Handicapper Sports Articles
| <<< Recent Articles | Past Articles >>> |
 NBA Championship Series OddsBryan Leonard - 6/3/2005 12:00 AM The NBA Finals will begin next week. The Spurs are in, and they await the winner of the Miami/Detroit series. It’s remarkable how much public perception and the most recent game influences oddsmaking. Even though the Spurs were not the No. 1 seed in the West, they were still the favorite to advance this far – and they did. They faced a wide-open Phoenix attack without home cour... |
| Handicapping Is A Science Bryan Leonard - 5/31/2005 12:00 AM One of the many great challenges in handicapping sports is the understanding that it’s not easy to predict the future. That’s essentially what oddsmakers and handicappers do in attempting to set/wager on a number regarding a sporting event. There are many different ways to analyze games, from matchups, to trends, to pure stats, to coaching, to situational handicapping.... |
| What Can Regular Season Action Tell Us In The Playoffs? Bryan Leonard - 5/28/2005 12:00 AM The NBA playoffs are winding down, but is there anything that can be learned from the current games this week that can be predicted by regular season meetings? Sure! For instance, it’s common knowledge the Rick Carlisle’s Indiana Pacers and Larry Browns Detroit Pistons are sensational defensive teams. They’ve been tough defensively for several years, too, and when they meet... |
| Betting Baseball Totals Big Al McMordie - 5/26/2005 12:00 AM Betting Baseball Totals By Al McMordie Offense is down a bit this season in major league baseball. There are many theories about this, from teams shoring up the relief staff as many games are decided in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings, to the decrease in steroids. Another factor that's always worth considering is the ballpark. It's no secret that the dimensions of parks play a role... |
| NBA Playoff Notes Big Al McMordie - 5/26/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoff Notes By Al McMordie With the NBA Conference Finals kicking into Games 3 and 4 this weekend, here are some notes on the series. Can we make any judgments about how important defense is in sports? The third, fourth, and fifth best defensive teams in the NBA this season when it came to shooting percentages by opponents: the Spurs, Heat and Pistons. They're all still... |
| NBA Playoffs: Analyzing Regular Season Matchups Mike Neri - 5/26/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoffs: Analyzing Regular Season Matchups by Mike Neri The NBA playoffs are winding down, but is there anything that can be learned from the current games this week that can be predicted by regular season meetings? Sure! For instance, it's common knowledge the Rick Carlisle's Indiana Pacers and Larry Browns Detroit Pistons are sensational defensive teams. They've been ... |
| The Elite Eight In the Arena Football League!!! Triple Threat Sports - 5/26/2005 12:00 AM by Joe Patterson, Triple Threat Sports While one of my partners in this Triple Threat endeavor, Bill Milton, has spent the last two months doing nothing but writing the INSIDERS FOOTBALL NEWS NFL Preview magazine, I have kept bust my handicapping the Arena League, and things are going quite well. I am 10-4 (71%) on my last 14 AFL plays, with a 5* Underdog Game of the Year Winner and an overall... |
| Money Making Hardball Entrants Bryan Leonard - 5/24/2005 12:00 AM Money Making Hardball Entrants Bryan Leonard Baseball is a long season, with hot and cold stretches by both players and teams. Injuries are a factor, as well as hitting and pitching slumps and streaks. Some teams play better than expected (White Sox, Orioles, D-backs) while other teams have performed worse than anticipated (Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, A’s). Here’s a p... |
| EARLY NFL SUPER BOWL ODDS Mike Neri - 5/23/2005 12:00 AM Oddsmakers feel that Philadelphia has the best shot at unseating New England atop the NFL this season, as each team currently sits at 6-1 odds to win it all. Those two teams battled for the 2004-05 title in Jacksonville in February and are expected to do so again this season in Detroit. Indianapolis, coming off a record setting offensive campaign in ’04, comes in next in terms of favorites... |
| Bullpens Bryan Leonard - 5/21/2005 12:00 AM Bullpens Bryan Leonard I’ve mentioned in past articles that a good handicapper looks at many different facets of a game, not just one or two “key” things. For instance, baseball betting lines are based around 80% on the starting pitcher. However, starters are often gone after the 6th inning and many other factors come into play that eventually decide the game:... |
