Chris Fallica
FOX Sports Wagering Expert
“Bear Bets” are real wagers that Chris “The Bear” Fallica is actually making.
It’s an exciting time of the year for a handful of sports, from college baseball to the NFL, NHL and even tennis.
With plenty of sporting events happening, there are numerous wagers I like. Having your money on some future bets makes watching even more fun.
With a few events just around the corner, let’s dive into it.
Mississippi State CWS Regional win (50-1)
The Diamond Dogs have gotten hot at the right time of the year. Mississippi State finished the regular season 9-1 after naming pitching coach Justin Parker interim manager. The Bulldogs have plenty of bats, including 3B Ace Reese (the SEC Newcomer of the Year), along with Noah Sullivan and Hunter Hines. The biggest question surrounds pitching depth after Pico Kohn, but they do average 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a team, allowing a lot of easy outs. It’s a good test for their bats in the opener against a Northeastern pitching staff that’s riding a 27-game winning streak. MSU has made a College World Series (CWS) via Tallahassee in the past, and Florida State historically hasn’t been rock solid at this point in the season. It feels like this has been a house-money type of season for Link Jarrett’s Noles. Despite returning Jamie Arnold, this was a team that lost three of its top four arms and top four bats from last year. Why not take a chance and see if the team from Starkville has some magic in it like Ole Miss did a few years back?
PICK: Mississippi State 50-1 (+300) CWS Regional win
Jonathan Gannon to win Coach of the Year (20-1)
Arizona was 8-9 last year, and the NFC West might be in a bit of transition. The Cardinals certainly have a chance to win it or at least make the playoffs as a wild card. Take a look at the first seven games: at Saints, Panthers at home, at Niners, Seahawks at home, Titans at home, at Colts and lastly, at home against the Packers.
Arizona could be 5-2 heading into the bye week, and any juicy price will disappear if that’s the case. If you want to play Over 8.5 wins, you could do that, too, and potentially look for a middle opportunity at this point. The defense adds Josh Sweat, Will Johnson and Walter Nolen, among others, but this team clearly goes as far as Kyler Murray can take it. The Cardinals showed up every week last year for Gannon when people didn’t think they would be very good, and I’d expect them to be very competitive again this year.
PICK: Jonathan Gannon (+2000) to win Coach of the Year
Brad Marchand to win the Conn Smythe award (60-1)
This is a bit of a dart throw, but Marchand has 14 points and a +11 plus/minus in the playoffs. If he hadn’t scored the game-winner in OT against Toronto in Game 3, the Cats could have faced a 3-0 deficit and probably wouldn’t be back in the Cup Final. I know Florida has a bunch of viable candidates, but Marchand will be his usual antagonistic self in the Cup Final against Edmonton or Dallas and could be a big reason why or if the Panthers repeat. Maybe some recency bias would affect voters? I’ve certainly made worse wagers!
PICK: Brad Marchand (+6000) to win the Conn Smythe award
Qinwen Zheng to win her quarter
Zheng should beat the young Canadian Victoria Mboko on Friday, and then face Dayana Yastremzka or Liudmila Samsonova in the Round of 16 prior to a probable showdown with Aryna Sabalenka in the quarters. But remember, this is not Sabalenka’s best surface and Zheng has won an Olympic gold here, granted the Roland Garros clay plays a little differently at that time of year. Zheng had a slow start to the year, but has gotten better and better as the weeks have gone on. She has a great shot at capturing her first slam here (+900 to reach the final, +1800 to win the title for those feeling a bit more frisky).
PICK: Qinwen Zheng (+275) to win her quarter
Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.
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