Tag: BetFTW

Jordan Spieth’s caddie made a beer bet that he probably regrets, but worked perfectly

Jordan Spieth seems like a great friend…who would still pull a devastating prank on you

What’s a bet between a couple of friends, right? It’s generally harmless. That’s probably what Jordan Spieth’s caddie, Eric Leyendecker, thought when he made a ridiculous bet with Spieth at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

Leyendecker is a close friend of Spieth’s and a former high school golf teammate. He subbed in for Spieth’s usual caddie, Michael Greller, at Hero for the weekend, according to Golf.com’s Dylan Dethier.

Because Spieth and Leyendecker are so close, Leyendecker felt comfortable making a bet that, well, let’s just say it might be a little rough on him.

Leyendecker made a beer bet with Spieth that required him to drink one beer for every birdie Spieth hit during the opening round of the Hero while they both watched the Cowboys game later.

Here are the details from Dethier.

“How to best pump up his player? On the first hole, Leyendecker tested his motivational tactic. For every birdie Spieth made, Leyendecker would drink one (1) beer that night while he and Spieth, both massive Dallas Cowboys fans, watched Thursday night’s game against the Seahawks. That was a dangerous proposition; betting on Spieth’s golf is like using a stick of dynamite as a candle. But maybe it’s a caddie’s job to light a fire under his player.”

Seems innocent enough, right? What could go wrong here? Spieth could start cooking. That’s what could go wrong.

And it absolutely did.

Spieth started hitting birdies on top of birdies. He even hit an eagle following this insane stroke here.

He wasn’t done with the Eagles. You can’t tell me Spieth wasn’t trying to cook his friend here. Look at this put. From 60 feet away? Are you kidding me, Jordan Spieth?

Dude. That’s unreal. Imagine being Leyendecker here. There’s no way to properly prepare for all the beer headed his way.

All in all, Spieth hit six birdies and two eagles, which pushed Leyendecker’s reward (or punishment?) up to 12 beers.

Luckily, Spieth is a good friend and didn’t make him drink all of it, Dethier writes.

“Post-round, Spieth added that he’d even picked out the brand — Kalik, a local lager known as “the Beer of the Bahamas” — but admitted that he didn’t think Leyendecker would — nor should — pay his debt in full.”

What a pal you are, Jordan Spieth. What a pal.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]

Dez Bryant had $10,000 on the Cowboys’ Thursday Night win over the Seahawks

Dez threw up the X and dropped a 10K

As the clock kept creeping closer to midnight on the east coast, football fans everywhere were holding their breath to see if the December Dallas Cowboys would show up on Thursday Night Football.

Turns out Dallas not only beat the Seattle Seahawks, 41-35, in the best Thursday tilt of the year by far, it got it all done before the calendar turned. There was never a doubt.

Especially not from former Cowboys great Dez Bryant, who was feeling extra confident in Dallas Cowboys before kickoff.

Like $10,000 worth of confidence.

The wideout claimed in a post that’s how much he wagered on the Cowboys to get the W.

Warning: NSFW Language

The only question is whether or Bryant took the Cowboys against the spread as 9.5-favorites or on the moneyline at -360. If it was the former, he can kiss that 10K goodbye, but at least Dallas got the win.

[lawrence-related id=2172904]

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]

Top 5 most watchable college football conference championship games

Conference Championship Week has arrived and its setting up for perhaps the most dramatic finish to a college football season we’ve ever seen.

Conference Championship Week has arrived and it’s setting up for perhaps the most dramatic finish to a college football season we’ve ever seen. A logjam of elite teams at the top has left us heading for a controversial decision by the College Football Playoff selection committee, who are likely hoping and praying for some chaos this weekend that could help make their decision easier.

As it stands now, we’ll have five Power 5 conference champions with one loss or fewer and only four spots in the playoffs. That means every little detail, every chance to make an impression on the committee, counts more than ever this weekend.

