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Welcome to the free sports betting tips for Monday, August 8th, 2016.
I am a bit torn with what to lead with this week. Should I go with the football season starting with weekend, with games in the English Football League, as well as all Scottish competitions (yes, the League Cup has already started in Scotland, I know)? How about the Charity Shield curtain-raised for the EPL? Or should I go with the Olympics? Yeah, I should really start off with the Olympics.
So, the Olympics got underway on Friday under a dark cloud of corruption, Zika, poverty, filthy water and unfinished buildings. But you know what, I still love it, and I’m sure you do, too. Already today I’ve watched archery, amateur boxing, kayaking, fencing and women’s rugby sevens. When would I ever watch those sports usually? And you know what, I loved every minute of it. At the end of the day, it’s sport, and that’s the most important thing. However, betting on the Olympics isn’t great. I mean, let’s be honest, unless you are a die-hard fan of most of these sports, you aren’t going to have an edge, and forget about getting a bet on a lot of them, either, or at least a bet of any real value, as the bookies are always scared of taking bets on sports they know little about. And then you have the short price favourites. I mean, Usain Bolt is 8/13 to win the 100m, and 4/11 to win the 200m. There is no value there at all. For the British fans, Mo Farah is around 3/10 for both the 5,000m and the 10,000m. So, I suggest just you sit back and watch some sports you might never have thought of watching before, and then marvel at the marquee event of the 100m which start next week.
And as for the football, well, the English Football League season started with Norwich stamping their authority on the Championship, beating Blackburn 4-1. In Scotland, Rangers returned to the top flight with a 1-1 draw against Hamilton, while Celtic beat Hearts 2-1 and Aberdeen drew 0-0 with St Johnstone. And Manchester United beat Leicester City in the Charity Shield. Who scored the winner? Well, it could only ever be one man, and that man is Zlatan.
Now, let’s get onto the free sports betting tips for August 8th, 2016.
MLB Betting Tips
Blue Jays -1.5 to beat the Rays is the first play of the day. There’s very little to say about Tampa Bay that most people haven’t said already this season, but I’ll say it again – they’re just not great. Toronto are coming back from a road trip to Kansas City, while Tampa Bay have actually had a decent time of it against the Twins and the Royals before that. But this is a different proposition, as the Royals and Twins are just as bad as the Rays.
Mariners to beat Tigers. On paper this looks a close one, but one thing sticks out for me here. The Tigers are going to have to travel after a home series against the Mets, while the Mariners have another home series after hosting the Angels, and winning that series, too. Yes, the Tigers are on a great run, but it’s mostly been at home, and you can’t undervalue just how much a long road trip can take be a decisive factor between two evenly matched teams.
Rockies to beat Rangers is the final pick of the day. The Rockies have been treading water, losing a few, winning a few, but the Rangers have found their stint on the road to be a bit troublesome. They went 1-2 against the Orioles, and didn’t have it all their own way against the Astros either. So, another stretch away from home against the Rockies, who should be well rested, isn’t going to be easy, and their road struggles might just continue. Colorado look the definite value of the day.
