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USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Daniel Jones is laughably gaining traction as a Comeback Player of the Year candidate
Daniel Jones is laughably gaining traction as a Comeback Player of the Year candidate Welcome to Prince's Picks, a collection of betting news, analysis and opinions from BetFTW senior writer Prince J. Grimes. ESPN's Get Up was playing in the background this morning as I was going through my usual routine of checking emails and catching up on news when I heard something that stopped me in my tracks. I can't recall verbatim what was said, but it was the voice of respected NFL analyst Peter Schrager and he said something to the effect of "Daniel Jones can win NFL Comeback Player of the Year." In fact, he was quite convinced that it could happen. I was so shocked by what I was hearing, I had to check social media to confirm I wasn't imagining it. Sure enough, others heard the same thing. As a New York Giants fan who has seen every game Jones has ever played, I couldn't help but laugh. Glad it's someone else falling for the Danny Dimes trap this time. Of course, there's logic behind Schrager's take. Indy's incumbent starter, Anthony Richardson, is dealing with shoulder inflammation that could potentially impact his availability for the start of training camp. Bleeding reps to a veteran like Jones is the last thing that can be afforded by an inexperienced quarterback like Richardson, who has struggled to start his career. Given the opportunity, Jones might just prove to be the better of the two -- the quarterback who gives the Colts the best chance to win. The man who will undoubtedly take every Colts fan's hopes for the 2025 season, crumble them into a ball and throw them right into the waste bin -- if he doesn't fumble 'em first. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. TANK SEASON: Jones leading tank for Arch Manning would be poetry I guess now is when I should mention there is some hype -- even outside of Schrager's proclamation. At FanDuel, Jones' odds to win Comeback Player of the Year moved from +3800 to +3000 after Thursday's news that Richardson would miss Colts minicamp. Jones still trails 11 other players but those odds are a huge leap for someone who wasn't even on the board at places like BetMGM and Caesars. Now, Jones isn't just on the board, next to names like Stefon Diggs and Chris Godwin, his odds are actually better than Richardson (+3000). Again, I say, LOL. This is absurd for more reasons than one. Aside from the obvious "Daniel Jones?!?" factor, this is also a loaded field with actual pro bowl-level talent, led by Aidan Hutchinson and Dak Prescott at +300 apiece. Christian McCaffrey at +370 is there too. Even if Jones has a good season by his standards, he isn't likely to outplay that caliber of player. That's before we get to the part where he still has to beat out Richardson. So, no. Daniel Jones is not winning Comeback Player of the Year. But I get the temptation to believe in the potential of his skillset. It's all there. Unfortunately, the production never is. Where is Tyrese Haliburton? By the looks of the above photo, he's in jail. Lu Dort prison. Completely locked up. The stats tell a similar story. Tyrese Haliburton has just 31 points through two games of the NBA Finals. If not for his latest heroics in Game 1, he'd be catching a lot more smoke for completely disappearing this series. Particularly in the first half of these games where he almost seems reluctant to shoot. That can't continue. What's become obvious after the Oklahoma City Thunder won Monday's Game 2 is if Haliburton doesn't break out, this is going to be an incredibly short series. If you subtract the fourth quarter of Game 1, where the Indiana Pacers outscored OKC by 10 points, the Thunder are outscoring Indy by 25 points over two games. They should be up 2-0. If we accept the fluky nature of Game 1 for what it is, this series is going exactly how most of us expected it would. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is getting anything he wants and Indiana has finally found its match in a defense up to the challenge of stifling its normally free-flowing offense. The only player potentially capable of manipulating this trend is Haliburton, but even he seems flummoxed. That's why I'm here to say the Pacers won't win another game -- even with the series shifting to Indiana. The Thunder are still getting +190 odds to win in five and that's exactly what I expect to happen. This, of course, hinges on the Thunder remaining locked in the way they were for Game 2, where they kept a foot on the pedal to ensure another miracle Pacers comeback didn't happen. But if they are, the Pacers don't have anything for an OKC team clicking on all cylinders. Minus a SuperHali appearance, the Pacers' best hope is for a raucous home crowd to rattle the visiting Thunder. At this stage of the postseason, though, that's probably unlikely. OKC is a 5.5-point road favorite. Thanks to Game 1, this series won't end in a sweep, but the next-closest thing is now the most likely result. Oilers-Panthers Game 3 The Stanley Cup Final shifts to Sunrise, Florida, Monday for Game 3 between the Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, and if the first two OT thrillers were any indication, we're in for another incredible game. In case you're wondering, they have +333 odds at BetMGM to go to overtime yet again. The interesting thing here, though, is how the series odds have shifted in favor of Florida after the cats were able to steal a game on the road, taking Game 2 Friday behind two Brad Marchand goals, including the winner. Now, the Panthers are small -115 favorites to win the Cup going into a Game 3 where they're -135 favorites to win. And betting money isn't just on a win, but the first big win of the series. At BetMGM, the Panthers are getting 68 percent of money on the moneyline and 57 percent of money on the -1.5 puck line. If they follow through on those bets, series odds will shift dramatically in their favor going into what will become a must-win Game 4 for the Oilers on the road. So, tonight's game might be the most important of the series.
