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 Super Bowl Sneak PeakBig Al McMordie - 1/26/2005 12:00 AM Super Bowl Sneak Peak By Big Al McMordie This is it – the final two weeks of the football season. The Eagles are champions of the NFC, while the Patriots come out of the AFC looking to defend their Super Bowl title. Surprise teams usually come out of the pack (Carolina a year ago, Tampa Bay two years ago), but this season has been unusual in that both Philadelphia and Ne... |
| OUR FIRST PROJECTIONS FOR THE FIELD OF 65 FOR THE NCAA TOURNAMENT!!! Triple Threat Sports - 1/25/2005 12:00 AM By Bill Milton of Triple Threat Sports It may only be late January, but it is never too early to look at March Madness and try to project which teams will be filling up the brackets and keeping us all busy with our office pools this March. My first projection ended up with 67 teams that were "definitely" in the tournament in my mind, meaning I had to pick two to add to the already large list o... |
| ANOTHER WINNING NFL REGULAR SEASON Rick George - 1/3/2005 12:00 AM Rick George finished off the NFL regular season with a bang going 3-1 overall and winning the 7* NFL GEM of the month on Miami. The Gemline finished the regular season 43-30 on all plays for 59% and we were 28-17 for 62% on 7* GEMS. The Gemline also went 13-3 on Sunday Night ESPN football and went 12-4 on Monday Night Football. With 2 games remaining on the college bowl season the Gemline is also... |
| Of Big Dogs and Big Favorites Big Al McMordie - 12/18/2004 12:00 AM Of Big Dogs and Big Favorites by Big Al McMordie Public money is not shy about coming in on the favorites, many times regardless of the number. This past Sunday in the NFL was filled to the brim with large chalk. The Patriots, Bills, Colts, and Broncos all opened as double-digit favorites, while the Ravens, Packers, and Eagles opened as nine-point favorites. Several others we... |
| Weather or Not Big Al McMordie - 11/18/2004 12:00 AM Weather or Not…. by Big Al McMordie As we near the end of the college football season, it’s time to think about important changes taking place. No, not how many croutons you should be adding to your Thanksgiving stuffing. In case you haven’t noticed, the weather has begun to change. For sports bettors, this is essential to be aware of when handicapping games each... |
| Value in Home Dogs Big Al McMordie - 11/4/2004 12:00 AM There’s Value in Home Dogs by Big Al McMordie Yes, I’m a bit of an animal lover. I’m partial to dogs more than cats. Not just because dogs can fetch the newspaper, but because they can fetch the money. For those of you who heard me at the Stardust Invitational Friday night, you may have noticed I was partial to several dogs. This is not just a coincidence ... |
| WhoCovers News and Notes 11/1 Whocovers - 11/1/2004 12:00 AM CFB Team Notes Ted’s Thoughts as He Watches the Games CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT WHOCOVERS GUARANTEED WINNERS! Cincinnati : Really impressed with RB Richard Hall -- this guy can take it to the house when he gets into open space, and he's got the moves to get into open space, forcing defenders to miss tackles. This looks like a very different team than they were a... |
| Changing Perceptions and an Open Mind Big Al McMordie - 10/27/2004 12:00 AM Changing Perceptions and an Open Mind by Big Al McMordie Sports handicappers examine games and betting lines from many different points of view, such as statistical, fundamental (comparing the teams' relative strengths and weaknesses), and situational analysis. Naturally, statistics are based on raw numbers that each team has accumulated up to the current point in the sea... |
| THE NBA IS COMING Rick George - 10/24/2004 12:00 AM The NBA is just over a week away and that means money to be made. Most so called handicappers say they can't pick the NBA (like they can other sports?) but I love betting the baskets and even though they are human I beleive because of the tough grind of the schedule that they are more like robots and machines more than any other players in other sports. The last 2 seasons on this site I have we... |
