You’re betting on basketball, and the Golden State Warriors are the embodiment of basketball in the second half of the second decade of the 2000s. As such, they are the sports betting favorites to win not only the NBA playoffs Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but also go all the way and win their second NBA championship. Where does that leave the Thunder? They were also the underdogs versus the San Antonio Spurs, and we all know how that turned out.
Those who like to bet on baseball have to consider the fact that Mets pitching star, Steven Matz, has earned an unfortunate space on their injury report. Matz’s injury is perhaps the one that has his coaching staff and fellow players most worried. After recovering from a deficient season start he manage to pull off an 1.09 ERA. Due to recent elbow pain, he will have to be absent from the Metz next appearance. The team is hoping this event is only a minor flare up and that some rest will do the trick, however, if it turns out to be something more complicated, they will have a difficult time NL East without him and the baseball betting odds could be affected for Mets fans.
The good news for fans of boxing betting is that the fight that they really want to see actually can happen without having to wait until they grow too old to enjoy it. The date would be September 17 but do not make ticket-buying plans yet. This is boxing and there have been a lot of good fights that should have but never happened. Even so, Canelo Alvarez says he wants it. Gennady Golovkin also says he wants it. Two big hitters with a loss between the two for all the middleweight titles that they can bring to the ring.
Betting on hockey is reaching a critical point. The NHL has announced the dates, starting times and television information for the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals. The Eastern Conference Final will feature the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Tampa Bay Lightning and will start on Friday at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. On the other side, the Western Conference Final will feature the St. Louis Blues against either the San Jose Sharks or Nashville Predators and will start Sunday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Suddenbreakingnews and Brody’s Cause will skip the Preakness Stakes and wait for the Belmont Stakes. The horse betting landscape for the second race of the Thoroughbred Triple Crown has thus cleared space for new participants, though not for new favorites – undefeated colt and Kentucky Derby champion remains the choice for people who bet on horses. The only equines that weren’t shell-shocked enough by what transpired at the Run of the Roses to be crazy enough – crazy as a horses – to want to take on Nyquist again are Exaggerator and Lani, and maybe Gun Runner too.
In Europe the next best thing after the World Cup is the Euro, and we are not taking about the currency, we are talking soccer! Betting on soccer to be precise! This year starting on June 10th and for a whole month we get the best national teams in Europe square off. Almost a month away from kick-off we take a quick look into the participating teams, the odds and who are the favorites to win it all.
Nick Bonino wrapped up a remarkable series with a goal at 6 minutes and 32 seconds into overtime, for a final score of 4-2 that sees the Pittsburg Penguins through to the next round of the NHL playoffs, where they will face will face the Lightning (+150) as sports betting favorites (-175). That goal on front of goalie Braden Holtby meant that a 3-0 rally that allowed the Caps to force sudden death and surprised the raucous Consol Energy Center crowd was just not enough. And that’s another year that ends with Caps cap Alex Ovechkin wondering what it takes to break through. He finished the series with two goals and three assists.
The Eastern Conference Finals are now set and we now focus our sports betting attention on the Lightning vs Penguins. As we have already covered here, the Tampa Bay Lightning are not to be messed with. They powered through Detroit, and steam-rolled passed the Islanders. They comfortably waited for the outcome of the Capitals and Penguins series, knowing that four wins keep them from the Stanley Cup Finals.
Russell Westbrook contributed 35 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists to help his team beat the Spurs on Tuesday 95-91 in San Antonio, and now the Oklahoma City Thunder is just one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma City rallied in the fourth quarter and took a 3-2 lead in the semifinal series. Kevin Durant added 23 points to the Thunder’s cause, who won for the second time in San Antonio during this series. Oklahoma City could seal their ticket on Thursday at home in Game 6, even though the Spurs are online betting favorites -145 to +125.
Few people would bet on horses other than Nyquist in the Preakness Stakes, and few horses would bet on themselves either. Most of the Preakness field could be comprised of Kentucky Derby rejects, as well as others that skipped the Run of the Roses by choice. That group includes Cherry Wine and Laoban, which failed to scratch in and wounded up in the list of also-eligibles for the Derby, as well as Awesome Speed, Collected, Stradivari, and Uncle Lino. An exception is Exaggerator, whose trainer Keith Desormeaux said he would come back in the Preakness, while Gun Runner’s and Creator’s trainer Steve Asmussen said he would wait until later on before making up his mind for the Preakness, even though he didn’t sound too eager to defy horse betting odds again by facing Nyquist.