Contributing Writer

CFL Week 9 parlay picks: Back Hamilton, Montreal in +458 wager

Three games go down this weekend, starting with the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night.

The latest: Both teams are dealing with injuries at the quarterback position, so points could be scarce in this week’s rematch. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are the hottest team in the CFL and look for a sixth straight win when they play the Edmonton Elks.

Check out this CFL Week 9 parlay, featuring a pick on the Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Montreal Alouettes game.

CFL Week 9 parlay picks

Parlay: Argonauts/Blue Bombers under 50.5 points + Tiger-Cats ML+ Alouettes +2.5 (+458)

Argonauts/Blue Bombers under 50.5 points (-110): These two teams met in Week 8, and the Argonauts won 31-17.

And with Zach Collaros now ruled out for Week 9, I can’t see why the total for this game should be this high.

Both sides will turn to their backup QBs, and that makes me believe at least one team will struggle to score.

Toronto has been relying on Nick Arbuckle all season now and has gone under this total in three of its past four games.

Winnipeg’s offence has struggled overall over the last three weeks, averaging 17.6 points and scoring 20 or fewer points in each game.

Everything here is trending towards a low-scoring contest.

Full CFL betting markets

Other parlay picks

Tiger-Cats ML (-190): What’s not to like with the Ti-Cats this week?

They’re on a five-game winning streak.

They have a Grade-A matchup with the 1-5 Edmonton Elks, who have a -55 point differential.

Hamilton has an average win margin of 10.6 points during its streak.

To add, the Ti-Cats have the best offence in the CFL, scoring 32.1 points per game while Bo Levi Mitchell has 15 passing touchdowns to three interceptions.

The Elks’ defence allows 31.8 points per game and looks like it could get exposed again by the CFL’s hottest team.

Alouettes +2.5 (-110): A lot of this pick has to do with Montreal playing at home.

The Als are 2-1 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium with the one loss coming by a single point to the BC Lions.

It’s also worth noting that starting quarterback Davis Alexander was out for that game. He will be out again on Saturday, so it’s not like much has changed. Alexander has played one game since Week 3.

Defence is the strong suit for the Alouettes, so a decent QB is all they need to be competitive. Montreal allows the second-fewest points per game (22.6).

Bethel McLeod Thompson started last week in a 23-21 road win over the now 5-3 Calgary Stampeders.

The Riders are 6-1 but recently lost 24-10 to the Stampeders and are coming off a less-than-impressive 21-18 win at home over the lowly Elks.

CFL Week 9 parlay picks made at 3:59 p.m. on 08/01/2025.

Victoria Mboko vs. Coco Gauff National Bank Open odds and best bet: Back Canadian to keep it close in round of 16

Victoria Mboko will see the world No. 2-ranked player, Coco Gauff, in the round of 16 at the National Bank Open.

The pregame narrative: Mboko is the underdog in this meeting, which goes without saying. The rising star will need the biggest win of her career to advance to the quarterfinal in front of the Canadian crowd in Montreal.

Check out our Mboko vs. Gauff odds and my best bet for the National Bank Open match on Friday, Aug. 1.

Mboko vs. Gauff odds: National Bank Open

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This could be a breakout moment for the Canadian in front of her home fans.

Mboko is a pretty sizeable underdog in her round of 16 match with Gauff, but she does hold some notable advantages. Let’s take a look.

Round of 16 best bet

Best bet: Mboko over 9.5 games won (-134)

The 18-year-old has held 77% of her service points at the National Bank Open compared to Gauff, who’s held 63% of her serves.

Mboko also has the power advantage, serving 1.1 aces per game while Gauff recorded just 0.25 through two matches.

That should make her tough to break, which will lead to games adding up in her favour.

The aspiring star does her best work on this playing surface. She’s 15-2 on outdoor hardcourts and 19-1 on indoor hardcourts this season.

Additionally, Gauff has struggled to this point in the tournament, needing all three sets to get past each of her first two opponents.

Mboko won two of three matches in straight sets.

