There are no slow sports days, just slow sports editors.
That’s what I used to tell my future ex-wife who also was my boss when I was sports editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. (Yes, I have led a complicated life at times.)
I’m reminded of those times as we head into the All-Star Break, traditionally a slow sports week.
But the same rule applies here at your favorite sports betting network. That’s why we are declaring Monday-Friday “VSiN’s Football Training Camp Week.”
Our shows will have special segments, covering every NFL and college football futures market you can think of. And with A Numbers Game host Gill Alexander on vacation, we will have a special daily show, VSiN Training Camp Today, hosted by Rotowire prop experts Nick Whalen and Jeff Erickson along with Kelley Bydlon from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET.
Now that isn’t to say we will ignore what is going on this week. After all, we have a golf major, the British Open, to bet on this week.
Wimbledon finale
In a rematch of their epic French Open final, Carlos Alcaraz meets Jannik Sinner for the Wimbledon title at 11 a.m. ET.
In the time since Zach Cohen posted his handicap of the match on Friday night, the favorite flipped. Sinner moved from +105 to -115; Alcaraz from -130 to -105 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
I asked Zach about the line move: “I’m guessing some big respected money on Sinner.”
FYI: Gill Alexander likes Alcaraz in this one.
Makinen’s NASCAR Best Bets
Steve Makinen has posted his final simulation for today’s road race at Sonoma and he emailed me his thoughts:
Another run to the pole position finds Shane Van Gisbergen again lined up as a heavy favorite.. His average finish on our simulation runs is 3.4, nearly 3 full spots better than runner-up Kyle Larson, who is the defending champion at Sonoma. That might be the only advantage anyone has on SVG, who will be running his first race at this venue. However, his speeds in practice & qualifying suggest he already has the place down. AJ Allmendinger (3rd on sim), Ross Chastain (4th) and Ty Gibbs (5th) also figure to be contenders, if not to threaten SVG at the front, to at least record a high finish.
Minus any major wrecks up front, I wouldn’t be looking at any sizable underdogs to do anything better than top 10s. Here’s are my predictions for the race:
Top 5: SVG, Larson, Blaney, Gibbs, Byron
Top underdogs to consider: Allmendinger, Briscoe, Beuscher, Suarez, Nemechek
Favorites to struggle: Elliott, Hamlin, Logano, Keselowski
Steve, who hails from Alan Kuwicki country, made a rare visit to Las Vegas this weekend for his daughter’s basketball tournament. So we hung out last night at Circa and he admitted he might put a little money on Larson.
Quick Hits
MLB: Greg Peterson has picks for today’s menu. Steve Makinen, Adam Burke and Josh Appelbaum will file their daily contributions later this morning.
Horse Racing: “Mr. Ed” Sehon has his top plays for today’s Saratoga menu. Horse racing coverage is sponsored by 1/ST BET. Get your $200 sign-up bonus.
Soccer: Nigel Seeley weighs in with his pick on today’s Chelsea-PSG Club World Cup final.
The Circa Grandissimo will add its fifth contestant today and he will join hosts Matt Brown and Mike Somich on Ready, Set, Bet! at 2:15 ET. Well, I think he will make it. I ran into him and his crew — all big VSiN fans — at Circa’s roof-top Legacy Club late last night. This is the inaugural year for the Grandissimo, a high-stakes survivor contest with a $100,000 entry fee. He is using VSIN’s preferred proxy service, Winners Circle Proxy.
