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Big Al's Daily Angle: NFLX, MLB an CFL Previews and Odds - 08/03/2023

by Big Al Staff

Thursday, Aug 03, 2023

The Thursday sports card features NFLX, MLB, and CFL action.The 2023 NFL preseason kicks off with the Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio. The New York Jets play against the Cleveland Browns on NBC at 8 PM ET. The Jets are a 1.5-point favorite, with the total set at 33.5 (all odds from DraftKings). Major League Baseball has 11 games on its schedule. The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Miami at 12:10 PM ET. Michael Lorenzen makes his debut for the Phillies after being acquired from Detroit to start against Johnny Cueto for the Marlins. Philadelphia is a -125 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Texas Rangers host the Chicago White Sox at 2:05 PM ET. The Rangers send out Max Scherzer in his first assignment for them their trade with the New York Mets to pitch against the White Sox’s Touki Toussaint. Texas is a -265 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Kansas City Royals play at home against the New York Mets at 2:10 PM ET. Brady Singer takes the mound for the Mets to face Carlos Carrasco for the Mets. Kansas City is a -118 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Toronto Blue Jays are at home against the Baltimore Orioles at 3:07 PM ET. The Blue Jays turn to Kevin Gausman to go against the Orioles’ newly acquired Jack Flaherty. Toronto is a -162 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Arizona Diamondbacks play in San Francisco against the Giants at 3:45 PM ET. Brandon Pfaadt takes the ball for the Diamondbacks to face a starting pitcher that has yet to be named for the Giants. Two MLB games throw out the first pitch for Fox regional coverage at 7:15 PM ET. Milwaukee hosts Pittsburgh, with the Brewers sending out   Adrian Houser to battle against the Pirates’ Mitch Keller. The Brewers are a -130 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Houston is in New York with Cristian Javier getting the ball for the Astros to pitch against Clarke Schmidt for the Yankees. The Astros are a -112 money-line road favorite with a total of 9. The Minnesota Twins visit St. Louis to play the Cardinals at 7:45 PM ET. The Twins tap Sonny Gray to duel against the Cardinals’ Matthew Liberatore. Minnesota is a -135 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. The Chicago Cubs play at home against the Cincinnati Reds at 8:05 PM ET. Jameson Taillon gets the start for the Cubs to face Luke Weaver for the Reds. Chicago is a -162 money-line favorite. The Los Angeles Angels are at home against the Seattle Mariners at 9:38 PM ET. The Angels give the ball to Shohei Ohtani to go against the Mariners’ Bryan Woo. Los Angeles is a -155 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Oakland A’s at 10:10 PM ET. Julio Urias takes the hill for the Dodgers to pitch against J.P. Sears for the A’s. Los Angeles is a -278 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Week 9 in the Canadian Football League begins with one game. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers play at home against the British Columbia Lions on the CBS Sports Network at 8:30 PM ET. The Blue Bombers had won three of their last four games after a 28-14 victory against Edmonton as a 15-point favorite on July 20th. The Lions are on a three-game winning streak after their 27-0 victory at Edmonton as a 7.5-point road favorite on Saturday. Winnipeg is a 5.5-point favorite with a total of 49.5. 

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Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB and Women's World Cup Previews and Odds - 08/02/2023

