 9.5 (all odds from BetMGM unless indicated otherwise). Two MLB games throw out the first pitch at 1:35 PM ET. The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates as a -150 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The Milwaukee Brewers play in Atlanta against the Braves. Two more MLB games start at 1:40 PM ET. The Miami Marlins are at home against the Detroit Tigers as a -150 money-line favorite with a total of 7. The New York Mets play at home against the Washington Nationals as a -255 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Three MLB games begin at 2:10 PM ET. The Tampa Bay Rays visit Houston to play the Astros as a -135 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Minnesota Twins play at Kansas City against the Royals as a -165 money-line road favorite with a total of 9. The Cleveland Guardians are in Chicago to play the White Sox as a -140 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The St. Louis Cardinals are at home against the Chicago Cubs at 2:15 PM ET as a -130 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Oakland A’s play at Colorado to play the Rockies at 3:10 PM ET, with both teams priced at -110 with an over/under of 12.5. The Boston Red Sox are in San Francisco to play the Giants at 4:05 PM ET. Three more MLB games start at 4:10 PM ET. The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Cincinnati Reds as a -170 money-line favorite with a total of 10.5. The Seattle Mariners play in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, with both teams priced at -110 with an over/under of 8. The Texas Rangers are in San Diego to play the Padres. Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN features the Baltimore Orioles playing at home against the New York Yankees. Dean Kremer takes the ball for the Orioles to pitch against Luis Severino for the Yankees. Baltimore is a -135 money-line favorite with a total of 9.   The Canadian Football League concludes Week 8 with the Montreal Alouettes at home playing the Calgary Stampeders at 7 PM ET. The Alouettes are on a three-game losing streak after a 35-27 loss to Toronto as a 6-point underdog on July 14th. The Stampeders lost for the third time in their last four games in a 43-41   upset loss against Ottawa as a 4.5-point favorite last Sunday. Montreal is a 2.5-point favorite with an over/under of 47.5. The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia continues with four matches scheduled through Monday AM ET. Two games start at 3:01 AM ET. Spain plays Japan on Fox and Peacock as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2. Zambia faces Costa Rica on FS1 and Peacock as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5. Two matches begin at 6 AM ET. Australia battles Canada on Fox and Peacock as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.5. Nigeria goes against Ireland on FS1 and Peacock as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5. 

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Five Teams Who Could Be Underrated ATS This Season

by Kyle Hunter

Saturday, Jul 29, 2023

The college football season is just a month away! College football has been a strength for me (70% CFB last year and 66% two years ago), and it is one of my two favorite sports (college hoops the other). There’s nothing like the weeks leading up to college football. Handicappers put in a ton of time preparing for the season. Today, I want to look at five teams I believe could be underrated against the spread this season because of their poor results against the spread from a year ago.  NC State (4-9 ATS last year) NC State was overhyped coming into last season. Everyone thought NC State had their window of opportunity to win the ACC. The team did have a lot of injuries. Devin Leary was knocked out and they had backup QB’s for much of the season. The defense also suffered a bunch of key losses. NC State had a disappointing season compared to expectations and finished 4-9 ATS.Brennan Armstrong transferred in from Virginia, and he is expected to be the new starting quarterback. The Wolfpack did lose a lot of key guys on defense, but star linebacker Payton Wilson is back to lead the stop unit.There is no hype this year, but the Wolfpack have winnable road games and a quality team.  Ole MIss (4-8-1 ATS last year) Quinshon Judkins might be the best running back in the country. Lane Kiffin is a brilliant offensive mastermind. Jaxson Dart is back and Spencer Sanders (previously the starting QB at Oklahoma State) transferred in to Ole Miss as well. Zakhari Franklin, who was a star WR at UTSA is now in the fold at Ole Miss too. There is an abundance of wealth on the offensive side for the Rebels. They are coming off a 4-8-1 ATS season. Ole Miss had a bad showing in their bowl game and people will remember that. I think the Rebels are at least somewhat underrated coming into this season. Northern Illinois (4-8 ATS last year) Let’s go a bit under the radar in the MAC for our next team. Northern Illinois was just 4-8 ATS last year, but they played much of the season without star quarterback Rocky Lombardi. Lombardi has put up video game type numbers in this offense when healthy the last couple seasons. Northern Illinois has arguably the best offensive line in the MAC too. The Huskies will test themselves in the non-conference with games at Nebraska and Boston College. I think they’ll be a good team ATS especially in MAC play.  Iowa State (4-7-1 ATS last year) Matt Campbell is still a good coach, and Iowa State isn’t likely to be -7 in turnover margin again this season. They went just 4-8 straight up and 4-7-1 ATS last year. The Cyclones have an above average defense and a veteran signal caller in Hunter Dekkers. They play a really tough schedule, so they might not win a ton of games, but I think they’ll be some good spots to back them as underdogs this season.  Oklahoma (5-8 ATS last year) Oklahoma has too much talent to not bounce back some in the year ahead. Dillon Gabriel is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He was hurt late last year.  Many bettors will remember Oklahoma being blasted by Texas a year ago. I also trust Brent Venables and Ted Roof to help this defense improve in the second year of this system. The Sooners have a lot of upside potential this year. 

