Tis still the season for sports betting!

With the NFL playoffs kicking off and the Australian Open serving up this weekend, the NHL and NBA now in midseason form, along with the college football semifinals and bowl games, a UFC fight night card and FA Cup soccer matches, there is something for everyone and a little bit of everything for the true degenerates that dabble across all sports.

Straight bettors and parlay junkies will be lining up to take that action. The more legs, the merrier. The longer the odds, the richer. Don’t hate the game, hate the players. The latter is for the ladies, but as long as we’re having fun, we’re all winning. Are you entertained yet?

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Having spent the past year in the sports betting world as an enjoyable experience with my former employer PowerPlay, I’ve learned a lot about the industry and how it all works.

That role also opened the door to collaborating with The Ice Guys, who host a daily webcast dedicated to hockey betting that helps you hit more often than not. And while we’re handing out endorsements, definitely download the betstamp app — a free curator of odds from every major sportsbook to ensure you are getting the best bang for your buck on any bets of interest.

For those wondering, I’ve yet to see any odds on whether Canada will become the 51st state! And no, I won’t be weighing in on any more political betting. I’ll be staying in my lane with sports and mostly sticking to the leagues I know best or follow closest.

As for the present, let’s take a look at the highlights for this weekend’s schedule while sharing my Moneyline picks with some parlays and player props mixed in for good measure:

Friday, January 10

NHL

Washington Capitals vs Montreal Canadiens — Capitals

Carolina Hurricanes vs Vancouver Canucks — Hurricanes

Detroit Red Wings vs Chicago Blackhawks — Red Wings

Winnipeg Jets vs Los Angeles Kings — Jets

Utah Hockey Club vs San Jose Sharks — Utah

Parlay Party

The home teams are all favoured and, as of now on PowerPlay, you could parlay them for $109.66 return on a $10 bet. That is tempting and it is only 5 legs, which isn’t unfathomable to cash.

All-Canadian Parlay

Montreal (+175). Vancouver (+120). Winnipeg (-120). 3 legs for $115.74 from $10.

Anytime Goal Scorers

Pierre-Luc Dubois (+280). Gabe Vilardi (+200). Alex DeBrincat (+172). Hedge them as straights but parlay them for $325.11 from $10.

NBA

Philadelphia 76ers vs New Orleans Pelicans — 76ers

Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks — Bucks

Indiana Pacers vs Golden State Warriors — Warriors

New York Knicks vs Oklahoma City Thunder — Thunder

Boston Celtics vs Sacramento Kings — Celtics

Chicago Bulls vs Washington Wizards — Bulls

Denver Nuggets vs Brooklyn Nuggets — Nuggets

Upset Special

Steph Curry and the Warriors upset the Pacers on the road as +230 underdogs, returning $33 on a $10 straight bet.

Parlay Party

7 legs for $190.17 from $10, taking the Warriors along with six favourites.

NCAA Football

Semifinal

No. 5 Texas Longhorns vs No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes — Longhorns

I’m taking the underdog Longhorns (+187) for the upset at home — the game is in Texas, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys (AT&T Stadium), not on the Longhorns’ home field in Austin, which is three hours south of Dallas.

Quinn Ewers was briefly a Buckeye and rises to the occasion against his former team, leading the Longhorns to the national championship game on Jan. 20 in Atlanta against No. 7 Notre Dame, who defeated No. 6 Penn State 27-24 on a last-minute field goal Thursday night.

Saturday, January 11

Tennis

Australian Open

Alexander Zverev vs Lucas Pouille — Zverev

Nick Kyrgios vs Jacob Fearnley — Kyrgios

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Jan-Lennard Struff — Auger-Aliassime

Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko — Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic vs Nishesh Basavareddy — Djokovic

If you can find a book that will parlay those five winners, go for it. PowerPlay isn’t taking action on Alcaraz or Djokovic and the other 3 legs only return $26.10 from a $10 bet. In the opening Round of 128, roll with the favourites.

