2025 Futures wagers by Chris "The Bear" Fallica - Iqraa news

Chris Fallica

FOX Sports Wagering Expert

"Bear Bets" are real wagers that Chris "The Bear" Fallica is actually making.

People who have been following me know that, during football season, I have weekly picks on NFL and college football. But with both of those seasons behind us — or ahead of us, depending on how you look at it — I'm giving you some non-football futures wagers that I like.

Nothing makes sports better than having a few bucks on some futures tickets that you can watch throughout the year.

From March Madness to MLB, I got you covered on a variety of sports.

So let's dive into it.

Braves to miss the playoffs

An 0-7 start has the Braves behind the proverbial 8-ball. It's a delicate balance of overreacting and understanding where this puts them. Last year, Atlanta made the playoffs with 89 wins. To get to 89 now, the Braves have to go 89-66 the rest of the way — .574 ball. For comparison's sake, the Yankees played .580 ball last year. Assume the Phillies win the NL East. The Mets will compete for a wild card. It looks like the NL West might have three teams competing for a wild card. That’s five teams for three spots and the Braves have already spotted the bunch some losses. I know Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider will be back, but despite it being less than two weeks into the season, the Braves have their work cut out for them to make the postseason. 

PICK: Braves (+180) to miss the playoffs

Rockies to have the worst record in MLB

If it weren’t for the historically bad White Sox, the Rock Pile would have been the worst in the sport last year. The White Sox actually look like a fundamentally sound, semi-competent squad at this early point in the season. We might not know the names, but they are respectable. Hey, they are the only AL Central team with a positive run differential so far! On the other hand, the Rockies appear hopeless. They have scored an ML-low 11 runs and are in a division with not only the Dodgers, but three other teams which will be in the playoff mix. At some point, promising prospects like Zac Veen will be up, but that rotation ... yeesh. Under 57.5 wins is also an option if you aren't confident they will be worse than the White Sox. 

PICK: Rockies (+150) to have the worst record in MLB

Jaxson Dart picked Under 24.5

I’m fairly convinced there will be three QBs selected in the first round, with Dart joining Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. The few shops that have done bettors a solid and posted draft props have juiced the Over 2.5 to north of -300, so that's a little rich for some people. I’ll play it with Dart going u24.5, also with some juice. Pittsburgh at 21 seems like a potential landing spot, regardless of what Aaron Rodgers ultimately decides to do. There’s always a chance a team trades up to take him. Who saw Bo Nix eventually being selected where he did? QBs always get selected higher than they should and Dart will be no exception. Yes, we’re leaving ourselves exposed with picks 25-32, but I’ll take my chances. 

PICK: Jaxson Dart (-175) to be picked 24th or before

Joel Klatt on Shedeur Sanders’ draft stock and the traits that separate him from other QBs

Ashton Jeanty picked Over 9.5

I don’t understand why so many mocks have Jeanty mocked to the Raiders at six. Yeah, Pete Carroll is an old-school, run-the-ball type of coach. But the Raiders have so many needs that taking a RB at six isn't the best use of draft capital, especially in a deep RB draft. Take an impact defender or offensive lineman here and then address running back at the top of the second round, where someone like Treveyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins (who Chip Kelly is familiar with) should be available, as would guys like Cam Skattebo, Kaleb Johnson, Dylan Sampson and others. It seems like that would be the Raiders' best play. The Bears, also linked to Jeanty, pick 10th, so that could be a landing spot, although I also think that's high. 

PICK: Ashton Jeanty (+140) to be picked 10th or after

Colston Loveland picked Under 19.5

We saw the impact Brock Bowers had last year in his rookie year and teams will be expecting either Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland to have a similar impact as rookie TE this season. If you’re a team like the Jets or Colts with shaky QB play, what better thing can you do to help them along than give them a TE weapon who can take a short pass and make something happen after the catch? Seems like every mock I’ve seen has the Colts taking a TE, which means Loveland might not make it to pick 15. 

PICK: Colston Loveland (-150) to be picked 19th or before

Florida State Under 7.5 wins 

The Seminoles were an embarrassing 2-10 last year. It was horrific in every sense of the word. FSU didn't score more than 21 points against any FBS team and only three of their ten losses came within one score. The QB position was a massive hole, as DJ Uiagalelei was a disaster. To help fix the offensive woes, Gus Malzahn was brought in to run the offense and Boston College cast off Thomas Castellanos to be the new QB. Can Castellanos stand up to a year of running in Malzahn’s offense? That remains to be seen, as does if the Noles have any playmakers on offense. Will FSU be 2-10 bad again? No. But I don't know how much better it will be, being it has non-conference games away from home against Alabama and Florida, conference road games at Clemson and NC State, as well as Miami, which comes to Doak Campbell. That is probably four, if not five, losses right there. And after last year, are we willing to give FSU the benefit of the doubt at Virginia or Stanford? Or at home vs. Pitt, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech? I sure am not. This could very easily be another bowl-less season for the Noles. 

PICK: Florida State (-125) Under 7.5 wins

Chris "The Bear" Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an "occasional" wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He's a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, "The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!" Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.

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