| SYSTEM of the WEEK: Conference Respect Tom Stryker - 10/21/2004 12:00 AM TOM STRYKER’S SYSTEM of the WEEK Conference Respect by Tom Stryker At some point in the season, every college football team experiences it. A flat spot. A time when nothing seems to work. A winnable game easily lost. Turnovers, mental mistakes, penalties, and a lack of preparation. There can be many excuses. Personally, I love it when that happens because I know wh... |
| Born to Run: Running the Ball in the NFL Mike Neri - 10/20/2004 12:00 AM Born to Run by Mike Neri Running the ball and stopping the run are two of the top goals of every NFL team! Why is that? It must correlate to winning games straight up. But we are more concerned about winning games ATS. So let's see what the top ten teams that rush the ball and the top ten teams that stop the rush are doing ATS so far this season... Top Ten Teams Stoping the R... |
| Bettor's Choice: The Good, the Bad or the Ugly? Big Al McMordie - 10/13/2004 12:00 AM Bettor’s Choice: The Good, the Bad or the Ugly? by Big Al McMordie So what teams should a handicapper look to when analyzing odds: The good, the bad or the ugly ones? Well, you should examine all teams and lines in various situations, of course. However, let me say a few words about how bad and very ugly teams can look wonderful in the eyes of the professional handic... |
| Conservatism and Halftime Wagering Big Al McMordie - 9/30/2004 12:00 AM Conservatism and Halftime Wagering by Big Al McMordie In this election year, perhaps this is a good time to talk about conservatism. Alright, not from a political viewpoint, but from a sports betting one. A show of hands now – What do you prefer in football, conservative play-calling, or a wide-open offensive show? Outside of George Halas and Woody Hayes, most football... |
| Poker bowl Mike Neri - 9/25/2004 12:00 AM test |
| Scheduling Awareness Big Al McMordie - 9/24/2004 12:00 AM Scheduling Awareness by Big Al McMordie Look out! Or I should say, "Look ahead." While analyzing the game a team is playing each week, it’s also important to look at its opponent the previous week, and what’s on tap the following week. For example, NFL and college teams have bye weeks, which allow coaching staffs extra time to prepare and players to s... |
| Attacking the Weaknesses! Bryan Leonard - 9/20/2004 12:00 AM Attacking the Weaknesses! by Bryan Leonard of www.footballwinners.com Strategically, football has similarities to war. Commanding officers use photographs of rival positions in an attempt to identify weaknesses in the enemy lines, then plot their offensive strategies accordingly. A smart commander doesn’t have his men go head on at the enemies’ strongest defensive positions – you exploit the we... |
| One Time Wonders -SYSTEM of the WEEK Tom Stryker - 9/17/2004 12:00 AM TOM STRYKER’S SYSTEM of the WEEK One Time Wonders - By Tom Stryker Major upsets make college football what it is today. They’re exciting, they’re shocking and, most important to the professional handicapper, they can lead us to the “profit land”. We’ve seen the setting so many times. An energized college pup – given no chance at all at a vict... |
| One Dimension or Two? Big Al McMordie - 9/14/2004 12:00 AM One Dimension or Two? by Big Al McMordie NFL football is the big time. The players represent the best of all college football athletes, the cream of the crop. It’s interesting, then, that some of the best college football coaches fail to achieve success in the pros. And others (wisely) choose to stay in College so they don't risk failure in the NFL arena. ... |
| Labor Day, 2004: Observations as Preseason Ends Bryan Leonard - 9/8/2004 12:00 AM Labor Day, 2004: Observations as Preseason Ends by Bryan Leonard Perhaps you’ve heard it mentioned more than once that a year ago Carolina and New England went a combined 8-0 in preseason, then went on to meet in the Super Bowl. The intimation is that teams that have a winning preseason are more keyed for success once the regular season starts. This is baloney. The... |
| College Football's First Week Big Al McMordie - 9/7/2004 12:00 AM College Football’s First Week by Big Al McMordie So who’s No. 1? All right, so it’s still VERY early in the college football calendar, but after the first full weekend of college games, folks have been wondering if it’s a wide-open race for the national crown this season. That's because we witnessed some mediocre play by several of the projected top t... |
