Money won is twice as sweet as money earned

Since I'm pressed for time and want to get my football picks on record to see if I can continue my streak: (10 of last 11 bets won, including 3 straight baseball bets, with pending bet of Braves winning tonight), gonna write a short write-up:

Illinois (+8) over Penn State- Not a homer pick. I think Illinois rides the momentum from last week against Ohio State and at least keeps it within a score, possibly wins. Penn State hasn't impressed at all this season. Take the points.

Wisconsin (-21.5 or whatever) over Minnesota- Wisconsin is a strong team and are licking their chops over the loss from last week which essentially erased any chance of them contending as a darkhorse championship team. Minnesota blows and was lucky to cover against NU last week. Wisconsin by 31.

Mich State (+4.5) over Michigan- For as good as Robinson is playing, he can't play defense. MSU is solid and this line should be at 3 honestly. If Michigan State loses, it won't be by more than 4 points.

Might bet more, but that's the early slate of games I like. Just a coincidence that they are all Big Ten.

Notes added 10-9-10 at 4:50: (Only bet I was able to get in was the MSU line, which works perfectly. State is absolutely killing here. I was able to get Tim to tag me on this game, so hopefully we can start winning money together here.

Last bet of the day will be Northwestern (-8.5) over Purdue. Purdue is going into the Big Ten season without its top QB and WR, with a redshirt starting QB taking the helm for good a week ago. NU should win this one by about 14.)

Let's keep making money...11-7-1 college record this year, +$131

Enjoy your weekends. I'll be back tomorrow with my NFL picks.

Putting the DIK in predict

Maybe more people (well, men I suppose) would like baseball if it was a coin flip in this sense.

Apparently the Philadelphia Phillies are already the 2010 World Series champions. Just like the Cubs were already the 2008 champions heading into October. Also, in '05, I think the Red Sox and Yankees were no doubt gonna face each other in the ALCS again for the 205th year in a row. Oh shit, none of those things happened? Ahhh, yes...see where I am going with this?

Well, probably not, especially if you don't give two shits about baseball. But let's pretend you do for a second. Predicting/betting on baseball is the dumbest thing anyone can do. The results of any given game are so unpredictable that you may as well use a dartboard to pick your bets. Granted, you can do a certain level of statistical analysis, but why don't you ask Oakland Athletics fans how many championships, hell, even recent division championships, that Moneyball has won them and see how much that's done? While it's not hard to predict what teams will do bad over a 162 game schedule from year to year (the Pirates and Royals, among a few others, will continue to suck until they change ownership), it is damn near impossible to be a baseball savant with gambling. I have yet to meet anyone who is good at it- then again, me and most of my friends generally suck at all sports gambling.

With that being said, let's defy everything I just said and try guessing what's gonna happen. I'm gonna flip a coin for each series, starting in the AL w/ the Minn/NYY series and ending in the NL with Phil/Cin. Heads is home team, tails is road team. I'm wondering if this will yield just as good of results as trusting my baseball knowledge.

First round: Yanks win 3-1; Texas wins 3-1; SF wins 3-0; Cincy wins 3-2
LCS's: Texas wins 4-2; Reds win 4-2
WS: Reds win 4-3 (come back after 3-0 deficit)

My actual predictions would look a lot different than that (probably Phillies vs. Rays), but if there's any sport that lends itself to a coin toss for betting purposes,  baseball would be that.

Also, I know I shouldn't, but I'm gonna dabble a little in postseason betting.

Wednesdays bet: Rangers over Rays.

Flip a coin, make a bet, and enjoy an afternoon beer as playoff baseball begins Wednesday afternoon.

It Ain't Over Till It's Over...

What would sports be without clichés and its announcers who speak to the average viewer as if they are in eighth grade? To their defense, I think they might be speaking above the heads of most people. Take John BOOM Madden:

"In order to score touchdowns, you need to move the ball." - John Earl Madden

Say what you want about how simple he makes football seem, but he got paid the big bucks for a reason. The average viewer could relate to him more than most announcers, and I have yet to hear an announcer that kept it so simple and yet so entertaining. I'll never forget the Turducken he sliced with his humongous hand during an Eagles drubbing of the Niners on a Monday night game in 2002. And someone who had just about every Madden game from 1998-2009, his contribution to the pop culture world cannot be ignored. Who can forget his literary masterpieces, One Knee Equals Two Feet and Hey, Wait a Minute, I Wrote a Book (I can't make this up). I bought the former for $5, and it was worth every dollar.

