Mehh-ry Christ-mehhs

I only look forward to a few things on Christmas these days- (1) the variety of sports, including an NFL game this year and (2) the time with family. The past couple Christmases, including the one that hasn't occurred just yet, seem void of something. Maybe it's the being single thing, maybe it's the getting older thing. I just don't give as much of a shit as I used to, not even close. Getting gifts has been overshadowed by the giving of gifts in terms of where I get the most joy. I suppose I shouldn't dwell on this blah feel that I get around this time of the year and just enjoy the "presence" of people around me -- terrible pun.

I suppose that's what I'll try doing....that and some Christmas cocktails.


NFL bets...streaking right now with totals (8 in a row), overall of 37-26, including 4-0 in week 15.

Thursday bet: Pitt/Car Under (37-38): Not sure what I'll get it at. I'm not worried about Troy being gone for Pitt. Car can run the ball, but that's where Pitt's strength (about 65 yards a game allowed a game) exists. I expect Pitt to run the ball a lot as well (35-40 times). Expecting a 24-7ish type of score.

Merry Christmas to my friends and family who read this, all 5 of you. If you're reading this- buy me something good because I'm sure I did the same for you.

-Brian

Snow Job

Everyone is bitching about the weather in Minnesota. Everyone bitches about everything. It'll be like playing football on that less-than-stellar field you played on when you were a kid and it was 5 degrees out with snow. I understand the safety concerns, but since when does anyone care what a punter thinks? Not like he's gonna get hit to the ground. What's next, a long-snapper telling me his opinions on abortion?

At first I took what he said seriously, but the game is dangerous no matter the weather or field conditions. Solid hits probably won't be as prevalent in this weather since the speed of the guys running is going to be slower. Instead of focusing on the talent on the field (like we/I should have been doing last week with the New England game), everything's been focused on the weather. The Bears are a better team, with or without Favre starting. As I write this, decision is being made on his playing status, but I don't care.

Bears get at least one defensive score today and win 24-14.

Book it...which I did with the Over for the game to win 50. Record of 3-0 for the week so far with GB/NE over easily coming in last night. Overall NFL record now is 36-26.

To my ladies and gents who read this: enjoy your Snow Jobs.

Bowl(ek) Game Betting Thread

I'm gonna keep track of all the bets I make on the bowls in this thread here:

Bet 1: Fresno St (+1.5) vs. NIU- $55 to win $50. NIU just lost their new coach and coming off of an upset loss in the MAC conference championship. Fresno is familiar with the smurf turf in Boise and coming off a win against Illinois (who beat NIU earlier this year). Result: Yikes....what a waste of $55

Bet 2: Hawaii/Tulsa Over 75- $44 to win $40....I forgot to write this one up earlier, but I had to have a degenerate Christmas Eve bet. I saw both teams score about 40 a game, so what the hell. Result: 96 points, 61-35....what a genius bet. $40 richer.

Like Chris Brown did to Rihanna, I am doing to the sportsbook

"If the cops ask, this is how many times I hit you...there, you got it!"

Ok, ok. I haven't sent the sportsbook to the hospital yet or asked the sportsbook to forgive me and go back out with me. But there's still 6 weeks of football left, so give that some time.

This has seriously been one of the best seasons I've had in betting games. Only comparable stretch I had was in early 2009 when I made a profit for like 15-16 straight days when I had an online account on a site called bookmaker ("We can't pay you fast enough" was a t-shirt I got with gambling points from using their site so much over the years). A bad stretch from late October thru middle of November had me thinking the first 7-8 weeks of football were a mirage, but I regrouped and have started to kick the shit out of the guy who books my bets. And believe me, it's hard to kick the shit out of someone you've never met before, but that's just how awesome I've been. Winning money while gambling is one of the sweetest feelings that there is to experience (editor's note: there's a lot of feelings that I haven't encountered yet, so hence the bold/pathetic statement). If you aren't a gambler or don't do sports betting, then it's hard to describe or analogize (if that's even a word). Maybe it's like giving birth to a genetically superior child, except here, the child is a wad of money.

Totally nailed the under of the Niners game yesterday (barely). Thank you to the impotent 49ers offense for scoring only 7 points to help keep the total score under 45. A nice 5 game streak of totals bets amidst a 11-3 run recently has me at a season high 8 games above .500 (34-26 - 56.7%) in NFL betting. Hoping to avoid another slump like I experienced last month.

Give a brother some love and take these money makers to the bank:

Miami/Buffalo (Under 41): Inept offenses on both sides. While in the past Miami's rushing game was their strength, their two-headed monster of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams never got going this year. This may be their last chance to do so, as the Bills rush defense is the worst in the league. I expect Miami to run the ball about 45-50 times between their running backs and keep this clock going. However, Miami's had a lot of drives stall this year, leading to high fantasy scores for kicker Dan Carpenter- so I project Miami for 1 ground TD and about 3-4 field goals here. Miami QBs for one reason or another (maybe it's just cuz they suck balls) haven't been able to get Brandon Marshall the ball. On the other side of the ball, signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick has lost his deep threat Lee Evans, which makes me think that Steve Johnson, who quietly is 5th in receiving TDs this year, will be seeing double teams the rest of the year. Fitz doesn't make many mistakes, so I don't expect to see any of the pick-6s that you might be accustomed to seeing with Peyton Manning lately. Buffalo will feature Fred Jackson, who has made his share of big plays this year. I think the loss of Evans will also allow to stack the box more on Jackson, so I don't expect many big plays. I envision a 16-13 score.

Leans- I don't have strong feelings on much outside of that under, but I'll probably book a few more bets on Sunday outside of that. Right now, Carolina -2.5, Balt/NO Over 44, NYG/Phil under 46, Detroit +5.5 and Jax +4.5 are all on my radar.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend before Christmas. If you're getting drunk- let someone else drive and puke in their car. If you're a DD, feel free to punch me in the face if someone listens to this statement and tells you Brian Bolek told me to do this.

Bowl Chumpionship Series

On the eve of bowl season about to begin, college football teams are releasing 2011 and 2012 schedules. I happen to catch the nonconference powerhouses that Illinois is going to play in those two years. If you aren't already seated, I suggest doing so, as these powerhouse names will potentially give you a heart attack:

2011
Arkansas State
South Dakota State
Arizona State
Western Michigan

2012
Western Michigan
@Arizona State
Charleston Southern
Louisiana Tech

Outside of Arizona State, who was a very competitive Pac 10 team this year (i.e. lost to Oregon by lower double digits when compared to Oregon's normal beatdowns against teams), those are all home games in September that Illinois should win. You got those ignorant assholes like Ohio St's president who said teams like Boise and TCU, if undefeated, don't deserve to play in the title game because of their soft schedules. I really don't feel like looking up their schedule, but I know OSU's schedules in an average September look very similar (at least 3 of 4 games are at home and against bottom-tier college teams that are willing to get destroyed on the gridiron in exchange for a cut of the money produced for the game). Schedules like this are encouraged for the big conferences, who often have 7-8 different bowl game tie-ins after the season ends. In order to qualify for a bowl, you need 6 wins. With 8 conference games for a typical conference, a team can go 2-6 or 3-5 in conference and still make a bowl. This is accomplished by scheduling a minimum of 3 patsies that will allow you to rape them with a pigskin for 60 minutes (3 hours, 15 minutes in actual time) - AT YOUR OWN HOME NO LESS!

