One week until the UFC 96 odds and the UFC betting rumor mill is churning out some interesting news. While Dana White and UFC.com have only confirmed cards up to UFC 97, some other sources (MMA weekly, Yahoo!, Wikipedia) are floating some fun rumors of future fights.

Since MMA betting rumors are kinda new (re: it being a young sport), I can’t tell yet how reliable these are, but here are a few doozies for you online betting nuts:

UFC 98

Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir for the heavyweight title

Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra (grudge match! Loser has to change his first name…maybe)

Sean Sherk vs Frank Edgar

Apparently Josh Koscheck is fighting again here. How does it he do it? Why doesn’t he just sign up for next week’s UFC 96 odds while he’s at it?

UFC 99

Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin (should be a slugfest…can’t wait. I’d pick Franklin at the sportsbook)

Cain Velasquez vs Heath Herring (first real MMA betting test for Cain)

UFC 100

Georges St-Pierre vs Thiago Silva for the welterweight title

Dan Henderson vs Michael Bisping (Henderson will be a massive sportsbook fave here, no?)

UFC 101

Randy Couture vs Minotauro Nogueira

Apparently Randy accepted the challenge earlier this week. How legendary would this bout be? It would be a great way for them to close out their illustrious UFC betting careers. My money would be on Nogueira, but I’d sure love to see Randy pull off one last online betting upset.

Well, looks like Michael Vick is one step closer to returning to the NFL. Since there is no more room in the halfway house, he gets to finish his prison sentence at home. Aww…isn’t that sweet?

Let the online betting begin. Where will he go? There’s plenty of speculation and it won’t be long before every offshore sportsbook has odds on where he’ll go.

While it’s still highly possible that Vick won’t catch on anywhere — think of the heat you’d face from PETA if you traded for him — it’s still fun to imagine where he’d go.

Not knowing who truly wants the dog killer, we at least know who needs him. San Fran was already linked to him. What about Tampa Bay? The Vikings and Lions could certainly use him, not to mention the Favreless Jets now. Vick would look pretty good in a Bears uniform too.

I still wouldn’t bet at the sportsbook on Vick returning at all, but it would give the sports betting landscape an exciting shakeup, wouldn’t it?

As much as I’ve enjoyed my NBA betting lately and as much as March Madness betting will friggin’ rock, I’m starting to get pumped for the golf season. Why? Well, because the Greatest of All Time is back. Yep…if you’re a PGA betting fan, you’ve probably marked today on your calendar. Tiger Woods is back!

Hard to say if the Accenture World Match Play Championship makes the best locale for Tiger’s online betting comeback — the course is awfully hilly for a guy coming off surgery — but I don’t see Tiger as the type to take dumb chances with his body. He’ll be ready and could even make a deep run in the tourney. He’ll be rusty, but would you bet against him at the sportsbook?

If you didn’t see “the shot” and you’re reading these words now….congrats! You’re alive! You were clearly in a coma last night/early this morning! While New Jersey Nets basketball isn’t exactly floating my boat (bring on the UFC 96 odds and WBC betting), Devin Harris’ magical buzzer beater was as crazy as any I’ve ever seen:

Does the momentum of the buzzer beater change the Nets’ NBA betting hopes? Well, maybe slightly. They are a bubble team and could get hot for a little while — maybe even squeak into the eighth playoff spot in the East. But don’t go crazy on them at the sportsbook. They’ll still get trounced in the first round if they make it.

My fave sportsbook pick of the week: The New York Rangers. Old coach Tom Renney out, new coach John Tortorella in. Forget that Tortorella is a head case; hockey teams always get fired up over new coaches…so the Rangers are a nice NHL betting pick this week since their recent struggles leave them undervalued. That tip comes courtesy of my buddy at the Best Pucking Bets blog.

Happy sports betting this week, folks…

What? No World Baseball Classic odds? Hold your horses. That’ll come later this week. Yeah, that’s right. Dirty Harry is writing an Oscars post. Get over it. Yeah, I didn’t talk about it on my blog or share my online betting picks — that would’ve been a bit much. But Harry enjoys a good flick now ‘n’ then and maybe, just maybe, Harry has a main squeeze who likes to cook him steak while he watches the show with her.

What I saw last night was a gut punch. Sure, I made a few sportsbook picks, including one on my man Mickey Rourke, but that’s not why his loss stung. What stung is that a blood-’n'-guts performance for the ages didn’t get the recognition it deserved last night. All due respect to Mr. Sean Penn, but he was playing a real person who existed…could’ve just studied his movements. Rourke brought a fictional character to life and we will never forget Randy “the Ram” Robinson.

Sorry, Mickey. You deserved better. At least it’s safe to say you’re back in the box office odds now. I wouldn’t bet against your next movie, brother.

