Follow up dap on that game.  A while back I gave a shout out to the web site Pre Snap Read.  In Week 1 Oregon loses to LSU.  To most football people, that spells the end of the season right there.  Paul Myerberg saw differently, starting Sept 16th.  I quote…

“Oregon has begun the process of regaining the confidence lost in that prime time defeat. It’s a process: it begins against Nevada, continues against Missouri State and culminates, Oregon hopes, by the time the Ducks travel to Stanford in November…Oregon’s not going anywhere, despite a early stumble, and still clearly controls its own destiny in the quest for a third straight B.C.S. bowl berth.”  Brilliant.

Boxing.  I did not see a split second of the Pacquiao fight, but does it not seem that boxing, unlike any sport I can think of, bends over backwards to reward the favorite?  So many times it seems that officials, refs, umpires, of insert random sport here are attempting to help the underdog.  Every time I hear about a decision in boxing, it relates to the favorite squeaking by.  This has to have gambling implications.

I took San Diego this week against the Raiders at -7, so a forewarning there.  But I am pretty hot this year in my pick against the spread league.  I am 18-10 (counting the San Diego game) so from here in I am going to post the picks I make in that league.  3 picks a week.  With one burned I will take Seattle +7 and Indy +3.  How ugly are those picks?

NFC

South
New Orleans Saints 10 (Over +105, Under -125)
Atlanta Falcons 10.5 (Over -105, Under -115)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8.5
Carolina Panthers 4.5

North
Green Bay Packers 11.5
Chicago Bears 9.5
Detroit Lions 7.5 (Over flat, Under -120)
Minnesota Vikings6.5 (Over -120, Under flat)

East
New York Giants 9.5 (Over -105, Under -115)
Dallas Cowboys 9 (Over flat, Under -120)
Philadelphia Eagles 10 (Over -120, Under flat)
Washington Redskins 6.5 (Over -120, Under flat)

West
Seattle Seahawks 7 (Over flat, Under -120)
St. Louis Rams 7 (Over -120, Under flat)
San Francisco 49ers 8 (Over -120, Under flat)
Arizona Cardinals 6 (Over -120, Under flat)

AFC

South
Indianapolis Colts 10 (Over flat, Under -120)
Houston Texans 8 (Over -115, Under -105)
Jacksonville Jaguars 6
Tennessee Titans 6.5 (Over -115, Under -105)

North
Pittsburgh Steelers 11 (Over flat, Under -120)
Baltimore Ravens 11
Cleveland Browns 6.5
Cincinnati Bengals 7.5 (Over -120, Under flat)

East
New York Jets 10 (Over flat, Under -120)
New England Patriots 11.5 (Over flat, Under -120)
Buffalo Bills 5 (Over -130, Under +110)
Miami Dolphins 8 (Over -105, Under -115)

West
Denver Broncos 6 (Over flat, Under -120)
San Diego Chargers 10
Oakland Raiders 7
Kansas City Chiefs 8 (Over flat, Under -120)

Early leans: Atlanta, NY Giants, Bungles UNDER Jacksonville, Arizona OVER. Arizona is contingent on them getting an actual living breathing QB upon which the line would revise upwards at least one win so I’d be comfortable making a small bet now. The do get six games versus the NFC West. Atlanta opens @CHI, PHI, @TB @SEA, GB after which they’ll be doing extremely well to be 3-2. No idea how this team is supposed to win 11 games.

Divisions: New Orleans EVEN, Rams +245, Oakland +425. The Niners are somehow a -125 favorite to win the NFC West over on Bookmaker. I’d like to be the house on that as they look to be the same mediocre team as the last couple of seasons. The Rams are a receiver and a safety away from being the division favorite. Be careful with the Ram and Lion OVERS (7 & 7.5). Depth is always an issue in the NFL and health is a skill. Some 15% of a team’s roster will end up on IR before the season ends and while there’s some luck involved in which players end up hurt, teams with depth like the Packers and Patriots are much better suited to deal with the inevitable injuries which is a partial reason for their league high totals. Given some of the players St. Louis and Detroit were trotting out on the field last year, I’m skeptical they’ll be able to build enough sustained depth. The overs or division bets aren’t necessarily poor bets, but they are riskier.

