Monday Morning Bulletin Board
Don’t let Monday morning and the long week ahead get you down. There’s plenty of sporting action to keep you entertained this week, and plenty of games to bet on.
Betting Sports has sifted through the sporting schedules for the upcoming week to bring you the action worth checking out. Read on and forget those Monday morning blues.
Monday
MLB: Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers
ESPN’s Monday Night Baseball pits the Washington Nationals against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first of three games from Miller Park in Milwaukee.
Almost halfway through the season and the Brewers remain at the top of the heap in the NL Central and look like genuine contenders heading forward. Meanwhile, the Nationals are starting to inch ahead in the NL East standings. Both teams will want to make the most of this series.
Odds & trends for Washington vs. Milwaukee
How will Clayton Kershaw follow up last week’s no-hitter?
Tuesday
MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Kansas City Royals
After throwing his first ever no-hitter on Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw is set to return to the mound on Tuesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers play the Kansas City Royals in the middle game of a three-game set at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
The Dodgers continue to look to gain ground on the San Francisco Giants – who are just 3-7 over the last 10 – in the NL West, and would receive a huge boost with a victory over the AL Central contenders.
Check out Los Angeles Dodgers game logs
Wednesday
MLS: Montreal Impact at Vancouver White Caps
If the World Cup has whet your appetite for the Beautiful Game, Major League Soccer returns from a short break on Wednesday with an all-Canadian battle between Montreal and Vancouver.
The White Caps currently occupy a playoff berth in the Western Conference while the Impact is rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Will we see an upset north of the border?
Get the latest MLS betting odds
Who will go No. 1 in the 2014 NBA Draft?
Thursday
NBA Draft
The basketball offseason begins in earnest on Thursday with the 2014 NBA Draft, set to originate from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Expect the basketball landscape to experience a shakeup as teams vie for the best young players and GMs look to leverage draft day deals to bolster their lineups. With news that Joel Embiid may miss 4-6 months following foot injury, Andrew Wiggins is now looking more and more likely to go No. 1, but will he be picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers or is there another storyline at work here?
Friday
MLB: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
The New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox in the latest installment of the best rivalry in sports. The three-game series begins on Friday (7:05 p.m. ET), with nationally televised games on Saturday (7:15 p.m. ET) and Sunday (8:00 p.m. ET). Can the Sox make up some ground in the AL East or is this season to be a write off?
After an 11-month hiatus, will featherweight contender Cub Swanson be victorious?
Saturday
UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens
Get warmed up for next weekend’s big double bill of mixed martial arts action – UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida and The Ultimate Fighter finale – with a live UFC Fight Night event from the AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas.
The headline bout sees Cub Swanson (20-5) battle against Jeremy Stephens (23-9) in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Swanson – currently ranked No. 4 at 145lbs – has won his last five bouts, but hasn’t stepped in the Octagon since July 2013. He earned Fight of the Night honors that night against Dennis Siver.
Stephens has won three straight since dropping down to featherweight. He’ll be looking to improve on his current No. 11 ranking and gradually build towards a shot at Jose Aldo’s title.
Sunday
MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
Two teams that look set to be involved in the race for the postseason come the end of the season meet Sunday as the Los Angeles Dodgers host the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. Clayton Kershaw is once more scheduled to be on the mound as the three-game series comes to a close. Can he get the better of the Cardinals, or will the Red Birds inch closer to the top of the NL Central standings?
Check out St. Louis Cardinals game logs
Will the United States advance to the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup?
Ongoing
World Cup 2014
If you didn’t see the 2-2 draw between the United States and Portugal on Sunday, you missed one of the best games in the World Cup so far. But things are only going to get better.
The final phase of the opening round begins today with the finals games in Groups A and B. 27 teams still have a shot at advancing to the knockout stages of the tournament, but most will need results to go their way over the next four days.
Key matchups include the Netherlands and Chile battling it out for top spot in Group B (Monday, Noon ET); former champions Uruguay and Italy meeting to secure the final berth in Group D (Tuesday, Noon ET); and, of course, the big one between the United States and Germany (Thursday, Noon ET). A win sees the USA top the group; a draw sees the side qualify for the next round; a loss doesn’t mean disaster but the result of the Portugal-Ghana game will have to go their way.
Then, on Saturday, the knockout Round of 16 begins and the World Cup gets a little more interesting.
Bet on matches at the 2014 World Cup
Wimbledon 2014
The third Grand Slam of the tennis calendar gets underway at the All England Club in London on Monday as the 128th edition of the Wimbledon Championships commences.
Novak Djokovic (7/4) is the favorite to win the men’s event ahead of defending champion Andy Murray (7/2).
Five-time champion Serena Williams (3/2) is the favorite to win the ladies’ championship, with Maria Sharipova (6/1) next in line.