| 2004 Returning Starters College Football Mike Neri - 9/7/2004 12:00 AM 2004 Returning Starters TEAM QB Back Off Def Total Air Force No 3 3 6 Akron Yes 6 6 12 Alabama Yes 6 ... |
| TOM STRYKER’S SYSTEM of the WEEK Tom Stryker - 9/1/2004 12:00 AM Road Opening Revenger - By Tom Stryker Handicapping the first few weeks of the college football season can be tricky. Unlike the pros, the NCAA doesn’t allow exhibition games. When a college team tees it up for the first time, surprises can be in store. Depending on the amount of returning starters, both in the trenches and at the skill positions, teams can look completely d... |
| Defense Often Has the Early Edge! Big Al McMordie - 8/31/2004 12:00 AM Defense Often Has the Early Edge by Big Al McMordie While watching the first college football game of the season -- USC/Virginia Tech -- I recognized something that sports bettors are all too familiar with: In early season games, the defenses have an edge on the offenses. USC, a double-digit favorite, trailed the Hokies 10-7 at the half. That number was well below the 24&... |
| Line Movement: What Is Going On? Bryan Leonard - 8/30/2004 12:00 AM Line Movement: What Is Going On? by Bryan Leonard I’ve been on both sides of the betting counter when it comes to making numbers. I’ve been a professional bettor searching for bad lines for 19 years, and I’ve made sides and totals for various sports books. Line movement is a fascinating part of the world of sports betting. A lot of people think th... |
| NFL Preseason: Incentive! Bryan Leonard - 8/25/2004 12:00 AM NFL Preseason: Incentive! by Bryan Leonard One area to remember when trying to identify preseason NFL winners is incentive. Some teams are more interested in playing hard than their opponents. This extra-motivation can be a key ingredient in your handicapping analysis, especially in August winning is less important than the regular season and the main goal of teams ... |
| Preseason NFL Totals Big Al McMordie - 8/25/2004 12:00 AM Preseason NFL Totals by Big Al McMordie It's not your imagination -- sports bettors are playing the 'Over' this preseason. This is nothing new. The majority of football fans during the regular season and preseason lean toward betting the 'Over' more than the 'Under'. This is because fans like high-scoring games as opposed to defensive duels. But often, there's no value in takin... |
| An Explanation of Power Ratings Whocovers - 8/23/2004 12:00 AM An Explanation of Power Ratings Strategies for Better Betting By WhoCovers Simply put, power ratings are a numerical assessment of a team’s overall talent level and ability. The best teams are ranked highest, the worst teams are ranked lowest. In my power ratings for college, I start with the top team ranked at 100 to start th... |
| NFL POWER RATINGS Whocovers - 8/23/2004 12:00 AM NFL POWER RATINGS By WhoCovers CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT WHOCOVERS GUARANTEED WINNERS! TEAM PreSeason 2004 8/16/04 Pre Season 2004 7/26/04 Final 2003 ... |
| COLLEGE FOOTBALL POWER RATINGS Whocovers - 8/23/2004 12:00 AM WHOCOVERS COLLEGE FOOTBALL POWER RATINGS CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT WHOCOVERS GUARANTEED WINNERS! Home Field Conference Team Pre-04 Final 03 Pre-03 4.5 BIG 12 Oklahoma 100 103 97 4 PAC 10 USC 100 102 89 4 SEC-E Georgia 98 ... |
| NFL TEAM NOTES Whocovers - 8/19/2004 12:00 AM NFL TEAM NOTES By WhoCovers Arizona: 1st offense play from scrimmage: false start. 2nd play: QB sack. 3rd play: run stuffed at the line. Not pretty! Emmitt Smith looked spry, quick footwork, but limped off the field early – he no longer has the endurance to be an NFL starter. Josh Scobey, Damien Anderson are going to have to step ... |
| Preseason Line Moves Big Al McMordie - 8/19/2004 12:00 AM Preseason Line Moves, By Big Al McMordie I received a few phone calls last week from anguished clients who were worried that we were on the "wrong side" of the Houston/Dallas game, since the Cowboys opened up as a favorite of minus 1.5 (at the Stardust), and were steamed up to minus 3. Instead of being thrilled that we were now getting a field goal with Houston, they... |