Full Mboko vs. Gauff betting markets

This means, despite playing one less match, Gauff has played almost an hour more of tennis to reach the round of 16.

That also presumably gives the Canadian the stamina advantage in this match.

I believe Mboko is a live dog in this contest, and I’ll gladly back her on a fairly modest total that she can still cover in a straight set loss.

When these two met in May, Gauff won in three sets. However, that was contested on clay, which is the American’s best surface (73.1% win rate).

Key stat: This time around, it will be Mboko who is on her best court type as she has a 76.3% win rate in her career across all hard courts.

Mboko vs. Gauff odds and best bet as of 1:13 p.m. ET on 08/01/2025.

Best MLB prop bets Aug. 1: Back Pham, Caminero, Laureano and Leiter on Friday

Tommy Pham highlights the best MLB prop picks for the first day of August.

Today’s MLB props narrative: Pham has a dream matchup and can be had at a great price on his total bases prop, making him a slam-dunk play and my best bet tonight.

Check out my favourite MLB prop bets for Friday, Aug. 1, featuring predictions on Junior Caminero, Ramon Laureano and Jack Leiter.

MLB prop bets

Best bet: Pham over 1.5 total bases (+100)

Pham is on fire and his Pittsburgh Pirates are at MLB’s most hitter-friendly venue, Coors Field.

They face one of the sport’s worst starting pitchers, and the wind is expected to be blowing out. What more could you ask for?

Pham hit .388/.446/.597 last month.

He finished July with three consecutive multi-hit games and cleared 1.5 bases in 11 of 18 starts.

In July, he raised his average from .228 to .273 and his OPS from .595 to .721.

Since June 1, Pham has hit .355, slugged .555 and put up a .971 OPS.

The Colorado Rockies are starting Antonio Senzatela, who has an MLB-high 6.68 ERA (minimum 100 innings pitched).

Opponents are batting .349 off him, and only one pitcher who meets that innings threshold has a lower K rate.

It won’t just be Senzatela that Pham has the luxury of facing. Colorado’s 7.67 bullpen ERA over the last 30 days is the worst mark in MLB.

Key stat: Pham is batting .400 and has never struck out in 17 career plate appearances against Senzatela.

Best MLB picks

Caminero over 1.5 total bases (+105): Clayton Kershaw can’t be trusted at this point in his career.

Look past his respectable surface stats (3.62 ERA, 1.29 WHIP):

Kershaw’s expected ERA is 4.13 and he’s below the 10th percentile in K rate.

The lefty finished July with 10 strikeouts in 21 innings.

His hard-hit rate is by far the highest of his career (Statcast started tracking in 2015).

Caminero wasn’t overly productive in July but he still hit for decent power (six homers, .444 SLG). That was his lowest slugging month of the season, though well above the MLB average.

The first-time all-star has below-average walk and strikeout rates, too, so there should be an expectation that he’ll put the ball in play.

And when he does at home, where he’ll be tonight, good things usually happen.

Caminero is batting a robust .327/.365/.627 with 17 of his 27 homers at Steinbrenner Field, the Rays’ temporary home.

Laureano over 0.5 RBI (+170): There’s no confirmation at the time of this writing if the San Diego Padres’ new outfielder will play after getting traded from the Baltimore Orioles yesterday.

Assuming he’s a go, I love him at this price.

Laureano would likely slot just behind the middle of the lineup behind a collection of thumpers, including Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.

The Padres host the St. Louis Cardinals, who are starting left-hander Matthew Liberatore (5.58 ERA since June). Laureano hits southpaws well (.802 career OPS) and is having a fantastic season.

He’s batting .313 with a .935 OPS since the start of May.

Friday’s best pitching prop

Leiter over 4.5 Ks (-130): I played Leiter’s teammate Kumar Rocker on this line yesterday and he didn’t come through. But I like Leiter for similar reasons.

The Seattle Mariners had the fifth-highest K rate in July and have the 10th-highest mark vs. right-handers this season.

Leiter was strong in July and has completed six innings in three of his last five starts. More importantly, the Texas Rangers righty has topped this number in five straight and is 7-3 vs. this line in his last 10 outings.