Meanwhile, Boise State has to schedule at least 2 of 4 nonconference games against respectable BCS schools (this year, Virginia Tech and Oregon State), win those games convincingly, win their conference games even more convincingly and pray that all of the BCS schools get at least one loss on their schedule somewhere - and even then that's not enough. How many teams leapt over Boise State this year (before they lost to Nevada), even though Boise started the year ranked 3rd? If Boise was a major market team, they would have ascended to 1 or 2 at some point in the season based on losses in front of them. Now, I know they lost a few weeks back and TCU would be a better example this year, but all I'm saying is that there is absolutely ZERO chance of these teams ever making the championship game no matter what they do, because the people who vote in these polls that heavily influence the BCS standings will always find a way to say that Boise's (or Team X in non-power conference) schedule is too soft and thus put them in a lower position as a result. If you're ever in Vegas looking at betting futures odds, I'd never invest a single dime in a non-BCS school's chances of winning the title.


Now the Week 14 final pick...Hou/Balt over 46 ($66 to win $60): I'm too lazy to write an extensive write-up, but I'll just say that I expect this to be a passing game for both teams (Houston's pass D is the worst in the league), and wouldn't be surprised to see a pick-six or two. I see this around a 30-27 final score.

Week 14 picks from Thurs-Sun: 4-2, $80; Year-to-date in NFL: 32-26, +$88


Turn out the lights, the party's over.

Weathering the Storm

Not too often you'll hear me talking about how excited I am to watch a Bears game, but tomorrow's weather is the Weather Channel's wet dream of a situation. Think of their ratings during blizzards: has to be like 0.000002 share, compared to their normal 0.000001. While I won't say I pleasure myself like WC does to the thought of bad weather, I do love the concept of bad weather games in football. Some of my favorite games to watch have been bad weather games. Some off the top of my head that I watched nearly in full: Monday Night game with Pitt winning 3-0 over Miami, Nebraska at Missouri last year in a monsoon, GB at Chicago on a Halloween night about 10-11 years ago. This is gonna be a Sunday fun day of football even more so than normal, and we'll see if I'm able to get out to a local pub to watch it.

Picks for the week, already mentioned some, read last blog if you wanna read a write-up:

NO -9, Dal +3.5, Cle +1/even

Other games I'm looking to book:

Oak/Jax Over 42: Two teams that run a lot would normally be an automatic Under bet or no play for me, but Oakland's rush defense is in the bottom fourth of the league (something that San Diego wasn't able to take advantage of last week) and Jacksonville's defense isn't as good as Tennessee made it look last week. I think this game will be in the low 50s. MJD and McFadden are licking their chops at this one.

KC +9.5/10 at SD: I'm gonna take a shot here on KC. I don't think Croyle will be running a complicated passing offense. And while I do expect SD to stack the box against KC, I am reminded of Oakland last week shredding the SD defense with their two-headed backfield of McFadden and Bush when Oakland really presents no passing threat themselves. KC's defense is capable enough of keeping this within a score or possibly being capable of pulling off the upset. The line should be in the 9-10 range, which is tasty for an 8-4 team to be getting.

And book it....those are the bets.

Back on the Wagon

Time to bring back the blog. I've been in need of writing more, given the shit that's stressing me out this season. I think this time of year just is never good for my overall mood when compared to other seasons. The past few Decembers have had some tests for my emotional well-being, and I've come out better for it. This December has been void of it, but like everyone in this wide world, I keep facing these tests (albeit in lesser forms than previous times) and facing them as well as I can.

This weekend sucks as far as plans go. Usually I have college football to fall back on when all else fails in the plan department, but all we got Saturday is the Heisman presentation that'll go to Cam Newton. I suppose I'll go to school tomorrow and mesh up a video to this hilarious news clip that my classmate Paul did for a newscast to get some experience with Final Cut software. At least winter weekends always close with football.

Herein lies a mini-stressor. Out of my four money leagues, I qualifed for the playoffs in three and am playing first round games in all of them, including making the playoffs in my $250 league for the first time. Trying to micro-manage every move and what will lead to the optimal team is mind-numbing. I learned it's always best to go with your gut and go from there and live with the results.

Obviously, another aspect of football weekends is the bets. And I will have no shortage of bets for this weekend. Probably do 5 bets as I did earlier in the year, but I'll just type up stuff on the ones I know I'm betting and add picks as Sunday afternoon nears.

NFL record thru 13+ weeks: 29-24, +$49 (won $40 on the over yesterday. My condolences to those who took Indy -3 or 3.5- what a joke)....

Week 14 picks, bets likely to be $55 to win $50

NO (-9) over StL: NO hasn't been home since thumping Seattle in Week 11, squeaking out a couple of comeback victories over Dallas and Cincy. St. Louis is much improved, but just about to close out the last of a 3-game road trip. The trip has started well with victories over Denver and Arizona, but I don't see St Louis contending in this game. Brees will have all of his weapons healthy for once, and while Thomas will be rusty, I expect Ivory to continue to impress. Bush will break the plane in this one. NO 34-17.

Cle (+1) over Buff: This matchup is especially mouth-watering for Cleveland, who have been smart this year and focused their winning efforts into giving Peyton Hillis the ball. Buffalo has the worst rush defense in the league. Hillis could approach 150 yards, 2 TDs in this one. Fitzpatrick has been solid for Buffalo, but I think the Cle rushing vs. Buf rushing D is the deciding factor in this one, especially if the weather is as bad in the Northeast as it's supposed to be. Cle wins 24-14.

Dallas (+3.5) over Phil: Dallas continues to impress since letting go of the buffet-clearing Wade Phillips. Garrett has them focused and relishing the role of spoiler, beating potential playoff teams like the Giants and Colts as a road dog and nearly beating the Saints, all without their Playboy quarterback in the game. I say they continue to attempt to play their spoiler ways in a shoot-out. Both teams will come out firing offensively. I see Dallas winning this straight-up 34-31.

Those are the only two I know I'm betting right now. Others I am considering right now are Detroit (+6.5) vs. GB (gut feeling on Detroit, not sure if I wil bet it); TB at Wash (+2) - Washington has been Jekyll and Hyde this year, and with Haynseworthless out of the picture, I feel a Washington focus not unlike that of Minnesota and Dallas with their coaching changes (Minn and Dallas are 6-0 combined against the spread (5-1 overall) combined since they fired their coaches);

Peace out folks.

