What a Saturday in Fabulous Las Vegas: Brent Musburger stopped by Circa and we hung out, watching Georgia rally to beat Tennessee 44-41 (but not cover) all the way through Terence Crawford’s upset decision over Canelo Alvarez in front of 70,000 at Allegiant plus another 4,000 or so at Circa’s Stadium Swim. I asked Brent what the biggest fight he called. Answer: Leon Spinks’ upset of Muhammad Ali in 1978 at the Hilton in Las Vegas. Not bad.
Mitch Moss and Pauly Howard kick off our live programming at 9 a.m. ET with the VSiN Pro Football Tailgate Show, followed by Countdown to Kickoff with Stormy Buonantony and Jonathan Von Tobel at Noon ET. Mitch and Pauly’s guests include Warren Sharp, Dr. David Chao and John Hansen. >>Full Sunday lineup.
Downward dog
Are you really betting against Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl rematch against the Eagles (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox)?
The Chiefs are 1.5-point underdogs and, as an dog, Mahomes is 11-3 and 12-1-1 against the spread.
Let’s see our experts have to say:
Matt Youmans: I was on Philadelphia in the Super Bowl blowout, but I’ll switch sides here with Kansas City desperate to change the storyline and avoid the dreaded 0-2 start. The Eagles’ pass defense was weak when they were fortunate to beat the Cowboys on opening night.
Steve Makinen: Is KC’s long run of success going to finally come crashing down this year? If so, then the choice for this game, the Super Bowl revenge contest, is easy. If KC is done, there is no way they pull off an upset versus the Eagles here. However, if you still believe in Patrick Mahomes, who had an MVP-worthy game last week, and are not ready to pull the plug, then head coach Andy Reid’s team deserves your consideration here.
Dave Tuley: The Chiefs are always tempting as a home dog with Patrick Mahomes, but revenge aside (which is not a huge handicapping factor for me), it’s hard to ignore how much the Eagles throttled the Chiefs in February. I feel the same way about this game that I felt about Ravens-Bills last Sunday night, where I can’t take the short line in a coin-flip game, but will jump in with a few teasers.
More Best Bets columns:
More on NFL Week 2
Everything we do on Week 2 is posted here, including:
>Makinen’s Week 2 systems and insights based on betting splits, power ratings and trends
>First TD handicapping and player prop advice from Adam Burke. Don’t forget Pauly Howard‘s kicking props.
Plus Josh Appelbaum‘s NFL Sharp Report will arrive later this morning.
Week 2 resources
>DraftKings/Circa Betting Splits
VSiN Pro subscribers have access to our NFL picks page with plays from hosts and guests.
Contest Corner
In Circa Million, the Broncos (a pick’em vs. the Colts) is the top consensus pick with 1,887 selections,
In Circa Survivor, the most popular selection is the Cardinals with 5,169 entries out of the remaining 18,125. Thanks to Green Bay, 66 entries have advanced already. One entry was eliminated with the Commanders’ loss. There were 19 no shows?!
In Circa Grandissimo, unlike Survivor, the top pick is the Ravens with 26 of the 69 entries.
Check out our contest hub for complete consensus picks and individual selectons, plus contest selections and leaderboards for the Circa Friday Football Invitational and the Average Joe Contest.
Quick Hits
MLB: Greg Peterson has Best Bets for today’s MLB menu. Steve Makinen will post his contribution later this morning.
Soccer: Nigel Seeley has his top plays for today’s EPL menu.
Horse Racing: “Mr. Ed” Sehon has picks for today’s Churchill Downs card on our horse racing page.
Horse racing coverage is sponsored by 1/ST BET. Get your $250 sign-up bonus.
