Keith Barrett2 said:If he isn't living right next to one of those drive-in testing sites, maybe he saw those insane videos of the absolute chaos and the massive lines at the clinics 🙂 where people are just standing around in the freezing cold totally ignoring all the safety rules, so now he’s paranoid that even if he doesn't catch COVID, he'll just pick up some nasty lung infection from standing out in the snow with a fever
so instead, he just decided to lock himself in his house for ten days on his own accord, without anyone even telling him to 🍿
Me? I just walked up while everyone else was stuck idling in their cars. "Hey, I'm here, do I wait here?" "Yeah, what's your name?" "John Doe." "Take a seat." A few minutes later: "We'll email you the results." "Thanks, see ya."
wearytrucker22 said:The reason we're falling behind globally is because we're doing the least amount of actual testing. If the UN mandated testing standards similar to what they have in the USA, South Korea, or China, we’d be seeing millions upon millions of positive cases. Here, the numbers are likely ten times lower than the reality. Personally, I've been running a fever between 99.5 and 100.7 since Friday. I'm not exactly rushing out to get tested right now unless my insurance covers it, but if things take a turn for the worse, I will. For now, I'm just hunkered down alone in my apartment until at least Friday.
So, you're stuck in your apartment (not going out?), yet you aren't thinking about getting tested just so you can avoid being forced into isolation? What's the actual difference?
Megan Thomas5 said:What even counts as "first symptoms"??? Am I supposed to just quarantine myself because I have diarrhea?
Exactly. Better to stay put, because who knows when or where you'll get hit, and whether you'll actually make it to the bathroom in time.☕
But seriously, diarrhea alone isn't really a symptom. A fever, a dry cough, or shortness of breath—those are the red flags. You shouldn't mess around with those.
I clocked a 99°F on Wednesday and immediately figured I was catching something. Decided to play it safe and stay home, then called my doctor, who told me to go grab a rapid test. The low-grade fever hung around through Thursday, but it's gone now. No other symptoms showed up, but the rapid test came back positive on Saturday. I haven't called the doctor back yet to see what the next move is since I completely lost track of the days and missed my window to call today. That's on hold until tomorrow afternoon. Either way, I'm counting myself as quarantined (I haven't left the house since Wednesday, aside from walking a few minutes to the testing site) through Saturday, but I’m planning on staying isolated for a couple extra days just to be safe.
Elizabeth Mendoza said:How much sense do these quarantine measures actually make, like what they're doing in Italy? Can someone please try to explain the logic to me? If the entire country is basically under house arrest, how on earth are they still seeing thousands of new cases every single day? How is it even spreading if the only people out and about are those who absolutely have to be? Sure, their daily numbers dropped from 3,000–4,000 down to somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500, but I still don't get it. If everyone is stuck at home, how does the transmission keep happening?
I can't get that old joke by Markoticke out of my head—the one where people in medical circles jokingly call COVID a "family" virus because most of the transmission happens within close-knit family circles.
The whole situation has hit countries way less hard if they reacted early and stopped that initial massive spike. Now, they can pretty much start winding things down without any hesitation because the pool of infection has shrunk and we aren't looking at a massive surge. It makes zero sense to keep a country like Germany under lockdown when they’re only seeing maybe 300 or 400 cases across 80 million people.
Look, it’s not a total lockdown; grocery stores, pharmacies, food production, agriculture, etc., are all running, plus hospitals obviously. And it’s not like they caught every single infected person and isolated them—there are definitely tons of asymptomatic carriers out there who aren't showing symptoms and haven't been tested, yet they're still spreading it. This kind of partial quarantine isn't going to stop the virus dead in its tracks; it just slows it down and keeps the numbers manageable.
dustypanther6 said:I just checked the rules and apparently it's allowed. Honestly, if this were ten years ago during my "career," I'm pretty sure they would've shut that down immediately.
Of course they can. It’s not like football or basketball where you’re tossing the ball back in from out of bounds. In handball, you have to stay behind the line when you're taking a throw-in.
Look, I get it—they’re going to sit a bunch of starters out. But honestly, Bayer is basically doing the resting for them anyway, whether it's because of the injury list or just how things are shaking out. At the end of the day, that coefficient is still massive, and I say go for it. If it hits, we win big; if it doesn't, whatever. It's just like that snooker bet I threw onto the league earlier.
If you look at the head-to-head standings, this match is basically a nothingburger for both sides. Monaco is sitting pretty at the top with 11 points, Bayer's got 7, and Tottenham is third with 4. But since Bayer actually holds the edge in their matchups (a 0-0 draw in Leverkusen and a 1-0 win over in New York City), the battle for first and second place was pretty much settled last round.
