PPH NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Betting -- It's Championship Week, So Get Excited!
There are not too many weeks out of the year where there are as many big-time events going on in sports as this one. Let's take a look at a few of these - at least some that WagerHome.com PPH sportsbook bettors can engage with - in the limited space we have:
NBA Championship Series -- WagerHome Basketball Odds
San Antonio Spurs -125
Miami Heat +105
The San Antonio Spurs have unquestionably thinking about the Miami heat ever since that last-second jump shot by Ray Allen help Miami save themselves in Game 6 of last year's NBA Finals. Many WagerHome.com bettors recall that the fans were starting to file out of the American Airlines Arena, convinced their side had lost the game and series.
Miami had won 66 games in the regular season and thus the home court edge. But now the Spurs have that advantage. Of course, this is what the Indiana Pacers were hoping might help put them over the top as they surged to the #1 seed in the East. But the Heat could win on the road, while the Pacers couldn't. And that will be San Antonio's challenge as well.
One thing we can tell you is that the very thing that gave the Spurs trouble in the Western Conference finals was that they had a hard time dealing with the defensive intimidator (Serge Ibaka). But that's not really present with the Heat. Likewise, the Spurs have something that none of Miami's playoff opponents have shown so far, which is a fast break. It is mandatory that you respect the two-time defending champs, so San Antonio is only a -125 favorite to win the series. By the way, the Spurs are favored by four points (198.5-point total) in Game 1, which begins on Thursday.
NHL Stanley Cup Finals -- WagerHome Odds
Los Angeles Kings -160
New York Rangers +135
This might remind some cynics about the time the New York Knicks just "happened" to win the lottery to draft Patrick Ewing. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was with the NBA at the time, and let's just say it looked like he hit the lottery with teams in the two largest media markets making it to the Stanley Cup finals. Hey, it could have been Columbus and Winnipeg.
And there is more…
WBC Middleweight Championship
Saturday, June 7 - Madison Square Garden
WagerHome Boxing Betting Odds
Sergio Martinez -240
Miguel Cotto +170
The big question surrounding Saturday night's fight between Sergio Martinez and Miguel Cotto involves all the time Martinez has spent away from the game due to injuries. And he did not necessarily look all that good for the last couple of fights before he went on his hiatus. At the same time, he would appear to have the right kind of style to keep Cotto off-balance, since he can exhibit so much movement in the ring, and with a southpaw stance no less. And Cotto is vulnerable to the elusive kind of fighter Martinez can be.
Belmont Stakes
Saturday, June 7
WagerHome Horse Racing Odds
California Chrome won't win -130
California Chrome will win -110
Will California Chrome win the Belmont Stakes and become the first horse since 1978 to capture the Triple Crown? There is an awful lot of excitement because he has looked so sensational in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but he is going to have to manage the distance, which is foreign to ALL these competitors.
We mentioned last week that Commanding Curve is somebody to watch here because of the way he finished in the Derby. Some horses are bred to go the mile and a half and some aren't, and when we talk about Chrome and Curve they have plenty of distance in their pedigree. A few of the contenders have dropped off, so perhaps Chrome's task isn't as daunting. But when it comes to the "test of a champion," no one should ever be surprised at what happens.
And there's more for PPH sportsbook bettors to digest; maybe we'll figure a way to bet on it.......
There's been quite a bit of talk about the $2 billion price Steve Ballmer has agreed to pay for the Los Angeles Clippers. Is it inflated? Of course it is, if you consider the yearly Forbes valuation to be any kind of barometer. The New York Knicks were determined to be the most valuable team, at $1.4 billion, and only two other teams were worth as much as a billion. The Clippers were not one of them. But maybe they, and all of us PPH sportsbook bettors, are looking at it the wrong way. Vivek Ranadive, who bought the Sacramento Kings not very long ago, says that simply for its natural status as a social network, these franchise can be monetized to the point where they could all be worth a few billion or more. So maybe Ballmer is exercising uncommon foresight - of course, provided Donald Sterling isn't able to tie things up in litigation.
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- Charles Jay, Gambling911.com
