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.