by Big Al Staff

Wednesday, Aug 02, 2023

The Wednesday sports card features action in MLB and the Women’s World Cup.Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Atlanta Braves host the Los Angeles Angels at 12:20 PM ET. The Braves send out Yonny Chirinos to pitch against the Angels’ Lucas Giolito. Atlanta is a -155 money-line favorite, with the total set at 10 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). The Detroit Tigers travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates at 12:35 PM ET. Eduardo Rodriguez gets the ball for the Tigers to pitch against Osvaldo Bido for the Pirates. Detroit is a -122 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Milwaukee Brewers play in Washington against the Nationals at 1:05 PM ET. The Brewers tap Wade Miley to battle against the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore. Milwaukee is a -130 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Cleveland Guardians are in Houston to play the Astros at 2:10 PM ET. Tanner Bibee gets the start for the Guardians to go against a starting pitcher yet to be determined for the Astros. The San Diego Padres play in Colorado against the Rockies at 3:10 PM ET. The Padres turn to Joe Musgrove to battle against the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland. San Diego is a -245 money-line favorite with an over/under of 12. The Seattle Mariners play at home against the Boston Red Sox at 4:10 PM ET. Logan Gilbert goes to the mound for the Mariners to duel against Kutter Crawford for the Red Sox. Seattle is a -125 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The Philadelphia Phillies visit Miami to play the Marlins at 6:40 PM ET. The Phillies send out Zack Wheeler to face the Marlins’ Braxton Garrett. Philadelphia is a -135 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The New York Yankees are at home against the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:05 PM ET. Gerrit Cole goes to the mound for the Yankees to pitch against Shane McClanahan for the Rays. New York is a -112 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles at 7:07 PM ET. The Blue Jays tap Yusei Kikuchi to battle against the Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez. Toronto is a -125 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The Minnesota Twins play in St. Louis Cardinals at 7:45 PM ET. Joe Ryan takes the ball for the Twins to face Dakota Hudson for the Cardinals. Minnesota is a -130 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. Two MLB games throw out the first pitch at 8:05 PM ET. Chicago plays at home against Cincinnati, with the Cubs sending out Drew Smyly to pitch against the Reds’ Brandon Williamson. The Cubs are a -135 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9.5. Texas is at home against Chicago with Dane Dunning taking the hill for the Rangers to face Dylan Cease for the White Sox. The Rangers are a -142 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The New York Mets travel to Kansas City to play the Royals at 8:10 PM ET. The Mets turn to Kodak Senga to take the mound to pitch against Alec Marsh for the Royals. New York is a -185 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9.5. The San Francisco Giants host the Arizona Diamondbacks at 9:45 PM ET. Logan Webb gets the start for the Giants to face Slade Cecconi for the Diamondbacks. San Francisco is a -175 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Oakland A’s at 10:10 PM ET. The Dodgers turn to Tony Gonsolin to pitch against the A’s Hogan Harris. Los Angeles is a -305 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9.5.The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia concludes the group stage with two matches scheduled at 6 AM ET on Thursday. Germany plays South Korea on Fox and Peacock as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 3 (all soccer odds from BetMGM). Colombia faces Morocco on FS1 and Peacock as a -1 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.

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Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB and Women's World Cup Previews and Odds - 08/01/2023

by Big Al Staff

Tuesday, Aug 01, 2023

The Tuesday sports card features action in MLB and the Women’s World Cup.Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Miami Marlins host the Philadelphia Phillies at 6:40 PM ET as a -135 money-line favorite, with the total set at 8 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). Three more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 7:05 PM ET. The Pittsburgh Pirates play at home against the Detroit Tigers as a -118 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Milwaukee Brewers travel to Washington to play the Nationals as a -162 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. The Tampa Bay Rays play in New York against the Yankees on TBS. The Rays won for the third time in their last four games in a 5-1 victory in the opening game of this series on Monday. The Yankees lost for the third time in their last four games. Zach Eflin takes the ball for Tampa Bay to pitch against Carlos Rodon for New York. The Rays are a -115 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8. The Toronto Blue Jays are at home against the Baltimore Orioles at 7:07 PM ET as a -118 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Atlanta Braves host the Los Angeles Angels at 7:20 PM ET as a -258 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Minnesota Twins are in St. Louis to play the Cardinals at 7:45 PM ET. Two MLB games start at 8:05 PM ET. The Chicago Cubs play at home against the Cincinnati Reds as a -162 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Texas Rangers are at home against the Chicago White Sox as a -238 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. Two more MLB games begin at 8:10 PM ET. The Houston Astros host the Cleveland Guardians as a -192 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The New York Mets visit Kansas City to play the Royals as a -1623 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9.5. The San Diego Padres are in Colorado to play the Rockies at 8:40 PM ET. The Seattle Mariners host the Boston Red Sox at 9:40 PM ET as a -120 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The Arizona Diamondbacks play in San Francisco against the Giants at 9:45 PM ET as a -120 moneyline road favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The Oakland A’s are in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers at 10:10 PM ET. The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia continues with four matches scheduled through Wednesday AM ET. Two games start at 3:01 AM ET. Sweden plays Argentina on Fox and Peacock as a -1 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5 (all soccer odds from BetMGM). Italy faces South Africa on FS1 and Peacock as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5. The other two matches begin at 6 AM ET. Brazil battles Jamaica on Fox and Peacock as a -2 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.5. France goes against Panama on FS1 and Peacock as a -3.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 4. 

