Memorial Day weekend is synonymous with parades, picnics and activities from the wide world of sports. We’ve got you covered with everything you need to see and what you can bet to make this weekend a stay to remember.
For those who get up early on Saturday, the French Open will be in full swing all morning. Then, in the afternoon, there’s the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as some WNBA action on ABC. Then our attention turned to the Big Apple on a big night, with Rangers and Hurricanes beating it in Game 6 of their NHL playoff series in Madison Square Garden, while at Barclays Center it was will be Gervonta Davis against Rolando Romero in a WBA lightweight game.
More tennis from Roland Garros in Paris on Sunday morning, as the French Open moves into matches in the fourth round before auto racing’s most prestigious trio go head to head. Breakfast with Formula One and Monaco Grand Prix, followed by brunch and the Indianapolis 500, then an afternoon snack of NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.
For a recap of the night, we have some Sunday Night Baseball games and some NBA playoffs. The Phillies visit the Mets for the NL East clash with the Heat and the Celtics will really need game seven to decide who will face the Warriors in the Finals.
Understood? Good. Here’s what to watch and what to bet this weekend.
Saturday schedule
Sunday’s schedule
French Open third round
5 a.m. ET, Stade Roland Garros, Paris
Men’s favorites: Novak Djokovic (+175); Carlos Alcaraz (+275); Rafael Nadal (+330); Stefanos Tsitsipas (+450)
Women’s favorites: Iga Swiatek (-250); Amanda Anisimova (+1000), Cori Gauff (+1200); Paula Badosa (+1400)
André Snellings: Tsitsipas has the fourth highest odds to win the tournament, but in many ways this is the best chance he has ever had to win a major. Tsitsipas, just 23 years old, has reached the semi-finals at least five times in his career. Clay is his best surface, and over the past two years, he’s reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2020, followed by the final in 2021, when he led two set-to- love. Novak Djokovic last before losing for the year. This season, he has a clay-court victory at the Monte Carlo Masters, reaching the semi-finals and final at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open respectively. Tsitsipas is also on the opposite side with a draw from three favorite contenders, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcarazwhich means he’s only likely to have to get past one of them to win and he won’t face any until the finals at the earliest.
Men’s picks: Tsitsipas to win (+450)
Iga Swiatek is playing tennis at a level no other woman in the world is currently approaching and she is playing on her best surface. She won the French Open in 2020, and has won 85% of her clay court matches in her career. She won 30 straight games, the longest streak since Serena Williams won 34 in a row in 2013. And she’s not just winning – she’s dominating. According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, she has won 15 sets this season with a bagel hit (6-0), just 10 sets short of Serena Williams’ 25 in all of 2013 since 2000. If -250 to won is not. If there’s not enough juice for you, there’s a very reasonable chance she’ll run the table without dropping a set.
Women’s Choice: Swiatek to win (-250); Swiatek to win without dropping a set (+220)
Liverpool compare to Real Madrid
UEFA Champions League Final, 3pm ET, Stade de France, Paris
To win the championship: Liverpool (-175), Real Madrid (+135)
90 mins: Liverpool (+100), Draw (+270), Real Madrid (+255)
On lower: 2.5 goals (-135/+105)
Paul Carr: Each of these teams has scored in all but one Champions League game this season, and both have scored in Real Madrid’s past five UCL matches. It’s not a fluke, as both teams have at least 1.1 goals in all five of those games.
Pick: Both Teams Score (-145)
Las Vegas Aces @ Chicago sky
3 p.m. ET, Wintrust Arena, Chicago, ABC
Row: Aces (-2.5)
On lower 168.5.
Eric Moody: Through the first eight games of the season, the Aces have scored 746 points (93.3 points per game). That’s the most points by any team in WNBA history over eight games. Across six games of the season, Sky has scored 504 points (84 PPG), matching the third-most points across six games in franchise history. It will be a high score game with Kahleah coin back to the first screen for Sky.
Pick: Above 168.5 (-110)
Hurricane Carolina @ New York Ranger
8 p.m. ET, Madison Square Garden, New York, ESPN
Carolina leads 3-2
Row: Select (-110)
Puck line: Storm +1.5 (-280), Rangers -1.5 (+230)
On lower: 5.5 (+125 / -145)
Greg Wyshynski: The nature of the Hurricanes’ Jekyll and Hyde – unbeaten at home, only beaten on the road – is well documented. I think there’s a chance they could go against the trend and finish this streak in six games, but I’m much more confident from a betting perspective that Mika Zibanejad will top this total shot for Rangers. New York will have the last line change, meaning he will escape Jordan StaalGame Shortcut 6. He beat this total in the first two home games of this series and in five of the six home games for the knockout round. Faced with elimination, it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t take his chances.
