NFL Football Headlines Hot Betting Events for the Weekend of August 5-8



The Hall of Fame Game starts the NFL season and sports betting for this weekend.

With August heating up this weekend the top betting events start with the NFL's Hall of Fame Game!! There's also a full slate of Major League Baseball action, including a huge NL East baseball matchup and the Olympic Men's basketball finals late Friday night.

2021 Hall of Fame Football Betting

Sportsbooks have been  salivating for months waiting for the return of NFL football. Tonight it all starts with the Dallas Cowboys taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at 8 PM ET.

NFL HOF game betting predictionThe betting line for the HOF game opened months ago at Circa and the Westgate Superbook in Vegas, and at BookMaker and other outlets online, with the Steelers as a slight one point favorite. however, after last year's poor showing by the 'Boys, the line has moved slightly in Pittsburgh's favor. BetOnline has the Steelers at -2.5 and Bovada has the black and gold at -2. The total for the game opened at 33 around the globe and now is sitting at 31.5 at the top online sportsbooks.

The total looks awfully low, but remember, this is the first game of the year and these teams have only been in training camp for a short while. In the past 10 Hall of Fame games, more than 35 points have been scored only four times. And, in the last five games, four have gone under, with the last game in 2019, hitting just 24. With many teams suffering injuries already, starters will barely see the field. It is widely known that defenses outpace offenses in preseason, so it is no surprise the over/under has been bet down. Still, the betting public loves to bet over the total, so an under play may be in store as game time approaches.

And don't forget, this is the first year there are only three preseason games. So, look for guys name Cooper Rush, Garrett Gilbert, Ben DiNucci, Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins, and Joshua Dobbs to take just about every snap for their teams. This all makes an Under bet look even more attractive.

Olympic Hoops Final

The Men's Basketball Gold Medal Game has France taking on the tournament favorite, USA, at 10:30 PM ET on Friday. The U.S. is pegged as 12-point favorites at sports betting outlets worldwide, with a total of 175.5. The Americans are finally getting it together, with a resounding 19-point win over Australia to get to the Gold Medal game, despite trailing by 15 at one point. 

Olympic Gold Medal basketball betting tipsTheir opponent is the same French squad that handed the U.S their only loss of the Games 83-75 in the opening round. France squeaked by Slovenia 90-89 as underdogs in their semi-final match. 

The U.S. Men have won by 19, 14, 35 and 54 (vs Iran) to get to the final game. It is not surprising that they are favored by 12. France can play some D, with NBA Defensive player of the year, Rudy Gobert, on the French squad, but Team USA has not really even put a good solid 40 minutes of play together yet.

Kevin Durant has been a monster in previous Olympics' Gold Medal contest and he was able to get some added rest vs. Australia. Kris Middleton and Jrue Holiday have been excellent off of their NBA Championship run and the team has played solid defense throughout the Games. It's easy to back the U.S. late Friday night.

MLB betting

NL East Phillies Mets odds picksThe Mets head to Philly for a three game series this weekend to determine first place in the NL East. The Mets send Marcus Stroman to the hill against new Phillie Kyle Gibson. Gibson looked stellar in his first start for the Phillies going six and a third, while giving up just two runs. Stroman has pitched well all season with an ERA under 3, but the Mets have struggled when he starts, winning just 10 of his 22 appearances. BetOnline rightfully has the Phillies as -110 favorites, with a total of 8.5 runs that looks a little high. 

These two teams appear headed in opposite directions right now. The Mets have lost five of their last 7, while Philadelphia has won four straight. On Sunday the Phillies send former Met Zack Wheeler to the hill. He's got 15 quality starts in 22 appearances and the Phillies are 13-9 behind him. In addition, they have won three times in his last four outings. We expect to see the Phillies as a slight favorite in this series and when the number gets posted, take Philadelphia to win this ultra important, NL East deciding, series.


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