Meet Ryan Murphy, Our Managing Editor
Ryan Murphy
Managing Editor
26+ Years ExperienceRyan Murphy began his love affair with sports journalism at the age of nine when he wrote his first article about his little league baseball team. He has since authored his own weekly column for Fox Sports and has been a trusted voice within the sports betting industry for the past eight years with stops at XL Media and Churchill Downs. He’s been proud to serve as Managing Editor at Covers since 2022.
What makes Ryan Murphy an expert?
“Murph” began his journey in sports betting in 2017, and enjoyed a highly rewarding tenure at Churchill Downs, where he oversaw the creation of the TwinSpires Edge and served as the publication’s first editor-in-chief. His nose for news and ability to find and nurture talent helped turn the site into a major player within the online gambling industry.
Experience
Covers.com
- Managing Editor
- April 2022 - Present
- Which US Olympic Men's Basketball Team is The Greatest of All-Time?
- Publication
- 10 Ways to Improve the Super Bowl: Bold New Ideas for Super Bowl 59 and Beyond
- Publication
- Hornets vs Hawks Odds, Picks and Predictions Tonight: Hawks Fly High at Home
- Publication
Churchill Downs Incorporated
- Editor-in-Chief, Sports and Casino Content
- August 2019 - April 2022
XL Media
- Senior Writer and Editor
- August 2017 - July 2019
Education
Ryan attended McGill University, where he graduated with First Class Honours in English Literature. In addition to being a member of the Dean’s List, Ryan was also an editor with The McGill Tribune and Red Herring, and had his own weekly shows on CKUT 90.3 FM and McGill TV.
McGill University
- Bachelor of Arts (English Literature)
8+ years in sports betting
Ryan has been a trusted voice in the industry for nearly a decade.
26+ years in writing
Ryan has been a prolific writer for more than a quarter of a century and continues to create lively and insightful content.
Diverse experience
Ryan has written extensively in a variety of genres including sports, entertainment, and humor.
Passion for writing
Ryan’s critically acclaimed stories have been published in 23 books and have been featured on more than 170 radio stations and 40 newspapers.
How does Ryan stay up to date?
Ryan stays current by tracking line movement, industry trends, and expert forums daily, combining real time data with years of sharp betting instinct.
Basketball Reference
Basketball Reference offers a staggering amount of historical data and has a Player’s Slits feature that is second to none.
NBA.com
The league’s official site slices and dices stats in every way imaginable, but its best feature is the Lineups tool, which allows you to see the offensive production of team units from around the league.
Covers NBA Picks
Our Covers NBA Picks page contains all our best bets on a given game day. From moneyline wagers to spread picks to player props, our experts have you covered.
Q&A with Ryan
Where does your love of sports come from?
I owe it all to my father, who was a Hall of Fame quarterback and, many years later, an athletic director at his alma mater. He was my first coach and my greatest supporter as I threw myself headlong into a variety of sports (including a few I probably should have avoided).
Did you play sports when you were younger?
I certainly tried. I flopped badly at football and baseball, but found my stride with basketball, where my lanky limbs and sharp elbows served me much better. I was also the commissioner of my local Wiffle Ball League and even produced a quarterly magazine detailing our exploits on the field.
What do you look for in a sportsbook?
There are two things really: competitive odds and a wide variety of markets. I like having a large menu of options to choose from and want to know that I’m getting the best prices available.
What’s your best advice for sports bettors?
Bet with your head, not your heart. It pains me to be pragmatic, but blind loyalty has no place in sports wagering.
Covers’ Scores & Matchup pages are the best in the business, hands-down. They contain everything you need to begin your handicapping journey from injury reports and head-to-head results to betting trends and the latest line movement. It’s a one-stop shop for every bettor and a great way to start your day.
Ryan's areas of expertise
Ryan specializes in North American basketball betting markets, with a focus on futures and player props.
NBA Betting
Ryan has been covering the Association for more than a decade and prides himself on delivering well-researched bets and insights.
Al Handicapping
Ryan has become an expert at harnessing the power of large language models like ChatGPT to create AI-generated picks for events like March Madness and the Masters.
Ryan’s memories
🚀 Big wins
I’d be lying if I told you I jumped on Blake Snell’s 2018 Cy Young odds when they were parked at +28,000. I’d be writing this passage from my own private island if I had. However, I did recognize his value early on when he got off to a 4-1 start and nabbed him at +5,000. By the time Snell picked up his hardware in November, most books had the lefty listed at -400.