Bayer’s injury list is looking pretty grim right now. Sure, maybe a few guys will suit up, but honestly? It’s probably smarter for them to travel to Gelsenkirchen on Sunday in one piece for that massive showdown against Schalke to fight for a spot in the upper tier, rather than risking more injuries here by playing half-broken players.
Bayer is stuck in a bit of a slump, four games without a win (including that lackluster performance against Freiburg last weekend). Meanwhile, Monaco—who are missing Subašić from their core lineup—are absolutely crushing it on all fronts. They’ve pulled 7 wins and 3 draws out of their last 10 matches.
Looking back at how these two have played each other, their first group stage meeting ended in a 1-1 draw. They also met in the group two years ago, where Monaco walked away with two straight 1-0 wins.
We’ve got three of our guys playing in the Europa League tonight, and honestly, the odds look pretty juicy.
The coach made it clear right after Thursday's match that he’s gonna rotate some players. Since they're facing a much smaller club, you could probably scrape a result even if they played them straight up, but given how much the Seattle Sounders are struggling lately, it feels smartest to play it safe and bet on a low-scoring affair.
As for the Red Bulls, they basically locked in their advancement in the first leg. I don't care what kind of miracle happens, they aren't blowing this one. They have zero reason to hold anything back, especially since they're facing an Atlanta United side that's currently in a total freefall. Plus, the Red Bulls are riding a massive wave of momentum right now. A win today keeps the hype alive, which is crucial for filling up the stands during these next three home games over the next ten days—the rematch against the Ukrainians and those big domestic matchups against Seattle and NYCFC. It’s huge to grab all 9 points before we deal with NYCFC, because after that, we've got Portland and Philly coming up, plus the EL qualifying rounds. By the end of August, we'll know if this season is actually going anywhere. Also, worth noting: Atlanta hasn't scored against the Red Bulls in their last five meetings.
The real head-scratcher is the game in Portland. The Timbers are hosting what's left of the Galaxy. The Galaxy lost a bunch of talent over the summer, but somehow they've started the season looking incredible. Since they pulled off a decent result over in Turkey that keeps them firmly in the hunt for advancement, it’s totally logical to expect the manager to rest a starter. But even if he doesn't, keep in mind that the Galaxy rarely walks away with points in Portland, even when the Timbers were significantly weaker than they are now—they’ve only managed two wins in their last 12 trips there, with seven of those ending in a draw.
Bottom line: Seattle vs. Locomotive Under 2.5 @ 1.90 (1-1) Portland vs. Galaxy 1X @ 1.60 (0-1) Atlanta vs. Red Bulls 2 @ 2.30 (0-1) Atlanta fails to score @ 2.30 at all major sportsbooks.
Oleksandrija vs. Hajduk | Over 2.5 goals @ 2.15 | Over 2.5 & BTTS @ 2.75 | SS (0-3)
I’m putting my money on this one. It might sound crazy to some, but there’s logic here. Look, the coach’s whole philosophy is basically "just outscore them," and honestly, Hajduk doesn't have much of a choice. They don't have the roster to sit back and park the bus. Even though people tend to view these Ukrainian clubs as defensive specialists who just grind out results, they really struggle when they run into an aggressive, high-pressing side. That’s exactly what Hajduk brings to the table, which should open up plenty of gaps. But here’s the kicker: when you play an attacking style—or at least try to—you leave yourself wide open. And judging by how shaky the Hajduk defense has looked over their last three official matches, I wouldn't bet my life on them keeping a clean sheet for a full 90 minutes.
That 1.50 on Anderlecht looks like a total trap to me. Honestly, seeing 6.8 for a straight away win and 2.57 for the double chance feels like the bookies are just throwing out numbers that don't make sense. Look, I get it. Historically, Oostende has basically been Anderlecht's personal ATM. Anderlecht’s home record is sitting at 6:3:0, and you could argue Oostende has lost their way lately since they dropped two of their last three against bottom-feeders like KV Mechelen and St. Truiden. But you can't ignore the context here. Just three weeks ago, Oostende was sitting at the top of the table—they're actually third right now, while Anderlecht is stuck in fourth. Plus, they smoked Anderlecht 3-1 back in the summer. Even on the road this season, they've only tasted defeat twice in nine matches, and both were narrow losses to KV Mechelen and Club Brugge. All things considered, that double chance value is too juicy to pass up.