| NFL 2004: On the Rebound! Big Al McMordie - 8/18/2004 12:00 AM NFL 2004: On the Rebound! By Big Al McMordie The NFL preseason is underway and this is a good time to examine the rebound effect. That is, teams that are off disappointing campaigns yet have the personnel and motivation to rebound the following season. Sports teams are like stocks: Their performance fluctuates, but not always in the direction anticipated by investors. If you... |
| Preseason Betting Tips: NFL Coaches Bryan Leonard - 8/18/2004 12:00 AM Preseason Betting Tips: NFL Coaches By Bryan Leonard When examining preseason football, you often hear about how in Week 1 a team may want to play well for a first-year NFL coach. The idea is that the players rally around the new coach, especially at home, even though it’s a meaningless exhibition game. There is some truth to this. This past week, the new NFL... |
| Pennant Fever! Bryan Leonard - 8/11/2004 12:00 AM Pennant Fever! by Bryan Leonard Betting balance! With pennant races coming down the stretch, it’s easy to think that some teams are far more fired up to win while other teams are going through the motions. This is true, of course. The Mariners and Royals, for example, aren’t as interested to show up for work as teams that are in the pennant hunt, such as the... |
| NFL Coaching Changes Big Al McMordie - 8/10/2004 12:00 AM NFL Coaching Changes by Big Al McMordie There have been several new changes on the NFL sidelines, with seven new head coaches along with various offensive and defensive coordinators. Coaching changes can be extremely significant for fans and sports bettors. Teams can adapt to a coaching style, so it’s essential to keep tabs on changes. For example, the Washington Redsk... |
| College Football Bounce Teams Big Al McMordie - 8/9/2004 12:00 AM College Football Bounce Teams By Al McMordie Some football teams look very different from one season to the next. This is especially true in college ball, where 20 to 80 percent of the starters graduate and have to be replaced with brand new faces. Sometimes new coaching staffs come in and other times talented freshmen come aboard. In many situations, teams simply don... |
| 2004 NFL Futures: Analyzing Potential Win Totals Bryan Leonard - 8/4/2004 12:00 AM 2004 NFL Futures: Analyzing Potential Win Totals by Bryan Leonard The football season is fast approaching and, as always, there are significant changes on the field and the sidelines to examine. Futures lines are out for the projected win totals of pro teams. Let’s take a quick peak at some of the numbers and see if there is some betting value. NY Giants: Over/under 6... |
| Financial Management Big Al McMordie - 7/30/2004 12:00 AM Financial Management By Al McMordie Financial management may sound like a dull topic to many of you, but I’m not referring to housing mortgages, interests rates or stock portfolios. I’m talking about money management with respect to sports wagering. And that is something that is extremely important.My advice is to bring the same calm, analytical judgment to your... |
| NFL Overs and Unders: Part II Big Al McMordie - 7/29/2004 12:00 AM NFL Overs and Unders: Part II By Al McMordie Last week, I examined some NFL teams' personnel and coaching changes to determine if it may be worthwhile to consider taking 'overs' or 'unders' in their games this upcoming season. Let’s continue with some more. In addition to new players, the following teams all had some kind of coaching change, whether it involved their he... |
| When To Take Dogs: Part II Bryan Leonard - 7/28/2004 12:00 AM When to Take Dogs: Part II by Bryan Leonard (Second in a two-part look at when to back baseball dogs) Inexperienced sports bettors can have trouble backing dogs, and this is particularly true in baseball. Last week I outlined several areas that I examine when looking to possibly back a live underdog. Here are some more. Pitcher Home/Away Performance: The home/road... |
