Baseball Betting Picks: Angels win Game 5, Get Back New York

The Los Angeles Angels cut into the New York Yankees lead in the ALCS with a 7-6 win in Baseball Betting Picks Game 5 Thursday night.

The Angels got to A.J. Burnett early, piling up four hits and four runs in the first innings. Burnett walked lead off batter Chone Figgins on five pitches, gave up a double to Bobby Abreu and an 2-RBI base hit to Hunter. Guerrero doubled, Morales singled and the Yankees were quickly down by four.

John Lackey pitched six scoreless innings but found trouble in the seventh. With one out, he gave up a double to Melky Cabrera and back-to-back walks to Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. That brought the hook for Lackey.

The bullpen couldn't stop the bleeding, and in fact made it worse, giving up a double to Mark Teixeira, an RBI-single to Hideki Matsui and a triple to Robinson Cano. The Yankees had turned a four-run deficit into a two-run lead in one inning.

Not ready to call it a season just yet, the Angels rebounded quickly, chasing Burnett from the ball game with a lead-off base hit from Jeff Mathis and a walk from Erick Aybar. This time it was the Yankees bullpen that couldn't get the job done, giving up another walk, two more hits and ultimately the lead in the game.

Abreu grounded to first to score Mathis, Guerrero singled to center to plate Aybar and Morales dropped a ball in right field to bring home Hunter and put the Angels back on top for good.

Los Angeles went to Jered Weaver for the eighth and Brian Fuentes for the ninth. Weaver was perfect while Fuentes walked a couple and hit another to load the bases but got Nick Swisher to ground out for the save. Kevin Jepsen got the win for getting the final out in the top of the seventh.

The win sends the series back to New York this weekend. In Baseball Betting Picks Game six is set for Saturday with Joe Saunders taking the mound for Los Angeles against Andy Pettitte.

Saunders started Game 2 for the Angels and allowed just two runs over seven innings but left with the game tied. Pettitte started Game 3 for the Yankees and gave up 3 runs on seven innings and also didn't figure in the decision.

Premier League Show for 24-25 Oct 2009, Premier League Picks

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BetRepublic Premier League Preview Show for 24-25 Oct 2009

It’s another busy weekend of football at online sports betting community. Members of fast-growing sports betting community are looking forward to a great weekend of football.

Sunday sees the annual "grudge match" between Liverpool and Man Utd which normally provides sports bettors with several very exciting betting prospects.

Where is the betting value to be had? The answers are provided by former professional footballer Steve Claridge and football betting expert James Eastham, who guide BR members through each game of top flight football in their weekly Premier League Preview Show.

On every match bookmaker’s price up over 100 betting markets which can be a bit of a minefield for sports bettors. But there is always a great value bet to make and this is where Steve and James come in. They are able to use their knowledge and insight into the game to select the bets they think make the best sense to football bettors.

"We trawl the entire market for the best bets to make," says Eastham. "There is always a smart play to make and we usually manage to root out the value."

Punters who have followed Eastham and Claridge's picks every week so far in the 2009/10 season have made a decent profit to level stakes.

Below are the matches they are covering in their Premier League Preview Show this weekend. BR members can log on to bet republic to see the show from 10pm on Thursday evening.

They can also view 3-minute previews for each game on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/slicker66.

SATURDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2009

BIRMINGHAM v SUNDERLAND

Birmingham have lost three games in a row and five of their last six

Blues have scored in their last four and in five of their last six as well

Sunderland’s home form is a lot better than their away form – they’ve won their last four home matches but picked up just one point from their last possible nine on the road

Recommended Bets:

Sunderland +0 Asian handicaps (17/20)

Under 2.5 goals (4/5)

BURNLEY v WIGAN

Burnley’s home form has been magnificent this season – four wins out of four, including victories over Man Utd (1-0) and Everton (1-0)

Wigan have been unpredictable but their away form has been consistently poor – since their opening-day 2-0 win at Aston Villa they’ve lost at Everton (1-2), Arsenal (0-4) and Hull (1-2)

Recommended Bets:

Draw (12/5)