Jessica Pegula vs Maya Joint — Pegula

Leylah Annie Fernandez vs Yuliia Starodubtseva — Fernandez

Coco Gauff vs Sofia Kenin — Gauff

The North American women get off to a good start Down Under, including Fernandez as a Canadian. They are all heavily favoured, only returning $14.10 from $10 on a 3-leg parlay. It’s not much but it should be easy money. If you want to go big, it returns $141 from $100.

NHL

Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins — Panthers

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Ottawa Senators — Senators

Buffalo Sabres vs Seattle Kraken — Sabres

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vancouver Canucks — Maple Leafs

Winnipeg Jets vs Colorado Avalanche — Avalanche

Montreal Canadiens vs Dallas Stars — Stars

Chicago Blackhawks vs Edmonton Oilers — Oilers

St. Louis Blues vs Columbus Blue Jackets — Blues

Philadelphia Flyers vs Anaheim Ducks — Flyers

New Jersey Devils vs Tampa Bay Lightning — Lightning

Nashville Predators vs Washington Capitals — Predators

Utah Hockey Club vs New York Islanders — Islanders

Calgary Flames vs Los Angeles Kings — Kings

Vegas Golden Knights vs New York Rangers — Golden Knights

San Jose Sharks vs Minnesota Wild — Sharks

Anytime Goal Scorers

Leon Draisaitl. Auston Matthews. Nathan MacKinnon. Matthew Tkachuk. Brady Tkachuk. Macklin Celebrini.

I’d be willing to take those six stars as a parlay, but also hedged as straights. They aren’t long shots and I like the chances of at least four of them lighting the lamp.

If you want a wild card that is actually wild, consider Cutter Gauthier scoring in Philadelphia, where Flyers fans will surely give him a rude welcome after forcing a trade that landed him in Anaheim.

NFL

Houston Texans vs Los Angeles Chargers — Chargers

Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers — Ravens

The Chargers are favoured on the road for the playoff opener, with Jim Harbaugh returning to Houston and playing spoiler by guiding L.A. to victory. The Ravens will romp over the Steelers, with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry both starring in Baltimore’s blowout.

NBA

Atlanta Hawks vs Houston Rockets — Rockets

Phoenix Suns vs Utah Jazz — Suns

Detroit Pistons vs Toronto Raptors — Pistons

Minnesota Timberwolves vs Memphis Grizzlies — Timberwolves

Portland Trail Blazers vs Miami Heat — Heat

Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs — Spurs

Los Angeles Clippers vs Charlotte Hornets — Clippers

Game of the Night

Spurs slay the Lakers in L.A., assuming the fires don’t postpone this contest. Another statement game for Victor Wembanyama, taking the torch from LeBron James.

MMA

UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2

Mackenzie Dern vs Amanda Ribas — Dern

Roman Kopylov vs Chris Curtis — Kopylov

These fights stand out, with Dern avenging a decision loss to Ribas from 2019 by submitting her in the rematch, while Kopylov continues his rise by stopping a durable gatekeeper in Curtis via TKO.

Sunday, January 12

Tennis

Australian Open

Daniil Medvedev vs Kasidit Samrej — Medvedev

Denis Shapovalov vs Roberto Bautista Agut — Shapovalov

Gael Monfils vs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard — Monfils

Taylor Fritz vs Jenson Brooksby — Fritz

Alex De Minaur vs Botic van de Zandschulp — De Minaur

Gabriel Diallo vs Luca Nardi — Diallo

Jannik Sinner vs Nicolas Jarry — Sinner

No action on Sinner, Medvedev or Fritz at PowerPlay, but Monfils is an underdog (+110) and the remaining 4 legs would return $48.75 from $10, including Diallo among the Canadian contingent in Melbourne.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Sloane Stephens — Sabalenka

Iga Swiatek vs Katerina Siniakova — Swiatek

Emma Navarro vs Peyton Stearns — Navarro

Rebecca Marino vs Katie Boulter — Boulter

Jasmine Paolini vs Sijia Wei — Paolini

All five favourites are winning here, at the expense of Marino making an early exit as another Canadian. Stephens has won some big matches in her career but hasn’t flashed that form lately to forecast an upset of the top-seeded Sabalenka. Stearns has more upset potential in her all-American match against Navarro, who was named the WTA’s most improved player in 2024. No line for Paolini as of yet but the other 4 legs would return $21.20 from $10.