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Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB, CFL and Women's World Cup Previews and Odds - 07/29/2023

by Big Al Staff

Saturday, Jul 29, 2023

The Saturday sports card features action in MLB, the CFL, and the Women’s World Cup.Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Toronto Blue Jays host the Los Angeles Angels at 3:07 PM ET as a -125 money-line favorite, with the total set at 9.5 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). The Miami Marlins play at home against the Detroit Tigers on FS1-TV at 4:10 PM ET as a -155 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates at 7:05 PM ET as a -175 money-line road favorite with a total of 9. Three more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 7:10 PM ET. The New York Mets are at home against the Washington Nationals as a -170 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9.5. The Cleveland Guardians play in Chicago against the White Sox. The Minnesota Twins are in Kansas City against the Royals as a -195 money-line road favor with a total of 9. Four MLB games start at 7:15 PM ET. The Chicago Cubs visit St. Louis to play the Cardinals, with both teams priced at -110. Three more MLB games are featured in Fox’s regional television coverage. The Boston Red Sox play in San Francisco against the Giants. The Houston Astros host the Tampa Bay Rays as a -130 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Baltimore Orioles play at home against the New York Yankees as a -120 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Atlanta Braves are at home against the Milwaukee Brewers at 7:20 PM ET as a -200 money-line favorite with an over/under of 10. Two MLB games begin at 8:10 PM ET. The Seattle Mariners are in Arizona to play the Diamondbacks as a -135 money-line road favorite with a total of 9.5. The Oakland A’s play in Colorado against the Rockies. The San Diego Padres host the Texas Rangers at 8:40 PM ET as a -170 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Cincinnati Reds at 9:10 PM ET as a -200 money-line favorite with a total of 10.5.Week 8 in the Canadian Football League continues with two games on the CBS Sports Network. The Toronto Argonauts play the Saskatchewan Roughriders on a neutral field at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the Touchdown Atlantic series. The Argonauts are a 10.5-point favorite with an over/under of 47.5. The British Columbia Lions are in Edmonton to play the Argonauts at 7 PM ET. The Lions are a 7.5-point road favorite with a total of 43.5. The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia continues with four matches scheduled through Sunday AM ET. South Korea plays Morocco on Fox and Peacock at 12:30 AM ET as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2. Two more matches begin at 3:01 AM ET. Norway faces the Philippines on Fox and Peacock as a -2.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 3. Switzerland battles New Zealand on FS1 and Peacock as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2. Germany goes against Colombia on FS1 and Peacock at 5:30 AM ET as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 3. 

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USFL Point Spread Data 2022-23

by Al McMordie

Friday, Jul 28, 2023

The USFL has played two seasons since its founding, and the Birmingham Stallions have won the championship each year.  The two seasons, though, were very different in another respect.  In the first season, all the regular season games were played in Birmingham, Alabama, while the playoff games were played in Canton, Ohio.  However, in Season 2, the league moved its games to a pod format, such that two teams played their home games in Birmingham, two played in Canton, two played in Detroit, Michigan, and two played in Memphis, Tennessee.  The playoff semi-finals were played at the home fields of the higher seeds, while the title game was played in Canton.Because of these schedules, the league has had 34 home-sited games, and 52 neutral-sited games.Let's take a look at how the USFL's games for its first two seasons have gone, from a point spread perspective.Home teams:  12-21-1 ATSAway teams:  21-12-1 ATSFavorites:  36-46-3 ATSUnderdogs:  46-36-3 ATSFavorites priced from -7.5 to -13.5:  3-14 ATSFavorites priced from -3.5 to -7:  21-18-2 ATSFavorites priced from -1 to -3:  12-14-1 ATSOvers:  43-41-2Unders:  41-43-2O/U Line 30 to 39.5:  17-4-1 OverO/U Line 40 to 49.5:  26-37-1 OverTeams off a win (vs foes off a loss):  15-14-1 ATSTeams off back-to-back wins (vs. foes not off back-to-back wins):  16-11 ATSTeams off a SU/ATS win (vs. foes not off a SU/ATS win):  15-13-1 ATSTeams off back-to-back SU/ATS wins (vs. foes not off back-to-back SU/ATS wins):  11-9 ATSTeams off an ATS win vs. foes off an ATS loss:  15-14-1 ATSTeams off a double-digit win (vs. foes not off a double-digit win):  12-14-1 ATSTeams off a double-digit cover (vs. foes not off a double-digit cover):  13-8 ATSTeams off a double-digit loss (vs. foes not off a double-digit loss):  15-12 ATSTeams that failed to cover by double-digits (vs. foes that didn't fail to cover by double-digits):  11-14-1 ATSTeams off a double-digit loss vs. foes off a double-digit win:  4-2 ATSTeams that failed to cover by double-digits vs. foes off a double-digit cover:  2-6 ATSTeams playing with revenge:  28-27-3 ATSWinning teams vs. losing teams:  11-16 ATSBoth teams off Overs:  10-8-1 OverBoth teams off Unders:  8-10 OverGood luck, as always....Al McMordie

