Games to Bet On By Bodog.com
People just can?t get enough Tiger Woods. He had a decent first round at the PGA Championship, after which his golf odds went from 12-1 to 8-1 going into the second round. But Woods still wasn?t all that ? he finished nine strokes back of Martin Kaymer, who won in a playoff over Bubba Watson. Uber-prospect Rory McIlroy was one stroke behind, tied with Zach Johnson. If you?re going to bet golf, Woods is hardly your best value these days. But we?ll put away our mashie niblicks this week and concentrate on some more worthy online sports betting opportunities. All times are Eastern, and the latest odds are at Bodog Sports.
1. MLB: San Francisco at St. Louis (Saturday, 7:15 p.m.)
Playoff position is on the line for both teams in this matchup. The Giants (67-52, 8.45 units) are 3.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West, while the Cardinals (65-51, -5.07 units) are one game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. That leaves the Giants a half-game up on the Cards in the Wild Card standings. More importantly for this matchup, we?ve got a tremendous pitchers duel between Tim Lincecum (3.41 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) and Chris Carpenter (2.95 ERA, 1.16 WHIP). The Cards dropped two of three to the Giants back in April at AT&T Park.
2. NFL: Indianapolis vs. Buffalo (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)
This is technically a neutral-site game at Rogers Centre (the former Skydome) in Toronto, but this is also where Buffalo plays its Week 9 ?home? game against the Chicago Bears, and a possible site for future relocation. The Bills are thin at quarterback these days; backing up Trent Edwards are Ryan Fitzpatrick (67.7 career passer rating) and former Louisville standout Brian Brohm, who has already been cast off once by the Green Bay Packers. The Colts have Curtis Painter (64.3 passer rating in the 2009 preseason) backing up Peyton Manning, and Painter has been a total disappointment thus far in spot duty. Not that the Colts care much about the preseason anyway; they?re 4-19 SU and 6-16-1 against the NFL odds dating back to 2005.
3. Soccer: Manchester United at Fulham (Sunday, 11:00 a.m.)
Manchester United get their 2010 Premiership campaign started Monday against Newcastle United. Meanwhile, Fulham are already underway after taking the Bolton Wanderers to a goalless draw Saturday at Reebok Stadium, paying out at +230. United fell to second in the Premiership last year after three straight titles, unable to withstand the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. So the Red Devils have added Mexican star Javier Hernandez, who scored in last week?s 3-1 win over Chelsea to take the FA Community Shield. The Cottagers were 12th in the Premiership last year; their most notable addition for 2010 is manager Mark Hughes, formerly of Manchester City.
4. CFL: Hamilton at Toronto (Friday, 7:30 p.m.)
The Argonauts (5-2 SU and ATS) may have turned the corner with Saturday?s stunning 37-22 victory over the Montreal Alouettes (-7.5 road faves). QB Chet Lemon had his best performance in the CFL with three touchdown passes and no interceptions, and Ryan Christian barreled 110 yards for another major on a kick-off return. This will be a tough test for the Tiger-Cats (3-4 SU and ATS), who have earned all three of their victories this year against the last place team in the East, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Friday is their first encounter with the Boatmen ? they split their four meetings last year.
5. MMA: Dominick Cruz vs. Joseph Benavidez (Card Begins Wednesday, 9:00 p.m.)
This is the main event for WEC 50, the latest offering from World Extreme Cagefighting. Versus will have the live television coverage from The Palms in Las Vegas. Cruz (15-1) is putting up his bantamweight title; his only career loss was as a featherweight against Urijah Faber. Benavidez (12-1) has only the one loss to Cruz, suffered one year ago at WEC 42 via unanimous decision. Sherdog has Cruz ranked as the No. 1 bantamweight in the world and Benavidez No. 3. The betting market agrees, making Cruz a ?250 favorite against Benavidez at +190. The champion brings an excellent combination of striking and wrestling skill, while Benavidez has been improving on both counts while training with Faber?s Team Alpha Male.
