It’s a fairly quiet weekend in terms of meaningful sports games. We’re still more than a month away from March Madness, the NFL is on pause this weekend with the Super Bowl next Sunday, and the NHL is also enjoying its midseason break.
Still, there’s plenty of sports to watch for bettors and casual fans alike. Both the NHL and NFL are holding their respective all-star games this weekend. These games might not have the same level of intensity or excitement as regular season or playoff games, but they’re still entertaining. There’s also plenty of fun prop bets in these games.
Top Sports Events for This Weekend – February 4 – February 5
NHL All-Star Game
The NHL All-Star Game takes place on Saturday with each of the four divisions participating in a knockout-style, 3-on-3 tournament. The league adopted this format in 2016 and, while it seems to be getting a little tired, has no plans to go back to the traditional East vs. West format.
The Central (-125) plays the Pacific (+105) in the first game on Saturday. The Metropolitan (+115) and Atlantic (-135) clash in the second game. The winners of these two games meet in the final. The totals are 13.5 for the first game and 11.5 for the second game.
NFL Pro Bowl
The Pro Bowl takes place this Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The annual all-star game pits the top players from the AFC against the NFC, although players playing in the Super Bowl are obviously excluded. The AFC has won each of the last five contests.
Depending on the sportsbook, you may be able to find lines for the Pro Bowl, but it’s hard to handicap a game that doesn’t have any real stakes. Nonetheless, it’ll be exciting to see so much talent in one game. The AFC’s offense, for instance, features Nick Chubb, Derek Henry, Josh Jacobs, Stefon Diggs, Devante Adams, and Tyreek Hill. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they won the Pro Bowl for the sixth consecutive year.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Even the PGA Tour is having somewhat of an off week this week as it hosts the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California, bringing together celebrities and athletes to play alongside some of the world’s best golfers. This year’s celebrity field includes Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Bill Murray, and Will Arnett.
Hank Lebioda leads the three-round tournament through the first round with an 8-under-par. Jordan Spieth, arguably the most notable name in the field, is seven shots back. Others in contention through the first round of play include Kurt Kitayama (7-under), Chad Ramey (7-under), Eric Cole (6-under), and Harry Higgs (5-under). There’s $9 million on the line, with the top prize of $1.6 million awarded to the tournament winner.
NBA Games
There’s still some meaningful games this weekend in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks (28-25) meet the Golden State Warriors (26-26) in a marquee matchup on Saturday, while Sunday’s slate of games includes the Denver Nuggets (36-16) vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves (28-26) and Philadelphia 76ers (33-17) vs. the New York Knicks (28-25).