Beat the Guru: AFL Week 4
Adam Markowitz
Friday April 23, 2010
The bye week. It's what often separates the best teams from the worst teams, as coaches continue to prepare for the upcoming battles even though the players all have the week off from practice. Nearly half of the league is on that proverbial bye this week, a few teams of which are already on their second bye of the season.
Here at ArenaFan, there are no bye weeks for us, and the Guru is always ready to pounce on the AFL betting lines! However, thanks to some computer errors (read as: I may be an AFLGuru, but I'm not a computer guru and accidentally deleted the file), I haven't had a chance to calculate winners from last week. I'll be sure to rectify the situation next week.
But for now, let's get right to the Week 4 action!
Disclaimer: This information should be used for entertainment purposes only. Should you choose to actually lay real money on these games, that’s purely your choice, and neither I nor ArenaFan are responsible. Lines courtesy of Olympic Sportsbook as of Friday morning.
Utah Blaze (+23) @ Chicago Rush: What in the name of the Las Vegas Gladiators and Grand Rapids Rampage is going on right now? After all, aren't they the only two teams in AFL history that were ever special enough to be underdogs by 20+ points on a regular basis? I suppose the winless Carolina Cobras from yesteryear were eligible for this as well, but no one really cared about the betting lines back then. So now, we have a real quandary. Do we dare back this Utah team, which has been the epitome and definition of embarrassment this season, or a Chicago team laying over three touchdowns. Utah is bad... but I hope that it isn't THAT bad.
Guru's Pick: Rush by "just" 20
Tulsa Talons (+5.5) @ Arizona Rattlers: Hey Rattlers, what gives? You give away every ticket in your stadium for free and you come out and lay a total egg? Way to make me look like an idiot. For whatever reason, the oddsmakers still don't believe in this Tulsa team 100% as of yet. I'm not a believer that the Talons are as good as the best teams in the league, but there's no doubt that they're a solid club. As far as Arizona goes... Does that win against Cleveland really look like even a somewhat reasonable victory anymore?
Guru's Pick: Upset Special, Tulsa by 3
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs (OTB) @ Iowa Barnstormers: Way to go NFL Network. You could've put Tulsa/Arizona or Tampa Bay/Milwaukee on television, but instead, you really want to see a battle between the winless Barnstormers and the Sparky McEwen led Yard Dawgz. Would you like to guess how many road games that good ol' McClueless won in three years with Grand Rapids? Two. That's right. Exactly two in three years. Sparky sez, "The Well" is going to see its first win of the year.
Guru's Pick: Barnstormers by 11
Tampa Bay Storm (OTB) @ Milwaukee Iron: Here's a mighty interesting game. The Storm looked great in their dismantling of the Dallas Vigilantes last week, albeit against a club that was playing its first game without its starting quarterback. Milwaukee looks like one of the best teams in the league as well with QB Chris Greisen at the helm. The former Georgia Force standout has played practically flawless ball this year, throwing 16 touchdowns without a pick. Many are going to expect to see the Iron roll over Tampa Bay in this one, but I tend to believe otherwise. I'm a believer in the Storm, and a road upset seems to be in the cards.
Guru's Pick: Storm by 4
Recap
Utah +23
Tulsa +5.5
Iowa by 11
Tampa Bay by 4
For all of your AFL betting information and to get a look at the Guru's best plays for the weekend, check out his forum at Sports Prescription.
See how well you can do against the Guru. Make your picks here. Winners will be recognized weekly.