| The Odds of Baseball Big Al McMordie - 5/19/2005 12:00 AM The Odds of Baseball by Al McMordie Baseball is a game of percentages, which is why managers pay so much attention to lefty/righty dynamics. Some left-handed relieving specialists can have a job until the age of 44, as long as they can get lefty hitters out. Check out any baseball pitching roster and you'll notice one or two lefty specialists, some guys who you long thought we... |
| Home Runs! Mike Neri - 5/19/2005 12:00 AM Home Runs! by Mike Neri We see plenty of home runs every day. You pick up the sports page, a headline might read “Rangers Smack 5 homers” or “Tejada’s 2 HRs Leads O’s.” You watch Sports Center at night and you are deluged with mammoth home run after monster moonshot, followed by the slugger rounding the bases and getting high fives all around... |
| Talk, Talk, Talk... Big Al McMordie - 5/17/2005 12:00 AM Talk, Talk, Talk... by Big Al McMordie Back in the 1950s, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were the kings of comedy. One time they went on a popular TV show, and no one in show business wanted to follow them in the next time slot. It was guaranteed ratings suicide. Except one guy: Innovative TV comedy pioneer Ernie Kovacs. The brilliant Kovacs did something clever, a half-hour show... |
| Baseballs Home/Road Dichotomy Bryan Leonard - 5/17/2005 12:00 AM Baseballs Home/Road Dichotomy By Bryan Leonard Examining home/road play in all sports is a basic element of serious handicappers. The most extreme differentials are in basketball, both college and pro. Only the real strong teams have winning records on the road. The Denver Nuggets are a great example of many you could locate: The Nuggets went 31-12 straight up and 27-15 again... |
| Rebounding Rules!! Bryan Leonard - 5/14/2005 12:00 AM Rebounding Rules!! By Bryan Leonard The REAL NBA season is starting to unfold, weeding out the lousy teams and getting down to the Final Four. There are many ingredients to piecing together a championship team. Star power, a dominant low post player (or two), defense, a coach who can teach team-oriented play, depth. This time of year, many times you can simplify things as one... |
| Kentucky Derby -- Anatomy of a Longshot Big Al McMordie - 5/13/2005 12:00 AM Kentucky Derby -- Anatomy of a Longshot By Al McMordie If you’re looking for a time frame to write about long shots, the week following Saturday’s thrilling Kentucky Derby would be the favorite, so to speak. One of the mistakes novice bettors make, in all sports, is looking at too many favorites. Always remember that betting lines are carved out not on whom someone think... |
| NBA Playoffs: Prop Wagers Mike Neri - 5/11/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoffs: Prop Wagers by Mike Neri As the NBA playoffs go along there will be fewer and fewer games as the field narrows to two for the Finals. However, there are plenty of wagering opportunities - if you know where to look. Sides and total are the most common wagers, but playoff games in all sports feature proposition wagers of all different varieties. Some examples: The... |
| Stop, Thief! Big Al McMordie - 5/9/2005 12:00 AM Stop, Thief! By Al McMordie Home runs have been in the news, even before the season started, with all the talk about steroids, Barry Bonds, and home run records. Home runs are certainly the most glamorized aspect of baseball, especially when you watch highlights on ESPN each night. However, winning baseball encompasses so much more than bombs, dingers or taters. Let's take... |
| Seattle vs. San Antonio, a Series Preview Big Al McMordie - 5/8/2005 12:00 AM Seattle vs. San Antonio, a Series Preview By Al McMordie The Wild Wild Western Conference REALLY gets going on Sunday night, as Nate McMillan's Seattle Sonics arrive in San Antonio for what should be a barn-burner of a series. For history buffs, these two teams have met in the post-season twice before. In 1982, San Antonio upset Seattle 4 games to 1 in the quarterfinals, and i... |
| NBA Playoffs: Game 7 Meltdown Bryan Leonard - 5/7/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoffs: Game 7 Meltdown By Bryan Leonard This Saturday finds two seventh games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, with the Celtics/Pacers and Rockets/Mavericks going the distance. This is a great time to bring up the topic of emotion. There's nothing like a Game 7 in sports. This is especially true in basketball, because there are more of them each season than in b... |
