Dusting Off Our Free MLB Picks

We haven't had a Free MLB Pick in some time but we have one tonight.

Milwaukee Brewers +134 over the Los Angeles Dodgers

After Prince Fielder's stalking outside of the Dodgers locker room last night, it looks like the Brewers should be pumped up for the series finale tonight.

Good luck!

Soccer Betting 101

As mentioned earlier, we will soon be back with another Free MLS Pick as we continue to bet on soccer. For those who are new to betting on this game, here are some thoughts on soccer betting.

(In preparing this article, I got some help from online gambling guide, and that’s the reason for the using European soccer and the Premier League as an example.)

Basic Sports Betting: Money Lines and Point Spreads

In most sports, as you probably know, there are two ways of betting on your preferred team. The point spread is the amount of points the favored team needs to win by for a bet on that team to win. For example if Team A is a 7 point favorite over Team B, a bet on Team B would win if Team B won or lost by less than 7. The money line works more like a traditional odds bet. A money line might show a team favored like this: Team A +140/-260 Team B. This means that Team B is a favorite, and to win with Team B you must put up $260 to win $100. Team A is the underdog and to win with them you can put up $100 to win $140.

Problems with Soccer Sports Betting

The low scoring nature of soccer presents some problems for traditional methods of betting. Due to the low goal differential of many games, a goal spread is not practical. Even a team that is far superior to another may win by only one goal, and games often end in ties. This propensity to end in a tie also creates problems for the money line, as in most circumstances ties do not pay either side.

Solution to Sports Betting on European Football

To solve this problem, bookmakers offer a modified money line to soccer bettors. This works exactly like a traditional money line except that unlike money lines in other sports, there is a draw option. For example, a line might read: Manchester United -120 Draw +110 Arsenal +140. This would mean that to bet on Manchester United you would have to put up $100 to win $120. To bet on Arsenal you would put up $100 to win $140, and to bet the draw, you would put up $100 to win $110. Since there is a draw option, bets on either team do not push in the event of a tie as they do in other sports. If the team you bet on does not win outright, you lose.

We hope this helps as we continue to bet soccer here at Stock Lemon!

More Free MLS Picks Are Coming

Our first attempt at betting on soccer, the MLS to be specific, didn't go so well. Fear not, loyal MLS fans, for we will be back.

We are making sure we have everything correct so that we don't get our butts kicked (get it?) again and should have a pick relatively soon.

Stay tuned!

'76 Buccaneers Not About to Bow to '08 Lions

We noticed something strange when reading on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' official website about the team's plans to wear throwback jerseys this year.

Per the article:

"That led to a memorable 0-16 season for the inaugural Buccaneers, not an accomplishment to be celebrated, by any means, but not a time to be forgotten, either."

The 2008 Detroit Lions become the first team to go 0-16, and the 0-14 Buccaneers of 1976 won't even let them have that!

Sorry Bucs, but you'll have to wait until after this season to steal the Lions' thunder.

Our First Free MLS Pick Is In!

The wait is over. The results of our poll told us that you, the readers, felt we should begin betting on the MLS. After taking a little time to get a system in place, our world famous spreadsheets are ready to go with the data from games that have been played already this season.

Now, we are ready to bet on soccer. Since it's our first pick, we're posting it way in advance. This particular game is not until Friday.

We're making a splash with our first pick, too, picking a huge underdog's moneyline.

FC Dallas +315 over Real Salt Lake

FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake are pretty evenly matched according to our data, and we really can't figure out why FC Dallas has such a huge moneyline. We're not complaining, though.

Good luck with the first Free MLS Pick in the history of Stock Lemon!

LeBron James Gets Posterized!

We've been hearing about this LeBron James getting dunked on thing for weeks now, so naturally we were pumped to hear that TMZ had footage of the dunk by Xavier's Jordan Crawford.

Apparently, though, the video was shot by the creep who's been peeping on Erin Andrews.

LeSasquatch, posterized.

The MLS it is!

As you can see from the poll on the right, the MLS (54%) beat out the CFL (36%) and the WNBA (9%) to become the sport we focus on for the remainder of the summer. We've taken a little time to do research and are now fully prepared to begin our Free MLS Picks system.

The picks should be coming in the next few days, so stay tuned and thanks for your patience!