Merry Thanksgiving

Postings aren't as frequent, probably because I have had mild writer's block and haven't been betting on as many games. Also there's school and work which mentally drain me on many a week. I guess I could keep making excuses, but as one of my recent teachers said to me, "No excuses". Which is right: an excuse is usually a bull shit reason for not doing something. Sometimes excuses are legitimate, but often they are us not owning up to our mistakes and taking responsibility for shit that goes wrong. Ever since said teacher told me of this advice, I've been trying to avoid making excuses and just attempt to do things right if I've made a mistake in a process of something.

With that being said, I'm sorry for those who listened to my NU over Illinois advice from last week. As an Illini fan, I figured that game would have stayed within a touchdown, which it did through halftime. Luckily, the bet didn't get booked on my end. With that free $110 to play with, I will make my Thanksgiving bet:

New Orleans -4 at Dallas: Hopefully I'll get the line at 3, but I'm anticipating 4. Dallas is finally starting to look like the team they were projected to be. Obviously, Romo being out isn't part of the plan, but Kitna has done a serviceable job. A few weeks ago, this line would have probably been NO -6 or 7, but the two Dallas wins have pushed this down a bit. I find value in NO here. I think NO will win by a touchdown or more and we'll see the NO's of previous years continue to come to form in 2010. Brees throws 3 TDs, and Bush will open up the field a little more for everyone else. I know he's questionable, but I don't see how he doesn't come back to show his skills on a national game.

If it loses, no excuses....except that NO didn't follow the script.

But that won't happen. Go Saints.

And Merry Turkey Day to all. Embrace the inner glutton in you and keep all the starving people of Indiana in your thoughts as you chow down on that biscuit smothered in gravy.

Big Ten: 12 Teams, 0 Common Sense

Let's add another team to the 11-team Big Ten Conference. Also, let's play football in a baseball park that can't fit a field comfortably.

Ok, so I'm generalizing a little by lumping all twelve teams (counting Nebraska) into the idiocy label. I just don't get how the conference can be hyping up the Northwestern/Illinois game so much while not taking into account that they might not have designed the field properly for football. You would think this would be the first thing they would take care of before anything.

How they should have done it:

(1) Use computer generated model of a standard college football field to see if they can play inside what is now a baseball stadium.

(2) If such dimensions exist, organize field as such so that THE WHOLE FIELD, endzone to endzone, can be used.

(3) Play the game, which will bring some excitement to Wrigley Field for the first Autumn season since 2003 (I can't count the other appearances which resulted in Cubs sweeps).


How they actually did it:

(1) NCAA, desperately seeking new ways to exploit amateur athletes, enthusiastically announce that Wrigley Field will be the site of a Northwestern home game.

(2) People start randomly painting yard lines in a certain direction. They soon realize that there's about a foot to spare between the back of an endzone and the brick wall (now covered by padding).

(3) NCAA, Big Ten, and NU/UI officials agree to play offense going only one way on the field, a DAY before the event they started organizing a year ago. Apparently, their goal of having the players practice for their future Arena League careers wasn't in the cards.

(4) Executives of aforementioned organizations are drowning in too much money to actually give a shit about this major embarrassing flub.


Stupid Big Ten and stupid Wrigley Field.

With that being said, my pick for the week.

Northwestern (+8) vs. Illinois: I'm not quite sure why this number is so high. I know NU is starting a new QB, but NU had a similar issue years back with an injured QB and came out just fine with the newbie. Fitzgerald has done well in his short coaching career versus U of I, and I believe they've won their last two against the Illini as underdogs. Illinois is coming off a pair of embarrasing defensive performances, the latest to the bottom-feeding Minnesota Gophers, to whom no legitimate team should lose. I don't see this game being a two-score win for Illinois, so take the points.

I don't feel like looking up my record, but I know my record two weeks ago was 3-0 for $150. I'm fairly confident in this one and am putting down $110 to win $100 on NU.

For Sunday, so far I'm liking the Bills getting 6, Indy getting 4, and the Jets/Texans under of 46.

Peace out everyone and have a great weekend.

-B-Bo

Vegas V: the Aftermath

Breakdown of my daily wins/losses and my reactions to each bet:

Friday:

Horse racing ($-40): I won one or two horses, but was largely unsuccessful in my first round of Vegas betting. I did hit a $20 exacta (unboxed) at 9/2 ($90 profit), but otherwise it was toilet water money.

Basketball: (-$180): I didn't bother watching my Orlando -14 against Toronto (Toronto upset), but did take the time to watch much of my Sacramento money line bet (+270) against Phoenix. While Sac stayed in the game for much of the game, Nash's ability to destruct crappy teams with his ball movement was too much to overcome.

Poker: (-$65): My first and only session of poker was a $45 buy in with an optional $20 rebuy. I was eliminated just before the 2nd break, and never really stood much of a chance. I think I play too conservative for larger tournaments.

Slot: (-$5): The only money I risked of my own on a slot machine was during the poker break. 2 minutes into it, the $5 was lost.

Total Friday summary: -$250, prognosis bad.

Satuday

College football: (-$230)
Bet 1: Northwestern +10 vs Iowa....before entering the Bellagio (where I did all of my gambling and eating) for my daily brunch, I texted my friend Beth (don't let the gender fool you, she knows her shit about sports) about her thoughts on this bet, just to see what she thought. She didn't think much of NU's chances, so I decided to give myself a buffet's worth of food and mimosas to make my decision in lieu of some doubt. After devouring some bacon and eggs, I realized I had to trust my gut. The bet: $220 to win $200. NU looked impressive enough to bet on the first half, leading 7-3. Two early 3rd quarter touchdowns by Iowa soon made it 17-7 Iowa, leaving me wonder why I didn't listen to my XX college football counterpart (then again, when do men ever listen to women?)...anywho, NU gets a TD with about 4-5 minutes left and then another with about 1-2 left after an impressive defensive stand. I gladly take my $420 from the ticket and move on.

Bet 2: Utah (-5.5) at Notre Dame: Eugh, what a horse shit bet right from the start. I figured Utah would bounce back from its embarassing showing against TCU at home the week before, but they just added to the embarassment. I stopped watching this game once the Auburn/Georgia game took over the book's sound system. Consider this a loss of $110

Bet 3: Georgia +6.5 for the 2nd half at Auburn. With the game tied at the half, I figured I was getting a deal at Georgia being +6.5 given that the game line was +7. However, Auburn's surprise onside kick to start the half was a bad omen. Auburn scored on every OT possession, including touchdowns on their first 3 or 4 drives, with Georgia not having enough to respond. Another loss of $100.

Bet 4: USC at Arizona (-4). Not sure what possessed me to make this my 2nd big bet of the day (I was much more confidence in NU than Ariz), but my guess was that alcohol had something to do with it. I placed the $220 bet as I was leaving the book for the night. I proceeded to not watch a single down of the game (usually good things happen when I do this in Vegas), but I woke up around 10:30pm local time (about 2 hours past game time end) to see that USC won the game. Another loss.


