The SEC is always one of the roughest conferences to try to handicap, as the National Champions usually end up coming from this conference. This year, could we be saying the same thing? The favorites to take down the conference crown are the Alabama Crimson Tide (Current SEC Odds: 2.05 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook). The Tide are losing a ton from last year’s offense, but when you look past the fact that QB Greg McIlroy, WR Julio Jones, and RB Mark Ingram are gone, you see that there is still a heck of a lot of talent coming back for Head Coach Nick Saban. It’s not like Saban hasn’t been able to figure out how to recruit in the past and then get the most out of what he brought into town. QB AJ McCarron should be fine, and so should the Alabama ‘D’. The biggest problem game on the slate is at home, a date with LSU.

Speaking of the LSU Tigers (2011 SEC Lines: 4.75 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook), they’re the next in a hoard of teams in the conference that are lined in the +475ish range to win this conference crown. We know that it is likely going to take a win against Alabama on the road to win the SEC, something that definitely won’t come easily. We’ll find out quite a bit right away this year when the Bayou Bengals take on the Oregon Ducks at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and it’ll be clear if QB Jordan Jefferson and company can’t keep up with the Quack Attack, they won’t be able to win this conference either.

The team that really could be there for the watching this season is the Georgia Bulldogs (Current SEC Odds: 4.75 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook). We don’t really think that Head Coach Mark Richt and company have assembled the best team in the SEC East this season, but we don’t think that there is another team out there that can say that they have as easy of a road as UGA does. This is the year that the team gets the extra conference home game thanks to the fact that the annual Cocktail Party against Florida was originally slated as a road game, and to top it all off, both Alabama and LSU are dodged on the slate. Whereas South Carolina, another one of the favorites in the SEC East doesn’t get a real good look at some heavy duty competition until these two teams meet “Between the Hedges” in Week 2, Georgia gets to start off with a stern test against Boise State. With a lot on the line for Richt and the growth of QB Aaron Murray expected in his sophomore season, we wouldn’t be shocked to see the Dawgs right there when it’s said and done with playing for the SEC title.

2011 Odds To Win The SEC @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 8/24/11):
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Alabama Crimson Tide 2.05 to 1
Florida Gators 4.60 to 1
Georgia Bulldogs 4.75 to 1
LSU Tigers 4.75 to 1
South Carolina Gamecocks 6.25 to 1
Arkansas Razorbacks 17.50 to 1
Mississippi State Bulldogs 22 to 1
Tennessee Volunteers 22 to 1
Auburn Tigers 37 to 1
Kentucky Wildcats 85 to 1
Mississippi Rebels 85 to 1
Vanderbilt Commodores 185 to 1

2011 Odds To Win The SEC East Division @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 8/24/11):
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Georgia Bulldogs 1.80 to 1
Florida Gators 1.90 to 1
South Carolina Gamecocks 2 to 1
Tennessee Volunteers 9 to 1
Kentucky Wildcats 33 to 1
Vanderbilt Commodores 75 to 1

2011 Odds To Win The SEC West Division @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 8/24/11):
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Alabama Crimson Tide 1 to 1.40
LSU Tigers 2.75 to 1
Arkansas Razorbacks 9.15 to 1
Mississippi State Bulldogs 13 to 1
Auburn Tigers 18 to 1
Mississippi Rebels 33 to 1

We’re down to the point that it is awfully hard to pick which games are better than one another, but in this Top 5 showdown, the LSU Tigers and Oregon Ducks will meet, not just for conference bragging rights, but in a game that could be an early elimination game from BCS National Championship contention.

LSU Tigers @ Oregon Ducks Picks & Info
LSU Tigers @ Oregon Ducks Date: Saturday, September 3rd, 8:00 ET
LSU Tigers @ Oregon Ducks Location: Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX
LSU Tigers @ Oregon Ducks Spread: Oregon Ducks pk

This is going to be the toughest test of the year for the LSU offense and the LSU defense. No, the Oregon defense isn’t the greatest on the planet, but it definitely is a unit that has an easier job than most thanks to this offense. QB Jordan Jefferson really hasn’t played all that well in his career, but in this case, he knows that he is probably going to have to account for at least three or four TDs for his team to even have a shot. Sure, the Bayou Bengals will have the advantage of having to travel just a few hours instead of halfway across the country to get to this one, but this should be a fairly bi-partisan crowd. The only advantage comes on the defensive side of the ball, where Head Coach Les Miles has been working all Spring and Summer long trying to figure out how to slow down what the Ducks are going to be bringing their way in this primetime showdown.

LSU Tigers @ Oregon Ducks Past Games (Since 1996)
None

Oregon, on the other hand, is going to try to make sure that it doesn’t end up getting into the same situation in this game that it did the last time that it played a team from the SEC West. The Auburn Tigers were able to relatively silence this potent offense, but we have to remember that that came after a long, long layoff thanks to the time lapse between the last game of the regular season and the BCS National Championship Game. One might think that the time off might be an issue this year as well, but QB Darron Thomas and RB LaMichael James were off and running last season at the outset, and we see no reason why that can’t continue this year, starting off in less than two weeks’ time against the high flying LSU defense.

