Tag: DraftKings

Who’s Taking Home The Masters Green Jacket This Year? Scheffler? McIlroy? LIV?!

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Hello Friends.

If the current 40 degree temperatures in Boston have you doubting it, hearing those two words and seeing the Azaleas in full bloom are here to let you know that spring has arrived and with it comes The Masters. If that wasn’t enough to get you ready to call out of work on Thursday, may I remind you that sports gambling is now officially legal in Massachusetts making this truly the single greatest four day span on the sports television calendar.

So who’s going to take home the Green Jacket this year? Let’s dig in.

All odds shown below are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook as of April 5th.

Favorites to Win The Masters:

  • Scottie Scheffler +650
  • Rory McIlroy +750
  • Jon Rahm +850
  • Tony Finau: +1800
  • Jordan Spieth +1800
  • Patrick Cantlay +2000
  • Justin Thomas +2200
  • Jason Day: +2200
  • Dustin Johnson +2200
  • Xander Schauffele +2500

Longshots to Win The Masters:

  • Tiger Woods +9000
  • Sahith Theegala +12000
  • Phil Mickelson +35000

Dark Horse Bets to Win the Masters:

  • Collin Morikawa +2800
  • Brooks Koepka +4000
  • Matthew Fitzpatrick +5000

Scottie Scheffler

Simply put, Scheffler went off last year with four wins, including The Masters, four runner up finishes, 11 Top 10 finishes, $14M in earnings, plus two more wins already this season. However, nobody has won back to back Masters since Tiger Woods did it back in 2002. In fact, over the last 16 years no defending champion has finished better than 12th at The Masters. So despite his blistering run last season, history is not on Scottie’s side here. With all that being said, Scheffler is the No. 1 golfer in the world for a reason and is still the favorite to don the Green Jacket yet again on Sunday. If you think the pressure is going to get to the resident Zen Master on tour, think again.

Rory McIlroy

Rory finished second to Scheffler at The Masters last year as the Green Jacket is the final major accolade that continues to elude him as he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam. I laughed out loud during an episode of the Netflix series Full Swing when after one of his kids points out a photo of Rory, he self depricatingly jokes “that’s back when Daddy used to be good.” So while he seemingly takes it in stride, make no mistake Rory is not taking it easy in Augusta this week.

Jon Rahm

Rahmbo is a threat to win any time he laces em up. Despite an uncharacteristic tank job last year when he finished tied for 27th, Rahm had finished in the Top 10 at Augusta four years in a row, with his best effort coming in 2018 when he finished fourth. With three wins already in the books for Rham this season, there are worse guys to put your money on.

Tiger Woods

Tiger may be going into Augusta at 90/1 odds, but don’t tell the patrons that because the five time Augusta champ is still THE fan favorite.

I’ll be honest, I always have a separate screen setup strictly dedicated to Tiger Watch even if he’s struggling and out of it on Day 1. Tiger himself even suggested he’s on borrowed time as he said in his Augusta presser, “I don’t know how many more I have in me.” Don’t ever rule out Sunday Red doing the unthinkable and taking over if Tiger is in contention come the weekend, but if nothing else make sure you truly enjoy watching Tiger Woods at Augusta while you still can.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka seems to be rounding into form with two recent wins on the LIV tour, which has my gambling spidey senses tingling. Before a rash of injuries and an unceremonious jump to the LIV tour, Koepka was like a majors whisperer. The guy was absolutely money in major tournaments, even if he seemed to lack that same focus in regular tournaments throughout the season. I guess it makes sense you’re more focused and geared up for The Masters than say the Honda Classic, but it’s wild when you look at Koepka’s career stats. Of his eight career victories, half of those are majors. While Full Swing showed a Koepka at his lowest and seriously lacking in confidence, maybe the recent run of success on the Saudi tour has given BK the juice he needs to finally slip on a green jacket this weekend.

LIV Golf at The Masters

What comes as a surprise to absolutely no one is things have been a little awkward in Augusta between the LIV rebels and the PGA Tour rank and file. You’ve got stories of a famously gregarious Phil Mickelson not saying a word at the Champions Dinner and mainly keeping to himself, which if we’re being honest bums me out.

Of course there was more venom being spit back and forth between Greg Norman and Fred Ridley after Norman publicly complained about not being invited to Augusta this year despite having spent the last 12 months trashing the PGA.

There’s even controversy over the attire of the LIV guys as most of them are sporting their LIV team gear at Augusta, which they are apparently contractually obligated to do according to Dan Wetzel.

Now if you are the type of sports fan who doesn’t have a horse in the race and is just rooting for chaos, then you’ll want to keep a close eye on the 18 LIV golfers this weekend. Norman has already gone on record to say the LIV golfers will storm the 18th green in celebration if one of their guys wins. What are the chances of that chaos coming to fruition this weekend? Not super likely, but there are obviously some big names who have had success here with six former Masters champions on the LIV roster including Dustin Johnson (+2200), Phil Mickelson (+35000), Patrick Reed (+8000), Sergio Garcia (+15000), Charl Schwartzel (+35000), and Bubba Watson (+25000).