Total Saturday summary: (1-3 record, -$230)....total for trip: (1-5 record, -$480)...prognosis....life support.


Sunday

NFL ($380.80):

Bet 1: Jax/Hou over of 49.5. While I didn't necessarily need a hail mary to win my bet, it felt that way mid way through the 2nd quarter when the score was still 3-3. Luckily, things fell into place from the middle of the 2nd quarter onwards, as a 17-3 Jax lead at the half was quickly answered by Houston in the 3rd. The game culminated with a Garrard hail mary that pushed a 24-all tie into a 31-24 victory for the Jaguars, but at that point the only way I wasn't winning that game was if no score was achieved in OT. Thank god though I didn't need to find that out....$100 profit.

Bet 2: Min (even) at Chi. Talk about pissing a bet down the drain. Minnesota looked like the horsecrap team that their 3-5 record reflected. Say what you want about the Bears not deserving to be 6-3, but they are taking advantage of shitty teams with their much improved defense this year....-$110 down the drain.

Bet 3: StL at SF (-5): I should have known better not to make a homer bet. I got caught up in my friends winning money off of Chi that I felt the need to back my boys. SF was covering briefly during the game but needed an OT field goal to win the game straight...loss of 132.

Bet 4: Seattle ML (+185) at Arizona. Not sure this was ever part of my plan (I know it wasn't), but Seattle was just getting too much back on the dollar not to bet this. Seattle handled Arizona for much of this game and gave me the first of my easy ML bets. Profit of $142.80 on a $78 ticket.

Bet 5: NE ML (+190) at Pittsburgh. Betting NE was a planned part of my trip all along, but I wasn't sure how I was gonna bet it (taking the 4.5 points or the money line). I opted for the latter to much delight. Not only that, I threw $200 on it, netting me a cool $380 profit on it ($580 return).  I wagered all but $25 in my wallet (in the event it lost, I wanted to be able to eat something with cash that night). Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that. Biggest cash for my Vegas history. Definitely a trip redeemer.

NASCAR (-$40)

So yeah, I bet NASCAR and lost on betting Jimmie Johnson, much to the delight of my new biggest fb friend, acquired from Vegas, Kiira, who is a Stewart fan that was rooting for Denny. I should have known not to bet on a guy who references dick in both segments of his name.

Roulette (-$41)

I played the requests that people gave me, with only Jim Carter's $10 on red providing me with any return. Before losing too much, I quit after people's provided numbers were sucking royally.


Sunday total summary: $299.80 (3-2 NFL, 0-1 NASCAR)....total for trip at this point: (-180.20)...prognosis, much better.

Monday:

Horse racing (+$24): I was in the sports book for 4 hours before leaving for the airport, but didn't bet a whole ton of races (unlike past trips). My biggest win was a $20 bet on a 6-1 that won. Otherwise it was mostly losers.

Final total summary: -$156.20. First trip without an ATM visit


All in all, it was a solid trip despite (and maybe because of) the fact I was running solo much of the trip. I paced myself well with the betting, enjoyed a breakfast buffet every day, made some decent sized bets, and had a great time. I'm hoping to roll with one or more people next time who wanna spend some more sports book time together.


Back to the daily grind of crappy weather, work and school.

Vegas in first half of 2010 anyone?

The ultimate Vegas betting thread

For weekend of 11/12 thru 11/14

This will be a running thread that I'll edit and repost as I go along. Rather than jump into reasons just yet on why I am picking these, I'll just post them right now and possibly go into an explanation later.

NFL:
Minn -1 (or 2 or anything under 3)
Detroit +3 (or possibly money line, haven't decided)
Hou/Jax Over 50

Leans:
Dallas +14 (will bet this for sure if it goes to 14.5 or higher)
NE +4.5

College:

Leaning boise for friday laying 34.5
Utah -5 at ND
NW +10 vs. Iowa

Leans:
Wisconsin (-21.5) vs. Indiana
Arizona (-4) vs. USC
Kentucky: -14.5 vs Vandy


NBA:

Friday: orlando -14; risk 110 to win 100; lean on sac +280


Saturday: Golden State money line at Milwaukee
NHL:

Not likely to bet, but stay tuned

NASCAR:

Jimmie Johnson? Who knows

HORSE RACING:

Friday: ended up down 40. Biggest hit was an unboxed exacta that paid 90 profit on a 20 bet

Monday Funday

Lots going on today/this week:

Getting a new phone- highly leaning towards getting a Blackberry after years of getting shitty phone after shitty phone. I figure if my company is gonna pay my phone bill, might as well spoil myself a little on a decent phone.

Vegas Part V- I don't need to stress the epicness of Vegas. I think the Roman Numeral (a la Super Bowls) says it all.

TV school project- Finalizing a TV project that will be shown on a local Downers Grove channel. I am playing the role of on-air talent and also produced a 2:30 piece for it on a band and internet TV show that my friends are in. Should be great.

Vegas V: Oh wait, already mentioned that

Monday night pick: Cincy +6 over Pitt.

To say Cincy has under-achieved after last year's division championship would be an understatement. While everyone is quick to blame Palmer, it's been a team effort that has led to the 2-5 start.

With that being said, I have always liked taking the points in these spots: home underdog, struggling a little, getting nearly a TD (or maybe a TD depending on my book's final number), and playing a little below their talent level on their one chance under the national spotlight. I always think back to Arizona against Chicago four years ago and Buffalo against Dallas in 2007 or 2008 I believe and remember how they played above their actual talent level for one game (and in both cases, holding leads for much of the games only to lose at the end). Pittsburgh is closing a three game road trip, surviving against Miami after a controversial call and falling flat against a Saints team that lost to Cleveland a week before that. Winning on the road ain't easy in the NFL, so I'll say if Pitt wins, they won't cover. I won't be surprised to see a Cincy win to be honest (despite some flat showings lately).

I'm making this a $100 play.

Let's do this.

Rock on.

Bittersweet Symphony

Quick write-up for week 9 of NFL, since I neglected it last week.

NFL last week: 1-1, +$34
NFL YTD: 23-18, +$204

Picks as always in bold:

NYJ at Detroit (+4.5): Detroit has been a covering darling this year, going 6-1 against the spread so far this year despite its 2-5 record. This basically means that the public/oddsmakers have underestimated them. At first, I looked at this as a NYJ cover, but I believe it to be a trap line that falls right into the Lions' lap. Everyone and their mother is expecting NYJ to bounce back and avenge their shitty loss to the Packers. I hope I get this line at +5 because of this, but I'll gladly take 4.5.

