If this time in history has taught us anything, it is that as a society, we must collectively learn to adjust. There are people much more qualified than me to write dissertations and commentary on the topic. What I can speak to is this once-in-a-lifetime situation for world of sport in and how it can relate to our broader pandemic experience.
Labor Day is upon us. In a normal year, we just have finished wetting our beak with college football’s kickoff interconference games like USC v. Alabama, and are salivating over the official Week 1 board. In 2020, CFB kicked off with Austin Peay vs. Central Arkansas in an empty stadium and this week’s prime time match up pits BYU vs. Navy. Forgive me while I try to contain my excitement.
From the beginning of the chaos, maybe no business entity in the world has acted with more tunnel vision than the NFL. The league never wavered with its plan to start the season on time and has hurdled through obstacles like a blind Godzilla. While some had doubts, the league’s owners and power brokers generally expressed none, and the season is set to start as planned next week.
For the avid bettor, the general uncertainty, the lack of fans, and the somewhat diluted overall experience is at least somewhat balanced out by having the fall sports plate fuller than it ever has been before.
The NBA season, which would have normally been over in June, is now just starting the second round of the playoffs. The PGA season would effectively be wrapped in any other year, yet we get the FedEx Championship this weekend and the two best majors (US Open and The Masters) still to come. The shortened baseball season led to an expanded playoff, with 16 teams making the postseason this year. All told, the next two months deliver the NBA Finals, two golf majors, the World Series, some power-conference college football, and NFL! The board will always have multiple opportunities as the country works together to get through the (hopefully) latter end of this crisis.
Sports Betting Picks Weekly Recap
Last week started out with a bang and ended with a whimper as our extraordinary run on the PGA tour hit a snag, with matchups going winless (0-3) for the first time (-5.25 units).
The NBA playoff bubble games went 2-3 (-2.25 units) and WNBA 0-1-1 (-1.25 units). This week beat us up, as the neutral court thwarted our efforts. While we will continue to adjust accordingly, it is clear that even the bets handicappers have not mastered the variance that the bubble has caused.
On the other hand, MLB continues to shine, going an incredible 8-1-1 (+5.9 units) for the week. We made up for a few bad beats last week with a 4-run bottom of the 9th winner in the Cardinals – Royals game.
Overall, the record for the week was 10-8-2 (-2.85 units.)
We have sent a few NFL futures out this week with more to come as well as a number of early CFB plays.
Be on the lookout for our NFL Primer next week. It feels surreal to say it, especially without the preseason appetizer, but the NFL is here as Houston and Kansas City kick things off on September 10th. We expect to have our traditional early season success on college and pro football early while the lines are soft. So, bear down, adjust, and let’s start this pigskin season off strong.
