The Buffalo Bills ended the longest playoff drought in American major pro sports Sunday in miraculous fashion.
Todd Dewey
Todd Dewey covers sports betting for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
tdewey@reviewjournal.com … @tdewey33 on Twitter. 702-383-0354
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Boston Celtics, who defeated the defending champion Golden State Warriors 92-88 on Thursday, have the league’s best record against the spread at 13-2-1. The Philadelphia 76ers are second with an 11-3 ATS mark.
The other lesson we learned was that it’s better to be called a square than a loser.
In what shapes up as a virtual College Football Playoff elimination game, Notre Dame is favored by 3 to 3½ points over Miami at Las Vegas sports books.
If not for a pair of great escapes by Atlanta (4-4) in wins at Chicago and Detroit, its season could be classified a disaster.
Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale said he’ll refund about $10 million to customers who cashed in on a promotion offering refunds of any mattress purchase of at least $3,000 when the Astros won the World Series.