Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Los Angeles Lakers (34-8) renew their rivalry with the Boston Celtics (27-14) Monday at TD Garden. Tip-off between the iconic franchises is set for shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Lakers-Celtics sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Lakers at Celtics: Key Injuries

Lakers

  • DeMarcus Cousins (knee) out
  • PF Anthony Davis (Gluteus Maximus) questionable
  • PG Rajon Rondo (finger) questionable

Celtics

  • SG Jaylen Brown (thumb) questionable
  • PG Kemba Walker (knee) questionable
  • Robert Williams III (hip) out

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.


Lakers at Celtics: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 9:20 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Lakers 121, Celtics 112

Moneyline (ML)

The Celtics (+110) have slipped to fourth in the Eastern Conference while going just 4-6 across their last 10 games. They’re still 16-5 at home for the season, but they enter Monday having lost three straight games, including two at home to the Detroit Pistons (116-103) Wednesday and Phoenix Suns (123-119) Saturday. Their second three-game losing skid in their last eight contests has been enough to make the C’s slight -106 underdogs at home Monday.

The LAKERS (-133) are getting reasonable odds as road favorites in the cross-conference rivalry matchup. They’re 9-1 across their last 10 games and 18-3 on the road for the season. They’re coming off a 124-115 win over the Houston Rockets Saturday. Back the team in better form.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Lakers to win outright returns a profit of $7.50.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The value lies in backing the LAKERS (-1.5, -121) to win by at least 2 points at even money. The Celtics have lost by just a single point once this season (100-99 at Sacramento Kings, Nov. 17). They’re 23-16-2 against the spread overall but just 11-9-1 at home. The Lakers are 23-18-1 ATS overall and 12-9 on the road.

Roll with the visitors.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the OVER 221.5 (-125). The Celtics’ defensive play has been the biggest factor in their poor play of late, as they’ve allowed more than 120 points in three of their last five losses. The Lakers rank sixth in the NBA with 114.2 points per game and will continue adding to Boston’s woes.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 149-120

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Maria Fassi signs multi-year sponsorship deal with AT&T

It’s a significant day for Mexican golf. Shortly after Gaby Lopez locked up the first tournament of the LPGA season in seven extra holes, AT&T announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with Maria Fassi. The AT&T announcement is especially significant …

It’s a significant day for Mexican golf. Shortly after Gaby Lopez locked up the first tournament of the LPGA season in seven extra holes, AT&T announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with Maria Fassi.

The AT&T announcement is especially significant given that Fassi is the first LPGA athlete the company has signed. AT&T’s commitment to professional golf includes the sponsorship of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Masters, Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic and AT&T Athlete Jordan Spieth.

Fassi, of course, became an immediate fan favorite at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, where she finished runner-up to Jennifer Kupcho. Her potential star power was immediately recognized by many. PGA of America president Suzy Whaley played with Fassi in the pro-am at last year’s KPMG Women’s PGA and called her the LPGA’s next superstar.

Fassi will make her 2020 debut at this week’s Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. She signed with TaylorMade late last year.

Maria Fassi agreed to a multi-year sponsorship deal with AT&T. (AT&T)

“Sports need role models like Maria whose incredible skills on the course and character beyond it continually elevate the game of golf for women and for all athletes,” said Lori Lee, Global Marketing Officer for AT&T Inc. and CEO AT&T Latin America in a release. “We’re committed to raising the visibility of women in sports and are thrilled to have Maria join our team.”

The AT&T logo will be placed on Fassi’s bag, sleeve, towel and phone case.

“I’m excited to be a part of the AT&T family and represent the brand for the first time as an AT&T Athlete this week at Gainbridge,” said Maria Fassi. “It’s great to be supported by a company that’s championed golf for decades, gives back to communities and supports up-and-coming athletes like me.”

