Scott Rickenbach – Sports Handicapper

Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Sunday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Dodgers Run Line -1.5 runs -100 @ Atlanta Braves @ 7:35 ET - I am grabbing Dodgers off a 9th inning loss in a game in which they outhit the Braves and deserved better. I am taking the experienced Max Scherzer over a young Ian Anderson lacking in post-season experience. Los Angeles has the better lineup in my opinion and also has been getting fantastic bullpen work too. I see them bouncing back but of course am not laying a big price here with this money line in the -175 range. Instead we can get even money by laying the 1.5 runs on the run line and that is the value way to play this game. 10* LOS ANGELES DODGERS -1.5 +100

Sunday Night Game of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #273 Sunday 10* Top Play Seattle Seahawks +5.5 @ Pittsburgh Steelers @ 8:20 ET - Russell Wilson is out for awhile after the injury suffered to the middle finger of his throwing hand. That said, the Seahawks have decided they have no chance to win this game and have decided to forfeit the contest and may not even show up at Heinz Field tonight. I am being facetious of course about Seattle not showing up but I do find humor in the fact that no one is giving the Seahawks a chance in this game. The line has gone all the way up to as high as a 5.5 as of early morning Sunday and, keep in mind, teammates step up particularly strong in the first game after a star goes down. Wilson, of course, is a franchise player for the Seahawks and everyone - on offense as well as defense - is going to step up their game in his absence on Sunday night. Pittsburgh is off a win against an over-rated Denver team whose only 3 wins this season are against teams that are now a combined 2-13 on the season. Prior to that win the Steelers had lost 3 straight games and the only other win for Pittsburgh this season was in the season opener when they upset the Bills but were outstatted at Buffalo. Seattle has been underachieving on defense and will be fired up after the loss to the Rams. Prior to the defeat the Seahawks were only 2-2 SU but one of the losses was in OT by just 3 points. Look for a big bounce back here. In non-conference games the Seahawks have covered 6 of 9 and I am expecting a very big effort from them here as they battle hard to make up for the absence of Wilson. 10* SEATTLE +5.5

Non-Conf Total of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #267 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 48 in Cleveland Browns vs Arizona Cardinals @ 4:05 ET - Due to some injury issues and weather concerns (wind) this total has dropped from the mid-50s to the upper 40s! After the drop of nearly a full TD, I feel we have excellent line value here as you know these two former OU quarterbacks (both were Sooners) are going to do everything they can to outduel each other here. The Cardinals are 5-0 on the season and off a shutout win but faced a 49ers team with a mess at the QB spot last week. Now they face Baker Mayfield coming off a huge game and plus the strength of the Browns offense is their ground game and the Cardinals struggle to stop the run. On the flip side, the Cleveland defense was abysmal last week and now face Kyler Murray and he has completed more than 70% of his passes in 4 straight games! The wind is expected to subside some as this game goes on and to average in the 17 mph range which is not too excessive. If this was a 1 ET game the wind would have been more of a concern but looks like it will not be hugely impactful on this game starting at 4 ET Sunday. These two teams rank as two of the best offenses in the league and with the Murray vs Mayfield friendly rivalry added to the mix I am expecting a shootout here! The Cards scored only 17 points last week but averaged 35 points the first 4 weeks! The Browns had one low-scoring win at Minnesota but have scored an average of 32 points in their other 4 games! 10* OVER 48 in Cleveland

8* Baltimore Ravens Money Line -140 vs Los Angeles Chargers @ 1 ET - We have a choice of here of laying a little extra juice on the -2.5 or, instead, just add a little more price to that and turn a 1 and 2 point non-covering victory into a win at the betting counter. That said, I am going to take the latter of the two choices and lay a -140 price on the money line here. Look for the Ravens to get the job done at home. They are the much better defensive team when it comes to defending the run. I also look for Baltimore to step up big here at home on defense after a bad effort versus the Colts on Monday night. The Ravens do have a very potent ground attack on offense and Los Angeles is the worst team in the NFL at defending the run. That said, this could be a key in how this game plays out. I look for Baltimore to pull away as the game goes on as their ground game wears down the Chargers defense. LA is playing right into the teeth of revenge here too as the Ravens lost at home to them in the 2018 playoffs. Yes that is a few seasons ago but this is the Chargers first visit since and teams do not forget home playoff losses! Los Angeles off to a great start this season but I feel they are a bit over-rated and have more confidence in the Ravens defense stepping up at home than the Chargers doing so on the road. Both offenses very potent for sure. 8* BALTIMORE -140

8* OVER 47 in Jacksonville vs Miami @ 9:30 AM ET (game played in London) - I know it may seem hard to be excited about these two offenses but the defenses have been so bad I am looking for plenty of points in this one. These are two of the worst defenses in the league and you have a match-up of two teams that are a combined 1-9 on the season! That means both teams will have the playbooks fully opened up and willing to take risks as, after all, what do they have to lose? Exactly! Nothing to lose here! Both offenses will be in attack mode and look to attack the weakness of each team which is certainly the shortcomings on defense! That said, the Jaguars ground game has been solid and they can use that to open up things through the air. Jacksonville allowing average of 30.4 points per game this season and Miami allowing average of 34.5 points last 4 games. 8* OVER 47 in Jacksonville

10* OVER 2.5 in Newcastle @ 11:30 AM ET - Newcastle does tend to fare better in the goal-scoring department on their home pitch and there is renewed enthusiasm with the changes at the top of the organization that just took place. Also, Tottenham has allowed 2 or more goals in 6 of last 7 away matches. The Hotspur also have some issues on defense which the hosts can take advantage of. However, Newcastle has been dreadful defending their own goal thus far and is allowing an average of 2.3 goals per match. Do not be surprised, given the above, if each club gets to 2 goals in this one as the odds certainly seem to favor that. With that being said, we have excellent line value here with this total at just 2.5 goals and I will lay the very fair price on the over in this one. 10* OVER 2.5 in Newcastle

8* OVER 2.5 in Everton - Both clubs plenty of confidence here and both like to attack. West Ham is undefeated on the road in last 6 premier league matches including 2-0 with 1 draw this season. Everton is 3-0 on their home pitch this season. West Ham averaging 2 goals per match on the road this season. Everton averaging 2.7 goals per match at home this season. I look for this one to get to 4 goals and we only need 3 goals to be a winner. 8* OVER 2.5 in Everton

Free Pick WEST HAM +182 - West Ham has been fantastic on the road including a 6-game unbeaten run. There is a reason that, despite Everton being 3-0 at home this season, this match is priced around a pick'em across the board. Roughly equal odds between who will be the winner here and I feel that speaks volumes and taking a shot with the road dogs is worth a look here given how well they have traveled! Free Pick WEST HAM +182