One of those starts came against Seattle in June when he twirled six innings of one-hit ball with seven Ks.

Leiter has elite velocity, was a big K arm in the minors and is finding his groove after a rough first go in the majors last year.

MLB prop picks made at 3 p.m. ET on 08/01/2025.

National Bank Open round of 32 picks and predictions Aug. 1: Best bets for Shelton vs. Nakashima, Kalinskaya vs. Svitolina

The round of 32 continues at the National Bank Open on Friday.

The pregame narrative: Ben Shelton meets a familiar foe in Brandon Nakashima as the pair play for a third time this season. On the women’s side, Elina Svitolina and Anna Kalinskaya face off for a spot in the round of 16 in Montreal.

Check out my top National Bank Open predictions for Aug. 1, including a pick on Flavio Cobolli vs. Fabian Marozsan.

National Bank Open predictions

Best bet: Marozsan to win (-125)

This is a pick’em between two evenly matched players. But in my opinion, there are some clear advantages on the side of the Hungarian.

Since the return of hardcourt season, Marozsan is 3-1, taking all three wins in straight sets.

Cobolli hasn’t had the same success. The Italian needed three close sets to get past the No. 193 player on tour, Alexis Galarneau, in the round of 32.

For comparison, Marozsan beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 28) in straight sets his last time out.

Plus, Cobolli is an underwhelming 5-8 on outdoor hardcourts in 2025.

Key stat: The Italian has held 73.5% of his service points on the playing surface this year. Marozsan has a much better 84.9% hold rate on hardcourts.

Full tennis betting markets

National Bank Open best bet: Shelton vs. Nakashima

Over 23.5 games (-118): On paper, a lot is working against Nakashima in this matchup.

He is 0-4 against Shelton in his career, with three of those matches contested on outdoor hardcourts.

However, after looking at the scores, those contests were competitive.

First match: 7-5, 7-6
Second match: 7-6, 7-6
Third match: 7-6, 7-5, 7-5
Fourth match: 7-6, 6-1

Despite Shelton winning every set in all four meetings, three of the four matches went over today’s total. And I know the third match was at a Grand Slam major, but two sets still would’ve been enough.

I expect another close match between two young studs who have played each other four times since the start of last season.

Best bet: Kalinskaya vs. Svitolina

Svitolina -1.5 sets (-125): In their two career meetings, Svitolina has dominated Kalinskaya.

She most recently beat her counterpart back in February, on an outdoor hardcourt, and it wasn’t close (6-1, 6-2).

Kalinskaya looked like she was turning her season around, going to the final at the Citi Open before getting smoked by Leylah Fernandez (6-1, 6-2).

And now she’s just squeaking by at the National Bank Open. She’s needed all three sets in both wins leading up to the round of 32.

On the other side, Svitolina won her first match in straight sets. She’s 33-11 overall in 2025 and 12-5 on this playing surface.

Kalinskaya is 19-17 this season (7-7 on outdoor hardcourts), falling a tier below her opponent. The world No. 13 should be able to advance comfortably on Friday.

National Bank Open predictions made at 10:20 a.m. on 07/29/2025.

Royals vs. Blue Jays SGP predictions Aug. 1: Back Bo Bichette, Fade Kevin Gausman at +430

The Toronto Blue Jays start a new series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

The pregame narrative: The Jays will send a red-hot Kevin Gausman to the mound to face off with Michael Wacha for the Royals. Toronto has lost three of its past four but still sits comfortably atop the AL East standings.

Check out my Royals vs. Blue Jays same-game parlay predictions for Aug. 1, featuring Bo Bichette and Adam Frazier.

Royals vs. Blue Jays predictions

Parlay: Gausman under 5.5 Ks | Bichette over 1.5 bases | Frazier over 0.5 hits (+430)

Gausman under 5.5 Ks (-167): The Blue Jays veteran righty has been dealing over his last few starts.

He has eight or more Ks in three of his past four starts while boasting a 2.28 ERA during that span.