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Detroit Red Wings at Colorado Avalanche odds, picks and best bets

Analyzing Monday’s Detroit Red Wings at Colorado Avalanche matchup, with NHL betting odds, picks and best bets

The Detroit Red Wings (12-33-4) and Colorado Avalanche (27-15-6) square off at Pepsi Center Monday at 3 p.m. ET. We analyze the Red Wings-Avalanche sports betting odds and lines, with NHL matchup analysis, picks and betting tips.

Red Wings at Avalanche: Projected starting goalies

Calvin Pickard vs. Philipp Grubauer

It’s likely Pickard gets the starting nod against his former organization. He can’t be much worse than Jimmy Howard, who is 2-17-2 with a 4.06 goals-against average and .883 save percentage across 21 starts. Or can he? Pickard has struggled, too, going 0-2-0 with a 5.46 GAA and .797 save percentage in his one start and three showings to date.

Grubauer has managed a 14-10-4 record, 2.82 GAA and .910 save percentage overall, so whether it’s Pickard or Howard in between the pipes for the visitors, the home side has a clear-cut advantage at goaltender.


Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.


Red Wings at Avalanche: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 6:15 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Avalanche 6, Red Wings 3

Moneyline (ML)

The Avalanche (-334) are heavily favored, and there is no way to justify risking more than three times your return, even if it’s a near certainty that the home side will win this matinee battle.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The AVALANCHE (-1.5, -125) will cost you a little juice even on the puck line. The Red Wings (+1.5, +105) have had a case of the Mondays, going 2-9 in their past 11 appearances on the first day of the week, and they’re just 13-38 across the past 51 road games.

For the Avs, they also aren’t too fond of Mondays, going 1-4 in the past five appearances. However, they’re 7-2 in the past nine against teams with a winning percentage of .400 or under. They’re also 4-0 in the past four against the Wings.

Over/Under (O/U)

The OVER 6.5 (+125) is plus-money, and it won’t take much for this to inch across the line. The Red Wings goaltending situation is a mess, and Colorado has the potential to nearly take care of the over all by themselves.

Want some action on this matchup? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Vikings FB C.J. Ham is heading to the Pro Bowl

Joining safety Harrison Smith, defensive end Danielle Hunter and running back Dalvin Cook will be fullback C.J. Ham.

The Vikings will add a fourth player to join the 2019 Pro Bowl roster.

Joining safety Harrison Smith, defensive end Danielle Hunter and running back Dalvin Cook will be fullback C.J. Ham.

Ham’s agent, Blake Baratz, first gave the news last night.

Ham will be a replacement for 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who will be playing in the Super Bowl.

In his third season with the Vikings, Ham was a huge part of the team’s refocused rushing attack, mostly as a blocker.

He was a decent part of the receiving game, though, catching 17 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. He also ran seven times for 17 yards.

Per Pro Football Focus, Ham graded as the league’s fifth-best fullback out of 13 graded players with a grade of 63.7. That grade was nearly a 13-point increase from the 2018 season.

Cardinals hold tryouts for pair of CFL players

They brought in CB Tre Roberson and QB Chris Streveler.

The Arizona Cardinals are working on adding talent to their offseason roster. They are reportedly looking at more than just NFL players. According to Howard Balzer, the Cardinals brought in a pair of Canadian Football League players.

One was cornerback Tre Roberson and the other was quarterback Chris Streveler.

In 2019, Streveler completed 66.7% of his passes for 1,564 yards, eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also had 733 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. According to Balzer, it was his second workout with the Cardinals.

Roberson is listed at 6-0 and 190 pounds. He had seven interceptions in 2019, one he returned for a touchdown, and 41 tackles for Calgary.

Bruggman is a local kid who is from Phoenix. He played 11 games for Montana State in 2016, had 888 passing yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions. He also was at Texas A&M in 2017 but didn’t play.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 255

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Ep. 254

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Report: Panthers coach Matt Rhule hiring 2 of his former Baylor coaches

Panthers coach Matt Rhule is building his staff, which will include a lot of familiar faces for him.

Panthers coach Matt Rhule is building his staff, which will include a lot of familiar faces for him. Just before Sunday’s conference championship games got started, we learned of two new hires thanks to some weekend social media sleuthing by the Charlotte Observer.