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College Football 2023-24 Preview, Part One: 133 Questions and Thoughts for 133 FBS Teams

by Hollywood Sports

Monday, Jul 31, 2023

For the 13th straight summer, I invested time researching each FBS college football team to serve as the foundation for my college football handicapping in the fall and winter. What initially began as basic notetaking on some fundamental details for each team has become an arduous and detailed process for each team that derives from the reading and studying of multiple sources. Each FBS team takes about 30 minutes to an hour of preparation time. To help document this work while crystallizing my thoughts for each team, I am providing a summary of each team highlighted by a critical question that will go a long way in their success or failure. NAVY: How will the team respond to their first different head coach in 15 years after Ken Niumatalolo was fired in the locker room after the Midshipmen’s loss to Army last December? In theory, promoting defensive coordinator Brian Newberry to the position offers stability for this 4-8 team last year. But has the cut block rule change last year taken away one of the secret advantages for this program with their spread triple option attack? Seventeen starters return, but does sophomore Teddy Gleaton offer them a dynamic athletic threat under center? This team has been at its most dangerous when they had a special player at quarterback. NOTRE DAME: Does the addition of Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman complement or stall the momentum this team found last season? The sixth-year senior has averaged more than 300 passing YPG for the Demon Deacons over the last two years. But after an 0-3 start, the Fighting Irish found a successful identity in running the football with a power running game behind a great offensive line which played into their talent and helped their defense. They closed the season winning nine of ten. It remains to be seen if the Irish have talent at wideout to accommodate an explosive passing attack. UTEP: Can relying on 25 junior college transfers provide the foundation for the continued rise of this program under sixth-year head coach Dana Dimel? After being saddled with a 5-27 record in his first three seasons, the Miners have a 12-13 record in the last two seasons under Dimel. With 15 starters back from a group that outgained their Conference USA opponents by +50.2 YPG, a four-year starting quarterback in Gavin Hardison, and perhaps the best offensive line in the conference,  there are reasons for optimism. But in the world of the transfer portal, this program is feeding on the junior college ranks to replace the players they are losing in the portal. JACKSONVILLE STATE: Can the Gamecocks become the next FBS debutant to find immediate success? In going 9-2 last season, only one of their opponents was an FBS opponent. Quarterback Zion Webb was granted a seventh season of eligibility on June 15th — so second-year head coach Rich Rodriguez has an experienced signal caller to run his spread option attack. The defense lost three of their top six tacklers and now faces a full-FBS schedule while playing in Conference USA.JAMES MADISON: Can the Dukes replace the production of quarterback Todd Centeio who was the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year? He led JMU to an 8-3 record and a +172 net YPG mark in conference play. Senior Jordan McCloud transfers in from Arizona (circa South Florida) with two other second-year QBs and Wake Forest freshman transfer Brett Griffis in the mix. The wide receiving corps are relying on at least four transfers after losing four of their top five receivers from last season. MASSACHUSETTS: How far can head coach Don Brown have his defense carry this team? His zealotry to stay committed to man-to-man pass defense may still cause trouble against Ohio State, but the 68-year-old has overseen some great defenses in his time as the former defensive coordinator for Michigan under Jim Harbaugh and previously at Boston College where he had top-ten statistical defenses. The man pass coverage comes with tons of pressure on the quarterback — the Minutemen ranked fifth in the FBS last season in blitz rate per dropback. UMass returns eight starters and 13 of the 18 defensive players who logged in at least 200 snaps last year from a group that ranked 54th in the nation by allowing 369.6 YPG. The Minutemen will try to control time of possession when they have the ball — and they do a former blue-chipper a quarterback in Taisun Phommochanh who gets a third opportunity after failing to meet expectations at Clemson and then Georgia Tech. NEW MEXICO STATE: Was the Aggies' 6-1 finish evidence that head coach Jerry Kill was successful in fostering significant progress out of his team in his first year with the program, or were they simply beneficiaries of unusual circumstances at the end of the season? At 5-6, their game with San Jose State gets canceled due to a tragedy on the Spartans team. They get a waiver to add a 12th game against an FCS opponent and have it count towards their potential bowl eligibility — they find Valparaiso and crush them by a 65-3 score. They then beat Bowling Green in their bowl game by a 24-19 score. Senior Diego Pavia won the starting QB job during the season — so his emergence must be considered when assessing this team’s progress. Kill has improved the talent base — but the challenge significantly increases with their move from Independent to Conference USA.OHIO: How quickly can Kurtis Rourke regain the form that led him to winning the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year last season? The fifth-year quarterback threw 25 touchdown passes with