Rotation #627: CBB Tuesday 10* Top Play Illinois-Chicago Flames (+) @ Murray State Racers @ 8 ET - Murray State is off a win but they had lost 9 of 10 before that. The Racers traditionally are strong but this does not look like one of their better teams. I like the fact that this line has gone from nearly a pick'em to now Murray State in the -4 range as of about 9 hours before tipoff. We are getting solid line value here because Illinois-Chicago is off B2B losses. The Flames have not 3 straight games all season long. I am looking for a big response here as this team has been ultra competitive this season. The Flames, before the 62-50 loss at Southern Illinois, had gone 7-4 SU last 11 games and the largest margin of defeat was 5 points and the other 3 losses were by 2 or less points. In other words, exceptional value here with the points and we'll grab them! 10* ILLINOIS-CHICAGO (+)

NBA Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Chicago Bulls @ 7:10 ET - This line is in the 10.5 range as of 8 hours before tipoff and is the final meeting between these teams this season and the Bulls have taken the first two games. This is a double revenge spot for a Philly team that will have Embiid back on the floor for this one as well. Chicago is 15-19 on the season and Philly is 22-10 and there is also strong home/road dichotomy factors here as the Sixers are 12-4 at home and the Bulls are 4-10 on the road. Of course these are all SU records but I see Philadelphia winning this game huge with Embiid back on the floor and the fact this is double revenge including a home loss two weeks ago as well. The Sixers just lost at Chicago on the 30th as well so they enter this game off a loss. Philly is 3-0 L3 times coming off a loss. Blowout alert! 10* PHILADLELPHIA (-)

NBA Monday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) @ LA Clippers @ 10:40 ET - A lot of injury issues here on both teams. I am aware of the situation and I know Butler will miss this game for Miami. However, this is too much underdog line value (7.5 as of 9 and 1/2 hours before tipoff) for Miami. The Heat are coming off a loss and a perfect 5-0 SU the last 5 times they were off a loss. Of course a SU win for Miami is a guaranteed ATS win in this one as they are a sizable underdog in this one. We'll grab the points here but we may not even need them. Note that the Clippers are off B2B wins but Kawhi Leonard will not be 100% here even though he is expected to play. LA had lost B2B games before those two wins and the Heat have won 3 straight meetings. Also, the Clippers do not have a win by more than 7 points in any of the past 6 meetings. I am grabbing the points with a hungry Heat team coming off a loss. 10* MIAMI (+)

Sugar Bowl Monday 10* Top Play Washington Huskies (+) vs Texas Longhorns @ 8:45 ET - Two great teams of course but I feel the Huskies are under-rated here. A team does not go 13-0 by accident and they had to beat Oregon twice to do that! I respect the Ducks plenty and Oregon is favored by 18 points today on Monday against a fellow 13-0 team, Liberty, which says a lot about how impressive it is that the Huskies beat the Ducks twice this season. Remember too that Washington also has multiple other wins against Top 25 teams as well. The Huskies have a fantastic offensive line and a stellar passing attack and the Horns weakness is pass defense. Look for the Longhorns pass D to be exposed in this game. Texas hammered Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game but their two games before that against ranked foes featured a loss to Oklahoma and a 3-point win (in OT) over Kansas State. Yes, the Horns beat Alabama this season but they benefitted from a 2-0 turnover edge in that one also. Don't get me wrong, Texas is a high-quality team but they are really going to struggle to stop this dynamic Huskies offense. Washington does not have a great defense but they can get enough stops to let the offense dominate games and that is what I expect again here. Texas has revenge here from losing to the Huskies in last year's bowl but the Longhorns actually have a poor ATS history when playing high-quality teams away from home. The win over Alabama, we talked about it above, was a rare exception. Too much value to pass up here with this line in the +4 range as of about 10 hours before kickoff. 10* WASHINGTON (+) 

Rose Bowl Monday 10* Top Play Alabama Crimson Tide (+) vs Michigan Wolverines @ 5 ET - Of course these are two of the best teams in the nation or they would not be playing in this game. Now let's look at what top teams have done from the respective conferences of these two teams. Note that other top Big Ten teams including Iowa (great defense, horrible offense) are not as balanced as this Alabama team. In the bowls that have already taken place prior to today, Ohio State lost 14 to 3 to an SEC team and Penn State lost 38 to 25 to an SEC team. As for other top SEC teams that played in the bowls, Georgia just rolled 13-0 Florida State 63 to 3. Now, I fully realize there were other variables in those games but the point is that the top SEC teams have certainly looked a lot better than the top Big Ten teams. That is another key as to why I am taking the Crimson Tide over the Wolverines in this one. Another key is coaching in the biggest of games. Harbaugh has lost 6 straight (both SU and ATS) in bowls and playoff games. Now look at Saban's record in semi-final playoff games like this. He is 6-1 SU! We should not even need the points here but we'll go ahead and grab the 2 points available in this one as of about 7 and 1/2 hours before kickoff. 10* ALABAMA (+)

NFL Sunday 10* Minnesota Vikings Pick'em -110 vs Green Bay Packers @ 8:20 ET - The Packers have been so bad defensively in recent games. The Vikings have been doomed by turnovers but this team is talented on both sides of the ball and the QB change this week will pay for Minnesota. At the same time, the Vikings defense is much stronger than the Packers and they are at home here. This is a revenge game for Green Bay and that is keeping this line in the pick'em range when the reality is that the Vikings home field edge and defensive edge should be worth much more than they are being given credit for here. I trust Jaren Hall to have a solid game at QB as he gets his chance after Mullens cost the Vikings game each of the past two weeks due to turnovers. Justin Jefferson will have a huge game at WR for Minnesota and the Packers D continues to struggle. Vikings off a home loss to Detroit but this is after allowing just 16 ppg in their 3 prior home games. Vikes have allowed only 14 ppg in their 7 wins this season and they are solid on D at home. The Packers have allowed 29 ppg the last 3 weeks and they faced teams that are a combined 15-30 this season. Green Bay barely got by a 2-win Panthers team last week at Carolina and this followed a 1-5 run last 6 road games for the Pack. They do not travel well and the Vikings take advantage here. 10* MINNESOTA Pick'em -110

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Tennessee Titans (+) @ Houston Texans @ 1 ET - The Titans are 2-3 last 5 games but two of those losses were in OT and all 3 losses were by exactly a 3 point margin. That is why the +4 being offered here as of 3 hours before kickoff is a solid line value! Tennessee lost to Houston two weeks ago in the most recent meeting between these divisional rivals. The Titans, after another tight loss last week, are relegated to playing the role of spoiler here. Certainly that is not a role they take lightly against bitter rivals. They would love to prevent the Texans from winning the division. Tennessee has not lost by more than 3 points since mid-November. Houston has only 2 wins by more than 3 points in their last 9 games! This is an easy call in terms of value with the points with a highly motivated divisional underdog! 10* TENNESSEE (+)

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs Arizona Cardinals @ 1 ET - The Eagles are about a 12.5 point favorite as of 3 hours before kickoff in this one. The Cardinals have lost 10 of 12 games and those 10 losses have been by an average margin of 15 ppg. Couple that with the fact that they are on the road for this one and facing one of the top teams in the league and their QB Kyler Murray is dealing with an illness. Remember that same issue (an illness) plagued Eagles QB Jalen Hurts a few weeks ago and it showed in his play on the field in that tough loss. Well now it is Murray that will likely play but not be 100% and he does not have the supporting cast that Hurts has either. In other words, this one will get ugly. After the Cowboys controversial 1-point win in which every key penalty call including a ridiculous one on a 2-point conversion that stole a win from the Lions, the Eagles now are in a key situation in which they must win this game. They will not mess around and will leave no doubt. They have deserved some better results than they have gotten of late and I know the Eagles recent wins have not been by big margins but this Cardinals team is very weak defensively and the Eagles are angry (even coming off a win) as they still are fired up about not having an "A game" effort and they had the undeserved loss to the Seahawks the week before the win over the Giants last week. Philly is favored with good reason here and they have averaged 30 ppg in their 11 wins this season while Cardinals have scored 15 ppg in their last 10 losses. I am looking for a 31-14 type game given all of the above but honestly a margin of 20+ points is likely here. 10* PHILADELPHIA (-)

Rotation #704 CBB Saturday 10* Top Play Oregon State Beavers (+) vs USC Trojans @ 10 ET - This line is currently in the 8.5 to 9 range as of about 7 hours before tipoff and there is excellent value here with the underdog. The Beavers have not played as tough of a schedule but they are at home for this game and are coming off a loss but had an 8-3 record prior to that. Also, the Trojans have revenge here from a loss here last season. However, USC enters this game just 4-6 last 10 games and only 3 wins by more than 8 points in their last 10 games! Oregon State won 5 straight games before their tough loss to UCLA in most recent game by 7 points. The Beavers last lost by more than 7 points was back on Thanksgiving weekend! The Beavers have played the Trojans tough in each of the last 3 meetings with an outright win and each of the two losses by 3 or less points. Remember that Oregon State went from an ugly 3-win season to an 11-win season last year to now looking lite a 15-win type team this season. People still remember that Beavers team that went 14-49 the past two seasons combined but they truly are looking much better this season and Corvallis is not an easy place to play. We'll gladly grab the generous points being offered here. 10* OREGON STATE (+)

NFL Saturday 10* Top Play Detroit Lions (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 8:15 ET - This line is the 5.5 range as of 8 hours before kickoff. Note that both teams have already clinched a post-season berth but there is still some motivation for both teams here. Detroit and Dallas both need to win for playoff positioning reasons but, without a doubt, the pressure is much more on the Cowboys than the Lions in this one. Detroit already clinched the NFC North while Dallas is still chasing the Eagles for the NFC East division title. So the pressure is on Dallas here and they have not been handling it well. They already lost B2B games after finally catching the Eagles at the top of the division. Losses to the Bills and Dolphins the past two weeks and the Cowboys continue their pattern of losing to quality teams. Certainly the Lions are a quality team. Also, statistically Detroit has the much better rush defense in this match-up. Their weakness is pass defense but Prescott has a history of struggling in big games against better teams. Also, another angle I like a lot in this match-up is Lions head coach Dan Campbell is a Texas guy. He played for the Cowboys during his NFL career and was born in Texas and in college he played with the Aggies of Texas A & M. In 2021, he became head coach of the Lions and it was a tough season but he has fully completed the turnaround. By the way, during his time with the Lions, they have met just one time and that was last season and was a 24 to 6 loss for Detroit. You can bet, literally, they have their eyes on payback here as this team has come a long way and this Lions team playing with confidence and without pressure whereas Dallas needs this game to have any reasonable shot in the NFC East race with the Eagles. We'll grab the points here but I do not even expect to need them. As usual, the Cowboys fall on the big stage like they so often do. Against quality teams like the Dolphins, Bills, Eagles and 49ers the Cowboys are 1-4 SU. Give me the points. 10* DETROIT (+)

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Penn State Nittany Lions (-) vs Ole Miss Rebels @ Noon ET in Peach Bowl - This line in the 4 to 4.5 range as of about 2 and 1/2 hours before kickoff. Two very strong 10-2 teams but Ole Miss head coach Kiffin is 2-4 SU and ATS in bowls while Penn State head coach Franklin is 7-4 ATS in bowls. I also like the fact that the Nittany Lions have the much better defense in this match-up. The Nittany Lions road that defense to a 9-3 ATS mark this season and I expect one more cover from them to close the season out. Even though PSU defensive coordinator Manny Diaz left the program earlier this month as he took the head coaching job at Duke, all his systems are in place and this rock solid defense has seemed to rally around the fact they want to win one more for Diaz even though he has departed the program. Yes, the cohesiveness and bond was that strong. Diaz even came back to speak to the players after taking the job at Duke and that is not something you always see. This is a tight-knit group that this PSU defense has and the co-defensive coordinators calling this game will combine with the players for one last super strong game under the Diaz schemes. Next season Tom Allen (formerly with Indiana) takes over as the DC. In this bowl match-up, as strong as the Ole Miss offense is, they are facing one of the toughest defenses in the nation plus the Rebels defense is not strong enough to slow down a determined Lions bunch that can run the ball very well and remember that this passing attack had 27 TDs against only 1 INT all season long. Yes, that includes games against Michigan and Ohio State! 10* PENN STATE (-) 

CFB Friday 10* Top Play Iowa State Cyclones (-) vs Memphis Tigers @ 3:30 ET in the Liberty Bowl which is played in Memphis. The current line on this one in the 10 to 10.5 range as of about 5 hours before kickoff. Someone knows something. Yes, this is one of those games. The Tigers have the better record, are playing at home for this game, and yet the line has moved toward Iowa State and the Cyclones are now double digit favorites in this game! Don't be surprised when the road team wins this one huge. This one features a Memphis team that did not have to play UTSA in the regular season and lost their games with SMU and Tulane. The reason I mention that is because those are the only 3 teams in the AAC that, besides the Tigers, had a winning record. So the point is Memphis has not even beaten a team in their conference that ended up with a winning record in conference action. Now the Tigers go outside their conference to face a tough Iowa State team from the Big 12. Yes, Memphis has a solid offense that puts up big numbers but their defense is horrible. The Cyclones will move the ball well on the Tigers throughout this game and the flip side is that Iowa State will be able to get some stops on Memphis. Note that, against unranked teams like the Tigers, the Cyclones have won 5 straight games and allowed only 14 ppg in the last 4 victories in that run. Iowa State is on a 6-3 run and the only 3 losses were to ranked teams and the 6 wins saw them average 34.7 ppg. Against this bad Tigers defense they will score at least that and I just do not see Memphis keeping up as the Cyclones defense is a respectable one to say the least. Also, look at what other AAC teams have done in the bowls. Although USF throttled a disinterested Syracuse team, the other 3 AAC teams that have played in bowls were all beaten badly and struggled to score points. Rice lost 45-21, SMU lost 23-14, and Tulane lost 41-20. Also, NONE of those 3 played teams as tough as Iowa State. Look for the Cyclones to roll here as AAC has proven to be even weaker than advertised! 10* IOWA STATE (-) 

