By Daniel Behringer of LVSportsBiz.com
Early last week, we slid into a squishy-soft chair at one of the local race and sports books.
It was late afternoon, and major league baseball was on the oversized TV monitors.
“Who do ya like?” we asked a guy sitting next to us.
He gave us a wary look, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looked at a sports betting app on his phone, then shifted uncomfortably again.
We turned our attention to the baseball games on the monitors.
“Baseball?” we asked. “Maybe you like something in baseball?”
He rubbed his face, shifted uncomfortably again, looked at his app, then put it down and slunk a little lower in his own chair.
A few minutes later, he finally spoke.
“Cleveland.”
We looked at the board. The Cleveland Indians were -300 on the road vs. the Chicago White Sox and about -180 on the run line.
We also saw the two listed pitchers for the Boston Red Sox-Texas Rangers game and thought “over” 11 would be a reasonable bet. We didn’t pull the trigger, but Red Sox won 12-10, combining for 29 base hits to score the 22 runs.
We also read a little about the Houston Cougars quarterback deciding to redshirt this season, then return in 2020. We decided to jump on North Texas -7 vs. the Cougars on Saturday.
Then we settled back to watch Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals series between the Washington Mystics and the Las Vegas Aces. Yes, we had a ticket in our pocket. It read Mystics money line -185.
As the world knows by now, the Mystics ends the Aces’ playoffs run with a closely fought 94-90 win. The side moved to Mystics -5 and only a late missed free throw by the Mystics prevented the side from landing on a push.
We decided to return on Wednesday and felt good about the Texas Rangers at +120 vs. the disappointing Boston Red Sox. We didn’t feel quite as good a few hours later, however, when the Red Sox handed the Rangers a decisive 10-3 loss and our ticket had less value than a cocktail napkin.
By Thursday, bettors had a choice of football. In the NFL, the Packers were -3.5 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles. In the college ranks, Memphis settled at -10.5 vs. Navy. We had no financial stake in either game but watched a little as the Eagles beat the Packers outright, 34-27, and the total went “over” 46.5. Navy kept it close with Memphis for most of the game before the Tigers extended for a 35-23 win and cover. Also, the total crept “over” 54.
There were tempting college games on Friday but we were late getting to the window for Penn State, -6.5 vs. Maryland. That was too bad as the Nittany Lions routed the Terrapins, 59-0.
Among other Friday scores of note, the Los Angeles Kings, +175, upended the Vegas Golden Knights in preseason NHL action, and “under” 6 paid as well. The VGK, who drew well for preseason games at T-Mobile Arena, also lost to the Colorado Avalanche, 4-1, earlier in the week as -200 favorites. But they rebounded with a 5-1 whipping of the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, rewarding bettors who were laying -165.
We out and about early Saturday and visited one of the less-busy race and sports books. Still, there were three ticket writers on duty and the electronic board had more choices than the buffet line on a holiday weekend. We found an early winner with Arkansas +23.5. The Razorbacks played competitively with Texas A&M, as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones watched from AT&T Stadium, before losing 31-27. We managed to cash another ticket when Appalachian State, -15, put away Coastal Carolina, 56-37.
Then we settled down to watch UNLV at Wyoming. There was some discussion about weather, specifically wind, as a factor in the game in Laramie, Wyoming, and bettors drove the total down from 48 to 44.5 As even the most casual bettors know, rain or snow is not necessarily a hindrance to scoring but strong, gusty breezes are.
We had two tickets in our pocket, one that said “under” and another that said Wyoming -9.5, but the larger of the two was on “under.” The total went “over” easily, but we cashed the consolation prize when the Cowboys defeated the Rebels, 53-17. One ‘capper at CBS SportsLine actually tapped the Rebels at +9.5 as a good bet, saying it was like a bowl game to them, a suggestion we found more than mildly amusing.
And that ticket on North Texas? That, too, proved worthless as apparently the Cougars didn’t miss their redshirt quarterback, handing the Mean Green a nasty 46-25 defeat.
There were some intriguing match-ups in the NFL on Sunday, but we just watched highlights. We were briefly tempted by the New England Patriots -7 vs. the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys -2.5 vs. the New Orleans Saints as well as the New York Giants -3 and their newly installed quarterback Daniel Jones. But we weren’t up early enough for the New England or the New York games, and sharp action and chatter in the twitterverse dissuaded us from a bet on Dallas. Probably just as well since only the Giants would have been a winner. In fact, upsets were the rule on Sunday in the NFL, and the books had a highly profitable day.
If you wanted a break from baseball, football or soccer on Sunday, there was the Bank of America Roval 400 from Charlotte, North Carolina. Chase Elliott prevailed in the NASCAR event and paid as much as 8-1.
One last thing: You wondered about that pick of “Cleveland” back on last Tuesday? The Indians routed the White Sox, 11-0, that day. Proving that it never hurts to ask and listen.
What’s next?
— If you’re trying to get unstuck from a day of upsets Sunday in the NFL, Monday Night Football spotlights two winless teams with the Pittsburgh Steelers at -3.5 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. The total is at 45.
— In baseball’s National League, the Wild Card game is the Milwaukee Brewers at the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, and the Division Series gets underway Thursday. In the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays are at the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday for the Wild Card, and the division series starts Friday.
— The Vegas Golden Knights host the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday to open the regular NHL season. The early line is VGK -210 with the total at 6.
— The UNLV Rebels host the Boise State Broncos on Saturday. Boise State is currently -21.5 with the total at 58.5.
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