Scott Rickenbach Free Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

Total Blowout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Virginia Tech Hokies @ 6 ET - The Demon Deacons have seen each of their last 3 games go over the total. Defensively they have not impressed as Wake Forest has not been generating many turnovers and also they have allowed an average of 74 points per game their last 4 games. Speaking of sub-par defense we might see a bit of a dropoff here from the Hokies. Not only is Virginia Tech off a big win versus Duke, they also have dominated Wake Forest in recent meetings. Also, the Demon Deacons enter this game on a losing streak which makes it easier to overlook them especially after a big win over the Blue Devils. That said, I am expecting a rather free flowing game and the over is 7-0 in the Hokies last 7 games! With all this over trending and the Hokies scoring well and the Demon Deacons generally scoring better when at home, you have all the right ingredients for the home dog to hang around in this one and turn it into a high-scoring shootout. The Hokies could pull away late for a bigger margin so my play here is the over rather than the side and I expect quite a shootout. Virginia Tech has averaged 83.5 points in their last two meetings with Wake Forest plus enters this game averaging 80.5 points per game their last 6 games overall. 10* OVER the total in Wake Forest

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) @ Oklahoma City Thunder @ 7:05 ET - We are getting line value here because if the Sixers had Embiid for this game of course they would be priced much higher. I love the fact that Philly is off a tight loss last night and will still be very hungry tonight and plus this line opened up at a -4 and is now down to a 2.5 in most spots. This is great line value and I won't hesitate to grab it. The Thunder are off a win but had lost 6 of 10 prior to that and plus were 0-5 at home before that victory in their most recent game. Keep in mind the Sixers were a 9-4 team before the loss last night. Great value for the hungry road team here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #308 Sunday 10* Top Play New Orleans Saints (-) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 6:40 ET - there can be two theories as to why this line is dropping to a 2.5 on gameday morning, one would be that the Buccaneers are attracting some attention and primed for an upset, however the other theory is the one I am going with which I believe will prove true in this case, I believe the sharps are setting this one up by knocking it down a little to get that 2.5 everywhere and then they will pound it and we'll see this game at a -3 again before too long and certainly at kickoff, I could be wrong of course but we'll see and either way I like New Orleans a ton here, the Saints have owned the Buccaneers in recent meetings and also all the pressure is on Tom Brady and Tampa Bay here, that is because so much is expected of them and Brady wants to atone for a horrific performance the last time the Bucs were in TB, all that pressure is not going to help the Buccaneers and this is a team that went 1-4 in games against teams with a winning record this season, keep in mind TB lost to NO twice plus lost to KC and the Rams and another loss to a playoff team was to the Bears, though the Saints were not overly impressive last week the Bucs were arguably much worse, Tampa Bay should have annihilated Washington last week but struggled to put them away and I am just not sold on this TB team as they were facing a Washington team that had a ton of issues and question marks for that game, also the Saints defense has allowed 16 points or less in 7 of last 10 games while the Bucs have allowed 23 points or more in 8 of last 10 game, I will gladly lay the short home price here, 10* NEW ORLEANS

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Sunday 8* Kansas City Chiefs (-) vs Cleveland Browns @ 3:05 ET - the Browns just blew out a division rival nemesis when they crushed the Steelers last week, that was a turnover fueled win for Cleveland, one has to give them credit for that win for sure but they face a much tougher test here, Kansas City is coached by Andy Reid and they are coming off a bye week, in his career Reid's teams have thrived off bye week as they have gone 20-9 ATS and have won 24 of the 29 games SU, undoubtedly the Chiefs will be ready to go and they are the healthier too, the Browns have issues impacting their secondary and their offensive line, those are two areas you particularly don't want to be struggling in when facing these defending Super Bowl champs, the Browns are allowing 30.4 points per game on the road this season while the Chiefs have allowed 20 points or less in 5 of their last 7 meaningful home games, in other words the season finale that didn't matter does not count in those numbers, in fact that also means that KC has effectively been off for a full two weeks in terms of bye weeks and they will really be ready here both physically and mentally, in the Browns last 5 games against playoff teams they have allowed 35.8 points per game, look for a home blowout here, 8* KANSAS CITY

NHL Network Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 6.5 goals in Florida Panthers vs Chicago Blackhawks @ 7:05 ET - the Blackhawks are 0-2 to start the season and they allowed 5 goals in each game, the Panthers first two games were cancelled due to covid issues impacting the Stars in Dallas, that means Florida is finally playing their season opener and we already saw early on that - for the most part - teams playing their first games saw plenty of goals scored and there were mistakes on the ice leading to more scoring opportunities than usual, the Panthers are known for solid offensive play but struggling in their own end, look for Chicago to fare much better in the goal-scoring department here as a result as they are no longer facing a tough TB defense nor a top goalie named Vasilevskiy, so the Hawks will see more scoring chances here and should cash them in but they are a young team with defensive and goaltending weaknesses and that should mean plenty of goals here, 10* OVER the total in Florida

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #34 Sunday 8* Pittsburgh Penguins Money Line (-) vs Washington Capitals @ 12:05 ET - sets up do not get much better than this, the Penguins are 0-2 to start the season but faced a very strong Flyers team that is projected to challenge for the top spot in the division this season, the Capitals are 2-0 to start the season but faced a Sabres team that is projected to end up in the basement of this division this season, also the Penguins play this game with double revenge as they lost each of the last two meetings with the Capitals last season even though they were not outshot in any of the three meetings last season, a lot of value here with a small favorite playing their home opener and hungry to get that first win, lay the small price, 8* PITTSBURGH

Goal Line Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Sunday 10* Top Play Manchester City Goal Line -2 goals -105 vs Crystal Palace @ 2:15 ET - Manchester City are one of the hottest clubs in the Premier League right now and are on their home pitch here and are a -500 money line favorite with good reason. I am going to lay the goal line here to take advantage of a great situation and a spot in which I am expecting a blowout win for the home side. Manchester City has lost and had a draw in their two most recent home meetings with Crystal Palace. That will insure the proper focus here and Manchester City has scored 15 goals in their last 6 matches across all competitions. Crystal Palace can be stingy on defense but Manchester City is simply too hot on the attack right now and they are seeking a big payback win here. Also, Crystal Palace's problem is they have been struggling to score goals. They have scored a total of only 5 goals in their last 8 matches across all competitions. Also, in their last 3 losses Crystal Palace has allowed an average of 3.7 goals per match. With this one expected to be a defeat you can also plainly see why I am expecting it to also be by a blowout margin. 10* MANCHESTER CITY goal line -2 goals