The Rundown: Weekend Preview Edition

Sunday marks the NFL Conference Championship games. Yes, the last time this season to enjoy multiple football games on one day. I guess it’s back to watching Scandal on your DVR. Darn.  

Speaking of DVR, don’t forget to set it to record UFC rock star Ronda Rousey on SNL, with musical guest Selena Gomez, on Saturday.

Grab the popcorn,

The LNG Team

NFL

New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos, 3:05 pm (EST) on CBS

  • What are the odds? Patriots -3 (favored by three), over/under 45
  • Saved the best for last. This game is most likely final match up of two legendary quarterbacks Tom Brady (Patriots, age 37) and Peyton Manning (Broncos, 39 and expected to retire after this season).
  • You never know. The quarterbacks have played each other 17 times and Brady leads series 11-5 but their record is split 2-2 in the playoffs. 
  • Break out your bikini. Weather not expected to be issue in the game as the forecast calls for a tropical 46° at kick off.
  • Trash talk. Denver Broncos defensive players have labeled Tom Brady a crybaby who always complains to referees. The defensive backs also said they were going to aim for Patriots’ 6’6” Tight End Rob Gronkowski’s knees when tackling (Gronkowski was knocked out of a game vs Broncos earlier in the season from a low hit around knees) so Gronkowski fired back with this mature tweet. Dude.    

Arizona Cardinals vs Carolina Panthers, 6:30 pm (EST) on FOX

  • What are the odds? Panthers -3 (favored by three points), over/under 48
  • Feels like the first time. This is the first time two Heisman winning quarterbacks have faced each other in the playoffs – Carson Palmer (Cardinals) and Cam Newton (Panthers). 
  • Same same but different. The teams have a similar make up. Both have high scoring offenses and strong defenses.
  • Break out the stilettos. Panthers’ field was in poor condition last week and it could play a factor in this weekend’s. The players have had a hard time getting traction and most will be wearing longer cleats than usual.

The winners of each game will play each other in Super Bowl 50 on February 7th in Levi Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.  

  • Take that glass ceiling. Buffalo Bills make history by hiring the first full-time female coach, Kathryn Smith, as Special Teams Quality Control Coach.

NBA

West

  • Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers - leading vote getter for the NBA. He announced that he will retire after this season.
  • Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder – 2013-2014 MVP. He gave a moving speech about his mom in his MVP acceptance speech. 
  • Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs - first time starter and 2014 NBA Finals MVP
  • Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors - reigning NBA MVP
  • Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder - reigning NBA All-Star game MVP

East

  • LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers - leading vote getter for the Eastern Conference
  • Paul George, Indiana Pacers – George had a miraculous comeback after breaking his leg in a 2014 USA basketball scrimmage.
  • Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks - 10-time All-Star
  • Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat – 2006 NBA Finals MVP, Miami Heat all-time scorer and married to actress Gabrielle Union
  • Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors - A tweet of support from fellow Canadian Justin Bieber gave him enough votes to become a starter.  

The game is February 14th in Toronto, Canada. 

Overtime

  • Colorado State Rams’ (CSU) Junior Emmanuel Omogbo is learning the power of sports. Omogbo received word that his parents and two-year-old niece and nephew passed away in a house fire on Tuesday. He insisted on playing in the game on Wednesday. He received the game ball after the CSU win even though he only scored one point. CSU started a Go Fund Me Page to help cover expenses. Word got out about the tragedy and Omogbo’s humble appreciation for the support his team and school provided. As of this morning the fund has raised $84,480 from 1,619 donors with a goal of $100,000. (In case you’re wondering the NCAA has ruled he can only use the money for expenses directly related to tragedy).

Sideline Stat

  • If it’s free, it’s for me. FOX will be broadcasting a free fight on Saturday night at 8 pm (EST).

The main event, features Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero vs Danny "Swift" Garcia.The 147 weight class is without a champion after Floyd Mayweather retired. 

Coaches Corner

  • NFC vs AFC? The NFL has two conferences, the NFC and AFC. The NFC is the National Football Conference and the AFC is the Atlantic Football Conference. Each conference consists of 16 teams. The Broncos and Patriots are playing for the AFC title rights and Cardinals and Panthers for the NFC’s. 

The Rundown: Place Your Bets

On Wednesdays we will showcase something interesting about sports. It might be five facts about a sport, player or an insider’s look. With Super Bowl around the corner, today’s feature is about sports betting and how you can arrive at a sportsbook looking like a know it all. Friday we’ll feature a preview of this weekend’s NFL playoffs.

Want sports updates as they happen? Follow us on Twitter!