Both teams to score (4/6)

CHELSEA v BLACKBURN

Chelsea have lost two of their last three league games but have a 100% home record – victories over Hull (2-1), Burnley (3-0), Tottenham (3-0) and Liverpool (2-0)

Blackburn really need to improve on the road – they’ve lost three out of three against Sunderland (1-2), Everton (0-3) and Arsenal (2-6)

Chelsea have won four and drawn one of the last five head-to-heads, scoring 13 goals in the process while conceding just two

Recommended Bets:

Blackburn +2 Asian handicap (4/5)

Both teams to score (7/5)

HULL v PORTSMOUTH

This is a vital clash between two sides caught in the relegation zone

Hull’s two wins this season have come at home to lowly opposition – 1-0 v Bolton and 2-1 v Wigan

Portsmouth’s only win of the season came in their last away game, 1-0 at Wolves

Both games ended in draws between the sides last season – the final score in Hull was 0-0, and the result in Portsmouth 2-2

Recommended Bets:

Portsmouth +0 Asian handicaps (21/20)

Under 2.5 goals (17/20)

TOTTENHAM v STOKE

Spurs’ nine league games this season have all had over 2.5 goals. Both teams have scored in seven of those games, with Tottenham managing to keep a clean sheet only once, v Burnley (5-0)

Stoke have won just two out of 23 away games since promotion to the Premier League last season. They’ve drawn three out of four on the road this season (v Birmingham, Bolton and Everton)

Recommended Bets:

Over 3 goals (21/20)

Both teams to score (4/5)

WOLVES v ASTON VILLA

Wolves lost their last home game v Portsmouth (0-1) having gone W1-D1-L1 at home before that

Six of Wolves’ nine league games have had under 2.5 goals

Villa have won five and drawn one of their last seven league games, including victories over Liverpool (3-1) and Chelsea (2-1)

Recommended Bets:

Aston Villa (6/5)

Aston Villa to win to nil (13/5)

SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2009

BOLTON v EVERTON

Bolton are still seeking their first home win of the season. They’ve lost twice (0-1 v Sunderland and 2-3 v Liverpool) and drawn their last two at home (1-1 v Stoke and 2-2 v Tottenham)

Everton have drawn their last two games v Wolves and Stoke (both 1-1) at home – but won their last away game, at Portsmouth (1-0)

Everton have an excellent record at the Reebok – they’ve won four, drawn four and lost just two of 10 games in the Premier League era

Recommended Bets:

Draw (12/5)

Both teams to score (7/10)

LIVERPOOL v MAN UTD

Liverpool has already lost four league games this season and are seven points behind league leaders Man Utd

Liverpool did the double over Man Utd last season, winning 2-1 at Anfield and 4-1 at Old Trafford

That was Rafa Benitez’s first home win over United since taking charge – Liverpool had lost three and drawn one of their previous four league meetings at Anfield with the Spaniard in charge

All four of those head-to-heads leading up to Liverpool’s 2-1 win last season had under 1.5 goals

Recommended Bets:

Draw (12/5)

Over 2.25 goals (17/20)

MAN CITY v FULHAM

Games between these two teams in Manchester are nearly always high-scoring – six out of eight Premier League head-to-heads have had over 2.5 goals, with four of those games having over 3.5 goals and both teams scoring in seven of the eight clashes

Man City has won three out of three at home this season – 1-0 v Wolves, 4-2 v Arsenal and 3-1 v West Ham

Fulham have won one, drawn one and lost two of their four away games

Recommended Bets:

Man City -1 Asian handicap (19/20)

Over 2.5 goals (19/20)

WEST HAM v ARSENAL

The Hammers lie next to bottom in the table, having lost four and drawn one of their last five league games

Arsenal’s form couldn’t be more different – they’ve won four games on the run since their 4-2 defeat at Manchester City, beating Wigan (4-0), Fulham (1-0), Blackburn (6-2) and Birmingham City (3-1)

Arsenal has an excellent record at Upton Park – they’ve won seven, drawn five and lost just two of the 14 head-to-heads between the sides in the Premier League era

Recommended Bets:

West Ham +1 Asian handicap (11/10)

Under 2.75 goals (19/20)

Horse Racing Picks: Howard Johnson Hopes For Tidal Revival

In latest horse racing picks, Howard Johnson hopes a breathing operation can help Tidal Bay return to his best at Aintree on Saturday.

