Sports Betting: Weekly Roundup
Summer may finally be here but that hasn't lightened the load for sports bettors this week with a full schedule that includes baseball, NASCAR, UFC, and the start of the CFL season.
In baseball this week interleague play continues with what could be a World Series preview when the Philadelphia Phillies visit the Boston Red Sox. At most book the Phillies and Red Sox are the World Series favorites, including Bodog where Philadelphia sits atop the futures at 3/1 followed by the Red Sox at 7/2.
The Red Sox and Phillies met up six times last season and Boston won the series 4-2. The series begins Tuesday with a great pitching matchup between Red Sox ace Josh Beckett (6-2, 1.86 ERA) and Phillies southpaw Cliff Lee (8-5, 2.87 ERA).
Other notable interleague matchups on the MLB schedule this week include Milwaukee at the Yankees, Texas at Houston, Cincinnati at Tampa Bay, and Cleveland at Arizona.
The Sprint Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the Coke Zero 400. NASCAR kicked off the season at Daytona four months again when Trevor Bayne shocked the racing world by winning the Daytona 500.
Bayne hasn't come close to cracking the Top 10 since so don't expect him to visit Victory Lane again this weekend. Last year in the Coke Zero 400 Kevin Harvick claimed the checkered flag. With a series-leading three wins already this season, and a good history at Daytona, Harvick could be a smart pick for bettors looking for value this weekend.
On the MMA schedule this week UFC returns to pay-per-view with UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber.
The main event at UFC 132 is a Bantamweight championship bout between reigning champ Dominick Cruz and challenger Urijah Faber. This is a rematch of a WEC Featherweight title match from 2007 which Faber won by submission. Since that defeat Cruz has won eight straight fights and he's a -130 favorite this weekend at Bodog. Faber is 4-3 in his last seven fights and is an even-money underdog at Bodog.
Other fights on the main card at UFC 132 include Wanderlai Silva (-185) versus Chris Leben (+155) in a Middleweight bout and Tito Ortiz (+300) versus Ryan Bader (-500) in a Light Heavyweight bout.
Finally, football returns north of the border this week with Week 1 of the Canadian Football League season.
The CFL season begins with the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes hosting the B.C. Lions on Thursday. On Friday, which is Canada Day, there is a doubleheader starting with Winnipeg at Hamilton followed by Toronto at Calgary. Week 1 concludes on Sunday with Edmonton at Saskatchewan.