NBA Tuesday 10* Top Play Utah Jazz (-) @ San Antonio Spurs @ 8:10 ET - The Spurs might be without Wembanyama as he has a sprained ankle and is listed as questionable. I know the Jazz have not been good this season but were it not for the Pistons losing 26 games in a row I feel we would all be hearing much more about just how horrific this Spurs run has been. San Antonio started this season 3-2 but they have since gone 1-22 in an awful run of futility only overshadowed by the Pistons nightmare run. Also, 23 of San Antonio's 24 losses this season have been by at least 3 points so laying the number here (currently 3 as of about 11 hours before tipoff) is no problem either. The Jazz have won 5 of last 7 games so they have won more games the past two weeks than the Spurs have won all season long! Only 1 of Utah's last 11 wins have been by less than a 3 point margin. So excellent value here because of the Jazz being on the road for this one and we'll fade San Antonio again here. 10* UTAH (-)

NBA Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (+) @ Miami Heat @ 8:10 ET - Embiid is out for the Sixers but now they are catching 3 points as of about 9 hours before tip off. Keep in mind, Butler might miss this game for the Heat. Either way, I like the value here of a deep Sixers team catching points because of the absence of Embiid. This is a rare chance to catch Philly as an underdog and, keep in mind, Miami is 0-3 SU the last 3 times they have entered a game on a winning streak of at least 2 games. Including post-season games, the Heat are just 19-19 SU last 38 games. Philly is 29-12 SU last 41 games. The Sixers are 8-1 SU last 9 games overall entering this one and offer exceptional line value here. I know they are without Embiid but the Sixers are so loaded with other talent and depth that they will get the Christmas Day upset here. We'll grab the points just in case but I do not expect to need them. 10* PHILADELPHIA (+)

NFL Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs New York Giants @ 4:30 ET - The Giants had won 3 straight before a 24-6 loss last week. However, 2 of those 3 wins were at home. In terms of road games, the Giants have lost 3 of 4 and all 3 of those losses were by at least 18 points! Overall, 5 of their last 6 road losses have been by at least 18 points and the average margin of those defeats is 19 points! The Eagles are off 3 straight losses but they faced 3 playoff teams in the 49ers, Cowboys and Seahawks. Those teams have a combined record of 29-15. The Giants, on the other hand, have a 5-9 record. Philly is going to move the ball much better this week as Hurts is now healthy and the Eagles offense does look healthy, for the most part, heading into this one. The defense has some injuries but the Giants offense just does not have the weapons to take advantage. The Eagles so hungry off 3 straight losses, are at home, and they can take advantage of the Cowboys loss yesterday to move back into first place in the division. A lot of positive energy as a result of all of the above is going to see the Eagles win this one in an annihilation. The Giants just do not have the offense to keep up here. The Giants have scored an average of 9 points in their 9 losses this season. The Eagles are averaging 30 points in their 10 victories their season. That puts this game at about 30-9 which is a victory margin of 21 points and we are looking at a line that is just under the 2-TD margin - the current line on this game. The line is 13.5 on this one as of about 8 hours before kickoff. 10* PHILADELPHIA (-)

CBB Sunday 10* Top Play Nevada Wolf Pack (-) vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ 9 ET in Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii - Perfect set up here. The Yellow Jackets blew a huge 20 point 2nd half lead against Hawaii yesterday and barely hung on. That is the kind of game that takes a lot out of a team, especially when it is part of a tournament like this where teams are playing so many games in a short period of time. I look for yesterday's game to be the final good moment for Georgia Tech over in Hawaii as the fresher legs and overall stronger roster belongs to Nevada. The Wolf Pack are coming off a much more comfortable win yesterday as they maintained a big lead for much of the game and cruised to the win over TCU by double digits. The Pack are now 11-1 this season and all 11 wins have been by at least 6 points and that is the number on this game as of about 12 hours before tipoff. 9 of the other 10 Nevada wins have been by double digits. Georgia Tech's last 3 wins have been by an average margin of just 3 points and one of those victories was in OT! In other words, the Jackets have been winning too but not by big margins and there is a lot of value here with a 1-loss team facing a 3-loss team whose 3 losses have, by the way, been by a margin of 17 points on average. Lay the reasonable number here and look for the favorite to roll by double digits in this one. 10* NEVADA (-)

NBA Saturday 10* Top Play Dallas Mavericks (-) vs San Antonio Spurs @ 8:40 ET - The Mavericks are off an ugly 122-96 loss at Houston. They were without so many guys but I expect some back here for this one and Doncic is on track to play! That will be a big boost to the Mavs and they will take advantage of facing a Spurs team that is having a disastrous season. San Antonio started the season 3-2 but has since gone 1-21. This is unreal and the Spurs and 7 of the last 8 losses have been by 8 or more points. The current line on this one is in the 7.5 range and SA likely to get hammered again as Dallas is angry off an embarrassing loss. The Mavericks had won 5 of 6 before  tough recent slide but those 5 wins by an average margin of 14.6 points! They can roll this SA team that is an absolute disaster right now. The Mavs already won by 7 against the Spurs earlier this season and that game was at San Antonio and the Spurs were a different team then. They are really lacking in confidence and execution compared to the team we saw early this season. 10* DALLAS (-)

NFL Saturday 10* Top Play LA Chargers (+) vs Buffalo Bills @ 8 ET - As of about 7 and 1/2 hours before kickoff this line is in the 13 range. The Chargers will be a different team this week. Yes they got blown out by Raiders and Broncos the past two weeks but the yardage was not nearly commensurate with the final scores of those games. They were fluke final scores. Now the Chargers have fired their head coach and will be different this week. After getting blasted 63 to 21 at Las Vegas last week on Thursday, Los Angeles is anxious to get back on the field and make up for that embarrassment. Yes, the Bills are a solid team but to be laying nearly two touchdowns here sure seems like a bit much. Buffalo is off 3 straight huge games - Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys - and has a divisional revenge game on deck versus Patriots. Don't be surprised if this game is decided by a single score margin. The Chargers, prior to B2B losses, were just 5-7 on the season but only 2 losses by more than 3 points in those dozen games! A lot of line value here with the huge points for the home dog in a situation where the road favorite may not be 100% focused. 10* LA Chargers (+)

CFB Bowls Saturday 10* Top Play Utah Utes (-) vs Northwestern Wildcats @ 7:30 ET - The Utes coach Whittingham is 11-5 SU in bowls! The Wildcats coach Braun is 0-0 SU in bowls! Indeed, this is his first ever bowl and Whittingham has been coaching at Utah as a head coach since 2005. At that time Braun was still PLAYING - not coaching - College Football at Winona State in Minnesota. In fact, Whittingham's coaching career dates all the way back to 1985 when he was a graduate assistant at BYU so he has been coaching since the year Braun was born! I know the Utes had higher hopes this season but they are still coming to Vegas with sights set on winning this bowl. If they did not care about winning it they would not have asked their QB to stay and play in this game even though he will be transferring after this season. By the way, why is he transferring? Is Bryson Barnes disgruntled with the program? No, not at all. He just wants to play and he knows that Cameron Rising, off a huge 2022 season, will be back in 2024 with Utah after missing all of 2023. Barnes does not want to ride the bench behind a star QB like Rising potentially all season long next year. So Barnes will look to go out on top here with the Utes and I like the coaching experience edge and the fact that Whittingham demands the best from his players. The Utes finished 8-4 this season but the 4 losses were all to teams in the top 20 when they faced them. The Wildcats finished the season 7-5 and 3 of their 5 losses were to unranked teams and Northwestern scored an average of only 8 points in those 3 losses to unranked foes! Northwestern faced two ranked teams this season and lost those games by a combined scored of 29 to 7! The Utes also get a boost with the return of RB Micah Bernard for this one. He is a solid running back and he is solid out of the backfield too in the receiving game as well. Utah wants this game and they have won Pac-12 Championships in this stadium in Vegas in recent seasons as well. They are use to playing here, are the stronger team, and we get line value with this one dropping from a 9.5 down to a 6.5 as of about 8 hours before kickoff. 10* UTAH (-)

Rotation #883: Friday CBB 10* Top Play Temple Owls (-) vs Old Dominion Monarchs @ 7:30 ET - Temple will bounce back here in Hawaii - this line 3.5 as of about 6 and 1/2 hours before tipoff - as the Owls take advantage of a struggling Old Dominion team here. The Monarchs have lost 4 straight games and allowed an average of 90 ppg in those 4 defeats! Old Dominion only has two wins in regulation time this season and both were against outclassed foes. The Monarchs certainly do not outclass the Owls! So, in other words, look for their losing skid to continue here. The Owls are off their worst loss of the season to a tough Nevada team but, prior to that defeat, Temple was 6-4 on the season and the average loss was by just 6 points. The Owls have faced a tougher schedule than Old Dominion as well and the Monarchs are just 3-7 SU on the season. So when you factor all this in, this is a solid line value situation to back a short favorite off their worst loss the season. 10* TEMPLE (-)

NBA Friday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Toronto Raptors @ 7:10 ET - Current line on this is an 8.5 as of 7 hours before tipoff! There is only one team in the entire NBA that does not have a SU divisional win yet this season and it is the Raptors! Toronto is 0-7 SU in divisional action this season and their road losses in divisional games have come by an average margin of 14 points per defeat. The Sixers have won 7 of 8 and each of their last 6 wins have come by a double digit margin! In fact, the average margin has been 29 points! Philly should roll huge again here as this is their last home game until after New Year's so they will make the most of it. Toronto drops to 0-8 SU in divisional games this season and you can see why I am expecting the win to be by a double digit margin! 10* Top Play PHILADELPHIA (-)

CBB Thursday 10* Top Play Boise State Broncos (+) vs Washington State @ 11 PM ET at Spokane, WA @ 11 ET - This one is a neutral site game though the location certainly favors the Cougars over the Broncos as Pullman is closer to Spokane than Boise is but the point is this is not a true home game for Washington State. I love the contrarian aspect to this one as Washington State has revenge plus they are the Pac-12 foe facing a Mountain West team so they are the perceived stronger team and want payback for a loss to Boise State early last season. Consider all these aspects and then think about why this line would have opened up in the pick'em range? Exactly...and this line has now even moved up to Washington State as a 2.5 point favorite. Of course most are backing the Cougars given all of the above but the odds makers know that revenge is not always all it is cracked up to be plus the Broncos have played a tougher early season schedule. So when you fact all this in you can see the line value with the underdog in this match-up and I am backing the underdog in this one and we'll grab the bucket though we should not even need the points. 10* BOISE STATE (+) 

NBA Thursday 10* Top Play Minnesota Timberwolves (-) vs LA Lakers @ 9:10 ET - This line is up around an 8 but it is with good reason. James is out for the Lakers and Davis is questionable for LA. Both these teams are off losses yesterday but Minnesota is the much healthier team plus overall the stronger team plus they have the home court edge in this one. Also, the Timberwolves are a PERFECT 5-0 SU this season when off a loss. Additionally, when off a loss in which they allowed 127 points or less, the Wolves are not only 4-0 SU but every single win was by at least a 16 point margin and that means they are a perfect 4-0 ATS this season in this situation. Look for this one to make it 5-0 ATS on the season as this will be a home blowout against a short-handed Lakers team. 10* MINNESOTA (-)

CFB Thursday 10* Top Play Syracuse Orange (-) vs South Florida @ 8 ET - This is the Boca Raton Bowl in Florida so the location certainly favors the Bulls. However, the Orange are the stronger team and this line has dropped from near 6 to near 3 and it is go time for me. Syracuse has an interim coach here but Nunzio Campanile will bring out the best in this team here. I realize the Syracuse QB is out for this one but look for the Orange to have a Wildcat offense in place for this one that utilizes the skills of their skill position players at QB. They should not have a problem here against a Bulls defense whose D is a major weakness. USF has allowed 455 ypg on the season and they played a weaker schedule than the Orange did. Also, Syracuse is going to take advantage of a team that had lost 4 of 6 before closing the season with a win over Charlotte. In those 4 losses, the Bulls allowed at least 49 points in all 4 losses! It is hard to trust a defense like that to stop anyone and I like what I am hearing from the side of the Orange in this one in terms of being motivated for this game. The faves are going to bring an "A game" effort here and they cover the FG along the way! 10* SYRACUSE (-)

Rotation #685: Wednesday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats (+) @ Creighton Bluejays @ 9 ET - The Wildcats are only 7-4 SU this season but they have wins over some teams and plus 3 of their 4 losses this season have been by 4 or less points. I feel we have excellent line value here with this one in the 9 to 9.5 point range and I will not hesitate to step in with a solid play on the Wildcats in this one. Villanova also has revenge here as they were knocked out of the Big East tourney by the Bluejays last season. The Wildcats lost their regular season game at Creighton last season as well but that defeat was by just 5 points. There is a lot of value here on Nova because this is still a talented team and they just beat UCLA without Justin Moore. Everyone is stepping up with Moore out of the lineup and that will happen again tonight. Also, the Wildcats have a tendency to play poorly against weaker foes and then be at their best against stronger foes. In other words, you will see their best again tonight. They also have a rest edge with 10 days off since their most recent game. Even though the Bluejays are at home for this one, there could be a lot of students home for the holidays already so they may not have an exactly raucous crowd for this one either. All factors considered (including the fact that Moore is out for this one) has led to a big value with the big underdog here. 10* VILLANOVA (+) 