His stable star runs in the tote ten to follow Old Roan Chase and the trainer is expecting a big run.

"We are looking forward to getting Tidal Bay back on the racecourse. We had him hobdayed through the summer and we are hoping that has tidied him up. I would say at the minute that he will probably be our standard bearer this year," said Johnson with sports betting community.

"He jumped a few fences indoors on Monday morning and looked good. He'll school outdoors if it keeps drizzling like it is now and he will have a piece of work with Denis O'Regan up, probably on Tuesday. If I'm happy and the ground is alright, we'll go to Aintree.

"He is training well and we'll weigh him on Wednesday. He actually looks like he's carrying a lot more condition this year, which is good because he always looks Gorky."

Johnson is pleased with the form of his stable at present, which boasts a 33% strike rate this month, with nine wins from 27 runners.

He said: "The horses in horse racing betting generally are alright, I'm happy enough with them, it's just that we haven't been able to get on the grass yet. The ground has been too firm and the racecourses don't help us trainers in the north east because they won't let us work our horses on the tracks."

Will Shogun's muay thai defeat Machida's karate? - UFC Betting

UFC 104 Machida Vs Shogun Match Preview & UFC Betting Picks

Mauricio Shogun Rua wants Machida's LHW Belt.

Mauricio Shogun Rua used to rumble through pride opponents with sheer aggression. TKO's by soccer kicks and stomps. Come on! Shogun rocked people. He won the PRIDE Fighting Championship's 2005 MW Grand Prix. If one of Shogun's matches went to the later rounds he could even pull out a submission victory. In his first 18 fights only two went to the final bell and Shogun came out victorious. Both wins were by unanimous submission.

Shogun is a powerful, pressing muay thai striker and a BJJ black belt who will punch your head off or kick you on the ground until you quit or the referee saves you. That is Shogun.

Before joining the UFC, Shogun's list of victims, and I don't use the word lightly, include Evangelista Santos, Akihiro Gono, Quinton "BA Baracus, I'm done fighting" Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem (x2), Ricardo Arona, and Kevin Randleman. Many of these top level men were punished. This is the Shogun the UFC signed, this is the Shogun the UFC fans wanted and expected. What they got was something different.

The problem was that Shogun has knees, and sometimes they don't always hold together. Shogun's knee injury during training did not allow for a competitive camp and he lacked the fitness to compete against Forrest Griffin. After losing the first two rounds, Shogun ultimately succumed to a rear-naked-choke in the final seconds of the third round. Shogun looked exhausted. His fans slumped in their chairs and looked bewildered. I remember that. I can accept the injury excuse/reason. It really didn't look like Shogun. There was also the fact that it was his first fight under the Unified Rules of MMA, which include no kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent. Injured, out of shape and lacking weapons. Shogun looses the match and the chance to make a first impression on UFC fans that hadn't seen him before.

You can find all the UFC 104 previews, UFC 104 odds and UFC Betting Tips at BetRepublic.com

Shogun's next chance was also a chance to avenge his earlier loss to Mark Coleman. This time UFC fans had a chance to see two well known fighters almost not make it to the end of the fight due to exhaustion. "Fight of the Night" or not, nothing overly impressed me here except the fact that someone actually won before I fell asleep. I was beginning to wonder if Shogun was just collecting the cheques and finishing out a contract before retiring. Then came Liddell. The Iceman was out in the first round due to Shogun's big left hook and a flurry of hammer fists. This was getting back on track, even if it was against a fading Liddell.

So the question remains, do we get the original Shogun, or the lumbering, out of breath Shogun. My guess is that Shogun has had a full camp, he's fit and adjusted to the cage, and is more than ready for a title fight. He's too much a professional and too proud of a guy to take this fight anything less than completely serious. I expect a new and improved Shogun.

