This Week's Best Spot Bets – Covers.com (blog)
Spot bets are classic handicapping practices that have proven profitable no matter what sport you’re betting. Whether it’s a team looking past this week’s opponent, one coming off a hard-fought victory, or a rough patch of schedule, bettors can find value picking their spots. Covers Expert Ben Burns points out his favorites:
Schedule spot
The CFL throws a lot of curveballs at its members, especially when it comes to the schedule. Unlike the NFL or college football, which have the bulk of their action on one day, CFL action can be spread across the week. That can often times put teams up against a challenging slate of games with little down time in between.
The Calgary Stampeders are feeling this pinch in Week 4, coming off a Week 3 Monday game with the Toronto Argonauts then taking the field against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Saturday with just four full days off between whistles. Calgary heads into the Toronto game at 1-1 on the season and many are wondering if the Stamps are suffering a Grey Cup hangover, having scored just 35 total points through two games. This short rest in Week 4 will definitely put that theory to the test.
Letdown spot
Some baseball teams count the days until the MLB All-Star break while others, like the New York Mets, wish the Mid-Summer Classic would hold off for a few more days. The Mets enter the break winners of four straight games and seven of their last 10 contests, pushing themselves to within one game of the Washington Nationals in the NL East. Red-hot New York, however, is hit with the cooler while the big leagues take a four-day hiatus.
The Mets were one of the big surprises of the first half of the season, thanks in part to a strong 15-8 record in April. They took a bit of a dive in May and June but seem to have found their footing in July with this recent run. But any momentum N.Y. built could be wasted, leaving the Mets in letdown mode when they open the second half of the schedule on the road Friday at St. Louis – tops in the majors – and then travel to Washington for three games.
Lookahead spot
The NFL’s annual London, England games are getting bigger every year. And while the British football fans are eating up the events, NFL teams still have a tough time planning around and adjusting to the jump over the pond. One of the three games scheduled for the UK this fall is the Detroit Lions vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. Early odds have the Lions as 1-point neutral-site favorites.
This is the second year the Lions have played in England, knocking off the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium last season. The week before that trip, Detroit got caught looking ahead to the international series and nearly lost to New Orleans, winning 24-23 (needing a 14-point comeback in the final 3:38) but failing to cover as a 1.5-point home favorite. The Lions are set up for a similar spot in Week 7, hosting the Minnesota Vikings. Detroit is a 5-point favorite versus the Vikes before making its way to the UK.
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