Bryan Leonard Sports Articles
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Date added: 05.05.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
The Zig Zag Theory
Let’s talk about zigzags. No, that’s not some ski slope maneuver. Nor is it someone who says one thing and then does another. Sports bettors may be familiar with zigzagging when it comes to handicapping the NBA playoffs. One rule many bettors keep in mind during the playoffs is that teams that lose a game and play poorly may look very ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 04.29.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
NBA Playoffs Betting
The NBA playoffs are off and running. There are a lot of ways to analyze who has the edge, from matchups, key statistics (rebounding, turnovers), spread marks and even who’s hot and who’s not. One area that will also come up is how these playoff opponents did when they faced each other during the regular season. I’m not a proponent ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 04.23.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
NBA Personnel Changes and Lineups
Like a stock broker, a good handicapper has to keep up with the changes that take place on and off the court. This is particularly true this time of year. The final month of the NBA season has seen all kinds of strange lineup changes, from injuries (Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant) to coaches purposely sitting players, resting them up for the postseason. ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 04.18.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
NBA Embarrassment
Many teams get embarrassed during an NBA season, even the playoffs, which are approaching. After all, it's a long season and even good teams get smacked around on occasion. It happens. What's important to look at from a handicapping perspective is what happens next! Does a blowout loss reflect something negative internally that is taking place? Something ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 04.09.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
The NBA Stretch Run: Does Anybody Care?
Does anyone really care in the NBA? I'm not talking about fans, I'm referring to the players. Certainly a lot of players have pride and want to give their best. But this is the time of year when some NBA players don't care, and it can be reflected in their play on the court, and their performance against the spread. The playoffs are on the horizon ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 04.02.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
Free Throw Shooting
Freebies in basketball are foul shots. Uncontested shots at the line that count toward a team's score. I bring this up because I recall a sports bettor one time explaining the value of a team being able to make shots at the foul line, which can help against the spread. If you have a favorite that is right at the number in the final minute of a game, ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 03.27.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
Public Teams
So who is Joe Public? Of course, Joe Public is everybody not connected with the professional sports betting field. Joe Public is the average bettor, the guy who just HAS to bet on the Super Bowl or the ESPN Wednesday night college basketball broadcast because he needs action on the game he’s watching. All right, fine. But following that model ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 03.21.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
Tourney Upsets & Motivation
While watching all the tournament games this week, does anything stand out? How about all the upsets? As usual, upsets and surprises dominated the highlights. Duke? Out. Missouri? Done! Michigan? Ousted by (gulp) No. 13 seed Ohio of the MAC. But isn’t it always like this? Last year George Mason did it again, a team that went to the Final Four ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 03.15.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
Be Smart with Your Money
What's the biggest mistake bettors make in regards to sports betting? Most will state the obvious of not picking enough winners. But the truth of the matter is the biggest miscue is betting more than you should per game. You need to win 52.38% to break even laying 11-10 odds. You need to beat that winning percentage and not bet too much per game in ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 03.03.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
NCAA Tournament Tips
Many times during the season and even in some conference tournament games, you can find teams that are less likely interested in wanting to play hard. That is, they know they’re going to hammered, or they’ve slumped so badly down the stretch that they realize they have no shot at going anywhere in tourney play. In short, they’ve given ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 02.20.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
CBB: Suspensions and Injuries
If you want to turn a profit in the competitive world of sports wagering, it's necessary to keep up on things on a daily basis. Take injuries in college basketball. Injuries happen all the time and one has to be on top of everything. One season Alabama lost leading scorer Chuck Davis in midseason, gone for the year. How does this affect their ability ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 02.13.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
Dynamics of College Basketball Conference Play
College basketball conference play is in full swing. This provides handicappers with a second season, in a sense, with which to gauge statistics and matchups. Many teams schedule a string of non-conference cupcake games early in the season in order to run up big scores and easy victories. However, they could then falter quickly as they step up in competition ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 01.31.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
A Super Bowl Edge? Start with Defense
So who's going to win the Super Bowl? Better yet, who's going to cover? There are a lot of factors to examine carefully when trying to determine who has the edge. One of the simplest to examine, and very revealing, is defense. Defense wins championships, of course, and when we look at the defensive merits of the Giants and Patriots, it’s a ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 01.15.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
College Basketball: The Four Seasons
There are four seasons packed into a college basketball year: Non-conference play, conference play, conference tournament time and postseason action (NIT and March Madness). Each has unique attributes. Non-conference action starts off the year where teams are getting acquainted with new personnel and facing many schools they've never played before. ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 01.02.12
Bryan Leonard Sports
The Best Offense is a Great Defense
There has been a lot of focus on offense the last few years in NFL. Two years ago the Saints and Colts were dynamite offensive teams with below average defenses and met in the Super Bowl, and last year the incredible Green Bay offense bested the Steelers dominant defense for the title. Many shrugged off the importance of defense, but that was more ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 12.27.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