I'd say Madden is the exception to the rule as far as getting away with clichés and dumbass sayings. I hate most announcers because of it- take Hawk Harrelson. He makes watching Sox games hard with his catchphrases and annoying pro-Sox stance on everything. It's ok to love the team you're announcing for, but quit playing the Us against the World card every time the umpire makes a close call against the Sox. I'll give ya that he's come up with some decent catchphrases and nicknames (Big Hurt is a HOF nickname in an era lacking nicknames), but as a fan of the team, I guess I'm just overexposed to it, thus making it more annoying than if he was not my team's announcer.

DJ and Hawk: Sounds more like a bad WWF tag-team than a bad announcing duo

'Dogs finally have their day with Vick

Just picture this as an Eagles jersey and that's what happened today

Those (under)dogs today would be the Redskins. No need to rub it in your faces (you're welcome to do it next week when my picks suck), but Redskins looked amped up today. Had nothing to do with McNabb, but I'll take the win. Luckily for Vick fantasy owners such as myself, we have no need to worry about Kolb taking the job back from Vick (unless Vicks ribs look like the Kibbles and Bits inside of the losing rottweilers he coached).

Football Thoughts- Under the Influence of 2 dozen wings

Anyone who says this isn't a healthy meal is a Communist.

If anyone happened to watch the Illini/theeeeeeeeeee Ohio State game, you'd know that talent-wise, there's no reason for theeeeeeeeee Ohio State to win by anything less than 14 points. However, for one reason or another, Illinois has a tendency to suck a little less against theeeeeeeee OSU than it does against other Big Ten teams. I almost bet on theeeeeeee Buckeyes but (a) couldn't bet against my alma mater and (b) remembered the aforementioned fact. If you are getting annoyed by theeeeeeeeee spelling of theeeeeeeeeee, then just imagine hearing it on telecasts, as if you need the unnecessary article in front of any college/university's name. That's probably why I dislike OSU, now that I think about it.

The 2:30 games were entertaining, with my Wild Wings seat facing the Mich St/Wisc and Mich/Indiana games, the latter being an early candidate for Big Ten game of the year. Earlier, I lost bet #1 with NU winning (but not covering the -5) against Minnesota. Bet 2 (Oklahoma -4) was a little nicer to me, but I had the unnecessary sweat at the end. If you've never made a sports bet, you have no idea the stress that a bet that looks good and then looks like it's gonna crumble in front of your face causes to an individual. It could very well be the death of me some day- it's seriously that tough to deal with. Anyways, I digress. I didn't need to sweat bet 3 at all (over 66 in Ore/Stan), as they were at 55 by the half and closed at 83. Also didn't wanna sweat it so I ended up seeing the best band you've never heard of (Modern Chemists). Not only did they rock, but they rocked at a very reasonable price of $free.99. Can't beat that. Keep it up guys. I saw the ending of the 7pm games (which were not as competitive as I thought they would be) during my 2nd trip to B-Dubs for the day. My butthole is going to have its revenge tomorrow.

After 5 college weeks: 11-7-1 and up $131. I promise I will keep this updated accurately and not be a gambler who only talks about his winnings.

Onward to NFL week 4 predictions:

(1) Balt/Pitt under- Granted the total is very low (about 34, but will know official number around 11 tomorrow), but I just don't see either team breaking 20 points here. I smell about a 17-10, 17-13 final. Among my friends, I tend to lean towards unders a lot more than all of them.

(2) Car (+13/13.5) over NO- as mentioned in previous post, I think Carolina's running game (which has been slumping) keeps it close. NO has yet to stop the run against anyone this year. I say New Orleans win by 9.

