If you haven’t had your fantasy baseball draft yet, that means two things: (a) you’re wrapped up in MLB betting or (b) your draft must be in the next 24 hours, as the season starts Thursday. If you fall under (b), you clearly need a quick cheat sheet. Here’s some crucial information to know.

TOP THREE NO-BRAINER PICKS

1.                     Albert Pujols, 1B: He’s only the greatest right-handed hitter of all time AND in a contract year. Take him if you have the first pick.

2.                     Hanley Ramirez, SS: He needs to be a top-two guy given the scarcity of talent at shortstop this year.

3.                     Miguel Cabrera, 1B: Joey Votto has the one big season and Troy Tulowitzki gets hurt every year. Booze or no booze, Miggy Cabrera is money in the bank. Take that to your sportsbook.

TOP THREE OVERRATED PICKS

1.                     Carlos Gonzalez, OF: CarGo is a great ball player and had an amazing 2010 but he’s going as high as first in some drafts. That’s way too crazy for a guy with one good season and sometimes-questionable plate discipline.

2.                     Ian Kinsler, 2B: Still very talented but Kinsler gets hurt every single year.

3.                     Joe Mauer, C: Why take Mauer when you can wait 10 picks and take Buster Posey, who could match Mauer in average but has more power and is less of an injury risk?

TOP THREE UNDERRATED PICKS

1.                     Jon Lester, SP: You’ll probably see at least five pitchers fly off the board before Lester but he’s a reliable 200-plus strikeout guy on a great team. He’s a fine anchor for any fantasy rotation.

2.                     Nelson Cruz, OF: For all the love that a guy like Matt Kemp gets, Cruz’s per-game fantasy production was as good as anyone’s last season. Let’s hope he can avoid injuries in 2011.

3.                     Dan Uggla, 2B: Some people get scared off by his strikeouts and often-poor average – but not this sports betting blog. Uggla is just the second second baseman in MLB history to hit 30 homers in four consecutive seasons. That’s major power from a light-hitting position.

TOP THREE BREAKOUT STARS

1.                     Jason Heyward, OF: To me, he’s the National League’s answer to Josh Hamilton. Unfortunately, that comparison looks like it will include injury concerns. Let’s hope the big fella plays a full year with the Braves.

2.                     Francisco Liriano, SP: As we’ve seen with Josh Johnson, many pitchers really start to dominate once they’re more than a full season removed from Tommy John surgery. I think Liriano will put it all together and contend for a Cy Young this season.

3.                     Carlos Santana, C: Mauer, Posey, Victor Martinez and Brian McCann get all the love, but you can wait another round or two after those guys are gone and snag a catcher who could be just as valuable this season. I’m betting the Indians’ Santana bounces back from his knee injury to hit .285 with 20-plus homers and 80-plus RBI.

TOP THREE SLEEPER PICKS

1.                     Starlin Castro, SS: Castro still isn’t quite a household name yet, so you may be able to snag the Cubs’ starting shortstop on the cheap for one more season. Castro hit .300 as a rookie and is tearing the cover off the ball this spring. Go get him.

2.                     Aroldis Chapman, RP: He isn’t closing right now but the man who owns baseball’s fastest-ever pitch won’t be denied the job for long. His strikeouts make him valuable immediately, especially in leagues that count holds.

3.                     Mike Morse, OF: The Washington Nationals’ new starting left fielder is a very deep sleeper and will only be drafted in the biggest of leagues. But he jacked 15 homers in half a season’s worth of at-bats last year and will finally get a crack at full-time duty this year.

TOP THREE BUST PICKS

1.                     Trevor Cahill, SP: He doesn’t strike anyone out and was very lucky last season with his defense and ballpark. Time for the 18-game winner to crash back to Earth.

2.                     Jose Bautista, 3B/OF: Bautista may still have a decent season but there’s just no way he hits 54 homers again. Something around 34 seems more appropriate.

3.                     Clay Buchholz, SP: Buchholz is a good pitcher for sure but the advanced numbers indicate that luck on his batting average on balls in play helped his ERA drop a run lower than it should’ve been last season.

OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has an NBA pick Wednesday is on Golden State (+10.5) to Memphis.

Reasoning: I might as well but and paste the last few comp plays on the Warriors that I have written because this is going to be a similar write-up. I have been backing Golden State a lot in this spot of late even though they have nothing at all to play for. It’s tough to trust a team that has struggled and is well below. 500 like Golden State is and that’s why I can’t back them in any premium play sort of a way. But to fully disregard today’s talented visitors even on a back-to-back is something that I cannot do.

Memphis is certainly competent and fighting for their playoff lives. But the Grizzlies aren’t exactly a great team and without Rudy Gay can’t exactly be trusted either. No doubt Zach Randolph has stepped up this season in a big-time way and at times looks like a superstar but former All-Star David Lee should hold his own in the post and the other three talented leaders on the Warriors in Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright are very good as well.

It is a tough spot for Golden State after just playing in Oklahoma City last night and traveling here to Elvis land but the Warriors don’t have any pressure on them and have the upside and ability to come out and keep this game very tight.

There is always a chance that a good Memphis team could blast the tired Warriors but the Grizz aren’t anything more than good and at this gaudy number I’ll take my chances.

Top expert pick on this game: Golden State

For more information: Matt Rivers says I am in a zone that very few, if any, will ever experience. Things have been off the charts great and I promise you that it is far from being a fluke. I feel as if I have a crystal ball and tomorrow’s newspaper and today is the biggest day of all. Yesterday was 400,000* Wichita State by a billion and today I raise that bar even higher!

500,000* Creighton-Oregon and a 300,000* Santa Clara-Iona are on the docket for Humpday. I gave you a winner with the Blue Jays in the first game of this best of three series and just nailed back-to-back games on the Gaels against Buffalo and ETSU. An absolutely magical day is upon me as I completely destroy the Crookie and snatch a jaw dropping 800,000* of more profit! Make the bookie cry a Rivers

Two teams that will likely square off in the first round of the NBA playoffs meet on Wednesday when the Orlando Magic (47-27) visit the Atlanta Hawks (42-32).  Orlando holds the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, sitting four games behind Miami and five games ahead of Atlanta.  The Hawks are also four games ahead of Philadelphia and will be looking to win their third straight game and second without leading scorer Joe Johnson, who is expected to sit out again with a sprained thumb.

Atlanta went 5-4 without Johnson in December when he missed time with an elbow injury and can win the season series against the Magic with one another victory here.  The Hawks have covered all three meetings this season as underdogs, winning the last two straight-up by an average of eight points.  The UNDER has cashed in nine of the past 10 games between the teams.

Johnson was not missed in a 99-83 rout of Cleveland on the road Sunday since Marvin Williams picked up the slack by scoring a season-high 31 points.  Al Horford also had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta while Josh Smith added 13 and 18.  The Hawks have covered their last three games with the UNDER cashing in the past two.

“It was something we had to learn to do,” Williams said. “(Johnson) doesn’t miss many games. We knew what we had to do. Everyone had to chip in a little more.”

Orlando is also dealing with injuries, as guards Jameer Nelson (knee), Quentin Richardson (back) and Chris Duhon (thumb) are day-to-day and J.J. Redick (abdomen) will miss his 10^th game in a row.  Gilbert Arenas filled in for Nelson at the point on Monday and contributed nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 113-106 overtime loss at New York.

The Magic saw All-Star center Dwight Howard foul out in the extra session after scoring a team-high 29 points and grabbing a game-high 18 rebounds against the Knicks, and he then proceeded to pick up his NBA-leading 17^th technical.  One more tech will lead to a one-game suspension for Howard, who is averaging 26.3 points and 16.7 rebound in the last six games.

“It was a wild, wild game, but we still had a chance to win it if a few things had gone the other way,” Howard said. “It’s an intense game out there and I’m emotional sometimes. My teammates know what is going on, but we’ll just move on.”

Top expert pick on today’s card: A major sports bulletin has been released for gamblers on the Vegas Strip, offshore, and otherwise. The Great One Stevie Vincent has just unleashed the Level 5 Pro Basketball Game of the Century. Get angles 17-3 for one team, 16-1 against the other. That’s a combined 33-4 favoring the same side and it’s the Game of the Century. The only thing left is to get the winning spread pick now

OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has a free NBA pick Tuesday  on Golden State (+11) to Oklahoma City.