USA Today
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Gabby Thomas, Lance McCullers hecklers show the dark side of sports betting
Gabby Thomas, Lance McCullers hecklers show the dark side of sports betting Welcome to Prince's Picks, a collection of betting news, analysis and opinions from BetFTW senior writer Prince J. Grimes. At its best, sports betting can be fun. An extra element to enhance the thrill and unpredictability of the events we already love. At its worst, it can be addictive and bring out the worst in people -- especially those already predisposed to loser tendencies. That's what happened this past weekend at the Philadelphia Grand Slam track meet, where Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas was subjected to personal insults from a man (used lightly) she said followed her around the track. Thomas wrote about the situation on X in response to a tweet from the apparent heckler, who had the audacity to post a video of themselves in action -- shouting at Thomas as she lined up on the blocks, calling her a choke artist and making a comment about her husband -- along with a bet slip that won as a result of Melissa Jefferson-Wooden winning the race. "I think heckling is tolerable… but following me around the stadium is weird in my opinion," Thomas said in another tweet. And she's right. Make no mistake about it. This isn't typical sports fan stuff. It's embarrassing behavior for an adult -- at best. At worst, it's harassment. And it represents the dark side of sports betting. Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers recently got a glimpse of that dark side too, telling reporters he received a message from someone on social media threatening to "find my kids and murder them" after his start against the Cincinnati Reds on May 10. On Monday, the Houston Police Department said the man was identified as an overseas bettor, who lost money on the Astros and was intoxicated when he sent McCullers the message. Again, loser behavior. Listen, I understand some people rely on betting to make ends meet, and some people struggle with addiction that causes them to gamble money they shouldn't. And while I don't know if any of that applies to the above scenarios, I understand, I sympathize with people fighting those demons. But none of that makes any of this OK, and we can't normalize this kind of behavior. It's exactly why NCAA president Charlie Baker wants to get rid of prop betting in college sports, because you can rest assured it doesn't end with professional athletes who are better equipped to handle these sometimes scary scenarios. If people need help to control their impulses, they should get it. But in no world is it OK for athletes to be subjected to harassment and threats. Belmont Stakes post position and odds Morning line odds and post positions were revealed Monday for the Belmont Stakes, and to no one's surprise Journalism opened as the 8-5 favorite to win the final leg of horse racing's triple crown. The Preakness Stakes winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up, Journalism is favored ahead of Derby winner Sovereignty, who returns as the second favorite at 2-1 odds after sitting out the Preakness. Hill Road (10-1) Sovereignty (2-1) Rodriguez (6-1) Uncaged (30-1) Crudo (15-1) Baeza (4-1) Journalism (8-5) Heart of Honor (30-1) French Open quarters The French Open quarterfinals got underway this morning, so now feels like a good time to talk about Lois Boisson, the French woman who upset 3-seed Jessica Pegula. Boisson had +50000 odds to win this tournament -- tied for the worst odds in the entire field. Now, she's set to play 6-seed Mirra Andreeva, who opened with the fifth-best odds at +1000. Boisson remains an incredible long-shot at +550 to beat Andreeva and +6600 to win it all, but after her run to the quarters, she might be the most interesting player to watch this round. If Boisson is the single most interesting player in the quarters, the most interesting match might be the one between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev later Wednesday, which is basically a pick 'em at BetMGM where Djokovic is -115 to win and Zverev is -105. They opened the tournament as two of the four biggest favorites to win -- though the early meeting with Djokovic has dropped Zverez behind 8-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, who moved from +10000 odds to +1200 in his run to the quarterfinals.