NBA Wednesday 10* Top Play Dallas Mavericks (+) vs LA Clippers @ 8:40 ET - The Mavs are getting about 2.5 points here and of course it looks easy to lay the 2 or 2.5 with the Clippers here as they have won 8 straight games! Of course we all know what usually happens when something looks too easy, right? Indeed! So the point is this is the perfect time to go contrarian and back the Mavericks as a home dog in this one. First off, note that 6 of the 8 wins in the Clips win streak were home games! Also, one of the only two road wins was against a Jazz team that now stands just 10-17 on the season. The Clippers are still just 5-7 on the road this season and now they face their toughest road test since a 120-114 loss at Golden State. Also, 2 of the other road wins LA has this season were against a Western Conference league-worst Spurs team! So, the point is the Clippers are facing a much bigger challenge here but we get line value because of the current LA hot streak! Let's take advantage as the Mavericks are off a loss and they have gone 7-2 this season when coming off a loss! 10* DALLAS (+) 

NHL Tuesday 10* Top Play San Jose Sharks +1.5 -115 vs Los Angeles Kings @ 10:37 ET - The Sharks just got hammered at Colorado but that game unraveled quickly after San Jose got an early 5-minute major penalty that set the tone for the entire game. The Sharks deserved better and had been playing better and they will bounce right back here on home ice. San Jose entered the game against the Avalanche having only 1 loss by more than a 1-goal margin in their last 11 games! Look for SJ to respond immediately off that tough loss. As for the Kings, they are off a hard-fought 3-2 SO win over Seattle and they have the Kraken on deck again after this. As strong as LA has been, note that they have gone just 1-2-1 last 4 games and that lone win was in the shootout and the Kings have only 2 wins by more than 1 goal in last 8 games! This will be a much tougher game for Los Angeles than many are expecting as the Sharks have turned the corner after such a rough start to the season. Their most recent game notwithstanding, SJ has been ultra-competitive of late and they resume that competitive play here on home ice against a division rival. 10* SAN JOSE +1.5 -115

NBA Tuesday 10* Top Play Portland Trail Blazers (+) vs Phoenix Suns @ 10:10 ET - Big revenge game for the Suns is on deck against the Kings. That said, I like the value here of the big home dog Blazers who are playing this game with revenge and have been playing better of late but are off a tight home loss in which they covered ATS versus the Warriors. The Trail Blazers are still fighting hard for a win to snap their losing streak and they are on the cusp and should battle all the way through again here in this one. The points are a huge value in this one given the revenge situation for the home dog and the lookahead situation for the road favorite in this one! 10* PORTLAND (+)

CBB Tuesday 10* Top Play Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (+) @ California Baptist Lancers @ 10 ET - The Hilltoppers have won 5 straight games and I like the fact they are averaging 8 steals per game. This WKU team plays opportunistic defense and their confidence is surging with each win. The Toppers can hang tough in this game and they are facing a California Baptist team that has just one win in last 3 games and that win was by just a single point. The Lancers come from a weaker conference and the Toppers are undervalued here the way I see it. An outright upset would not surprise me in the least but certainly there is value in the points here even though the Hilltoppers are on the road for this one. Keep in mind Cal Baptist off tight 1-point win over UC Riverside which is, of course, a city rival of theirs in Riverside so the set up here is even better than most realize. Love this spot for at least a road dog cover in this one. 10* WESTERN KENTUCKY (+)

NFL Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs Seattle Seahawks @ 8:15 ET - The Eagles are mostly 3 point favorites, though you may find a 2.5 or two out there, as of early gameday morning. I am aware of the Hurts illness but expect him to play at QB for Philly. In any event, lets also not forget that Geno Smith is still dealing with a groin injury and is unlikely to be 100% if he even plays here. That could leave little-used Drew Lock as the starting QB for Seattle here. Even though the Seahawks have strong receivers, I like the fact that the QB situation could certainly be impactful in that regard! The Eagles defense also could be aggressive here with Patricia taking over the play-calling duties and I expect the Philly D to respond after looking lousy the last couple games. The Seahawks, keep in mind, have lost 4 straight games. The Eagles, courtesy of the Dallas loss yesterday, are again in the driver's seat for the NFC East division and I do not expect them to let this opportunity slip through their hands. Philly is 7-1 ATS when they are off B2B SU losses if the latter of those two losses was against a divisional foe. This one fits the bill in that regard. Also, the Seahawks are 0-7 ATS when they are off a divisional road game. Keep in mind they last were at home off a divisional road game where they had lost at the Rams and then got pounded 31-13 by the 49ers. This is all now part of an 0-4 stretch in which they have allowed 33.3 ppg last 3 games. The Seahawks now off another ugly loss to the Niners this time at San Francisco so this one fits that system play that is 7-0 ATS going against the Hawks! Look for that one to make it 8 IN A ROW right here! Seattle has a great home record this season but played a lot of struggling teams here. The Seahawks are 4-2 at home but 3 of the 4 home wins against teams that are now a combined 9-33 SU this season! The Eagles are 5-2 on the road this season and 3 of the road wins have come against teams that at least a have a .500 record on the year. They can beat this 6-7 Seahawks team and I have no hesitation in backing the 7-0 angle! 10* PHILADELPHIA (-)

NBA Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Chicago Bulls @ 7:10 ET - This line in the 11 range as of about 9 hours before tipoff. I know this is a big number and normally I do not like to lay such big numbers but this 76ers team, including their bench play, is absolutely on a tear right now. The Sixers have been getting great play from their bench and this has allowed them to sustain blowout margins in recent games and they are at home here and the Bulls have struggled overall this season. Chicago is a little better than their 10-17 record in my opinion but they are dealing with injury issues and the Bulls also are on the road and walking into a buzzsaw here. The 76ers have won 6 straight games and the average margin has been 27 points! Yes they are dominating teams! Each of last 4 wins by at least a margin of 18 points! The Sixers should roll big again here as on deck is a Western Conference foe and that game is not until Wednesday. So Philly is fully focused here. Also, though they won most recent game with Bulls, they lost the game immediately before that in a "home and home" B2B spot last season and that was in Philly. Chicago beat the Sixers in double OT in that one and the Sixers will get their home court revenge here the way I see it! 10* PHILADELPHIA (-)

Rotation #873 CBB Monday 10* Top Play Oakland Golden Grizzlies (+) @ Michigan State Spartans @ 7 ET - This line in the 16.5 point range as of about 5 hours before tipoff. Spartans off that huge win over the highly-ranked Baylor Bears and it was a blowout win. However, Michigan State shot lights out in that game including a ridiculous 8 of 12 from three point land. That said, we absolutely have some value here with this solid Oakland team catching huge points in a classic little brother versus big brother match-up. Of course the Spartans are the much stronger team but the Golden Grizzlies are loaded with Michigan guys who want this game of course. Last season they did lose by double digits in this match-up but the Spartans were heavily outshot by Oakland in that game and the Golden Grizzlies were done in by poor shooting. That said, there is value here with a big dog that has proven they can compete with stronger teams. The Golden Grizzlies have competed just fine with solid programs like Xavier and also other Big Ten teams like Ohio State and Illinois. This one will likely be decided by single digits and we take advantage of the strange shooting percentages that the Spartans just had in their win over Baylor plus the crazy shooting dynamics of last season's meeting between these teams. 10* OAKLAND (+)

NBA Sunday 10* Top Play Portland Trail Blazers (+) vs Golden State Warriors @ 9:10 ET - I know the Trail Blazers have a bad record but this is a great spot for them. They are at home off a home loss and they catch Golden State traveling off a hard-fought home win over the Nets last night. Yes, Portland has an ugly record and is on a losing streak but they are catching 5.5 points here and they are hosting a Warriors team that has lost 7 straight road games. I know the Blazers are off B2B ugly losses but this followed an 8-game stretch in which only 1 game was a loss by more than 6 points! They will be in this one all the way and, considering the Warriors 0-7 SU run in road games, an outright win is not of the question either! This line is round a 5.5 as of 7 hours before tip-off so we'll grab the generous points in this one! 10* PORTLAND (+)

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Baltimore Ravens (-) @ Jacksonville Jaguars @ 8:20 ET - The current line as of Friday morning is a 3 and I love the value with the small road favorite in this one. The Ravens are actually 5-1 on the road this season. The Jaguars are just 2-3 SU last 5 games and one of those wins was against a Tennessee team that is now 5-8 on the season. The Jags, not including OT points of course, have allowed 26 ppg last 5 games. The Ravens enter this game 10-3 on the season including 7-1 last 8 and Baltimore has allowed only 14 ppg in last 5 games played away form Baltimore. The Ravens are the much stronger defense, particularly against the pass, and Trevor Lawrence is off a game in which he threw 3 picks. This is also a revenge game for the Ravens since they lost here last year by a single point. Baltimore knows they have extra rest on deck with a big Monday night game (their only one scheduled this season) on deck and the Ravens have gone 7-0 ATS the last 7 times when they have a Monday Night game on deck. The Jaguars are 0-3 ATS this season in true home games (not neutral site like London) against non-divisional opponents. That means we have double perfect angles we are testing with this play and I look for another Ravens cover in this one as they are the stronger overall team playing the better football right now and they have the better defense. Getting a 3 here makes this is a great value! 10* BALTIMORE (-) 

NHL Sunday 10* Top Play San Jose Sharks Puck Line +1.5 +100 @ Colorado Avalanche @ 8:07 ET - I know the Avs are off a loss and Colorado is a strong team but believe it or not, they have had only one standalone loss since early November. That happened on November 20th. Other than that they have had a 2-game losing streak and 3-game losing streak since then. Not only that, the Avalanche have only one win by more than 1 goal in their last 9 games. I love the value here with a Sharks team that continues to be ultra competitive. Not only has San Jose turned things around overall, they also have just one loss by more than 1 goal in their last 11 games! The Sharks have been a much better hockey club and, in fact, at +1.5 goals are a perfect 6-0 the last 6 times they have entered a game off a loss. Here is winner #7 in a row at +1.5 for the Sharks! 10* SAN JOSE +1.5

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play New York Giants (+) @ New Orleans Saints @ 1 ET - The Giants have rallied around DeVito at QB. They are getting much better play on the offensive line. The defense and even special teams at times is forcing turnovers. New York has a very positive vibe right now and I like backing sizable underdogs in spots like this. They have the momentum and even though the Saints won last week they were outgained by about 100 yards in that victory and it was against a Panthers team that is 1-12 on the season! So New Orleans is a still a bit over-rated right now and the points are generous in this one. The Giants are a perfect 3-0 ATS the last 3 times they have entered a game off of exactly 3 straight SU wins. The Saints are 0-3 SU the last 3 times they were off a win in which they allowed 17 points or less. That makes this a double perfect spot and I would not be surprised to see the Giants win outright but we will grab the points just in case. 10* NEW YORK GIANTS (+)

Saturday NFL 10* Denver Broncos (+) @ Detroit Lions @ 8:15 ET - Current line is 4.5 as of Friday morning. Not only is Denver 6-1 SU last 7 games, the Broncos had 5 of the 6 wins come against teams that are in the mix for a playoff spot. Now look at a Lions team trending the other way as Detroit has gone just 4-3 SU last 7 games and only 1 of the 4 wins was against a team with a legit playoff shot. That would be the Saints who have a decent chance because they play in a division that does not have a single team with a winning record entering this week's action. The Lions other 3 wins in this 7 game stretch came against 3 teams that entered this week a combined 15-24 and, barring a miracle, will not be in the post-season. In fact, the last time the Lions beat a team that currently has a winning record was way back in Week 1 when they beat Kansas City in a surprise season-opening win. The Broncos also have a win over the Chiefs plus also the Browns, Vikings and Bills - all 4 of those teams have winning records right now entering this week's action. The point is that the Lions have been trending the wrong direction and are not a true 9-4 team the way I see it while the Broncos have been trending the right direction and confidence growing with each win. With each victory, the confidence of Denver is growing. I am not saying they win this outright necessarily but I do feel we have excellent value with this line at 4.5 as of Friday morning meaning that the common final margins of both 3 and 4 would both provide winning tickets with the dog in this one. Goff has thrown multiple picks in 2 of his last 4 games and both were against a Bears team that is just 5-8 this season. Conversely, Wilson had thrown NO picks in 7 of last 8 games prior to his 3-INT performance against the Texans which gave Denver its only loss last 7 games. I like the way the Broncos are trending and feel the Lions are starting to show their true colors as the season has gone on. Give the big points in this one! 10* DENVER (+)

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Boise State Broncos (+) vs UCLA Bruins @ 7:30 ET in LA Bowl - Points will be at a premium here with both teams having issues at the QB position entering this one. With defenses likely to rule the day, I feel we have excellent line value here with getting the full +6 points in this one as of about 10 hours before game time. The Broncos finished the season much stronger after their coach was fired and the Bruins did not look strong at all wrapping up this season. UCLA lost 3 of last 4 games and did not score more than 10 points in any of those 3 losses! The Broncos won 4 straight games to close out the season and they scored an average of 39.5 points per game in those 4 victories. I know they are starting a true frosh at QB in this one but Boise State still has a solid overall team and plenty of weapons they will utilize on offense in this one as well. The Broncos being given generous points here and I will not pass up on it! 10* BOISE STATE (+)

