Welcome to April Anarchy. Both the NBA and the NHL start their playoffs this week, the 2010 MLB season is freshly underway, and business is picking up across the pond with the English Premiership title up for grabs. Let?s get right to business with our latest online sports gambling preview; all times are Eastern, and Bodog Sports is your source for the freshest odds ?round the clock.
1. Boston at Chicago (Tuesday, 8:00 p.m.)
Chicago (39-41 SU, 40-37-2) is on the verge of rescuing a bad season after taking the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference away from the injured Toronto Raptors (+2.5) in Sunday?s 104-88 win at the Air Canada Centre. The Bulls are now 8-4 SU (7-4 ATS) since halting their 10-game losing streak. The Celtics (50-30 SU, 33-35-2 ATS) are 3-5 SU and ATS in their last eight games to fall one game behind the Atlanta Hawks for the No. 3 seed in the East. Boston has taken two of three from Chicago this year, both SU and ATS.
2. Montreal at Washington (Thursday, 7:00 p.m.)
Goaltending will be the main storyline in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal between the No. 1 Capitals (54-15-13, 16.48 units) and the No. 8 Canadiens (39-33-10, 14.07 units). In between the pipes for Washington will be Jose Theodore (.911 save percentage), the former Vezina Trophy winner with the Habs who enjoyed a minor renaissance this year and regained his starting job from last year?s playoff hero, Semyon Varlamov (.909 SV%). Montreal will go with Jaroslav Halak (.924 SV%), a fringe Hart Trophy candidate and just about the only thing keeping the Habs from falling apart. Check our NHL odds page for our Stanley Cup props and futures for both these teams.
3. New York at Toronto (Wednesday, 7:10 p.m.)
The Raptors (38-42 SU, 37-43 ATS) hold the tiebreaker against Chicago, so they?re not extinct yet. But they have to play this game one night after facing the Detroit Pistons at the Palace, and they have to play without MVP candidate Chris Bosh (26.6 points, 12.0 rebounds per 40 minutes). Toronto has lost five straight (three since Bosh suffered a nasal fracture) at 1-4 ATS. The Knicks (28-52 SU, 37-42-1 ATS) have lost three in a row and are 2-7 (4-5 ATS) in their last nine games; they?re also winless in three attempts against Toronto this year at 1-2 ATS.
4. San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers (Friday, 7:00 p.m.)
This classic rivalry begins anew in 2010 with a three-game set starting Friday ? Todd Wellemeyer throws for the Giants (5-1, 4.19 units) against Vicente Padilla and the Dodgers (2-4, -2.88 units). Padilla (4.44 lifetime xFIP) earned a dubious Opening Day start for L.A. after a strong late-season burst in 2009, and sure enough, he got shelled by the Pittsburgh Pirates (+113) in an 11-5 loss. Then Padilla failed to reach the fifth inning in a 7-6 defeat at the hands of the Florida Marlins (-149). Wellemeyer (4.87 lifetime xFIP), San Francisco?s No. 5 pitcher, allowed four runs in 6.1 innings as the Giants lost 7-2 to the Atlanta Braves (-116) on Saturday.
5. Manchester United at Manchester City (Saturday, 7:45 a.m.)
It?s going to be difficult to top the last Manchester derby, but Saturday?s meeting between United (second in the Premiership with 23 wins, seven losses and four draws) and City (fourth at 17-5-11) is too big to fail. United are one point behind Chelsea for the league title with four matches left to play. City are four points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur for fourth place and a spot in the Champions League. United manager Alex Ferguson called last September?s derby at Old Trafford ?probably? the best derby of all time,? although it took a Michael Owen goal in the 95th minute for the Red Devils (-175) to finally put away the Citizens 4-3.
Honorable Mentions
NBA: Phoenix at Utah (Wednesday, 10:30 p.m.)
NHL: Los Angeles at Vancouver (Thursday, 10:00 p.m.)
MLB: L.A. Angels at N.Y. Yankees (Tuesday, 1:05 p.m.)
Soccer: Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur (Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
Boxing: Kelly Pavlik vs. Sergio Martinez (PPV starts Saturday at 10:00 p.m.)