only four interceptions while posting an adjusted completion percentage of 78% before getting injured near the end of the season and missing the MAC Championship Game and the Arizona Bowl. Tim Albin is building a culture in his image in his third year as the Bobcats’ head coach — but they lost six of the 14 players on defense that played at least 300 snaps. After a dramatic improvement on defense in the second half of the season, their biggest weakness appears to be a defensive line that returns only one starter for their 4-3 look — and they replace both safeties from a unit that ranked 117th in Opponent Pass Success Rate. SAN DIEGO STATE: Was their 12-2 record in 2021 an aberration — or can head coach Brady Hoke get the Aztecs back to double-digit wins again after his team took a step back last year with a 7-6 mark? The offense remains a problem after falling outside the top 96 teams in the nation for the fifth straight season by generating only 324.9 total YPG (113th in the FBS). Quarterback Jalen Mayden had 10 interceptions and 16 turnover-worthy plays in his eight starts after moving back to the position from linebacker to begin the season. And the Aztecs may not be able to continue to lean heavily on their defense since that unit ranks 115th in the nation by returning only 36% of its production from last year — including the loss of their top three-tacklers (who also led the team in tackles-for-loss) and six of the seven in the front-six of their 3-3-5 defense who logged in at least 400 snaps. HAWAI'I: Can embracing the traditions of past glory help second-year head coach Timmy Chang elevate the Rainbow Warriors into contenders to reach bowl games once again? The offense showed signs of life when they embraced Run-and-Shoot principles midseason. But has the Run-and-Shoot been exposed as an offensive scheme with structural weaknesses since the days of the early 2000s when Chang was the team’s quarterback for head coach June Jones? Schemes cannot replace talent — and Chang is rebuilding a proud program that hit rock bottom when they could not field a team for the 2021 Hawai’i Bowl in the waning days of the train wreck that was the Todd Graham era. Chang inherited a program that required a massive rebuild undertaking after ranking second-to-last in FBS teams returning production. Chang has stopped the bleeding, but rebuilding the recruiting connections and surviving the transfer portal remain long-term projects. VANDERBILT: Can teaching and coaching player development overcome the hits the Commodores are absorbing in the transfer portal? Head coach Clark Lea has lost 12 players in the transfer window to fellow Power-5 programs in the last two seasons. But for the first time in five years, this team will have continuity with both their offensive and defensive coordinator from the previous year. Lea has his team playing scrapping with upset victories against Florida and Kentucky last year. Is sophomore A.J. Swann a rising star at quarterback after winning the job four games into the season last year — or were his two interceptions good fortunate that should not mask his 13 turnover-worthy plays in just 198 pass attempts?SAN JOSE STATE: What will be the bigger problem for the Spartans — their offensive line or their pass rush? Head coach Brent Brennan has a stable quarterback situation with senior Chevan Cordeiro returning after finishing on the second-team All-Mountain West Conference squad. But he was sacked 42 times last year. Four starters — and 86 combined starts — return on their offensive line but this is a group that ranked 113th in the nation in Stuff Rate Allowed last season. The defense was very good after ranking 29th in the nation by allowing only 22.0 PPG — but they lost five of their top six leaders in sacks including MWC Defensive Player of the Year Viliami Fehoka. USC: Can the Trojans come close to playing championship-level defense? While they allowed 42.5 PPG in their last two games, does the issue go further than simply improving the talent base? Lincoln Riley’s teams have allowed 40 or more points 18 times in his five years as a coach despite being at two blue-blood programs at USC and Oklahoma. His teams give up 43.9 PPG in his career when they lose. Riley added a bunch of transfer players on that side of the ball — but that was the party line last year as well before their opponents gained 423.9 total YPG against them, ranking 105th in the nation. Leading the nation with 29 takeaways often made up for their leaky play — but is that close to being sustainable if the level of execution does not significantly improve?FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL Did head coach Mike MacIntyre play aggressively because that has become his style or did he feel that those tactics were necessary to compensate for a talent deficit on his roster? He inherited only ten starters from a 1-11 squad in his first season with the program. He brought in at least 11 players in the transfer portal — but while the Panthers finished 4-8 overall, they got outgained by -179.8 YPG in Conference USA. FIU will be a difficult team to invest in or against if MacIntrye continues to embrace high-risk/high-reward tactics since they produce a high variance in game-to-game results. LOUISIANA TECH: Are the Bulldogs improving or simply treading water in the transfer portal? Second-year head coach Sonny Cumbie added almost two dozen new players in the portal to complement 12 returning starters. But Cumbie’s squad finished only 3-9 last season with one of those wins against an FCS program. Five of their losses were by 20 or more points — and the -79 YPG that they got outgained by in Conference USA play was a -33 YPG decline from the team Cumbie inherited.Best of luck -- Frank.

