Free AFL Pick Win Gives Us Hope For the Summer

We've all but sworn off baseball, and aside from betting on the headline golf events, big horse races, some sporadic tennis matches and the 2011 World Cup, the sports portion of Stock Lemon this summer has--as we warned--taken a backseat to our stock analysis.

But the football-betting high has returned to us for a brief moment. In just our second Arena Football League wager of the year (we were shellacked in our first attempt), we've regained that sense of enthusiasm for sports betting, and have only the obscure sport of indoor football to thank.

The Pittsburgh Power, despite blowing a big halftime lead and committing a comedy of errors, held on to cover a +8 1/2 point spread by a half point in a 62-54 loss to the Orlando Predators, giving us our first Free AFL Pick win of the year (1-1!).

The bottom line is this: we hope you enjoy Free AFL Pick bets, as we plan on rolling more of them out each week, unless and until they begin to go horribly wrong.

For now, we're just going to enjoy paying attention to football again.

A Chance to Bet on a Football Game on NFL Network!

... nobody has to know that it is in the Arena Football League.

Our football withdrawals (which happen this time of year with or without a lockout) will be alleviated for tonight as the Pittsburgh Power (8-6) visit the Orlando Predators (8-6) in a game that probably has some sort of playoff implications and importance within the context of this once-popular league. Thanks to NFL Network's ratings bonanza that is Arena Football Friday, we're able to watch some meaningful(ish) football!

Pittsburgh Power +8 1/2 over the Orlando Predators

In the NFL, home field advantage is often settled by giving the visitors three points. Meaning, in an otherwise even contest, the visitors would be at +3. In front of the rowdy 2,000-plus fans at any given arena game, apparently the visitors get much more leeway. Truth be told, we think Pittsburgh has the better team.

To be fair, neither squad is playing particularly well, with Orlando losing its last three and Pittsburgh escaping the same fate with a narrow, low-scoring victory over lowly Milwaukee last week. We'll take the points.

We've got the Power!

And, fear not, fore if this doesn't work out, we will bore you to death with more stock recommendations (which have been going considerably better than our sports capping this summer).

Time For a Free Arena Football Pick

Clearly, playoff hockey is not our thing. All of the good faith we managed with our perfect regular season has been obliterated by our performance in the postseason.

Hence, our movement toward another action packed indoor sport--Arena Football! The NFL may be locked out, but that won't stop us from making money on football. Behold our very first 2011 Free AFL Pick.

Spokane Shock -6 over Tampa Bay Storm

Neither of these proud franchises are off to the start they envisioned, but thanks to an enhanced 18-game schedule, the season isn't over for either sub-.500 squad--particularly the defending champs. We like the Shock to get to .500 tonight, and to do so by more than a touchdown in the high-scoring action.

Good luck!

EDIT: Oops, thanks Thomas!

Giving Arena Football Another Chance

Our first Free AFL Pick didn't go as planned, but thankfully, there's more of the war indoors for us to bet on. And this time, we're betting on the Arena Football League in the league's biggest stage... The NFL Network!

While the AFL is no NFL, it's still football. And in the midst of all the futbol action of the World Cup, we are ready for some hard hitting action.

Jacksonville Sharks -4 1/2 over the Orlando Predators

So after the World Cup action tomorrow morning, be sure to catch the action indoors at night.

Good luck!

Our First Ever Free Arena Football League Pick!

We've stayed away from betting on the reformatted Arena Football League, mostly because it includes such premier teams as Bossier-Shreveport and Tulsa. But, the bottom line is, it's June and we miss football.

And so, with that, we present to you our first ever Free Arena Football League Pick. The new AFL has made it to about the midway point without folding, so we think it's finally safe to bet on it.

Milwaukee Iron -3 1/2 over the Arizona Rattlers

Home field advantage is important in the arena game, but on paper we just don't think the Rattlers match-up with the Iron, despite a two-game win streak.

So there you have it. Look out for possibly even more AFL Picks if this goes well, because like we said, we really miss football.