Sports betting: Numbers say Eagles sure Cam cover Sunday against Newton and Carolina

They're not going to like this in North Carolina, but Cam Newton is pretty much a .500 quarterback. At least on the road.

No, really. Take Newton out of Charlotte and the Panthers are 28-28-1 in regular season road games he has played. He's 40-21 at home, counting a 3-1 mark in postseason.

This being the point-spread portion of the publication, we'll note that Newton is 30-27-1 on the road against the spread.

Add another loss for a neutral game to include Carolina's Super Bowl loss to Denver. Remember that loose ball Newton wasn't real quick to jump on? That game was in Northern Cali not North Caro.

Newton and the Panthers are 3-2 this season. Won and covered three games at home, lost and didn't cover two on the road, including at Washington last week, when they were favored by 1.5. Newton and the Panthers are 4.5-point underdogs to the Eagles this Sunday.

This will be the second time this season Carolina is an underdog. They were getting 5.5 in a 31-24 loss at Atlanta in Week 2.

Forget kryptonite, this Superman's weakness starts with Sunday morning continental breakfasts in the hotel lobby. This will be Newton's first start in Philadelphia since 2014.

In fairness, Carson Wentz hasn't been any better this season. A covering machine at home in 2016-17 at 11-3, the Eagles are 0-2 at home against the spread since Wentz regained his starting job in Week 3.

Doug Pederson earlier this week said the Eagles were getting healthy again, which generally happens when you play the Giants. Carolina is much better than the Giants — at least when they're at home.

In four starts against the Eagles, Newton is 2-2 both straight-up and against the spread. He's 1-1 all-time at Lincoln Financial Field. You know, .500.

When Pennsylvania approved its sports betting application in early October, Parx officials were hopeful to launch in November. As Lee Corso would say, not so fast, my friend.

Several sources at both the Bensalem and South Philly locations indicated infrastructure was still being installed and training hadn't started. The 360 Lounge in Bensalem is still being renovated into a temporary sports book and the escalator to the second floor facility in South Philly, which houses the horse racing and eventually the sports windows, was out of order.

William Hill's sports book at the Ocean Resort was offering about 2-1 odds on Tiger Woods winning a major in 2019. The line is +230 for yes, -270 for no. Tiger won his first tournament in five years at the  Tour Championship in September.

Dig a little deeper on the app or ask at the window for his Masters odds, which were +850 on Thursday. Seeing how Tiger has won four Masters and never missed a cut there as a pro, that might be a more attractive play.

Tiger finished T32 at the Masters last year, T6 at the British Open, 2nd at the PGA and missed the cut at the U.S. Open. He turns 43 in December and hasn't won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open.

New Mexico became the latest state to enact sports betting this week when the Santa Ana Casino opened up windows. Limits will be small and they will not be offering lines on games involving New Mexico or New Mexico State, according to the Albuquerque Journal. New Jersey has a similar restriction for Rutgers, Seton Hall, etc., but Pennsylvania — when sports betting opens — will allow for wagers on Penn State, Temple, Villanova, etc.

CNBC reported this week that Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Golden Nugget among his myriad business interests, approached Caesars Entertainment with a proposed merger.

Local sports bettors will note that NBA betting is prohibited at Fertitta's casino locations because he also owns the Houston Rockets.

There are currently six brick-and-mortar sports-betting operations in Atlantic City, including the Golden Nugget, and Bally's and Harrah's which are Caesars properties. A merger could trim the NBA betting options in A.C. down to three (Borgata, Ocean Resort and Resorts).

Games listed in wagering order

Notable lines