I expect Machida is expecting the same.

That may be Shogun's downfall against Machida. Shogun's aggressive style is exactly what a counter-puncher loves, and exactly what Machida is waiting for. I think Machida's accuracy and timing will prove to be too much for Shogun.

Shogun's coach, Andre Dida disagrees, "For the pace of fighting that Lyoto forces, always looking for the knockout, I think this fight won’t go past the third round. Shogun will knock out him in the 3rd round for sure. Shogun is going to be the unique guy to show the world how to beat Lyoto. Everyone will learn how to beat Machida so on."

UFC 104 Picks: Machida by TKO, later rounds.

Sorry Shogun.

Check out BetRepublic sports betting community for UFC betting tips & picks, and Sports Betting tips

NFL Betting Picks: Bookies Report Card and ATS Summary

NFL Betting Picks is on its way in giving bookies report card and brief summary on ATS Roundups.

Minn @ St L: This was the number on favorite game of the NFL Betting public, getting mostly one-way action on Minnesota. Line opened at Minny -10 and closed at -11, with over 92% of the action on the Vikes. When the Vikings won by 28, it was a bad start to the day for the books. Line was off by 18 points and the house got killed on the game. GRADE: F

Dal @ KC: Line opened at Dal – 8 ½ and was bet all the way down to Dal -7. When the Cowboys had to come from behind to win in OT, the books took their second beating of the day. Line was only off by 2 ½, but with the Chiefs as the most popular dog of the day with the wagering public the house lost big again. GRADE: F

Wash @ Car: Line opened at Panthers -4 and closed at 5 ½. Carolina won, but only by 3 points so the house got a little back on this game. Line was off by only 1 point and the books made money on this one. GRADE: A

Oak @ NYG: Like the game above, the public did not think the dog was attractive at the opening number. Here, NY opened 15 ½ and closed -16’. Giants beat the NFL’s worst - the LA Raiders - by a whopping 37 points. Line was off by 21 ½. GRADE: F-

Ind @ Ten: Another bad number here. Indy opened at -3, the books too scared to go off that key number. The public jumped all over the visiting Colts against the winless Titans, and Indy won 31-9. Number was off by 19, the public, as is their tendency, jumped all over the favorite in the only game on the board, and the house got hit again. GRADE: F

NYJ @ Mia: Best game of the week for the bookies and the house, and it couldn’t come soon enough. The odds makers opened NY at -1 and the sports betting public was still buying into the Ryan-led Jets D as near-invincible theory – the Jets closed at -3 with a price on it! Miami was in control the whole way, emerging with a 4 point win. The opening line was off by 5, but the house, who could ill afford to end the week with another loser, profited nicely. GRADE: B


ATS Roundup - NFL Betting:

Four opening lines within 3 points of the final score. (Five week total at 13 of 76!)

SIX of fourteen games were off by ten or more points (five week total at 39 of 76.)

Favorites went 6-8 (five week total at 38-37-1.)

There were no flip-flops (games where teams opened as favs and closed as dogs). These are 4-0 on the season now.

Double digit dogs went 1-3 (five week total at 4-8.)

Home favorites went 4-4. (Five week total at 27-23-1.)

Home dogs went 4-2 (five week total at 13-12.)

NFC vs. AFC is 10-7 ATS

Totals: 7 overs 7 unders 1 push (five week total at 39 overs, 36 unders.)

NFL Week 5 Review - NFL Betting Tips & Picks

Looking at the updated NFL power rankings from ESPN.com, CBSSports.com and various other NFL focused sports sites, the top four teams are all the same across the board and the teams in that group, who played in Week 5, reinforced their standing at the top.

Week 5 in the NFL featured a number of games that had online sportsbooks serving up double-digit favorites. Advice from sports betting handicapping veterans will often tell you to avoid NFL betting big favorites, but this season in the NFL, parity doesn’t seem to be ruling the league, as when you look at the bottom of the standings, there are truly some of the worst teams in recent NFL memory.