Like a (pit) boss,

The LNG Team

PS – We’re not your bookie so don’t blame us if you don’t win. We’re simply providing you the knowledge! Usually the sportsbook staff are helpful if you’re looking to place a bet and still a bit confused. 

Place your bets

What are the odds? The sportsbook will be buzzing this time of year with the NFL playoffs. Here’s a quick break down that you can apply to sports all year round. 

  • One way to bet is on the spread. The spread is the number sportsbooks think a team will win/lose by. 
    • For example, Patriots are -3 (favored by three points) vs Broncos this weekend. Favored teams always have a minus in front and the underdogs have plus. This means the Patriots would have to win by three or more points for you to win. Conversely, Broncos can lose by three points and you would still win.
  • Another way to bet is to go with the money line bet, meaning you bet on a team to win straight up, without a spread. This is beneficial if you think the underdog will win as the payouts are bigger. (The favorites are more likely to win so payouts are less).
    • For example, on Sunday Broncos are +140 money line bet, meaning they would have to win the game for you to win the bet. If you put $10 on them and they won, you would win $14.
    • Patriots are -160 favorites therefore the odds in a money line bet are not as good. If you put $10 on them, you would only win $6.
  • Then there’s the under/over bet which means you are not betting on any specific team but the final score of the game.
    • Let’s say the Cardinals vs Panthers over/under is 48. If you take the over you’re betting that the two teams will score at least 48 points. The under means you bet on them scoring less than 48 total.
  • Another option to bet is a parlay, which is making two or more bets on a single ticket. Parlays have higher payouts because the likelihood of winning decreases with more bets put on a parlay card. Each bet must win for you to win your bet.
    • An example according to William Hill mobile betting app, if you put $10 on a four team parlay it would look like this: 
      • Broncos +3 (spread – can lose by three points and you still win)
      • Broncos/Patriots Over 44 (over/under – total score will consist of 44 points or more)
      • Cardinals +3 (spread – Cardinals can lose by three points and you still win)
      • Cardinals/Panthers Over 48 (over/under – total score will consist of 48 points or more)
      • If you win all four bets, your winnings would equal $118.35
  • Last but certainly the most fun is a proposition or prop bet. Prop bets are bets on individual things that will happen throughout the game. They are very popular during the Super Bowl. Here are some popular prop bets in Super Bowl:
    • Over/under of the length of the national anthem
    • Who will win the opening coin toss?
    • What color Gatorade dumped on the winning coach?
    • Will there be a safety in the game?
  • A few last minute pointers
    • A push means you tie your bet and get the money you bet back. Say you bet over 44 for Patriots/Broncos and they score exactly 44. You will get your money back because they met the over points, but didn’t actually go over.
    • Backdoor means team score a meaningless points at the end of the game to cover a spread (see College Football Championship)
    • A sportsbook makes money by taking a cut of each bet, which typically is 10 cents on spreads and over/unders. Therefore if you wanted to bet $10 on the Broncos at +3 odds (win by three or more) would be -110. Which means you would need to put down $11 to make it even money
    • Lastly, the people who set the points on each game are smart and there’s a reason it's their job as they’re good at making the casino money. Enjoy it but gamble responsibly.

(Source for the odds- vegasinsider.com)

Quickie Updates

  • MLB (Major League Baseball) Coveted 28-year-old free agent, outfielder Justin Upton, signs a contract with Detroit Tigers - six years, $132 million.
  • NBA (National Basketball Association)  Memphis Grizzlies Matt Barnes delivers the classiest quote of the the year.  When referring to his personal situation with New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher, “Violence is never the answer, but sometimes it is." You may remember Fisher is dating Barnes’ ex-wife. Emily Post would be so proud. The NBA slapped Barnes with a $35,000 fine for condoning violence. 
  • NCAA Basketball (College) The great state of Iowa is number one ranked teams’ kryptonite as three number one teams have lost so far in the state. 
  • NFL (National Football League) Rookie of the year announced: Future star of Los Angeles, Rams running back Todd Gurley (offense) and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters (defense).
  • Olympic Basketball USA basketball announces the final 30 candidates for this year’s Olympic team. There are 12 spots total for the team playing in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Read the list here. 
  • Tennis There were major upsets in the first round of the Australian Open which include Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams.

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up

See who was able to pass go and who did not collect their $200 in this weekend's divisional NFL playoffs. (Spoiler alert! All of the home teams won). The games weren't without a “coin-troversy” and there were enough onside kicks to make a statistics nerd squeal.