NFL Saturday 10* Top Play Indianapolis Colts (Pick'em) vs Pittsburgh Steelers @ 4:30 ET - This line is right around a pick'em and is as much a play AGAINST the Steelers as it is a play on the Colts. Followers know I have been very anti-Pittsburgh this season as the wins the Steelers have definitely have seem to come mostly by virtue of smoke and mirrors. Statistically Pittsburgh has been outgained in almost every single game this season. Indianapolis enters this game off an ugly loss but this followed 4 straight wins. I like the fact that Pittsburgh has beaten Indy 8 straight meetings yet this line is a pick'em. Looks easy to take the Steelers going for 9 in a row does it not? Well the fact is their offense has been struggling badly and Pittsburgh is averaging just 14 points per game last 4 games and I look for that 8-0 SU run to come to a screeching halt right here. The Steelers have lost 3 of 4 now and quickly are coming back down to earth and the last two losses were at home as well. Now they go on the road. They are now 0-5 ATS when they are coming off an outright upset home loss in non-divisional action. This one, just like their loss to the Patriots after upset home loss to Cardinals, fits the bill in that regard and I look for that "go against Steelers" spot to make it to 6-0 ATS as the hungry Colts get it done at home here. Indy is the much more consistent offense and respectable on the ground and through the air. 10* INDIANAPOLIS 

CBB Friday: 10* Top Play Connecticut Huskies (-) @ Gonzaga Bulldogs @ 10 PM ET - The Huskies are the stronger team and have an experience edge and they are so strong in the paint. Connecticut also has enough outside shooting prowess to stretch teams out and that open things up inside the paint as well. Note the Bulldogs lost their only game against a ranked team this season while Connecticut has played 3 ranked foes already and gone 2-1. I feel strongly that the Huskies are better prepared for this intense match-up and that is also why you are seeing them favored by about 4 points here (as of mid-day Friday) even though they are on the road and playing in a tough venue. Lay the points with the road team in this one. 10* CONNECTICUT (-)

San Jose +1.5 -145 - The Sharks have been playing much better of late and gone 6-2-2 last 10 games. Only 1 of those 10 games was a loss by more than a 1-goal margin. Kahkonen expected to start in goal and has been playing much better of late. Arizona is going with Ingram and though he is off a solid start, the Coyotes still lost that one and overall he has been struggling. Ingram has allowed an average of 4 goals last 3 starts. Arizona has lost 4 straight games. The Sharks are scoring an average of about 4 goals per game last 9 games. Conversely, the Coyotes are scoring only 2 goals per game on average last 4 games - all losses. This is a reasonable price to lay to have the added insurance of the 1.5 goals. Arizona has only 4 wins by more than 1 goal in their 13 home games this season. Possible upset here. Either way, the +1.5 gets us the cash in what should be a tighter game. SAN JOSE +1.5 -145

NFL Thursday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Chargers + @ Las Vegas Raiders @ 8:15 ET - The current line on this as of about 12 hours before kickoff is in the 3 to 3.5 range and I feel we have solid underdog line value with the Chargers in this one. LA will be starting Ethan Stick at QB in this one. Yes he has a little NFL experience but this guy was a winner at North Dakota State - a solid FCS school - and he has some experience already in the LA system here. Now with a full week to prepare for this game and work with the first team offense again, Stick will be fully prepared here and I expect him to surprise. This Raiders team covered their game last week despite not scoring a single point! They lost 3-0 but were 3.5 point dogs last week. They are favored here because of the home field factor in this one but the road team is actually 8-5 SU in Chargers games this season as LA has been better on the road than at home. Also, one of those 5 SU wins for the home team was when the Chargers beat the Raiders in LA earlier this season. Remember too that the Chargers just recently won 6-0 at New England after a low-scoring loss in which they scored just 10 points at home the week before. The Chargers are now a perfect 9-0 ATS when they are on the road and coming off a game in which they scored 10 or less points. Coming off the 24-7 home loss to Denver last week and now on the road at Las Vegas, look for LA to bounce back strong here and take that ATS run to a perfect 10-0 ATS! 10* LA CHARGERS + points

NBA Thursday 10* Top Play Cleveland Cavaliers (+) @ Boston Celtics @ 7:40 ET - This line currently in the 9.5 to 9 range as of mid-day Thursday. Boston is the only team that has an undefeated home record this season but this sure looks like too many points! Cleveland is 2-0 the last 2 times they have entered a game on a losing streak of at least two games. The Cavaliers are 12-8 SU last 20 games but, only 3 of their last 20 games have been losses by a double digit margin! Boston is 8-3 SU last 11 games but only 3 of the 11 games were Celtics wins by a double digit margin. The Cavs did lost this same match-up when these teams met Tuesday but Boston outscored them by 20 points at the free throw point line. In other words, the Cavaliers actually won the game by 13 points if not including free throws and I feel we have excellent line value here in this revenge spot for the Cavs. Grab the points in this one. 10* CLEVELAND (+)

NFL Monday 10* Top Play New York Giants (+) @ Green Bay Packers @ 8:15 ET - The Giants will likely have Tommy DeVito under center for this one and he has been a pleasant surprise as he has improved each week. This one sets up well from a situational perspective. The line has gone up on Green Bay and is now a solid 6 as of early game day morning. The Packers are off that huge upset win over the Chiefs while the Giants benefit here from a late season bye. Note that New York won their two games before the bye week too. I know those wins were over bad Commanders and Patriots teams but, the point is, the confidence of New York is growing with each win. They also will have Tyrod Taylor available here to back up DeVito. The Packers won their most recent road game in upset fashion at Detroit but they had lost 4 straight road games prior to that. Now Green Bay is in an unusual role (for this season) as they are a larger favorite in this one. Keep in mind, the Packers (before these wins over the Lions and Chiefs), had only one win by more than 3 points in the 9 games preceding these two bigger wins. As bad as the Giants have been, they only have lost by more than 5 points twice in their last 7 games and they have the rest edge entering this one plus a home dog edge as they have been much better here since losing big in their first two home games to the Cowboys and Seahawks. Grab the home dog here and don't be surprised if we see an outright upset. Not only is GB off the big upset of KC but they also have TB on deck and the Bucs are in the mix along with the Packers for a Wild Card spot in the post-season. This is a tricky spot for the Pack all the way around. Give me the points. 10* NEW YORK GIANTS (+)

NBA Monday 10* Top Play Washington Wizards (+) @ Philadelphia 76ers @ 7:10 ET - These teams just met in Washington and the Sixers only won by 5 points and that was with Joel Embiid scoring 50 in that contest. I realize that the Wizards shot very well in that game, including from 3-point land. But now the Sixers are heavier favorites here - 11.5 to 12 points as of early gameday morning - and this is with Embiid questionable. Embiid did practice fully Sunday but why is he still on the report then? The fact is there is a chance that, facing a 3-18 team, the Sixers might try to give him rest here. Even if they do not rest him fully, there is a chance they will limit his minutes. Either way, the Sixers are likely in for at least a dogfight in which the Wizards keep this one to a single digit margin again. Washington has scorers and has some confidence given the way the last game played out. The Wizards off ugly loss at Brooklyn but this followed a 7-game stretch in which Washington had only 2 losses by more than 5 points! As for the 76ers, they only have 2 wins by more than 11 points in their last 15 games. I feel this is a nice value here as this is a game where Philly knows they have bigger fish to fry and I could see them being a bit flat or disinterested in this one. Even if they do manage to get up by 15 points or so the Wizards could easily backdoor the cover in the final stages too. Just too many points. 10* WASHINGTON (+)

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 8:20 ET - This is a classic case of recent results creating an immediate over-reaction from the marketplace. The Cowboys are favored by 3.5 points here as of the overnight hours heading into Sunday. Dallas lost at Philly earlier this season but, since then, they have won 4 straight. However, they barely got by Seattle last week after having walloped the Giants, Panthers and Commanders. The combined record of those 3 teams is now 9-28 on the season. This is classic Cowboys. Dallas tends to look great and pad stats against bad teams and then struggle mightily against others. Note that the Cowboys are now facing 4 straight tough games against teams with a combined 34-14 record. Part of the reason Dallas has such a strong record this season is they have played a weak schedule. The Cowboys already are 0-2 against stronger teams: SF and Philly. The Eagles have already played Buffalo and Miami while Dallas still has those teams on deck. Philly also beat the Chiefs in addition to toppling the Bills and Dolphins. Now, I am well aware that the Niners just waxed the Eagles but the Cowboys got rolled by them as well. The ugly Philly loss to SF just happened and creates the line value here. You know the Eagles will be hungry to bounce back and prove that defeat was a fluke! I have no hesitation in grabbing the points here and challenging Dallas to win this game by more than field goal. The Cowboys just do not have a history of performing well in big games against strong teams. Dallas will struggle just to win, let alone cover, in this one! 10* PHILADELPHIA (+) 

Rotation #859: CBB Sunday 10* Top Play Michigan State Spartans (-) @ Nebraska Cornhuskers @ 6:30 ET - The Huskers are 7-2 this season plus at home and plus playing with revenge from last season. Yes they are a 3-point dog to a Spartans team that is just 4-4 this season. Big mistake, right? Actually, not at all! The Huskers have played a weaker schedule than the Spartans. Also, Nebraska lost their Big Ten opener to Minnesota despite the Golden Gophers losing their leading scorer to injury early in the game. Yes the Spartans also off a loss to open up Big Ten action but they faced a tough Badgers team and mainly lost that game because Wisconsin was much better from 3-point land than Michigan State. So here we are getting solid line value in this spot as there has been an over-reaction the Spartans mediocre record so far this season. We step in and take advantage of a quality team laying a small number in a bounce back spot. We get the small number because they are on the road and because of a forced adjustment on the line by the marketplace. 10* MICHIGAN STATE (-)

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bills (+) @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 4:25 ET - Current line in the overnight hours is as high as a +1.5 for the Bills. The Chiefs are at home where they are 4-2 on the season. The Bills are on the road where they are 1-4 on the season. Kansas City also lost last year's meeting at Buffalo so this is revenge even though yes, I know, the Bills have had some memorable playoff battles recently against the Chiefs that went the wrong way. When you consider all of the above factors, how is KC such a small favorite in this spot? Exactly! Do not let the line fool you! The Bills are the play! Who can bet against Mahomes and Company at a home in a game where the line is virtually a pick'em and we are playing on a team that has had tough road trips this season? We can! Buffalo has a key edge here in that they are coming off a late-season bye week. So the Bills have had plenty of time to rest both mentally and physically plus "recharge their batteries" for this game. The set-up here is a solid one for Buffalo. Remember that the Bills made a change at offensive coordinator last month. The Bills are off that OT loss at Philly but they scored a pile of points and this followed a thrashing of the Jets the prior week. As bad as the Jets are, they do have a respectable defense and the point is that Buffalo put up big yardage against them and against the Eagles. They outgained Philly by over 100 yards and should have won that game. They have averaged nearly 450 yards per game in the two games since the OC change. Conversely, the Chiefs offense just has not been what it once was. The Bills season has ended here in Kansas City in 2 of the last 3 seasons. Though the Bills won a regular season game at KC last season, this is yet another shot at more payback that is on the very field where the Bills season had ended in EACH of the two seasons prior to last year. Payback time. 10* BUFFALO 

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Indianapolis Colts (+) @ Cincinnati Bengals @ 1 ET - We get line value here (in the 2.5 range as of overnight hours) because the Bengals are off that upset win of the Jaguars on Monday night. Note that the Bengals had lost 3 straight before that. I know Browning had a big game for Cincinnati and is a solid QB. However, Cincinnati is now on a short week and with travel involved as they were in Jacksonville for the battle with the Jags. Indy has won 4 straight games and, like Jags QB Browning, Colts QB Minshew is off a big game. The Colts were favored in this one but the line has flipped to having Indianapolis as the dog. I love fading line moves like this and expect the Bengals struggles to quickly resume. Yes, both teams off OT wins but the Colts have a rest edge here plus they have now won 4 straight whereas the Bengals had lost 3 in a row before that victory. Cincy is allowing 28 ppg last 4 games while Colts allowing 17 ppg last 4 games. 10* INDIANAPOLIS (+) 

NHL Saturday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers +1.5 -135 @ Colorado Avalanche @ 9:07 ET - The Avalanche have lost 4 of 5 games and the only win was by a 1-goal margin. Of course they are the better team in this match-up but they have been a bit shaky of late and the Flyers continue to be an early season surprise. Philly has been getting strong goaltending for much of this season and that is why they have been so hard to beat by big margins too. Philadelphia has won 9 of 13 games and also if you look at their last 24 games only 6 of them (25%!) have been a loss by more than a 1-goal margin. The Flyers are hot and the Avs are cold and even if Colorado bounces back for a win here I look for it to be by the slimmest of margins. The Avs makes it 6 in a row without a multi-goal win and the Flyers remarkably have been on an amazing road run. They won their first road game of the season but then lost the second one 5-2. However, since then, they have played 11 road games and NONE of them featured a Flyers loss by more than 1 goal. Look for that run to reach 12-0 right here Saturday! 10* PHILADELPHIA +1.5 -135

NBA Saturday 10* Top Play Indiana Pacers (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 8:30 ET in Las Vegas, NV - There is some extra value baked into this line because the Lakers just absolutely destroyed the Pelicans on the scoreboard. However, LA shot 55% overall plus made 17 of 35 threes. New Orleans had a dreadful shooting game and was outscored by 30 from 3-point land as the Lakers made 10 more threes in the game. Keep in mind, the Lakers entered that game against NO in Vegas having gone just 4-7 in road games this season. The Pacers entered their game, a win over the Bucks, having gone 4-3 on the road this season and 2 of the 3 losses were at Boston and Philly. Of course the Celtics and 76ers are two of the best teams in the league. The point is that Indiana is arguably a better road team than the Lakers yet they are catching sizable points here against an over-rated LA team that is now over-valued after the hot-shooting win over the Pelicans. The Pacers are a very cohesive group. I like the team chemistry this roster has and I feel they will pull together to win this thing. Even if they fall short I look for it to be by one possession. This game could go right down to the wire but I am expecting the outright upset. We'll grab the 4.5 points. 10* INDIANA (+)