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Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB, CFL and Women's World Cup Previews and Odds - 07/28/2023

by Big Al Staff

Friday, Jul 28, 2023

The Friday sports card features action in MLB, the CFL, and the Women’s World Cup.Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Miami Marlins host the Detroit Tigers at 6:40 PM ET as a -150 money-line favorite, with the total set at 8 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). Two more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 7:05 PM ET. The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates as a -155 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The New York Yankees play in Baltimore against the Orioles as a -120 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Toronto Blue Jays are at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Apple TV+ at 7:07 PM ET as a -200 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Two MLB games start at 7:10 PM ET. The New York Mets play at home against the Washington Nationals as a -190 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Cleveland Guardians are in Chicago to play the White Sox on Apple TV+. The Atlanta Braves host the Milwaukee Brewers at 7:20 PM ET as a -180 money-line favorite with an over/under of 10. Two MLB games begin at 8:10 PM ET. The Tampa Bay Rays play in Houston against the Astros as a -115 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Minnesota Twins visit Kansas City against the Royals as a -170 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9.5. The Chicago Cubs are in St. Louis to play the Cardinals at 8:15 PM ET. The Colorado Rockies play at home against the Oakland A’s at 8:40 PM ET. Two MLB games start at 9:40 PM ET. The San Diego Padres play at home against the Texas Rangers as a -170 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Seattle Mariners travel to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks as a -135 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The Los Angeles Dodgers are at home against the Cincinnati Reds at 10:10 PM ET as a -230 money-line favorite with a total of 9.5. The San Francisco Giants host the Boston Red Sox at 10:15 PM ET as a -150 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Canadian Football League kicks off Week 8 with one game. The Ottawa Redblacks play at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 7:30 PM ET. The Redblacks are on a two-game winning streak after their 43-41 upset victory in overtime at Calgary as a 4.5-point underdog on Sunday. The Tiger-Cats’ two-game winning streak ended in a 31-15 loss to Toronto as a 10.5-point underdog on Friday. Ottawa is a 2-point favorite with a total of 49.The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia continues with three matches scheduled through Saturday AM ET. Sweden plays Italy on FS1 and Peacock at 3:30 AM ET as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2 (all soccer odds at BetMGM). Brazil battles France on Fox and Peacock at 6 AM ET in a pick ‘em match with a total of 2. Jamaica faces Panama on Fox and Peacock at 8:30 AM ET as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.

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North of the Border: CFL Week 8 News and Notes

