• Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans O/U 46.5 – In a battle of two of the league’s most premiere offenses, the total for the game is 46.5 points. Given how strong of a passer both Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub are, it should go without question that the total will go over. Going into the game, Indianapolis is the favorite because of how well they fared last season. Nevertheless, although the majority of sportsbooks suggest that if the game goes over 46.5 points, the majority of the points will be towards the Colts, do not be surprised if both teams end up going over the total.

• Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams O/U 38.5 – The majority of sportsbooks have these two divisional rivals going under the total. We disagree completely, as both Sam Bradford and Matt Leinart are both known as strong passing quarterbacks. Meaning to say, Larry Fitzgerald will be putting up a lot of mileage against the St. Louis secondary. Bradford on the contrary, will be relying on more than just one receiver as this new look Rams squad attempts to erase last season’s disaster with a high scoring victory.

• New England Patriots vs. Cincinnati Bengals O/ U 44 – In this game, fans around the league get to watch two of the biggest superstars collaborate to defeat the Patriots. Although the Patriots are the overall favorite in the game, the Bengals are favored to go over the 44 point total. Carson Palmer may have his hands full as he will be trying to spread out the offense amongst Cedric Benson on the run and Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens on the pass.

Starting Pitching

Your sportsbook will have the starting pitchers listed, which shows its importance. Pitchers have a massive control over the game of baseball, and regardless of the lineups in the field, you can usually tell the favorite by the pitcher.

Injuries

Injuries are something that all betting players have to consider, not just MLB betting players. Baseball players have a 162-game season, and injuries easily creep into the equation, along with days off so they can avoid injuries.

Stadiums

Stadiums in the major leagues all have their own quirks, and learning those is essential to being a good MLB betting players. For example, a big-hitting team is neutralized in San Diego’s Petco Park, which is a pitcher’s ballpark. On the other hand, a lot of pitchers struggle in Texas’ Great American Ballpark, which has been known to be a haven for long-ball hitters.

Head To Head

Again, this is something that you should look at in all sports, not just baseball. Some teams are just a bad matchup for another team. Maybe a team filled with left-handed pitchers will get the edge in a series over a team full of left-handed batters (or vice versa).

Take these brief tips with you, do your research, and you’ll have a solid chance to boost your online sports betting account.

Similar to other sports such as baseball and hockey, betting on soccer includes a money line labeled for each side, with the key difference being that players can actually wager on the tie. This option separates soccer from other sports because with the option available to wager on the tie, a popular result, the ability to push is therefore eliminated. For example, in hockey and baseball one team has to win eventually, regardless if it is in regulation time or within the nine innings required for baseball. Therefore, the chances of winning when betting on either sport is 50-percent, or one out of a possible two results. Betting on soccer however gives players only a 33-percent chance of winning, or one out of a possible three results, which are wins for either side or a draw. Players can also bet the traditional over/under for soccer, just the same as they would all the other sports, as well as betting on team totals. Betting team totals means that each team is given an individual over/under number, and the player has to choose whether that squad will get over or under for total goals scored.

For example, most sites, including bet365.com offer bonuses to players simply for signing up, with the first $10 a player spends being rewarded with a $50 return, and matching as much as $200 in the future as long as the player is willing to wager that much. One type of bonus, that applies to everything from baseball to tennis betting, is the deposit bonus, where money is given to players based on how much money they deposit on to the site for wagering purposes. There are different types of deposit bonuses depending on what site the player chooses to use, but one of the most popular types is the 50% match bonus, which is offered by several sites including bowmans.com. The 50% match bonus offers players 50% of what they deposit on the site in bonus money. While other sites vary the way they work, the deposit bonus is still one of the easiest ways for players to make money for doing nothing they wouldn’t do anyway.

The Mexicans however would eventually get on the board however, as three Mexicans beat the offside trap on a long cross and found themselves alone behind the South African defense, allowing Rafael Marquez to bury the tying goal. That ball was actually the second of the game to cross the South African goal line, as Mexico was called for an offside on a potential goal earlier in the first half.

South Africa came close to stunning the world in the final minutes when striker Katlego Mphela broke through and hit the post on an excellent chance that would have surely sealed the betting contest. The final result however, a 1-1 tie, leaves both teams very much alive going forward with two games remaining in the group stages.

Strasburg will probably make his first appearance with the Nationals during a series against Pittsburgh on June 7-9 at home, and that’s probably the easiest way to work Strasburg into the rotation.  To be honest, the Nationals have been handling Strasburg with kid gloves, but his performance in the minors has made it impossible to keep the 21-year-old flamethrower down there.

