Week 8 college picks - Time to get back on the gravy train

Even a shit-faced Belushi would be coherent enough to make these bets.

Another week, another college football write-up day, with bets bolded in ( ):

Last week posted picks: 2-1; year to date: 14-10-1 (took a shot on UCLA last night foolishly, oops), +$126

Illinois/Indiana (under 55.5): Illinois is a run-first team, 29th in the nation with 200 yards/game on the ground, with passing near the bottom at 136/game. While Indiana's offense and defense tend to lend itself towards overs (5th nationally in passing yards, bottom third in the nation in yards allowed), Illinois will dictate the pace of this game with their running and surprisingly sharp defense (19th in the nation in yards allowed). A quick look at the weather report also shows 20mph winds around gametime, so if that's the case, Indiana's passing game may not be as strong as week's past. I see this ending in the mid 40s with Illinois winning about 27-17.

Wisconsin at Iowa (-6, hoping to get at 5.5 or 5): It seems like a high number to give a team like Wisconsin who just beat the number 1 team in the nation. I believe Wisconsin fed off of the emotion of the home crowd (I think OSU is still a better team than Wisconsin) and a let-down in a game like this on the road is natural. Iowa is starting out its Big Ten season in style, beating up on Penn St and knocking out Denard & UM on the road last week. Iowa's won 8 of the last 10 meetings. A few weeks back, UW lost to MSU on the road by 10- that's where I put Iowa at for this week, 10-14 point win.

LSU at Auburn (under 51.5): No question that Les Miles is as big of a maniac of a coach as there is in the coaching ranks of any sport. One thing he knows how to do is win though. Statistically speaking, LSU is top 10 nationally in passing yards and rushing yards allowed (3rd overall). Being a road underdog won't intimidate Miles and his squad, who have seemed to play to the level of their competition. Auburn's stout offense hasn't faced a defense like this yet. And Auburn's defense, towards the middle of the pack in the nation, may not have its defensive weakness exposed as LSU is terrible in the passing game and 92nd in the nation in total yards. I expect this to be a defensive battle between two teams fighting to stay in the championship game conversation, around the lines of 20-16.

As you can see, this is the first week where I looked at some statistics in my bets. We'll see how well this works. Bet at your own risk, but also remember....it's not gambling when you know you are gonna win. So let's do it.

Holding off on betting game 6 of the Yanks series tonight. My obvious rooting interest in NYY, plus the risk of $80 going down from earlier in the year if they lose tonight, is enough for me. I would probably bet on Cliff Lee in game 7 if there is one if only to pseudo-hedge my World Series bet.

I think Phillies force a game 7 tomorrow.

Nobody's perfect - especially you

But especially me. Not anymore anyways. Philadelphia ended my mouth-watering, panty-dropping perfect baseball gambling record for the 2010 by falling to the Giants last night, ending my streak to start the playoffs at 9 in a row. Unfortunately, due to school interfering with my Tu-Th television watching, I wasn't able to catch anything but the bottom of the ninth at Oliver's (a local bar), only to watch the Wizard of Oswalt allow former Sox infielder Juan Uribe to follow the yellow brick road to a game 4 victory.

I'm not sure if any of you even follow baseball playoffs when local teams are out of the race. I know I find it hard to watch baseball when my teams are not involved - unless of course money is on the line in some capacity. I could watch football games without money on the line, if only for the simple fact that football wipes their asses with other professional sports in terms of entertainment. I'm sure others would contend, and with good reason, that hockey is their favorite form of sports entertainment. Hockey has captured the attention of Chicago the past couple of years and is an excellent sport to watch in person. I got into it a little bit last year but would not consider myself a fan of the Hawks, but I was definitely happy for all of my Hawks friends (Luzz-man, Jay, my cousin Tony, Hurley, etc.) when they did win, as I know they were followers of the team during the Dark Ages (mid 90s-mid 2000s).

All this being said, I still think football is the best sport- although with their outlawing of hitting people and eventual evolution towards turning into a flag football league, it soon may dissipate down the sport rankings if it keeps up this pattern. Football without hitting is like a TV with no electricity, a cookie without the milk, a crackpipe without the crack. I understand player safety must be a concern to the NFL, but have they ever thought that these folks who are being told to avoid the hard hits might be putting themselves more at risk for injuries themselves through their half-assed hits? I could see some of the stronger receivers and runners taking advantage of the pussification of the NFL by lowering their helmets into defensive players even moreso. When these guys became players, they knew the inherent risks of the sport, which include concussions, leg/ACL injuries, etc. And oftentimes, you'll see these players with much shorter lifespans than other professions. However, people have always known this, and the idea of the sport changing now, while beneficial to the players, would ultimately end with the diminishing of the sport itself.

At least that what B-Bo Knows. But who knows if I'm right. After all, I'm not perfect.

Disposing of Losing Bets

This is what I get for betting the Yankees, now down 3-1

Anyone who has gone to Vegas or an OTB to bet horses has seen a similar betting slip like the one above. Well, minus the "Suck Balls" part, I would think (unless you happened to bet on a team that was named "Suck Balls").

Also, anyone who knows me knows that I have unique ways of disposing of losing bets. On my last Vegas trip, I urinated on a bet that wasn't even over yet just because I knew how it was gonna end (and luckily, the Dodgers didn't come back and cover the 1.5 runs I spotted them after blowing a 6-0 first inning lead on me). That was soon followed up by the eating of a losing bet and also crapping on one - I believe all were on the same trip.