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2023 Mountain West Schedule Review

by Nelly's Sports

Monday, Jul 31, 2023

The Mountain West may have some major changes on the horizon but for 2023 the conference retains the same 12 teams. A change for 2023 is eliminating the Mountain and West divisions of recent years as like many conferences, the league will move to a format with no divisions. Each team will still play eight conference games, missing three opponents. There are some big disparities in the schedules due to which teams are missing on the 2023 schedule for each Mountain West team.  This appears to be a four-team race with Boise State and Fresno State considered the clear favorites in the current marketplace, even with the end of the division format making that championship pairing slightly less likely. Those teams have met four times in the 10 seasons of the MWC Championship game including last season, while at least one of those programs has been involved in the MWC Championship each of the last six seasons.  Boise State went 8-0 in the regular season last year but lost to Fresno State in the MWC Championship game. The Broncos return good experience and are the current favorites, but the schedule includes missing three teams that were a combined 5-19 last season, unable to rack up wins vs. Hawaii, Nevada, or UNLV this season. That means drawing all the top contenders as Boise State will play at San Diego State and at Fresno State before hosting Air Force in the regular season finale. The Broncos have a difficult non-conference schedule as well playing at Washington, UCF, FCS North Dakota, and at Memphis as a program that has reached 10 or more wins six times in the past nine years should be considered unlikely to reach that mark in 2023 and should not be considered a lock for the MWC title game.  Fresno State lost to Connecticut early last season without Jake Haener who is now with the Saints. UCF transfer Mikey Keene has some potential at quarterback but Fresno State’s offense is likely to take a significant step back this season. A difficult non-conference schedule with two major conference road games are also ahead for Fresno State and the Bulldogs must play Boise State, San Jose State, and San Diego State all in four weeks in November for a difficult MWC path. Back-to-back road games at Wyoming and at Utah State in October could also be a challenge, though Fresno State does avoid Air Force this season.  Not getting to play either of the 2022 0-8 MWC teams this season is a disadvantage on the schedule for Air Force though the Falcons do miss Fresno State. Air Force has an incredibly easy non-conference schedule and should be a threat to put up another strong record, but the road schedule in MWC play is difficult and the Falcons have an incredibly challenging travel path late in the season. In the final six games Air Force plays only one home game and they will be away from home in four consecutive weeks with huge mileage, going from Annapolis to Fort Collins to Dallas to Honolulu in succession. The games with San Diego State and Wyoming are at home for a small break in a difficult league path.  Brady Hoke’s return to San Diego State has been a success even with the team unable to match the great 2021 results last season. This year’s team will play Boise State and Fresno State but both games will be at home where Hoke is 14-5 S/U the past three years. San Diego State is likely to take a few early season losses with a difficult September run playing UCLA and Oregon State back-to-back and then opening the MWC hosting Boise State and playing at Air Force. After an early October bye week, the schedule looks rather favorable with only the season finale hosting Fresno State looking overly formidable as the Aztecs could climb in the standings in November.  The team getting a lot of attention to breakthrough into the top tier of the MWC this season is Wyoming. Veteran head coach Craig Bohl has provided consistently solid returns for the Cowboys and particularly on defense this year’s team has great potential. The schedule does include facing Fresno State, Air Force and Boise State in three of the first games of the MWC season, however. Wyoming does avoid San Diego State as well as decent San Jose State and Utah State teams for overall a decent draw. Wyoming should be favored in all four games in November and two of the three difficult non-conference games will be at home this season.  A deeper sleeper in the Mountain West this season is Colorado State, coming off a 3-9 season in 2022. Jay Norvell left Nevada after a strong 2021 season for what seemed like somewhat of a lateral move and last year’s team had roster challenges. This year the group should have much more stability and a second season to develop in Norvell’s offense. Colorado State has winnable games in the non-conference schedule and will face its toughest MWC tests at home hosting Boise State, Air Force, and San Diego State. Fort Collins has not been a difficult place to play, going just 12-19 S/U since Canvas Stadium opened but this looks like a team that has an upset win or two ahead to have a strong shot at bowl eligibility.  Favorable conference schedules also belong to Hawaii, UNLV, and Nevada this season. Odom steps into a decent situation at UNLV inheriting a competitive 5-7 squad from last season along with a productive quarterback but it is difficult to project improvement for the Rebels in year one of another change. Nevada went through a major coaching and roster upheaval last season and that was displayed in a 2-10 season. The schedule offers some promise as improvement is almost certain for the Wolf Pack, but it is likely not enough to warrant even extreme long shot consideration in the conference race. Hawaii is also in just the second season of a major transition and while avoiding Boise State and Fresno State is a favorable draw, the travel mileage along with a difficult non-conference path in the 13-game path will take a toll. 

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How Joe Burrow’s Injury Has Impacted the Bengals & Betting Markets

