By DANIEL BEHRINGER
LVSportsBiz.com
Midway through the College Football Playoff Championship, we had a decision to make.
The second-half line had been posted, and it was Clemson +7.5 with a total of 31. We had watched Clemson pretty much have its way with Alabama in the first half, and the question was: “Could Alabama mount a serious second-half comeback?” Our gut instinct said, “Nope.” We were sorely tempted to tap out a few buttons on the mobile account and take Clemson +7.5 and under 31. But we merely relaxed and watched Clemson continue to methodically disassemble Alabama.
After being up 31-16 in the first-half, the Tigers completely turned off the spigots on the Tide’s offense, winning the second half 13-0. And yes, that was an easy winner at Clemson +7.5 and yes, under 31 was also an easy winner.
The final score of 44-16 was almost a charitable donation to Clemson bettors who played the side at +5.5 or the money line at +185, not to mention a humbling defeat to No. 1-ranked ‘bama. Coach Nick Saban, who had spiked his headset during the semifinal win over Oklahoma, was surprisingly stoic in defeat.
By Tuesday, the numbers on race and sports book were winking again, and there was a winning streak at stake. The Vegas Golden Knights had won six in a row. And the price vs. the lowly New York Rangers, who had lost three straight while being outscored 18-3, was -290. It was a steep price to pay for the local team although the puck line was also available at around -120. We passed.
We happened to be in one of the local joints, however, and could track the Knights scoring merely by listening to the whoops and hollers from the sports book. And there was plenty of whooping and hollering as the Knights dumped the Rangers, 4-2. But by far the loudest cheer during the game when came when the gloves came off and Ryan Reaves of the VGK briefly duked it out with the Rangers’ Adam McQuaid. From a quick glance at the monitor, it appeared Reaves landed a solid haymaker or two. We didn’t see any in-game wagering line on the fight but we would have made Reaves about a -180 favorite.
The Knights’ win streak ended at seven on Thursday when the San Jose Sharks, at +105, defeated the local team.
On Friday, we happened to catch a little of the radio chatter on a sports handicapping show. The program concluded with a handicapper, after reeling off a litany of statistics, proclaiming the Brooklyn Nets at +10 vs. the Toronto Raptors as the “play of the day.” We actually skimmed The Associated Press preview of the game, but never considered making this our “play of the day.”
We did, however, invest a small sum in a NBA game on Friday. We thought the Golden State Warriors, who had recently routed the New York Knicks, were starting to get a little of their mojo back and could easily handle the road-weary Chicago Bulls. We laid 15.5 points and watched as the Warriors stormed to a 43-17 first-quarter lead, then up 76-55 at halftime en route to a 146-109 victory.
And that “play of the day” on the Brooklyn Nets? Ah, the Nets lost to Toronto to 122-105.
By the weekend, NFL playoff games were drawing SRO crowds into the local sports books. And if you don’t believe the NFL is still a huge draw, the prime time game Saturday with the Dallas Cowboys at the Los Angeles Rams was the featured game on the super-large screen at one of the local joints while the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks were relegated to a smaller view. Even a cocktail server at the joint, wearing a Los Angeles Rams uniform emblazoned with No. 16, briefly paused with a tray brimming with drinks to glance at the super-large screen and take in the action in a game where the outcome was never in doubt. (If you’ve been out of touch, the Knights rallied to beat the Blackhawks, 4-3, and the Rams dropped the Cowboys, 30-22.)
The stage is now set for the NFL conference championship games on Jan. 20 after New England Patriots rolled the Los Angeles Chargers, 41-28, and the New Orleans Saints defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-14. We had a small play on the Patriots with the number moving in our favor at the last minute, from -4 to -3.5.
Oddsmakers have made the Kansas City Chiefs 3-point favorites over the Patriots in the AFC, and the Saints as 3.5-point favorites over the Rams.
One prediction going into the weekend: NFL games, not pro hockey, will again be on the super-large screens in all the properties.
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