Sports Betting: Weekly Roundup
It's another interesting week for sports bettors as interleague play continues around Major League Baseball, it's draft time in the NBA, there's a busy weekend in MMA with Strikeforce and the UFC on tap, and in England another tennis Grand Slam begins with the start of Wimbledon.
Interleague play continues with two rivalry series on the schedule, with the Houston Astros visiting the Texas Rangers and the Chicago teams facing off when the White Sox host the Cubs.
The Rangers have owned the Astros in recent years and last season they went 5-1 against Houston. Texas is 10-2 in their last 12 versus the Astros and they are 4-2 in their last six against Houston in Arlington.
The battle of Chicago has been a one-sided affair lately with the White Sox beating up on the Cubs. The White Sox were 4-2 versus the Cubs last season and in their last nine versus the Cubs at U.S. Cellular field the Sox are 7-2.
Other notable series on the interleague schedule this week include the Yankees at Cincinnati, Toronto at Atlanta, Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, and the lone non-Interleague matchup, Philadelphia at St. Louis.
If you thought betting on the NBA was finished for the season you must have forgotten about the NBA Draft. The draft takes place on Thursday night in New Jersey where the Cleveland Cavaliers have the No. 1 pick.
Everyone expects Kyrie Irving to go No. 1, followed by Derrick Williams at No. 2 to Minnesota. After that it's wide open, and at Bodog you can bet on the rest of the first round. The No. 3 pick at Bodog is favored to be Brandon Knight at -300, while other players getting odds include Enes Kanter at +250, Jimmer Fredette at +850, and Kemba Walker at +1500.
If you're an MMA fan or bettor you're in for a busy weekend with Strikeforce on the schedule Friday night and the UFC taking over on Sunday.
Strikeforce Challengers: Fodor vs. Terry takes place at ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on Friday night. The main event on the card is a Lightweight bout between Caros Fodor and James Terry.
UFC on Versus 4 will take place at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. The main event on the card is a Welterweight fight between Nate Marquardt and Rick Story. Also on the card is a Heavyweight tilt between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry. The early odds on that bout at Bodog had Kongo as a -175 favorite.
Finally, it's a big week for tennis fans and bettors as Wimbledon begins on Monday. On the men's side Wimbledon has been dominated by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the last eight years. Of course the two rivals are co-favorites at Bodog, with Nadal and Federer both listed at 2/1.
On the women's side Bodog also has listed co-favorites with Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova both at 4/1. It's been seven long years since Sharapova won her title at Wimbledon, while Serena, the four-time and defending Wimbledon champ, may not be the best pick because she just returned from a long injury layoff last week.