Lastly, Eli Manning needs to prep for plays like the one embedded below since the Giants cut three offensive linemen yesterday. Not sure who they are going to bring in, but they should hope to play better than this:

Team B – Lost in 2010 Playoffs in 3rd round.  Lost in 2011 Playoffs in 3rd round after beating Team A in 2nd round

For those of you who have not guessed yet, Team A is the Patriots and Team B is the Jets.  And yet, the Patriots are listed by Vegas at 7-1 to win the Super Bowl, and the Jets come in somewhere around 16.5.  In other words, do not think you are getting anything resembling good value with the Pats here.

When I got over the shock of seeing a road #6 seed as a favorite in a conference championship, my thought was Vegas simply said, “You know what, we know you’re going to bet Green Bay anyway, here.  Deal with this.  Minus three, Bitches.”  And bitches did deal, the original line I saw had GB -3 and the next thing it’s -3.5 and even -4 at some places.  This in spite of the fact that the teams split the season series, and the Packers only won the final game in Green Bay, a game they had to win, and a game that meant nothing to Chicago, 10-3.

There is one crucial stat that GB supporters can look to and that’s point differential.  Did you know that the Packers were second in the NFL in point differential at +148?  This with Aaron Rodgers missing time and/or half woozy at points during the season.  And now he’s healthy.  This is where people seriously betting GB make their case.  The Packers, when healthy this year, play so well, that you have to ignore the ridiculousness of betting against a home underdog, that this Packer team is one of those special teams where guidelines like home field advantage don’t really apply.  Hence why they walk into Chicago a favorite, as they walked into Atlanta as a pick ‘ em against a well rested team that had beaten them two months earlier.

For my money (and I mean that, I have 50 dollars on this with JaPan) I am going with Chicago.  I actually grabbed them at +3 thinking the line would only move in the direction of a pick em, oops.  I could see Cutler throwing 4 INTs, one or more for a pick 6, and GB winning 38-14.  But at the end of the day I think of this game as being pretty even from a match-up perspective, with the key differences being the game is in Chicago and I am getting 3 points right from the kickoff.  We’ll see what happens.  The team Green Bay finished second to in point differential?  The Patriots, oops.

As for Jets/Pitt, my gut is to like the Jets at +3.5.

Falcons -13 John Fox just got canned, the Falcons lost a very winnable game on Monday night versus the Saints, and homefield is on the line for Atlanta.  You know Mike Smith must of gave these guys hell in the meetings this week watching the Saints game film, especially on offense where they had problems running the ball.  Methinks they take it out on the Panthers today, and be motivated enough to get a big lead to pull starters in the 4th.

Packers/Bears Over 42 Resting or no resting, these teams will score a lot today, especially with how good Rodgers looks at home vs the Giants this week, and the Bears getting big plays in between 5-6 plays of superior mediocrity on offense led by Jay Cutler.  Plus Cutler COULD throw a few TDs to the Packers D, too.  And you throw in the Devin Hester, but I doubt that because the Packers were dumb enough to kick to him on Week 4 and paid the price

4 team Teaser @ 3-1 (You can also add the Packers -4 in this one @ 4.5-1 if the Falcons game is already decided as then the Bears will just be resting people):

Steelers PK

Colts -4

Ravens -4

Falcons -8

Eli Manning (who NEVER talks) spoke up in the locker room this week, telling his team to shake off that last epic fail of a loss vs Philly and speaking the importance of this game vs Green Bay, who looked awesome on Sunday night and probably would of won if Rodgers started.  Green Bay, IMO, is just TOO good to NOT make the playoffs (and they arn’t coached by Norv Turner), so I’m gonna take the pack here to take care of business at home and grab that final 6th playoff spot.