Of course Cameron Smith is a solid bet at (+3500) and we already talked about Koepka. Maybe Joaquin Niemann (+5500), Mito Peirera (+8000) or even Bryson DeChambeau (+11000) breaks through, but I’m not putting my money on it. Hell even Phil might be worth throwing $5 on at 350/1 odds! The biggest roadblock to any of the LIV players though is going to be the relative lack of competition they’ve been playing against since defecting.

Whoever you do decide to place your wagers on, do yourself a favor and spread it around on a few different golfers and maybe some Top finish bets because if you haven’t realized yet the final round falls on Easter Sunday this year. Just make sure you give yourself something to hang onto so you’re not shouting at the TV in front of grandma when your only guy is shooting over par before brunch is even finished.

Enjoy the weekend folks.

Robert Kraft Keeps His Stake in DraftKings as They Transition to Sports Book. Umm, Why Wouldn’t He?

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ESPN – Two prominent NFL owners have a stake in a bookmaker as the first season with expanded legal sports betting in the U.S. gets ready to kick off.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have retained their investments in DraftKings, sources confirmed to ESPN, even as the company has shifted some of its focus from daily fantasy to traditional sports betting.

Umm yea, no kidding. Robert Kraft is no dummy. He realizes that his family stands to potentially make more money with DraftKings and legalized gambling than they could ever hope to make running a football team. While some want to straddle the fence as gambling is seen as “seedy” it is actually on the verge of being legalized in every state in the country. I can literally see the Everett casino being built from my office window in Boston.

“The NFL has been a staunch opponent of sports betting for decades and remains concerned about its impact on the integrity of the game. The NFL fought New Jersey’s efforts to offer Las Vegas-style sports betting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

…..because they weren’t getting a cut of the action. The NFL was more than happy to promote and advertise “fake” gambling in the form of fantasy football over the past 15 years because it drove billions of dollars back into the NFL.

Now? Like a bookie, they want the juice on the action.

So for Kraft or Jerry Jones to cut bait now, just because DraftKings changed their position (and millions of dollars of lawyer fees arguing) from “We are NOT gambling” to now saying “um forget all that, we are NOW a sports book” is crazy. DK is going to only become exponentially more valuable with the influx of legalized gambling and I can imagine Kraft didn’t just buy a handful of shares. A guy like that jumped in with both feet and realizes how much money his family could earn in the long run. Thats a smart guy right there.

Also, I will never forget the look of disappointment in Papa Giorgi’s eyes when I told him that Robert Kraft did not actually earn his fortune running the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese empire, rather he made his money in paper products. It was like telling a kid theres no Santa Claus.

Richard Sherman is Launching His Own Daily Fantasy Sports Site

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ESPN – San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman is entering the daily fantasy sports business. Sherman announced Thursday that his new fantasy site, Daily Number, will be launching paid contests in 23 states. Sherman is the co-founder, along with CEO Tom McAuley, and will be the chief brand ambassador, appearing in an upcoming video ad campaign.

While many NFL stars have endorsed fantasy sites, Sherman is believed to be one of the first, if not the first, to have a founding stake in a fantasy game.

I don’t know if now is the best time to just be getting into the daily fantasy business if you’re a competitor, but Richard Sherman’s a smart dude so I’ll give his new venture, Daily Number, a shot.

I try not to shoot down these equity based deals athletes sign and give it a chance first. Not because of how great or not their company is, but because of the power of branding.

Just look at Kobe Bryant and the sports drink he invested in, BodyArmor. If you asked me what BodyArmor was a few years ago I would have had no idea. If you showed me a bottle I would have said “oh right its that bootleg sports drink they sell at gas stations.”

Well Kobe’s magic branding powers touched BodyArmor, along with his $6 million investment, and less than 5 years later that investment is worth $200 MILLION. Good for him, Kobe really needed it.

So my point is, it doesn’t matter how big the competition is, there’s always room for the new guy on the block.

“Daily Number features a unique twist on traditional fantasy, with entrants creating seven-player rosters that attempt to eclipse a predetermined total amount of fantasy points, set by the site and known as the “daily number.” Each roster is given a rating. The more superstars on a roster the lower the payout is for teams that score more points than the daily number.”

The idea behind Sherman’s daily fantasy site is that instead of picking players based on monetary values like you do with DraftKings or Fan Duel, you pick a team of 7 players. Its like a middle ground between daily fantasy and regular fantasy football leagues, which is actually kind of smart. I don’t really mess with DK too much because I feel like I’m just getting hustled by algorithms and MIT math nerds. Sherman’s venture could provide the best of both worlds and help dummies like me feel, probably incorrectly, that they have a shot at winning some cash on daily fantasy.

I can’t imagine the NFL is thrilled with one of its most prominent players being a founding member of a company thats sole purpose is to gamble on games he is actively playing in. It would be hard for a cornerback to have a huge effect on someone’s fantasy day with thousands of different lineups running all at the same time, but it sure as shit won’t be hard for someone to poke holes in it.

Either way you know the commercials for this thing is gonna be dynamite with an older Richard Sherman who gives even less of a fuck what the NFL thinks about what he says or does. So you got me Richard, I’ll try it.

