Groundhog Day All Over Again – February 2

“Well…it’s Groundhog Day again!”

It’s the most popular line from one of the best 1990s comedy movies, aptly titled Groundhog Day. Bill Murray’s character, Phil Connors gets stuck in a time loop and repeats Groundhog Day over and over again. In thinking of Groundhog Day, there are numerous sports days that athletes would probably like to repeat.

Just last night, Austin Reaves scored 32 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-105 victory over the Boston Celtics. The game was in Boston where the Celtics had been 22-2 this season. Anytime you beat Boston at home, it would be a game worth reliving. What the good people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, want to know is if the next six weeks are worth living at all.

For those that might be unaware, every year in Punxsutawney, Pa., a groundhog named Phil emerges from his den. If he sees his shadow, the legend is that six more weeks of winter are in store. If he does not see his shadow on Groundhog Day, an early spring is coming. It’s an old Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that has become a pretty big deal these days. Early this Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. Spring is coming early!

Groundhog Day Bets to Relive

If you’ve heard of Mattress Mack (aka Jim McIngvale), you know he’s placed some pretty large bets in his lifetime. He’d probably like to do a Groundhog Day repeat of his wager on the Houston Astros to win the 2022 World Series. Mack made a series of bets on the Astros and, in the end, collected $75 million in winnings. That is the highest winning bet ever reported.

There are plenty of other bettors that would love a Groundhog Day repeat of their best bets. How about Mick Gibbs? Back in 1999, Mick bet just $3 on nine soccer matches across Europe. He ended up winning $199K on an accumulator bet. Gibbs, who was a roofer by trade, also won $634K on a 35-cent bet on a 15-leg accumulator bet.

In 2016, a Las Vegas bettor laid down $5 on a 12-team basketball parlay. The bettor nailed all 12 picks and collected $305K. I don’t know about you, but if I woke up and Groundhog Day was the day I won one of those bets, I think I’d be okay with that.

Groundhog Day Again on the Leaderboard

What if you woke up every day and the Sports Hub daily leaderboard had Sports Hub exclusive handicappers at the top? Oh wait…that’s not the Groundhog Day effect. That’s just normal!

Yes, once again, our experts ruled the top-10, taking eight of the 10 spots. Sas Insider was the big winner with $825 in winnings coming from a whopping 42 picks. Sports Central finished No. 2 and spots No. 3 through 10 were all Sports Hub handicappers.

Here’s today’s leaderboard.

• The Insider: Our partners at Scores and Stats have numerous contacts in the sports betting industry, just like we do. The Sas Insider takes advantage of those contacts and last night used inside information to go 26-16 and earn $825. That crushed the competition on yesterday’s leaderboard.
• Sports Central: Sports Central went all college basketball last night and ended up 5-1. Those five wins produced $390 in winnings allowing SC to finish No. 2. Over the last 30 days, Sports Central is up $1606.
• Gino De Luca: Gino went 3-0 and won $300 last night. He’s now up $670 for the week and $1483 for the last 30 days.
• Soccer guy again: Geovanny Araya is back. Our resident soccer expert went 2-1 and pocketed $270 to finish No. 4 on yesterday’s board. Geovanny has won $573 over the last three days.
• 2-0: Three of our Sports Hub cappers went 2-0 and earned $200 yesterday – James Acker, Diego Garcia, and Kyle Parker.
• 3-1: Three more Sports Hub experts went 3-1. Mario Deluca earned $195 and Ben Miller and The Bookie each earned $190.

NHL All-Star Game Teams Set

The draft for the four teams in the NHL All-Star game were selected last night. Team Hughes had the first pick and took Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. Team Matthews is pretty much Team Toronto. Captain Auston Matthews selected teammates William Nylander and Mitch Marner. The games take place on Saturday afternoon. 

There is other trending sports news too.

• Orioles get Cy Young pitcher: The Baltimore Orioles worked out a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers to bring Corbin Burnes to the O’s. Burnes went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA last season, but he’s an upgrade and should help a Baltimore team that won 101 games last season.

• NBA trade: The Memphis Grizzlies traded C Steven Adams to Houston for Victor Oladipo and three second-round draft picks. Adams, who suffered a knee injury in January, is out for the rest of this season and is expected to be ready to go for the 2024-25 season.
• Commanders have a new coach: Washington hired former Falcons head coach and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. He took Atlanta to the Super Bowl in his first season with the Falcons. The last first-year Washington head coach to finish with a winning record was…wait for it…George Allen. The year was 1971.
• Nebraska: The Cornhuskers football program has a long tradition of winning. The basketball program? Not so much, but times are changing. Last night, Nebraska upset No. 6 Wisconsin in overtime. The Huskers are now 16-6 overall and have two marquee wins – last night over Wisconsin and an upset of a then-No. 1-ranked Purdue.

Groundhog Day Sports Schedule

On this Groundhog Day, we have a number of sporting events. We won’t get to relive any of them like the Groundhog Day movie, but we do have the opportunity to make some serious change for our bankrolls. 

What will you be betting on today?

1. NBA: There are 10 NBA games on the Groundhog Day schedule. Only Memphis can have a Groundhog Day experience. The Grizzlies play at home tonight against Golden State. Memphis lost to Cleveland last night 108-101.
2. NHL Skills Challenge: While there isn’t any hockey on the schedule tonight, there is the NHL’s All-Star Skills Challenge. Watch 12 of the best hockey players in the world as they go through eight different events in a quest for a $1 million prize. Bettors can wager on each individual event as well as the overall winner. Cale Makar and Connor McDavid are the favorites to win the event at +750.

3. NCAAB: Even though it’s Groundhog Day, it is Friday and that means a slower night in college basketball. The big day of the week, of course, comes tomorrow. But, there are 15 games on the schedule tonight. Two ranked teams – No. 21 Dayton and No. 13 Creighton – play at home tonight against conference opponents.
4. Soccer: La Liga and Bundesliga each have a match today. The rest of the international soccer schedule consists of play in lower-tier leagues. Check to see if our soccer expert Geovanny Araya has any picks for today’s matches.
5. Tennis: Round 2 of the Open Sud de France continues today for the men. The WTA Tour continues with play in the Thailand Open and the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.
6. Golf: Thomas Detry shot a 63 to take the early lead at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Round 2 will be played today.

It’s Groundhog Day, but we’re not caught in a time loop. Sometimes, that would be nice, but we’ve got another great day full of betting options. Remember, consult the experts here at Sports Hub before making your final decisions. If you like wins, we produce a ton of them. Go back and look at yesterday’s leaderboard for clarification. Jump on the Sports Hub money train and circle it back here tomorrow so we can do this again!