Sports Betting Games of the Week – November 4
The 2008 baseball season ended in October after all. We hope yours was a profitable one – a special shout-out to all those Phillies supporters out there who filled their bankrolls with a 13-3 run to end the regular season and an 11-3 record in the playoffs. It’s all about finishing strong, as fans of the New York Mets (7-10 down the stretch) can attest.
Time to move on to a new week of betting opportunities. Football is in full swing, the NBA has already had its first blockbuster trade of the season, and we’ve even got the most important rivalry in the history of (ice-based) sports on tap. Here are our top five betting games (all times Eastern; for current lines, visit Bodoglife.com):
1. NFL: N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia (Sunday, 8:15 p.m.)
The NFL’s Sunday nighters continue to take over from Monday Night Football as the league’s flagship TV broadcast. This week’s matchup is an NFC East classic featuring the 7-1 Giants (6-2 ATS) and the 5-3 Eagles (6-2 ATS). These are two of the best teams in the conference, if not the entire NFL. Both offenses pick up 5.8 yards per play, tied for fifth in the league rankings. The two defenses are also tied at 4.6 yards allowed per play, or third overall. The Eagles went 0-2 SU and ATS versus the Giants last year.
Get all your NFL betting in the Bodog Sportsbook.
2. NCAAF: No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 2 Texas Tech (Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
The Big 12 once again serves up the best college football matchup in the country. The Red Raiders (9-0 SU, 4-2-1 ATS) are riding high after beating previously undefeated Texas 39-33 as 3.5-point home dogs. The Cowboys (8-1 SU, 8-0 ATS) are the last team in the FBS with a perfect betting record and the only other team to take a payday from the Longhorns this season. Oklahoma State has covered the last three meetings at 2-1 SU.
3. NCAAF: No. 1 Alabama at No. 15 Louisiana State (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
While the defending champions sink into the SEC sunset at 6-2 SU (2-5 ATS), there’s still enough talent in Baton Rouge to spoil things for the new No. 1 team in the nation. Alabama (9-0 SU, 6-3 ATS) hasn’t beaten the Tigers in five years at 1-3-1 ATS. However, the Tide have gone on the road and exposed a number of pretenders this year, including Clemson (-4) and Tennessee (+5). Even that 41-30 win at Georgia (-6.5) looks less impressive in retrospect now that the Bulldogs are a two-loss team, right alongside LSU.
College football lines from Bodog.
4. NBA: Boston at Detroit (Sunday, 6:00 p.m.)
These were the two best teams in the Eastern Conference last year. Boston already had its extreme makeover; now it’s Detroit’s turn, as the Pistons traded point guard Chauncey Billups (21 points, 8.4 assists per 40 minutes last year) and power forward Antonio McDyess (12.0 points, 11.7 rebounds) to Denver on Monday for guard Allen Iverson (25.3 points, 6.8 assists). Detroit has a couple of road games at Toronto and New Jersey to work out the new rotation before welcoming the Celtics to the Palace. Losing McDyess leaves the Pistons vulnerable for now to strong frontcourts like Boston’s.
NBA basketball lines in Bodog’s online sportsbook.
5. NHL: Montreal at Toronto (Saturday, 7:00 p.m.)
The eternal rivalry between the 8-1 Canadiens and the 5-4-3 Maple Leafs is enough to bump the NHL into this week’s top five list. Montreal was 4-3-1 against Toronto last year; all four wins came with Carey Price (.928 save percentage) in net, and he’s been the No. 1 man since former All-Star Cristobal Huet was sent packing at last year’s trade deadline. Toronto needs a goalie to complete its rebuilding effort; starter Vesa Toskala (.895) is hiding behind a 5-2-2 record despite a combined score of 28-28 in his nine starts. Toronto makes up some of the difference with volume shooting, sitting in third in the NHL with 34.1 shots per game.
Get all your NHL odds here, in the Bodog Sportsbook.
Honorable Mentions
NFL: Green Bay at Minnesota (Sunday, 1:00 p.m.)
NCAAF: No. 11 Texas Christian at No. 10 Utah (Thursday, 8:00 p.m.)
NBA: Dallas at San Antonio (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m.)
NHL: N.Y. Islanders at N.Y. Rangers (Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.)
Boxing: Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr. (Saturday, HBO PPV starts at 9:00 p.m.)