LSU Tigers @ Oregon Ducks Game Odds @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 8/24/11):
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LSU Tigers (pk) @ Oregon Ducks

Our US Open predictions and free picks for the women’s bracket continue this week, as the US Open betting action gets set to get underway next week in Flushing, NY!

2011 US Open Odds, Picks & Info
2011 US Open Dates: Monday, August 29 – Sunday, September 11
2011 US Open Location: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York
2011 US Open Favorite: Serena Williams (+160)
Defending US Open Ladies Champion: Kim Clijsters
2011 US Open TV Coverage – Network: Tennis Network, NBC

It’s ironic to think that the woman who is the favorite this year by a country mile at the US Open isn’t even ranked in the Top 25 in the bracket. However, we all know that Serena Williams (Current US Open Odds: 1.60 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) is going to be the force to be reckoned with. Williams is only No. 28 in the bracket thanks to the fact that she hasn’t played a heck of a lot of tennis of late, but with three US Open titles to her credit and a slew of other finals, many of which were lost to her sister, there is no doubt that this is the player that no one wants to mess around with.

With women’s tennis so far out of tilt over these last few years, without any truly dominating players, we are at the point that we are content taking underdogs and seeing how things work out. The woman that really catches our eye in spite of the fact that she really has never played all that well on hard courts is Na Li (US Open Lines: 22 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook). The Chinese standout played in the final at Wimbledon this year, which came just one major tournament after claiming her first ever Grand Slam title at the French Open. Li is already 29 years old, but she has definitely blossomed this year into one of the top players in the world and definitely should not be forgotten, especially at this type of a price.

List Of Past Ladies US Open Champions (Since 2000)
2010 US Open Winner: Kim Clijsters
2009 US Open Winner: Kim Clijsters
2008 US Open Winner: Serena Williams
2007 US Open Winner: Justine Henin
2006 US Open Winner: Maria Sharapova
2005 US Open Winner: Kim Clijsters
2004 US Open Winner: Svetlana Kuznetsova
2003 US Open Winner: Justine Henin
2002 US Open Winner: Serena Williams
2001 US Open Winner: Venus Williams
2000 US Open Winner: Venus Williams

She really hasn’t panned out as one of the best top seeds in women’s tennis this year, especially at majors, but the time is definitely coming for Caroline Wozniacki (Odds to Win the US Open: 17 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) to make a name for herself at the Grand Slam level. She’s won plenty of secondary events over the course of the last few years, but she has never gotten all the way through the biggest events of her career. Is this her day? We tend to think that there is at least a 1 in 17 chance of the Dane getting the job done.

US Open Odds @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 8/24/11):
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Serena Williams 1.60 to 1
Maria Sharapova 6.50 to 1
Petra Kvitova 11 to 1
Victoria Azarenka 12 to 1
Caroline Wozniacki 17 to 1
Vera Zvonareva 21 to 1
Na Li 22 to 1
Sabine Lisicki 32 to 1
Andrea Petkovic 42 to 1
Agnieszka Radwanska 42 to 1
Samatha Stosur 44 to 1
Marion Bartoli 55 to 1
Jelena Jankovic 60 to 1
Venus Williams 65 to 1
Svetlana Kuznetsova 90 to 1
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 90 to 1
Daniela Hantuchova 90 to 1
Ana Ivanovic 95 to 1
Francesca Schiavone 120 to 1
Dominika Cibulkova 150 to 1
Julia Goerges 190 to 1
Yanina Wickmayer 190 to 1
Shuai Peng 200 to 1
Nadia Petrova 200 to 1
Flavia Pennetta 250 to 1
Roberta Vinci 260 to 1
Lucie Safarova 270 to 1
Jarmila Gajdosova 300 to 1
Maria Kirilenko 385 to 1
Shahar Peer 450 to 1
Bethanie Mattek Sands 500 to 1
Kaia Kanepi 500 to 1
Elena Vesnina 500 to 1
Ekaterina Makarova 500 to1
Tamira Paszek 500 to 1
Petra Cetkovska 500 to 1
Irina Camelia Begu 500 to 1
Tsvetana Pironkova 500 to 1
Lucie Hradecka 500 to 1
Gisela Dulko 500 to 1
Simona Halep 500 to 1
Bojana Jovanovski 500 to 1
Jelena Dokic 590 to 1
Anabel Medina Garrigues 1,000 to 1
Sara Errani 1,000 to 1
Klara Zakopalova 1,000 to 1
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 1,000 to 1
Polona Hercog 1,000 to 1
Rebecca Marino 1,000 to 1
Iveta Benesova 1,000 to 1
Lourdes Dominguez Lino 1,000 to 1
Alexandra Dulgheru 1,000 to 1
Ayumi Morita 1,000 to 1
Ksenia Pervak 1,000 to 1
Kimiko Date Krumm 1,000 to 1
Elena Baltacha 1,000 to 1
Monica Niculescu 1,000 to 1
Sofia Arvidsson 1,000 to 1
Pauline Parmentier 1,000 to 1
Johanna Larsson 1,000 to 1
Sania Mirza 1,000 to 1
Vera Dushevina 1,000 to 1