Teaser: NYG/CHI O 30 + HOU/DEN O 43

Even though a Rex Ryan led defense is always ready to play “foot-ball“, too much talent on the field here to not score. Houston and Denver are starting turnstiles on their defensive lines (minus Mario Williams) vs two teams who can run the ball with anybody with Foster and Tebow.

I mean ,the Jets are just destined to make the AFC Championship game vs the Pats, where they are losing 35-10 i nthe 4th quarter as fans chant, “smell our feet!”, right?

Rams -3

Because I think the football gods will NOT allow a 7-9 team to get into the playoffs (Imagine that line!).

http://www.twitter.com/seanismoney

Follow me there for daily bets, quips, and intelligent thoughts that are 160 characters or less.

I’ve been doing well this year, batting .695 for the year.  I was at .775, but I’ve been miracle covered the last few weeks (including The Debacle on a Thursday Night in Tennessee when the Titans scored a TD with NO time left to lose 30-28…….the last drive of that game deserves a column on its own).

Today’s tease: Miami Heat +7 and the Over for the Dallas/Cardinals game 39.   I finally have a reason to root for The Douche 3, as nothing trumps my disdain more for Lebron, than the Lakers.

I also took the Ravens @ -3.5 on Monday; I just don’t see them losing this game with so much on the line.  I’ll have more thoughts going into this Sunday about the Packers, and the Jets, who considering how there season has gone along with the foot-fetish news with Rex Ryan, are fans of the agony of victory, and the THRILL of defeat.

On a final note, I got some new games for the XBOX 360 today.   Just played some capture the flag with Chad Ochocinco on Call of Duty: Black Ops.

And as you all know, I have a great love for sports games, so I am really excited to start a season in this title below later:

WNBA Live

The Chargers are only one game back, and of course they still have a home game left against the Chiefs.

If the Chargers win that game, not only do they make up the difference in the standings, they would take the lead in tiebreakers. The teams would finish even head-to-head, but a loss to the Chargers would mean that the best record the Chiefs could finish with in-division is 3-3.

The Chargers would have two wins in the division, meaning they’d only need to beat either Oakland or Denver to win the tiebreaker. That’s because, even if the Chiefs and Chargers both finish with the same in-divison record, the Chargers will almost certainly win the third tiebreaker, which is a team’s record in common games.

The Chiefs and Chargers share 14 of the 16 games on their schedule; the only two games which are not shared are Buffalo and Cleveland (for the Chiefs) and New England and Cincinnati (for the Chargers). The Chiefs were 2-0 in non-common games; the Chargers lost to New England already and haven’t played the Bengals yet. If both teams finish, say, 10-6 overall, then the Chiefs would be 8-6 in common games; the Chargers would be at least 9-5, and would win the division.

The implications of all this:

1) There’s no way to over-state the importance of the Chiefs-Chargers game in San Diego in two weeks. For the Chargers, it’s really a must-win game – if they lose that game, they’ll be two games back and lose a tiebreaker. If the Chiefs win that game, they are guaranteed to finish ahead of San Diego in the standings if they finish 10-6. If the Chiefs beat San Diego, not only are they guaranteed to win the division if they finish 11-5, but their guaranteed to win the division if they finish 10-6 unless Oakland wins their last five games.

If the Chiefs lose to San Diego, they lose control of their destiny. If they lose to the Chargers, then even if the Chiefs win their other four games, they have to hope San Diego loses somewhere else along the way.

In short: the Chiefs are more likely to win the division with a 10-6 record and a victory in San Diego, than with an 11-5 record and a loss in San Diego.

This jives with all of the playoff odds reports I’ve seen. It also makes sense intuitively. The Chargers are clearly the better team but are one game behind. Assuming both teams win this weekend, it creates an optimal hedging opportunity in week 14 when the Chiefs travel to Kansas City. Given that it will be extremely difficult for the loser of that game to win the division, I can bet the Chargers moneyline with confidence and lock in a profit regardless of the result. We’ll go over those options in detail next week.