| Stats are important, but not the lone ingredient Bryan Leonard - 5/4/2005 12:00 AM Stats are important, but not the lone ingredient By Bryan Leonard So many bettors look strictly at stats for everything. While stats can indeed tell us a lot, there is far more to the wagering puzzle. Stats can tells us how many points an NBA team allows during the regular season, but can that accurately project how many they will then give up in the playoffs? Many teams clamp... |
| Baseball`s Arms Race Bryan Leonard - 5/4/2005 12:00 AM Baseball`s Arms Race By Bryan Leonard The big story of the first month of the baseball season has been the surprises, particularly the surge of the Orioles, White Sox and the Diamondbacks. Baltimore has slugged its way to first place in the AL East, while the White Sox have done it with a dominant starting rotation and a pitching staff tops in the AL with a 3.01 ERA. Which b... |
| NBA Playoffs: A Contrast in Styles Mike Neri - 5/4/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoffs: A Contrast in Styles by Mike Neri This NBA postseason has been one of the more interesting in recent memory. The big reason is the Phoenix Suns, who electrified the NBA with a run-and-gun offense right out of the 1980s. It certainly has been refreshing, especially for those of us who recall the wide-open glory days of the league when Magic, Bird, John Stockto... |
| BoDog - From The Frontlines Mike Neri - 5/3/2005 12:00 AM BoDog Sportsbook & Casino With fast payouts, a player friendly environment, and cutting edge technology, it's now wonder BoDog has been leading the Industry since 1995! No other sportsbook or cas... |
| It's The Pitching! Bryan Leonard - 5/1/2005 12:00 AM It's The Pitching! By Bryan Leonard It’s about the Pitching. Winning, that is. That’s not to say that it’s all about pitching, as offense and even defense is essential to winning baseball. The Montreal Expos have quietly risen to the third best pitching in the National League, but with a dreadful offense they have no shot at a playoff spot. But take a look at the bottom s... |
| NBA Playoffs: What It Means To Be Hungry Bryan Leonard - 5/1/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoffs: What It Means to Be Hungry By Bryan Leonard Hunger is a great motivator. The most common reference to hunger is when someone doesn’t get enough to eat, of course. But there’s also psychological hunger, which is essential for sports bettors to be aware of. This applies to professional athletes and whether they are hungry – individually or as a team – to do w... |
| NBA Playoff Defense and Totals Bryan Leonard - 5/1/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoff Defense and Totals By Bryan Leonard Everyone knows that defense takes center court in the NBA playoffs. Defense is much more important to winning a championship in all sports than offense. There has been some impressive, flashy offenses in the NBA the last few years in Dallas and Sacramento. Those teams are loaded with deep lineups with plenty of guys who... |
| NBA Playoffs: Injuries and Defense Big Al McMordie - 4/28/2005 12:00 AM NBA Playoffs: Injuries and Defense By Al McMordie You may have noticed the defending champion Pistons cranking up the defense over the last month. This is not a coincidence. Defense won them the NBA title a year ago, and coach Larry Brown knows how to teach and motivate defense. He also knows you don’t win, or repeat as champion, by trying to run and outscore your opponent... |
| Ace Pitchers : Winning on the field, but not at the Betting Window Big Al McMordie - 4/25/2005 12:00 AM Ace Pitchers : Winning on the field, but not at the Betting Window By Al McMordie Naturally, in baseball you need one or two ace pitchers to make the playoffs and compete for the championship. The Arizona Diamondbacks won the title in 2001 on the arms of twin aces Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. The Red Sox did it last October with Schilling and Pedro Martinez, while their... |
| Know Your History! Bryan Leonard - 4/25/2005 12:00 AM Know Your History! by Bryan Leonard Perhaps history wasn’t your favorite subject in school. Keeping up on the recent history of sports teams, however, is something that successful handicappers pay attention to. You don’t want to base your entire selection on how one team has played against another, of course, but it can be a very valuable tool when analyzing games. ... |