The BetRepublic.com sports betting TV program on Thursday and Sunday looked at all the games, giving out their top NFL Betting Picks of the week, and breaking down each of the big games, including these big favorites.

The New York Giants were favored by 16 ½ points, even with Eli Manning nursing plantar fasciitis, but had no problem covering against the Raiders. The online sports betting public didn’t blink laying the big points, as the Giants were one of the most wagered on teams of the week.

NFL Betting Picks - Teams

The team who were the biggest public favorites was the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikes went into St. Louis as 10 ½ point favorites and they easily covered the spread as well. Not to be outdone, the Eagles were listed as 14 ½ point favorites at home to Tampa Bay, a game that produced yet another cover for the heavy chalk. That left the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only double-digit favorite that didn’t cover the number, as they beat the Detroit Lions by eight points (28-20) laying 10 ½.

The Giants are as good as any team in the league and should have been limited to ten guys on the field against Oakland. If the NFL followed the lead of the English Premier League and promoted and relegated teams in and out of the league to different divisions based on team success, then the Raiders would start next season in the CFL West division trying to man up against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Giants outgained the Raiders 483-123 total yards. In their previous games, the Raiders have only accumulated 165 total yards against Houston, 137 against the Broncos, and even in their win against the Chiefs they were outgained 409-166. The Raiders need a makeover like no other team has ever before gone under the knife.

The Lions started to make their climb out of the basement by firing the coaching staff and ridding themselves of GM Matt Millen. The Raiders have the challenge of needing to get rid of its owner or at least his meddling influence. Al Davis is one of the great NFL owners of all time, but maybe it’s time he headed off to the lawn bowling courts and left his team up to some savvy football minds.

There was some concern that the Vikings might have a letdown after getting two big wins against the Packers and 49ers. Letdowns are common in the NFL after big games, and teams that by all accounts would usually spank an inferior opponent, do well to squeak by with a win in this kind of matchup. The Vikings have covered in every game this season and were well prepared to play up to their talent and not the Rams.

The Rams have scored only one offensive touchdown this season and have given up at least 35 points in three straight games. The Vikings jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and cruised to a 38-10 win to easily cover the 10 ½. A bright spot for the Rams was Marc Bulger getting into the game in the fourth quarter after being out with an injury for the last few weeks and going 7-7 for 88 yards and a TD. Bulger will probably play next week in Jacksonville in a scintillating matchup.

The Vikings host the Ravens next week presenting their toughest test to date. The Bengals in Baltimore surprised the Ravens in a game to decide first place in the division. The Ravens were almost double-digit favorites with the line as high as 9 1/2.

The last second TD from Carson Palmer to Andre Caldwell could well have been a statement moment for Palmer. He is still trying to reclaim his status as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. He has now guided the Bengals to four wins in a ‘cardiac kids fashion.’ The Bengals have won their last three games by three points and have a penchant for last minute heroics. A bigger surprise than their defense or Palmer’s re-emergence is that running back Cedric Benson leads the league in rushing. The Bengals are for real having dispatched the Steelers and the Ravens and Pack on the road.

The Eagles got Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook back from the infirmary in time to torch the Buccaneers 33-14. McNabb finished 16 of 21 and his QB rating of 157.2 was the second highest in his career and also led the team with 30 yards rushing. If McNabb stays healthy, the Eagles will start to put up some big numbers in coming weeks. Philadelphia travels to Oakland next week in a game that you might want to keep the children out of the room.

All four teams that had a bye the previous week won their games in Week Five with the Panthers downing the Redskins 20-17, the Falcons throttling the 49ers 45-10 and the Cardinals hanging on to beat Houston 28-21. The Panthers were the only team that didn’t cover the line as they were posted as 3 ½ favorites. The Saints, Bears, Packers and Chargers had a bye this week and should be considered as good opportunities to win in Week Six.

The Denver Broncos still continue to stun the NFL after its last minute and overtime heroics against the Patriots. Josh McDaniels might not get a sniff at coaching in a lot of high school programs because of his age and relative lack of experience and yet he and his Broncos are the leagues biggest surprise and will be a force to be reckoned with before all is said and done. The Broncos should have had to play with leather helmets to match the pre-WWII uniforms. No matter what they’re wearing, McDaniels schooled his mentor and has surged to the front for Coach of the Year honors.

