The Action Network’s Cash Corner: Looking Back on Last Week’s Bets (April 28 to May 4)

Just like any team in recent history that has trailed the Atlanta Falcons in the 4th quarter — or the New York Mets in the 9th inning — the sports landscape has made an incredible comeback.

This is the type of comeback that we all saw coming but still couldn’t fathom to be true: A revival of monumental proportions that shouldn’t be taken lightly and deserves to be acknowledged before we carry on with our everyday lives.

Think about what we witnessed in the past week:

• NFL Draft
• Kentucky Derby
• PGA TOUR: Valspar Championship
• UFC Fight Night
• NHL, NBA and MLB Games
• Champions League, Europa League, EPL, Serie A, La Liga, MLS, etc.
• Tennis: Madrid Open

Rewind a full year from last week and what were you doing? Odds are you were sitting on your couch at home watching the news, bombarded by discouraging words and sentiments like ‘lockdown’, ‘social distancing’ and “things are going to get worse before they get better”.

And if your gambling itch wasn't bad enough, you were then subjected to betting on sports like Australian Football, Korean Baseball, Madden Simulations and Russian Table Tennis.

Fast-forward 365 long and drawn-out days, and all of a sudden we are back to watching games at bars. In fact, there are so many events going on at once that you need to ask your waitress to turn on the correct channel for you and your friends. If that’s not a comeback, I don’t know what is.

Whether you won or lost money over the past week, let’s be appreciative of how far we have come and where we are heading. Before you jump into your plans for next week and start looking at the games you are going to wager on, let’s take a look back on a week that has truly made things feel ‘normal’ again.

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Last Week’s Big Things

#1. The 2021 NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is always one of the most underrated betting spectacles on the sports calendar. Just because the players aren’t strapping on their shoulder pads doesn’t mean we can’t bet on it!

This event happens once a year and is discussed for months leading up to the NFL faithful booing Roger Goodell as he struts up to the podium for the first time. This is one of the most hyped-up events — and the time where everyone from your little cousin to the mailman becomes a ‘draft expert’.

Biggest Winners: Everyone who Faded Mac Jones

Just like the nicest kid in school who asks the prettiest girl to the prom, did Mac Jones ever really have a chance? For weeks the Alabama product was the betting favorite to be selected No. 3 overall, and then draft day came.

The first thing we saw was line movement.

Late line movement that happens right before big games and events is always the most telling for where smart money is landing. Sportsbooks make betting limits highest as events draw closer, which in turn means bigger bets are going to be placed and the odds are going to shift accordingly.

During about a four-hour period, Trey Lance’s odds shifted from +150 to -200, and all of a sudden Mac Jones was no longer the favorite to be selected No. 3 overall.

Next came the Simon Hunter story.

At about 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon, professional bettor and Action Network analyst Simon Hunter broke the news that the Mac Jones to the 49ers rumor was indeed all smoke and no fire — and that Trey Lance was much more likely to be the new guy in San Francisco.

In his article he even mentioned that "if Jones goes third in tonight’s draft, I’m looking at a mid five-figure loss. If he lands between the fourth and 15th pick, it’ll be a six-figure win."

At the end of the day, Trey Lance was selected No. 3 overall in the NFL Draft while Mac Jones fell all the way to No. 15.

What a win for everyone that decided to fade the Mac Attack and load up on Trey Lance before the odds saw too much movement.

Biggest Winners: Eagles and Bears Fans

Could 2021 be an even stranger year than 2020? I ask this question for one reason and one reason only: Chicago and Philly fans are actually happy about who their teams drafted.

Both squads traded up from their original draft spots in order to select potentially franchise-altering players.

The Eagles traded up from the the No. 12 overall pick to the No. 10 spot to fill a much-needed void at wide receiver by selecting the 2020-21 Heisman Trophy Award winner, DeVonta Smith.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears made a draft selection that may finally help the Windy City get over drafting Mitch Trubisky before names like Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Bears traded up to the No. 11 overall pick to select a proven winner, unbelievable athlete and franchise QB-hopeful in Justin Fields from Ohio State.

Biggest Winners: Bill Belichick and Mac Jones

This isn’t really a hot take, but I absolutely love (and hate … because I’m a Jets fan) Mac Jones going to New England. Seriously, there could not be a more perfect fit in this year’s draft.

Everyone thought the Patriots were going to trade into the top 10 in order to secure one of the top-4 quarterbacks available. But, like a leopard stalking its prey, Belichick sat back and didn’t make a sound. Mac Jones fell into Belichick's lap at the No. 15 spot, and the league should be terrified because of it.

When you think of the best coach in college football history, who comes to mind? Nick Saban, of course. When you think about the best coach in NFL history, who do you think of? Bill Belichick.

Both Saban and Belichick are no-nonsense coaches who know how to get the best out of their players.

Now, take a pinpoint-accurate pocket passer who is praised for both his discipline and intelligence, and transfer him from a coach with seven National Championship rings to a coach with six Super Bowl rings. Seems like a match made in heaven to me.

Biggest Winners: College Teammate Reunions

• LSU/Cincinnati Bengals: Ja'Marr Chase (WR) selected 5th overall & Joe Burrow (QB).
• Alabama/Miami Dolphins: Jaylen Waddle (WR) selected 6th overall & Tua Tagovailoa (QB).
• Alabama/Philadelphia Eagles – DeVonta Smith (WR) selected 10th overall & Jalen Hurts (QB).
• Clemson/Jacksonville Jaguars- Trevor Lawrence (QB) selected 1st overall and Travis Etienne (RB) selected 25th overall.