Reasoning: Nobody respects Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook more than I do and I even believe that this Oklahoma City team has the potential to win the championship this season but I’m sucked in a bit with this number on the capable enough Warriors.

Golden State has had their share of struggles on the road and especially last week when they were embarrassed over and over and over again in the state of Texas. But the Warriors still boast a lot of talent and frankly too much talent to be this big of a dog in this spot. The Thunder were not overly impressive in that last game against the Trailblazers and at least State comes in as winners of two straight games.

They may be 10 games under .500 but tonight’s visitors do have a very potent nucleus with Monta Ellis, David Lee, Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright why not scoop up double digits? It’s going to be hard to win this game outright but the Warriors certainly do not have any pressure on them and with their quality foursome have enough to be competitive in the end.

Top expert pick on this game: Golden State from Matt Rivers

For more information: Just another ho-hum 2-0 sweep of the board on Monday as the 300,000* on the Pacers won outright and the 200,000* on Creighton took care of business as well. Just look above at the numbers. They’re absolutely phenomenal and tonight I raise that bar with one play and one play only as it is an absolute easy money no-brainer and bash the Crookie upside his head once again!

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MLB baseball betting picks are less than 48 hours away. But it’s been a great NBA odds season. The Golden State Warriors (32-42) at Oklahoma City Thunder (48-24) is one of the top games on the board tonight.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (48-24) have already clinched their second consecutive playoff berth and do not have much to play for down the stretch heading into this Western Conference clash with the Golden State Warriors (32-42) on Tuesday.  The Thunder (-10.5) are 4.5 games ahead of Denver for the lead in the Northwest Division and 3.5 behind Dallas for the third seed.

With Oklahoma City essentially deadlocked in a 4-5 matchup with homecourt advantage in the first round, the team would still like to finish strong and enter the postseason on a roll.  The Thunder have won nine of their last 10 games along with 12 of 14, going 1-2-1 against the spread in their past four after covering six in a row.  The UNDER has cashed in eight of their last nine.

Golden State can only dream of the playoffs but has won two straight games following a six-game losing streak.  The Warriors are coming off a 114-104 win over Washington on Sunday behind a game-high 37 points and 13 assists from Monta Ellis while David Lee also turned in a dominant performance with 33 points and 12 rebounds.  They had routed Toronto 137-100 at home two days earlier, as four starters scored 21 points or more in the victory.

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant has averaged more points against Golden State than any other Western Conference opponent at 30.2 per game.  However, Durant has struggled a bit with his shot lately, averaging 23.3 points on 36.2 percent shooting from the field in the last four games.  He made only 5 of 18 for 21 points in a 99-90 victory against Portland at home on Sunday, but Russell Westbrook picked up the slack by scoring a team-high 28.

The Warriors won the last meeting with the Thunder 100-94 back on February 13 despite Durant and Westbrook combing for 50 points.  Jeff Green was the only other Oklahoma City player to score in double figures with 12, and he has since been traded to Boston.  Ellis finished with a game-high 33 points in that game while Lee and Stephen Curry each added 23.

Golden State has not won on the road in four games during this series since the Thunder moved from Seattle, but the Warriors are 4-1 ATS in the past five meetings overall.  The last two games between the teams in Oklahoma City have both been decided by eight points or less with the OVER cashing both times.

Top expert pick on today’s card: One of the major differences between a “tout” and professional handicappers and pro bettors is that “touts” try to convince themselves that every night a line is off by double-digits. It is affective marketing. Pro gamblers know pouncing on lines that are 2-4 points off is what pays off with consistent upper 50s-to-60 percent winners.

Tonight is like gold dust in which two NBA lines are off by at least five points because of motivational, situational, and scheduling state of affairs. That’s why it’s the Canadian Sports Crew AKA the Canadian Crew’s NBA Blowout Parlay of the Year. Take this rare double laugher straight to the ticket window. Get the Canadian Crew’s winner

The Final 4 2011 predictions info is up from a sports handicapping standpoint. It’s Butler vs. Virginia Commonwealth and Kentucky vs. Connecticut. Here are the betting matchups.