Heads or tails,

The LNG Team  

NFL (National Football League) 

Kansas City Chiefs 20 vs New England Patriots 27

  • Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (aka Mr. Gisele Bündchen) was lights out in this game. 
  • In a play that ended up being the turning point in the game, Patriots Chandler Jones stopped the Chiefs momentum by causing a fumble. (Remember Jones was the player who showed up disoriented at the police station after a bad reaction to synthetic marijuana).  
  • The Chiefs had poor time management toward the end of the game and while they rallied in the fourth quarter, they ran out of time to seal the deal.
  • At the end of the game, the Chiefs attempted an onside kick. The play didn’t go as planned as the Patriots recovered the ball.
  • Patriots will play Broncos in Denver on Sunday at 3:05 pm (EST) on CBS.

Green Bay Packers 20 vs Arizona Cardinals 26

  • The Packers played better than expected but the game came down to the last seconds.
  • Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, threw a 41-yard pass with no time left to Jeff Janis in the end zone which sent the game into overtime.
  • The Cardinals won the coin toss and scored a touchdown on the first drive in overtime to win the game. (See the coin toss controversy below). 
  • Cardinals’ franchise player and all-around good guy, Larry Fitzgerald, scored the winning touchdown. In the postgame interview he gave a sweet shout out to longtime NFL insider Chris Mortensen of ESPN, who is battling throat cancer. 
  • Cardinals will play Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday at 6:40 pm (EST) on FOX.  

Seattle Seahawks 24 vs Carolina Panthers 31

  • The Seahawks must have been Sleepless in Seattle as the Panthers scored 31 unanswered points in the first half of the game. 
  • It must have been one heck of a halftime pep talk because Seahawks came out and scored 24 unanswered point in the second half.
  • Those 24 points were still not enough and the Panthers took home the win.
  • This game also came down to an onside kick. Seattle kicked a field goal and was down by seven points with 1:12 left in the game. They tried an onside kick in hopes they could recover it and then have the opportunity to score a touchdown. It didn’t go the way they planned and the Panthers recovered the kick. Game over.
  • Panthers will play Cardinals in Charlotte on Sunday at 6:40 pm (EST) on FOX.

Pittsburgh Steelers 16 vs Denver Broncos 23

  • Defense was the name of the game. There were only two touchdowns in the game - one in the first quarter for the Steelers and the Broncos’ game winner in the fourth quarter.
  • Steelers had the momentum throughout the game until the fourth quarter when Fitzgerald Toussaint fumbled and Broncos recovered. The Broncos offense then scored the aforementioned touchdown for the lead and the eventual win.
  • The Steelers joined the club and also tried an onside kick to salvage the game with little time left. After scoring a field goal, Steelers attempted an onside kick which failed - the Broncos recovered. (If you haven’t learned anything yet, onside kicks aren’t often successful).
  • In a clutch move, Broncos gave Demaryius Thomas the game ball to give to his mom who was attending her first ever game. Thomas’ mom had been incarcerated since he was 11 and had never seen him play a game in person. She is now out of prison and was able to attend on Sunday. She picked a great game as Thomas' team pulled out the win and he set a Broncos record for most postseason catches with 50.
  • Broncos will play Patriots in Denver on Sunday at 3:05 pm (EST) on CBS.

Tennis

  • Land down under. The Australian Open began on Sunday in Melbourne. This tournament is one of the four Grand Slam Tournaments, the most important individual competitions in tennis. The three other Grand Slam Tournaments are the Roland Garros (French Open), Wimbledon and US Open. Last year’s winners, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, are favored to win this year as well. You can find the match schedule here. 

Overtime

  • Before we go into the coin toss controversy, here’s a little background.  In overtime, the first possession is determined by a coin flip. If your team wins the coin flip you can either opt to receive the ball or kick the ball to the opposing team.  

In this instance, Packers called tails. The ref flipped the coin but it didn’t rotate in the air and landed on heads. He then made the executive decision to retoss the coin but didn’t give the Packers a chance to change their call. The coin landed again on heads (it flipped this time), therefore the Cardinals won the toss and opted to receive the ball. They went on to score a touchdown for the overtime win. (FYI- there’s no NFL rule that says the coin actually has to flip in a coin toss). 

Sideline stat

Coaches’ Corner

  • What is an onside kick? The team who kicks an onside kick is typically losing the game and does so in hopes that they can recover the kick, regain possession and quickly score again. It’s a long and complicated story, but the two things that you need to know are that the kicking team cannot touch or recover the ball until it goes 10 yards. If they do or if it goes out of bounds, the opposing team gets the ball at that spot. The risk with this play is that if it doesn’t work out, the opposing team will be much closer to their end zone (i.e. scoring) than they would be with a kickoff. Therefore, an onside kick typically happens late in the game when it’s your only option and you need to score again.

Yes, it’s complicated to explain. Watch this video as it should help.

 

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