I am on the precipice of losing this bet above and likely will be at school tomorrow when the Yanks game is complete tomorrow. I'm wondering how I should go about the destruction of this bet should the Yanks lose (and I am betting that they will- looking to go 10-0 at the expense of my World Series bet). Or perhaps I can rip it into thirds and dispose of it in several different ways- like a combination of burning, feeding to dogs and chucking at an old person. I'm open to suggestion.

In need of inspiration? (first non-sports blog)

Actually, they probably don't. But let's pretend they do. Just kidding. I love you like a fat kid love cake.

Figured I'd double dip and write my first non-sports blog tonight. This was something I wrote on a slow night recently, so consider this for motivation if you ever need it. I know it's helped me as I've read it aloud several times.

"It's worth the pursuit, no matter the time it takes, the gas burned by the endless travels. A dog chasing his tail may look somewhat silly, but he has a goal in mind. Once he achieves that goal, his world is perfect for that moment.

It's the pursuit of happiness we are all after in this world. When we find what makes us happy in this world, we must do all we can to keep that happiness in our lives.

So if the pursuit requires another night or week's worth of going around in circles, so be it. Gotta keep chasing, even if at the end of the day all you end up is chasing a dead end. Keep the pursuit going. If it's worth it, and you eventually end up succeeding in your quest, then many priceless moments await your future. The best things in life are free. Keep chasing".

Cornier than turds the day after Thanksgiving, I know. Just figured I'd share those words in case you might be the type to feed off of stuff like this.

I'm out for the night.

-B-Bo

A case of the Mon(ey)days

Jacksonville Jaguars 2010 Media Guide

Wow, well that bet was the epitome of sucktitude. I hope no one else outside of me, Wolf and Biggie Smalls lost dough on that terrible excuse for a football game. No wonder why no one goes to Jacksonville to watch games- down 20 points with 10 minutes left, so lets do running plays that net us 3-4 yards 7 times in a row. Great idea Jack del Dip Shit. Glad I didn't double up my misery by betting against Lee- that would have been a huge mistake. First losing day in 3 weeks- I guess I was due for one of those. I think I need a few days off and chillax from the sports scene. Brain is fried from crunching numbers and whatnot.

Jacksonville is another reason to hate Florida- to go back to the America's Wang blog. Eff the Jaguars.

Sunday Evening QB - Week 6 and a look-ahead

Another day, more dollars, 2-1 NFL (+$54), another MLB victory. Only losing bet was betting against my boys (I'd make that bet every time considering the circumstances), no regrets on it. San Fran has some winnable games ahead on its schedule, but that's been the broken record statement of the year. They open as a field goal road favorite at Carolina, which actually looks like a good bet for next week. The biggest Week 7 favorites are fittingly Balt and NO, laying two touchdowns as home favorites versus Buffalo and Cleveland, respectively.

Monday's winning bet:

Tennessee/Jacksonville - Over 45...Jacksonville has allowed 28, 28, 28 and 26 points in the past 4 weeks (latter two were victories). And while everyone associates Jacksonville with Maurice Jones-Drew, David Garrard is on pace for a career year, already halfway to his career-high 18 touchdown passes only 5 games into the year. I expect him to find his favorite target Marcedes Lewis at least once on his way to a 2-3 TD Monday night performance.

With Tennessee, there will be no surprises- give Chris Johnson the damn ball and let him do his thing. While Vince Young hasn't led a very efficient passing attack, I expect him to get about 200 yards passing and 2 TDs - 1 to his favorite target Kenny Britt, as Jacksonville's D (like Ten's) ranks near the bottom in passing defense.

Both of these teams are playing in their lone appearance under the Monday night lights, so that should only add to the offensive fireworks. There's no question that influences some players- playing on the night where everyone is watching. I expect this score to end up in the mid 50s: I'll say 30-24 Jacksonville. I'll make that like my other bets this week - to win $60. I am debating betting on the Yanks as a small underdog against Cliff Lee, but I'm leaning towards passing on that and rooting on the Yanks anyways.

Let's keep this money train rolling. I have at least one follower now given my recent run. Feel free to let me know if you're using any of these posts to your betting advantage (or if you are disagreeing with my picks and betting against them).

Peace my brothers and sisters.

My dog's breath is making my nostrils peel

I'm trying to get my NFL picks together and all I can smell is my dog's rank ass breath, so if my picks suck this week, I'm gonna blame the dog.

Last week: 3-3, -$4; YTD: 17-12, $197 in NFL.

Week 6 picks, with pick in ( ):

San Diego at St. Louis (+8.5): Still trying to figure out this line. SD is 0-3 on the road, St. Louis 2-1 at home, and you're giving a score+ total to the home team? This is my favorite line of the week. StL will definitely cover and may even win.

Detroit (+10) at NYG: Detroit has been quite respectable on the road this year, losing by 5, 14 and 2 (unlike year's past where they would lose consistently by 20+ points. This seems like the perfect spot for an NYG let down- their past two games have been amazing defensive performances. There's something about Eli that I don't like or trust in this spot. I say Det keeps this close and loses by 3-4.

Oakland (+6.5) at SF: Again, not sure why an 0-5 team is spotting 6.5 points to anyone. Bush proved to be just as good of an option as McFadden, and I expect them to pound the rock some more. SF is due for a win soon, but I could very well see an upset here from Oakland, if you wanna call it an upset.


Those are the bets for now. Also got SF Giants tonight in my efforts to go 8-0 in postseason betting.

Let's keep the gravy train rolling, my dogs rank ass breath be damned.