Hey, Dana? It’s me, Harry. I’m not one to complain — I’ll watch pretty much any fight and I’m just as pumped as you are for tomorrow’s UFC 95 odds. But I have a request for you. I promise it’ll be worth your while…online betting fans would go crazy for it and the sportsbook community would catch fire with buzz…

Can you please, please make Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin fight? Sometime soon? Maybe for the UFC 100 extravaganza? Anyone who likes to bet on UFC would lose their mind over it! Griffin and Franklin are both in the same weight class…both coming off heartbreaking losses to world-class opponents…and both love to stand up and strike.

Is there any denying that a Griffin/Franklin tilt would be an absolute UFC betting classic?

Check out these tribute videos…

Griffin:

Franklin:

These guys are BRAWLERS..well, that’s not the right term. They’re both great fighters, especially Franklin. But they would beat the hell out of each other. It would be a classic. It would threaten the original Griffin/Bonnar fight’s immortality! The UFC betting universe would never be the same.

Think about it, Dana…

Love, Harry

So, I was up to my usual Dirty Harry tricks this morning…obsessing over the UFC 95 odds, readin’ up on the World Baseball Classic odds, searching high and low for sexy ladies…and, somehow, I stumbled upon this ridiculous soccer kid. Take a few moments to watch…you better be sitting down.

Can I start betting on whichever teams signs him at the sportsbook now? Please? Can I make online betting picks on France for the 2018, 2022 and 2026 World Cups now? This kid is somethin’ else. Can’t wait until he makes me a very rich online sports betting player. I mean, uh…I hope he does well in school!

I’m in a playful mood today — pumped up for the UFC 95 odds. So I’m gonna play a game…I’ll tell you who will win each major UFC 95 betting matchup in 25 furious words or less. Hey — maybe this will become a regular gimmick. We’ll see. Here we go, sports betting dynamos…

Stevenson vs Sanchez odds

DADDY CAN’T WIN THE BIG ONE! PUMMELLED BY PENN AND FLORIAN! DIEGO IS A HEADCASE BUT STILL HAS THE TALENT! HE’LL BEAT STEVENSON IN A CLOSE MMA BETTING MATCHUP!

Marquardt vs Gouveia odds

TWO BIGTIME FIGHT FINISHERS HERE! MARQUARDT IS ANGRIER AND MORE ACCOMPLISHED! HE’LL DESTROY GOUVEIA! THIS SPORTSBOOK MATCHUP WILL BE A THRILLER!

Maia vs Sonnen odds

DEMIAN MAIA IS A HUMAN SNAKE! HIS JIU-JITSU IS OFF THE CHARTS! HE’S ALSO 10-0, SO YOU HAVE TO STICK WITH THIS SCARY GUY!

Koscheck vs Thiago odds

KOSCHECK IS A DOUCHEBAG BUT HE’S A GREAT ATHLETE WHO KEEPS IMPROVING…I THINK HE’LL WIN THIS UFC BETTING MATCHUP EASILY!

Dos Santos vs Struve odds

WHO THE HELL IS STRUVE? THEN AGAIN, WHO THE HELL WAS DOS SANTOS BEFORE HE KNOCKED OUT FABRICIO WERDUM? BET ON DOS SANTOS BUT WATCH OUT FOR STRUVE — HE’S A GIANT!

…So, how did that go? Weird? Helpful? Annoying?

Good luck this weekend in the UFC 95 lines, MMA betting fans!

He’s baaaaaaaaaaack. No, I’m not talking about Gus Johnson’s maniacal voice in March Madness betting, though we are just weeks away from hearing Gus again.

I’m talking about Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, the fairly effective and highly quotable BoSox pitcher who made a name for himself in the 1980s. Among his greatest quotes: “That’s what they get for building a park on the ocean.” — referring to a fog-postponed game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which was built on LAKE Erie.

Baseball betting fans know he was never dominant, as his career 78-77 record and 4.04 ERA suggest. But how cool is it to see a 49-year-old attempt a comeback? Would you bet against the guy at the sportsbook? He claims to have his fastball back in the 90s and wants to emulate his hero Satchel Paige, who pitched after age 50. Any online betting fan with a heart would want to see this work out, right?

My greatest fear: seeing a 49-year-old busted for steroids. Please, Oil Can…tell me you’re legit. While he still has his innocence, should the U.S. take him for a test drive in the World Baseball Classic odds? At the rate players are jumping ship from WBC betting, the Americans could use him.

YEE…HAW! Gentleman, start your engines!

OK, so the NASCAR cliches are out of the way. Let’s get down to business and make us a Daytona 500 line pick. All the sportsbook hype suggests it’ll be a hotly contested race. Who do you like — Gordon? Busch? Before you make your online betting pick, know this: the numbers don’t lie. And the numbers point to one man: Jimmie Johnson.

Everything about Jimmie’s resume screams “I will win the 51st Daytona 500.” Forget his 40 career wins and three straight Sprint Cup titles; just look at his Daytona 500 betting history and you’ll see he’s the perfect Daytona odds pick. Not only did he win the event in 2006, he has eight top 10s and five top fives there. If you want a safe offshore sportsbook pick this weekend, go with Jimmie. He’ll be in the hunt at the very least.

Good luck in your Daytona 500 betting adventures!