Pat & I also have our confidence pools for season wins. 5 points for the first team on the list decreasing to 1 for the last. Our picks were as follows:

Pat

Oakland OVER 6
San Francisco OVER 8.5
San Diego UNDER 11
Tennessee OVER 8
NY Giants OVER 8.5

Lou

Dallas UNDER 10
Baltimore OVER 10
Houston UNDER 8
SD UNDER 11
Cincinnati UNDER 8

After a rough first month, Pat’s picks are looking a lot better though I’m helped enormously by the fact the Dallas was kind enough to hit their under by week 8 or so. One way to see where we stand is by how many wins or losses are required by each team for us to hit our respective numbers. I have already hit on Dallas and Cincinnati, but every other bet is still alive. These are all with 5 games to play with the exception of Houston who lost last night.

Pat
Oakland 2 wins (1 to push)
San Francisco (5 wins)
San Diego 1 loss (0 to push)
Tennessee 4 wins (3 to push)
NY Giants 2 wins

Lou
Dallas 0 losses
Baltimore 3 wins (2 to push)
Houston 2 losses (1 to push, from 4 games)
San Diego 1 loss (0 to push)
Cincinnati 0 losses

If San Francisco and Houston win some games in December, this will become much closer again. Of course, Pat will crush me in baseball wins again in the spring and the cycle will likely continue.

Some other notes:

- We’ve now found the level of quarterback at which the Texans defense becomes NFL level calibre. That level is called Rusty Smith.

- Is Matt Lineart really a worse QB than the collection of guys Arizona has been trotting out all season?

- Packers/Falcons was the best game I’ve seen all season.

- Week 13 lines are up. Who is the 3-team teaser this week?

Lastly, some Grey Cup highlights from a video recording on some Canadian dude’s TV. Sounds about right.

The offense however, is offensive. They’ve yet to score 30 points in a game this season and are still near the bottom of the league in short yardage, an improvement over ranking 32nd in 2009. Cutler and the skill players are not bad, but obviously their line is atrocious and is preventing the Bears from being a Super Bowl contender.

Similar to college basketball, road records can often tell you a lot about the actual quality of a team. Beating teams at home isn’t particularly indicative of a good team. Teams with poor home records, however, are almost never good. Only six teams have recorded four or more road wins this season: Pittsburgh, NY Jets, Philadelphia, Miami, Tampa and Chicago. The first three are among the best in the league, Miami has been horribly unlucky and I’ll cover Tampa in a later post. Looking at the Bears road wins, they’ve beaten two teams without an NFL caliber QB (Carolina and Miami), the 2-8 Bills and the 3-7 Cowboys. Sorry if I’m not overly convinced.

All of this is merely a preview for determining the proper odds on Chicago losing their last 6 games in a row. Their schedule is arguably the toughest in the league down the stretch:

vs PHI (+3.5) (Eagles ML is -178)
@ DET
vs NE
@ MIN
vs NYJ
@ GB

If we set lines on all of these games, we can then convert to an approximate moneyline and then throw all of these in a parlay calculator to see what the payout should be.

We’ll start with the Packers because it’s the easiest of the 5 remaining to handicap. The Jets host the Bungles this weekend and Baltimore is at home to Tampa. Both of those games are a similar type matchup to Bears @ Green Bay and those games are both -9, -400.

New England and the Jets are both of similar quality to the Eagles and we’ll install both of them at -4, -200.

This leaves divisional road games at Detroit and Minnesota. Detroit is 2-2 at home, routing the Rams, beating the Redskins and losing by a FG to the Jets and Eagles. They are 6.5 point underdogs Thursday at home to New England. I could make an argument Detroit should be favored, but we’ll make the game a pickem for our purposes here. As far as Minnesota, they could have given up on the season by the time this game rolls around. I think this is the Bears best chance to win out of the 6 and will make Minnesota a +1.5, +120 underdog.

