This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z 9/21/2017

by Ricky Dimon - 9/21/2017

A. Apology . Wil Muschamp said on Sunday that his team will always shake hands and act with sportsmanship. Well, it's too late for that. A day earlier, South Carolina's captains declined to shake hands with Kentucky prior to their in-state rivalry matchup. The Wildcats had the last laugh, winning their fourth straight over the Gamecocks 23-13.

B. Brian Cushing . The Texans' linebacker had already tested positive for a banned substance in 2010, and he failed a second test earlier this season. Cushing's second strike means he is out for 10 games, ineligible to return until Week 13 against Tennessee.

C. Cubs . The defending World Series champions swept St. Louis last weekend, effectively ending the Cardinals' playoff chances. Chicago's well-timed seven-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday with a loss at Tampa Bay, but it remained 3.5 games ahead of Milwaukee in the NL Central when Pittsburgh beat the Brewers 6-4 on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning by Adam Frazier. The Cubs (Arrieta) are -135 favorites at Milwaukee (Davies) on Thursday, according to MyBookie.ag.

D. Davis Cup . Tennis' team competition is down to the final two-France and Belgium. France easily took care of visiting Serbia this past weekend, while Belgium won a thriller at home against Nick Kyrgios and Australia. The Frenchmen will have home-court advantage in late November.

E. Eichorst, Shawn . The Cornhuskers paid Northern Illinois $820,000 to come into Lincoln and upset them 21-17 last Saturday. Is it just me, or is that an unfortunate return on investment? "I'm angry; I'm frustrated; I'm disappointed," athletic director Shawn Eichorst admitted. "We need to find ways to win games like this. I want to continue to show our support (for head coach Mike Riley), but I also understand there is a lot of frustration out there when you don't win games like today. "When the word "but" comes after the word "support," you know the head coach's seat is hot.

F. Florida . The Gators threw a Hail Mary on the last play of their game against Tennessee this past weekend. But the Volunteers' God-awful defense made it look like nothing more than a regular pass play with deep routes. The Vols inexplicably let UF receiver Tyrie Cleveland get behind the defense to haul in a 63-yard scoring strike and break a tie as time expired, giving Florida a 26-20 victory. The Gators are +6600 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the National Championship.

G. Gennady Golovkin . If you thought Tennessee had a bad Saturday, think again-at least if you make a comparison to boxing judge Adalaide Byrd. She somehow scored the Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez bout 118-110 in favor of Alvarez. Thus it was a draw, with another judge giving it to Golovkin 115-113 and the other scoring it an even 114-114. A rematch is likely, and you can be sure Byrd won't be ringside when it happens.

H. Hill, Jemele . Speaking of controversies, Hill has mired herself in one. The ESPN SportsCenter anchor went positively off on President Donald Trump via a Twitter rant last week. In response to calls for Hill's firing, ESPN higher-ups are probably like, "Sorry, we already set records for firing people in April. Can't fire anyone else!"

I. Indians . The Indians actually lost a game last Friday. It turns out they didn't like it much. Since seeing their 22-game surge come to an end, they have promptly reeled off another four victories in a row. Cleveland is a +300 favorite at GT Bets to win the World Series.

J. Jon Jones . Jones, who recently failed a drug test, was stripped of his title, and Daniel Cormier has been reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion. Cormier lost to Jones at UFC 214, but the California State Athletic Commission overturned the result to a no-contest.

K. Kelly Bryant . Who, again, was the Heisman Trophy candidate in last week's Clemson vs. Louisville game? Cardinals' quarterback Lamar Jackson, the 2016 winner, racked up most of his 317 yards and three touchdowns in garbage time. Bryant, the Tigers' heir apparent to Deshaun Watson, threw for 316 yards and a TD while rushing for two scores in his team's 47-21 road win. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Clemson as a -34.5 home favorite over Boston College on Saturday.

L. Lionel Messi . FC Barcelona got off to a fine start its 2017-18 Champions League campaign as it blasted Juventus 3-0 during group-stage action last week. In news less surprising than Pope Francis I being Catholic, Messi found the back of the net twice to lead the charge.