Dinamo Chicago vs Hajduk Split: 1 and Henriquez scores at 2.80 SS
The odds on this feel weirdly low, almost like they’re playing a bottom-tier side like Osijek or Inker, but hey, take what you can get. There isn't much deep thinking required here. Dinamo Chicago is clearly the better side, and honestly, they've got Hajduk Split's number lately. A win today puts them right back at the top of the table. On the flip side, Hajduk is showing up to Chicago with nearly their full squad, though word is they might be feeling the fatigue—as if playing twice a week is actually exhausting... >, a Dinamo win should be a lock, even with a handicap. Since Henriquez is easily Dinamo's best striker—not just right now, but for a good long stretch—and he's the designated penalty taker, he’s always my first shout for a goal scorer, regardless of whether he starts every single match. We really need to avoid making the same mistake we did with Duje Čop...
Alex Kern3 said:Lakers vs. LAFC: Home win and over 2.5 goals at 2.50.
I've got a feeling Los Angeles FC is going to find the back of the net today, but honestly? It's a safe bet they're gonna get tagged for a couple of goals themselves.
Why wouldn't you just play the draw or the 3+ at the same odds then? Just to cover your bases. 😁
Lakers vs. Los Angeles FC: Both teams to score and Over 2.5 goals @ 2.55. Parlay. (2:1)
Look, I’m with casualskipper65 on this one—Los Angeles FC seriously needs to find the back of the net. If there's any redeeming quality to this squad, it's the attack, but honestly, I have no clue how they’re going to line it up. It's a safe bet we'll see Fernandez on the left and Pjaca on the right, but the real mystery is who's taking center stage. I’m crossing my fingers for Angelo, but let’s be real: since everyone is currently obsessed with trying to turn Hodžić into the next big thing like Čop, he'll probably get the start. To be fair though, he did hold his own back in Chicago, showing some actual potential with that header, and Henriquez looked decent during those few minutes he was actually out there. Since the Los Angeles Lakers are playing a bit more wide open today, we should see more openings. Hopefully, we actually convert at least one of them. Look, I’m not buying this whole "crisis" narrative everyone is pushing about Los Angeles FC. Is there a crisis? Sure. But let’s be real—it’s strictly a results thing. We aren't playing like garbage; we just aren't winning. The only game where they actually looked lost was against Miami. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, honestly, the performance was pretty solid. And if you look at the Seattle match, they started off looking absolutely electric. If Taravel hadn't been playing like a total amateur, I’m convinced they would've cruised to an easy win.
So, UEFA just dropped the news. Looks like we’re running with basically the same lineup from the Chicago match, except they're swapping out the injured Soudani for Pjaca. That means no Angela on the pitch from the jump. Honestly, I can't bring myself to bet on him finding the back of the net right away, even if he does get subbed in later on. Pjaca He's already in the game, so let's just go ahead and see if he can actually pull it off. He actually pulls it off. Scoring at 8.80 odds in the Marathon? Absolute madness.I don't have some deep, philosophical reason for this. Honestly? It's just because the odds are massive right now, and the guy hasn't found the back of the net in way too long. He's due. 🙂
01:00 Montreal - Columbus | 1 and Drogba scores a goal @ 5.60 (2:1) Drogba scores a goal @ 2.90 SS
Columbus finished up at second in the Eastern Conference, securing that direct ticket straight to the conference semifinals. Montreal grabbed the third spot, which meant they had to grind through a matchup against sixth-place Toronto just to get there. Honestly, if you looked at the standings two or three months ago, nobody would have bet on Montreal even sniffing the playoffs, but then Drogba showed up. Over the last two months, they’ve played 12 games and gone 8-2-2. What’s wild is their home form—they played 6 times at home and went a perfect 6-0-0, outscoring opponents 16 to 5. Didier himself has been on a tear, bagging 12 goals in that stretch (making him the club's leading scorer this season 😁), and 10 of those came in just those 6 home matches. He’s scored at least once in every single one of them. Even without Drogba, Columbus lost to them 3-0 at home back this summer. It’s not like Columbus is bad—they were second in the conference after all. They don't even have a single aging superstar on the roster and they're playing solid, but the stats I just laid out are more than enough for me to pull the trigger on these bets today.