Pick: Zibanejad 2.5+ shots (-135)
Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero
WBA lightweight `strike, 11 p.m. ET, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Two-way bet: Davis (-800), Romero (+550)
Result: KO, TKO or DQ: Davis (-400), Romero (+1200)
Decision: Davis (-430), Romero (+1200); Draw (+2500)
Rounds: 6.5 Loops (O +100, U -130)
Both of these exciting fighters have tremendous knockout power, and with this being a head-to-head fight, I didn’t expect this fight to be all 12 rounds, so I like Davis to win the fight. This is equal to TKO. Davis is very calculating and his accuracy with his powers is unbelievable, as seen in previous battles. Romero has a very wild and unpredictable style, which has caused many problems for opponents in the past; However, against a boxer as skilled as Davis, that wild style will eventually cost him, as it leaves him vulnerable. If you give “Tank” Davis a loophole, he will take it and will most likely let you sleep on the tarp.
Pick: Davis wins via TKO (-400)
Round 4 of the French Open
5 a.m. ET, Stade Roland Garros, Paris
Men’s favorites: Novak Djokovic (+175); Carlos Alcaraz (+275); Rafael Nadal (+330); Stefanos Tsitsipas (+450)
Women’s favorites: Iga Swiatek (-250); Amanda Anisimova (+1000), Cori Gauff (+1200); Paula Badosa (+1400)
Check back on Sunday for more options.
Formula One: Monaco Grand Prix
8:55 a.m. ET, Monaco, ESPN
Race favorites: Charles Leclerc (-120), Max Verstappen (+175)
End podium: Leclerc (-275), Verstappen (-250), Carlos Sainz (+100), Sergio Perez (+175), George Russell (+300), Lewis Hamilton (+300)
Play: Formula 1 racing Pick’em
Mike Clay: The last time I made an F1 pick in this column, I told you to pick Verstappen with an even amount after pointing out that he has won every single race he has completed this season. Three weeks later, that trace is still there. Including the sprint in Italy, Verstappen has won five of the seven possible races and he is vying for victory in two where he had to retire early because of car-related problems. Verstappen also won this race last season, although he had benefited from a previous car problem that beat pole vaulter LeClerc. LeClerc is the favorite at +105 this week, but landing Verstappen at solid plus money is an easy bet.
Pick: Verstappen to win (+175).
Ryan McGee: Yes, Mercedes is going in the wrong direction, but Monaco has a way of leveling the playing field. Also, Lewis Hamilton doesn’t forget how to drive and this place rewards you for the experience. Then it also punishes it.
Pick: Hamilton to win (+300).
Indianapolis 500
11 a.m. ET, Indianapolis Motorway, NBC
Race favorites: Scott Dixon (+400), Alex Palou (+450)
Than: Qualified Grid
Ryan McGee: Without a doubt, Scott Dixon is the greatest Indy Car driver of his generation and has a pretty good argument for the all-time best. But he has “only” one Indy 500 win and that was 10 years ago this week. History tells me not to pay too much attention to the hype surrounding his ridiculously fast one month, but it also feels stupid to go against him.
Pick: Dixon wins (+400)
NASCAR Coca-Cola 600
6 p.m. ET, Charlotte Motor Freeway,
Race favorites: Kyle Larson (+450), Kyle Busch (+650), Chase Elliott (+750), Martin Truex Jr. (+900)
Winning Producer: Chevy (+110), Toyota (+160), Ford (+375)
Mike Clay: Here we are going to look at a bit of a long shot, like Joey Logano have the 12th longest odds to win. It doesn’t make much sense that Logano owns an average finish of 12.4 on this track, the fourth best among active drivers. That includes a win in 2015 and he also won the All-Star Race here in 2016. Speaking of the All-Star Race, three Team Penske cars dominated the week’s event. before in Texas (also a 1.5 mile track), with Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney earned the win (Logano on fourth). Logano seems to be the best value, but other compelling plays include Tyler Reddick (+1400), Ryan Blaney (+1000), Martin Truex Jr. (+900) and Chase Elliott (+750).
Pick: Joey Logano to win (+1800)
Ryan McGee: In an even league season, it feels like we’ve spent a lot of time this spring looking at the championship standings and asking, “Wow, that guy’s ranked so high. When is that?” Did he really win a race?” We did it with Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano. Now it seems to be Truex’s turn, since 2014 he has finished outside the top 10 in Charlotte oval only twice and he has also won this race twice. That’s pretty good.
Pick: Martin Truex Jr. (+900)
Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Mets
7 p.m. ET, Citi Field, New York, ESPN2
Row: Check back on Sunday for odds and picks
Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat
Game 7, 8:30 p.m. ET, FTX Arena, Miami, ESPN
Row: Celtics (-2.5)
Cash flow: Celtics (-135), Heat (+115)
On lower: 198.0
Trend: The Celtics have lost 5 games in a row without a chance of reaching the Finals, since 2012, tying them with the 2nd longest streak of all time. –ESPN Info & Stats
