Super Bowl bets: Getting around to squaring up

We've almost made it to the weekend of the Super Bowl, and just when you think we've exhausted most of our looks for this matchup, we stumble on Super Bowl Squares being offered on FanDuel. If you're unfamiliar, squares are a popular game played by friends and family, where you are randomly assigned a digit for both teams and if the score at the end of the quarter matches your numbers, you win.

Example: let's say you had 49ers 7, Chiefs 7, and the halftime score was 17-7. You would win. Make sense? Well, FanDuel is giving us odds and options for any combination we want, AND you could win more than once, as it applies to all four quarters of results. This feels like something we could win, let's check it out real quick ...

Don't be a square, grab a few bets

49ers 4, Chiefs 0 (+750) & Chiefs 4, 49ers 0 (+950)

We're open to sprinkling here on a few of our favorite numbers, those being "4" and "0." The key to betting in this market is thinking ahead to some of the more common scores. There are plenty of paths to victory throughout the game, as 10, 14, 20, 24 are all very common and attainable scores, and even 30 and 34 are easy to envision.

We'd gladly take a 14-10 San Francisco halftime lead that culminates in say a 24-20 Chiefs comeback. We're simple people over here.

49ers 7, Chiefs 3 (+550) & Chiefs 7, 49ers 3 (+600)

If not four and zero, "7" and "3" seem like two numbers to get a piece of. Seven and three are of course the points awarded for a touchdown (and extra point) and a field goal, and unless we're in for a historic Super Bowl full of safeties, we are getting points in this form.

A simple 7-3 lead after the first on either end would deliver us a win here, and we'd happily accept a 17-13 or 27-23 score at the end of any quarter as well.

Obviously, don't go crazy in this market, but if you're looking for some extra rooting interest on Sunday, this sure seems like a fun way to go about it.

In the news ...

NBA trade deadline is this afternoon — The NBA trade deadline is today at 3 p.m. ET, and by the time this hits your inbox, it feels certain that some type of trade has been made. The big name floating around has been Atlanta's All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. Reportedly, the Hawks and Pelicans are in discussions on a deal revolving around the guard. New Orleans is currently sixth in the West, and if they could pair Murray with Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and C.J. McCollum, that would be a formidable group heading into the stretch run. Adrian Wojnarowski has been busy this morning. As of this writing, he's already reported multiple trades: Buddy Hield to Philadelphia, Kelly Olynyk to Toronto and Gordon Hayward to the Thunder, among others. 

WM Phoenix Open tees off today — One of the most entertaining PGA Tour events of the season is upon us, with the Waste Management Open getting going today in Phoenix. If you're looking to follow the festivities with a fun bet, consider a prop we found: a hole-in-one to be made at -120. There has been an ace in four of the past five years at TPC Scottsdale, and with early rain this week, greens are expected to be far softer, favoring a hole-in-one bid. Scottie Scheffler (+450), Justin Thomas (+1100) and Max Homa (+1200) were the three favorites to win as of this morning.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scores big arbitration win — Toronto Blue Jays star slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won his arbitration case over the team, securing a $19.9M contract, the largest salary ever rewarded through a hearing. With that behind them, Guerrero figures to slot in as one of the Blue Jays' most impactful bats once again as the team looks to capture a pennant after two straight postseason berths. Toronto is -145 to make the playoffs this season, and Vladdy Jr. is +2200 to win AL MVP.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.