Penguins Come Through At 16/1 Odds Plus College World Series Picks

Well the Pittsburgh Penguins made the winter of 2015/2016 a special one when at odds of 16/1 they took the Stanley Cup over the Sharks in six games. I had invested 20 units each in five NHL teams (see November 2, 2015 post) last fall and the surprising Penguins with the longest odds of the five teams gave us a 380 unit return on a 100 unit investment for a 280 unit profit. Once again I have to congratulate my buddy Dave B. for giving me the Cup winner for the fourth year in a row. Between he and my son Adam I have started to learn and enjoy the game of hockey.

In my post January 18, 2016 I told you I was going to pass on playing any NBA futures this year because the three teams my numbers pointed to were the Warriors, Cavs and Spurs. All three teams had odds well below my 5/1 minimum. As I write these words on the day the Warriors and Cavs get ready to play six of the finals it appears I was right. How can I complain about a harsh winter though when I cash on the Penguins (18/1) and Villanova (25/1) in college baskets.

Well Monday is the first day of summer so we now turn to baseball. Our four MLB teams we invested in back in May are hanging in there with three of the four the Rangers, the Orioles and the Nationals still hanging on to at least a piece of first place in their respective divisions. Only the Chicago White Sox have faded but because they are in the weaker American League central division they only trail the leaders by three games in the loss column. Still after watching the first two and a half months of the 2016 season I would have to say only the Nationals (6/1 NL Pennant and 12/1 World Series) and the Rangers (9/1 AL Pennant) look like serious contenders but there is still a lot of baseball to play and anything can happen.

I now turn to one of my favorite sporting events of the year, the College World Series, and although I will give you my opinion on which team or teams to play in the futures I still don’t feel comfortable putting any part of my own bankroll on any of the eight teams. Below I have the odds to win this year’s CWS as posted today at the Westgate Super Book:

• Florida 9/5
• Miami Florida 5/1
• Oklahoma State 5/1
• Texas Tech 7/1
• TCU 7/1
• Coastal Carolina 8/1
• Arizona 12/1
• Santa Barbara 16/1

Although the Florida Gators, this year’s #1 national seed, look like the most probable winner on paper let me remind you that the #1 team has gone 0/16 since the Miami Hurricanes won it all in 1999. Those same Hurricanes are my pick to win bracket #1 and play for the championship at odds of 5/1. In bracket #2 I am tabbing TCU at 7/1. The Horned Frogs actually have the best numbers according to my analysis. If you must play this year’s futures those would be the two teams I would pick and their odds offer decent value. UCSB enters the series for the first time ever but how can you not love a team that eliminates the national #2 seed with a grand slam by their third string catcher in the bottom of the ninth inning of the deciding game in the Super Regionals?  I don’t think they have enough pitching depth to be a serious threat but a play at 16/1 odds  just for fun might prove entertaining and extremely profitable.  Thanks for logging in and look for my college football picks the last week of July. Enjoy your summer!!