This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 11/1/2017

by Ricky Dimon - 11/1/2017

A. Adam Gase . "We're the worst offense in football. Can't get any worse. I'm pissed. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the offense being awful." That's what the Dolphins' head coach had to say about his team following last Thursday's 40-0 loss to Baltimore. Miami promptly unloaded running back Jay Ajayi to Philadelphia prior to the trade deadline. Bovada Sportsbook has Ajayi at -120 to gain more than 47.5 rushing yards in his debut with the Eagles on Sunday.

B. Bosa . It was quite a weekend for the Bosa family. On Saturday, defensive end Nick Bosa was credited with eight quarterback pressures to help Ohio State pull off a 39-38 comeback win over Penn State. One day later his older brother, Joey, set an NFL record for most sacks in the first 20 games of career. The elder Bosa now has 19 in 20 games after taking down Tom Brady, but the Chargers lost to New England 21-13.

C. Chicago Blackhawks . The Blackhawks started the season 4-1-1, but things have gone downhill in a hurry. They are 1-4-1 in their last six and have lost three in a row all in regulation. Chicago has scored only 17 goals in its last eight games after going for 21 in its first four. The Blackhawks are -137 home favorites over Philadelphia on Wednesday, per BetOnline Sportsbook.

D. Death threats . When losing to Georgia 42-7 is not the worst thing a Florida coach did during a week, you know you've got problems. McElwain also made unsubstantiated claims that he and his family had been receiving death threats due to the Gators' poor season. With his team 3-4 through seven games, McElwain got the boot on Sunday.

E. Ezekiel Elliott . Elliott is once again suspended for six games. Of course, by the time you read this, he probably won't be. And by the time you read this a second time, he will be again. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Kansas City at Dallas as a pick 'em.

F. Federer, Roger . Federer won the ATP tournament in Basel for an eighth time last Sunday. That briefly kept him in contention for the year-end No. 1 ranking, but his withdrawal from this week's event in Paris combined with Rafael Nadal's win on Wednesday mean the race is over. Nadal is finishing a season No. 1 for the fourth time in his career.

G. Game 5 . We won't know until tonight-well, most likely tomorrow morning at these rates-who wins the 2017 World Series. But it was Houston that won one of the wildest games of all time. On Sunday night (and Monday morning), the Astros survived a wild 13-12 affair with L.A. in 10 innings, twice battling back from three-run deficits while also blowing a three-run lead of their own in the ninth inning. The Dodgers (Darvish) are -160 home favorites over Houston (McCullers), according to MyBookie.ag.

H. Harrison Butker . Cairo Santos went down with a hamstring injury in Week 3. To say the Chiefs made a sound decision finding his replacement would be a gross understatement. They snagged Butker off the Panthers' practice squad, and the rookie kicker out of Georgia Tech has made 18 straight field goals since missing his first NFL try. He is 15-for-15 in the last four games with two of more than 50 yards.

I. Initial College Football Playoff field . The College Football Playoff committee decided against inflicting Alabama with rat poison when it released its first rankings on Tuesday. Instead of anointing Nick Saban's squad as No. 1, it is SEC rival Georgia at the top. The Crimson Tide are No. 2, followed by Notre Dame and Clemson.

J. Jimmy Garoppolo . The Garoppolo era is over in New England. It was an era almost entirely as a backup, of course. He will be a starter now in San Francisco (beginning in Week 10) after the 49ers and Patriots struck a deal on Monday. New England is a +300 favorite at GT Bets to win the Super Bowl.

K. Kelvin Benjamin . In a far more surprising development, Carolina shipped Benjamin to Buffalo on Tuesday. The Panthers are firmly in division and conference contention at 5-3, and Benjamin was their leading receiver with 475 yards to go along with two touchdowns. Count his teammates among the confused. Linebacker Thomas Davis on Twitter: "Bruh..............." Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn: "Smh".

L. Lonzo Ball . Ball is shooting just 33.3 percent through seven games of his NBA career, although he is averaging a respectable 10.4 points, 7.0 assists, and 7.3 rebounds. The Lakers are a decent 3-4 following Tuesday's win over Detroit.

