Sports Betting Weekend: Busy Slate Ahead

The NBA Finals could end up in a winner-take-all Game 7 this weekend, or the Golden State Warriors could win Game 6 as betting underdogs on Thursday night and the NBA season will be over.

The Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers face off in Cleveland with the Cavaliers a 2-point home favorite at online sportsbook Bovada. If Cleveland can tie the series Game 7 goes in Golden State on Sunday. The latest series odds at Bovada have Golden State as a -450 favorite and Cleveland as a +325 underdog.

On the diamond this weekend the Chicago Cubs and their best record in baseball are at home against NL Central rivals the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not surprisingly the Cubs own a 5-1 record against the Pirates so far this season. For totals bettors the OVER looks like the smart play as the final score went OVER the posted total in five of those games.

Over in the American League the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals renew acquaintances in an AL Central matchup.  The Tigers and Royals have only squared off once so far this season with Kansas City taking two of three in the series. At home the Royals are 4-1 in their last five versus the Tigers and 6-4 in their last 10. The Royals have turned things around lately with five straight wins after previously dropping nine in a row.

NASCAR is parked this weekend, but on the Formula 1 schedule the European Grand Prix returns for the first time since 2012. The race will debut a new track with a street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan getting its premiere event. Lewis Hamilton is an even money favorite at Bovada and he’s coming off a win in the Canadian Grand Prix last week. Nico Rosberg checks in at +225 and Sebastian Vettel at +500.

For fight fans UFC Fight Night 89 is Saturday night in Ottawa, Canada. The main event on the fight card is a welterweight bout between Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson. At Bovada Thompson is a small favorite at -125 and MacDonald is listed at -105. MacDonald will try to rebound from a TKO loss to Robbie Lawler in his last fight at UFC 189 in July 2015.

Thompson has won his last six fights, including a first round TKO of Johnny Hendricks in his last bout at UFC Fight Night in February.