NBA Friday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Atlanta Hawks @ 7:10 ET - This line in the 7 or 7.5 range and this is a bargain in my opinion. Looks like Trae Young could miss due to illness or at least would not be 100% here. That is bad news for a Hawks team that already lost to the Sixers by double digits earlier this season and that game was in Atlanta! Also, Philadelphia won their most recent home game by 44 points over the Lakers and the 76ers are getting healthy again with Oubre having come back as well. The Sixers are off a road game at Washington and have another game versus the Wizards at home up next. That said, the Hawks are certainly getting the full focus and attention of the Sixers right now. When Philly is focused they can blow teams out. They know they let that game at DC be much closer against the Wiz then it should have been and they will respond huge here with a strong home game. The Sixers have 7 home wins this season and all were by double digit margin except the Celtics. The Hawks are definitely not at the level of the C's. In other words, another blowout home win is imminent here! 10* PHILADELPHIA (-) 

NBA Thursday 10* Top Play New Orleans Pelicans (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas, NV @ 9 ET - The Lakers are such a popular team they tend to get some extra attention in the betting markets and that can put lines out of whack a bit. Lets not forget that this is a neutral site game and they are 4-7 SU away from home this season. Davis should play here but is managing some injuries. James is questionable but I am sure he will play but the point is that neither are likely to be 100% here. Couple that with the fact that the Pelicans have won 8 of 12 games plus they are the healthier team entering this match-up and they have revenge from losing 3 of 4 with LeBron and the Lakers last season. This line is now up to a 2.5 and I like the value with the underdog in this one given all of the above. 10* NEW ORLEANS (+)

NBA Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) @ Washington Wizards @ 7:10 ET - Normally I do not like to lay 9.5 or 10+ points in NBA games but this Sixers team is finally going to have everyone back and healthy on the floor for this one and they are off B2B losses and they are facing a 3-16 team. Not only that, this 3-16 Wizards team might be without Shamet and Poole. The latter is of particular importance but even Shamet gets some decent minutes. Poole is one of the top scorers. If either or both guys play they are unlikely to be 100% for this one. The Wizards have lost 11 of 12 games. The Sixers are strong when off B2B losses and are 9-2 SU the last 11 times they have entered a game on a losing streak of 2 or more games. This team just not have long losing streaks and they are a much better and more cohesive club this season than last season. Of course a SU win is not the only key here as we also have a big spread to cover. The key with that is the Sixers have had 4 of last 5 wins come by 10+ points and the Wizards most recent loss was by 5 points. However, Washington has lost 6 straight road games and 5 of the 6 have been by more than a dozen points! 10* PHILADELPHIA (-) 

NBA Tuesday 10* Top Play Milwaukee Bucks (-) vs New York Knicks @ 7:30 ET - The Bucks line is down to 4.5 in this one. After the line move especially there is value on Milwaukee in this one. The Bucks are 9-1 at home this season. 8 of their last 9 wins have been by 6 or more points. Of the Knicks last 6 losses, 5 have been by 5 or more points. Home court is a key factor here as the Bucks are 41-10 since the start of last season. The Knicks are solid on the road but certainly not at 80%+ like Milwaukee is at home. The Bucks have won 7 in a row over New York in their regular season meetings and I am grabbing the extra value here after the line move. The Bucks are without Connaughton and they are certainly better with him on the floor but are these teams really equal on a neutral floor (which is what this line is practically saying) when Bucks don't have him? I say no and I know the hosts want this tourney game and will have a strong crowd behind them. 10* MILWAUKEE (-)

NFL Monday 10* Top Play Cincinnati Bengals (+) @ Jacksonville Jaguars @ 8:15 ET - This line is currently in the 10 range with even some 10.5 out there as of early game day morning. First off a couple of perfect systems here in this situation involving the Bengals. Cincinnati beat Jacksonville the last time these teams met and it was recent enough that it matters. This one in 2021 and that makes this a revenge game for the Jaguars. That puts the Bengals into a nice system angle here as they have covered 10 times in a row when they are a road dog and the team they are facing is playing with revenge. Also, Cincinnati has covered 8 times in a row when they are in non-divisional action against an AFC foe that is on a SU winning streak of at least 2 games. Now, to the meat and potatoes of this spot, I think the Bengals were still dealing with shock last week as they lost their star QB for the season in the prior game. As a result, they got crushed by the Steelers as it was about more than just Joe Burrow being gone for the season, the overall team morale was just crushed and they could never get it going in that game. Keep in mind, these are still professionals and after an effort at Pittsburgh in which they were outstatted by a big margin, they will bounce back here. The Bengals come to play in this one on primetime TV and I love having big dogs that will give big effort in the NFL. Browning is now expected to have Higgins back at WR for this one after he missed 8 games and having him along with Chase makes the offense a little more dangerous. I liked Browning in College and feel he will be stronger now after getting that first start under his belt. The Jags are having a strong season but in 11 games so far they have only 3 wins by more than 10 points on the season. I think this is a on-score game and we have excellent line value. 10* CINCINNATI (+) 

NFL Sunday 10* Los Angeles Rams (-) vs Cleveland Browns @ 4:25 ET - The dominant number on this one is a 4 as of about 6 hours before kickoff. The Browns have struggled to score points in their past two games and now they have to go with Joe Flacco at QB in this one. He is a veteran but is entering this game off the practice squad and has not seen live action in a long time. I expect Cleveland's offense to continue to struggle here and they are facing a Rams team that has been much better since their bye week. The confidence of B2B wins for this LA team was much needed and, though the Rams are not spectacular in any one facet, they have solid overall teams stats in terms of the run and the pass numbers on offense and defense. The Browns are very weak on the passing attack and that will be the difference in this one! Don't be surprised if Flacco struggles in his first action in a long time in this one and this is a new team for him as well. The Rams barely snuck by the Seahawks and also just beat a Cardinals team that is having a tough season but the confidence and the locker room atmosphere that is now present in LA is getting contagious. These guys believe they can make a run at the post-season yet and I am expecting another strong effort here to result in the home win and cover in this one! 10* LOS ANGELES RAMS (-)

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Arizona Cardinals (+) @ Pittsburgh Steelers @ 1 ET - This line is a solid 6.5 as of 5 hours before kickoff and this is unchartered territory for the Steelers this season. Look for that to be the difference in this one. Every line in Steelers games this season has been in the 4 range or less (whether dog or fave) and this is a rare bigger favorite situation for Pittsburgh. Yes they put up some big yardage (finally!) last week but this team has been outgained in almost every single game this season and is one of the most fortunate 7-4 NFL teams the league has ever seen at this later stage in the season. This is the perfect spot for a letdown. The Cardinals have a bye on deck. The Steelers are facing a non-conference opponent that has one of the worst records in the league. This game and this line is Trap City for the Steel City! Don't let the line fool you. I was hoping for +7 but there is a reason this line is holding at 6.5 across the board. The ugly dog Cards are the play. The Bengals are really a mess because the entire team morale plummeted after the Joe Burrow injury. The reason I am talking about Cincinnati here is because that is the team the Steelers just piled up all those yards against last week. The Bengals have issues now with Burrow out for the season. The defense of the Cards, though not great, is going to at least bring an effort here. These guys not happy at all about their record and will be going all out for an upset road win before their bye week. 10* ARIZONA +6.5

NBA Saturday 10* Top Play Sacramento -4.5 vs Denver Nuggets @ 10:10 ET - Tough spot for Nuggets off the big win over Phoenix last night. B2B spot for Denver and, this is the 3rd time they have entered a game on a 4-game winning streak. Both times thus far they lost the 5th game each time. This is a solid Kings team they face here and Sacramento is angry off a loss. The Kings just lost to the Clippers but Sacramento was off a big win over the Warriors. Remember that Golden State had won each of the first two meetings this season plus knocked Sacramento out of the playoffs last season. Not only that, the Kings had to rally and practically won that game in miracle fashion. So it was a definite flat spot. They bounce back here and take advantage of catching the defending champs in a tough scheduling spot. 10* SACRAMENTO -4.5

CFB Saturday SMU Mustangs (+) @ Tulane Green Wave @ 4 ET - This line is a around a 3 and certainly presents as a head-scratcher, right? Think about it. Tulane has won 11 straight AAC games and it all began with the last time these teams met. Tulane smashed SMU 59-24 last season as party of a huge campaign they had. They then won 2 more AAC games and are perfect 8-0 in the conference this season too. So now notice this line is around a field even though the Green Wave are at home, won the last meeting by 35 points, have won 11 conference match-ups in a row, AND (here is the kicker) the Mustangs just lost their starting QB for the season. All of those factors and this line is a -3. This is a trap line if I have ever seen one and the key for me is that, even though Stone is out, Jennings is a solid option at QB. Not only that, the Mustangs do rate a slight edge on defense and a strong edge on offense. Now, with Stone out, one could dispute that latter fact but the odds makers certainly are not! This game is priced this way for a reason! Grab the underdog here as Jennings will have a big game here. He does have some experience and has a lot of talent all around him to work with. I am fading the 11-0 SU run of Tulane but even if they sneak out a win we could still get the cover with having the points on our side. Great spot to fade an 11-0 run and I expect an outright upset. 10* SMU (+)

CFB Saturday 10* Boise State Broncos (-) @ UNLV @ 3 ET - This is another one of those funny line scenarios as UNLV is at home and has the better record yet Boise State is favored by about a field goal in this one. The line is holding around a -2.5 as of about 6 hours before kickoff. I like the fact that Boise State was left for dead not too long ago and then their head coach was fired and they could have just packed it in. Instead these team has shown incredible fortitude and fought their way through the battles and somehow ended up in the MWC Championship Game. Hats off to the Broncos for this performance and I expect their momentum to carry them all the way through this game. Certainly the amazing turnaround at UNLV was impressive this season but they had a couple of tight wins and some losses late in the season and I feel some cracks are starting to show here. Keep in mind, the Rebels have a 10-2 ATS record this season but that was also the case with Oregon and New Mexico State last night and both lost their games SU and ATS. I have Boise State rated better on each side of the ball plus they are used to playing this MWC Champ games while the same can certainly not be said for the UNLV Football program. At this time of the year, I like taking teams playing their best football of the season and that is the case with the Broncos. Solid season for the Rebels but they face a surging team with a lot of dangerous playmaking options on offense in this one. 10* BOISE STATE (-)

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Oklahoma State Cowboys (+) vs Texas Longhorns @ Noon ET - This line is up to 15.5 and it is just too much the way I see it. Yes, Texas has revenge and is the better overall team but we saw that last night also with Oregon when they faced Washington and the Huskies ended up winning outright! I am not expecting an outright win here but I am expecting a solid underdog cover. The Cowboys have been tough as underdogs under head coach Mike Gundy and has covered 4 of 5 as a big 12 dog this season and 15 of 21 long-term when installed as a big 12 dog. As for Texas, they have not been great ATS away from home. Remember that, prior to barely covering at Iowa State, the last 3 Longhorns games played away from Austin were all ATS losses. The Cowboys did beat Oklahoma this year. The Horns lost to that same Sooners team. Don't get me wrong though, I am not saying Okla St is better than UT because of something like this. I am just telling you that this is a quality 9-3 team that plays well as an underdog and is well-coached and is getting too many points here. 10* OKLAHOMA STATE +

CFB Friday 10* Top Play Washington Huskies (+) vs Oregon Ducks Friday at 8 ET - Current line around 10 as of early game day morning. I have tremendous respect for Dan Lanning and the Ducks but feel strongly that they are over-valued here. Kalen DeBoer and the Huskies have some edges in my opinion here and I am expecting a 1-score game as a result. Don't be surprised if Oregon gets their revenge but the win comes by just a FG or TD the way I see it. The big key here is that this is a pair of 2nd year coaches and Lanning is 21-2 with the Ducks against teams not named Washington and DeBoer is 23-2 with the Huskies overall. The key point here is Lanning is 0-2 against DeBoer so far. All the pressure is on him and the Ducks here. I know the Huskies have unbeaten pressure if you will but I feel this is a game in which Oregon has all the pressure to prove they can finally beat Washington again and you know DeBoer and the Huskies have extra confidence from winning the meetings both last season and this season. Also, notice that these teams played the exact same conference schedule expect the Ducks played the Pac-12 worst Buffaloes while the Huskies had to play a top tier Pac-12 team as they faced the Wildcats. Arizona is 10-2 ATS this season also and so is Oregon. Washington did get straight-up wins over both these 10-2 ATS teams and the Huskies are 12-0 SU on the season. Also, consider that the Ducks non-conference schedule included an 81-7 win over an FCS school which certainly padded stats. The Huskies non-conference schedule included, instead of an FCS school in that slot, a Boise State team that is now playing for the Mountain West Championship title tomorrow. The point is that the Huskies are 12-0, played the tougher non-conf schedule, played the tougher conference schedule, have won both meetings that featured these two head coaches, and are getting double digits in points here. This is a lot of line value. Ducks are a great team but this Huskies team is not undefeated by accident. They might lose this game but I expect an epic finish if that is the case. Lanning wants this game bad but, as the line shows, all the pressure is on him here. Lose a 3rd straight to the Huskies (and this one as a double digit fave) and that tarnishes what he has done with this Ducks program so far. This is a pressure game for Oregon. I'll take the big points as the Huskies schedule to end the season was a tough one with 3 straight ranked teams and then rival Washington State so they are better than some of their late season stats would lead you to believe and, keep in mind, they still found a way to win all 4 of those games. These guys are winners. Two very strong teams...I am taking the big points. 10* WASHINGTON (+)