The 300s Podcast: Fantasy Football Follies

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Football is back, thank christ. So this week, as summer is winding down, we turn our attention to the biggest productivity killer in corporate America; fantasy football.

-Flatscreen TVs are now disposable apparently

-Since I can’t play poker, Fantasy Football allows me to feel like a man and gamble

-Is DraftKings too much math and not enough fantasy?

-Hot Take: Live Drafts SUCK

Subscribe, rate, and review The 300s Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify!

Here’s the Billion Dollar DraftKings Lineup

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As I mentioned on The 300s podcast Monday, this Billion – With a B – Dollar Challenge from DraftKings was complete and total bullshit with a B. Daily Fantasy Sports Codes proved my point when they reported that the Billion Dollar Lineup would have scored 232.98 points, while the top lineup for the week only scored 198.44.

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Here’s a comparison of the top lineup and the “perfect” lineup, from Daily Fantasy Sports Codes:

lineups

I can’t believe no one thought to draft three Lions, three rookies and a bottom-ten defense from a year ago to crack the code.

Again, I understand that a contest for such a large sum of money has to be nearly to impossible to win. The Billion Dollar Bracket is damn near impossible to win but at least offers a tiny glimpse of hope. I’m pretty good at predicting first round games. If I run the table in the first round, it’s just 31 more coin flips in a row that need to go my way for the billion. Also, I can pick all four one seeds in the first round. The billion dollar lineup was not that simple.

It was not “pick the best player at all these positions.” That would be hard enough. It was draft “the lineup that scores the most DraftKings fantasy points that could possibly be scored within the salary cap and position requirements.” I’d rather take my chances with Powerball. I know for a fact someone has won Powerball in the past. I don’t think anyone in a thousand years will draft the “perfect” lineup.

The Best of the NFL from Week 1

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After 7 long months, the NFL is BACK. Don’t worry, I watched all the games so you don’t have to. Sure, we had the Pats game on Thursday, but Sunday marked the first day where you could watch professional football for 10+ hours straight. So that is exactly what I did. A lot of bad games yesterday, but NFL Sunday is like pizza or sex. Even when its bad its good.

The fucking Jets man, they just cannot get out of their own way.

Nelson Agholor with an absolute web gem for the Eagles as they shut down the R-Words.

I would say Tony Romo is probably not a fan of the players sitting for the anthem.

It don’t matter if they’re 16-0 or 0-16, Bills Mafia always shows up to play.

After getting his first career INT called back on a penalty, Deshaun Watson gets his first career TD, looking noticeably more effective than Tom Savage unsurprisingly. Welcome to the league rook.

KAAA MEEE HAAAA MEEE HAAAAA

Just a week after being traded to Indianapolis, and just 3 quarters into Scott Tolzien’s season, the Colts turned to former Patriot, Jacoby Brissett.

Much to the chagrin of my Draftkings lineup, the Rams smoked the Colts and on the way Jared Goff resembled a real NFL quarterback.

Russell Wilson played like horseshit for most of this game against the Packers, but he is still fun to watch, making plays like this.

And your nominee for best catch of the week came on Sunday Night Football. Cole Beasley just putting on a show.

Ep 013 of The 300s Podcast: FOOTBALL IS BACK!

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Don’t close down the grill and certainly don’t stop drinking because yes thats right, FOOTBALL IS BACK. Listen and subscribe to Ep 013 of The 300s Podcast on iTunes. More specifically Football Sundays are back. Sure we had the Pats on Thursday night, but yesterday was the first time we all got to watch football on the couch for 10 straight hours. And it was glorious. In Ep 013 of The 300s Podcast we’re talking Patriots, the rest of the NFL, the Draftkings Ponzi scheme, Fantasy Football, NCAA Football (Baker Mayfield is a bad, bad man) and a Red Sox update (probably still will get swept in the first round). SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES!

DraftKings WNBA is Here and I’m Already Gambling On It

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I am going to have so. much. action. on WNBA games this year. I wrote about this back when the news first dropped and I am just as excited now as I was then.

Finding a WNBA jersey on the racks of AJ Wright (RIP) or Mashalls though has been my white whale. As a huge proponent of ugly and outlandish jerseys I need a WNBA representative in my collection. Hell in college we even had a gigantic, life size Diana Taurasi cutout in our dorm.

Now will I actually watch any of the games? Of course not. Not until one of the ladies can dunk without it making national headlines. And don’t tell me its a more pure game because its “more about the fundamentals than athleticism.” FOH with that. Go start a league with Tim Duncan and everyone can practice their form on jumpers from the elbow.

BUT, allow me to gamble on it? Now I am IN. Its really a shame Bob Kraft hasn’t bought a WNBA team and brought it to the Garden because I would be there front row for that shit. Plus everyone has already mastered NBA and NFL DraftKings so I’m basically burning my money when I play daily fantasy there. WNBA though? That has got to be an untapped market. Not too many WNBA experts walking the streets. Except me of course. So with that being said The 300s officially launched our DraftKings WNBA league this week. Ladies jersey of your choice to the winner.

PS – How bullshit is it that dunks don’t count as extra points?