People just can?t get enough Tiger Woods. He had a decent first round at the PGA Championship, after which his golf odds went from 12-1 to 8-1 going into the second round. But Woods still wasn?t all that ? he finished nine strokes back of Martin Kaymer, who won in a playoff over Bubba Watson. Uber-prospect Rory McIlroy was one stroke behind, tied with Zach Johnson. If you?re going to bet golf, Woods is hardly your best value these days. But we?ll put away our mashie niblicks this week and concentrate on some more worthy online sports betting opportunities. All times are Eastern, and the latest odds are at Bodog Sports.
1. MLB: San Francisco at St. Louis (Saturday, 7:15 p.m.)
Playoff position is on the line for both teams in this matchup. The Giants (67-52, 8.45 units) are 3.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West, while the Cardinals (65-51, -5.07 units) are one game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. That leaves the Giants a half-game up on the Cards in the Wild Card standings. More importantly for this matchup, we?ve got a tremendous pitchers duel between Tim Lincecum (3.41 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) and Chris Carpenter (2.95 ERA, 1.16 WHIP). The Cards dropped two of three to the Giants back in April at AT&T Park.
2. NFL: Indianapolis vs. Buffalo (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)
This is technically a neutral-site game at Rogers Centre (the former Skydome) in Toronto, but this is also where Buffalo plays its Week 9 ?home? game against the Chicago Bears, and a possible site for future relocation. The Bills are thin at quarterback these days; backing up Trent Edwards are Ryan Fitzpatrick (67.7 career passer rating) and former Louisville standout Brian Brohm, who has already been cast off once by the Green Bay Packers. The Colts have Curtis Painter (64.3 passer rating in the 2009 preseason) backing up Peyton Manning, and Painter has been a total disappointment thus far in spot duty. Not that the Colts care much about the preseason anyway; they?re 4-19 SU and 6-16-1 against the NFL odds dating back to 2005.
3. Soccer: Manchester United at Fulham (Sunday, 11:00 a.m.)
Manchester United get their 2010 Premiership campaign started Monday against Newcastle United. Meanwhile, Fulham are already underway after taking the Bolton Wanderers to a goalless draw Saturday at Reebok Stadium, paying out at +230. United fell to second in the Premiership last year after three straight titles, unable to withstand the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. So the Red Devils have added Mexican star Javier Hernandez, who scored in last week?s 3-1 win over Chelsea to take the FA Community Shield. The Cottagers were 12th in the Premiership last year; their most notable addition for 2010 is manager Mark Hughes, formerly of Manchester City.
4. CFL: Hamilton at Toronto (Friday, 7:30 p.m.)
The Argonauts (5-2 SU and ATS) may have turned the corner with Saturday?s stunning 37-22 victory over the Montreal Alouettes (-7.5 road faves). QB Chet Lemon had his best performance in the CFL with three touchdown passes and no interceptions, and Ryan Christian barreled 110 yards for another major on a kick-off return. This will be a tough test for the Tiger-Cats (3-4 SU and ATS), who have earned all three of their victories this year against the last place team in the East, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Friday is their first encounter with the Boatmen ? they split their four meetings last year.
5. MMA: Dominick Cruz vs. Joseph Benavidez (Card Begins Wednesday, 9:00 p.m.)
This is the main event for WEC 50, the latest offering from World Extreme Cagefighting. Versus will have the live television coverage from The Palms in Las Vegas. Cruz (15-1) is putting up his bantamweight title; his only career loss was as a featherweight against Urijah Faber. Benavidez (12-1) has only the one loss to Cruz, suffered one year ago at WEC 42 via unanimous decision. Sherdog has Cruz ranked as the No. 1 bantamweight in the world and Benavidez No. 3. The betting market agrees, making Cruz a ?250 favorite against Benavidez at +190. The champion brings an excellent combination of striking and wrestling skill, while Benavidez has been improving on both counts while training with Faber?s Team Alpha Male.