NBA Friday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (+) @ Boston Celtics @ 7:40 ET - This line is as high as 7 as of about 7 hours before tipoff. Embiid missed the morning shootaround so now speculation is rampant that he will miss tonight's game. Don't be surprised when Embiid plays tonight. I just do not see him missing this contest as the Sixers seek revenge here. They probably wanted to let him rest as much as possible this morning rather than force him for the shootaround. Either way this is a lot of points in a rivalry game and I like Philly here. Before the loss to the Pelicans, in which it was a surprise that Embiid did not play, the Sixers were 5-2 SU on the road this season and one of those losses was by just 1 point. We have great line value here with this line possibly now even going higher. You are going to see a huge effort here in this revenge spot from the Sixers no matter who is on the floor. 10* PHILADELPHIA (+)

NBA Thursday 10* Top Play Golden State Warriors -5 vs Los Angeles Clippers @ 10:10 ET - Last night the Clippers caught the Kings off a dramatic huge-deficit come from behind victory the night before. LA took advantage and got the win at Sacramento but the situation was a good one for the Clips and a horrible one for the Kings plus LA hit 14 of 28 three-points in the game! They will not do that again tonight. Now it is the Clippers that are in a B2B situation and they are facing the very team (Warriors) that had blown a massive lead in a gut-wrenching loss at Sacramento! That said, Golden State is rested and ready and angry and this is a very reasonable line to lay here. I would not be surprised to see Leonard and Harden be less effective in the 2nd game of a B2B plus Powell got hurt last night and will not play here. Yes I am aware of the Chris Paul injury for the Warriors but the rest of the team in good shape entering this one and now Draymond Green is back from his suspension too. The Warriors are ready to go tonight and I am expecting them to have one of their best games of the season thus far in this one. They led by as many as 24 points in that loss at Sacramento and did lead by 17 at the half. GSW can not wait to get back on the floor. 10* GOLDEN STATE -5

NFL Thursday 10* Top Play Seattle Seahawks (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 8:15 ET - The current number as of early game day morning is 9.5 or 9 in most books. I was hoping we might see 10 points popping up but, either way, based on this current line we are essentially challenging the Cowboys to win this game by double digits. I love this spot as a spot to fade Dallas. They are off a big home win but when you look close at what the Cowboys have done this season, it has been a typical Dallas season. They beat up on bad teams (other than when they fell short at Arizona) and they lose to stronger teams (Niners, Eagles). Now I am certainly not saying the Seahawks are in the category of a San Fran or Philly. But I they do have a winning record this season and were 6-3 before suffering B2B tough losses. The Cowboys are 8-3 this season and taking away the two games against the only two teams they have faced that currently have a winning record, the other 8 teams they have faced have a combined record of 26-55 this season! So the Cowboys 8 wins (including twice beating Giants) plus the lone loss to a bad team (Arizona) means that Dallas is 8-1 against teams with a losing record. Those teams current combined losing record is 26-55. Seattle is not SF or Philly but they also are better than all the teams that Dallas has made a living feasting off of this season. This is going to be a much tougher game than most are expecting. Carroll will have his team ready on the road coming off B2B losses and to top it off, the Cowboys have Philly on deck! This is a huge lookahead situation because Eagles are playing SF this week. Dallas knows that Philly could lose that game which means if the Cowboys win this plus beat Philly next week then both teams would be 10-3 and tied at the top of the NFC East! Trust me Dallas has this in their head too and all this in their head means this "cakewalk game" turns into a "lookahead situation" and traditionally these are the types of games Dallas struggles in. Seattle has beaten Detroit and Cleveland this season and those two teams have a combined 15-7 record this season. The Seahawks are 11-2 ATS when they face a non-divisional opponent that has a winning record. Also, coach Carroll's teams have produced a 20-5 ATS record when entering a game off B2B SU losses and this their first losing streak of the season! Even with the big win over Washington on Thanksgiving, the Cowboys are still just 2-9 ATS as a home favorite in Thursday games. Seahawks bounce back here and might even pull off the shocker. Grab the big points. 10* SEATTLE (+)

Rotation #752: CBB Sunday 10* Top Play Illinois-Chicago Flames (-) vs Illinois State Redbirds @ 8 ET - As I mentioned in Sunday's write-up on UIC - an underdog cover as they lost by just one point - the Flames have been developing well in recent years. They are well-coached and now the coach has been able to assemble the type of roster he wants here. It has been a process for sure but this Flames team looks stronger this season than they have been in a long time. Now Illinois-Chicago is 5-2 on the season and with Illinois State, this is not the right kind of team roster to take advantage of the Flames guard-heavy style. This is an MVC opener for these teams and the Flames will fare well in this match-up. I like laying a very reasonable number of points in this one with a team that is undefeated at home and hosting a team that has lost 3 in a row in games played away from home. Note that UIC is hitting 48% from the field this season and the Redbirds are hitting just 39% from the field. Also, the Flames are averaging much higher blocked shots numbers. This is no surprise as, in this match-up too, UIC has some height and length edges in guard play as well. Illinois-Chicago lost the most recent meeting between these teams in a game played at Illinois State and that was in OT last season. This will be payback at home and they bounce back from a 1-point loss. Keep in mind the Flames only other loss this season was to Cincinnati! Lay it! Illinois-Chicago (+)

NBA Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers Pick'em @ New Orleans Pelicans @ 8:10 ET - As of very early game day morning this line is showing some movement toward the Pelicans and the Sixers have gone from being a small favorite to right around a pick'em. The 76ers might even end up being the dog here but we are getting in on this now at the pick'em price. Yes, the 76ers have a revenge game on deck at Boston and are 1-1 this season when they have the Celtics on deck. However, the win was by 18 points while the loss was a game in which they were in the 2nd leg of a B2B with a Pacers team they had just beaten. This is a different situation. Philly going on the road off a blowout win over the Lakers and they know they do not want to make the same mistake they made against the Pacers. In other words, the fact this is a road game might even help the Sixers in the focus department and they know they can not overlook these Pelicans. New Orleans is at home and that is why this game is priced this way but they have lost B2B games and another reason for the pricing is that CJ McCollum could be back tonight. But if you are the Pelicans, wouldn't you rather wait and bring him back Friday against a bad Spurs team? Also, if he does play here, he would likely not be 100% plus he would be on a minutes restriction. The Sixers are 5-1 last 6 road games and a PERFECT 5-0 L5 road games when Embiid plays. He is playing tonight and the lone road game he missed was a loss he sat out of due to a b2b situation and playing with a sore hip. So this is a non-B2B and it is a road games streak I expect Philly to take to a PERFECT 6-0 RUN! 10* PHILADELPHIA pick'em 

Rotation #629 CBB Tuesday 10* Top Play NC State Wolfpack (+) @ Ole Miss Rebels @ 9 ET - The Wolfpack are a 2 or 2.5 dog in this one as of about 11 hours before tipoff. This line actually opened with NC State as a small favorite in some spots. I love fading line moves like this. First off, Ole Miss is undefeated. Secondly, the Rebels are at home. Thirdly, the line is moving toward the undefeated home team on their home floor. I will grab the dog often in spots like this and particularly when are 1-loss team is coming off that very first loss of the season. The Wolfpack are a solid team loaded with upperclassmen. This is part of the ACC/SEC annual battle and I like the fact the Rebels last 3 wins have all come by slim margins - an average margin of victory of just 1.7 points - and now they face the toughest test yet! This will be the toughest team they have faced and the Wolfpack not in a good mood coming off that loss. Give me the motivated ACC dog that won nearly TWICE as many games as Ole Miss last season! 10* NC State (+)

NBA Tuesday 10* Top Play Toronto Raptors (+) @ Brooklyn Nets @ 7:40 ET - First off this line looks funny with Brooklyn only a 1.5 point favorite as of about 10 hours before tipoff. Why are the Nets such a small home favorite here? Glad you asked! The fact is Brooklyn is dealing with some injury concerns entering this one and that will impact both their effectiveness and team depth in this one. Also, they are off B2B wins here and not going to be as hungry as a Toronto team that is off a loss and has gone 5-0 the last 5 times this season in which they are off a defeat in which they scored 107 points or less. Look for this hungry Raptors to make it 6 in a row in this situation. Do not let the line fool you here! 10* TORONTO +1.5

NBA Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:10 ET - This line is around a 5.5 or 6 and that is saying the Sixers might only be about a bucket better than the Lakers on a neutral floor. I am just not buying that argument. The Lakers have won 3 straight road games but they lost 5 straight road games prior to that. Also, the Sixers have surprisingly lost each of their last 3 home games so you know they have this one circled on their calendar. This is particularly true because Philly has a couple road games on deck. Also, their most recent win was only by 4 points but this followed the first 9 of 10 Philly wins coming by a margin of at least 7 points and I feel certain this one will too! Lakers have some banged up players and I expect Davis and James to play but neither is likely to be 100% here. 10* PHILADELPHIA (-)

NHL Monday 10* Top Play Boston Bruins Puck Line -1.5 +100 @ Columbus Blue Jackets @ 7:07 ET - The Blue Jackets just blew a 2-0 third period lead and lost at Carolina. They were heavily outshot in that game. Columbus is not a very good hockey club plus they used their red hot goalie Merzlikins in that one. He had helped steal a couple wins for them. Now in the 2nd day of a B2B, look for Martin to be in goal here and he has struggled and allowed at least 4 goals in 3 straight appearances! The Bruins have played a tough schedule recently and off B2B losses and defeats in 3 of last 4. After this game they will not play again until Thursday so I fully expect them to take advantage of facing a weaker foe and go all out here in a blowout road win. 6 of the 7 Bruins road wins this season by a multi-goal margin. The Blue Jackets, loss to Hurricanes yesterday notwithstanding, have mostly come by 2 or more goals this season. More of the same here. 10* BOSTON -1.5 +100

NBA Sunday 10* Top Play Chicago Bulls (+) @ Brooklyn Nets @ 7:40 ET - The Bulls are hungry for a win. They have revenge here against the Nets from a loss earlier this season too. Also, Chicago is catching Brooklyn in the 2nd night of a B2B and off a revenge win over the own. The Nets had revenge against Miami and they got it. Don't be surprised if, based on scheduling dynamics and situational advantage, the Bulls are the more aggressive and fresh team here. I know Caruso and LaVine are each listed as questionable for this one but I expect them to play. Either way, I like the underdog Bulls here in this one and will grab the points, currently around a 4 or 4.5 as of mid-day Sunday. 10* CHICAGO (+) 

Rotation #751: CBB Sunday 10* Top Play Illinois-Chicago Flames (+) vs UNC Greensboro Spartans @ 7 ET -As I mentioned in yesterday's write-up on UIC, the Flames were off a blowout win Friday so they were able to rest guys and only 2 guys exceeded 27 minutes and neither one of those topped the 31 minute mark. UIC is well-coached and now the coach has been able to assemble the type of roster he wants here. It has been process for sure but this Flames team looks stronger this season than they have been in a long time. Now Illinois-Chicago is 5-1 on the season and that was a solid George Washington team they beat yesterday. Now they face UNC Greensboro. The Spartans are 4-1 on the season and have looked strong but they have hit a very high percentage of 3's recently and now face tough tourney situation in that it is a B2B2B and the hot shooting fades. Couple that with the fact they've been giving up too many offensive boards and this is not the right kind of team to take advantage of the Flames guard-heavy style. The Flames will fare well in this match-up and I like having the sizable points in this one. Also UIC has some height and length edges in guard play as well. Grab the points! Illinois-Chicago (+)

NHL 10* Top Play Carolina Hurricanes Puck Line -1.5 -120 vs Columbus Blue Jackets @ 5:07 ET - This is a great spot because the Jackets are off B2B wins and have NOT won 3 straight games yet this season and now they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Hurricanes are off an 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay. It was the night the Lightning got goalie Vasilevskiy back and it was in Carolina! It was an ugly loss despite the fact the Hurricanes allowed only 14 shots on goal in that game. Truly and unheard of type of loss and this Carolina team is too good to not bounce back after a game like that. In fact, they are already 5-0 this season when off a loss in which they were held to 3 or less goals. They will again bounce back here. The Blue Jackets are 0-8 the last 8 times they have entered a game on a winning streak of 2 games dating back to when they ended a 3-game winning streak the season BEFORE last season! Also, of those 8 losses, ALL 5 of the defeats against an Eastern Conference foe were by a multi-goal margin. So we are testing 100% multi-year spot with this puck line play. Lay it! 10* CAROLINA -1.5 -120

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bills (+) @ Philadelphia Eagles @ 4:25 ET - This is a very tough spot for the Eagles. They are off two of their biggest wins of the season as they beat their biggest division rival threat, the Cowboys, and then went out and got Super Bowl revenge at Kansas City Monday night. Short week, traveling, B2B huge wins...and now hosting a Bills team that is off a huge win after firing their offensive coordinator. Before you say it was only the Jets last week, the fact is the New York defense is respectable and the Bills really did a number on them last week. I look for the Eagles to be emotionally spent for this one and I expect Buffalo to take advantage. The Bills have a bye week on deck so they will go all out here. The Eagles did have a bye week between the Cowboys and Chiefs game but I still think this Philly team is going to be out of gas here. Keep in mind, if that pass was not dropped last week, KC wins that game over the Eagles. In my mind, the current Bills, after the OC change, are truly a much better team than their 6-5 record while the Eagles are a very strong team but truly not a 9-1 team. Just look at this line for validation of that. The odds makers are saying this 6-5 team is equal to this 9-1 team and that is why Philly favored by only 3 even though this game is on their home field! That said, the public likely to look hard at the Eagles here but the sharp money - including ours - will be on the Bills. 10* BUFFALO