Cleveland/NE (under 43.5): Cleveland has played competitively this year for the most part, holding leads in just about every game they've played this year (often into the 2nd half). The main reasons for that: improved defense and a steady back in Peyton Hillis. With McCoy behind center again, expect Cle to run Hillis about 25 times against NE. Likewise, I think NE is adjusting nicely to their no-Moss lineup, featuring the run and short passes a lot more. This game seems like one that will be in the mid 30s in terms of score based on the aforementioned facts.

Indy at Phil (-2.5): Fool me once, shame on the Colts....fool me twice....well....you can't fool me twice. At least I hope not. I love Phil in this spot with a week off to restore health, including that of Mike Vick. Vick opens up the running game, which Indy has notoriously struggled with for the past X amount of years. I expect McCoy to have a big day and the Eagles to win by at least a touchdown. This pick is further redeemed by Joe Public backing Indy to no end. As you know, the past couple years I have developed a severe anti-Joe Public betting style, which has served me more right than wrong.


Let's ride the gravy train towards profits for the 2nd day in a row. My perfect day yesterday restored my faith in my betting.

I would like yesterday to be the epitome of where the rest of my year goes, at least the latter half of the day with the winning bets and the lasting memories of Mike and Catie's wedding.

Get'er done.

Redemption

Nothing like the Shawshank kind, but I've been an advocate of this word a lot this year. With all the self-inflicted wounds that I have healed as best as I can, I've learned a lot about myself and how I can become a better man. I've had great people surrounding me during these times, making the climbing out of the muck transition a lot easier. With that, my confidence has grown and much of my life (save the love life) has been what I wanted.

Applying this attitude towards my handicapping skills will be no different. Every gambler goes through rough patches, and instead of panicking, the best way to handle the bad times is to keep your cool and keep everything in perspective. Greener pastures remain in sight on all horizons in life.

Ok...enough of that emo self-reflecting crap...

College picks for week 10 of college football, pick in bold as always:

Last week: 0-3 (first 0-fer this year), -$165, YTD: 15-16-1 (-$154)...not doing so hot lately, eugh. Getting pwned

Illinois (+3) at Michigan: Last week I made the mistake of erasing the only bet that I would have won only to replace it with a bet that got beat to shit. I forgot if I referenced it as a homer bet, but f- that this week. Michigan is in a tailspin and can't stop anyone (allowing nearly 40 points a game in Big Ten games). While I don't think either team will approach that number this week, I feel that Illinois' solid D will be able to contain Denard enough to keep things respectable on the scoreboard. I say Illinois walks away from Ann Arbor a victor and one step closer to being ranked for the first time this year.

Arizona State (+5.5) at USC: Despite its 4-4 record, ASU has been playing very competitve this year, having the distinction of losing by the least amount of points to Oregon this year (11). USC got it handed to them in an emotional game last week against those Ducks. A letdown from playing #1 Oregon to a lesser opponent should be expected, especially since Oregon was basically USC's bowl game for the year (with their bowl ban in effect for this year).

Iowa at Indiana (+17.5): After a pair of home games featuring ranked opponents, including last week's whoopin of MSU, Iowa is due for a letdown (There we go with that letdown word again...). Anyways, Indiana is more competitive at home, losing close games to NU and Mich. Not to say Iowa is in the class of those teams (much higher obviously), but I say Iowa wins by about 10.

Consider this my rise to power once again.

Dollars won > dollars earned

It's Been Awhile

Writer's block can sometimes kick in, and the end of Oct, beginning of Nov has not inspired much in the way of writing. The days count till Vegas (8 now), working on our last days of TV1 in my night class (I'll be hosting a community spotlight, which will be airing on a Downers Grove local access channel) and trying to get back into the fitness kick. All things considered, my focus is on those things in descending order. In the next week, I'll be glad to book bets for you should the need arise.

I didn't post any of my NFL picks last week, but I won $100 on the Lions and lost $66 on Houston's spread, so a winning week. I'm gonna book Virginia Tech tonight (who has been on a roll since their first two losses to open the year) and I'm giving Illinois a hard look at +3 going into Ann Arbor for Saturday action. Thank god baseball is over- not only for betting purposes, but for the simple fact that the season drags once you know your team is out of it. Baseball has very little national appeal any more in terms of people caring to watch games involving teams outside of their market. Ratings for the Giants World Series victory tied the lowest rating mark with the Phils/Rays from two years ago. Bring on basketball (and perhaps I'll get more into hockey this year).

If you think of any bets that you'd like me to book for you (or make for you), please let me know. I'll dedicate $20 bets to people on roulette and make them in the order that I receive them. If your bet comes in for me, I'll buy you a beer. I'll bet red, black, a number (or a couple), whatever. You name it, I'll bet it.

Peace out.

Highway to Helloween

October 31st, 2009: Oh how I remember it oh so very clear. It was a sunny fall morning, and I had just placed a bet on Indiana (+17.5) for $100 on my favorite gambling site Bookmaker. I had twisted Tim's arm into betting it with me, so now I was doubly excited to see the fruits of my knowledge grow into profit for the day. I remember betting against Iowa because of their knack for keeping games close, regardless of opponent. Things started great, with Indiana jumping to a 21-7 lead at half on what turned out to be an incredibly windy day at the stadium. The lead peaked at 17 with an Indiana field goal early in the 3rd, but that was when things went completely bonkers. Mind you, I'm being spotted +17.5 so the lead is actually 34.5 (or just under 5 touchdowns). However, 5 touchdowns later, including a 29 yard rushing touchdown with a minute left on 3rd down for Iowa, led to one of the most heartbreaking losses in gambling history for me. Earlier in the week, I nearly suffered a heart attack when Miami (+6) blew a huge lead against New Orleans and ended up losing straight up by 12 after allowing a pick 6 with about a minute or two left. That cost me a ML bet I had on Miami and also a 3-4 team parlay in which the first legs of it already came in.

Lesson of the above story: Gambling is not for the faint of heart.

With that being said, let's see if I can avenge the ghosts of yesteryear and make some money with college football:

College week 9 with picks in (bold)...last week: 1-3 (including Thursday night game), -$125....YTD: 15-12-1, +$66


Mich St (+6.5) at Iowa: Michigan State just keeps on winning, their latest being an impressive comeback against Northwestern on the road. If MSU would have just blown out NU, I might be inclined they'd be in for a let down. However, a team who has done nothing but win so far shouldn't be getting 6.5 points i n a situation like this. I think MSU has a good chance to win this game, so I'll gladly take the points here. I consider this my strong bet of the day. It should be a close game either way and very well could be a defensive-based game.

Arizona (-9) at UCLA: By no means is this me betting against UCLA strictly based on a revenge factor. UCLA clearly did not trust their freshman quarterback against a very talented Oregon team, running the ball 47 times vs. 23 passes in a 60-13 drubbing. Normally when you start trailing by, I don't know, 2-3 scores, you start passing the ball, but not these guys. UCLA's strategy was that of a team that knows it sucks and can't be a two-dimensional offense. Meanwhile, Arizona possesses a top 30 offense and a top 10 defense. The only way AZ doesn't cover here is if they are looking ahead to their game at Stanford next week. I say Arizona shuts down the Bruins by 20.