by Oskeim Sports

Monday, Jul 31, 2023

Cincinnati starting quarterback Joe Burrow suffered what’s being called a calf strain during Bengals training camp last week. Nothing more has really been said about the injury other than Cincy’s starter will miss several weeks. Cincinnati’s first game of the season isn’t until Sept. 10 when they play AFC North and in-state rival Cleveland.  So, how does Burrow’s injury impact Cincinnati and associated betting markets? Understanding the Injury The so-called “calf strain” is a soft tissue injury. Soft tissue injuries are typically graded as mild, moderate, or severe. A mild strain is a Grade 1 injury. Moderate strains are Grade 2 and severe strains are classified as Grade 3. Neither the Bengals' athletic training staff nor the team’s coaching staff have classified Burrow’s injury. Therefore, we have to infer from what Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has said about his starting quarterback. Taylor said that it will be several weeks before Burrow returns.  He said he will return, but it will take some time. That indicates that it is probably a Grade 2, or moderate strain. Cincy WR Ja’Marr Chase said that Burrow has been using a scooter to get around. That also indicates that it’s more than a mild strain. Using the scooter means that Burrow is not supposed to put weight on the injured calf. Walking and engaging the calf could make the injury worse.  Nothing New Now, anyone wondering about how Burrow’s injury affects the Bengals or his preparation in training camp can simply point to the past. Missing the preseason and not playing in a preseason game is nothing new for Burrow.  Remember, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the entire preseason during Burrow’s rookie year in 2020. The following year, 2021, Burrow was recovering from a knee injury suffered late in his rookie season. In the 2021 preseason, Burrow took three snaps in a game. That’s it. Last year, the Bengals quarterback was recovering from an emergency appendectomy. He ended up throwing just one pass in a preseason game last year. It was dropped by Chase, by the way. Regardless, missing any part of the preseason is nothing new for Burrow and the Bengals. Betting Impact When Burrow was carted off the field last week, sportsbooks immediately took down everything related to the Bengals in the futures markets. There was uncertainty surrounding the injury and sportsbooks were not taking any chances. With the quarterback having the single greatest impact on the outcome of a team’s season, sportsbooks decided to play it safe until they had more information. Once it was announced as a calf strain, sportsbooks began reposting the Bengals' futures odds. Burrow was listed at +750 to win the NFL MVP before the injury and remains right in that ballpark at most sportsbooks after the injury. The same is true of the Bengals' Super Bowl odds. Defending champion Kansas City is still the overall favorite at +600. The Eagles (+650) and Bills (+900) are the only other teams given better than +1000 odds. San Francisco (+1000) is next on the board and right behind them is the Cincinnati Bengals (+1100) whose odds remain unaffected by Burrow’s injury. As long as Burrow can come back healthy, the Bengals should be among the teams battling for this year’s Lombardi Trophy.

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2023 AAC Conference Schedule Review

by Nelly's Sports

Monday, Jul 31, 2023

