2019 Kentucky Derby Expert Handicapping: Post Positions
by Robert Ferringo - 4/30/2019

With little fanfare and even less drama, the post draw for this weekend's Kentucky Derby took place on Tuesday at the Churchill Downs clubhouse. And while no horse ever won the race with its post position, the draw certainly does help shape the contours of the weekend's race.

2019 NL West Picks: Dodgers and Rockies Should Battle for Top Spot
by Robert Ferringo - 3/27/2019

Much like the American League East, the National League West looks like a two-horse race. And while Dodgers-Rockies lacks the cache of Yankees-Red Sox, that doesn't mean that the West's race will be any less intense or any less competitive this season. Also, much like the East, the West race may be defined just as much by the other three teams playing spoiler as it is by the two powerhouses dueling for the top spot.

2019 NL Central Picks: Division the Best in MLB
by Robert Ferringo - 3/27/2019

For my money, the National League Central is the best division in baseball. Last season they were the only group to have four teams finish above .500. And their two top teams, the Cubs and the Brewers, tied for the best record in the regular season. Both teams are still stacked, while the Cardinals made one of the offseason's biggest moves, grabbing Paul Goldschmidt.

2019 AL East Picks: Division Again One of Best in Baseball
by Robert Ferringo - 3/26/2019

Like it or not, the Yankees vs. Red Sox is the biggest and best draw in baseball. And fans of Major League Baseball should gear up for a highly-publicized, highly-competitive six-month war between these long-time enemies as they vie for the American League East crown. This division is obviously a two-horse race, as Baltimore is coming off a historically awful season and Toronto is throwing itself head first into a rebuilding period.

2019 AL Central Picks: Cleveland Indians Way Ahead of the Pack
by Robert Ferringo - 3/26/2019

The American League Central is as bad of a division as I have ever seen in the sport. It is so bad that the overwhelming favorite for the Central crown, Cleveland, felt so unthreatened by its competitors that they actually shed personnel and payroll during the offseason.

2019 NL East Picks: Major Power Shift with Bryce Harper in Philly
by Robert Ferringo - 3/26/2019

Bryce Harper leaving Washington and signing with division rival Philadelphia could produce a significant shift in the balance of power of the division. That was the biggest move, but not the only one that could a major impact on the East race in 2019. Atlanta signed a former American League MVP, the Mets traded for a guy that finished in the Top 5 in MVP voting four times, and the Nationals added a left-handed pitcher that finished in the Top 5 in Cy Young Award voting last season.

2019 AL West Picks: Beware Betting the Houston Astros
by Robert Ferringo - 3/26/2019

Even though everyone knows that Houston is going to win the American League West this year, there is at least a semblance of competitiveness in this division. The Astros are still a powerhouse and the short list of teams vying for a World Series title. Oakland, Los Angeles and Texas are at least capable of throwing some punches, though, and they will make the Astros work to earn a third straight divisional preview.

2019 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions: Midwest Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/20/2019

One of the tenants of chaos theory is that that if you focus long enough and hard enough on dynamic, highly-sensitive, and seemingly random systems, then patterns actually start to emerge. There is no system in sports more imbued with chaos than the NCAA Tournament.

2019 March Madness Bracket Predictions: South Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/20/2019

Last year Virginia was obviously the most overrated team in the field. This year you could argue that they are underrated. And while I was selling the Cavs heading into last year's Big Dance, I am somewhat bullish on Virginia this year. If the Cavaliers are going to earn that elusive slot in the Final Four, they are certainly going to have to earn it. Heavyweights like Tennessee and Villanova, as well as top-tier programs like Wisconsin, Oregon, and Purdue, all stand in their way.

2019 March Madness Bracket Picks: Expert Predictions for West Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/18/2019

Every year there is one region that is so brutally loaded with potential Final Four participants that it is dubbed "The Region of Death". Well, this year it is the West Region, and frankly it's not even close. Gonzaga, Syracuse and Michigan have all been the Final Four in the past three years. Florida and Florida State have each made the Elite Eight in the past three years. This region features two of the best offensive players in the country (Marquette's Markus Howard and Murray State's Ja Morant), while also featuring two of the best defensive teams in the country (Syracuse and Texas Tech).

2019 March Madness Bracket Predictions: Expert Picks for East Region
by Robert Ferringo - 3/18/2019

In general, I think that the NCAA Tournament selection committee did a pretty decent job with this year's field. It is a weaker, more watered-down field than we've seen in the tournament in several years, and there weren't all that many difficult decisions to be made. Setting the field was a layup, and the committee didn't blow it.

2019 Big East Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2019

The Big East Tournament has become a rite of March. The league's championship has been held at The Mecca of Basketball, Madison Square Garden, every season dating back to 1983. This year's Big East Tournament will be held from March 13 through March 16, and it should be one of the most exciting, most unpredictable, and most emotional tournaments in the nation.

2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2019

It has been another rough year for the Atlantic 10. Last season wasn't great. But Davidson's surprise win in last season's league tournament - and a surprise at-large bid for St. Bonaventure - helped secure the league's 12th straight season ranked as a Top 10 league in college basketball.

2019 Pac-12 Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2019

I invented a drinking game for watching Pac-12 college basketball games that noted UCLA alum calls as an announcer. Every time Walton says the phrase, conference of champions you take a drink. I can assure you that you will be hammered by halftime.

2019 Mountain West Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2019

On Tuesday night Gonzaga proved on a truism of March Madness: no team is unbeatable. No matter how big of a juggernaut a team is, no matter how much they dominate their league, no matter how big of a favorite they are in their league tournament, no one single team is unbeatable.

2019 Big 12 Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2019

For the first time in 15 years, the Big 12 Tournament will begin without Kansas as the regular-season champions. The Jayhawks had their string of 14 straight regular-season outright or co-champion titles snapped. And they head into the league championship determined to defend last year's tournament crown.

2019 Big Ten Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2019

Last year's Big Ten Tournament was a fiasco. The league held their conference tournament a full week before the rest of the major conferences and two weeks prior to the NCAA Tournament. They also decided to hold the tournament in New York City, home to absolutely no one in the Big Ten.

2019 SEC Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2019

For most of the last decade, the SEC has been a bit of joke when it comes to college basketball. Especially compared to how dominant this sports-crazed league is with regards to college football. From 2009 to 2017, the SEC earned just 35 total bids to the NCAA Tournament. That's an average of fewer than four bids per season, and that's not nearly good enough for a top-tier league. Yet last season the league sent eight teams - more than twice their average - to The Big Dance, and this season appears to be set up for more of the same.

2019 ACC Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/11/2019

The ACC Tournament is back in Carolina. The last two years this league went honeymooning in New York City, and in 2016 they were moonlighting in Washington D.C. But now the boys of the Atlantic Coast Conference are going to settle their championship in their own backyard, spending the week wrestling in the state's capital.

2019 Sun Belt Tournament Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/11/2019

The Sun Belt Conference is usually one of the most parity-driven mid-major leagues in college basketball. This year that seemed to shift, though, and the Sun Belt experienced one of its most top-heavy conference seasons in recent memory. Four teams won 12 or more league games, and just one single game separated the No. 1 seed from the No. 4 seed.