With the NBA on hiatus, and now resolve to their collective bargaining agreement in sight, basketball fans will be turning to the college ranks to give them their fix. The Big 12 is back for another season and with a ton of parity should keep sports betting fans excited until the madness gets underway in March, with perhaps a little change at the top.

The Kansas Jayhawks dominated the conference a year ago before being upset in the NCAA national title tournament, and will be hungry to do even better this season. Standing in their way is a talented Baylor Bears’ team that return six of their top seven leading scorers from a year ago, including Perry Jones III. That’s a lot better of a score than the Jayhawks registered this past offseason, as Kansas has lost seven players from last year’s team. Head coach Bill Self always has his teams prepared so the drop off shouldn’t be too drastic, but nonetheless it will be a tough fishing battle for the Jayhawks to keep pace with Baylor.

A little further down the line are Texas A&M and the Missouri Tigers, two teams with several quality returning players and the talent to make a run. Both clearly have an edge over the Texas Longhorns, which don’t return a single starter, with A&M perhaps having the best chance to compete against Baylor and Kansas at the top of the conference thanks to Khris Middleton and a new and enthusiastic sports betting bonus coaching staff.

A franchise quarterback, an outstanding running game, and one of the best defenses in the league are all sports betting characteristics of the Baltimore Ravens heading into the coming sports betting NFL season. The Ravens have all the weapons needed to make a Super Bowl run, something that is reflected in them being listed at 12-to-1 to win it all. Whether or not head coach Jim Harbaugh can put together all of the pieces for this team to make a legitimate run is yet to be seen, but after falling just short against the eventual AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers there is every reason to believe that this is the year of the Ravens.

For years the sports betting bonus media has talked about the window that Baltimore has to win a championship, with defensive stars such as Ed Reed and Ray Lewis getting one step closer to retirement each season. Both will be on board again next season, and if their performances a year ago are any indication then they still have more than enough juice to get the job done. Finally, the offense will have the tools to keep up with the expectations put on the defense as quarterback Joe Flacco emerges with a veteran group of wide receivers that is led by Anquan Boldin. With Ray Rice and Willis McGahee, the Ravens will always throw a steady dose of the run at opponents, but with Flacco now adding another element to their offense with the ability to move the ball through the air, Baltimore will rank among the most dangerous teams in the NFL.

Tonight, Belmont betting enthusiasts will shift their attention from horse racing to the NBA, as the 2010 – 11 seasons’ finals featuring the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks starts in Miami tonight. If you are sports betting with your brain, chances are you have the Miami Heat winning this series in six games. However, if you wager with your heart, you will take Dallas in seven. Here is a preview for tonight’s matchup.

This year’s NBA finals, is a rematch of the 2005 – 2006 finals when the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks became the first two teams ever to reach the NBA final each for the time in their franchises history. In that series, similar to this one, many fans and experts alike believed that the Heat would win the series. What’s more, that series seemingly was the turning point in Dwayne Wade’s career, where he went from relative unknown to elite level superstar.

Now five years removed, Wade has come full circle, as he looks to beat the Mavericks for a second time in the NBA finals. This time however, one can argue that the Heat have a much better supporting cast for Wade, as he now has friends LeBron James and Chris Bosh two other elite level players on his wings. What’s more, given the drastic change in image over the past 11 months, anything short of an NBA title for the Miami Heat, can be considered by many to be a disappointment.

On the other side of things, the Dallas Mavericks comparable to the Miami Heat are led by an elite level superstar in Dirk Nowitzki. This year’s Mavericks team has appeared to be the best in franchise history, as simply put they have dominated every team in the ever difficult Western Conference. From sweeping Kobe Bryant’s Lakers in the second round to a date with the big three in Miami, the Mavericks appear destined for great things. Like the Heat, if the Mavericks don’t win the NBA title, this year will be considered a disappointment for many.