The American Athletic Conference has undergone a radical transformation for the 2023 season with three high-profile programs exiting and six former Conference USA teams joining the conference for a 14-team league. Adding to the uncertainty is that half of the conference is going to be in a coaching transition season in 2023. With an eight-game league schedule among the 14-team league, the schedules will feature great imbalance. Here is a quick snapshot of how things look to start the season. Willie Fritz has only been at Tulane since 2016 but he is the longest-tenured head coach in the AAC and the program is coming off an amazing season, finishing as AAC champions and Cotton Bowl champions with a memorable comeback win over USC.  Tulane is the favorite in the conference with Michael Pratt returning at quarterback though the schedule has some challenges. Tulane avoids SMU but must play at Memphis and at Florida Atlantic, before hosting UTSA in the regular season finale.  UTSA is 30-10 since Jeff Traylor took over in 2020 for an amazing run of success and quarterback Frank Harris has been there for all of it with Harris returning for his fifth season with the Roadrunners. UTSA makes the leap to the AAC after back-to-back Conference USA titles, though the program is still searching for its first bowl win. UTSA avoids Memphis and SMU but plays at FAU and at Tulane for a mixed bag in the schedule draw in 2023.  Futures prices on SMU continue to be picked at as SMU has passed UTSA as the second favorite in the conference at a few outlets. That is even with prolific quarterback Tanner Mordecai now at Wisconsin and with Rhett Lashlee’s first season with the Mustangs being an underwhelming 7-6 campaign. The 2023 conference schedule is the reason for the interest as SMU does not play Tulane, UTSA, or FAU this season. SMU faces a pair of Big XII powers in September outside of the conference but then has arguably the most favorable draw in the AAC.  Former Houston and Texas head coach Tom Herman is back in the American as the new head coach at Florida Atlantic. The Owls have won just five games in each of the past three seasons under Willie Taggart following the great success for the program from 2017-19 under Lane Kiffin. The chance for FAU to reestablish itself as a conference title contender is there this season, even in a new conference, with great returning experience even in a coaching change season. The schedule avoids SMU and Memphis, while the heavyweight tests vs. UTSA, and Tulane will both be in Boca Raton where the Owls are 29-9 S/U since 2017.  Memphis has a favorable road path this season as the Tigers could wind up favored in all five of its road games this season including the four AAC tests. That could mean Memphis is a threat to breakthrough to the upper tier of the league after back-to-back disappointing 3-5 conference seasons.  Memphis will play Tulane and SMU at home this season with Memphis 16-4 S/U in home games under Ryan Silverfield. Seth Henigan is one of the few returning veteran quarterbacks in the league as well as Memphis is a worthy candidate in the race even with a bit less returning experience overall than some of the other contenders.  The 2023 projections and the current marketplace pricing in the AAC display a massive gap between the top five and the rest of the league as one of the five above squads seems likely to win the conference title. Among the rest of the league, teams to consider being bullish on relative to last season’s results and the current valuation include Temple, Navy, and Charlotte. Teams that could slip from being bowl teams last season to struggling with losing records in 2023 could be North Texas, East Carolina, and UAB with the disparities in the 2023 schedules being a significant factor.       