Jacksonville and the 49ers were both exposed this week suffering blowout losses. All is good in Seattle with the return of underrated QB Matt Hasselbeck. He threw four TD’s and looked in complete control against the Jaguars. The embarrassing loss by the 49ers to Atlanta allows both the Seahawks and Arizona back in the race in the West. As long as Seattle can dress Hasselbeck they have a shot at the division title.

The Colts and Peyton Manning finished off the Sunday card, putting on a clinic in their win over the Titanics. The only good news for the rest of the league is that Manning tweaked his knee. The bad news is that it isn’t serious and he has a bye week to fully recover. The Colts will get some starters back after the bye including Bob Sanders, just in time to face off against the Rams. Any bets on Manning getting his 6th straight 300-yard game?

The season is rounding into form and it’s starting to shape up like a Manning versus Manning Super Bowl. Let the hype begin.

Sports Betting Line movement for Game of the day - Arkansas State at UL Monroe

Sports Betting Odds makers opened this game as a pick 'em but the Red Wolves have been bet up to -2.

Sports Betting Measuring Sticks For Today’s Game:

ASU – picked to finish second in the sub belt this season - is just 1-3, but its losses have come against Nebraska, Troy and Iowa. The Hawkeyes narrowly held off the Red Wolves, 24-21, 10 days ago.

Arkansas State ranks 48th in the country in rushing, 98th in passing, 46th in offensive scoring, 81st in total offense and is tied for 18th inside the red zone.

The ASU pass defense is its Achilles heel, ranking 107th in the country, allowing 266.5 yards per game. They have yielded 1027 yards on 82-for-117 and nine touchdowns over the last three games.

Monroe has a chance to improve to 3-0 in Sun Belt play, which would be big considering the team was picked to finish seventh in the league.

The Warhawks bring a double-deuce offense into this contest, averaging 208.6 yards rushing and 210 passing. They are averaging 37 points per game in Sun Belt play. ULM leads the Sun Belt in scoring and tallied 577 yards of offense against FIU in its last game.

Weather Update:
Warm temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, under cloudy skies, are expected at kickoff. Showers and thunderstorms are likely with an 80 percent chance of rain. Southeast winds around 5 mph.

Player Profiles:

Arkansas State senior QB Corey Leonard was 22-for-40 for 216 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the three-point loss at Iowa.

It prompted Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz to comment, "That quarterback is their catalyst, Leonard is a heck of a football player." Leonard has 44 career touchdown passes, leaving him just five shy of the school record.

ASU RB Reggie Arnold is bidding to become only the eighth 1-A player ever with four straight 1,000-yard seasons. Arnold has only had 74 yards on 22 carries the past two games and needs to produce more than that to balance his team's offense. He is still on pace for 1132 yards in the 12-game schedule.

Warhawks’ defensive end Alex Carrington, the preseason defensive player of the year in the Sun Belt, has just 11 tackles in four games, including a single sack.

ULM’s running game has improved vastly and QB Trey Revell is playing with a lot of confidence. The junior has thrown for more than 1,000 yards and four touchdowns, and has rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns. His running ability adds another dimension to the offense that features strong skill players. Equally impressive is the fact ULM has given up just five sacks this season.

Junior RB Frank Goodin leads ULM with 461 yards rushing and eight touchdowns while senior WR Darrell McNeal leads ULM with 22 receptions and four touchdowns.

Coach’s chorus ULM coach Charlie Weatherbie on tonight’s game: "It's always been a very close football game, it seems. I'm not sure there has ever been a blowout one way or the other. I would expect no different in this ballgame. I think both teams are very evenly matched athletically and I compliment Arkansas State on how they played Iowa. I thought they played very, very well and had a chance to win the game."

Weatherbie went on to elaborate, "It's a very big game for us. It's step No. 3 in the Sun Belt race. It's going to be one of those games that comes down to who executes the best and whose fundamentals are better."