So why fade Gausman? Well, he has a very tough matchup against the Royals. Kansas City strikes out fewer times per game (6.84) than every MLB team other than the Blue Jays.

For that reason, I believe Gausman will have a tough time whiffing bats, even if he has a strong performance.

Besides, even with the recent run of play, his 8.95 K/9 is around the MLB average. He isn’t the elite strikeout arm he used to be, and the Royals don’t K often.

I don’t necessarily expect Gausman to have a bad start, but I do expect some regression in the strikeout numbers.

The Royals have a 13.7% K rate vs. right-handed pitching over the past 10 games.

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MLB SGP legs

Bichette over 1.5 bases (-106): Bichette came out of the all-star break on a tear.

He has at least a hit in 12 of the last 13 games with a .362 average.

He has cleared this line in eight of those 13 games.

And he gets a favourable matchup on Friday. He has five hits in 13 at-bats vs. Michael Wacha with a home run. That equates to a .615 SLG in those meetings.

Wacha has a below-average K-rate (18.4%) and a respectable 7.1% walk rate. He gets a lot of his outs with balls in play, which gives Bichette added opportunities to bat to ball.

Frazier over 0.5 hits (-134): The utility man has an extensive history against Gausman. In 44 at-bats, Frazier has 17 hits (.386).

On top of that, he only walked once and struck out six times. That means 38 of the 45 battles between these two have ended with a ball in play.

Since being traded to the Royals recently, Frazier has at least a knock in five of eight games with a .262 average.

He also bats much better with the platoon advantage:

Vs. LHP: .161 average, .226 SLG
Vs. RHP: .269 average, .352 SLG

Royals vs. Blue Jays predictions made at 11:21 a.m. ET on 08/01/2025.

National Bank Open round of 32 picks and predictions Aug. 1: Best bets for Shelton vs. Nakashima, Kalinskaya vs. Svitolina

The round of 32 continues at the National Bank Open on Friday.

The pregame narrative: Ben Shelton meets a familiar foe in Brandon Nakashima as the pair play for a third time this season. On the women’s side, Elina Svitolina and Anna Kalinskaya face off for a spot in the round of 16 in Montreal.

Check out my top National Bank Open predictions for Aug. 1, including a pick on Flavio Cobolli vs. Fabian Marozsan.

National Bank Open predictions

Best bet: Marozsan to win (-112)

This is a pick’em between two evenly matched players. But in my opinion, there are some clear advantages on the side of the Hungarian.

Since the return of hardcourt season, Marozsan is 3-1, taking all three wins in straight sets.

Cobolli hasn’t had the same success. The Italian needed three close sets to get past the No. 193 player on tour, Alexis Galarneau, in the round of 32.

For comparison, Marozsan beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 28) in straight sets his last time out.

Plus, Cobolli is an underwhelming 5-8 on outdoor hardcourts in 2025.

Key stat: The Italian has held 73.5% of his service points on the playing surface this year. Marozsan has a much better 84.9% hold rate on hardcourts.

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Full tennis betting markets

National Bank Open best bet: Shelton vs. Nakashima

Over 23.5 games (-109): On paper, a lot is working against Nakashima in this matchup.

He is 0-4 against Shelton in his career, with three of those matches contested on outdoor hardcourts.

However, after looking at the scores, those contests were competitive.

First match: 7-5, 7-6
Second match: 7-6, 7-6
Third match: 7-6, 7-5, 7-5
Fourth match: 7-6, 6-1

Despite Shelton winning every set in all four meetings, three of the four matches went over today’s total. And I know the third match was at a Grand Slam major, but two sets still would’ve been enough.

I expect another close match between two young studs who have played each other four times since the start of last season.

Best bet: Kalinskaya vs. Svitolina

Svitolina -1.5 sets (-106): In their two career meetings, Svitolina has dominated Kalinskaya.

She most recently beat her counterpart back in February, on an outdoor hardcourt, and it wasn’t close (6-1, 6-2).

Kalinskaya looked like she was turning her season around, going to the final at the Citi Open before getting smoked by Leylah Fernandez (6-1, 6-2).

