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Week 9 NFL betting nuggets to know for every game

Last week’s top trends didn’t come through after the Chiefs allowed a backdoor field goal to the Broncos and the Packers-Rams over came up a point short.

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This week, the top trends point the Jets toward success in Miami and the Patriots to flip the calendar to November in fashion. Here are the rest of the trends that should help you in betting the NFL this weekend.

All lines are courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-5, 49) — 1 p.m. ET

Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5, 52) at Cleveland Browns — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Browns are 3-13 ATS in their past 16 games as an underdog of at least seven points.

  • Patrick Mahomes is 5-0 ATS in five career road starts. The over is 4-1 in those five games.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-3, 47) — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Ravens are 7-1 ATS in the past eight meetings between these division rivals.

  • The under is 19-5-1 in the Steelers’ past 25 road games.

  • The under is 4-0 in the past four meetings in Baltimore between these division rivals.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-2.5, 43.5) — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Jets are 15-3-2 ATS in their past 20 road games against the Dolphins.

  • The Dolphins are 1-4 ATS since starting the season 3-0 ATS and 3-0 SU.

  • The over is 13-3 in the Dolphins’ past 16 home games played in Miami. This includes a 2-0 over record at home against the Jets during this span.

Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins (-1.5, 48) — 1 p.m. ET

Chicago Bears (-10, 37) at Buffalo Bills — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Bills are 0-3 ATS as a home underdog of at least seven points under head coach Sean McDermott.

  • The under is 6-0 in the Bills’ past six games.

  • The Bears haven’t been favored by this many points on the road since Week 6 of the 2006 season at Arizona. Chicago won 24-23 over the Cardinals as 11-point favorites in that memorable game (Dennis Green: “The Bears are who we thought they were!”).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers (-6, 55) — 1 p.m. ET

Houston Texans at Denver Broncos (-1, 46) — 4:05 p.m. ET

  • The Broncos are 3-0 ATS in their last three games after going 2-14-1 ATS in their previous 17 games.

  • The under is 7-2 in the Texans’ past nine games.

Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks (PK, 47.5) — 4:25 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Rams (-1.5, 58.5) at New Orleans Saints — 4:25 p.m. ET

Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots (-5, 56.5) — 8:20 p.m. ET

  • The Patriots are 12-1 ATS in their past 13 regular-season games played in November or later.

  • The over is 23-7 in the Packers’ past 30 games. That includes a 13-2 over record in 15 road games during this span.

Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys (-5, 40.5) — 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday)

  • The Titans are 4-1 with three outright wins in their past five games as an underdog.

  • The Titans are 6-0 ATS in their past six games played on Monday Night Football.

  • The under is 13-3 in the Cowboys’ past 16 games.

Soccer

Football Leaks: Infantino helped City, PSG cover up FFP violations

A bombshell revelation from Football Leaks passed through a consortium of worldwide outlets Friday, detailing a series of backroom deals orchestrated by a pair of European giants to circumvent Financial Fair Play (FFP) violations, and secret plans for a “Super League” consisting only of Europe’s heavyweights.

Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, reigning champions of Ligue 1 and the Premier League, respectively, were reportedly helped by FIFA president Gianni Infantino – then UEFA’s general secretary – to cover up their FFP violations.

According to Der Spiegel, Infantino allegedly held secret meetings with PSG and Manchester City officials and provided them with confidential material while the clubs were being investigated by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body.

The German publication details how Infantino met discreetly with PSG general manager Jean-Claude Blanc in 2014 to discuss how the French club could tweak its contract with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) to avoid serious punishment from UEFA.

Infantino apparently accepted a deal that forced PSG to reduce the value of their contract with QTA – though the resulting figure remained more than 30 times higher than the sponsorship’s “fair value,” established as part of the FPP investigation. PSG was allowed to make up the €115-million reduction with new sponsors, which were again mostly from Qatar, but that wasn’t included in the settlement document. In return, the wording of the settlement was strict enough that UEFA’s reputation wouldn’t suffer.

This, however, was not an isolated incident.

Infantino, along with disgraced former UEFA president Michel Platini, also assisted City in negotiating a similar settlement with the European governing body despite investigators deeming the club’s sponsorship contracts with Abu Dhabi companies as “significantly overvalued.”

“The strategy, as one attorney suggested to Man City leadership, should be to reach a deal the club could live with, but without having to admit any misconduct,” Der Spiegel reports.

Both PSG and City have issued statements refuting the information in the leaks, with the latter adding: “The attempt to damage the Club’s reputation is organized and clear,” courtesy of the BBC’s Simon Stone.

Smaller clubs have been banned entirely from European competition for violating financial regulations. Russian outfit Rubin Kazan were barred in October for two seasons from UEFA club competitions.

‘Super League’ in the works

TF-Images / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The leaks also highlighted a coordinated effort from some of the sport’s biggest clubs to launch a “European Super League” behind the backs of their respective football associations.

