Weekly Sports Betting Roundup
It's going to be a busy week for sports bettors, with both the NHL and NBA playing their conference finals, baseball getting interleague play underway, and the second jewel of the horse racing Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, hitting the track.
On the ice the NHL takes the day off on Monday before returning on Tuesday with Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final between Tampa Bay and Boston. The Lightning drew first blood in the series opener with a 5-2 victory as a +140 underdog. Boston should be really worried about that result, because Tampa Bay did it with only an assist from the trio of Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, and Martin St. Louis.
With Game 2 being played in Boston the Bruins are favored again at -150 at 5Dimes, while the Lightning are a +130 underdog. Looking forward, Game 3 is Thursday in Tampa Bay and Game 4, also in Florida, goes Saturday.
In the NBA playoffs the schedule is a bit of a mess thanks to Oprah taking over the United Center in Chicago. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals was Sunday night, but the Heat and Bulls won't play again until Wednesday. They get another three days off before Game 3 in Miami on Sunday. Before the series began the Heat were a -180 favorite to advance to the NBA Finals at Bodog. Keep an eye on those odds and watch them change as the series goes on.
Speaking of odd schedules, it's a weird week in baseball with teams preparing to play three series. It begins with a pair of two-game series heading into the weekend, when interleague play begins. The team facing the toughest week could the the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies begin the week with two games against St. Louis and then another tough two-game set versus the hard-hitting Colorado Rockies. The Phillies' first foray into interleague play is a matchup with the defending American League champions, the Texas Rangers.
Other interesting interleague matchups worth a look this weekend include the Mets versus the Yankees, Cincinnati versus Cleveland, Tampa Bay versus Florida, and Oakland versus San Francisco.
Finally, the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes is Saturday at Pimlico Race Course. The favorite is Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, who surprised a lot of people at Churchill Downs when he won the Derby as a 20/1 underdog. At Bodog you can get Animal Kingdom at +300 on their “Will he win the Preakness?” prop. Looking to end Animal Kingdom's run at the Triple Crown will be Derby favorite Dialed In, Midnight Interlude, and Mucho Macho Man among the 14-horse field.
One horse bettors need to watch for is Nehro - he's on the fence for the Preakness after finishing second in the Derby. If he does race at Pimlico, he could pull of an upset.