We’re all walking a tightrope.
Look straight ahead — directly ahead — into our weekends now, and you can see a landscape full of sports.
Golf. NASCAR. Soccer. UFC. Soon, the vista will broaden, and baseball, basketball and hockey will join the background.
But don’t look down. One false step, one changing wind, and the whole thing could come crashing to the ground.
So let’s celebrate every weekend full of sports that we can. Soak them in. Lay down a wager if you want to.
No one knows if they’ll last forever. But we might as well enjoy them while they do.
With that in mind, let’s take a tiny step toward a weekend filled with sports and look at all the available betting at the top PA online betting apps.
PGA’s Workday Charity Open is Live
Heading into Friday’s second round, Collin Morikawa was the live betting leader (+500) for the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. At the time of writing, Bet Rivers Sportsbook/PlaySugarHouse had Justin Thomas (+700), Hideki Matsuyama (+700) and Adam Hadwin (+1400) close behind.
Odds will change throughout the tournament, which runs through Sunday. Pricing is also available on top 5, top 10 and top 20 finishes, as well as a number of group and individual player bets.
Paying close attention to this tournament may help your wagers next week. The PGA is staying at the same course for the Memorial Tournament next week. And that event gained a little extra juice with the announcement that Tiger Woods will be playing, his first PGA Tour event since mid-February.
MLS is Back Tournament offers live action & sports betting all weekend long
Major League Soccer made its return this week, and the MLS is Back tournament is bringing World Cup-style action to your television this weekend. A total of six games are scheduled between Friday and Sunday. Here are the matchups and MLS betting lines according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Friday, 9 p.m. – Seattle Sounders (+100) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (+235)
Saturday, 8 p.m. – Atlanta United (-104) vs. York Red Bulls (+255)
Saturday, 10:30 p.m. – F.C. Cincinnati (+310) vs. Columbus Crew (-121)
Sunday, 9 a.m. – Toronto FC (-127) vs. D.C. United (+300)
Sunday, 8 p.m. – Sporting Kansas City (+150) vs. Minnesota United FC (+155)
Sunday, 10:30 p.m. – Real Salt Lake (+128) vs. Colorado Rapids (+195)
UFC 251 features three title fights
Saturday night is the first in a series of fight cards from what the UFC is calling Fight Island — Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The main event was supposed to be a welterweight title fight between Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, but Burns contracted the coronavirus and was replaced by Jorge Masvidal.
In some ways, the addition of Masvidal makes for a more entertaining fight. Masvidal is an excellent finisher and has a history with Usman that includes an altercation at the Super Bowl’s Radio Row. The two fighters have been trading barbs in the media in the lead-up to the fight, adding even more intrigue to Saturday’s main event.
FanDuel Sportsbook is boosting the odds for new customers who make a deposit. In-app only, new depositors will have access to 25/1 odds on any fighter to win their championship bout (there are three such fights), with a max bet of $5.
Can Masvidal win a fight on six days’ notice?
Masvidal enters as an underdog (+190), likely because he accepted the fight just six days before the bout and needed to cut 20 pounds to make weight for Saturday’s fight. BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse have Usman at -235.
In the featherweight title fight, Alexander Volkanovski looks to retain his title in a rematch with Max Holloway, whom he defeated via a fifth-round decision in December. Volkanovski is -210 at BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse, while Holloway is +170.
And in the bantamweight title fight, Petr Yan (14-1) takes on Jose Aldo, a former star who has suffered two straight losses. Yan is -225, while Aldo is +180.
The rest of Saturday’s fights and the UFC odds at BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse are as follows:
- Jessica Andrade (+170) vs. Rose Namajunas (-210)
- Amanda Ribas (-835) vs. Paige VanZant (+525)
- Volkan Oezdemir (-177) vs. Jiri Prochazka (+140)
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (+108) vs. Muslim Salikhov (-134)
- Makwan Amirkhani (-215) vs. Danny Henry (+170)
- Leonardo Santos (-190) vs. Roman Bogatov (+150)
- Marcin Tybura (-112) vs. Alexander Romanov (-112)
- Raulian Paiva (-180) vs. Zhaglas Zhumagulov (+142)
- Karol Rosa (-240) vs. Vanessa Melo (+185)
- Martin Day (-177) vs. Davey Grant (+141)
Bettors can find a variety of wagers beyond the moneyline for each fight, including total rounds, method of victory and whether or not the fight will go the distance. There are also daily fantasy contests available at DraftKings and FanDuel.
Preliminary fights will be broadcast on ESPN+ starting at 6 p.m., with the main card moving to ESPN Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m.
Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick are the betting favorites for the Quaker State 400
NASCAR moves to the Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400 at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, who won last Sunday’s NASCAR race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, are the co-favorites at BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse, both at +500.
Fox Bet has Busch at +450, with Harvick at +700 and some varied odds across the board. Bettors are wise to do a little comparison shopping to secure the best price.
A preview from USA Today provides a pretty good overview of the race, which will be run without any practice or qualifying for the drivers.
The field’s top 15 racers and their odds according to BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse are as follows:
- Kyle Busch: +500
- Kevin Harvick: +500
- Denny Hamlin: +650
- Martin Truex Jr: +650
- Chase Elliott: +800
- Brad Keselowski: +800
- Joey Logano: +900
- Ryan Blaney: +1200
- Alex Bowman: +2000
- Kurt Busch: +2000
- Jimmie Johnson: +2000
- Erik Jones: +2500
- Aric Almirola: +2800
- William Byron: +3300
- Clint Bowyer/Matt Kenseth: +4000
Wagers are available on top 3 finishes, group betting, stage betting and a number of specials as well. There are also daily fantasy contests posted at FanDuel and DraftKings. Television coverage of the Quaker State 400 will be broadcast at 2:30 p.m. on FS1.
Single-game MLB, NBA and NHL betting should arrive soon
There’s no shortage of betting options this weekend.
Golf. Soccer. UFC. Racing.
Take your pick, and take note. Sports have surged back. Baseball betting, basketball betting and hockey betting are also scheduled to return in a few more weeks.
Certainly, all the sports are facing a few risks. Maybe there’s a little danger every step of the way.
We’re all walking a tightrope.
So we might as well enjoy the thrills.