Oklahoma State/Kansas State (Over 67): OK St. enters the game as the 2nd highest scoring team in the nation (48.3 points per game) while yielding 30.6 points and near the bottom of college football in passing yards allowed (286). KSU puts up 34 a game themselves while allowing a more modest 26/game. However, their 428 yards allowed/game suggest that Ok St. should be able to move the ball, with or without their top receiver. I expect this score to be in the high 70s.

I may or may not bet equal amounts on these games. I'll post totals of what I bet on each later tonight. I'm definitely liking Mich St the best. I had an Illinois write up all ready to convince myself to bet them, but (1) it felt like a homer bet, (2) Illinois may be due for a moderate let-down after a convincing homecoming win over Indiana and (3) 17 points is a lot to lay on a team that is fairly mediocre offensively.

Let's hope to avoid the Helloween misfortune from last year and make some money.

By the way, I'm going as Brett Favre to a costume party. I haven't decided yet about any of my decisions once I get to the party regarding food, alcohol consumption and whether I am going to textually harass anyone. Just assume the answer to all of those would be what you would expect.

Peace.

Would you....

Go on a trip by yourself, with it being Vegas out of all places? While I will be having some friends going the day before me and we should be spending some time together, for the majority of the trip I will be at the sports book and eateries by myself wandering the strip and downing 7 and 7s and assorted mixed drinks, assuming Faderoff doesn't go on the trip.

I haven't officially booked the trip yet, but it's a formality. I need a weekend away from this town, and I feel like a trip to Vegas where I could essentially spend 2/3s of the time alone might actually be a blessing. I've never gone on a big trip in my life alone and still don't do a lot of social things alone (like going to the movies for example). My Vegas cohorts are going to the clubs there several/all of the nights, and maybe it's just me, but I get nothing out of spending $30 for cover and $10/beer to see a bunch of asshole yuppies talk about their sexual conquests and how big of whores they are (and yes, whore can apply to man as well). Also, I am not calling my friends who are going whores, unless of course they are asshole yuppies that talk about their sexual conquests.

I can't wait for Vegas, and in a weird way can't wait for some time alone and away from everything. Not that I hate life here, I just need a change of scenery. Who knows, maybe I'll have one or two Vegas moments that just stay there.

Vegas: A weekend get-away that can be enjoyed with 20 people or alone

2010-2011 NBA predictions/ day 1 bet

Opening bet of the day: Houston/LA Under 195( $44 to win $40): Kobe injury and limited minutes (30 max), Yao adding a defensive presence for about 24 mins and the distraction of the ring ceremony for the Lakers should keep this game close and likely low scoring. Six of their last eight, including a few playoff games, have gone under the total.

Enjoy these predictions and feel to add some of your own...

(1) LeBron reveals he is a woman and leads the NY Liberty to a championship.
(2) Kevin Durant breaks his leg tripping over a Dwight Howard free throw that lands near the Thunder bench.
(3) Chris Bosh gets home sick, refuses to leave Canada following Miami's first game in Toronto. Toronto offers 10 of Jose Bautista's home runs in exchange.
(4) As he leads the NBA in scoring, Brian Scalabrine starts up a Boston Celtics cheerleading squad composed entirely of curly-haired gingers.
(5) Allen Iverson accidently attends several practices for his Turkish basketball squad, causing him to be fined 5000 Turkish lira.
(6) Inspired by all the bad records Brett Favre has set this season, Don Nelson comes out of retirement to coach Cleveland, Minnesota, Golden State and New Jersey simultaneously to expand on his career loss record as coach.
(7) Locks of Love refuses the hair donation of Joakim Noah, to the delight of leukemia patients that'd rather be bald.
(8) Shawn Kemp comes out of retirement and has a kid with Eva Longoria. NBA scorekeepers give Tony Parker the assist.
(9) To pass the time before he gets traded, Carmelo Anthony puts the "high" in "Mile High" and is seen watching Scooby Doo cartoons on his I-phone and eating family-sized bag of Cheetos during halftime and TV timeouts.
(10) Blake Griffin only averages 5 points a game due to his unfortunate ability to get lost inside of Baron Davis' beard. Clippers soon learn that's where many of their wins have been hiding, but do nothing about it.

Monday musings and pick

Random Monday musings:

If Brett Favre plays through this injury, this cements him as a "me-first" athlete. Dude could barely walk and got diagnosed with something fractured in his ankle. I honestly believe Tavarus would be a better option for next week, no joke. We haven't seen him play in a few years, but right now Favre is just gonna hurt his team if she stays out there. I just realized I typed she but don't feel like correcting it.

If Big Ben was black, would Pittsburgh have warmed up so quickly to him following his 4-game suspension following his discretions in a Georgia bar with a female? I'm normally not the first one to bring up race in a situation, but do you think Gilbert Arenas is gonna get a standing ovation when/if he starts playing for the Wizards in the NBA? Granted some of this might be apples and oranges, but you gotta wonder why women were cheering him. I sound like a neo-conservative with these rants here, but just something to think about.

Vegas is the best place on Earth. What other place in the world can you lose a grand, forget about everything that happened and pay for a hotel you never use, all the while enjoying every minute of the above? Only the greatest place in the world. I hope to have a new phone in a few weeks to let you loyal followers of said blog in on a Brian Bolek weekend in Vegas.

San Fran plays Denver over in London next week. I hope the game ends in a tie and Europe tells the NFL that they no longer want to host NFL games. Also, I predict Singletary will be "left behind" and encouraged to suck at coaching a different brand of football and on a different continent.

Pick of the day: Dallas (-3/3.5) over NYG- The desperate team wins here by a couple scores. Dallas 34-23. I hope to get the line at -3 but we'll see. My winning NFL week is once again dependent on my MNF showing, which I have lost the past two weeks. 3-2, $40 yesterday.

Have a good evening my people.

I'm Charlie Murphy bitch/Week 7 pickickicks

Eddie Murphy- Quit fucking around and come back to your raunchy hysterical stand-up.

I need to sleep more...but sleep is for the weak. I'm watching Charlie Murphy right now- sadly he is the best Murphy (ok, maybe the only one) doing stand-up right now. His best work was with Chappelle, especially the Prince skit. We need the 80s Eddie Murphy to return back for one more epic show and let today's generation know what they were missing when Raw was made.

Anyways, I digress.

Picks for Sunday, with chosen lines highlighed in bolded ( ):

Last week, including MNF: 2-2 (-$12)
NFL Year to date: 19-14, +$185

Cincy at Atlanta (-3.5): I projected this line a lot higher (-5) than it started at, and now I'm seeing Atlanta down to -3 at some online books. Philly made Atlanta their beotch last week, but that's bound to happen every now and then on the road, especially when they've played an unbalanced 4 road games (2-2 record) vs. 2 home games (both wins). Cincy hasn't done a ton to impress me so far aside from surviving an offensive struggle vs. Baltimore. Palmer has been hit or miss this year. I'll go with my gut and say he misses this week. Only thing that worries me here is Cincy coming off of a bye, but I think the home cooking treats Atlanta right. Atlanta 28-17.