USA Today
09-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
The 12 golfers with the worst odds to win the 2025 Masters, including 5 long-shot amateurs
The 12 golfers with the worst odds to win the 2025 Masters, including 5 long-shot amateurs The Masters is set to tee off in less than 24 hours and you know exactly who you'll be betting on this week, from players who can definitely win to sleepers. Heck, you even know the players you won't be touching -- unless it's a bet for them to miss the cut. But what about the players you haven't even thought about? Scroll to the bottom of that odds list and you'll come across some names that, quite frankly, you didn't even know were in the field. These are the players with the worst odds to win the Masters, and we here at BetFTW are bringing them to your attention because, well, what if they do win? ... OK, fine, that's not happening. But it's also just funny to see these extremely big numbers. TOP FINISHERS: Masters finish position odds, picks, predictions +400000: Jose Maria Olazabal +200000: Mike Weir +200000: Fred Couples +150000: Bernhard Langer +100000: Rafael Campos, Evan Beck (amateur) Noah Kent (amateur), Hiroshi Tai (amateur) +75000: Angel Cabrera, Zach Johnson, José Luis Ballester (amateur) Justin Hastings (amateur)
USA Today
08-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
WM Phoenix Open: 5 golfers who shockingly missed the cut (including Max Homa)
Once again, the WM Phoenix Open has delivered a leaderboard as exciting as everything happening in the gallery. Thomas Detry (-12) will start Saturday in first place, but will have Jordan Spieth (-9), Justin Thomas (-8), Scottie Scheffler (-7) and Tom Kim looking to chase him down on a TPC Scottsdale course that's been offering plenty of birdie opportunities. The People's Open never disappoints. Well, except for the players who didn't make it to the weekend. The cut came into play at two-under-par on Friday and a handful of notables were on the wrong side of it. These are the five most shocking players who missed the cut. Hopefully they bounce back next week at The Genesis Invitational. All odds via BetMGM Rickie Fowler (W/D) Make Cut Odds: -225 -225 Miss Cut Odds: +170 Rickie withdrew ahead of Friday's second round due to illness. He shot three-over-par on Thursday with three bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine. The 2019 WM Phoenix Open champion has now missed he cut four times since his victory. Tom Hoge (+9) Make Cut Odds: -225 -225 Miss Cut Odds: +170 Hoge's had a solid start to the year, finishing no worse than T45 in all four of his starts — including a T17 last week at Pebble Beach. Then he got roughed up with a seven-over 78 on Thursday and couldn't make up the ground on Friday. Max Homa (+3) Make Cut Odds: -190 -190 Miss Cut Odds: +140 It seems Max Homa's new swing is still rounding into form. He shot a 76 on Thursday, which put him well behind the cut line before he even teed off Friday. That could've made it a little bit awkward when his sponsor Lululemon had a few dozen fans show up wearing Homa's second-round outfit. Instead he seemed much more relaxed and shot two-under on the day with a few missed opportunities to go lower. Billy Horschel (+1) Make Cut Odds: -285 -285 Miss Cut Odds: +200 The picture says it all. Billy Horschel had so many putts that just didn't drop. He shot 71-72 and missed the cut by two. It feels like Horschel could've really made some noise this weekend if his putter cooperated. Matt Fitzpatrick (-1) Make Cut Odds: -285 -285 Miss Cut Odds: +200 A stunning result if for no other reason than how successful Matt Fitzpatrick has been in this tournament. In three previous starts, Fitzpatrick went T10, T29 and T15. This is the first MC for the 30-year-old and it comes in his third start of the season. More BetFTW 9 Super Bowl prop bets that have nothing to do with the game (including Taylor Swift props!) 5 best Super Bowl anytime touchdown bets, ranked Super Bowl 2025 printable prop sheet for Chiefs vs. Eagles: All the best props in 1 place Gambling involves risk. Please only gamble with funds that you can comfortably afford to lose. While we do our utmost to offer good advice and information we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of gambling. We do our best to make sure all the information that we provide on this site is correct. However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable. Please check any stats or information if you are unsure how accurate they are. No guarantees are made with regards to results or financial gain. All forms of betting carry financial risk and it is up to the individual to make bets with or without the assistance of information provided on this site and we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of following the betting tips provided on this site. Past performances do not guarantee success in the future and betting odds fluctuate from one minute to the next. The material contained on this site is intended to inform, entertain and educate the reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally or any sort of professional advice. Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside. It is your sole responsibility to act in accordance with your local laws.