Entering these in the parlay calculator (-400, -200, -200, -178, -100, +120) yields a payout of 18.33/1. If you up New England and the Jets to -6, -270 favorites, the payout drops to 15.13 which is pretty close to what I offered Pat if I may say so…

I’ll still take action on this at 15, but there’s no way I can do 12. Even moving the Lions to -140 and the Packers to -450, along with the Jets @ Pats adjustments still leaves it at 12.5. I’ll offer Pat a compromise and say I’m willing to go a low as 14:1 just because I think this will be a fun bet to make and as Pat mentioned, I can’t actually bet this anywhere else.

Heat – No best reg record or no win championship (300)

The only people that actually read this site know this story already but I originally had a 100 dollar bet on this with JaPan.  Straight up, he wins if the Heat finish with best overall and win the Championship.  After Game 1 where the Heat got smoked by the Celtics I offered him to settle for 75 on the spot and yada, yada, yada, we now have 300 dollars on the line.  I would probably be posting this even if the Heat weren’t struggling, but the fact they lost to Indiana last night at home is the ultimate typing catalyst.  Don’t want to jinx this but this looks promising to say the least.

Jets (or Bills) to win AFC East vs Patriots (40)

Another Japan bet.  The bet was made either directly after the first Jets/Pats or after the Jets/Broncos, I’m pretty sure it was the former.  Needless to say booze has made the issue murky.  At this point you have to give the Patriots the odds on this due to the schedule and that the Jets go to Foxboro two Monday nights from now.  I like JaPan’s chances.  As a side not I insisted that I get the Bills also in the bet.

Over/Under Season Win Total Bets – Pub Crawl

In case you were wondering about the baseball O/U pub crawl bet this year I smoked Lou Lou.  This one looks promising for Louis but it’s close.  I’ll edit this section when I have the numbers in front of me.

Chicago Bears to Win One Game for Remainder of Season

This is not an actual bet at the moment but one Lou Lou proposed Sunday night.  He posed the question, what are the chances that the Bears do not win another game the rest of the season?  Looking at the schedule, the Bears from here in will be an underdog in most games with a couple of essential coin-flips thrown in.  Louis originally wanted 10-1 odds, which I accepted.  Weary that I accepted so quickly he then graciously and generously offered himself something like 18-1.  Currently we are in a stalemate, I’ll lay 12-1 but Lou Lou is holding out for 15-1.  I think this one is going to die on the table.  The only hope of action is that this is a bet that has to be made in a non-internet setting since the line doesn’t exist in real life.  We’ll see.

I woke up to see Northeastern v S. Illinois on the schedule for 10am. I thought, “Didn’t Northeastern put a guard in the NBA from last year?” Sure enough, they did. It will have to take a while to fill that void in a program that isn’t traditionally known for being a powerhouse. It’s also a put up or shut up year for head coach Chris Lowery of the Salukis. No better time to start than with a comfortable home victory. The Pick: Salukis -5.5

Why not tease it with Baylor? OK, I will. Salukis -1.5, Baylor -11.5.

2)  I have made two NFL bets with Louis.  I like one and am anxious about the other.  They are…

* Raiders win total (over 6 games) – This is actually the bet I like which should tell you something about the other bet we will talk about in a second.  The Raiders have not won 6 games in ages but I like their coach, their defense and that J Russell is no longer on board.  In my mind I win this bet 1/3 of the time and push it 45-50%.  But the next bet…

* Chiefs to win the division (10:1) – I am The House in this bet and I flat out do not like it.  The only things I hear about in this division are how many players on the Chargers are either hurt or holding out.  And if they do not dominate this group, I am in trouble, because there is a whole lot of generic nothing after them in the AFC West.  I figure I win this bet 80% of the time, which means I am getting a poor deal at 10:1.  Week 1 will be a HUGE indicator of how this bet will go as KC opens at home against the Chargers.