😭 Bad beat?
I hate to admit it, but I was one of the few people in Canada that picked the Philadelphia 76ers to win Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals straight-up over the Toronto Raptors. The betting gods punished me for my lack of patriotism that evening when Kawhi Leonard’s game-winner bounced off the rim an excruciating four times before settling into the basket. I’m still recovering from the heart attack.
Ryan has also been featured in:
- Ask Ryan weekly column | Askmen.com
- Publication
- Ask Ryan weekly column | Fox Sports
- Publication
- National Lampoon Sports Minute (Or So)
Ryan's Articles
It's not just Ryan doing the research
Rohit Ponnaiya
Betting Analyst
With a background playing soccer, rugby, and boxing, combined with a journalism degree, it's little surprise that Rohit gravitated towards the world of sports betting. He specializes in betting on UFC and college basketball, two sports where the eyeball test can tell you a lot more about matchups than any analytics. Rohit has years of experience handicapping NFL and NBA games as well as niche betting markets such as politics and Oscar odds. He's also the resident CFL expert and formerly hosted "The Chez and Ro Show" with former CFL star Davis Sanchez. You can catch Rohit breaking down every UFC event with Joe Osborne on "P4P Picks" on the Covers YouTube channel and he also has regular appearances on "Before You Bet" with Joe. In addition, he's a regular guest on "By The Book" on the Monumental Sports Network and makes guest appearances on VSIN's "The Handle" and CBS Sports. Rohit primarily makes his bets at bet365, which offers a wide variety of prop markets, but also has accounts at several others so he can shop around for the best prices. For Rohit, bankroll management is key. He believes you should never bet what you can't afford to lose and maximize those few betting opportunities where books misprice a line.
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Andrew Caley
Senior Betting Analyst
When his dreams of becoming the next Steve Nash died, all Andrew "Taco" Caley wanted to do was write about sports, something he's been doing at Covers for more than a decade. A Journalism School grad from Holland College in Charlottetown, PEI, Andrew previously worked at The Chronicle Herald and Star Metro, but knew in his heart that his future lay in sports. He began at Covers as a news editor and has now done everything under the sun when it comes to content. His work has been seen on TSN, Sportsnet, VSiN, and CBS. These days Andrew's betting expertise is focused on his favorite teams; the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors. He's also an avid college football fan and bettor. He can't be friends with you if you don't appreciate a Service Academy Under. You can also call him Covers Sixth Man, as he regularly steps up to guest host Before You Bet and our MLB and NCAAF release shows. The sportsbook where he does the bulk of his betting is bet365 thanks to its numerous prop betting options and competitive odds. His best advice? Find the balance between the numbers and what you see on the playing field. Then find the best price using multiple books. And don’t ask him where the nickname Taco comes from. It's not an interesting story. Seriously.<
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Jason Logan
Senior Betting Analyst
In his 20 years with Covers, lead NFL betting analyst; has seen it all and bet it all. Through the wild west of early Internet gambling to lobbying for legalized sports betting to our brave new wagering world, Jason has been a consistent source of actionable info and entertainment for squares and sharps alike. Since joining the Covers team back in 2005, he honed his handicapping skills to provide audiences with the most thorough insights, blending traditional capping methods with advanced modelling and predictive analysis. Jason has studied the ins and outs of the sports betting business, learning from some of the most successful gamblers in the industry and the biggest sportsbook operators on the planet. He is under center for Covers during NFL season as our top NFL expert, taking the points in his infamous NFL Underdogs column and representing the Covers Community at the Super Bowl. While he lives for football season, Jasons first love is basketball and that shows in his in-depth NBA, NCAA, and WNBA betting breakdowns. On top of being a mainstay in media from coast to coast; WPIX, PHL17, Fox 5 San Diego, WGNO, TSN, SportsNet, ESPN Radio; he had his analysis featured in USA Today, MSNBC, ESPN, the Wall Street Journal, CBS, Bloomberg, the L.A. Times, the New York Times and other major publications. You can also find JLo stuffing all the top picks and predictions he can into 10 minutes as the host of Covers; flagship podcast, The Sharp 600. His best advice for bettors new and old is; Handicapping isn't a one size fits all process. The impact and importance of information varies from bet to bet. Treat each wager different than the last.
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