Washington (+3) at Chicago: Let the Jay Cutler concussion watch continue. Washington has knocked out a few players the past couple weeks (Dallas Clark last week, Finley & Rodgers the week before, among others) and very well could add Jay-walker to that list. Martz says they should have ran it more last week and will probably say the same thing again this week when he has another week of 70%+ passing. The only way Chi wins this week is on special teams. Wash has played tough in just about every game this year, either winning or being within 3 points of doing so in 5 of 6 games this year. I say McNabb leads them to a straight-up win, 21-17.

Cleveland (+13) at New Orleans: Looks like a similar spot as a few weeks ago when NO was spotting a similar amount against a team with a rookie QB and an offense whose strength is around the running game. NO won their first game ATS last week with a convincing win against Tampa, but Tampa has no run game (or didn't have much else) to compete with NO. Cleveland has competed and had a chance to win every game they played except last week, when they failed to cover the same spread as this week when Big Ben (fuck him, I'm calling him this even as he says he doesn't wanna call him that- when you can't control your wanker and get NFL suspension because of it, you don't get to tell us what to call you) threw a late TD pass to lead to the cover. This looks like a 24-17 game for NO.

StL at Tampa (-3): Tampa is coming off a rough home loss to the team highlighted above (NO). StL is 3-3, coming off an upset victory over San Diego (as highlighted here in the B-Blog). So why the Tampa pick here? Tampa is a lot better than they showed themselves to be last week. If not this week, I see them featuring LaGarrette Blount at running back very soon. Dude would have been a solid draft pick if not for his incident against Boise to open last year's college season. Meanwhile, St. Louis has laid a few turds on the road this year against Oakland and St Louis (covering against the former, destroyed against the latter). I think the Bucs continue this trend and win by 7-10, let's say 24-14.

New England at San Diego (-2.5): Note to gamblers- when 9 out of 10 of your friends just absolutely love a certain line, you're probably better off picking the brain of that 1 person who sees something different than what the 9 others believe. This line has the NE lovers coming out in full-bloom, much like we did (yes, I say we cuz I bet NE) when they faced NYJ in week 2 following a less than impressive opener against Baltimore while NE beat down on Cincy. We all know what happened to NE that game. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar outcome this week with the Pats going west facing a team that is the epitome of Two Face. Terrible on the road, great at home. Granted, those two home wins were against Jax and Ariz, but it's easy to forget about SD having the top offense and defense in terms of yardage when their special teams have been terrible to say the least. People are worried about SD's injuries, but with Gates playing, that's all I need to know. Rivers will make the most out of those around him (I'm talking to you Patrick Crayton) and lead SD to a much needed win.


And as I close this post, Chappelle Show closes my night. What a great ending to a night.

Let's get back to some winning this week.

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.

Head-lines, lines in head

Ride the chalk this week, says sports prognosticator/future plus-sized model Brian Bolek

Lines are always stuck in my head from different facets of life. Every now and then, a good lyric gets stuck in my head. There's lines that people may say to me that become entrapped in my consciousness. And of course, in the fall months of the year, I always have monetary Vegas football lines processing in order to get easy money. In both cases, perspective is needed in order to analyze said lines to see what to make out of them.

Now that I've wasted your time with that opening paragraph, here's the lines that have been trapped in my head and what I will be betting Saturday.

NCAA (last week: processed bets (1-1, $5), YTD: (12-8-1, $136))

Bets in ( ), all $55 to win $50

Illinois at Mich St (-7): I've been battling making this bet because I am fading my homeboys, but I'm in the business of making money, not making friends with school boosters. All signs point to a let-down on MSU's part after convincing wins against Wisconsin and Michigan, which is why this line is at -7 and not -9.5 or 10 in my opinion. However, the same can be said of Illinois and their first straight-up win at Happy Valley last weekend. If you asked any Illini fan if they would take a 1-2 run with this team with consecutive games against Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State, I think we'd gladly take it. Illinois is improved and I believe they will get the six wins necessary to get into a mediocre bowl, but I think they take one on the chin this week against a more talented team. Mich St by 14.

Iowa (-3) at Michigan: So I've been told Denard Robinson gave a passionate Tebow-like speech after the UM loss to their little brother MSU. That's great and all, but like my last week's post stated, I don't think speeches can knock down passes and prevent runners from getting into the end zone. When they do, we might be onto a new wave of sports strategy. Iowa is a great value here, especially coming off of a bye. Iowa by 10-14. Let the second-half of season panicking begin again for Ann Arbor.

Texas at Nebraska (-9.5/10): Nebraska is the best team in the Big 12, sorry Oklahoma. Unlike last year, they have an offense that compliments a world-class defense. Texas is definitely in a state of recession as far as their program goes, at least for a year. Texas is coming off of a bye, but that's nearly negated by the 9 day lay-off Nebraska has had since whomping Kansas State on a Thursday night road game. Lay the points.

Normally I don't ride the chalk this hard, but these lines got my attention the most. Any line that catches your attention deserves scrutiny, but trust your instincts.

Ride chalk this week and ride them hard. Like a spry 18-year old on prom night.

Also, riding the Yanks tonight against the Rangers tonight to win $40. Let's continue the perfect streak and make it a 7-0 start to MLB playoffs.

NFL without a fantasy

Wish I could take credit for this graph...well done.

So you're sitting there on your computer on a Sunday afternoon, trying to figure out how you can win all 5 of your fantasy football games with you having conflicting players to root for/against across the slate of games. I know many people who are like this, me being one of them (at least in a normal year, I've avoided it this year by going out for games and having a shitty phone that doesn't update scores). Fantasy football has become such a phenomenon, bringing people who have absolutely no knowledge of football and providing them an opportunity to play general manager against 9 or 11 of their closest friends/co-workers/random people and see who can create the highest scoring team on a week to week basis. I myself am in 4 money leagues, with a total of $400 invested among those 4 leagues; I'm even in 3 non-money leagues for the purposes of pride and wanting to destroy all my friends from different walks of life in something I consider myself good at. With all of these leagues, I probably own about half of the NFL collectively, so odds are, a few of my teams will win, a few will lose: (so far, 19-11 in the 6 head to head leagues and 1st place in my points league, so not too shabby).

So all of this begs the question: where would the NFL be without fantasy football? It'd still exist, sure. At one point in time, the main reason a good chunk of people watched games was for gambling purposes- that reason for watching will never completely die, as there will always be a Vegas book overflowing with gambling novices that are more than happy to donate their money to the Vegas fund. So it wouldn't die without fantasy, but I know the common man wouldn't be as interested, which would definitely lead to less TV ratings and thus, less revenue for the league. While the NFL didn't need fantasy football back in the day, the 2000s version of pro football definitely does need it. It'll be interesting to see in 20 years what the next thing that NFL will need to satisfy fan interest, or if betting and fantasy football will continue to drive ratings and interest for the foreseeable future.

