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March Madness Report: Fun Friday!

Cinderella found her shoe. A big name coach set a dubious record. Torn tickets littered the Sportsbooks' floors and busted brackets swept the office pools. A fun Friday of pure Madness on St. Patty's Day!

Watch: If you want a game with posterized dunks, wild swings, bomb-away threes, falling down shots, and a last-second finish, take in TCU-Arizona State. Live chat cashed on a live bet on the game too!

Recap: Only the 2nd 16-seed to ever win a 1st round game, as little Fairleigh Dickinson took down mighty Purdue, with the Boilermakers head coach now setting a new record: losing to a 13, 15 and 16 seed in the tourney, and doing it in back-to-back-to-back tourneys! Friday favorites went 10-6 against the line, and 13-3 straight up, as the public took a beating like an overdue debtor from Tony with the bat. Sportsbooks cleaned up, as the public's favorite dogs -- VCU, Drake, and Kent St. lost against the # -- and the public's favorite favorites (Memphis & Gonzaga) failed to cover or lost outright. Through the 1st round, 25 higher seeds prevailed, and 23 Vegas favorites won outright. Including the First Four, favorites are 20-16 against the number, with 11 dogs winning outright, a little low by historic metrics, but close to the norm. A 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16 seed all still made it to the 2nd round, as did two 9 seeds.

Preview: At least 2 low seeds will make the Sweet-16, as they play each other in the 2nd round. Public betting heaviest on Auburn, Princeton & Duke. Sharp $ on Furman & under in the Duke-Tennessee matchup. By historic metrics for seeds and Vegas lines, the spreads in the Houston & Kansas games are very low, while the rest are in accord with the norm. Friday's 8 games features 6 games with 1 or 2 seeds (or their upset replacement). While Penn State could give a double-digit seed a Sweet 16 birth with a win, the Princeton-Missouri matchup guarantees a 7 seed or lower will make the Sweet 16. The rest of the Cinderellas wait for Sunday.

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Barnes Brothers MEGA World Cup Preview
01:57:40
Barnes Brothers Do It Again!!!!

What if someone would have told you that Tottenham Spurs would AVOID RELEGATION by the "skin of their teeth"??

Would You Listen?!?!

IF YOU DIDN'T..... NEXT TIME YOU WILL BECAUSE ALL THE BARNES BROTHERS DO IS WIN BABY WIN!!!!

00:08:15
Another SportsPicks Winner!!!!

Arsenal Takes Home EPL Crown.... And The Barnes Brothers Told Ya It Would Happen!!

00:08:22
SEC Preview Podcast

A full breakdown of every team in the SEC, including talent analysis, coordinator concern, and schedule forecasts, with win total expectations. Enjoy!

SEC Preview Podcast
Smokehouse Mike's NCAAB

March Madness final four recap and Championship preview...

Smokehouse Mike's NCAAB
Smokehouse Mike's NBA
Smokehouse Mike's NBA
LIVE CHAT FOR 2026

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@Crickett1414 I think the Stanley Cup can come back to the Panthers.

Sports Morning Espresso Shot - 6/22/26

ANY PICKS MADE IN THIS SHOW ARE NOT SPORTSPICKS "OFFICIAL PICKS"

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OFFICIAL PICKS: Midterms, 2026
House Elections Projections
 
The House tends to be more responsive to midterm dynamics, but, like the Senate, swings hard in elections where some combination of the Four Factors are present -- cost of living crisis or recession; war; major scandal; betrayal or down-ballot realignment. A fun map to use is this simulator, which takes partisan averages from existing models, and plugs in the map based on your adjustment of the generic ballot edge for one party or another. https://globalelectionsimulator.com/#/usa-house
 
Historic Norms: When a combination of the Four Factors are present, this is the kind of swing you get:
1930: 52 seat swing
1946: 55 seat swing
1958: 49 seat swing
1974: 49 seat swing
1994: 54 seat swing
2006: 31 seat swing
 
2026 PROJECTIONS

 

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Barnes Betting Report: Senate 2026

First, four factors dictate whether there is major turnover in the Senate in a midterm election independent of the favorability of the Senate map (due to only one-third of seats being up in any given midterm). Often, as was the case in both 2018 and 2022, is that incumbents are not destined to lose seats, outside of realigning elections in unfavorable maps. This cycle's map favors the GOP, which is why the prediction markets and most forecasters expect a GOP majority in the 2027 Senate. The four factors that prove dangerous to the incumbent party are: first, a recession or cost of living crisis; second, a war; third, a major scandal; and fourth, a sense of betrayal in the voter group that backed the incumbent amongst some portion of their prior electoral coalition. Five midterms feature some combingation of those factors in some significant degree: 1930, 1946, 1958, 1974 and 2006.

Without those factors present in multiple forms, the incumbent party can expect to hold on to seats in states it previously won outside the national margin. When those factors are present, the landscape shifts dramatically. Examining those White House incumbent seats that showed a state-wide election decided by single digits in the prior decade produces the following probabilities: the incumbent White House party lost at least 67% of its incumbent held seats, as much as 85% of its incumbent held seats, and an average of 75% of its incumbent hold seats, rarely upsetting the opposition party in any seat and often losing a surprise or two in seats considered completely safe. 

 

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Barnes Betting Report: Massie Deep Dive
Based on historic turnout patterns in contested GOP primaries, early voting to date, and a range of polling sources, this is my updated set of forecasts for the Kentucky 4th Congressional District GOP primary. 
 

 

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