National League Preview 2011: Phillies, Brewers, Giants Divisional Favorites

Arguably, the National League has more hype than the American League entering 2011 MLB betting. After all, the Senior Circuit boasts the defending World Series champion in the Giants, baseball’s answer to the Miami Heat in the Phillies and hot sleeper teams like the Brewers and Braves. Here’s a sports betting blog breakdown of the NL.

National League East odds

Philadelphia Phillies: -325

Atlanta Braves: +375

Florida Marlins: +900

New York Mets: +1600

Washington Nationals: +3000

No team is a bigger sportsbook favorite to win its own division than the Philadelphia Phillies – which is pretty amazing considering they share the NL East with another serious World Series contender, the Braves.

But that’s how excited people are about the Phillies this season. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels could be the greatest pitching quartet ever to grace one team. They give the Maddux/Smoltz/Glavine/Avery 1993 Braves a serious run. Still, the Phillies aren’t a slam dunk. Chase Utley’s knee is a concern and Atlanta is a legit threat. The Braves have a budding ace in Tommy Hanson, a future superstar in Jason Heyward and an improved offense thanks to the Dan Uggla trade. They’ll stay in the hunt.

The Marlins have solid pitching but their offense isn’t up to snuff. The Mets are loaded with injury risks – Jason Bay is already hurt again – and have a weak rotation. The Nationals aren’t worth considering until Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are in their Opening Day lineup.

The Phillies will have to work for it but they may get 75-plus wins from their top four starters alone. They have to take the East.

Free pick: Phillies -325

National League Central odds

Milwaukee Brewers: +190

Cincinnati Reds: +200

St. Louis Cardinals: +300

Chicago Cubs: +450

Houston Astros: +2500

Pittsburgh Pirates: +4000

The Milwaukee Brewers’ hype train has zoomed them to the top of the divisional odds and I think the buzz in the sports betting community is justified. This team already had a potent offense; Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are the studs and they have plenty of support from guys like Hart, Weeks and McGehee. But now the plot thickens for Milwaukee with Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum joining Yovani Gallardo in a revamped pitching rotation.

The defending NL Central champs, the Reds, will challenge again. Joey Votto is as good as any hitter on the planet and other young guns like Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce help pace a Cincinnati team that is potent offensively and also outstanding defensively. But will the Reds’ pitching hold them back?

Even though Albert Pujols has something to prove in his walk year, I don’t think he can carry St. Louis to the playoffs without Adam Wainwright, who underwent Tommy John surgery this offseason. The Cubs have some talent but also too many aging, slump-prone hitters. The odds for Houston and Pittsburgh are generous; neither of those teams has a chance. It’s worth noting that the Pirates could field an above-average offense this season.

With big power, a solid rotation and Prince Fielder playing for a new contract, the stars have aligned for Milwaukee this season.

Free pick: Brewers +190

National League West odds

San Francisco Giants: +130

Colorado Rockies: +185

Los Angeles Dodgers: +300

San Diego Padres: +1100

Arizona Diamondbacks: +1800

The National League West seems to be hotly contested every year but the gaps between teams seem to be widening. The Giants are still probably the class of the division thanks to their outstanding pitching. They’ll need Buster Posey to avoid the sophomore slump and Pablo Sandoval to recapture his 2009 form if they want to contend for the World Series crown again, though.

It looks like Colorado is the only team with a shot to unseat San Francisco. The Rockies have some amazing talents, like MVP candidates Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzales and Cy Young contender Ubaldo Jimenez. But do they have the depth? Up-and-comers like Dexter Fowler, Ian Stewart and Jorge De La Rosa have to step up.

The Dodgers, like Mets, look like high-profile frauds to me. Good pitching but I hate their offense. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier can’t do it all on their own. The Padres were a total fluke last year and lost Adrian Gonzalez. Gulp. The Diamondbacks have a few good young players but are in rebuild mode. The division looks like San Francisco’s for the taking again.