3)  There are three MLB future “to win World Series” bets that I like the value of.  They are…

* Red Sox 25-1

* White Sox 28-1

* Giants 20-1

I was encouraged to hear that Michael Vick, in advance of his reality show that debuts Tuesday on BET , is saying he led “a double life,” and I use the word “encouraged” advisedly. Because you don’t know how many times I’ve asked myself and asked people who worked inside the building at 4400 Falcon Parkway if I/they had any hint — any hint — of what was to come.

And I did not. Which might make me the world’s worst reporter, except that I’ve not yet found anyone within the compound who saw it coming, either.

I know, I know. People on the outside will harrumph and say they knew it all along because he wore his hair in corn rows and dressed in a manner different from, say, Peyton Manning. But I grew up in the ’60s and have had some fairly extravagant hairdos myself, and I attended my high school graduation wearing platform shoes with four-inch heels. Me, I stopped judging on appearances long ago.

And even if you believed Vick mightn’t have been a model citizen, you knew this … how? Before the Ron Mexico civil action was filed in 2005, there wasn’t a hint of misdoings, and he’d been a Falcon since April 2001. In hindsight, the weird part wasn’t that we “knew all about” the most famous person in Atlanta but that we knew, as in really knowing, hardly anything.

That’s why I’m intrigued by “The Michael Vick Project”, and what it might reveal. I thought I knew him. Turns out I only knew what I was allowed to see. I’m intrigued to see how he kept his lives compartmentalized. I’m intrigued, as the spies in John le Carre’s fictional Circus would say, by the tradecraft.

Vick in an Atlanta radio interview this week said the following:

On whether or not people ever saw the best that he could’ve been:

“No. Not at all. I think if I woulda applied myself, there was a lot more I could have done off the field and also in the film room that could have elevated my game to a totally different level. I was complacent at the time, somewhat lazy, and I kinda settled for mediocrity. I thought what I was doing was enough. I thought that would suffice and I didn’t have to do anything else. I thought as my career went on I would continue to play at a high level. Everything that I was doing off the field, in regards to the marijuana and everything else, it didn’t slow me down, but it definitely slowed my developmental process because it made me lazy in a sense and I wasn’t really focused and didn’t take things seriously. Now, I want to make the most out of the next couple of years out of my career. I want to play my best football up until the age of 34 or 35, so that’s my plan. I’m gonna put everything into it. Put my all into it.”

On the fact that he still had success even when he didn’t dedicate himself completely:

“Just imagine what I could’ve been doing if I really would have been applying myself. That’s a regret that I have. I’m just glad that I have an opportunity to make amends for what I didn’t do and try to recap that. That’s what I wanted to show in my documentary because people didn’t know that. I wanted a clean slate, I wanted to put all of that out there so that once this documentary aired and the series is over, then I can move on with my life and I don’t have to answer a lot of questions. I can just answer them through my actions.”

Judging by the above paragraphs only, it sounds like he’s growing up.

Why Germany will win the upcoming World Cup.

Did Avatar mercilessly steal from Pocahontas?

Lastly, Lamar Odom entertainingly pimping Powerbars. Or something.

Team Odds
Indianapolis 6.5
San Diego 8
New England 10
New Orleans 10
Pittsburgh 11
Dallas 12
Green Bay 12
Minnesota 12
Philadelphia 16
Baltimore 20
NY Giants 20
NY Jets 25
Tennessee 25
Atlanta 30
Cincinnati 30
Arizona 35
Chicago 35
Houston 35
Carolina 40
Miami 45
San Francisco 45
Seattle 45
Denver 50
Jacksonville 50
Washington 50
Buffalo 100
Cleveland 100
Detroit 100
Kansas City 100
Oakland 100
St. Louis 100
Tampa Bay 100

Defending champions at 10:1??? Atlanta at 30 is also appealing. It’s really tempting to take the top 8 NFC teams, banking on the fact that one of them should make the Super Bowl and then hedge the moneyline on an AFC team a year from now. Probably not worth the effort considering you’d have to tie up your money with Bodog of all places for a year, but it’s something to think about.