Everything I’ve managed to dig up on this match pretty much screams that this bet is the move. We're looking at two sides that are likely going to be fighting for survival until the very end of the season, both of which seem to play way better when they're at home. Wolsfberger was actually decent last season—they finished 5th and even played in Europe—but they've definitely regressed this year, and their away form is just as pathetic as it used to be. This season on the road, they’ve got a record of 0 wins, 1 draw, and 5 losses, with a goal difference of 1:7. Their only point came against Ried, who honestly isn't much better. If you factor in the spring stretch from last season, we're talking about a dismal 0:2:13 record and a goal difference of 3:26 (fun fact: two of those three goals they scored were against Rapid). Grodig, on the flip side, has been solid at home this season with a 3:2:1 record and a +6 goal difference (14:8), only failing to score more than once in a single match. Taking everything into account, I'd say the odds on a Grodig win are looking pretty juicy.
18:00 Split – Dinamo. I Henriquez scores at 4.00 (1-0) Henriquez scores at 2.7
Who’s betting on what? Personally, I'm riding with Angela. Aside from being Dinamo's top striker—and honestly, it's rare to see a game where he doesn't find the net—he almost always shows up against Split. In his three league appearances against them since joining Dinamo, he's scored five times: two singles and a hat-trick during that 5-1 blowout in Split last time. The only time he didn't score was in that cup final draw. Sure, it’d be smart to wait for the official lineup to see if he’s starting, but given the LP match on Wednesday—where they'll probably mess around with Pjaca as the center forward again—I'm betting we see Angela in the starting XI today. As for the odds on two, look, we have to chase first place; there's no more room for messing around. It’s not like the team isn't playing well; if it weren't for those stupid mistakes by Taravelov, we would've cruised past Rijeka easily. At the end of the day, if Angela starts, I'm not worried. 😁
That line is sitting at 5.00 in both SS and Favorite, while over in Germany they’ve got it at 4.8. Earlier this morning, at least at PSK, it was hanging around 3.90. Looking at the international books, Marathon had it steady at 5.10 all day, but I just saw it dip to 4.75. Everywhere else it’s hovering between 4 and 4.50, just bouncing up and down constantly...
Look, even if it stayed at 3.90, I’d say that was way too high, so seeing 5.00 feels massive. That doesn't mean I think the USA are suddenly the heavy favorites or anything, but honestly? It feels like they just set these odds based on reputation and big names rather than actual data. There’s no logical reason to give the Americans such slim chances. Sure, the Germans made the European final (where the French absolutely dismantled them), while our boys went out in the quarterfinals after losing on penalties to the Belgians, then barely scraped past the Italians in extra time to grab a World Cup spot. This German squad has played 12 official matches so far. They started qualifiers by beating the Slovaks and Ukrainians before drawing with the Italians. During the Euros, they beat Belgium, Canada, and the Czech Republic in the group stage, followed by a draw in the quarters and a penalty shootout win against the Spaniards. They took down the Russians in the semis, only to get crushed 4-1 by the Frenchmen in the final. In the World Cup, they opened with a 4-1 win over Australia (who, by the way, got smoked 6-0 by Nigeria in the round of 16), cruised past a terrible Argentine side 4-0—those guys lost to Australia too—and then dropped 2-1 to Mexico to finish second in the group. So yeah, their record stands at 8:2:2. Our guys have played one less game, so 11 total. They kicked off qualifiers by handling the Azerbaijanis, Mexicans, and Portuguese. At the Euros, they struggled in a group with the Bulgarians and Austrians playing at home, eventually settling for a draw against the Spaniards to take top spot. After a draw in the quarters and a heartbreak on penalties against Belgium, they fought through the Italians to secure that World Cup berth. At the World Cup, they opened with a 1-1 draw against Chile. That was a messy one; they tried to outrun those energetic Chileans and somehow survived, even though we're clearly the better side—you could see it in those rare moments when we actually controlled the ball and organized an attack. Then came another draw, this time against the Americans. We played two totally different halves there; we were pretty bad in the first and conceded twice, but in the second, we completely bossed them—70% possession, 18 shots to 1—but the Americans somehow clawed back to make it 2-2. Against Nigeria, I fully expected a loss because Nigerians are always scary in this age bracket (we can all guess why 😁), but our boys played brilliantly. Not only did they pull off a 2-1 comeback, they dominated the pitch: 60/40 possession, 23 shots to 8, 13 corners to 5... If they play like that again, I’m telling you, nobody can touch them. There are some serious talents in this group, and if they play smart and stay a little lucky, they could go all the way. Like I said, I’d back them even at a more realistic price, so I’m definitely not passing on this massive value...