M. McNair, Bob . "We can't have the inmates running the prison." Dude. Seriously? It was a rough week for the Texans' owner, who made those comments at an owners meeting, watched his team protest during the national anthem prior to Sunday's game at Seattle, and then watched the Texans suffer a last-minute 41-38 loss.

N. Not having fun . The Cavaliers are "not having fun" according to head coach Tyronn Lue. And why would they? Cleveland's defense has been abysmal (including last in three-pointers allowed) and the team is 3-4 overall. Is it time for the playoffs yet?!?! The Cavaliers are -190 at BookMaker to win the Eastern Conference.

O. Oklahoma . Baker Mayfield said Oklahoma should be ahead of Ohio State in the rankings. Well, the committee agreed. The Sooners are one spot out of the running at No. 5, one place ahead of the Buckeyes. Oklahoma is a +3 underdog at Oklahoma State on Saturday, as indicated by Bovada Sportsbook.

P. Playoffs . Kyle Busch won NASCAR's playoff event at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. That sends Busch to the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 19 with a chance to win the Monster Cup.

Q. Quick, Jonathan . Nobody in Los Angeles cares about hockey today, but here we go nonetheless: the Kings have allowed the fewest goals in the NHL (24) and have the second-best goal differential (+16) behind only the 10-2-1 Lightning (+17). Quick is tied for third in both goals-against average and save percentage and tied for second in wins.

R.Rose, Justin . Channeling his inner Greg Norman, albeit at a much less prestigious event, Dustin Johnson blew a six-shot lead at last week's HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Rose, who started the final round eight strokes back, was the beneficiary. The Englishman fired a five-under 67 to Johnson's 77 for a stunning victory at the World Golf Championship event.

S. Singapore . Caroline Wozniacki captured the biggest title of her career last week, winning the eight-women field at the year-end championship in Singapore. Wozniacki, who is still without a major, beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's final.

T. Tavares, John . The Islanders' center has scored a whopping nine goals in his last five games. He has three multi-goal performances during this hot streak, including two hat tricks. In turn, New York has won five of its last six contests.

U. UCF . Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five…. Not 70, not 71, not 72…. No, Central Florida put up a ridiculous 73 points in last week's blowout of Austin Peay. But the Governors should not feel too bad about being so generous. Central Florida has scored more than 60 on two other occasions and is leading the entire FBS at 51 points per game. UCF's Scott Frost is -120 at BetOnline Sportsbook to become Florida's next head coach.

V. Voracek, Jakub . Voracek, you ruined everything! The Flyers' forward committed a hooking penalty in overtime against Arizona on Monday. That led directly to the Coyotes' first win of the season, a 4-3 OT success. They had been 0-10-1 through their first 11 games.

W. Woods, Tiger . He's back. Tiger has confirmed that he will play the Hero World Challenge in four weeks. Get your popcorn ready-and perhaps eat all of it because who knows when Tiger will play again after that. MyBookie.ag has Tiger at +12000 to win the 2018 FedEx Cup.

X. Xhaka, Granit . Arsenal has come back from one-goal deficits to win each of its last three matches. "Lots of people talk about the character of our team, that it's not right and that we need to do more," Xhaka said. "But we always show that we can come back…. We turned the games around and that shows the character of this team." The Swiss midfielder has his club tied for fourth on the English Premier League table with 19 points.

Y. Yuli Gurriel . The Astros' first baseman mocked Yu Darvish with an apparent racial gesture after he took Darvish deep in Game 3 last Friday. Gurriel will be suspended for five games, but not until the 2018 regular season. As such, we will see Gurriel vs. Darvish once again in Game 7 on Wednesday night.

Z. Zach Miller . After catching an apparent touchdown last Sunday against New Orleans, the Bears' tight end dislocated his left knee and had the reception taken away following a review. Miller's injury was so bad that there were fears his leg would have to be amputated, but he is currently "progressing well" at a New Orleans hospital according to Chicago head coach John Fox. The Saints are -7 home favorites over Tampa Bay in Week 9, per GT Bets.

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