| One Game Does Not a Season Make Bryan Leonard - 4/25/2005 12:00 AM One Game Does Not a Season Make by Bryan Leonard One game. That’s what teams have played in the NFL this season, and college football teams have only played one or two games. It’s important for sports bettors to understand that one game doesn’t mean all that much. More to the point, betting lines can be severely influenced by what happens in a team’s first game, yet... |
| Keep Tabs on Team Construction Bryan Leonard - 4/23/2005 12:00 AM Keep Tabs on Team Construction by Bryan Leonard Keep an eye on a baseball team's construction. I'm not talking about whether the construction of a new facility meets with the city's building codes. It's essential to understand how the strengths and weaknesses of a team are put together in relation to the dimensions of their home stadium. Many professional baseball orga... |
| Log-Jam in the West Big Al McMordie - 4/21/2005 12:00 AM Log-Jam in the West By Al McMordie The NBA playoffs start this weekend. While the East is a titanic “Athens vs. Sparta” clash between the Pistons and Heat, the West is more wide open with several strong teams. Even more interesting are the various styles that several teams bring. Memphis has become a rugged defensive team, perhaps trying to mimic the success the Spurs hav... |
| The Beasts of the East Big Al McMordie - 4/20/2005 12:00 AM The Beasts of the East By Big Al McMordie The arduous regular season is just about over, which means we can finally get to some real NBA action: The postseason! The East is a bit easier to analyze than the West, with its glut of talented teams. In the East, Chicago has been the biggest surprise of the season, especially when you realize the Bulls were 200-to-1 to win the tit... |
| Late Season NBA Totals Big Al McMordie - 4/19/2005 12:00 AM Late Season NBA Totals By Al McMordie Last Thursday there were three NBA games on the docket. All three sailed 'over' the total. On Saturday, three of five games went 'over', with the Knicks and Nets missing the 'over' by a basket. It’s not your imagination. Late in the NBA season, some teams don’t care about working hard on the defensive end, which can result in a string... |
| NBA Stretch Run: The Heat is On Big Al McMordie - 4/18/2005 12:00 AM NBA Stretch Run: The Heat is On by Big Al McMordie We are almost at the end of the NBA regular season. Many teams are in the playoffs and battling for position, while several others are out of it. But, like college basketball "bubble teams," there are several NBA clubs that still have a shot at the playoffs. These are the ones to look at carefully this time of year. Some teams... |
| Division Predictions for 2005 Major League Baseball Triple Threat Sports - 3/30/2005 12:00 AM Hi, this is Mike Bannister, the baseball man here at Triple Threat. I have spent a great deal of time during my "offseason" getting ready for 2005, and I cannot wait for the season to start. Below you will find my division predictions for the upcoming season. Last year I had four of the six, and I am looking for a sweep this time around. AL EAST 1) NY Yankees - The last time Big Unit was pa... |
| Major League Baseball FREE Futures for 2005 Season from Players Advantage! Players Advantage - 3/28/2005 12:00 AM The 2005 Major League Baseball season is almost here and here at Players Advantage, we expect a strong season packed with winning selections! As we do every season, we look for teams that are on the rise or at least improved beyond the odds makers' eyes and release futures plays on the season win totals. This year we have selected three teams that were all very active this off-season and we expect... |
| Meet Tex Green Tex Green - 3/24/2005 12:00 AM Lets Meet Tex Green: "First of all, I would just like to get one thing straight. I have over the years detested the sports handicapping industry. Its not for the industry itself I loathe, its the scam artists that seem to pop up everywhere in this business. You really have to watch who you invest in! Believe it or not, there are services out there that release plays on both sides of a game. THAT... |
| March Madness is UNDER Way Big Al McMordie - 3/21/2005 12:00 AM March Madness is "Under" Way By Big Al McMordie Vermont and Bucknell in. Syracuse and Kansas out. Who would've thunk it? What a wild weekend, as we are thick in the middle of college basketball's tournament time, with the Sweet 16 coming up. This is a good time to bring up the subject of "under" time in sports. No, this is not some counter-culture version of "overtime." B... |