Of course, the Group of 5 have their own conference championship games as well this weekend and one of those actually makes our list this week of the five best conference championship games you should be watching. Take a look below for our full rankings, along with where to find each game.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372 tag=421393249]

2023 Heisman Trophy Odds Tracker Week 12: Bo Nix is the favorite, Jalen Milroe is the dark horse

Bo Nix may be the new Heisman Trophy favorite but he’s not in the clear yet

Each week this college football season, BetFTW will take a look at the 2023 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back every Tuesday as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. All odds via BetMGM. Past weeks here: Preseason, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11.

Anyone who could’ve guessed that Bo Nix would end up the Heisman Trophy favorite late in the 2023 season while Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe mounts a spoiler campaign deserves their own award.

The whole situation would be quite comical if it weren’t so exciting, really.

For years while he was at Auburn, and even early in his Oregon days, Nix assumed the dark horse moniker to a meme-worthy extent while Alabama’s Bryce Young and DeVonta Smith ran away with the trophy. So now that Nix is mounting the best season of his career while becoming the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman in 2024, guess who all the sudden has a pretty straightforward path to a seat in New York?

Yep. Milroe.

Some narratives write themselves.

Let’s dig into it while we count down the top 10 favorites to capture the Heisman heading into Week 12.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]

College GameDay: See Lee Corso’s headgear pick for No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 9 Ole Miss

Corso didn’t have to do Uga like that

While most of the college football world was busy focusing on the madness with Michigan at Penn State on Saturday, there were plenty of other intriguing storylines across the sport.

Florida State-Miami, Washington-Utah and Missouri-Tennessee are some of the big games in Week 11. And of course there’s Ole Miss at Georgia.

That’s where ESPN’s College GameDay found itself on a rainy Saturday morning and where Lee Corso came face to face with Uga XI.

Yet no matter how much Corso insulted the sweet puppy’s looks, the coach couldn’t help but fall in love with the Bulldogs against Mississippi in the SEC clash.

We don’t care what Corso says, that’s a good boy right there.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=693157918 tag=421393249]

Here is the projected starting lineup for the Suns after trading Deandre Ayton

This team can compete with anyone.

The Phoenix Suns made two of the biggest trades of the past season, impressively acquiring Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

These blockbuster moves immediately changed the landscape of the Western Conference. Beal is a three-time NBA All-Star who joins Durant (13-time NBA All-Star) and Booker (three-time All-Star).

Former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, meanwhile, was moved to Portland as part of a Damian Lillard trade to help land some depth in Phoenix.

Phoenix also made savvy moves by picking up strong role players like Yuta Watanabe, Drew Eubanks and Keita Bates-Diop. Based on our projections, here is how the starters will look in Phoenix:

The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Colorado win against Nebraska leads to another ‘disaster’ for sportsbooks

A $1 million bet on Colorado was just one of many tickets cashed on Deion Sanders’ home debut

Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes are now 2-0, winning the games in very different fashion.

Last week, it was a shocking 45-42 upset of then-No. 17 TCU as a 21-point underdog, which cost sportsbooks dearly because of the +800 odds that were offered on the Colorado ML, and ended up cashing.

The lookahead line on Colorado-Nebraska had been Nebraska around an 8.5-point favorite at sportsbooks; after Colorado won, it re-opened Nebraska -1.5 and quickly moved to Colorado -3.

This week, the public was all over the Buffs against Nebraska, coming out in historic droves. At PointsBet/Fanatics, as of Thursday, more money had been bet on Colorado to cover than on 30 NFL teams, with the exception of the Chiefs and Lions.

Colorado to cover was the most-bet game at multiple sportsbooks, including BetMGM, where 85% of the bets were on Colorado -3, three times the number of bets as on any other Week 2 college football game.

With Colorado winning 36-14, most sportsbooks lost on the game.

“It was a disaster,” Zachary Lucas, retail sportsbook director at TwinSpires texted. “We took a boatload of spread cash today and second-half bets. Worse this week than last week.”