As revealed by Der Spiegel, a leaked email sent last month to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez revealed 11 clubs as “Founders” of a “European Super League” that would commence in 2021 – coinciding with a planned demise of the Champions League and allowing the clubs to separate from UEFA’s jurisdiction.

Real Madrid would be joined by Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG, City, Liverpool, and AC Milan as “Founders.”

Five more clubs – Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille, Inter Milan, and Roma – would join as “Initial Guests.”

The 11 founders would be spared from relegation at the end of each season. They would hold a 20-year membership as well as potential varying ownership stakes in the league.

Der Spiegel notes Bayern Munich denied knowledge of any such document, while Real Madrid declined to comment.

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, however, did admit early talks of a Super League among Europe’s elite were real.

“(It) is clear, and I also believe that a few of Europe’s large clubs are clearly working on it,” Watzke said.

NFL

Gruden doubles down: We're building a title team

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jon Gruden stood by his claim that players are “dying” to play for the Oakland Raiders in 2019, adding that he doesn’t believe his current players took it as a message that they are not good enough.

“I’m just trying to get people excited about the Oakland Raiders,” Gruden said after his team was thumped 34-3 by the San Francisco 49ers in the final Battle of the Bay on Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium. The Raiders move to Las Vegas in 2020.

“The Oakland Raiders is a great organization. I know it’s not looking pretty right now. I’ve heard a lot of negativity over the last six or seven months, and rightfully so. But we’re going to build a championship football team here. I know a lot of people as players, as fans, just in general, want to be a part of this.”

The Raiders fell to 1-7 at the season’s midway point and have an inside track to a top 2 pick in April’s NFL draft. Oakland also has two other first-round picks, from the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, after trading edge rusher Khalil Mack and receiver Amari Cooper.

In an interview with Fox Sports this week, Gruden told Raiders Hall of Famer Howie Long that players around the league have expressed their desire to play for him in 2019.

“I get a lot of phone calls from people that are dying to come play here. I’m just telling you. They’re dying to play for the Raiders,” Gruden told Long. “And to have salary-cap space and to have a chance to talk to the people that you really want to wear the silver and black, the guys you really want to wear the silver and black and represent this team, that’s exciting.”

Raiders veteran defensive end Frostee Rucker, a 12-year veteran who is in his first season with Oakland, said he believed others would want to come to Oakland, despite the poor record and plummeting play.

“Absolutely, I’m sure,” Rucker said. “You get a chance to play for this storied franchise? That’s why I came — it’s Coach Gruden. I came here for [defensive coordinator] Paul Guenther. I came to put that skull on my helmet, and I’m still fighting, every day. I still love to be a Raider.”

And while Rucker said he had not seen the Gruden interview with Long, he did acknowledge, “Maybe some of the noise from the outside has gotten in, you know? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe all this writing, all this stuff on social media has taken its toll on some guys listening to it.

“No one’s packing it in. Coach hasn’t quit. It’s not about next year, or the year after that. It’s not about that. We’re trying to win. It’s just not happening right now.”

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said he was curious about the roster going forward.

“The thing that we’re at now is, who’s going to want to continue to show up? Who’s going to continue to fight?” Carr said.

“Because those are the kind of men you want on the team when it starts going well. Those are the kind of guys that when coach isn’t around or one of our leaders, everyone in the locker room, the conversations they’re having, they’re only building us forward. Because the ones that pull you away, you don’t want any of those guys.”

Gruden, meanwhile, said he is approached by players after “every game” who want to play for Oakland.

“That’s been the case my whole life,” he said. “I think the brand of the Raiders is an exciting one. I think a lot of players, no doubt, do want to play for us in the future.”

Soccer

Bolt ends trial with Central Coast Mariners after talks break down

Eight-time gold medalist Usain Bolt has ended his experiment with Australian club Central Coast Mariners.

Bolt’s representatives were unable to find a suitable commercial partner to supplement a prospective contract, the Mariners said in a statement Thursday.

The 32-year-old was seeking an annual salary of $3 million, according to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Vince Rugari, but the offer on the table was apparently set at $150,000 per year.

The Australian Football Association was prepared to help the Mariners fund a deal, but the total proposal ultimately fell short.

“I would like to thank the Central Coast Mariners owners, management, staff, players, and fans for making me feel so welcome during my time there,” Bolt said. “I wish the club success for the season ahead.”

The former Olympic sprinter, who scored two goals during his short time with the Mariners, had agreed to sit out training while discussing his future. The A-League side expedited contract talks after Bolt received a two-year offer from Maltese outfit Valletta FC.

However, Mariners coach Mike Mulvey made it clear in late October that Bolt would get few opportunities in the A-League.

“You have a look at our front line today and you wonder whether he could get into any of those positions, wouldn’t you?” Mulvey said. “I do appreciate how important this story is for the rest of the world.”

Many questioned whether the addition of Bolt was anything more than a publicity stunt.

Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth made no secret of his impact Thursday, saying their partnership was “mutually beneficial” and one “that brought an increased level of excitement and attention to the Mariners and the Hyundai A-League.”

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Soccer