| The BIG Dance Big Al McMordie - 3/15/2005 12:00 AM The Big Dance, By Al McMordie In case you didn't get enough college basketball last week, round two of tournament time tips off this week. The NIT and NCAA tournaments get going after a wild weekend of conference tournament action. For months we've had the advantage of being able to analyze conference statistics to get a good guage of how strong a team is within its own... |
| March Madness FREE NCAA futures wager plus 3 dark horses worth a look! Players Advantage - 3/2/2005 12:00 AM March Madness is finally here and the brackets will be flying around offices throughout the Country soon! We released 3 free future wagers at the website at the beginning of the season. The teams we released were Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, and Mississippi State as candidates to win it all this year. Wake Forest and Oklahoma State have played up to our expectations and if Lawrence Roberts can gut... |
| Handicapping the Conference Tourneys Big Al McMordie - 3/1/2005 12:00 AM Handicapping the Conference Tourneys By Big Al McMordie College basketball tournament play tips off this week. One thing to keep in mind from a handicapping perspective is that, in many ways, it is a new season. Teams have the opportunity to “wipe the slate clean” if they want to start from scratch, sometimes with a new attitude. This can be shaped by a disappointin... |
| Handicapping the Conference Tourneys Big Al McMordie - 3/1/2005 12:00 AM Handicapping the Conference Tourneys By Big Al McMordie College basketball tournament play tips off this week. One thing to keep in mind from a handicapping perspective is that, in many ways, it is a new season. Teams have the opportunity to “wipe the slate clean” if they want to start from scratch, sometimes with a new attitude. This can be shaped by a disappointin... |
| OUR THIRD PROJECTIONS FOR THE FIELD OF 65 FOR THE NCAA TOURNAMENT!!! Triple Threat Sports - 2/22/2005 12:00 AM The Bracket Buster is over and Conference Tournament time is quickly approaching, That means many teams are in a mad scramble to get their "Dance" cards for March Madness, and this is our Projected Field of 65 as of February 22nd. Things can, and certainly will, change from now until Selection Sunday, but right now these are the most deserving 65 teams in the nation in our view. This week we s... |
| NBA All Star Break: Giving up Down the Stretch Big Al McMordie - 2/21/2005 12:00 AM NBA All Star Break: Giving up Down the Stretch by Big Al McMordie With the NBA All Star break, teams can take a deep breath and begin preparing for two things. 1) A second half surge to make a playoff run or improve their standings in the division. 2) To pack it in and think more of individual play than team-oriented ball. Both of these things will start to take shape for some... |
| Hoop Changes, Shifts and Showdowns Big Al McMordie - 2/14/2005 12:00 AM Hoop Changes, Shifts and Showdowns By Big Al McMordie Things are not always as they appear. That’s a key for sports handicappers when analyzing basketball games. For instance, the Chicago Bulls have been a big surprise this season, getting hot after a very poor start. A collection of young talent has blossomed into a decent, cohesive unit and the Bulls have themselv... |
| Super Bowl Preview Big Al McMordie - 2/5/2005 12:00 AM Super Bowl Preview By Big Al McMordie Dynasty? Or retribution? The Eagles finally advanced to the Super Bowl after losing the previous three NFC Championship games, while the Patriots could cement their status as an NFL dynasty with a win, making it three Super Bowl titles over the last four seasons. Both teams are strong defensively, have great QBs and coaches who ha... |
| This Week's Projection Of the 65 NCAA Tournament Teams! Triple Threat Sports - 2/1/2005 12:00 AM By Bill Milton of Triple Threat Sports Last week we had 67 teams that were "Definitely In" the Big Dance, so obviously we had to pare a couple of those teams off the list, giving us a total of 43 teams on our proverbial bubble. Well, another week has passed and some teams have played themselves out of a bid and some have played their way in. Overall, six teams that would have made this field a... |
| EVER WONDER? Rick George - 1/27/2005 12:00 AM How so called handicappers can put games up for sale before a game even has a posted line? There is now number yet on a game and yet they are trying to charge you money to tell you who is going to cover. I will never post a game until I at least see a number on a game. Yes I can tell you usually within a half of point what a number will be but late info or an injury may inflate a number. You... |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
