Alabama Crimson Tide over Clemson Tigers: Part of the value in the line a rematch from last year. Big deal revenge not relevant these teams have changed. Watson is a force. Clem is a very solid team on both sides of the ball. Clem destroyed Oh St. and that also has an impact on this line. Ala struggled against Wash especially on offense but still covered. One key and one constant the Ala defense and its ability to force turnovers. Freshman QB on Ala new off coord all factors again contributing to this lower than should be line.
Washington Capitals over Montreal Canadiens 1st 60 Minutes ONLY: Wash has won 5 in a row. Although Price gets all the publicity and rightfully so Holtby is also having an excellent year and has 2 shutouts in a row. Mtl just finished a 7 game road trip and have not played at home since Dec 22. I usually do not mention injuries because they are already accounted for in the line in all sports. However when there are cluster injuries and it really tests the depth those often because they are not high profile names to not get accurately accounted for.
Exciting news for those of you in the UK. Pinnacle sports book the Cadillac of the industry has applied for their UK license and hopes to be back operating in the country the first half of this year.
For those of you in countries where Pinnacle presently does not operate like the U.S. hold on because it is my opinion that it will not be long before Pinnacle is back operating there as well.
Oklahoma State Cowboys over Baylor Bears: Bay ranked #3. 14-0 overall and 9-0 at home s/u. All of above along with Okl St. coming off 2 bad losses has this line higher than it should be. I have this game at 9.5 giving us excellent value. Bay is only 3-2 ATS at home. Bay is coming off a tough 2 point win at home as a 9 point favorite against Iowa St. No doubt Bay has a big adv on defense in this one. However it is rare you find a favorite at this size who will actually want to slow the pace. OKl St. has the best offense in the Big 12 lead by guard Evans. No I do not expect Okl St.
Oakland Raiders over Houston Texans: We went down in flames with Oak last week in a horrible no show against Den but we will not hesitate to come back on them in this situation. Yes Oak will go with 3rd stringer Cook. That has many backing off and has the points available inflated. Cook looked decent in relief last week and will now have had time to prepare. Secondly Cook is from Mich St. it is not like he has not played in big games in hostile environments with a bigger crowd than he will see today. Secondly Osweiler was benched and now is back because Savage has a concussion.
Vancouver Canucks over Arizona Coyotes: Very under the radar Vanc is 13-6-2 at home. They have won 4 in a row incl wins against La Edm and Ana. They take a huge step down in class tonight. Ariz has not played since New Year’s Eve. That is a long layoff for a hockey team. Generally teams come out flat in that situation. Rust vs. rest. Ariz has lost 7 in a row scoring a total of 13 goals in those games. Change the name Vanc put NYR on the front and this line would be well over 2.00. I have this game at 1.72 giving us excellent value.
Miami-Ohio Red Hawks over Northern Illinois Huskies: Simply the wrong team is favored I have this game at pick. Mi-Oh has more depth and a better shooting %. This line indicates on a neutral court NIll should be favored by around 6 and that is just wrong. Neither of these teams have played anyone of substance yet given schedule rank for NIll is 288 and for Mi-Oh 327. N.Ill is 2-3 on the road s/u while Mi-Oh is 7-2 at home. These two teams have a tendency to play close games making the points available huge.
Oakland Raiders over Denver Broncos: This season cannot end quickly enough for Den. Den will play both Siemian and Paxton to give them some reps. Yes Carr is out for Oak and it is a big loss but this is one game and Carr out has been fully factored in this line. McGloin is obviously not Carr but he has been in the system and Oak will not be asking him to win the game just manage it. Oak wins they clinch the AFC west. Oak will rely on Murray and their 5th ranked rushing offense going up against the 29th ranked rush defense of Den.
The last sports betting day for this year will be today Sunday January 1. We close off every week on Sunday nights. Today will be the last day of week 52 for 2016. We track our overall stats as well as the same stats broken down for each individual sport. The overall stats are closed off and started anew every calendar year while the individual sports stats are closed off when that sport ends for a particular season.
San Jose Sharks over Los Angeles Kings 1st 60 Minutes ONLY: Sj played last night however they had 2 days off prior. They were at home beat Phil 2-0 short trip to LA. Sj is 4-1 on zero days rest. La is 4-8 vs. topm 10 teams. Sj have won 4 in a row and 8-2 in their last 10. La returns home from a epic road trip 9 games where they went 3-4-2. La has not played a home game since Dec 10th. I have this game at 1.20 giving us excellent value.