I could live off of the gambling aspect of football, but if you take away both that AND fantasy, I might be hard pressed to be as interested in it as I am. In fact, I guarantee I wouldn't be...would you? I sure as hell doubt it. If you're a football fanatic like me, I'm willing to bet (pun intended) that you are in (a) 1 or more fantasy football leagues, (b) a gambler or someone who is in a pool of some sort that involves money, or (c) all of the above. Good luck being as interested without those two aspects- you just can't do it. Cannot play with them, cannot win with them, cannot coach with them, can't do it.

Tough shit

Big girls don't cry, but petite ones who hire hitmen do.

Everyone hates hearing these words, especially when down in the dumps about something. It can be a personal problem that no one wants to hear about, or in my case, a bet gone awry (Jets decided to stop playing defense after two downs in the 2nd half, resulting in a loss of my under bet). Some might say, man, that sucks, sorry that happened. When I hear that, the pessimist in me hears the words "Tough shit". No one really cares about your downfalls or losses, I sometimes think in situations like that.

Then again, I can't really complain when in reality, things are still up, I'm breathing, and tomorrow's a new day in every aspect. I haven't had a losing gambling day in over 2 weeks. 17-12 in NFL through Week 5, has to be some kind of record for me. Week 6 leans should come earlier in the week than usual (I looooove St Louis and Oakland with their respective lines against San Diego and San Fran right now).

Let's get'er done tomorrow with a Texas victory against Tampa and continue the positive gambling streak for another day. Also continue the positive karma that life's bringing in general.

week 5, ending

Good evening my limited followers,

Not sure why it's limited, since my picks are more gold than 1849 California. Do you need any more reason to win money? Had another profit day. Here's another chance to follow me and make some money:

Under in Min/NYJ game

All the attention on this game is on Randy Moss and his effect on the offense. He will have some effect on the offense, but moreso opening lanes for Harvin. Moss's true impact will be when Rice comes back. I predict Minn will be battling Chi for a wild card spot towards the end of the year w/ the Vikes offense being the X factor.

Jets and Vikes are running teams, which means clock runs, which means less scoring. Both teams have good Ds as well, so I expect a score in the low 30s, like 20-13. Don't buy into the Moss trade. Take the under.

NFL record: 17-11, $241 profit. This bet will be $55 to win 50.

Let's make some moolah.

NFL week 5- $ome more pick$

After looking at my first post, I wasn't sure what direction this blog was gonna go in, but it should have been clear to everyone that this was going to be a sports blog with my gambling diatribes as a centerpiece.

College bets that were booked were 1-1, profit of $5 since I bet a little more on Mich St. (my lock of the weekend). Northwestern is a team I have to lay off for the time being, as they seem to play up (or down) to the level of their competition. NU ended my personal 6 bet winning streak, which followed a 6 bet streak that was ended by another Chicago-based team (the Bears), thus giving me reason to avoid the local teams. 12 out of 14 in the gambling world is nothing to sneeze at, but can't get too comfortable and excited when there's more money to be made. Gotta keep the focus and the faith. Let's start another streak and go for that elusive 5-0 week (a 4-1 weekend again would be no problem either).

NFL week 5 picks, here we go, with my bet in ( ):

Denver (+7) at Baltimore: Denver has been an under the radar team, mainly because of their inability to run the ball. Orton has picked up the slack and currently leads the league in passing as a result. They've been in every game going into the final quarter, losing to Jax by 7 and Indy by 14 (the latter due to the lack of a red-zone offense). On the other side, there's Baltimore, who is coming off a comeback victory over their #1 rival Pitt with a late-TD to secure the victory. While I expect Baltimore to be a team that can overcome the idea of a letdown game following such a victory, I think such a letdown is hard to avoid. I expect Balt to win a close battle by 3-4 points.

KC at Indy (-7): Indy is coming off a loss caused by some key turnovers and an insane game-ending field goal. KC has had a few weeks to prepare for this, but the fact that Indy lost last week gives me the feel that their focus will be on this game more than in years past where this might have been one of those "I can't wait to win this and move onto the next week" games. I expect Indy to show KC to be the future 8-8 team that they will be and win by two touchdowns, 31-17.

NYG at Hou (-3): NYG benefitted last week from the one-dimensional offense that the Bears feature. With no running game to worry about, NYG went on to set NFL history for most sacks in a half by consistent pressure- in the process knocking out golden-boy Cutler out of the game and having Bears fans searching for their nearest bottle of liquor and immediately injecting it into their veins. With a duel running/passing feature that Houston features, it'll be hard for NYG to do this again. While Houston's defense is nothing to worry about, NYG might be in trouble if Bradshaw can't play (Jacobs is a shadow of his former self and would make it necessary for Manning to lead the team to victory). I expect Houston to win by 7-10 here.

SD at Oakland (+6): I know Oakland hasn't fared well vs. SD lately, losing like the last dozen games or so in a row. Also, Darren McFadden is hurt. However, Michael Bush, who was tabbed by the team to be the feature back until he broke his thumb in the preseason, is a formidable back who can and will fill in for DMc very well. The Raiders aren't the same team in year's past that were forced to play JaMarcus Russell because of his bloaded contract. While Bruce Gradkowski isn't exactly Philip Rivers in terms of skill level, he's a guy who will keep his team in games. And taking the points here, I seem to be burying the lede - San Diego sucks!!! on the road, looking crappy against Kansas City and Seattle (in both cases, they were favorites). This line seems to be an example of people valuing previous years' results vs. actually looking at a team's tendencies now. I have Oakland winning this game and knocking some people out of their respective survivor pools.

New Orleans at Arizona (+6.5 or whatever they close at): If it smells like a line that's too good to be true, it usually is. Everyone is backing NO due to Ariz going to a rookie QB to replace Derek Anderson. But really, how much worse can it get than DA? This is Ariz's only chance of salvaging something out of this season (and yes, they have a shot being in the NFC We(r)st division). Call me crazy, but I think Max Hall finds Larry Fitz a lot more (and a lot more accurately) than Anderson did. New Orleans once again found themselves in a tight fourth quarter battle for the 4th game in a row last week, edging Carolina by two. NO doesn't have the flow they had last year, and with their top 2 backs ruled out for tomorrow, I don't see them getting that flow back. I wouldn't be surprised if Arizona won, but I have NO winning yet another close one by 2-3 points. Let's say 27-24.

All bets are $55 to win $50.

Record in all sports since I restarted my gambling ways on September 4:  30-17-1 (+$486).

And by the way, go Yankees! 7 more wins till my preseason WS bet coming in.

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.