The Buffalo Bills ended the longest playoff drought in American major pro sports Sunday in miraculous fashion.
Football
They’re getting ready to throw parades, and the balloons are up. But here’s a message to the Vegas Golden Knights. You really haven’t accomplished anything until you’ve had some boos to go with the cheers.
Norman Freedman is 83 but vividly recalled details of a bad beat he suffered 40 years ago, when Earl “The Pearl” Monroe mysteriously turned his apparent $2,000 win into a $100 loss.
Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore came up with an interception of Matt Ryan late in the first half of New Orleans’ 23-13 win over Atlanta on Sunday when a deflected pass came to rest on his backside as he lay facedown on the field.
Saturday offers an NFL doubleheader featuring two playoff contenders that are facing teams out of the postseason mix. But bettors, be careful. There could be a trap out there.
Most avid sports bettors and poker players can write a book on bad beats. It would be a tragicomedy about the most agonizing losses of their gambling lives that double as miracle wins for other bettors.
New England, which closed as a 3-point favorite at MGM Resorts sports books and a 2½-point favorite at most other books, escaped with the win and drove a stake through the hearts and wallets of most Pittsburgh backers, including one high roller in particular.
The Golden Knights’ 2-1 win over the two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena proved that they will not be intimidated by the big boys.
Oregon was favored by as many as 8 points over Boise State in Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl before sharp money on the underdog moved the line to 7 on Thursday.
Philadelphia’s odds to win Super Bowl LII were moved from 4-1 to 10-1 in the wake of quarterback Carson Wentz’s knee injury.
You have to love teams that are giving their best effort. Sometimes that’s not good enough, as in Thursday night, when Drew Brees forced his final pass into coverage and Atlanta held on for a 20-17 win over New Orleans.
The Crimson Tide is a 1½-point favorite over Clemson, which upset Alabama 35-31 in last season’s national championship to avenge a 45-40 loss to the Tide in the 2016 title game.
Legendary broadcaster Brent Musburger, now with the Vegas Stats Information Network, looks at Saturday’s conference championship football games.
Handicapper Lee Sterling (ParamountSports.com) recommends plays on Wisconsin plus the points against Ohio State and on the money line (plus-200) as he sees the Badgers pulling off the outright upset.
The Eagles, Patriots and Falcons all covered double-digit spreads and the Panthers delivered a last-minute cover as favorites went 9-3 against the spread Sunday and Las Vegas sports books were thrown for a loss.