It’s easy to appreciate the built-in chemistry some of these younger players will have when the 2021 season start. Dropping back to pass and seeing your favorite receiver or running back from your college days cutting across the middle of the field has to be reassuring when the pocket is collapsing and you need to get the ball out of your hands.

Biggest Winners: Alabama Recruiting, Nick Saban and Crimson Tide Draft Bettors

Nick Saban has a factory running down in Tuscaloosa, and the chief export is NFL-ready players. Young high schoolers enter his program as boys and leave as men. The Alabama football program churns out NFL players at an alarming rate, and this year was no different.

It felt like every other name called was a college athlete that once donned the crimson and white. Six (!) ‘Bama players were drafted in the first round, with Najee Harris securing the over (5.5) for anyone that bet on Alabama players to be drafted in the first round.

All I have to say is: Nick Saban is pretty good at his job.

#2. The Running of the Roses

I’m not a horse-racing expert. I'm not even a novice when it comes to the subject matter. I know next to nothing about the sport, but I still know who Bob Baffert is, and by gosh he has done it again.

His horse Medina Spirit secured the early lead at the 174th running of the Kentucky Derby and never relinquished it. The horse went wire-to-wire to cash at 12/1, beating the odds on favorite Essential Quality (2/1) among other horses in the field.

Bob Baffert, the man who trained 2015 Triple Crown Winner ‘American Pharoah' and 2018 Triple Crown Winner ‘Justify,’ claimed his seventh Kentucky Derby victory since 1997.

Baffert’s pure-breeds have beaten out the cream of the crop in back-to-back years, as ‘Authentic’ beat out the highly touted ‘Tiz the Law’ this past Fall.

We threw together the 2021 Kentucky Derby Results: Full Finishing Order, Exacta, Trifecta & Superfecta Payouts.

Whether you’re at your best friends’ wedding or your child’s graduation, it’s always socially acceptable to take any necessary measures to watch the Derby.

#3. The Stars Have Aligned in the NBA

The Boston Celtics have failed to meet expectations over the past few seasons, and it seems like this season will be no different. The Celtics are currently the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference and are on course to compete in the NBA play-in games. If there is one man who can lead the Celtics into contention, it’s the 23-year old supserstar Jayson Tatum.

On Friday night, the Cetlics (-198 ML) came back from a 32-point deficit to defeat the Spurs in overtime. Jayson Tatum dropped 60 points — 31 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime — which tied the legendary Larry Bird’s Celtics record.

Not to be outdone, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant each tried to one-up Tatum's historic game with their own mesmorizing performances on Sunday afternoon:

• Durant: 42 points, 10 rebounds.
• Antetokounmpo: 49 points, 8 rebounds & 2 assists.

It was Antetokounmpo and Bucks bettors who got the last laugh as the ‘Greek Freak’ willed his squad to a 3-point victory, covering the spread by a half-point.

Although Antetokounmpo and Durant entered the game with point totals of 29 and 28.5 respectively, two bettors foresaw big games from two of the best players in the league and put their money to good use:

The Best Thing I saw on The Action Network Twitter Handle

The first thing I always ask when I see a parlay like the one below is, “Why can’t I be this lucky?” Then, I question whether this person is from the future … but that doesn’t make sense either, because then they surely would have bet more than $5 on the parlay.

Regardless, it’s always impressive when bettors are able to toss these absurd parlays together and turn lunch money into cash for a new car. Props to this person for turning $5 into $13.8K on what must have been the sweat of a lifetime.

Speaking of people being from the future, please watch this and try to convince me this broadcaster didn’t hop in a time machine just to make this prediction

Notable Events on the Upcoming Sports Schedule

• Tuesday, May 4: Nets vs. Bucks | Man City vs. PSG (UCL Semis)
• Wednesday, May 5: Nuggets vs. Knicks | Knights vs. Wild | Chelsea vs. Real Madird (UCL Semis)
• Thursday, May 6: Clippers vs. Lakers | Astros vs. Yankees
• Friday, May 7: Suns vs. Knicks | Nuggets vs. Jazz
• Saturday, May 8: UFC Fight Night | Angles vs. Dodgers | Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs
• Sunday, May 9: Final Round of Wells Fargo Championship | Suns vs. Lakers | Phillies vs. Braves (Sunday Night Baseball)

Snippets

• The Valspar Championship is in the books, and our guys at GolfBet are already looking forward to next weekend’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Chris Murphy breaks down the three players he is buying out of the loaded field. Read More »»
• Aaron Rodgers almost stole the show on day one of the NFL Draft when new information came out about his displeasure with the Green Bay organization. Samantha Previte breaks down the odds on Rodgers' next destination. Read More »»
• As of Monday May, 3 the Lakers have moved to +460 to win the NBA Title at FanDuel Sportsbook. Those are the longest odds the Lakers have had all season. They opened the year at +275 to win it all. Read More »»
• The NFL season doesn’t start for another four months, but our NFL experts are already making early cases for next year's offensive and defensive rookies of the year. Read More »»
• The Action Network has been acquired by Better Collective. What you should know about the recent groundbreaking deal: Read More »»