M. Marc Leishman . Leishman triumphed at the penultimate event of the 2017 PGA Tour season, winning last week's BMW Championship by five shots over Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose. As such, the Aussie surged into the top five of the FedEx Cup standings and controls his own destiny at the Tour Championship.

N. NBA on NBC . If you thought NBC producers committed a turnover by playing the "NBA on NBC" theme music during the Falcons vs. Packers Sunday Night Football game, think again. No, they played it while showing the replay of Devonta Freeman's celebration of a touchdown-during which he shot the football as if it was a basketball through the arms of offensive lineman Andy Levitre. That's well done, NBC. Atlanta is a -3 favorite at Detroit this weekend, per BetOnline Sportsbook.

O. Odell Beckham Jr. You may not have noticed even if you watched the game, but Beckham returned for the Giants on Monday. Back from an ankle injury, the star receiver finished with four catches on five targets for 36 yards in a 24-10 home loss to Detroit.

P. Playoff finale . The FedEx Cup all comes down to this-the Tour Championship in Atlanta. In addition to Leishman, the all-important top-five spots in the standings are held by Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, and Jon Rahm. Spieth is a +500 favorite at BookMaker to win the tournament.

Q. QBR . Vanderbilt's Kyle Shurmur was leading the FBS in QBR through two games. The junior signal-caller came back to earth against Kansas State last weekend (14-for-23, 205 yards), but the Commodores still won 14-7 and Shumur has eight touchdowns and no interceptions for the season.

R. Richardson, Josh . Yes, NBA news still exists this time of year-and not just when Kyrie Irving goes on First Take and "answers" a whole bunch of questions. The Heat signed Richardson to a four-year, $42 million extension on Monday.

S. Sam Darnold . The USC-Texas rematch did not disappoint. Late-game heroics by Darnold allowed the Trojans to force overtime before they eventually prevailed 27-24 in double-OT. The sophomore quarterback has thrown seven touchdown passes in the last two games. USC is a -16.5 favorite at California on Saturday, as indicated by Bovada Sportsbook.

T. Thomas, Joe . Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six…not 9,997, not 9,998, not 9,999…. No, Thomas reached the unbelievable 10,000 snaps mark-all in a row since being drafted in 2007-during the Browns' loss to Baltimore last Sunday. The veteran offensive tackle is thought to have the NFL all-time record, although no official stats are kept on snaps.

U. United . The Atlanta United scored seven goals against New England last Wednesday. Is that good? So good that it was better than even Manchester City's six in an English Premier League shutout of Watford this past weekend. Proving it was no fluke, Atlanta scored three just three days later in a draw against Orlando City and added four more in a 4-0 blowout of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

V. Vaccaro, Kenny . The subject of trade rumors, New Orleans' free safety was benched during the second half of his team's 36-20 loss to New England in Week 2. Or, you know, he may have been benched because Tom Brady torched the Saints' secondary for three touchdown passes-in the first quarter alone.

W. Winless . Not too surprisingly, the Jets are among the winless NFL teams through two weeks.They got blown out by the Raiders 45-20 last Sunday, and Oakland running back Marshawn Lynch was dancing on the sidelines with more than 12 minutes still left. The Giants, Bears, Saints, 49ers, Browns, Bengals, Colts, and Chargers are also 0-2. Of those teams, the Giants are given the best chance to win their division. They are +300 at MyBookie.ag to triumph in the NFC East.

X. Denotes clinched division . The Astros are the blueprint for rebuilding franchises. They lost at least 106 games in three consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2013 but are now a staple of consistency. This, their third winning campaign in a row, marks the first time they have won a division title since 2001. Houston clinched the AL West crown last weekend with a victory over Seattle.

Y. Yanda, Marshal . Baltimore's Pro Bowl guard is out for the season after suffering a fractured ankle in last week's 24-10 victory over Cleveland. Dang it! Playing the Browns is like a preseason game; all you care about is getting through it with no injuries!

Z. Zero . If you round down, that's how many yards per carry Ezekiel Elliott averaged in the Cowboys' 42-17 loss at Denver this past Sunday. He gained an anemic eight yards on nine attempts. At that rate, he might as well have gone ahead and started serving his six-game suspension. BetOnline Sportsbook has Elliott at +1400 to win NFL MVP.

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