First, Frisman Jackson has been hired as the team’s new wide receivers coach. Jackson broke the news by sharing their logo as his new profile pic on Twitter (H/T Alaina Getzenberg).

A native of Chicago, Jackson played college ball at Western Illinois and then was a wide receiver for the Browns four years.

As far as his coaching career goes, Jackson is one of several assistants who are expected to make the jump with Rhule from Baylor to the Panthers. He also worked with Rhule at Temple. Jackson has coaching experience in the NFL, working as the Titans’ wide receivers coach in 2017. Jackson held the same role for North Carolina State from 2013-2014.

In related news, the team has hired Jeremy Scott as their new strength and conditioning coach, per Getzenberg.

Scott replaces Joe Kenn, who had the job since 2011. His contract was set to expire at the end of the month.

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The Bachelor: Predicting which contestants will get themselves eliminated over a feud

After #ChampagneGate, can Hannah Ann or Kelsey recover?

Week 2 of The Bachelor delivered an iconic feud, as contestants Kelsey and Hannah Ann had a blowout disagreement over a mistakenly opened bottle of champagne. The fallout from #ChampagneGate could be felt for weeks, and if the Week 3 preview is any indication, this feud isn’t close to being over.

The Bachelor is a show about the feuds between contestants as much as it’s about dating, and there are always a few cast members each season who see their journey for love derailed by a petty disagreement. Last fall, supervillain Luke P. seemingly contributed to nearly half the cast being eliminated, and it didn’t take very long for fights to break out between the members of Peter’s cast. Which of Peter’s cast members are destined for a drama-related elimination? FTW Bachelor analysts Steven Ruiz, Marissa Kasner and Nick Schwartz made their predictions ahead of episode 3.

Steven: Hannah Ann doomed herself by telling on Kelsey

I think it’s pretty obvious that Hannah Ann is going to win this little showdown with Kelsey, but will it be worth it? I don’t think so. Obviously, Kelsey needed the attention – it didn’t seem like she was getting a lot of it from Peter before the beef started – but Hannah Ann had plenty of it. Do these little squabbles ever turn out good for people? She could have easily separated herself from it but decided to lean into the beef by accusing Kelsey of bullying her. This won’t end well for either party, but Hannah Ann actually had a chance to go far. I don’t know if that’s true anymore. At least she got some free champagne out of it. – Steven Ruiz

Marissa: Tammy’s upcoming blowout fight is a bad omen

It seems foolish to think the Hannah Ann vs. Kelsey drama is over… yet the previews lead me to believe both of them are around for more than just one more week.  It’s possible they take the Hannah B – Caelynn approach and avoid each other all together, but no doubt Kelsey exits before Hannah Ann. Yet, I predict that’s not Hannah Ann’s last feud.

believe Sydney is the one talking here about the “pretty little princess” manipulating Peter, and I’m quite certain there was an occasion Week 2 where Hannah Ann was referred to as a “pretty princess” – so I feel safe speculating Sydney is talking about the winner of the Revolve closet (Hannah Ann).

THEN, I’m pretty sure it’s Hannah Ann’s voice we hear talking about how she’s realized she’s “in love with Peter, but if he sleeps with any body else, it’s going to be hard for her to continue to move forward.”

This leads to imagery of Sydney & Peter in a hot spring and voice over suspecting they had sex – cut to Sydney saying “shut the [expletive] up” and our fabulous narrator Tammy responding with a solid, “you shut the [expletive] up.”

Tammy, you came out of nowhere; stop getting involved in other people’s drama!

If Peter did just have sex with Sydney, no doubt Tammy suffers the exit in this situation (sad, but see you in Paradise!).