And now she’s just squeaking by at the National Bank Open. She’s needed all three sets in both wins leading up to the round of 32.

On the other side, Svitolina won her first match in straight sets. She’s 33-11 overall in 2025 and 12-5 on this playing surface.

Kalinskaya is 19-17 this season (7-7 on outdoor hardcourts), falling a tier below her opponent. The world No. 13 should be able to advance comfortably on Friday.

National Bank Open predictions made at 10:20 a.m. on 07/29/2025.

National Bank Open picks and predictions July 30: Round of 64 best bets on Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Gabriel Diallo

Two Canadians are in action at the National Bank Open on Wednesday.

The pregame narrative: Felix Auger-Aliassime will get his tournament going against Fabian Marozsan. Earlier on, Gabriel Diallo plays Matteo Gigante as a sizeable favourite in front of his home crowd. Finally, Taylor Fritz and Roberto Carballes Baena close out the night in Toronto.

Check out my top National Bank Open picks for July 30.

National Bank Open picks

Best bet: Auger-Aliassime -2.5 games (-118)

If we go back to early 2025, the Canadian was one of the best in the world on hardcourt surfaces.

Auger-Aliassime won two titles (Adelaide, Montpellier) and reached another final in Dubai.

Overall, including indoor and outdoor hardcourts, he is 17-7 this season.

Marozsan, meanwhile, comes into this match having lost seven of his last 13. He hasn’t won consecutive games during that time.

The 25-year-old has competed in 17 events in 2025 and has failed to make it to the quarterfinals in 15 of them.

He’s treading water with a 21-18 record this season, and his 8-7 hardcourt record leaves a lot to be desired.

Auger-Aliassime is the better player here, coming in with the momentum on his side.

Key stat: The Canadian has held 83.9% of his service points (223/266) on outdoor hardcourts this season.

Full tennis betting markets

National Bank Open best bet: Fritz vs Carballes Baena

Fritz to win under 12.5 games (-143): I know this pick is an under, but it’s actually my way of backing Fritz to win in straight sets while avoiding his -315 pricetag.

He has a juicy matchup against a player punching way above his weight class.

Carballes Baena is below .500 in his career on outdoor hardcourts (45-68).

Fritz is 15-6 on the surface this season and 251-127 in his career.

If this were contested on clay, there may be an argument for the Spaniard who’s 505-308 on the red dirt in his 14 years as a pro.

But this court type is doing Carballes Baena no favours, and Fritz should be able to take this match comfortably in two sets.

Best bet: Diallo vs. Gigante

Diallo -1.5 sets (-118): Diallo has been active in 2025, putting together a 29-20 record while competing in a lot of the top competitions.

He won his first ATP 250 event and now gets a shot to play in front of his home crowd in the middle of his breakout season.

And the Canadian should have the advantage in the round of 64.

Diallo and Gigante most recently played on this surface in January 2024, with Diallo winning in straight sets.

Since then, the Italian has remained on the Challenger Tour while Diallo has become a staple on the ATP Tour.

Gigante has needed all three sets for each of his past six wins, while his past three losses have come in straight sets.

And that poor form hasn’t been at the highest level. All but one of those matches were played on the Challenger Tour.

Diallo has won 10 of his past 14 matches. All four losses were against players ranked inside the top 35.

National Bank Open picks made at 4:36 p.m. on 07/29/2025.

National Bank Open picks and predictions July 30: Round of 64 best bets on Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Gabriel Diallo

Two Canadians are in action at the National Bank Open on Wednesday.

The pregame narrative: Felix Auger-Aliassime will get his tournament going against Fabian Marozsan. Earlier on, Gabriel Diallo plays Matteo Gigante as a sizeable favourite in front of his home crowd. Finally, Taylor Fritz and Roberto Carballes Baena close out the night in Toronto.

Check out my top National Bank Open picks for July 30, including a prediction on Emma Raducanu vs. Peyton Stearns.

National Bank Open picks

Best bet: Auger-Aliassime -2.5 games (-114)