Virginia Commonwealth vs. Butler (-2.5) 133.5

Spread betting trends (all records are against the spread): VCU 9-0 is as an underdog, 9-0 in NCAA Tournament, 6-0 nonconference, 5-0 as an underdog.

Butler is 6-0 off straight up win, 15-2 on neutral courts, 21-4 versus an opponent with a winning percentage of .600 or above, 17-5 in NCAA Tournament, 2-15 to teams with a winning record, and 40-16 outside the conference.

Over/under trends: VCU over 10-3 off win, but under 7-3 as an underdog of 0.5-6.5. Butler has gone under 7-2 in NCAA Tournament, over 14-6 neutral site games as a favorite, under 7-3 off win.

Kentucky (-2.5) 140 vs. Connecticut

Spread betting trends (all records are against the spread): Kentucky 7-1 in nonconference games, 8-2 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite, 16-5 to Big East, but 3-7 off straight up win.

UConn is 6-0  neutral site games as an underdog, 9-1 10 non-conference games, 26-9  following a S.U. win, 23-8 as underdogs.

Over/under trends: Kentucky over 5-0 off straight up win.

The top picks against the spread will be on the OffshoreInsiders.com Network

It may not look that way with all the cold still blitzing the Northeastern U.S. but it’s time for the Boys of Summer to return. MLB betting gets going later this week. So it’s time to make our picks for the pennants. We’ll start with the American League.

American League East odds

Boston Red Sox: -160

New York Yankees: +190

Tampa Bay Rays: +800

Toronto Blue Jays: +1600

Baltimore Orioles: +1800

No love for the defending champion Tampa Bay Rays at books like Bodog. I suppose oddsmakers are scared off by the departures of Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Matt Garza. Still, I like the Rays to finish ahead of the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers will live up to their name with the bats but their rotation is very shaky after C.C. Sabathia and Phil Hughes. Tampa should get a big year out of youngster Jeremy Hellickson; the Garza trade opened up a spot for him.

But the East hast to belong to Boston this season. The Red Sox added two MVP candidates in Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to an already-potent lineup and have a deep pitching staff. I see 100-plus wins in their near future. The Jays and Orioles don’t look half bad this season on paper, the Jays because of their young talent and the Orioles because of their veteran bats, but life in the AL East is tough.

Free pick: Red Sox -160

American League Central odds

Minnesota Twins: +150

Chicago White Sox: +160

Detroit Tigers: +200

Cleveland Indians: +2000

Kansas City Royals: +2500

Every sports betting blog or fan has a different opinion on which team out of the Twins, White Sox and Tigers take the AL Central this year. Personally, I prefer the White Sox. They have an extremely deep, capable pitching staff and Adam Dunn will help make their lineup potent in a ballpark that favors hitters.

The Twins have health question marks (Justin Morneau especially but also Joe Mauer) and the back end of their rotation leaves a bit to be desired. The Detroit Tigers have the best top-end talent in the division with guys like Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander but lack depth. Kansas City has the majors’ best farm system but isn’t ready for prime time. Cleveland is a joke; its odds should be below K.C.’s.

Free pick: White Sox +160

American League West odds

Texas Rangers: +115

Oakland Athletics: +195

Los Angeles Angels: +225

Seattle Mariners: +1800

With or without Cliff Lee, the Rangers are still the most talented team in the AL West. In Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton, they have at least three guys with superstar ability. Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre add even more pop to their potent offense. The Rangers’ pitching may be slightly suspect but Derek Holland could fix that problem if he breaks out.

Oakland is the hot sleeper pick thanks to its solid young pitching. But will the A’s score enough? It’s questionable. Some bettors want to give the Angels a mulligan after they flopped in 2010; I don’t. Their core is aging and their best hitter, Kendrys Morales, isn’t fully recovered from his broken leg. Seattle is obviously an afterthought.

Free pick: Rangers +115

Wild Card pick: Tampa Bay Rays

American League Pennant pick: Boston Red Sox

OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has a spread pick winner for Monday is on the Philadelphia 76ers (+10) at Chicago.

