Weekend Sports Gambler: Countdown Underway to Raiders-Chargers Kickoff on Sunday
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By Dan Behringer, LVSportsBiz.com Sports Betting Writer
Now the fun begins.
And the lines snaking to the betting windows.
And the pleas from exasperated ticket writers. “Next! Next! … Nexxxxt!”
The NFL season is underway, and the Las Vegas Raiders will be one of the juicier items on the weekend betting menu.
The Silver and Black are generally +3.5 headed into their kickoff on Sunday vs. the San Diego Chargers at SoFi Stadium at 1001 Stadium Drive in Inglewood, California. There were a few +4 betting lines earlier in the week, but those have disappeared like popup merchandise stores. The total is 52.5.
In last year’s regular season finalé, the Raiders beat the Chargers, 35-32, in overtime to earn a playoff berth. That was in January, a mere eight months ago. But the Chargers have won two of the past three meetings.
“There’s no shortcuts. It’s not easy,” Raiders coach McDaniels told Field Level Media about preparing for the Chargers. “They have a tremendous amount of talent.”
Like a drumroll crescendo, the fun is approaching. Kickoff is at 1:25 p.m.
Elsewhere:
— UNLV on the road: The football Rebels will play the Cal Golden Bears at 1 p.m. Saturday. The line opened at UNLV +13 but has since moved to UNLV +11.5. The total has also been bet down, from 50.5 to 47.5.
Fans and bettors will be watching UNLV after the Rebels thrashed Idaho State, 52-21, in their opener at Allegiant Stadium.
Coach Marcus Arroyo, a former Cal assistant, was upbeat after that game. “That says a lot about the possibility of what we can become,” he told reporters.
Cal defeated UC Davis in their season opener, 34-13. So both UNLV and Cal have Week 1 wins over FCS teams from the Big Sky Conference.
The last time the Rebels started 2-0 was under coach John Robinson. The year was 1999. Also, there’s this: The Rebels are anywhere from +375 to +400 on the money line for Saturday’s game.
— Bring on the WNBA Finals: The Las Vegas Aces will meet the Connecticut Sun in the best-of-five WNBA Finals. The Aces earned their ticket with a 97-92 win over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday. The Sun knocked out the Sky with a 72-63 win over the defending champion Chicago Sky on Friday.
Game 1 is Sunday at noon at Michelob Ultra Arena with the Aces at -5.5. The total is 169.5.
Astute bettors surely noticed the first two games of the semifinals vs. the Seattle Storm went under the total, but Games 3 and 4 went over.
Said Aces coach Becky Hammon to Yahoo Sports, “It is hard to win here on any night, let alone given the circumstances, you know? Obviously thrilled to be going back to the finals, I’m pumped for our girls. … “
— UFC 279’s change in plans: The scheduled welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev (11-0) and Nate Diaz (21-13-0) in UFC 279 went off the rails Friday when Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds. Diaz will now fight Tony Ferguson (26-7-0) in the featured event at T-Mobile Arena.
An updated betting line from Covers.com has Ferguson at -138 and Diaz at +110.
— Play of the Week (0-1): We deviated from our Pick the Obvious Winners Theory, brushed aside Michigan, which won and covered vs. Colorado State, and lost with San Diego State last week. This weekend we like Arkansas -8.5 vs. South Carolina. Remember, you get what you pay for.