Free pick: Giants +130

Wild Card pick: Atlanta Braves

National League Pennant pick: Philadelphia Phillies

NBA Betting: Warriors vs. Thunder

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

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Warriors vs. Thunder NBA Odds, Predictions, and Preview

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.

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Butler vs. VCU, Kentucky vs. Connecticut Sports Betting Breakdown

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

American League 2011 Odds, Season Predictions, and More

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

Free Pick: 76ers vs. Bulls From Matt Rivers Handicapper

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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NBA Scores and Odds: Celtics vs. Pacers

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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Kentucky vs. Connecticut Final 4 2011 Betting Lines

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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Final 4 Odds: VCU vs. Butler Set, Is Betting a Shaka Smart?

The first Final 4 odds are set. Butler is (-3) over Virginia Commonwealth, coached by Shaka Smart, who like Grandmaster Sports Handicapper Joe Duffy, CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com, the top sports betting site in the world, is a graduate of California University of PA. For safe bets we recommend approved sportsbooks

NCAA BASKETBALL – SAT 4/2
GAME HANDICAP MONEY LINE
Sat 4/2 811 Va Commonwealth +3 -108 OVER 130.5 -108
04:00 PM 812 Butler -3 -102 UNDER 130.5 -108

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Major League Baseball 2011 Odds to Win World Series, NL and AL Pennants

MLB baseball odds are posted on who will win the National League pennant, American League pennant and of course the 2011 World Series. Despite the uncertainty of injuries to stars Chase Utley and Brad Lidge, the Philadelphia Phillies (+390) are prohibitive favorites according to baseball handicapping picks and predictions headquarters OffshoreInsiders.com. Here are the odds.

To Win AL Pennant
WINNER OF AL PENNANT
3001 Baltimore Orioles +4104
3002 Boston Red Sox +212
3003 Chicago White Sox +1238
3004 Cleveland Indians +7370
3005 Detroit Tigers +1337
3006 Kansas City Royals +8423
3007 LA Angels of Anaheim +1439
3008 Minnesota Twins +983
3009 NY Yankees +403
3010 Oakland A’s +1182
3011 Seattle Mariners +7614
3012 Tampa Bay Rays +1233
3013 Texas Rangers +954
3014 Toronto Blue Jays +3056
To Win NL Pennant
WINNER OF NL PENNANT
2001 Atlanta Braves +1088
2002 Arizona Diamondbacks +6120
2003 Chicago Cubs +2172
2004 Cincinnati Reds +1206
2005 Colorado Rockies +1114
2006 Florida Marlins +2167
2007 Houston Astros +3958
2008 LA Dodgers +1709
2009 Milwaukee Brewers +975
2010 NY Mets +2810
2011 Philadelphia Phillies +197
2012 Pittsburgh Pirates +11286
2013 San Diego Padres +2526
2014 San Francisco Giants +694
2015 St Louis Cardinals +1140
2016 Washington Nationals +5805
To Win World Series
WINNER OF 2011 WORLD SERIES
1001 Atlanta Braves +2598
1002 Arizona Diamondbacks +13060
1003 Baltimore Orioles +8233
1004 Boston Red Sox +468
1005 Chicago Cubs +5311
1006 Chicago White Sox +2836
1007 Cincinnati Reds +2763
1008 Cleveland Indians +16087
1009 Colorado Rockies +2752
1010 Detroit Tigers +3512
1011 Florida Marlins +5599
1012 Houston Astros +10170
1013 Kansas City Royals +19836
1014 LA Angels of Anaheim +3400
1015 LA Dodgers +5034
1016 Milwaukee Brewers +1810
1017 Minnesota Twins +2379
1018 NY Mets +7285
1019 NY Yankees +783
1020 Oakland A’s +3449
1021 Philadelphia Phillies +390
1022 Pittsburgh Pirates +30996
1023 San Diego Padres +7451
1024 San Francisco Giants +1303
1025 Seattle Mariners +14912
1026 St Louis Cardinals +2170
1027 Tampa Bay Rays +2741
1028 Texas Rangers +2011
1029 Toronto Blue Jays +6230
1030 Washington Nationals +14614

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