The Bottom Line For This Game:

Monroe is 2-2 SU and 4-0 ATS the last four meetings in this series, with the home team winning all four contests.

ASU is 12-2 ATS in games off back-to-back losses. Check out sports betting community for more information.

NFL Picks Week 1, Sunday’s NFL Schedule, Week One NFL Picks

The sports betting community, bet republic like most sports betting enthusiasts, we were anxiously awaiting the kick-off to the new NFL season. Thursday night gave us a tase of what was to come, as the Titans and Steelers mixed it up in Pittsburgh.

We broke that game down in our Thursday Night sports betting TV show and will go through all the Sunday action in our Sunday NFL Blitz sports betting TV show at the site.

Here are a handful of NFL picks and write-ups from the Bet Republic office focused on Sunday’s NFL schedule.

It’s always tough making football picks in Week 1 since preseason games are the only opportunity we’ve had so far to really gauge the impact of off season player/coaching changes. Looking over the odds online presented a handful of spots that could be a good betting opportunity and we’ve previewed those games here.

Into the 2009 season we go…

Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons
NFL Odds: Falcons -4
Over/Under: 44
Both teams were a surprise last season finishing 11-5 SU and getting into the playoffs. Opponents will be more prepared for each of these squads in `09 and this matchup will give bettors a good opportunity to see which team has made the greatest adjustments. The Falcons have signed TE Tony Gonzalez to their offense, which is a very thoughtful addition.

Atlanta finished 6th in total offense last year and Miami 11th. Defensively, Atlanta ranked 24th and Miami 15th. Miami was 6-2 ATS on the road last year and getting more than a field goal, we like the Fish in the season opener.

BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the underdog Dolphins
Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers
Line: Eagles -2
Over/Under: 44
This is a matchup between two teams that, in the past decade, have been a mirror image of each other. Both are led by veteran coaches and QBs, both have had solid regular season success and both have fallen victim to the Patriots dynasty in the Super Bowl. The Eagles had a ton of preseason hype and the Panthers are trying to recover from their last playoff debacle. Look for both teams to feature the run and for this contest to finish under the number.
BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the “Under”

New York Jets at Houston
Line: Texans -4
Over/Under: 44
Houston is the only AFC team in the past decade that has failed to make at least one trip to the post-season. For that to change the team needs a strong start and this home opener vs. the Jets could be the break Houston needs. QB Matt Schaub has recovered from his ankle injury and will start. Jets QB Sanchez will find the going tough against Mario Williams and the rest of the Houston D. Jets without two suspended defensive starters who were last season’s sack leaders – Shaun Ellis and Calvin Pace. The Texans are 1-3 ATS in recent home openers but were only favored once (2007), beating KC 20-3.
BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the Texans

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
Line: Patriots -11
Over/Under: 47.5
Cover your eyes kids this could get ugly. The Bills are one of a handful teams that appear to be in disarray heading into the season. The Patriots will use this Monday Nighter to put a scare into the rest of the league. Look for Brady to throw for more than 400 yards. We usually steer clear of double-digit favorites, but will throw a unit down on this one.
BetRepublic’s Pick: Take the Patriots

England v Australia 3rd ODI Preview, Ed Hawkins Betting Recommendations

If you want to bet on Wednesday's big match at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire make sure you read the thoughts of sports betting community chief cricket analyst Ed Hawkins.

You can always find Hawkins updated betting previews at the popular sports betting social networking site “bet republic”

Having lost the first two one-day internationals (ODIs) against Australia Bet Republic cricket analyst Ed Hawkins reckons England are the value bet to win the third match (of the seven-match series) on Wednesday.

If you want to read Ed Hawkins' Preview of the game, then you can read it here.

At the moment England are a best-priced 11/8 (available across the board) while Australia are a best-priced 3/5 (with Bwin). But if Hawkins has told members of the sports betting community to back England he also believes he has unearthed a key stat that can also be used to turn a profit on the game, which will be played at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl ground.

