2011 Georgia Bulldogs Football Predictions and SEC Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/19/2011

The Georgia Bulldogs have an eight-day season. Not eight games: eight days. Because in the eight days between Sept. 3 and Sept. 10 we’re going to find out just about everything we need to know about how the Georgia season is going to go.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 7/19/2011

I’m going to do something a little different this week for MLB By The Numbers. I’ve been having some conversations with people lately about whether or not it’s good baseball betting strategy to blindly fade certain pitchers, regardless of circumstance (moneyline, matchup, etc.). And the primary issue is whether or not this method can yield a profit in the long term.

2011 Ohio State Buckeyes Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/18/2011

From Willie Lyles to Dana Holgorsen to Jim Donnan, it has been a banner year for college football’s scumbags. Top programs from across the country – USC, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Auburn, and West Virginia, among others – had to brace themselves amidst accusations, sensationalism, investigations, NCAA sabre rattling, and worse. But Tressel and the mess at Ohio State set the tone and was by far the biggest story of the college football offseason.

2011 Wisconsin Badgers Football Predictions and Big Ten Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/14/2011

College football teams don’t usually improve themselves in the offseason via free agency. However, the Wisconsin Badgers have solidified their position as Team To Beat in the new-look Big Ten over the summer because of the unlikely addition of one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, Russell Wilson.

Robert Ferringo MLB Mid-Season Awards
by Robert Ferringo - 7/12/2011

The all-star break is a collective breather for the baseball betting world and a rare respite for the gambling world. Let’s take a quick look at the first half of the Major League Baseball season and dish out some mid-season awards:

MLB All-Star Game Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 7/12/2011

Much of the news about the 2011 Major League All-Star game has involved the musical chairs of who is playing and who is not. In all, 16 players selected for the All-Star Game won’t suit up, and over the past four days there has been a dizzy number of players who have been voted in, scratched, replaced, and named late.

2011 NFL Schedule: Top 10 Divisional Games
by Robert Ferringo - 7/8/2011

To this point, the 2011 NFL schedule is still intact. And if the rumors coming out of the current labor talks are true then the odds of an abbreviated schedule this season are pretty slim. That is great news for fans and NFL bettors alike and it means that we can start to turn our attention from salary floors and wage scales to rivalry games and divisional clashes.

MLB Handicapping: Tips and Advice on Betting Doubleheaders
by Robert Ferringo - 7/8/2011

It is not a stretch to say that no one in baseball likes doubleheaders. The players dislike putting forth that much effort in one day. Managers cringe at the thought of having to burn their bullpens. Umpires loathe having to sit out there for a double-dip, especially the guys that have to work the plate in one game and the field in another. The vendors and ballpark employees essentially pull a double-shift with little to nothing to show for it.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 6/27/2011

The game of baseball is an allegory of pre-industrial America and is the elemental sport in our national consciousness. However, it is also a very sophisticated mathematical construct, a symphony of statistics and a physical interpretation of integers that create the foundation of the sport. Baseball is a perfect dichotomy and every action within its natural framework - from pitch selections to hitting matchups to player positioning – is dictated by the digits.

2011 NBA Draft Grades
by Robert Ferringo - 6/24/2011

A shot of rail vodka, with a warm, six-month-old beer chaser. That’s pretty much what the 2011 NBA Draft was like. In a draft class that was shockingly short on talent, NBA teams were forced to man up and chug a disgusting combination of limited potential and “he has absolutely no chance of making an NBA roster”.

2011 NBA Mock Draft
by Robert Ferringo - 6/23/2011

Worst. Draft. Ever. Last year’s college basketball season was a complete and utter shit show. I mean, we had a Final Four that included Butler and VCU, along with a Connecticut team that probably would have finished seventh in the Big East back in 2006. The reason for such an unpredictable year: the lack of high-end star talent.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 6/21/2011

The game of baseball is an allegory of pre-industrial America and is the elemental sport in our national consciousness. However, it is also a very sophisticated mathematical construct, a symphony of statistics and a physical interpretation of integers that create the foundation of the sport. Baseball is a perfect dichotomy and every action within its natural framework - from pitch selections to hitting matchups to player positioning – is dictated by the digits.

2011 NFL Free Agent Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 6/20/2011

The current labor situation in the NFL is a debacle (brought to you by 32 sadistic and sociopathic owners).But to me the lockout is simply an annoyance; in the end, a deal will eventually be reached and football will resume. When that will happen and how many games will this season entail are the parlor game-type questions open to rampant speculation. But a deal will be reached, most likely there will be between 8-16 games played, and the sport will not be altered all that much.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 6/17/2011

To be a winning baseball bettor you need to understand these numbers. You need to immerse yourself in these integers and really get at the core of how things are developing on the diamond. Winning and losing can come down to the simplest of equations; a statistical regression here or a missed mathematical opportunity by not pinch hitting there can have a huge impact not only on the outcome of a game, but, by extension, on your bank account. And that’s what really counts, eh?

Yankees vs. Cubs Predictions and MLB Series Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 6/17/2011

Cubs enthusiasts were thrilled when Major League Baseball schedule-makers announced that the New York Yankees would be making their first appearance in Wrigley Field since 2003. However, while the luster may remain for this marquee series the reality is that the Bronx Bombers are bringing some big sticks to the North Side this weekend and represent a tall task for a struggling Cubs team that has lost 12 of 17 games.

MLB Odds: Rangers vs. Braves Series Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 6/17/2011

The Rangers, the prohibitive favorites in the who-can-score-less American League West, are coming off a disappointing series in the Bronx where the Yankees bombed them. Texas has lost five straight, and since a big four-game sweep of the lifeless Indians the Rangers are just 2-8. Despite that slide the Rangers are clinging to a slim lead out West.

NFL Predictions: Teams Hurt Most by Lockout
by Robert Ferringo - 6/15/2011

“Silent Spring”, by Rachel Carson, is one of the most influential books in American literature. The book, which documented the detrimental effects of Big Business – specifically the chemical industry and pesticide producers – on the environment, particularly birds, is credited with helping to launch the environmental movement. The premise of the book was that uncontrolled pesticide use was killing animals and birds and could lead to a spring season where no birds could be heard because they had all vanished.

2011 Belmont Stakes Post Position Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 6/9/2011

It is a common belief that because of the distance of the Belmont Stakes – at 1.5 miles it is by far the longest of the Triple Crown horse races – that post positions are less important here than they are in the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness. I don’t think that belief is necessarily true – and the distribution of winners over the last 100 years seems to back up my assertion – but I do think that post positions should be handicapped differently here in Belmont than at the Derby or the Preakness.

2011 Belmont Stakes Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 6/3/2011

Once again, 2011 has given horse racing unique winners for both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. With no possibility of the sport’s first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978 – were he alive I’m sure he’d pop a bottle of champagne, a la the 1972 Dolphins, every time a potential Triple Crown horse falters – there is very little intrigue or interest surrounding what has become “the other Triple Crown race”.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 5/31/2011

The numbers don’t lie. Baseball is a perfect study in dichotomy. With no clock, an outdoor playing area, and a reliance on elemental aspects like wood, leather, dirt and grass, the sport is an allegory of pre-industrial Americana. It’s a game played in communion with nature and seems to be a welcome relic of a distant time and place.