No doubt the first images of the long Independence Day/Fourth of July weekend conjure up thoughts of fireworks and cookouts for the average American. Maybe marching bands and red, white & blue parades for those really patriotic. But hardly a celebration if you're the average bettor.

So, what are you going to sink your handicapping chops into for three days? The Cavs came back to upset the Warriors. The Pens won the Stanley Cup. Football is still two months away (pre-season doesn't count!!) and I think Euro Soccer is over. Yes, we got our baseball fix for another four months but something is really missing.

Excellent news!! I located your solution on popular offshore sportsbook Bovada and a few other preferred sportsbooks as well.

CHEW ON THIS

Indeed, the most competitive and exciting "sports event" takes place Monday afternoon, July 4th as Nathan's Famous celebrates their 100th anniversary with their Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. Not for the faint of heart, and not just for men but women too. These are athletes who train as hard as LeBron or Aaron Rodgers 364 days a year for this mega event. And best of all, you can wager on it.

A bit about the rules: it last approximately 10 minutes and the field is limited to about 20 participants. The competitors stand on a raised platform behind a long table with drinks and Nathan's Famous hot dogs in buns. Most contestants have water on hand, but other kinds of drinks are OK. Condiments are allowed, but are usually not used. The hot dogs are allowed to cool slightly after grilling to prevent possible mouth burns. The contestant that consumes (and keeps down) the most dogs and buns in ten minutes is declared the winner.

A designated scorekeeper is paired with each contestant, flipping a number board counting each hot dog consumed. Partially eaten hot dogs count and the granularity of measurement is eighths of a length. Hot dogs still in the mouth at the end of regulation count if they are subsequently swallowed. Yellow penalty cards can be issued for "messy eating" and red penalty cards issued for uhhh... "reversal of fortune", which results in a disqualification. If there's a tie the contestants go to a 5-hot-dog eat-off to see who can consume the quickest. Further ties will result in a sudden-death eat-off of eating 1 more hot dog the fastest. Got all that?

FOR BETTING PURPOSES

Major offshore sportsbooks have narrowed down their entries to the few obvious contest favorites, Matt Stonie and Joey Chesnut. Chesnut is kind of like the "Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan" of hot dog eating. A perennial champion, who's 8-year streak was busted last year in an upset by Stonie, who consumed 62 dogs.

This year the Over/Under or Total on the event for both favorite contestants at BetOnline and Bovada is 63.5. Just a hunch but I am going UNDER here. Maybe it's more stress we all face, who knows? We'll see that result live on ESPN, where it's scheduled to be broadcast. By the way, it draws a huge audience, both on premises at historic Coney Island in New York and on television.

If head to head action is your bag, Bovada offers a very competitive prop between the two favorites with Stonie listed at -130 and Chesnut at -110. Again, I have no inside information on who's been training better or won preliminary events. What is amazing is these guys are NOT large humans whatsoever, therefore how they're able to consume 60+ hot dogs in 10 minutes defies belief. And for sheer betting excitement, it sure beats waiting through the results of a Twins-Mariners game that day.

Also, keep in mind there will be other contest competitors but they are highly, highly unlikely to have a chance. Kind of similar to anybody else besides Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram going #1 in the NBA Draft last week. Foolish to be bet upon but keep in mind you lose should anyone else pull a shocker.

Known as an offshore wagering innovator, Bovada has also included women for the first time in the wagering category. Miki Sudo, who won the women's event the past two years is currently listed at -250 over Sonya Thomas at +170. Thomas won it three years prior. They even have an Over/Under for girls at 39.5. Gotta love a woman who can potentially eat 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Wonder if she's eligible for next year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition?

BEST WEEKEND BET

Speaking of great bets on women, you only have a limited time to place a proposition wager to guaranteed cash on a sure winner. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton to be the next United States President come first week of November.

Putting any personal political prejudices aside simply for betting purposes, I begged all to get down on Hill on February 1st when all preferred offshore sportsbooks had narrowed her odds to EVEN MONEY after Bernie Sanders won a few small primaries. That was way before Trump said 2,000 stupid things and a few other Republican candidates were still in the race.

Now take a look at the current odds for U.S. President listed at Bovada:

Hillary Clinton -340

Donald Trump +280

All Other +1400

If only CNN and people in Washington read these polls they'd know it's game over. Get your limited money down quick before the odds really go out of sight and look for it to be there on November 9th. That way if you lose by a half a point the night before on the Bills-Seahawks Monday Night Football game, you'll feel a bit better cashing something the next night.