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Cincinnati Bengals (+) vs Pittsburgh Steelers @ 1 ET - This line is currently as high as +2.5 as of about 6 hours before kickoff and I have been waiting but, of course can't wait too long, hoping we might even see +3 start to pop up. Either way, I don't think we'll even need the points. In my opinion, the Steelers are the worst 6-4 football team in the history of the NFL. They have been outgained in every single game this season. Yes, 10 straight games to start the season Pittsburgh has NEVER won the stats battle. It will catch up with them. They lost to the Browns in OT last week and now this week I expect them to lose to the Bengals. We get line value here with a nice home dog spot on Cincy because of Burrow being out. Don't be surprised if Browning plays well here. It is good he got some action last week and now he's been able to work with the first team offense and prepare all week for this game. He is ready and so is Cincinnati. This is a big game for them. The Steelers have revenge here as they suffered a home loss in the most recent meeting between these division rivals. However, Pittsburgh entered this season 1-6 ATS when playing with revenge and facing a team off a SU loss. The Bengals off tough B2B SU/ATS losses and will bounce back here. In fact, Cincinnati is a PERFECT 7-0 ATS the last 7 times they have entered a game off B2B SU/ATS losses. 10* CINCINNATI +

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Alabama Crimson Tide (-) @ Auburn Tigers @ 3:30 ET - This line keeps dropping and is now down to a 13 as for about 7 hours before kickoff. The fact is the Crimson Tide are already locked into the SEC title game next week BUT there is no way they will come out flat in this rivalry game. Coach Nick Saban knows that coach Hugh Freeze has led his teams to a few wins over him in SEC action and no one else has won more than one over him. Not only that, Saban knows his team can not afford come out flat here and have an ugly performance and then expect to be at their best against Georgia next week. So the Tide will be well prepared and roll here as they have been rolling for quite some time now after a slow start this season. They are now 7-0 SU in SEC action on the season while the Tigers are 3-4 SU in SEC games and here is a huge key. The 3 wins for Auburn have come against Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State. Those 3 teams are a combined 2-21 in SEC action this season and are easily the 3 worst teams in the league. Now the Tigers face one of the leagues best and the Crimson Tide have won 4 straight games each by 14 or more points. This line dropping to 13 make this one particularly attractive. The Tigers off that ugly loss last week which completely deflated their confidence. Auburn got hammered by New Mexico State last week! The Tide will bring their A game and are firing on all cylinders right now and win by a multi-TD margin! Mismatch! 10* ALABAMA (-)

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Utah Utes (-) vs Colorado Buffaloes @ 3 ET - This line is around a 20.5 as of 7 hours before kickoff. As long-time followers know, I do not normally lay big points. However, when the situation calls for it, I have no hesitation. This Colorado team is really bad. They are so weak in the trenches on both sides of the ball. So no matter how much talent you have at the skill positions, you struggle as a team. Now, even more concerning for the Buffaloes here is the most key skill position of them all (QB) is an issue heading into this one as Sanders got hurt in most recent game and may not be able to go here. Even if he is under center for this one, he will not be 100% and will be running for his life most of this game. The Utes come into this one angry off a bad loss at Arizona. Utah has lost 3 of 4 but the other two losses were to Oregon and Washington. Those are two very strong teams of course. Also, they did cover against the Huskies and, after the ugly loss to the Ducks, they responded as they so often do. They thrashed Arizona State 55 to 3! Now, after an ugly loss to the Wildcats, I am sure we will see a response here! The Utes are often so strong in the trenches and that is particularly true off a bad loss. Utah is known for toughening up and pounding teams after they themselves suffer a rare beatdown. Whittingham has coached the Utes for nearly two decades and he is the exact opposite of flashy Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders who is in his first year at Colorado and getting a baptism by fire in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes are 4-7 but could just as easily be 1-10 on the season. They get exposed again by a superior team and the Utes will not let up here. 10* UTAH UTES (-)

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Ohio State Buckeyes (+) @ Michigan Wolverines @ Noon ET - Michigan has won the last two meetings but this was after many years of domination for Ohio State. The Buckeyes should resume their winning ways in this rivalry this season as this will be the game that the Wolverines being without coach Harbaugh is finally going to come back to bite them. These two teams are quite evenly matched and for me the key angle here is the revenge factor and the coaching factor. It is not often that Ohio State is a dog and, when they are in a range of +3.5 (the line here) to +7.5 it shows you they are playing a quality team but also means the situation is not such a disadvantage that they are a heavy dog. Sure enough the Buckeyes - this includes bowl games - have excelled in this situation of being a dog of more than a FG but less than 8 points. In other words, not a 2-possession line. They have actually gotten the upset on a number of occasions when priced between 3.5 and 7.5 as an underdog but the key is they are a perfect 7-0 ATS last 7 times and no this is not ancient data. It is all since the 2014 season. I like the Buckeyes again in this spot as it makes sense this angle works as you have one of the best teams in the nation getting points. I respect Michigan but they have not looked as sharp past two games and again being without Harbaugh will hurt them as they now face a dominant team that has continued to roll here late in the season. Grab the points, 3.5, as of about 4 and 1/2 hours before kick-off. 10* OHIO STATE +

NBA Friday 10* Top Play Detroit Pistons (+) @ Indiana Pacers @ 8:10 ET - As of about 8 hours before tipoff this line is in the 7.5 range and the Pacers are hurting with some injuries including top scorer Haliburton. Even if he plays, he is dealing with right wrist pain. That will not help in the scoring department. That said, the Pacers have to score a ton to win games because this team just not play defense. There is a reason this line is coming down even though we are talking about a Detroit team (2-13) that has the worst record in the league. Pacers allowing 126.4 ppg and this is the worst mark in the league. If you look at Indiana's last 6 games, none were Pacers wins by more than 6 points and they have gone just 3-3 in those games. There is a reason some action is coming in on a team that has lost 12 straight games, 5 of the last 7 defeats have been by a single digit margin. Look for another very tight game here as the Pistons are very hungry for a win and will take advantage of shoddy defensive play of the Pacers. 10* DETROIT (+)

CFB Friday 10* Top Play Texas Tech Red Raiders (+) @ Texas Longhorns @ 7:30 ET - The Red Raiders are catching +14 here as of early game day morning. This is a big rivalry. These schools definitely do like each other. Even though Texas has revenge and should find a way to win this, I feel the line is far too big. The Red Raiders clinched bowl eligibility last week so you might think they would be flat here. On the contrary though, I feel this will allow Texas Tech to play loose and relaxed and confident here and that makes for a dangerous underdog. The Red Raiders would love nothing more than to prevent Texas from getting to the Big 12 Championship. The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma earlier this season so an OU win, Okla St win and Texas loss would leave Horns out of the picture. I am not saying an upset happens here but I am saying all the pressure is on UT. The Horns are 5-1 SU last 6 games but only one of those wins was by more than 10 points. Also, the Red Raiders are 5-2 SU last 7 games and on a 3-game winning streak SU and their first 3 losses this season were by 8 or less points. They only have 1 loss (17 points) by more than a 13-point margin this entire season. Given all these numbers, a 2-touchdown line here is substantial. Grab the big points. 10* TEXAS TECH (+)

CFB Friday 10* Penn State Nittany Lions (-) at Michigan State Spartans @ 7:30 ET in Detroit - This is a neutral site venue but of course if favors the Spartans as the game is at Ford Field in Detroit. However, the fact the Nittany Lions are traveling actually is good news for their backers. Penn State lost on the road at Ohio State (as usual) this season but their other 3 road games have all been wins and by a combined score of 122-41. The Nittany Lions only two losses this season are to the Buckeyes and the Wolverines. They are just not quite at the level of OSU or Michigan just yet but they are close. Michigan State is not and that is why this is a play for me even with the Nittany Lions a 22-point road favorite as of early game day morning. The Spartans are a mess with the in-season coaching change and player departures and player injuries. Yes they snuck by Indiana last week but they lost by a combined 87 to 3 to Ohio State and Michigan. The Nittany Lions are not far from the level of those two teams as I noted above. That said, the average margin of those two Michigan State defeats was 42 points and we only need to win this by about half that. Penn State is going for a New Year's Day bowl so they will still be focused here. With no concerns about a Big Ten Championship they can play loose and relaxed here and I expect their season-long trend of pounding the bad teams (especially away from home) to continue here with a win by at least a 4 TD margin! 10* PENN STATE (-)

CBB Friday 10* Top Play Seton Hall (+) vs Iowa Hawkeyes @ 6 ET - Iowa might rate as a slightly better overall team and Seton Hall is only +1 or +1.5 as of about 5 hours before tipoff. However, the better defense belongs to the Pirates. Iowa certainly has some key seniors too but the overall rotation for Seton Hall is loaded with seniors. They are coming off their first loss off the season. Conversely the Hawkeyes have lost 2 of 3 games now. They are a very good team and score well but they are not good on the defensive end. That said, the defensive edges for the Pirates and the fact this is a veteran-laden team early in the season coming off their first loss has me siding with the small dog here. 10* SETON HALL (+)

NFL Friday 10* Top Play New York Jets (+) vs Miami Dolphins @ 3 ET - We are getting 9.5 points in this one as of early game day morning. Home field matters in this one. I know the Dolphins are off a home game they should have covered (but were done in by turnovers) and that the Jets have struggled badly on offense of late. However, this New York team at home already beat the Eagles and Bills here and 2 of their 3 losses were by 6 or less points. Now look at what the Dolphins have done away from Miami and also keep in mind that, though not too cold, it will be chilly and windy for this game in New York. Note that the Dolphins are just 2-3 SU in games played away from Miami and both victories were by 7 or less points. This is a divisional game and the Jets have a respectable defense that will be amped up for this one. I expect this one, like so many Jets home games this season, to be decided by a slim one-score margin. 10* NEW YORK JETS (+) 

CFB Thursday 10* Top Play Mississippi State Bulldogs (+) vs Ole Miss Rebels @ 7:30 ET - Too many points. This line around 10 or 10.5 as of gameday morning. Yes, it was only Southern Miss whom they most recently faced but the Bulldogs got a couple key guys back and looked like a much better team and rolled to an easy win. They now will have a much tougher match-up with this Ole Miss team here. However, this is a rivalry game and Mississippi State is at home and the points are just too much. I am happy to challenge the Rebels to cover this double digit spread. The fact Ole Miss has a 9-2 SU record and Mississippi State is a horrible 3-8 ATS this season is keeping this rivalry game line higher than it should be. Other than one bad game their last 5, the Bulldogs allowed just 18.5 ppg in the other 4 games. The Rebels have faced some tough road match-ups this season but losses away to Georgia and Alabama and only getting by Auburn by 7 points means we have some value here with the big points. Ole Miss is not exactly sky-high with confidence on the road and they did lose to the Bulldogs last season. Also, the home team is on an 0-8 ATS run in this series but sometimes a simple trend like that gets over-played and over-valued. That seems to be the case here. Too many points and note that Ole Miss, despite two ATS wins this season, has still covered just 6 of the last 32 times they have been a road favorite of less than 16 points. Also, the Bulldogs have covered 4 of the last 5 meetings. I know the home team has that 0-8 ATS run but I am happy to put it to the test here...in contrarian fashion...home team it is! Grab the big points. 10* MISSISSIPPI STATE (+) 

NFL Thursday 10* Top Play Washington Commanders (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 4:30 ET - If you look at the two big home favorites on Thanksgiving Day, the Lions were at home last week too while the Cowboys were on the road. I am not involved with the early game today but, the point is, we are getting bigger points with this match-up when Dallas is definitely in the tougher scheduling situation in comparison with Detroit. The Cowboys were back east in Carolina last week, then traveled back for this Thursday game and they now have a tougher match-up on deck with the Seahawks next THURSDAY too! In fact the Cowboys have a very tough schedule remaining with Seattle, Philly, Buffalo, Detroit and Miami remaining. They have home and away games against the Commanders but the 5 match-ups in between are brutal. I believe Dallas could get caught looking ahead a bit here. Tough spot for Dallas to be such a large favorite. The Commanders are getting nearly two full touchdowns - early game day morning line is 13.5 - and this is a rivalry game. I feel we are getting some extra value here because everyone just saw Washington lose to the Giants but they had an insane 6-0 turnover deficit in that game. They'll clean things up here. Also there is a unique system edge here. The Commanders are a perfect 8-0 ATS when they are coming off an ATS loss by a double digit margin and they are facing a divisional opponent that has revenge against them and is entering the contest off B2B SU wins! The Cowboys lost regular season finale at Washington last year and enter this game on a winning streak so the system fits perfectly after Commanders got blasted last week in a fluke final against the Giants that was turnover-driven. 10* WASHINGTON + points

NBA Wednesday 10* Top Play Minnesota Timberwolves (-) vs Philadelphia 76ers @ 8:10 ET - Current line is in the -4.5 range and I expect a solid home win. Philly had 4 guys score in double digits in last night's OT loss at home to Cleveland. Those 4 players were also the big 4 in terms of minutes played last night as they all topped 40 minutes! This is a really tough spot here for Philly as they are in a B2B while Minny has some rest and the Timberwolves have been playing so well this season. Also, the Sixers have now lost 3 of 5 and certainly are not as a strong of a team as they were early this season before Oubre got hurt. Yes they are still a top team but now short-handed already plus playing the 2nd night of a B2B and the Wolves are 6-0 at home this season and most have been blowout wins and the one that wasn't was still a 5-pt win in OT here. I look for the Timberwolves to take advantage of the situation and roll the Sixers here. 10* MINNESOTA (-)