(3) StL (+1.5/2) over Sea- the Rams have actually looked good through 3 games with Bradford behind center. Seattle's victories have both been at home- I need to be proved wrong before backing them on the road. Also, everyone's a little too quick in annointing them the favorites in the NFC West (the right answer as to who the favorite is, quite simple actually: NO ONE- the whole division sucks).

(4) Wash (+5.5/6) over Phil- I love the points here as well, even though the Skins lost to the Rams last week. Divisional game + McNabb's need to prove Philly wrong in trading him inside the division = a close game. Phil wins, but by only a field goal.

(5) Chi (+3/3.5) over NYG- I still don't see how Chi is an underdog here. The Giants have been blowing so bad and so hard the past two weeks that TMZ reports that even Richard Simmons was blushing at the results. Ok, now I'm pretty sure my computer has HIV after looking that up.

NFL record so far after 3 weeks: 9-8 record, up $16

That's it for now. Let's make some money and also close our weekends off on a most excellent note.

-B-Bo

Hate to Love, Love to Hate



My deal with the devil, made in March

 Above is my gambling slip graciously handled by my friend Lindsay when she was in Vegas 7 months ago. I must say (as a Sox fan), it feels somewhat awkward for anyone outside of the Bronx to actively root for the Yankees outside of the 9-11 season, when suddenly the Yankees were baseball's version of "America's Team".  However, I find nothing awkward about getting back $304 on an $80 investment.


Cheering on the Yanks brings up something I've been saying for years...the Yankees are actually GOOD for baseball, and baseball needs them to continue being a good franchise that is hated by the rest of the markets. While the rivalry won't be revisited and is a bit overplayed to the point where both feel like ESPN's local teams, the Yanks/Red Sox is the best thing that the game has going for it, much better than Cardinals/Cubs for the simple fact that the latter hardly ever has them battling for/within postseason play. I won't be cheering the Yanks on in future years where I haven't made a futures bet. However, their ownership does everything that other fans wish that many of their teams wish they would do: actively care about winning. The Yankees cannot be faulted for spending money that they possess--in fact, the ire of fan's eyes should really be the owners of the crappy teams who pocket their revenue sharing money instead of spending it, money that comes from Yankees being forced to pay a luxury tax under the baseball guidelines.


Same thing in regards to other sports-having a team to hate is always good for the sport. Take the Miami Heat. As much as I think Lebron is a douche for leaving Cleveland the way he did, what he and his partners in crime have done is make Miami infinitely more marketable via hatred. Tell me you aren't looking forward to rooting on whoever the Heat are playing on a nightly basis, especially the Bulls. And how awkward is it gonna be to potentially see an NBA Finals in which Los Angeles is the team that Joe Public is rooting for?


An anagram for Heat is "Hate", which is exactly what everyone is going to love to do with the talents in South Beach. Hate = $$$, and as many of you know, $$$ = Good, unless you buy into the Mo' Money, Mo' Problems state of economy, as preached by the late great Christopher Wallace.


Let the Haters hate the Heat and the Yanks. I'm sure the money and future championships will lessen the pain that those players feel. I have 304 reasons to believe this.

Florida- America's Wang

Name me one thing that you can like or respect about the state of Florida:

Old people? No thanks.

Hurricanes? Let me know when they hit the old people, and we'll talk.

Miami Heat? I'll have you wait on My Decision in primetime TV and have Jim Gray ask me a bunch of pointless questions.

And the worst thing about Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays.

Wait, aren't the Rays contending for their 2nd AL East crown in 3 years? Why yes they are. But much like a  tree's sound in a soulless forest, a division crown cannot be celebrated by an empty stadium. Just over 17,000 people went to see the Rays clinch their 2nd ever playoff berth (which in itself is 5,000 less people than they've been averaging). Granted, that wasn't an actual picture of their stadium, but it might as well have been. Everyone uses the economy excuse, so quit yer whining Tampa. I've heard their stadium sucks, which would hold some merit for not going if the team itself actually sucked. If they can't support a winning sports team, then it's not a state I want to associate with. Plus, it has the distinction of voting a Bush into office. Do you need any more reason to hate the state?

The equation is simple. Florida = Sucks. Never forget it.