Strasburg started in AA-Harrisburg, before moving up quickly to AAA-Syracuse, and he hasn’t disappointed.  Strasburg made eight starts, throwing 45.1 innings, and he had an outlandish 0.99 ERA with both teams.  He was even better with Syracuse with a 0.39 ERA, and he didn’t allow a run in his first three starts with Syracuse.  He also struck out 54 batters while walking just 10, and Strasburg gave up 22 hits.  Those numbers aren’t too bad, not in the least.

Everyone has been saying that Strasburg has the stuff to be the Nationals’ best starter, and that was on draft day.  The expectations are even higher after his routing of the minor leagues, and Washington will have to watch that they don’t burn out their star.  The Nationals have actually been playing decent baseball this year, and with 24 wins as of Thursday, they’re almost halfway to last year’s win total of 59, so it’ll be interesting to see how Strasburg handles being on a decent team.  Either way, look for a boost in Washington’s online sports betting odds when Strasburg comes up.

Last night fans betting on the underdog were treated to huge win, as the Montreal Canadiens led by stalwart goalie Jaroslav Halak eliminated 2008-2009 Stanley Cup champion the Pittsburgh Penguins.  With the win the Canadiens advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since their last Stanley Cup victory in 1993. Similar to the 1993 team, this year’s Hab’s have been led by a fantastic goalie in Halak, who has surpassed Patrick Roy’s save percentage from the 1993 cup run at 943. Further sniper Michael Cammallari has taken the offensive load and run with as he has scored 12 goals in the playoffs, the first Hab forward to do so since Vincent Damphousse did so in 1993. The question however is that after defeating both Eastern Conference favorites to win the cup, can Halak keep up his stellar play as the team will face either the seventh seed Philadelphia Flyers or the sixth seed Boston Bruins. Fans must believe, that although Montreal, is ranked at the eighth seed, after knocking the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, they have the highest Stanley Cup odds coming out of the East.

Can The Flyers Make History?

In the history of the National Hockey League only six teams have come back from starting a playoff series down three games to none. Of the six teams only two have ever come all the way back to win the series, the 1945 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders. Last night the Philadelphia Flyers led by the returning Michael Leighton at the very least joined an exclusive club of four teams that have come back to at least tie a series at three games apiece. Leighton had to step in for goalie Brian Boucher, who had guided the team from squeaking into the playoffs to game five of their second round matchup. However in game five, Boucher suffered a season ending knee injury and Leighton was required to come in. When laying a bet on NHL playoffs, it would have been fair to bet against the Flyers going into game four of their second round matchup as they were down three games to zero, but suddenly the last three games the offense has shown up for the Flyers and dried up for the Bruins.

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Running Game:

One of the biggest advantages that the Saints have in this
matchup is their running game. The Indianapolis Colts don’t run the ball and
their offense is very one-dimensional with their passing game. What that
typically adds up to is lots of passing yards and lots of points, but they
don’t dominate the time of possession and their offense can be very
predictable.

The Saints can run the ball. They have the No. 6 rushing
offense in the NFL and they can pound the ball and give their defense a break
while their offense continues to move the chains.

Turnover Ratio:

The other main difference between these two teams is the
amount of turnovers they force. The Saints have the second-best turnover ratio
in the NFL and their heavy blitzing defense is one of the reason. Meanwhile,
the Colts are a very conservative defense and they don’t typically create big
plays.

Based on these two reasons, the Saints are the pick this
weekend at Super Bowl XLIV.

Super Bowl Line: Saints -3.5

The Minnesota Vikings thought that when they signed Brett Favre out of retirement, that they would supplement their stellar running game with an excellent passing game. While the passing game has improved and weapons like Sidney Rice have taken a big step forward, the reality is that the running game hasn’t often been there for support.

The Vikings have only had three 100-yard games from Adrian Peterson this season and none have come in the last nine weeks. If the Vikings plan to win on the road in New Orleans, they will need the help of Peterson because Favre simply can’t do it on his own.

This is a Vikings team that was 9-0 at home this year but just 4-4 on the road. They simply aren’t good enough to be one-dimensional on the road and hope to win. If it’s all Favre, we might see the old Favre that makes some bone-headed plays that cost his team the game.

The Saints are multi-faceted and playing at home, you know they are going to score plenty of points. The question is will the Vikings be able to catch up?

If it’s a shootout, the Saints win. If the Vikings can dictate the pace with Peterson, they will win.

NFL Pick: Saints -3.5