by Sean Murphy

Thursday, Jul 27, 2023

We're seven weeks into the CFL season and one undefeated team and one winless team still remain. Of course, you're never that far from playoff contention in the CFL so even the 0-7 Edmonton Elks still have a lot to play for while the 5-0 Toronto Argonauts are anything but free and clear at the top of the pack. Here's a look around the league heading into this weekend's action.Just a speedbump?The Hamilton Tiger-Cats had reeled off back-to-back wins prior to last week's 31-15 drubbing at the hands of the aforementioned Argos. They'll get a chance to respond on Friday as they make the trip to Ottawa to face the suddenly-surging RedBlacks. Ottawa has delivered consecutive victories in thrilling fashion, first rallying from a massive fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at home before going on the road and outlasting the Calgary Stampeders 43-41 in another overtime affair last week. Hamilton is hoping that it will have QB Bo Levi Mitchell back sooner rather than later as it has few viable options at the position due to a number of key injuries. The RedBlacks have been living off of turnovers this season, coming up with 10 over the last four games alone. Meanwhile, the Ti-Cats coughed up the football eight times in their first four games but have turned it over only twice in their last two contests. Running down a dreamThe defending Grey Cup champion Argos are 5-0 on the strength of an incredible ground attack that has produced an average of 129 rush yards per game, good for an incredible 5.1 yards per rush so far this season. They draw a tough matchup on Saturday as the Saskatchewan Roughriders have been stout against the run, yielding just 4.3 yards per rush after holding their last two opponents to only 88 yards on 29 attempts. It's been a case of feast-or-famine for the Riders offense this season. They've produced 87 points across three of their games but only 38 in the other three. That includes last week when they were limited to just nine points in a double-digit loss to the B.C. Lions. Note that this week's clash between these two teams will take place at a neutral site in Halifax, Nova Scotia (hey that's my backyard). Looking for a sparkAs mentioned, the Elks remain winless on the season but it hasn't been for lack of trying lately. They've been competitive in their last three games (don't let the 28-14 final score in WInnipeg last week fool you) but will draw another difficult opponent in the Lions this Saturday. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what the biggest issue is for Edmonton right now. The Elks have actually held up reasonably well against the pass but have been torched on the ground. Offensively, the Elks are coming off three straight 100+ rushing yard performances. They've also thrown for well over 200 yards in four straight contests. They'll likely need to lean on their defense this week as their offense is unlikely to break through against arguably the Lions ferocious 'D'. B.C. has held all but one of its six opponents to fewer than 20 points this season. The exception was a game against Toronto in which the Lions turned the football over six times and gave up 45 points. Riding into MontrealThe Stampeders and Montreal Alouettes serve as two of the league's biggest disappointments so far this season with Calgary having won just twice in six games and the Als fresh off three straight losses (after a 2-0 start). They'll match up in Montreal on Sunday in a game that has a 'something's gotta give' feel to it. While you don't want to pin a team's woes on one player, Als QB Cody Fajardo hasn't been pushing the football down the field nearly enough, topping out at 292 passing yards in a game. Meanwhile, Calgary QB Jake Maier started the campaign in a bit of a sophomore slump but did throw for over 400 yards in last week's overtime loss to the RedBlacks. Note that the Stamps will probably be happy to be hitting the road as they're on an incredible 16-4 ATS tear away from home over the last three seasons, outscoring foes by an average margin of 7.3 points. 

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Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB and Women's World Cup Previews and Odds - 07/27/2023

by Big Al Staff

Thursday, Jul 27, 2023

The Thursday sports card features action in MLB and the Women’s World Cup.Major League Baseball has five games on its schedule. The Los Angeles Angels play in Detroit against the Tigers at 1:10 PM ET in the opening game of their doubleheader after their game set for Wednesday got postponed because of rain. The Angels won for the sixth time in their last seven games with their 7-6 victory against the Tigers. Detroit lost for the third time in their last five games with the setback. Los Angeles taps Shohei Ohtani to pitch against the Tigers’ Michael Lorenzen in the first half of this twin bill. The Angels are a -145 money-line road favorite, with the total set at 8 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). Patrick Sandoval pitches for Los Angeles against Matt Manning for Detroit in Game 2 at 4:10 PM ET. The Angels are a -112 money-line road favorite at Caesars with an over/under of 8.5. The New York Mets host the Washington Nationals at 7:10 PM ET. The Mets lost for the third time in their last four games with a 3-1 loss across town against the Yankees on Wednesday. The Nationals won for the fifth time in their last six games in a 5-4 victory at Colorado yesterday. New York sends out Kodai Senga to duel against Washington’s Josiah Gray. The Mets are a -195 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Chicago Cubs travel to St. Louis to play the Cardinals at 7:45 PM ET. The Cubs are on a five-game winning streak after a 10-7 win across town against the White Sox yesterday. The Cardinals won for the second time in their last three games with an 11-7 victory at Arizona on Wednesday. Justin Steele takes the ball for Chicago to battle against Miles Mikolas for St. Louis. Both teams are priced at -110 with an over/under of 9. The Chicago White Sox play at home against the Cleveland Guardians at 8:10 PM ET. The White Sox are on a five-game losing streak after their loss to the Cubs. The Guardians won for the fourth time in their last six games with an 8-3 victory against Kansas City on Wednesday. Chicago sends out Dylan Cease to pitch against Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee. The White Sox are a -120 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5.                 The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia continues with three matches on FS1 and Peacock scheduled through Friday AM ET. Argentina faces South Africa at 8 PM ET in a Group G match. The Argentinians seek to rebound from a 1-0 loss to Italy on Sunday. The South Africans lost their opening group stage, 2-1, to Sweden on Saturday. Argentina is a -0.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.5. England plays Denmark at 4:30 AM ET in a Group D contest. The Three Lionesses won their opening group stage match, 1-0, against Haiti on Saturday. Denmark beat China, 1-0, in their first match in this tournament on Saturday. England is a -1 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5. China goes against Haiti at 7 AM ET in a Group D contest. The Chinese seek to bounce back from their opening-round match to Denmark. Haiti hopes to rebound from their loss to England. China is a -0.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.5. 

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