Predicting it now: a Hannah Ann and Sydney two-on-one.  And maybe by the time that rolls around, I’ll hope one of them gets to stay. – Marissa Kasner

Nick: Mykenna is clearly on a path to Paradise fame

There are several women who clearly aren’t going to last very long this season (Kelsey and Victoria F. lead that pack), but if I had to choose any one contestant who might not be here for the right reasons, it would likely be Mykenna, the 22-year old from Canada who has been incredibly aggressive over the first two weeks and earned a ton of camera time in the process.

She’s already clashed with Kelsey and only escaped her eternal wrath because Hannah Ann caused #ChampagneGate, but if she continues playing the game with the same strategy, she’s inevitably going to make a few enemies along the way. She has the potential to be a Paradise legend, though, and she’s an absolute lock to be spending her summer in Sayulita. – Nick Schwartz

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Buffalo natives on Chiefs celebrate Super Bowl berth (video)

Buffalo natives celebrate with Kansas City Chiefs after AFC Championship.

The Bills unfortunately won’t be in the Super Bowl, but that doesn’t mean Buffalo is not going to be repped.

The Chiefs have a couple of players from Western New York on their roster. Among them are wide receiver Jody Fortson and linebacker Demone Harris. Fortson attended South Park High School and Erie Community College. Harris went to Bishop Timon and the University at Buffalo.

While celebrating their AFC Title on Sunday, the two linked up on the field showing their Western New York pride. The two were tossing out “716” which of course is the Buffalo area code:

Along with Fortson and Harris, there’s also Ryan Hunter also on the Chiefs, who’s not shown in the video. The North Bay, Ontario native attended Canisius High School.

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New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The New York Knicks (11-32) visit the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-31) Monday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for a 5 p.m. ET tip-off. We analyze the Knicks-Cavaliers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Knicks at Cavaliers: Key Injuries

Knicks

  • SG RJ Barrett (ankle) out
  • PG Dennis Smith Jr. (oblique) out

Cavaliers

  • John Henson (back) questionable
  • PG Brandon Knight (knee) out
  • SG Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) out
  • SF Dylan Windler (leg) out
  • Ante Zizic (illness) out

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.


Knicks at Cavaliers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 8:35 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Cavaliers 106, Knicks 101

Moneyline (ML)

Both teams enter the battle of the 13th and 14th seeds in the Eastern Conference on multi-game losing skids. The Cavaliers (13th) have dropped four straight but return home from a 2-4 road trip. They fell 118-116 Saturday to the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks (14th) have lost their last three outings, including a 90-87 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday.

The CAVALIERS (-121) are the pick as home favorites over the Knicks (+100). The two sides have split the two head-to-head meetings thus far this season, with the Cavs winning 108-87 in New York Nov. 10, and the Knicks winning 123-105 Nov. 18, also in NY. Cleveland is 6-14 on home court, while New York is 5-17 on the road.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The smarter play is backing the CAVALIERS (-2.5, +105) on the spread, where they’ll need to win by just 3 or more points in order for a $10 bet to return a profit of $10.50.

New York is 21-22 against the spread overall and 11-12 on the road; Cleveland is 19-23-1 overall and 8-11-1 at home. The advantage flips to a Cavaliers side which is 12-10 ATS when playing against an opponent with equal rest between games. The Knicks are 10-10 in those situations.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the UNDER 221.5 (-115). The two head-to-head games this season played to either side of Monday’s line. As the standings point out, neither team has much room for error when it comes to missing players due to injuries. There are multiple key pieces likely to be out of Monday’s lineup for both sides, and there isn’t enough depth on either team to make up for the lost points.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 148-118

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Complete guide to the 2020 Senior Bowl

Everything you need to know about this year’s Senior Bowl, the annual all-star game featuring top prospects in the 2020 NFL draft class

Every year, the crazy-train of NFL draft preparation makes its first big stop on Mobile, Alabama.

The Senior Bowl is the premier all-star showcase for some of the top prospects in college football, as big-name players and small-school sleepers alike get their chance to prove themselves against one another, all in front of the league’s most important decision-makers.

We’ve already told you why you should be there for Senior Bowl week, but here’s everything eles you need to know heading into this week’s action in Mobile:

ROSTERS

South

North