Saints at 10:1 still doesn’t feel right, though maybe I’m just biased based on the last few seasons.

Comment away, especially if I’m missing something.

EDIT: Lombardi makes an excellent point this morning I overlooked yesterday in that teams in the last 8 of the playoffs (IND, SD, NO, DAL, MIN, BAL, NYJ, ARI) cannot make significant free agent additions unless replacing a departing player.

If you leave out those 8 teams, the top plays would seem to be NE, PIT, GB & ATL. Still awfully hard to tie up any significant $ on something a year away without a good feel for an outcome.

Other sites have much more detailed analysis here and here. If you are participating in a square and want/need to calculate your odds of winning, that link is here.

Dallas Clark over 68 yards receiving (-110)

This is a really high number for a tight end, but Dallas Clark is more of a hybrid slot receiver than even Antonio Gates or Jason Witten, so this number is probably very close to the true line. This is a high variance play, but I think Clark will see single coverage all day and will likely be the recipient of many checkdowns thanks to the Saints blitzing. Another similar play is Joseph Addai over 2.5 receptions or over 18.5 receiving yards.

Total Penalties

If anyone can find a prop bet on this, please let me know. The Colts and Saints are two of the least penalized teams in the league and referee Scott green, to my complete and total joy almost never calls roughing the passer. He’s thrown only seven flags for roughing the passer over the past three seasons, including zero during the entire 2008 season. Many of the roughing the passer penalties are simply things that happen in a game called “football” and it’s fantastic that a referee that subscribes to this belief will be in charge of the game.

Highest Rated Commercial Anheuser-Busch +200

These odds have been heavily slashed from the +900!!!! opening, but there’s still value here.

I think there is tremendous value in Anheuser-Busch and Doritos at Bookmaker here, and it goes beyond just comparing their odds to Bodog’s. Busch won ten years in a row before Doritos broke their impressive streak last year. Even in defeat, Busch showed very strong, with their ads placing both second and third. In 2008 Busch placed first, fifth, and sixth, with Doritos coming in fourth. And in 2007 the two companies dominated the standings, monopolizing the top seven spots. Even at +900, Busch actually has the shortest odds of any of Bookmaker’s 35 options; it’s like BM was aware that they should be the favorite, but had no idea just how dominant they’ve been.

As for this year’s game, the Clydesdales won’t be appearing, but Busch has purchased five minutes worth of ads, and their non-Clydesdale commercials have scored well in the past. Doritos is running a similar contest to the one that landed them the top spot last year; they’ll have three commercials during the game.

Likely more degeneracy to follow between now and kickoff.

http://rickjshandicappingpicks.blogspot.com/

He is by no means funny but he seems to have a pretty good record and know what the hell he’s talking about so check him out.  Rick seems to include some wall street stuff on a stock or two that he likes so watch out for that.  Please leave a comment if you find a blog about sports gambling that has some humor to it.  No poker blogs please.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.” – Conan O’Brien saying goodbye from the Tonight Show

The Football Outsiders guys wrote up their worst of 2009 team. If you enjoy snide comments at the expense of pro athletes, this column is for you.

So, Sabby Piscitelli. It’s kind of a fun name, in that juvenile, vaguely dirty way some Italian names are. His house was burglarized during the win against Green Bay this year, and burglary is wrong and illegal, so he has my sympathies. I hope he was covered by insurance. If you do an Internet search on him, he’s apparently somewhat of a favorite of the ladies. They had an easy time finding him this year; all they had to do was look at who was supposed to be there when Tampa Bay gave up a long touchdown pass.

For those more herbally inclined, there’s Blaze of glory: Marijuana’s greatest moments in sports.

Bill Simmons did a post-show podcast on Jersey Shore this week. His initial podcast on the show is here.

Lastly, some Sportscenter fueled entertainment.