Mostly NCAAB with a Pinch of NBA

By Dan Rodgers

Tonight is a huge night in the world of college basketball. A few conference tournaments get underway or continue tonight (Atlantic Sun and WCC) and three top 25 teams play tonight, including No. 1 Kentucky. They face Georgia at home, and while they may not cover the huge spread on the game (19.5), they shouldn't have any issue retaining the No. 1 spot.

As you might know, I'm a Virginia Tech fan. They play in Clemson tonight and basically need to win out the regular season and win the ACC tournament if they want to go dancing. They've gotten screwed a lot this season and been on the short end of a ton of close games (lost 9 games by 5 or less, 5 games by one possession). I'll be rooting for them as always (6.5 underdogs tonight), but it sucks to see them so close to making the tournament every year and getting screwed.

On to my game of the night.

There is one game, from a spread viewpoint, that stands out to me: Washington -7 @ USC

USC lost in Washington by 28. I'm sorry but I don't think that USC should be getting 21 extra points just for being at home. USC is the worst team in the Pac-12 and Washington is in first. Two of Washington's three conference losses were on the road and they were to three out of the other top five teams in the conference. USC hasn't won a game in over a month, hasn't scored over 54 points in over a month, and Washington averages more than 20 more points per game than USC (74.9 - 53.3).

I honestly see no way that USC covers this and wouldn't be surprised if Washington had this covered well before halftime and cruised from there.

Washington 72 (-7) USC 49

NOTE: I'm not going to do units right now, I'm just going to make picks.

There aren't many games going on tonight in the NBA, but there is one really good one: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Orlando Magic

The late game on TNT (the early one is above) is Miami Heat @ Portland Trail Blazers. That is definitely not a bad game and I think the Blazers will give Miami all they can handle. I'm not a big fan of any of these games, unlike the Lakers last night or the Pacers two nights ago (I felt the same about them as I do about Washington). So I'm just going to sit back, relax, and enjoy the games.

Rodgers That

NOTE: This is not a gambling website, nor does it promote gambling.

NFL Week 8: Double digits

By Dan Rodgers

Note to self: If you want, look at trends and the opinions of "experts," but always make the final decision for yourself.

OK, now I'll explain that: Double digit underdogs cover the spread more often than not. I tried to find loopholes involving unbeaten and winless teams. Then, the Packers allowed a backdoor cover and the Ravens just flat out sucked. So we're looking into it. I'm coming up with a system similar to that of picking survivor teams. I'll let you know more about it next week because I'm testing it this week since there are so many big spreads.

In case you were wondering, I'm in first place in my

Ind/Ten 8.5 Tennessee has not been playing very well since they lost Kenny Britt, the Colts should keep it within single digits.
Jax/Hou 9.5 The Texans performed as expected last week against the Titans and Jacksonville gave the Ravens everything they had and won't get up for Houston.
Min/Car 3 Carolina is decent and Newton makes plays, they should win at home.
NO 14.5/Stl Ugh, another massive spread... I think we might get a backdoor cover from St. Louis - not a fan of the extra half point.
Ari/Bal 13 The Ravens were so terrible last week that I'm going to give themselves a chance for redemption. They better not mess it up.
Mia/NYG 10 The Giants should destroy Miami. They get Justin Tuck back and Miami won't do much in the cold.
Was/Buf 6 (in Toronto) I think Washington is decent enough to stick with the Bills. Teams have been flat coming off the bye.
Det 3.5/Den I think we're getting value because Denver came back to win and the Lions looked bad against Atlanta. Detroit should get back to work if Stafford plays.
NE 3.5/Pit The Steelers usually don't beat Tom Brady but they should at least keep it within a field goal.
Cle/SF 9 I love this game. I can't see the 49ers not killing Cleveland since San Fran is at home. SURVIVOR (6-1)
Cin 2/Sea Awkward spot for Cincy, coming off a bye and playing in Seattle doesn't bode well for them. Seattle SU
Dal/Phi 3 Philly is on their way to getting back on track and should win a nationally televised game at home.
SD 4/KC The Chiefs always seem to play San Diego tough... should be within a field goal and look for the upset.

Week 1: 7-9 ATS 10-6 SU
Week 2: 10-6 ATS 13-3 SU
Week 3: 11-4-1 ATS 10-6 SU
Week 4: 9-7 ATS 13-3 SU
Week 5: 6-7 ATS 7-6 SU
Week 6: 10-3 ATS 10-3 SU
Week 7: 9-3-1 ATS 10-3 SU
Total: 62-39-2 ATS 73-30 SU

Survivor is pretty easy this week because San Fran is playing well and they are at home against a team that is mediocre at best. Not much else to talk about.

There are six spreads of over a touchdown. That is pretty crazy considering two of those are division games and one is a road team. Everyone talks about the awesome thing that is the NFL, "Any given Sunday." So it's surprising to see so many big lines.

Week 8 bold prediction: The Packers stay undefeated and the Dolphins, Colts and Rams stay defeated? Obviously I'm not feeling creative.

@dhrodgers52

Rodgers That

Betting basics and more

By Dan Rodgers

I figured now would be as good a time as any to go over the betting basics for those of you who might be less familiar.

First of all, you've seen me post stuff like: Stl/NYG 6

In simple terms, this means that the St. Louis Rams are playing at the New York Giants and the Giants are favored by six points. The fact that NYG is bold means that is my pick. Traditionally, you will see something like this:

Favorite         Line        Underdog         Total
At Giants        -6             Rams            43.5

This is the way you will see it on FootballLocks.com.

OK, now I'm going to list some of the possible terms that might be included in sports betting and their respective definitions:

• Favorite: The team that is favored to win the game
  
• Underdog: The team projected to lose the game
• Point Spread (aka Line): The number of points that one team is projected to win or lose by, "-" denotes the favorite and "+" denotes the underdog
• Total: The projected points scored in the game, also referred to as the Over/Under
• Moneyline: The odds that the team will win or lose, Ex. -270 or +230
• Odds: The payout; in a sports book: -110 means if you bet $110 you win $100, in the situation that the team is favored (-), you have to bet the odds to payout $100, but in the situation that the team is the underdog (+), you have to bet $100 to payout the odds, Ex. +300 means if you bet $100 you win $300
• Straight Bet: A straight bet is exactly how it sounds, it simply a bet with one item, be it a total, moneyline, point spread, etc.
  
• Parlay: Betting on two or more point spreads, totals, or moneylines in a single bet. Parlay odds are approximately as follows if betting on point spread or totals: 2-team pays 2.6 to 1, 3-team pays 6 to 1, 4-team pays 10 to 1, 5-team pays 25 to 1 and so on and so forth...
• Teaser: Similar to a parlay because you have to have two or more items, but pays out less because you adjust the point spread or total in your favor. Every place is different but you can adjust the line anywhere from 3 to 10 points with half points, Ex. a 6-point teaser would take the Giants from 6-point favorites to zero, so they would only be required to win the game.
  

There are many other options, such as: progressive parlays, if bets, pleasers, and so much more. However, for the sake of understanding, this is already a lot of information and a good place to start.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

*This is simply information; I am in no way endorsing or encouraging gambling, especially through illegal platforms.

I hope all of you enjoyed the final night of the baseball season...I know I did. Playoff time it is; go Yankees!

Rodgers That