MLB Shocker of the Month - Thursday! (Thu 7:10PM)
With games going every day, oddsmakers can't keep up with every change on the baseball diamond, such as injuries, bullpen overuse, road travel and emotional factors. They REALLY blew it on Thursday, making a dog of a team that should be favored. Go inside the stats and collect with Jim's Baseball Shocker of the Month before the oddsmakers wake up!

$35

Jim Feist's NBA Playoff Total Powerhouse - Wednesd (Wed 9:35PM)
Totals offer just as much value as sides, many times even more so, and what better way to build your bankroll than with a basketball TV total winner from Jim Feist! This is a terrible total that oddsmakers misjudged. Grab this NBA PLAYOFF "Total" POWERHOUSE and play with the Las Vegas big boys WEDNESDAY!

$35

10-4 on Totals: Hi Roller NBA Playoff Total Power! (Thu 9:35PM)
Jim Feist is 10-4 with NBA playoff totals, including the Pacers/Heat Game 1 under on Sunday! Totals offer just as much value as sides, many times even more so, and what better way to build your bankroll than with a High Roller basketball total winner from Jim Feist! This is a terrible total that oddsmakers misjudged. Grab this High Roller NBA PLAYOFF "Total" POWERHOUSE and play with the Las Vegas big boys Thursday!

$35

MLB

Get a full week's worth of baseball plays from World Handicapper Jim Feist -- EVERYTHING that's released on this sight, including Games of the Week, Games of the Month and his coveted Inner Circle selections. It's all here, 2-3 plays per day, 15-20 per week!
MLB Baseball 7 Day Package
$99 | 

$99

NBA

Get the remainder of the NBA season, all of Jim's Executive Service selections, with all of his picks right through the Finals at a discounted rate. That is every side, every total and every top play through the end of the NBA Finals!
NBA Basketball Season Package
$180 | 

$180

Seven days of premium NBA picks and analysis, straight from legendary handicapper Jim Feist. All his analysis and insight brought to the table each night. Don't hope to win, sit back, play with a pro and KNOW you have an ace on your side!
NBA Basketball 7 Day Package
$75 | 

$75

Beware of Early Season Phonies

by: Jim Feist

So…are we all set for the Lions/Bills Super Bowl? Because after three weeks, those were two of the remaining three undefeated teams in the NFL, along with the Packers.  To put that in perspective, before the season started the Lions were 40-to-1 to win the Super Bowl, the Packers 5-to-1 and the Bills, fresh off a 4-12 season, were 100-to-1. Yet, there they were at the end of September among the NFL elite in the standings.
  
I bring this up to emphasis the importance of patience. A hot start is nice but guarantees nothing. Scheduling, injuries, personnel changes are all significant factors in the success of a football team, and a hot start doesn't mean that a team is great, just as a cold start doesn't mean a club is out of it.
 
This happens all the time. A year ago at this time the Bears and Chiefs were two of the remaining three unbeaten teams. They made the playoffs, but the Chiefs were one-and-done while the Bears fell short in the NFC title game. The Chiefs had been 85-to-1 to win the Super Bowl.
 
Sure, in 2009 the eventual Super Bowl participants, the Colts and Saints, had red-hot starts, both not far from 16-0 regular seasons. Yet, three years ago as late last Xmas the Cardinals were an 8-7 team and had just gotten thrashed at New England, 47-7. No one was talking about Arizona as Super Bowl material, but a month later, there they were.
 
Basketball guru Red Auerbach used to say, "It's not the five who start, it's the five who finish." We saw that late last season as the Green Bay Packers were fortunate to stumble into the playoffs on the final day of the season, then went on a red-hot roll on the way to winning the whole thing.
  
Seven years ago the Steelers were 7-5 and on the outside of the playoff bubble down the stretch. The rest is history, with the Black and Gold winning 8 in a row and the Super Bowl. That same year, the Atlanta Falcons were 7-4, before losing four of their final five, crashing their playoff hopes.
  
Naturally, a team doesn't want to start 0-3 like this year's Chiefs, Colts, Dolphins, Rams and Vikings, but a poor start isn't a death knell. You may recall that six years ago the Panthers started 1-2, but ended up in the NFC Title game. A poor start makes it tough as there are only 16 games and few teams even qualify for the postseason. On the other hand, a hot start isn't mandatory. In 2003, the Eagles looked terrible during an 0-2 SU/ATS start just before their bye week. That team then went 11-3 against the spread the rest of the regular season, winning 13 of their next 15 games on the way to the NFC Championship game. The Patriots started 2-2 in 2003, then proceeded to go 15-0 SU, 12-3 ATS on the way to winning the Super Bowl.
   
Vikings fans are not having an enjoyable start to this season, blowing all those big leads. But if you think a good start is important, let's not forget the 2003 Vikings. The boys in purple started 6-0 SU/ATS, only to fold, missing the playoffs during a 3-7 SU, 2-8 ATS finish. Miami also started 4-1 SU/ATS that season, only to go 3-8 against the spread and miss the playoffs. In 2009 the Broncos started 6-0 SU/ATS, then went 2-8 SU, 3-7 ATS to miss the postseason.
   
It's a marathon and all kinds of things can crop up to derail a potential playoff run: Poor defense, injuries, bad luck, even scheduling. The Chiefs were the hottest team in the NFL the first half of the 2003 season, starting 9-0 SU and 8-1 against the number. There even was a future's bet offered on whether the Chiefs would run the regular season table undefeated. That wager didn't last long as Kansas City finished 4-4 straight up and 2-6 against the spread after that 9-0 start. The same thing happened with the 2005 13-0 Colts. When the AFC Championship game was being played, the Colts were home watching it on TV.
   
The defending champion NY Giants started a sizzling 11-1 SU, 10-2 ATS in 2008, but finished 1-4 SU, 2-3 ATS, failing to win a playoff game. That was somewhat reminiscent of the 2003 Giants, who started 2-1 SU/ATS, then limped to a 2-11 SU finish while going 1-11-1 against the number.  If your team is off to a disappointing start, relax; and if your team is off to a hot start, don’t start making preparations for the playoffs. It's not the fastest horse out of the gate, but the one who crosses the finish line.

Jim Feist Past Articles

Baseball Hot and Cold Starts
More than any other sport, baseball is a game of patience. It's not how you start, but where you finish, and with a 162-game regular season, there is ... read more

NBA Stretch Run: The Best of the East
It's been a long haul, even in this abbreviated 66-game NBA regular season, but the playoffs are just around the corner. So who wins the NBA title? The ... read more

Some NBA Teams Pack It In Late
There are three more weeks to go in the NBA regular season. This means there are professional athletes in the NBA who will be going on vacation in a month, ... read more

Tourney Matchup Tips
It's the final stretch of a long college basketball season. There are better teams, tougher matchups, and defensive intensity. It's a good time of the ... read more

March Hoops: Beware of No Name Teams
It's that time of year again: Basketball games night and day, day and night and after a few hours of sleep, we wake up the next day and go through it ... read more

All Jim Feist Past Articles

More past picks...

All Jim Feist Past Picks