“Ugly!” Chuck Esposito, sportsbook director at Station Casinos, texted. “Late sharp action was on the Huskers, but public was backing the Buffs, We need Nebraska straight, parlays and ML.”

It wasn’t all bad for sportsbooks, though, as many bigger bets from respected players were backing the Cornhuskers.

“We definitely needed Nebraska, but we had some big bets on the dog,” Chris Andrews, South Point sportsbook director texted me. “I’d had results that were much worse. Last week was worse because of the [Colorado] ML.”

“It was mostly Nebraska money here,” Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in New Jersey texted me. “Absolutely a good result.”

The biggest reported bet came at FanDuel sportsbook, which took a $1 million on wager on Colorado -2.5 before kickoff.

Brian Harman’s dominant 6-stroke Open Championship win was a shock to the betting world

No one saw this underdog story coming.

Brian Harman just had an Open Championship win to remember at a rainy Royal Liverpool. Not only did the veteran golfer win his first-ever major, he also did so by winning a dominant six strokes over Sepp Straka in second place. Per ESPN, he’s the first American golfer to win The Open by at least six strokes since Tiger Woods … over 20 years ago!

For someone with an unconventional waggle and place to store his gloves, Harman had a delightful weekend.

It’s a weekend that seemingly almost none of the betting market saw coming in advance. How, you might ask?

A mere ONE PERCENT of the pre-tournament tickets were on Harman to win The Open. Because it bears repeating: ONE PERCENT.

Congratulations if you’re one of the lucky few who saw Harman prevailing. If you’re licking your wounds and getting your bearings, rest assured — you’re not alone.

2023 World Cup Betting Breakdown Group C: Spain looks to pose major threat

Spain and Zambia are two teams to keep a close eye on in Group C.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is about to kick off, and Group C features Spain as its betting favorite.

Spain’s national women’s team enters this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup with recent controversy affecting its roster. However, the team still has a clear path to advance to the knockout stage after doing the same in 2019.

They’ll be joined by Japan, Costa Rica and first-time contenders Zambia, who will all have a chance to join probable favorites Spain in advancing to the next round.

It remains to be seen how much Spain will be affected by the recent rift between select players and coach Jorge Vilda. However, they’ll enter this year’s World Cup with great odds to advance for further competition.

Why Kobayashi no longer competes in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Kobayashi hasn’t competed in the annual Fourth of July contest since 2009.

NOTE: This post is from 2022.

Once a staple of the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest — from his record-setting debut in 2001 until his final competition over a decade ago —  Takeru Kobayashi has since faded from the consciousness of fans of the event (or people who watch because what else is on TV?).

It’s easy to assume that someone who has held over a dozen competitive eating records and once won the Nathan’s contest six consecutive times simply got tired of shoving damp buns and franks down his throat and that’s why he hasn’t participated for so long. But his absence from the contest since 2010 is actually a lot deeper.

According to a New York Times report, Kobayashi had a dispute with Major League Eating (MLE), the sanctioning body of the Nathan’s Famous contest and others, over the exclusivity of its contracts. They reportedly restricted MLE signees from earning money outside of MLE and competing in non-MLE events, and gave MLE “exclusive representative” rights to negotiate revenue opportunities — of which it would earn 20% — on behalf of its performers.

Kobayashi’s refusal to sign the contract in 2010 resulted in his not being able to participate in MLE contests, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July contest.

That didn’t stop him from showing up as a spectator in 2010, but that’s when things really got real. Apparently spurred by chants from those in attendance, Kobayashi jumped on stage, hoping officials would allow him to compete. Instead he was arrested, never to take a Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest stage again.

So there you have it. That’s why you haven’t seen or heard from Kobayashi for so long and probably shouldn’t expect to see him this Fourth of July. But hey, at least there’s still current world record holder Joey Chestnut to look forward to making you gag.

[listicle id=1047710]