The Scoop on Home Courts Part II
Next time you watch a college of pro basketball game, watch what happens when a player at home makes a great block or dives out of bounds to save a loose ball. The fans will erupt at the player’s effort. This all-out effort on the court can be contagious, and you’ll often see that player run down the court, followed by teammates who will ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 12.21.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
The Scoop on the Home Court Part 1
“We’ll get ‘em on our court.”You’ll hear professional and college athletes say things like this all year, be it in basketball’s post or regular season. College basketball teams often play twice against conference opponents during the regular season, with each team splitting a game between their home court and the ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 12.07.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
CBB Back to Back Road Games
I remember 1984 well, growing up in Cleveland. The Browns were struggling, the young Cavaliers were looking for a shining star in the NBA draft, and the Indians were still searching for their first World Series title since 1948. How times have changed! While the year might have been a bit thin on hope for Cleveland's pro franchises, '84 was more enriching ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 12.03.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Pro Football Totals and Cooler Weather
The weather is getting colder for football teams in the northern parts of the country. That means wind, rain, sleet, snow – and potentially lower scoring games. Lovie Smith, the head coach of the Chicago Bears, is a proponent of conservative play, running the football and playing tough defense. The Bears started last season 8-2 under the total ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 11.27.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Run the Football
“Run the football more times, and you win.”I hear this all the time, on television and on radio, even in 2011, which has been a passing season in the NFL. When examining key games, analysts often conclude one team failed to run the football enough times, and the opponent pulled won the game simply because they had more rushing attempts.We ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 11.17.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Quarterbacks and Defense
There’s really no truer adage in pro football than the importance of quarterbacks and defense. Betting lines take these factors into account, and you can understand why. The offense revolves completely around the play of the quarterback, the only player on offense who touches the ball every play. QBs need touch, and accurate, split-second decision ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 11.02.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Home Field vs. Road Travel in the NFL
It’s probably not discussed as much as home court in basketball and even college football, but teams in the NFL often have significant edges at home and liabilities on the road. A key part of sports is emotion. Even though NFL players are professional athletes getting paid to do a job to the best of their abilities, playing well before the home ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 10.22.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Correlating Factors Run Defense and ATS Success
Good handicappers know how to make lines based on power ratings, home field and public perception. Other numbers, however, that are easier to identify mustn't be overlooked, either, when analyzing games and point spreads each week. Here's one anyone can utilize: Run defense.This is one of the basics when it comes to winning football. And speaking of ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 10.18.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
The Must Win Game
The pressure's on every Saturday and Sunday! With football season in full swing, you'll hear media prognosticators proclaim with regularity, "This team doesn't want to start 0-4. Therefore, this is a must-win game that they have to win!" All right, so be it. That's as superficial a statement as one can find, which is often the case with newspaper, ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 10.11.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Anticipating Low Scoring Second Halves
Handicappers are always looking for angles to replicate week after week in an attempt to cull profit from the books. Here’s a tried and true oldie: Look at second halves to go under the total if the home team has a big lead. We’ve already seen it this season. In Week 3, the Ravens blitzed the Rams and led 27-0 at the half. They played ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 10.05.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Ground and Pound
Effective running games are a great weapon in both college and pro football. A strong running attack helps an offense pick up first downs, control the ball and the clock, and force opponents to play the run, which makes the pass that much more effective. A strong ground game can also physically wear out the opposition late in the game, which is something ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 09.16.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Exploiting Weaknesses
Strategically, football has similarities to war. Commanding officers use photographs of rival positions in an attempt to identify weaknesses in the enemy lines, then plot their offensive strategies accordingly. A smart commander doesn’t have his men go head on at the enemies’ strongest defensive positions – you exploit the weak ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 09.05.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
Three E's of College Football
College football has kicked off, the best time of the year for sports bettors. There are extra elements that you don't find in pro football. Such things as homecoming games, or annual rivalry battles (Oklahoma/Nebraska, Florida/Florida State, USC/UCLA) on the schedule. All of this can be summed up in the Three E's of college football, something to ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 08.30.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
NFC Teams with New Looks
The NFL regular season is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here's a look at some changes to look for with some teams in preseason. Redskins: Mike Shanahan looks to bounce ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
Date added: 08.23.11
Bryan Leonard Sports
The Information Revolution in Sports Betting
There is no magic in Las Vegas when it comes to identifying soft numbers and winning edges. The key is finding information. There are all kinds of information that pop up during the week for any particular sporting event, such as injuries, weather, coaching changes, revenge situations, or a quarterback change. Even a team getting delayed to a ... read more
Bryan Leonard Sports Bio and Picks
