Phil Agius
Show Bio
Good morning Pickswise Nation and welcome to the weekend! This is Wise n’ Shine, your one-stop shop for everything you need to know to bet better today. And what a Saturday it is, with a feast of NFL preseason football plus MLB and soccer action to look forward to–so let’s get right into it.
About Last Night
White Sox slay Rays
In Friday’s MLB action, the White Sox won their battle of two divisional leaders 7-5 over the Rays and Chicago is now +650 third favorite for the World Series behind only the Dodgers (who beat the Mets 3-2) and Astros (who crushed Seattle 12-3). At the other end of the competency scale, the Orioles lost for the 16th straight game–shut out by the Braves in a 3-0 loss.
NFL handicappers starting out strong
Our NFL handicappers went 3-1 on Friday night, picking the unders that cashed in both games and the Bengals +5.5. Check out our picks for all today’s NFL preseason games here. We don’t know exactly why Andy Reid risked Patrick Mahomes in preseason action, but he went 10/18 for 78 yards and an INT against the Cardinals and it was left to Shane Buechele and last year’s divisional playoff hero Chad Henne to throw the TD passes in their 17-10 win.
Aaaand one more #NFL preseason under (34.5) win
THE CRAZY UNDER PARLAYS LIVE ON https://t.co/LEt2qaLkVI
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) August 21, 2021
Today’s Slate
NFL Preseason Week 2 in full swing
The appetizers of the last two nights have led into Saturday’s sizzling main course of 10 NFL preseason games, with several featuring teams who have practiced with and thrown punches at each other this week, which just adds to the interest. Among the highlights are Baltimore’s bid to keep their incredible 18-game preseason winning streak going against Carolina and the afternoon contest between the Bills and Bears. Have a look at our Saturday NFL millionaire parlay, which has picks for all 10 of today’s games.
Busy night of MLB action
We’ve got 15 MLB games to enjoy today, starting with the Twins taking on the Yankees at 1:05pm ET. Make sure you read our predictions for all of today’s baseball.
Soccer and boxing join the party
The EPL returned with a bang last week and you won’t want to miss our Saturday EPL parlay with the best bets for today’s games across the pond, plus you can read our picks for every weekend Premier League game here. We also have you covered for the action at home with today’s MLS picks. If boxing is more your thing, we also have expert big-fight advice for Pacquiao vs Ugas.
Best Bet of the Day
Houston Texans +3.5 vs Dallas Cowboys
8pm ET
Yes, the Houston Texans are expected to be possibly the worst team in the NFL this season, but that didn’t stop them beating Green Bay by 19 points last week and in-state rival Dallas is already 0-2 in the warmup campaign due to working with a sorry bunch of backup quarterbacks. Our expert thinks the Texans are the best pick on today’s slate. Make sure you check out our full game preview for this matchup.
Stat of the Day
Stats don’t get much weirder than the Ravens having won 18 preseason NFL games in a row, but it’s true. They are unbeaten in the preseason since 2016 and have a chance to equal the all-time record of the 1959-62 Packers if they can beat the Panthers today.
Must-read
Our super soccer guy Brad Thomas has scoured the prices to find the best bets for the weekend including games in the EPL and the Bundesliga. Don’t forget you can find more of this week’s great betting content on the Analysis tab.
Boost of the day
Manny Pacquiao to win by points or decision v Yordenis Ugas
Boosted to +160 with FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel Sportsbook has a nice boost for tonight’s big fight, improving the odds of Manny Pacquiao winning by points or decision against Yordenis Ugas from its original price of +120 to +160.
Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news, and best bets. Check out our expert NFL picks, MLB picks, and Soccer picks for the latest game picks.
