Mage won the Kentucky Derby yesterday as a 15-1 underdog. The horse had only run in three races, so these odds were understandable. That said, Dan Wolken points out that Mage’s performance in the Florida Derby should have put betters on notice. And that’s what successful gambling on horse racing is all about!
Now we’ll see just how good Mage can be. Dan calls Mage an “excellent horse.” Can Mage win the Triple Crown? That’s a huge challenge of course, and we’ll learn a lot more in the Preakness:
“If Forte runs, you may see Mage in the 3-1 to 4-1 range,” Avello noted, “and if he doesn’t, you might see him in the neighborhood of 5-2. I mean, who else is out there for him to go against now?
It’s not just about Mage. It’s also about the competition.
The cool thing is we may have a rivalry on our hands, which is always great for horse racing and the Triple Crown.
The good news is that legal sportsbooks can implements tools to uncover inappropriate betting activity. AS this story unfolds, it will be interesting to see how sports teams and leagues can use these tools to ensure that players and coaches aren’t impacting the integrity of the game.
This simple fact remains. The increased prevalence of sports betting raises concerns about the potential for match-fixing, point-shaving, and other forms of corruption that could compromise the integrity of the game. Leagues and teams must establish and enforce stringent regulations to prevent such occurrences and maintain public trust in the fairness of competition. Hopefully, the technology that enables easy betting can also find violations of league and team rules.
We were treated to a great Super Bowl last night. It featured the two best teams in the NFL fighting it out to the finish, with both quarterbacks delivering impressive performances. The penalty on the last drive was unfortunate because it prevented a final drive from Jalen Hurts and the Eagles to tie or win the game, but the holding call was probably correct. In the end, the Kansas City Chiefs were able to pull out a win over a tough Philadelphia Eagles team that came to play.
Point Spread
Going into the game, the Eagles were a 1.5 point favorite with the over/under at around 50. The game was very close and lived up to the billing of the two best teams in the NFL making it to the game. The Eagles were the sexy pick to cover, and the Patrick Mahomes injury was certainly a factor, but as we pointed out, the Eagles hadn’t faced a very tough schedule. Could their defense hold up against Mahomes if he was relatively healthy?
The line in the Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs started with the Chiefs as a 2.5 point favorite, but that didn’t last long at all. Money flooded to Philly, and now we have the Eagles as a 1.5 point favorite over the Chiefs.
Why all the confidence in Philly? The Patrick Mahomes injury is the most obvious and persuasive answer. He was limited in the KC win over the Bengals, even if it wasn’t nearly as bad as some expected.
Also, the Eagles have romped in the playoffs with big wins over the Giants and 49ers.
Still, can we be that impressed with those performances? The Giants are not an elite team, and the 49ers played without a healthy quarterback. If you take a look at Philadelphia’s schedule, and then take a look at their performance against the few good quarterbacks they faced, it’s difficult to get too confident in their ability to stop Mahomes, even if he’s not 100%.
Many of us are tired the the never-ending debates about college football rankings, but we’ll never get tired of days like yesterday.
Three teams in the top ten went down yesterday, including #1 Tennessee, perennial power Alabama and a clearly overrated Clemson.
Brian Kelly and LUSU stun Nick Saban and Alabama
Brian Kelly isn’t very likeable, but the guy can coach. He got tired of facing Alabama with Notre Dame-level talent, so he abandoned the Irish and took his talents to LSU. And now he’s beaten Nick Saban and Alabama in his first try.
Alabama came into Death Valley as 13.5-point favorites, but they found an LSU team that was ready for a fight. The fourth quarter of this game was insane, with Bryce Young working his magic multiple times to escape what seemed like certain sacks to pull out amazing throws. Meanwhile, Nick Saban made a serious of bone-headed decisions going for 2 after touchdowns. The Tide failed both attempts and that would kill them, as the game-tying field goal may have been a game-winning field goal instead.
Meanwhile, first-year LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels came up big, and LSU found a new hero with tight end Mason Taylor (son of NFL great Jason Taylor), who caught a huge fourth-quarter touchdown and then became a hero catching the two-point conversion in overtime. Kelly decided to go for two in overtime after LSU answered an Alabama touchdown. It was a ballsy move and he was rewarded with a play LSU fans will never forget.
Georgia stomps #1 Tennessee
Tennessee has been one of the feel-good stories of 2022, but reality set in yesterday in Georgia. The reigning National Champs made a statement, and Kirby Smart has his boys poised to battle for a repeat titles. The Bulldogs will be #1 this week.
Notre Dame smacks overrated Clemson
Anyone who has watched Clemson this season knew that the Tigers just weren’t very good. DJ Uiagalelei just isn’t a very good quarterback, and Dabo Swinney’s winning formula at Clemson has always centered around dynamic talents at quarterback. Meanwhile, the Irish have had a mediocre season under new head coach Marcus Freeman, but they were able to out-muscle this Clemson team and knock them out of playoff contention.