CFB Tuesday 10* Top Play Eastern Michigan Eagles (+) @ Buffalo Bulls @ 7:30 ET - The Bulls started having weekday games on Halloween and then through this month of November. Not only did they lose all 3 SU they also lost all 3 ATS! But now we are not just talking about a short-term streak either. This brings the run for Buffalo to 0-9 ATS in their last 9 weekday games! Indeed, the Bulls are better served to stick to Saturday CFB but, of course, they have no say in the matter as it pertains to their season finale here on Tuesday. That said, I love the points here with Eastern Michigan. The Eagles need one more win for a .500 season and to secure bowl eligibility. Yes the teams they have beaten in the MAC are having tough seasons but the same holds true for Buffalo. Eastern Michigan is 3-2 SU this season against MAC teams that currently have a losing record in conference games on the season. One of those two losses was by just 3 points and here we are getting 5.5 points with the Eagles! Rallying for the win against Akron last week as they prevailed in double-OT, the Eagles have some extra confidence heading into this one. Eastern Michigan is 9-2 ATS in weekday road games when they are an underdog and I expect the Eagles, even if they fall short of the SU win, to get at least the ATS cover. This one in a 9-0 ATS play-against Buffalo situation as noted above and I look for the trend to reach 10 in a row ATS here! This is also a revenge game for the Eagles as they allowed 50 points in a home loss to Buffalo last season. They have not forgotten! It is the only time since 2016 that the Eagles have allowed 50 or more points in a regular season game. Payback here! 10* EASTERN MICHIGAN (+) points

NBA 10* Top Play Tuesday Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Cleveland Cavaliers @ 7:30 ET - This line is in the 7.5 range as of early gameday morning. The Cavaliers are a solid team that has won 3 straight games so this line makes sense. However, Cleveland is going to again be without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell here. Also, the Cavaliers could be without Caris LeVert again. If he does play, LeVert (knee) will not be 100% most likely and, keep in mind, he is also one of the Cavs top scorers. This the Sixers only home game in about a 2-week stretch so they want to make it count! Philly has been so strong and they were encouraged by having Oubre back at practice yesterday. His return is likely still weeks away but the team chemistry in Philly right now is as high as it has been in years so they definitely were also encouraged by having him back at practice Monday! The Sixers are 10-2 last dozen games and 8 of last 9 wins by at least 8 points! In fact, the average margin of victory in Philly's wins this season is 13.4 ppg so I do not expect the spread to be an issue here. 4 of the Cavs last 5 losses by at least 8 points and the Sixers are so strong and confident so far this season and this is particularly true at home. 10* PHILADELPHIA (-)

NFL Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 8:15 ET - This line is currently +3 in some spots as of early game day morning and we will jump on that as I am not sure it will last. There is a lot of +2.5 out there as well. The line is actually a key to my play here. In fact, this will not be the normal write-up you typically see from me. I am sure all of you know plenty about the Eagles and Chiefs and the current situation with each. I am going to talk to you purely about the betting angle with this one as that is the key. How in the world are the Chiefs favored by just 2.5 or 3 points against a team that everyone - save for people from Philly, maybe - would say is better than the Eagles? This is not a neutral site game like the Super Bowl was! This is a night game at Arrowhead and this line is basically telling you that the Eagles are at least as good if not better than the Chiefs. But the betting markets have a general idea of the knowledge that Philly, in between these two most recent years of going to the Super Bowl, had a combined regular season record of 31-33-1 in the 4 seasons from 2018 to 2021. How in the world is this line a -2.5 or -3 for KC when the Chiefs have gone 50-15 over those same 4 seasons? The point is both teams are off great seasons in 2022 and met in the Super Bowl just 9 months ago and both are having great seasons this year, but the Chiefs are the much more consistent team getting it done for many years! Kansas City, as you all know, just won the Super Bowl over this same team on a neutral field! So why is this revenge game for the Eagles priced this way? Someone knows something...and we do too! Based on this VERY interesting betting market for this one and my own interpretation of this match-up, I expect the Eagles will win outright but I am happy to grab the value of taking the points with the field goal available here. 10* PHILADELPHIA (+) points

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bills (-) vs New York Jets @ 4:25 ET - The dominant line on this one as of about 7 hours before kickoff is a 7.5 but I am not going to let the line being above 7 keep me away from this fantastic spot. This is a revenge spot for Buffalo and the Bills are also coming off their first true home loss (also lost in London, UK) as they fell short against the Broncos Monday. So they have revenge against the Jets from a season opening loss at New York plus they are angry off B2B losses including their first loss in Orchard Park this season. The Jets were a small favorite at Las Vegas and lost outright to the Raiders. Note that the Jets are a long-term 0-11 ATS when they are coming off a game against a non-divisional AFC opponent in which they were favored but lost outright. The Bills are off B2B losses for the first time this season and it has only happened 3 times the past 3 seasons. Each of those 3 times they won their next game by at least an 8 point margin every single time. I know Buffalo has disappointed this season but this is still the stronger team in comparison with the Jets and now they are coming off a home loss as well plus playing with revenge plus we are testing a a play-against angle with the Jets that is 11-0 the last 11. I like our chances for a dozen straight here as the Bills have a fire lit under them for this game! 10* BUFFALO (-)

NBA Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Brooklyn Nets @ 3:10 ET - The Nets are just 3-4 last 7 games and a big key with that is 2 of their 3 wins came against teams that are now a combined 6-17 this season. Against tougher teams the Nets continue to lose and Brooklyn also hurting without leading scorer Cam Thomas. If you look at this Brooklyn roster you can see it is no wonder why they tend to struggle against top teams. Of course the Nets would like revenge for last season's playoff ouster at the hands of the Sixers but they don't have the roster to do it right now in my opinion. Also, keep in mind, Philly's only losses this season came against a strong Bucks team by 1 point in Milwaukee and they lost both ends of a B2B. But that B2B featured a front-end lookahead with a tough Celtics team the very next night. The point is, the way Philly is playing right now, even without Oubre a bit longer, they just do not lose to lower-tier teams. They will get the big win here in my opinion and we have a very manageable line to work with. 10* PHILADELPHIA (-)

NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Cleveland Browns -1.5 / -2.5 / or money line -130 vs Pittsburgh Steelers @ 1 ET - As you can see from the lines shown here, this one offers a number of options of how to play it as of about 5 hours before kickoff Sunday. What we know here is that the Browns will be without QB Watson and of course RB Chubb has been out since early this season. In fact, that was the first match-up with the Steelers in Pittsburgh. This will be revenge payback here. The Steelers are the worst 6-3 NFL team in recent memory. They have been OUTGAINED every single week this season yet they somehow have miraculously won 6 of 9 games. The nonsense stops here. I know the Browns are off the emotional last-second win over the Ravens last week but this game is huge too. Cleveland will not come out flat here as this game is just too important. They have still been strong on the ground this season even without Chubb. Also, the Browns have a solid rookie option at QB and at least his first start comes at home and against a weak defense. Yes, the Steelers statistically bad against the pass and the run. They also are bad statistically on offense. They have won games with "smoke and mirrors" a lot this season. But now we get line value with the stronger team on their home field and we get that line value because of Watson being out. The Browns are still the better team here and they have revenge on their minds after not only losing Chubb but also losing to the Steelers in that game earlier this season. Cleveland lost that game despite a huge yardage edge. This will be payback! 10* CLEVELAND (-) 

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Oklahoma State Cowboys (-) vs Houston Cougars @ 4 ET - This line is a around a 6 or 6.5 and is offering excellent value on the Cowboys. Oklahoma State just got crushed by Central Florida. This was after their big game with Oklahoma. The Cowboys won that game over the Sooners and they historically struggle ATS after facing OU and particularly it makes sense for them to struggle when they have upset Oklahoma like they just did. Keep in mind, that was a 5th straight win for the Cowboys and they were hot. Now, after a very ugly loss to the Golden Knights, I feel certain that OSU is going to bounce back strong here. The Cowboys are the much stronger team on offense and I know their defense is going to come to play after that ugly loss to UCF. As for the Cougars, they have lost 6 of 9 games. Also, two of the only three wins that Houston has in that action was over two teams that now have a combined 5-15 record this season. The Cougars now are facing an angry OSU team that was 7-2 this season and 5-1 in Big 12 games before the embarrassing loss to UCF! I know we are laying points on the road here which is not my favorite thing to do but really there is a decided edge here with the Cowboys. They have been the stronger team all season long and definitely are the much better team on offense and the motivation factor is huge. The Cougars, by the way, just lost to a Cincinnati team that has been dreadful this season. The Bearcats were 0-6 in Big 12 and having a horrible season. Houston struggles again in this one and the Cowboys should roll by much more than a TD. 10* OKLAHOMA STATE (-)

CFB Friday 10* Top Play Washington State Cougars (-) vs Colorado Buffaloes @ 10:30 ET - I know the Cougars have their annual rivalry game on deck with Washington but this week's game versus Colorado is the home finale for Washington State. Not only that, the Buffaloes need 2 more wins for bowl eligibility and you can bet (literally) that there is some extra motivation here for the Cougars to make sure flashy Deion Sanders and Company miss out on bowl season. No one in the Pac-12 liked all the attention showered upon the Buffaloes this season and that is a big part of the reason that Colorado is now 1-6 in conference games this season. Now, granted, the Cougars have also had a dreadful season but they can at least get some measure of satisfaction from this season with a win here. The Cougars also are 9-1 ATS when they are a home favorite by a single digit margin of points and hosting a team that is off at least two straight losses! That system fits the bill here with the Cougars a 4-point favorite in this one and the Buffaloes entering this one having lost 4 straight and also 6 of their last 7 since their "smoke screen" 3-0 start to the season. By the way, the Cougars are 3-0 ATS last 3 meetings with Colorado and also 3-0 ATS the last 3 times they have hosted the Buffaloes. A home finale loss for Colorado is how the Buffs enter this one after their disappointing OT loss last week. Now this is their first B2B road game situation with next week's season finale also on the road. Note that Buffaloes are on a 1-7 ATS run when they are playing the first of B2B road games. They could be flat here too after losing a crucial home game last week. Just like everyone else gunning for the Buffs this season, the Cougars will be highly motivated here despite their disappointing record and I expect a huge home finale win as they take each of the aforementioned perfect ATS runs to 4-0 apiece! 10* WASHINGTON STATE (-) points

CBB Friday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats (-) vs Maryland Terrapins @ 8:30 ET - The Wildcats are in a great bounce back spot after that embarrassing loss to Penn. They had won their first two games this season and can't wait to get back on the floor after the loss to the Quakers. As for the Terrapins, they are off B2B losses. They have not looked good early this season and now they face an angry team that was ranked heading into that loss to Pennsylvania. The Cats had a huge edge in shots from the field in that game but had an ugly performance. They will bounce back big here on their home floor and take this one by double digits the way I see it and this line is currently in the -6 range. 10* Villanova (-)

NBA Thursday 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) @ Miami Heat @ 7:40 ET - The current line on this one is around a 3.5 and the Heat are still without Tyler Herro. The game he got hurt in was a game that he only played 8 minutes in. So including that game, Miami has won 4 straight games without him. However, the key here is that 3 of those teams were really bad and are struggling overall this season. In fact, the combined record of all 4 teams is 14-29. Now the Heat face a red hot Nets team that already beat the Heat at Miami this season and that was when Herro was the leading scorer for Miami with 30 points and now he is not even playing tonight. I understand the Heat being favored here as they are at home and have won 6 straight. However, Brooklyn has won 6 of 9 and the only 3 losses were to Boston (twice) and Milwaukee. Of course the Celtics and Bucks are two of the best teams in the league. The Heat, without Herro, are not at that level. The road team gets it done here. 10* BROOKLYN + points

CFB Thursday 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Panthers (-) vs Boston College Eagles @ 7 ET - Current line is a -3 as of early gameday morning. The last 3 times that the Panthers were at home and on a losing streak of 3 or more games and facing an unranked foe, they have gone a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS! Also, that streak does not include - Louisville was a ranked opponent - their big home win earlier this season when they snapped a 4-game losing streak by winning big over the Cardinals at home here in Pittsburgh. You can tell by this line that there is more than meets the eye with this match-up. The 6-4 Eagles are a 3-point dog against a 2-8 Panthers team...how can that be? Exactly! Do not let the line fool you. The Panthers were done in by turnovers last week against Syracuse at Yankee Stadium but now they are back home where they have been solid in recent games and I am looking for a very strong effort from them in what is their last home game of the season. The Panthers will make it count and they will get revenge for losing the most recent meeting with Boston College by a single point in 2020. Under Pat Narduzzi, that is the only season in the past 5 that the Panthers did not play in a bowl game and now this season is the same but they can at least finish the home portion of their season schedule with a big weeknight win and make the most of this primetime opportunity with the spotlight in College Football only on Pittsburgh tonight as this is the lone game going in CFB. With the Panthers entering this one on a 4-game losing streak, look for the aforementioned "back to winning at home" streak to reach a perfect 4-0 SU and ATS! 10* Pittsburgh - points

NHL Wednesday Philadelphia Flyers Puck Line +1.5 -130 @ Carolina Hurricanes @ 7:37 ET - The Flyers have a big goalie edge here the way I see it. Carter Hart will be back tonight and he has been fantastic this season. Pyotr Kochetkov is the likely starter for the Hurricanes and though he is off a strong start, this followed an 0-3 start to the season and an ugly .836 save percentage. So, the fact is, even though Carolina is a strong team the Flyers are scrappy underdogs here that even managed to win 3 of 5 games while their top goalie was out. Now Hart is back and the Flyers can win this thing but we get the added value of the +1.5 goals on the puck line and that is the way to play this one. Carolina is off a 4-0 win but this followed a 10-game stretch in which the Hurricanes only had ONE WIN in TEN games that was by more than a 1-goal margin. The Canes just have not been as dominant this season as they were in the past. The Flyers are 7-7-1 this season but only 4 losses by more than 1 goal so at +1.5 goals, Philly is 11-4 this season. A lot of value here at the +130 price. PHILADELPHIA +1.5 -130