English Soccer

FA Cup

Arsenal vs Manchester United — Arsenal

The Gunners are favoured (-143) at home in London, having defeated United 2-0 on Dec. 4. That triumph also came at Emirates Stadium with Arsenal as the host. A $10 bet for Arsenal returns $17 this time around.

NHL

Detroit Red Wings vs Seattle Kraken — Red Wings

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lightning — Lightning

Ottawa Senators vs Dallas Stars — Senators

Carolina Hurricanes vs Anaheim Ducks — Hurricanes

Vegas Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild — Golden Knights

The Senators were struggling while away during the World Juniors and also lost their homecoming in embarrassing fashion with a 4-0 setback to the Sabres on Thursday, but Ottawa will bounce back with another spirited effort from captain Brady Tkachuk to down Dallas. The Stars will likely be favoured on the road, so consider this another Upset Special.

NFL

Buffalo Bills vs Denver Broncos — Bills

Philadelphia Eagles vs Green Bay Packers — Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Washington Commanders — Buccaneers

Best Bet

Buffalo covers the 8.5-point spread at -115, returning $18.70 from $10. That feels like a slam dunk for Josh Allen and the Bills, who are the second-biggest favourite of the Wild Card round (-455 to the Ravens’ -500). If you’re confident in Buffalo covering, consider $100 for $187.

NBA

New York Knicks vs Milwaukee Bucks — Bucks

Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets — Nuggets

Chicago Bulls vs Sacramento Kings — Bulls

Washington Wizards vs Oklahoma City Thunder — Thunder

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers — Cavaliers

Orlando Magic vs Philadelphia 76ers — 76ers

Boston Celtics vs New Orleans Pelicans — Celtics

Utah Jazz vs Brooklyn Nets — Jazz

Phoenix Suns vs Charlotte Hornets — Suns

Those top two games could go either way and could ruin your parlay. Knicks or Bucks, Mavericks or Nuggets … flip a coin and combine those picks at your own risk. But both should be barnburners worth watching if you find time to turn on hoops — perhaps at halftime or commercial breaks for the NFL playoffs.

Monday, January 13

NHL

Philadelphia Flyers vs Florida Panthers — Panthers

Chicago Blackhawks vs Calgary Flames — Blackhawks

Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings — Oilers

Can both Alberta teams come out on top? Sure, and both should be favoured come Monday, but Connor Bedard and Taylor Hall could get the better of Calgary, while Edmonton has had the Kings’ number in the playoffs but will be trying to avenge a 4-3 overtime loss in L.A. on Dec. 28.

NFL

Los Angeles Rams vs Minnesota Vikings — Vikings

Parlay Party

Chargers. Ravens. Bills. Eagles. Buccaneers. Vikings. 5 legs for $100.19 from $10.

All five of my Wild Card winners are favoured despite the Chargers and Vikings being road teams. Monday’s game has been moved to Arizona due to the fires in L.A., thus becoming a neutral site contest.

NBA

Washington Wizards vs Minnesota Timberwolves — Timberwolves

New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons — Knicks

Toronto Raptors vs Golden State Warriors — Warriors

Houston Rockets vs Memphis Grizzlies — Grizzlies

Los Angeles Clippers vs Miami Heat — Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs — Lakers

LeBron and the Lakers return fire in the rematch against San Antonio, assuming Wembanyama gets the win on Saturday as predicted. I was tempted to take the Raptors over the Warriors as an Upset Special but Golden State will be well rested with the weekend off, so that won’t bode well for Toronto. Curry will be shooting out the lights in the Six!

Final Thoughts

For those keeping count, that is a total of 87 straight bets from Friday through Monday and almost 100 when factoring in those touted parlays and player props.

Stay tuned to the comments here to find out how I fared with this initial foray into sports betting. It is always easier said than done, but here’s hoping I’ll be batting above .500 and closer to .750 for a winning weekend. Wish me luck and feel free to piggyback any or all of those bets … #NotFinancialAdvice!