College Basketball Handicapping: How to Deal With USC Death Sentence
by Robert Ferringo - 1/6/2010

On Sunday, USC’s administration announced that they were going to self-impose sanctions on the basketball program. The deathblow: no postseason appearances for the Trojans this year. USC will not play in the Pac-10 Tournament and they will not accept an invitation to any postseason tournament.

NFC Wild Card Preview: Eagles at Cowboys
by Robert Ferringo - 1/5/2010

Wade Phillips and the Dallas Cowboys are hosting Philadelphia at 8 p.m. on Saturday in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs. The Cowboys are four-point favorites while searching for their first playoff win since 1996. In that time they have lost six consecutive postseason games, an NFL record, including a home loss to the Giants in 2007 under Phillips.

2010 BCS Championship Game Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 1/4/2010

Run the ball and play good defense. That is what wins in the violent game known as football. And the team that is most capable of accomplishing those seemingly basic goals will be the team that walks out of Pasadena with the BCS National Championship.

NFL Power Rankings Week 17
by Robert Ferringo - 12/31/2009

There is absolutely no betting experience in sports as Week 17 in the NFL. Basically, it’s a freak show. And even though there is a week in between games there is absolutely no certain way of knowing how coaches are going to handle this week’s game plans.

2010 Sugar Bowl Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/29/2009

No. 3 Cincinnati (12-0) and No. 5 Florida (12-1) will lock up at 7:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day to play the 76th Annual Sugar Bowl. The game will be played in the Louisiana Superdome and is one of the five jewels of the BCS Bowl Game crown.

2009 Sun Bowl Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/28/2009

Last year at this time Oklahoma was prepping for a National Championship Game and ready to go pimping in Miami. Now they are tuning up for the Sun Bowl in sweet El Paso. What a difference a year makes, eh?

NFL Power Rankings Week 16
by Robert Ferringo - 12/23/2009

They’ve been on the ropes for weeks and the Cowboys finally delivered the knockout. The Saints have covered their last three games against Tampa Bay but they are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games.

College Basketball Handicapping: Key Players Joining Teams
by Robert Ferringo - 12/22/2009

USC lost to the No. 1 team in the country, Kansas, by 19 points on the road back on Dec. 3. Then transfer Mike Gerrity became eligible on Dec. 18 and started for the Trojans the next day against No. 6 Tennessee at home. And wouldn’t you know, the Trojans hammered the Vols by 22 with Gerrity notching 12 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

College Basketball Handicapping: Top 10 Transfers
by Robert Ferringo - 12/21/2009

To this point in the season there has not been a single addition in college basketball that has had a more dramatic impact on his team than Wesley Johnson. By now you should know that the 6-9 swing forward transferred in from Iowa State and, after sitting out the mandatory year, has burst into the Big East and transformed Syracuse from a team with major question marks brought on by defection to a team that is now one of the favorites for a slot in Indianapolis.

2009 Emerald Bowl Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/21/2009

USC (8-4) will take on Boston College (8-4) in the 2009 Emerald Bowl, held at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26. The game, which was formerly called the San Francisco Bowl, will take place at AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco 49ers. The Trojans are currently an 8.0-point favorite and the total for this game rests at 43.5.

Saturday College Basketball Preview: North Carolina-Texas Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 12/18/2009

North Carolina has been struggling to live up to the respect that they have earned as the defending national champions. This weekend Texas is looking to earn a little respect for itself, at UNC’s expense, as they try to make a run at a National Championship

College Basketball Handicapping: 10 Impact Freshmen
by Robert Ferringo - 12/18/2009

In my humble opinion, freshmen are always the most overrated aspect of college basketball. It’s easy for fans, media bobbleheads, and bettors to get sucked into the Hype of this guy or that guy or whoever is supposed to become the next basketball Jesus. Hype is the enemy of solid sports handicapping.

NFL Power Rankings Week 15
by Robert Ferringo - 12/16/2009

Don’t overlook the fact that this New Orleans-Dallas game is kind of a regional rivalry game. They don’t play often but when they do there is usually plenty of vitriol. And like any rivalry game the favorite has been a money burner, going 0-6 ATS in the last six meetings.

College Bowl Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/15/2009

Loyalty can be one of a gambler’s worst enemies. That’s why bettors should never – or at least rarely – wager on their favorite teams. They lose objectivity and are sometime blinded by their feelings about their teams.

NFL Power Rankings Week 14
by Robert Ferringo - 12/9/2009

It's at the point now where you want to be looking for a couple things. First, look for teams that start to pick up steam, both against the number and against opponents over the next few weeks. They are usually strong bets early in the postseason. (Oh, and even losing teams can "get hot" ATS in the last month and build on that momentum for next year. Ask Cincinnati.)

College Basketball Handicapping: Big West is ATS Cash Cow
by Robert Ferringo - 12/9/2009

So what would you say if I told you that the Big West is better than the Pac-10 this year? “Of course that is rubbish,” you would say. “Teams like Pacific and Riverside would be buried in the Pac-10 even in a down year. Any one of the teams from the Pac-10 would carve a path of destruction and desecration through the Big West, blasting opponents left and right for the better part of the winter.

College Basketball Handicapping: Syracuse-Florida Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 12/9/2009

I like to say that sports handicapping is mathematics, not magic. But one formula that even I haven’t fully been able to grasp and predict is addition by subtraction. And this year the Syracuse Orange and Florida Gators are perfect examples of how this equation can mean big bucks for their backers.

2009-2010 College Basketball Futures Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/8/2009

Kansas and Texas started the season as the consensus favorites to cut down the nets in Indianapolis this April. And to this point neither has done much to make the general public think to the contrary. However, while I agree that those two schools are the clear No. 1 and No. 2 contenders I would also say that neither is even close to the shoo-in Final Four favorite that North Carolina was heading into last season.

College Basketball Handicapping: Best Unknown Players
by Robert Ferringo - 12/8/2009

Below, in alphabetical order, are my Top 11 best "unknown" players in college basketball. Now, to serious fans none of the names on this list will come as a surprise. But for a lot of casual fans and square bettors the players below may be some names that either you didn't realize or hadn't heard of.

NFL Power Rankings Week 13
by Robert Ferringo - 12/2/2009

December football is playoff football. Now, this isn't the playoffs in the winner-take-all, take-your-ball-and-go-home, you-better-bring-your-ass-to-the-store-with-that manner that January heralds. But the playoffs have begun in the NFL, with teams in both conferences playing for their postseason lives every week from here on out.