Guaranteed Sports Picks from Handicapping Expert Ben Burns

NBA: Patterns and Aberrations
Sports handicappers analyze statistical patterns, among other things, in an attempt to predict outcomes. Patterns reveal themselves in different ways. If a good pitcher struggles against a particular team, for instance, or a basketball team plays very different on the road than at home, those are patterns one needs to take into account for future contests. The important distinction for handicappers is the difference between a pattern and one bad game. The Celtics, for instance, had ... (read more)

MLB: Where Has All The Offense Gone?
It’s not your imagination. No one’s hitting in baseball! Is it better pitching? Cooler temperatures than normal? Deeper bullpens? Heck, it might even be fewer steroids. Whatever the reason, it’s been a modestly profitable season for "under bettors," thus far. Heading into Friday's action, excluding games which fell right on the number, the "under" has gone 224-189. Even slightly more extra-inning games have fallen below the total, with the "under" going 21-17 in those games. The mighty... (read more)

MLB: Dissecting The Boxscores
What’s your view this week: Did Kansas win the national title? Or did Memphis lose it? Regardless, the Jayhawks are champs, while the Tigers are chumps after an epic collapse, blowing a 9-point lead with 2:00 to go, clanking 4 of 5 free throws at the end of regulation. Everyone knew Memphis was in trouble in overtime, out of gas and without big man Joey Dorsey, who had foolishly fouled out with 1:23 left in regulation. I was thrilled with the final score, as Kansas took the college basketball... (read more)