Two sports that don’t draw a great deal of attention, golf and men’s college baseball did, being headline-makers and we explain why. The Stanley Cup Finals are set and they will be special.
Also, tonight is the pivotal Game 5 in the NBA Finals and we discuss a singular point and also have other MLB news for you to digest.
About Last Weekend…
Golf
Rory McIlroy won the Canadian Open for a second straight time (+900, 2nd choice) and took a subtle jab at Greg Norman who he surpassed for the most victories with 21 over the last 40 years. Norman is running the LIV Golf League and Rory said that added extra incentive for him and he shot a final-round 62.
MLB
After scoring just two runs in an extra-innings win Friday night against the Cubs, the Bronx Bombers hit 10 long balls in the last two contests, scoring 26 runs to sweep the series. The Yankees are an incredible 44-16 and easily the best bet in the sport at +18.3 units.
College Baseball
The Notre Dame baseball team pulled off the upset of the year in beating No. 1 Tennessee 7-3 Sunday in Knoxville to advance to the College World Series. The Vols punished opponents all season and were decided favorites in this series and to win the whole tournament, but could not crank up the offense in two of the three games.
The streak stays alive, as no No. 1 team has been the champs of college baseball since 1999. The last time the Fighting Irish made the CWS was 20 years ago when they knocked off No. 1 Florida State in the same circumstance.
NHL
After falling behind 0-2 to the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay stormed back to take the East Finals and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for a third straight year. They become the first team since the 1983-85 Edmonton Oilers to do so.
The Lightning has now won 11 consecutive series, making that the third-longest stretch in NHL history.
Trendy Talk
MLB
- The Pittsburgh Pirates are 1-16 in Monday road games the last three seasons.
- Toronto is 22-7 overall and 13-4 at home vs. Baltimore since 2020.
- Texas is 9-1 UNDER vs. a team with a very good bullpen whose ERA is 3.00 or better.
- The Chicago Cubs are 9-1 OVER in home games after a two-game span where the bullpen threw 9 or more total innings.
- Chris Flexen and the Seattle Mariners are 8-0 when the money line is -100 to -150, the last two seasons.
NBA
- The Boston Celtics are 15-5 ATS off an upset loss as a favorite this season.
- The Warriors are 8-0 UNDER at home when playing with exactly two days’ rest.
NHL
- The Tampa Bay Lightning are 40-13 revenging a loss the last two seasons. (Wednesday)
WNBA
- The Phoenix Mercury are 17-8 ATS at Washington. (Tuesday)
- The Seattle Storm are 7-2 ATS versus Minnesota the last three seasons. (Tuesday)
BMR’s Betting Pulse
MLB
Atlanta hits the road riding an 11-game winning streak and takes on Washington. Do the Braves make it a dozen victories Monday? The Padres visit Wrigley Field trying to better their 20-11 road record.
On Tuesday, we have the start of the Freeway Series in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium and the Yankees look to build on their big lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay at home.
NBA
The NBA Finals is now a best two of three, what’s the call for Game 5? Join the discussion in our Forum!
Golf
The third golf major is this week with the U.S. Open from Brookline C.C. in Boston. Who should bettors be looking at?
The Buzz
MLB: Winning Streaks and Tic-Tac-Toe
Just as New Yorkers like it, they are the center of the MLB universe with the Yankees and Mets having the best records in their respective leagues and the two best clubs to bet on. If you are a Mets fan, you cannot help but wonder when you have Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom back, reportedly sometime after the All-Star break.
Though the Mets won their four-game series at Anaheim, their lead of 10.5 games over the defending World Series champion Braves has been cut to 5.5, with Atlanta winning 11 in a row.
On another mother, this got a lot of Twitter buzz as former Pirates teammates Chad Kuhl (Rockies) and Joe Musgrave (Padres) were the starting pitchers for their respective teams Friday night and they played a between-innings game of tic-tac-toe on the back of the mound.
NHL: Who’s Favorite?
The Stanley Cup Finals start Wednesday and Betonline (visit our BetOnline Review) has Colorado as a -175 favorite to end Tampa Bay’s (+155) reign. The lowest odds on how many games is +200 for six battles.
NCAAF: Big 14?
Cincinnati, Houston and UCF have worked out an agreement to join the Big 12 in 13 months. If Texas and Oklahoma don’t leave by 2024, the Big 12 will have 14 teams for one season in football. #logistics
Out The Door
NBA
We told you the Celtics were not a lock Friday, as Golden State was dominant in the second half to even the series. The Warriors are a four-point home favorite and have been far more consistent on offense, shooting 44% to 46.3%.
Boston is up and down, with two games at 48% or higher and two at 40% or lower. Though all four skirmishes were won by double digits, Golden State has scored one more point than Boston in the series.
College Baseball
ESPN2 will telecast the last two available spots for the College World Series, with Connecticut at No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Oregon State hosting No. 14 Auburn Monday. We will have betting odds for you Wednesday and with Tennessee out, the tourney is wide open.
Also of note, of the six Super Regionals played, only one home team is advancing. Stanford (-255) and Oregon State (-155) are favored at home, but far from locks, it seems.
Who is Right?
At 1:30 PM EDT, 75% of bets placed were on the over for Game 5 of the NBA Finals and 60% of the money wagered was on the same side.
One MLB matchup we like tonight is Miami at Philadelphia, with Sandy Alcantara (6-2, 1.61 ERA) taking on Aaron Nola (4-4, 3.50) in a super pitching matchup. Sharps are on the underdog Marlins with 80% of the money, while 55% of bets placed are riding the red-hot Phillies.
Let’s get some winners and see you back here Wednesday.
Calculators