Hawkins says: “In the six completed Friends Provident Trophy matches, which are 50-over county contests, the wicket has proved to be excellent to bat on. Six centuries have been scored and there have been no fewer than 12 50s scored.

The average 50-ups make-up is 100, exactly 30 points higher than Sporting Index’s buy price and when we have such a stat in our favour it would be pure folly not to take advantage of it.”

Admittedly, Hawkins says he is relying on England’s batsmen to do their share of the runscoring but he has decided to put his faith in the surface nonetheless. Indeed, even if England’s batsmen have managed only one 50 between them so far the law of averages and a batting paradise are on our side.

So good is the track that Ian Bell – who has a reputation for making hay on flat wickets – scored a century at the Rose Bowl when England last played there, and won, against India in 2007.

Another bet Hawkins likes is Shane Watson to score more than 49 performance runs which makes up at 1-point per run, 10 per catch and 20 per wicket.

The Rose Bowl is a ‘home’ ground for the all-rounder having spent some time with Hampshire and he averages a whopping 188 with the bat.

The best way to get with him is to take the 4/5 Bet365 offer that he scores more than 49 performance points (1-point per run, 10 per catch, 20 per wicket).

The hosts, who are 2-0 down, must hit back. The key could be the toss with five of the six games won by the side batting first. England have won only twice from eight ODIs in the last year when fielding first.

Ed Hawkins Betting Recommendations:

Buy 50-ups

2pts at 70 with Sporting Index

S Watson more than 49 performance points

3pts 4/5 Bet365

Betting Baseball - The Playoff Race

It’s September and that means back to school, NFL betting kicks in and the Major League Baseball pennant races start.

The expansion to include one wild-card playoff contender in each league began in 1995 and provides more excitement to the season for those teams and their fans.

The wild-card race is open to all divisions across the American and National leagues adding to the thrill of the pennant race.

BetRepublic has been paying close attention to the pennant races, giving out their top baseball picks on the Bet Republic online TV sports betting show. This year is serving up its share of excitement, with teams battling down to the finish to determine who gets into the playoffs.

Teams play a whopping 162 games and it usually comes down to one game to either make the playoffs or not. Heading into September, the division leaders in both leagues all have at least a 41/2 game lead on the second place teams.

The closest race is in the American League Central where the Tigers lead the Twins by 41/2 games. Over the past 13 seasons, no team that led a division by more than three games entering September has failed to make the playoffs.

Now a lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season on October 4th but the division front-runners have been playing good ball since the all-star break.

One team that is slipping a bit right now are the L.A. Angels who are 4-6 in their last 10 games, but Texas who are five games behind the Angels have gone 5-5 over the same stretch. The addition this weekend of pitcher Scott Kazmir, acquired from Tampa Bay, will help the Angels keep their lead over Texas.

The Wild Card races are where the real excitement will be this fall. Boston leads the American League by 3 ½ games over Texas and is 5 ½ clear of Tampa Bay. In the National League it’s a dead heat between Colorado and the Giants.

San Francisco swept the weekend series between the two clubs to even their records at 72-59. Atlanta Braves and Florida are both 3 ½ games back with the Cubs just five games back. The Braves begin a four game series in Florida this week that will certainly have an impact on the race.

In the National League the wild-card teams are backing into the playoffs with no team other than the Giants at 6-4 in their last ten winning more than five over the same span. Colorado will try to right their ship against the hapless Mets this week and will meet the Giants for one more three-game set in September.

The Cubbies have Houston for two games this week before a make-up game with the White-Sox on Thursday. Chicago has a big four game series with the Giants at the end of September which could go a long way in deciding the wild-card winner. San Francisco is in tough this week with a three-game tilt at home against the Phillies.

In the American League, the Rangers host the miserable Blue Jays in a three game set to kick off the week. Tampa Bay plays host to Boston for a three game series this week. The same teams meet in Boston the following week for three games.

Boston is the hottest team in the race having gone 7-3 in their last ten but that includes sweeping the Jays this weekend. The Jays appear to have thrown in the towel for the season and the Rangers should take three against them to begin the week to keep them in the race with the Angels for the division.

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