| When to Take Dogs: Part 1 Bryan Leonard - 7/21/2004 12:00 AM When to Take Dogs: Part I by Bryan Leonard of www.footballwinners.com I’ve found that inexperienced sports bettors have trouble taking dogs, especially in baseball. Favorites are no problem. It’s easy to spot games that favored teams should win, especially with the better starting pitcher. But identifying dogs and getting the courage and confidence to back them often takes time. Wi... |
| NFL Overs and Unders, Part I Big Al McMordie - 7/15/2004 12:00 AM NFL Overs and Unders, Part 1 By Al McMordie With the NFL season just around the corner, this is good time to look at what might possibly happen this fall on the gridiron. The Oakland Raiders, for example, should be a better team because they added a lot of marquee names to fill holes in the offseason. Free agents Warren Sapp and Ted Washington were added to shore up a poor defe... |
| Handicapping Mistakes: Part Two Bryan Leonard - 7/14/2004 12:00 AM When to Take Dogs: Part I by Bryan Leonard I’ve found that inexperienced sports bettors have trouble taking dogs, especially in baseball. Favorites are no problem. It’s easy to spot games that favored teams should win, especially with the better starting pitcher. But identifying dogs and getting the courage and confidence to back them often takes time. With tha... |
| Handicapping Mistakes: Part One Bryan Leonard - 7/9/2004 12:00 AM Handicapping Mistakes: Part One By Bryan Leonard Everybody makes mistakes; it’s human nature. It’s also how you learn and get better, be it in school, at work or in social settings. The guy who forgets his wife’s birthday gets a smack on the head or yelled at, which reinforces that it never happens again. Some of us try and take shortcuts, like putting duct tape on something... |
| Handicapping Mistakes: Part I Bryan Leonard - 7/7/2004 12:00 AM Handicapping Mistakes: Part I 7-05-04 by Bryan Leonard Everybody makes mistakes, it’s human nature. It’s also how you learn and get better, be it in school, at work or in social settings. The guy who forgets his wife’s birthday gets a smack on the head or yelled it, which reinforces that it never happens again. Some of us try and take shortcuts, like putting duct tape on something t... |
| Don't Overate Baseball Injuries Big Al McMordie - 7/6/2004 12:00 AM Don't Overate Baseball Injuries By Al McMordie Sports bettors can get fired up about injuries. Even line makers can get fired up and adjust a number when, for example, Sammy Sosa or Alex Rodriguez might not be in the lineup. I say relax and proceed with caution. More often than not, an injury to a player, even a star, doesn’t make that much difference, especially if it... |
| Baseball Pitching Injuries Big Al McMordie - 7/5/2004 12:00 AM Baseball Pitching Injuries By Al McMordie Let’s face it: Major League starting pitchers are a fragile, spoiled group. They’re paid anywhere from 5 to 15 million dollars to work once every 5 days and they get November to February off. What a job description! Seriously, we all know that effective starting pitching is a rare commodity. It’s also unnatural for a... |
| Lefty/Righty Dynamics Big Al McMordie - 7/4/2004 12:00 AM Some Explanations Behind Lefty/Righty Dynamics By Al McMordie There’s always talk about when managers should start a lefty, or bring in a lefty or righty reliever late in the game. Good managers and general managers have this in mind when they put teams together in spring training. They don’t want to have a lineup that’s “too right-handed” as that leave... |
| Coors Field Paranoia Bryan Leonard - 7/4/2004 12:00 AM Coors Field Paranoia By Bryan Leonard A writer covering the Colorado Rockies recently remarked, ?The last at bat in Coors Field is the best advantage in all of baseball.? Many people around the country may not have any interest in the last-place Rockies, or get to see them play much. But for sports bettors, it's important too look at the strengths and weaknesses of all team... |
| Read Those Newspapers! Bryan Leonard - 6/29/2004 12:00 AM Read Those Newspapers! By Bryan Leonard Your homework assignment this week: Read as many sports sections as possible! I know that’s a class assignment we’ve all dreamed about for years, but in the world of sports betting, reading newspapers is a necessity. Successful handicappers look everywhere to find edges. The Internet has had a huge influence on the busines... |
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