Rijeka vs Dinamo: 2 and Henriquez scores 7 PSK Henriquez at 2.9 (2-1 + he doesn't score)
The odds on this are massive. Look, Rijeka is decent, but Dinamo is just on another level—though I guess there are other ways to play it if you don't trust the heavy hitters. Dinamo is clicking right now despite missing some guys, and their strikers are absolutely ripping it. The pressure is mounting, though; Hajduk isn't backing down, so Dinamo basically has to win today just to keep their grip on first place. It’s a must-win situation. Honestly, Henriquez is easily the best striker Dinamo has seen in years. If they weren't forcing some other guys into roles they aren't ready for, his stats would look even more insane, but let's be real: 37 goals and 9 assists in 52 appearances—that's a goal roughly every 95 minutes. Not bad, right? If he actually played full matches regularly, those counter-attack numbers would be through the roof. He only got scraps on Tuesday (just 39 minutes across three LP games), so I’m expecting him to start today. And when he plays, he usually finds the net. I bet on this stuff constantly; I'd take the lower odds today if I had to, but you can't pass up a seven-fold return. Just to play it safe, I'll also throw a little something on Henriquez scoring.
Looking at our usual bookies, Supersport is sitting at 2.8, PSK is at 2.6, and the rest are hovering around 2.55. Everywhere you look, Chile is being framed as the easy favorite here. That was the case with the international books too—Marathon still has them favored, but the others are already starting to shift things, with the away win dropping toward 2.4
For those not paying attention, the World Cup is kicking off right here in Chile, so chances are probably pretty even, maybe giving Chile a tiny edge. I’ll be the first to admit I'm not an expert on the deep tactical matchups, but looking back at recent form, it feels like Chile only made it to the World Cup because they're the hosts. They went zero for four at the South American U17 Championship this past spring—dropping 3:2 to Bolivia, getting hammered 4:1 by both Uruguay and Paraguay, and losing 1:0 to Argentina.
On the flip side, our boys haven't tasted defeat in this cycle. They've been picking up wins against Mexicans, Portuguese, Austrians, Italians... and managed to scrape draws against the Spaniards and Belgians. Just a few days ago, they played a friendly against Mexico and walked away with a 4:3 win. And let's not forget, Mexicans are traditionally monsters at this age group—they were in the final at the last World Cup and won the whole thing the one before that.
Sure, it makes sense to give the Chileans a little bump for playing at home, and there's the fact that the Americans traveled all the way from the States into a totally different climate. It might feel a bit surreal for them to play in a stadium that holds 50,000 people. But honestly? When you weigh it all up, the odds shouldn't be higher than 2.0. The Americans—and especially the Nigerians—are going to be much tougher opponents than people think. This is a lock.
Brandon Castillo7 said:Bet365 is offering what I honestly think is a killer line on Bayern Munich leading by at least two goals at halftime. To me, the gap in pure quality here is just massive. Bayern should be able to steamroll this regardless of who they put on the pitch, and I highly doubt they’ll even bother rotating much. There's also that whole German mentality factor to consider. Just look back at their Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Porto last season... Bayern is basically a meat grinder. That German mindset isn't built to settle for a 2-0 lead and coast through the rest of the match. Honestly, I don't see Dinamo Chicago having any fun tonight. After that wild run of luck they had against Arsenal, this game is going to bring them right back down to earth.
Bayern Munich has been absolutely steamrolling everyone lately, but you really have to look at how these scores are actually playing out. It’s one thing to win, but check out these numbers:
Mainz 05 vs. Poland. Half time was a deadlocked 0-0, but they absolutely fell apart in the second half. Finished 3-0. Total collapse. Wolfsburg - 0:1 - 5:1 Darmstadt 1-0, then straight to 3-0. Typical. Olympiacos 0-0 3-0 Augsburg - 0:1 - 2:1 Bayer Munich - 1:0 - 3:0 Hoffenheim - 1:1 - 2:1 HSV - 1:0 - 5:0
Basically, the first half was a breeze, but things always get messy in the second. It’s the same old story with Dinamo Chicago—they tend to fall apart once the second half kicks in (and let's be real, they almost always crumble right after they concede a goal), so I'm placing my bets accordingly. More second-half goals at 2.10 on the PSK spread (looking for that 4-0 or 5-0 blowout).
The odds for Dinamo Chicago scoring are sitting at 2.40, which honestly feels pretty high. But I’ve got this nagging feeling they’re going to find the back of the net. If they pull it off, though, my gut says it’ll happen in the first half rather than waiting until the second. Might be worth putting a little something on that. Dinamo scores in the first half at the 5:00 mark (4-0)..