Derrick Rose and the Bulls have been virtually, if not literally, the best team in the NBA for a little while now. Chicago is rocking and rolling and playing amazing ball of late. Meanwhile the 76ers just lost an overtime game at home against the lowly Kings yesterday. So how can I back the team that has far less going for them and with them playing on the road? Because Doug Collins has done a great job this season and Philadelphia should be a little steamed after looking as bad as they did yesterday.

Thaddeus Lewis and Lou Williams were horrific in that last game shooting something like a combined 3-for-23. All in all the 6ers played one of their worst games in a long time and I expect them to be more focused here against a Bulls team that has caught a lot of people’s attention. More times than not when guys shoot as bad as that they come back to form in the next game. You’ll also see guys who shoot the lights out one game and then regress mightily in that next game. Call it the Law of averages, call OT whatever, it just happens more times than not.

I cannot possibly say much negative about a red-hot Bulls team that is 53-19 so I’m not. I will say though that Chicago has played back-to-back subpar games against Memphis and Milwaukee and could have lost both of them if not for some Rose heroics in the end.

Philadelphia is a good enough team coming off of an embarrassing loss to cover this double-digit number and I’ll therefore take my chances on Iggy, Jrue and the competent enough visitors.

Top expert pick on this game: Matt Rivers with Philadelphia

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Sharp bettors await picks from the top MLB baseball handicappers, but there is plenty of money to be made in basketball as 2010-11 seasons have proven again.

Senior Writer Vegas Matty of OffshoreInsiders.com previews Boston Celtics (51-21) at Indiana Pacers (32-42).

The Boston Celtics (51-21) are making a bad habit of finishing games poorly, which might end up costing them one of the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference playoff race.  Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers (32-42) are simply trying to hold on to the final postseason spot in the East and snap a two-game skid when they host the Celtics (-3) on Monday.

The Pacers are one game ahead of Charlotte in the eighth slot while Milwaukee is two games behind.  They are coming off a 100-88 loss at Detroit on Saturday as leading scorer Danny Granger continued to struggle with his shooting.  Granger scored 14 points against the Pistons but made only 5 of 14 shots from the field and earned just three trips to the free-throw line, converting on two.  He also made 4 of 13 from the floor in a 110-93 home loss to Indiana on Friday, although he did sink 11 of 12 free-throw attempts to finish with 20 points.

Indiana has averaged 90.5 points in its last two losses after scoring 102 or more in winning five of the team’s previous seven.  Boston was one of the two teams that held the Pacers under the century mark during that stretch in a 92-80 home victory on March 16.

The Celtics have dropped three of six since then to fall two games behind Chicago for the best record in the East, blowing leads in each of their past three and losing point guard Rajon Rondo to a finger injury.  They are just a half-game ahead of Miami for the second seed.  Rondo did not score in the last meeting with Indiana but had eight assists in a little under 30 minutes of action.  He was held out of the team’s 85-82 road win at Minnesota on Sunday and saw the Timberwolves rally all the way back from a 25-point deficit to lead by two midway through the fourth quarter.

Boston had lost its previous two games at home in similar fashion but edged Minnesota behind a team-high 23 points from Paul Pierce while Kevin Garnett scored 13 and added a team-high 13 rebounds.  Delonte West filled in for Rondo in the starting lineup and finished with eight points and five assists.

The UNDER has cashed in the last 10 games for the Celtics, who have allowed only one opponent to score more than 90 points over that span.  They have failed to beat the spread in their last three games overall but have covered the past four against the Pacers with the UNDER cashing in three straight.

Top expert pick on today’s card: The Great One Stevie Vincent sweeps the board yet again, going 4-0. Tonight another sweep is in store.

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Connecticut vs. Kentucky college basketball odds are up for the Final 4 2011. The Wildcats of Kentucky have opened up as a two-point favorite according to OffshoreInsiders.com the top basketball handicappers website.  However, the public quickly bet Connecticut as the chalk.

In the other March Madness Final Four game, Butler is (-2.5) to Virginia Commonwealth.

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