The Week After Monday Night Madness

Doesn’t everybody love Monday Night football? Sure, it’s a big week for bettors, as it’s the only game on the docket. It’s big business for bookmakers, fans, and even restaurants an extra boost on Monday evenings during the football season. Everyone loves Monday Night Football, except maybe the participants on the field. Bettors need to keep in mind that the travel and preparation time can be grueling with respects to the next game. Coaches and players have one less day to break down game film of next week’s opponent, to put in new plays, or for athletes to rest nagging injuries. The extra day of preparation can be the difference between winning and losing.

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Yankees vs. Angels Preview ALCS

In years past, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim couldn't seem to get past the Boston red Sox in the MLB post season.  The year is different, however.  They swept the Boston red sox and now take aim at arguable the best team in baseball, the New York Yankees. The Yankees are the only team in the majors to finish the regular season with over 100 wins. With  all it's wealth the Yankees bought some awesome players in the off season.  The two most im

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New England (3-1) at Denver (4-0)

A surprising and undefeated Denver Broncos team faces off against Tom Brady and the Patriots for what we are considering the game of the weekend match up.  The fact is most NFL fans never thought Denver would be undefeated 5 weeks into the NFL 2009 season.  With a powerful running attack, efficient passing game, and stout defense, the Broncos have established themselves as this year's "Cinderella".

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Georgia Tech at Florida State

Bobby Bowden really wants this one. It's not that the number one coach in NCAA history regarding wins has anything to prove.  He just loves to win. He is a winner and that is what he has always done. So, by that logic, this season is really getting under his skin.  He and his Florida State Seminoles are just 2-3 this season.  It is the worst start for FSU since Bowden's first season way back in 1976.

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It was another wild NFL Sunday, with plenty of new surprises to keep any handicapper busy. For instance, are the Jacksonville Jaguars a team to look at over the total? They've gone two straight games over the total and they way they have done so is most revealing.

It's as if offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is saying, "To heck with it, if we're going to have a bad season, we might as well have some fun offensively and go down swinging." The Jaguars (3-1 ATS) are on a 2-0 SU/ATS run. They blitzed the Texans on the road, a 31

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NBA Legend Robert Horry visits Costa Rica and his friends at Lay104.com. After some chatting at the house, we hit the town and Club Prive' among others. Night life here in "The CR" is the best and RH found out first hand. We now have some great items to give away to our depositors:

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Week 3 NFL is shaping up to be a big one here at lay104, the Internet's guaranteed lowest juice sportsbook.  The bets have been trickling in all week and the action thus far should make for an exciting weekend.  Here are some NFL match ups for this weekend and some interesting trends to go along with them:
9/27/09 - (405) KANSAS CITY at (406) PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA has not done well in the game before the bye week, 3-7 SU & 2-7-1 ATS since '00.
UNDERDOGS are 12-2-1 ATS in PHILADELPHIA's L15 pre-bye week games.

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There are talented pieces on offense in junior RB Derrick Washington, senior WR Jared Perry and 6-foot-5 senior WR Danario Alexander. Early reports said that QB Gabbert was a better prospect than Daniel. Regardless, he has looked shapr. In the opener, Gabbert was 25-of-33 for 319, 3 TDs and no picks in a 37-9 rout of Illinois as Mizzou rolled up 442 yards. They have a new offensive coordinator in Dave Yost and Mizzou is on a 14-8 over the total run. They play run and gun Nevada this weekend.

While Missouri keeps plugging in talented quarterbacks, new Boston College coach Frank Spaziani ca

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NFL week 1 is finally upon us and every year it seems the spectacle gets bigger. The NFL is simply the most bet on sport there is in America and one of the only sports where the lines are available months in advance.  We all have had time to read the mags and watch the shows and fully digest the information available.It is important to remember that last years teams are not necessarily this years teams. Sure they may have the same uniforms and you may recognize most of the players, but in the NFL each year is almost always different for every team. Just the loss/addition of a few players can completely change the chemistry of a team, sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worse.

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You can't ignore defense and expect to win in football. You can't win in any sport, for that matter. Many times we've seen teams with strong offenses run up and down the field, but if the defense has a weak spot or is bad overall, it will catch up with them at some point. Opposing teams, for instance, will key in on one weakness and then exploit it. Other times, a great offense will be out of synch one week, and not score as many points as they normally do. And a bad defense will be at a huge disadvantage.

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It’s time to kick off a new football season. College football begins September 3rd and here’s a look at my Top 40 countdown!

40. Western Michigan: Fifth-year head coach Bill Cubit runs a fine program, off a 9-4 SU, 5-7 ATS season. The Broncos return seven starters on offense, led by 6-4 senior QB Tim Hiller (36 TDs, 10 picks). The offense was explosive in 2008, with 121 yards rushing, 301 yards passing and 29.8 ppg. He's been starting since his freshman season.

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One of the great things about sports wagering is the growth of creativity over the last decade. Futures wagers, prop bets, halftime wagering has all seen an increase, adding to the challenge and enjoyment of the industry. Other examples are “Games of the Year” and “Revenge Games” which crop up before the college and pro football seasons. Oddsmakers have various numbers posted on key games during the season, such as rivalry games like Oklahoma/Texas and NFL regular season showdowns. A year ago in this column I told you to watch .. MORE

With football predictions just around the corner, let us not overlook the rest of the baseball campaign. Nothing is more thrilling in sports than a wild comeback. From football''s fourth quarter comeback to force overtime, to the recent baseball playoff comeback''s we have seen with the 2002 Angels, 2004 Red Sox and 2006 Cardinals. Dramatic finishes keep fans glued to their seats. One thing to keep in mind as a sports handicapper is that teams that pull off a dramatic rally can sometimes be flat the next game, especially in baseball. .. MORE

It may seem a distant memory now, but the Bears ended the 2005 season with a blowout loss at the Vikings (34-10) then a home loss to the Panthers in the playoffs, 29-21. The next season, the Bears were a very motivated team, going 15-3 while winning the NFC. They were on a mission all year. .. MORE

It appears the media will need something else to obsess on as Brett Favre has announced he is staying retired for good.  "FavreGate 2009" seems to be winding down in anticlimactic fashion as Brett Favre announces he will not be coming back to play football in the NFL for the 2009 season..It was the hardest decision I've ever made, Favre, 39, said. I didn't feel like physically I could play at a level that was acceptable. I would like to thank everyone, including the Packers, Jets and Vikings but, most importantly, the fans. MORE

Starting pitching is one aspect of handicapping baseball, and it is important to carefully dissect the starters for each game. After all, betting lines are set based roughly 90% on the starting pitchers. If Boston lefty Jon Lester is facing Toronto ace Roy Halladay, for example, you need to ask questions: Where is the game being played? How is each starter against lefty and right batters? What is the history of each pitcher against that opponent? What is the history of the pitcher in that stadium? You will find statistics often very revealing, and different. . MORE

Fresh off sweeping their opponents on the road the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs square off in the city of brotherly love. The Cubs are second in their division and just 2 games back and the Phillies at first place with a solid 6.5 game lead.  The Phillies are on a 8 game win streak and the Cubs are 4-0 after the all star game which, by the way, saw only one Cub on it's roster, Ted Lilly, and he didn't even play. MORE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Shot twice in the head and two more times in the chest, former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was the victim of a homicide, police declared Sunday. But authorities wouldn't say it was a murder-suicide -- even with his 20-year-old girlfriend dead at his feet from a single bullet.McNair had been dating Saleh Kazemi for several months, and Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said Sunday that a semiautomatic pistol was found under her body. She was shot in the head....