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Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB and Women's World Cup Previews and Odds - 07/31/2023

by Big Al Staff

Monday, Jul 31, 2023

The Monday sports card features action in MLB and the Women’s World Cup.Major League Baseball has ten games on its schedule. The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Miami to play the Marlins at 6:40 PM ET. Taijuan Walkers gets the start for the Phillies to pitch against Edward Cabrera for the Marlins. Both teams are priced at -110 with the total set at 8 (all odds from DraftKings unless indicated otherwise). Two MLB games throw out the first pitch at 7:05 PM ET. Milwaukee plays in Washington, with the Brewers tapping Corbin Burnes to pitch against the Nationals’ Jake Irvin. The Brewers are a -195 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. Tampa Bay is in New York, with Tyler Glasnow taking the ball for the Rays to pitch against Domingo German for the Yankees. The Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles at 7:07 PM ET. Chris Bassitt takes the mound for the Blue Jays to duel against  Kyle Gibson for the Orioles. Toronto is a -140 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Atlanta Braves play at home against the Los Angeles Angels at 7:20 PM ET. The Braves tap Charlie Morton to face the Angels’ Griffin Canning. Atlanta is a -225 money-line favorite with an over/under of 10. The Chicago Cubs are at home against the Cincinnati Reds at 8:05 PM ET. Marcus Stroman gets the start for the Cubs to battle against Andrew Abbott for the Reds. Chicago is a -120 money-line favorite. The Houston Astros host the Cleveland Guardians at 8:10 PM ET. The Astros turn to J.P. France to pitch against the Guardians’ Noah Syndergaard. Houston is a -190 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The San Diego Padres visit the Colorado Rockies at 8:40 PM ET. Seth Lugo takes the hill for the Padres to go against Austin Gomber for the Rockies. San Diego is a -210 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 11.5. The Seattle Mariners play at home against the Boston Red Sox at 9:40 PM ET. The Mariners tap George Kirby to pitch against the Red Sox’s Nick Pivetta. Seattle is a -135 money-line favorite. The Arizona Diamondbacks are in San Francisco to play the Giants at 9:45 PM ET. Ryne Nelson takes the ball for the Diamondbacks to face a Giants’ starting pitcher that has yet to be determined. The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia continues with four matches scheduled through Tuesday AM ET. Two games start at 3:01 AM ET. The USA Women's team plays Portugal on Fox and Peacock as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5. The Netherlands faces Vietnam on FS1 and Peacock as a -3.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 4.5. The other two matches begin at 7 AM ET. England battles China on Fox and Peacock as a -1 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.5. Denmark goes against Haiti on FS1 and Peacock as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5. 

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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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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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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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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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