Blog: Talking Points

Vegas pick’em: NFL conference championship winners against the spread

Baltimore vs. San Francisco would be the best-case scenario for Las Vegas’ debut as Super Bowl host on Sunday Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium for the 58th iteration of the game. …

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Divisional-round sweats: Seven wagers to add to your NFL betting card

Line movement has been sparse in NFL markets this week, except for the latest chapter in the rivalry between the Chiefs and Bills under Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, respectively. …

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Vegas pick’em: NFL divisional-round winners against the spread

The two most outstanding individual performances of wild-card weekend belonged to pair of postseason debutants in Green Bay’s Jordan Love and Houston’s C.J. Stroud. …

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Wild-card weekend sweats: Seven wagers to add to your betting card

I’m giving myself a chance for some high payouts on wild-card weekend as only two of the bets in the traditional seven categories below aren’t plus-money sides. …

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Vegas pick’em: NFL wild-card weekend winners against the spread

By the odds, the most likely Super Bowl MVP suiting up this weekend as part of the opening week of the NFL playoffs is Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who’s listed at 6-to-1. …

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College football by the odds: Vegas pick and preview of UM versus UW

Rome Odunze was already a hero on local football fields from his time at Bishop Gorman High where he emerged as one of the best high-school football players …

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Analysis: Antonio Pierce has earned right to keep Raiders’ coaching job

Antonio Pierce has established a postgame ritual he’s followed in each of his four home victories since taking over as Raiders’ interim coach midway through the season. He wastes little time sprinting to Allegiant Stadium’s Southwest tunnel at the end of games, acknowledging the fans for a second before getting in place to “dap up” all his players as …

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Sunday Sweats: Seven bets to add to your NFL Week 18 card

Here’s to 2024 going every bit as well as 2023, starting with a tricky but attractive Week 18 slate. …

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Vegas pick’em: NFL Week 18 winners against the spread

There might be a few more puzzle pieces when it comes to betting the NFL’s Week 18 schedule, but it’s not all that different from the rest of the year. …

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Sunday Sweats: Seven bets to add to your NFL Week 17 card

Avoiding prolonged losing streaks is a big reason why this has been the most profitable year in the history of the weekend betting column. …

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College football by the odds: Bowl Pick’em against the spread Part 4

The craziness of the betting market throughout bowl season so far is counterbalanced by the stability of the pair of College Football Playoff semifinal games. ..

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Vegas pick’em: NFL Week 17 winners against the spread

NFL underdogs used the holiday stand-alone televised spots to make their long-awaited stand against the type of favorites that had dominated the season to this point. Favorites have still won more than 67% of games this season outright, but …

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College football by the odds: Bowl pick’em against the spread Part 3

If you thought the first half of bowl season was messy over the last 10 days, just wait until the unofficial second half starts today. …

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Sunday Sweats: Seven bets to add to your NFL Week 16 card

The league has held Christmas Day games in the past — even staging the same three-contest schedule last year — and used Christmas Eve as a normal gameday when it fell on Sundays but the combination of the two makes this year more of a total holiday takeover. …

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College football by the odds: Bowl pick’em against the spread Part 2

The Pac-12 is dissolving — at least in its current state. The Las Vegas Bowl is in no danger of following suit, especially now that it’s become one of the premier games of the early postseason, but it will look a lot different without the Pac-12 …

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