sports betting picks

Sometimes things just don’t go the way you figure they should.
You can do all the analysis you want, but in the end, there are no deadbolt locks in sports. Anything can happen between the lines; sometimes, Lady Luck will hand you a richly undeserved sports betting payday. Other times, you’ll watch dumbfounded as your cash flies out the window.
Let’s take a moment, then, to remember some of the biggest flukes in sports history. Keep these in your memory banks – it’s important, after all, for handicappers – and sportsbooks - to have a sense of humor.
The Immaculate Reception
Veteran handicapper “Nite Owl” recalls the Oakland Raiders were a pick ‘em going into their 1972 AFC divisional playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And they came very close to cashing in – the Steelers, down 7-6, had the ball with 22 seconds left facing a fourth-and-10 on their own 40-yard line.
QB Terry Bradshaw threw the ball to FB John Fuqua, but the ball bounced into the air, and RB Franco Harris made a shoestring catch before taking the ball all the way into the end zone. Final score: Pittsburgh 12, Oakland 7. The Steelers didn’t make the Super Bowl that time, but they won their first two years later.
Duhon’s $100-million shot
The Duke Blue Devils are one of the most loved – and hated – teams in college basketball. They managed to generate even more than their usual share of animosity after their 2004 Final Four matchup against the Connecticut Huskies. UConn was a 2-point chalk, and trailed 41-34 at the half before mounting a strong comeback. Emeka Okafor made one of two free throws to put the Huskies up 79-75 with three seconds remaining.
Then Chris Duhon shocked the betting world by nailing a running 3-pointer out of frustration from nearly 40 feet away. Duke still lost the game, but covered the spread. Books in Vegas and offshore were ecstatic; they reportedly saw as much as $100 million stay in their pockets rather than being paid out to Huskies supporters.
“You’re going the wrong way!”
Thanks to television, we have seen “The Play” from the 1982 Cal-Stanford game and the 1984 “Hail Mary” pass by Doug Flutie go down in highlight-reel history. But those miracle comebacks can’t hold a candle to what happened in the 1929 Rose Bowl. In the second quarter, Georgia Tech’s Stumpy Thomason fumbles the ball. Cal center Roy Riegels picks it up, takes a hit, but rights himself and starts running for the goal line. The Cal goal line, over 60 yards away.
Teammate Benny Lom tries to chase Riegels down and screams at him to stop, which Riegels finally does at the 1-yard line before getting gang-tackled by the Yellow Jackets. Cal decides to punt; the Jackets block it for a safety and go on to win the Rose Bowl (and the national championship) 8-7. It was the only loss of the season for the Bears.
Bartman
The Chicago Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908. They haven’t even played in one since 1945. They’ve come close a number of times, only to have some miserable fate befall them. Their most recent misery came at Wrigley Field during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series between the Cubs and the Florida Marlins. Chicago (-260) was trying to close out the pennant after holding a 3-1 advantage.
Mark Prior had pitched a gem, taking a shutout and a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning. With one out and Juan Pierre on second, Luis Castillo hit a lazy pop foul toward the left field corner. Moises Alou probably would have caught the ball, but Steve Bartman (and several other Cubs fans) were also after the souvenir as it drifted toward the stands. The ball fell out of play; the Marlins went on to score eight unanswered runs in an 8-3 victory, then won the NLCS and the World Series. The books were once again flush with