Rainy Day At Shea
I will not lie, I became a supporter of the New York Mets during the MLB playoffs. That's not to say I jumped on the bandwagon because that would be a sin as a diehard Red Sox fan. But I definitely wanted the best baseball team New York City has to offer to advance to the World Series. Too bad Pedro Martinez couldn't pitch in the playoffs due to his torn rotator cuff. It would have been much sweeter to support the Mets with Petey on the mound. Even without Pedro, I still wanted the Mets to advance to the Series. You also have to respect the calm demeanor and leadership skills of skipper Willie Randolph. You can tell he has the respect of his team, and more importantly he is a classy guy (sounds like someone we know that runs things for Bob Kraft's Crew in Foxboro).
Last night's game featured Oliver Perez with a very gutsy performance on the mound, only to be outdueled by future Cy Young Award Winner Jeff Suppan (joke for Sox fans only) pitching slightly better in key spots. Endy Chavez made the best WebGem I've ever seen when he brought a home run that was 10 feet beyond the fence back onto the field of play and into his mitt (and managed to double up the RedBirds at first). Ultimately, the Mets were deflated by a ninth inning 2 run blast by Cards catcher Yadier Molina to give San Louis a 3-1 victory. I don't care whether the Tigers or the Cards win the World Series. But I hate Tony "I wear my sunglasses at night" La Russa so we'll go with the Tigers in 6.
Not to be outdone by the drama of the Mets loss, I failed to get my money to The Book in time, and of course the Virginia Cavaliers blanked UNC 23-0. Being a fiend for the action, I went with Utah giving a sixer to New Mexico. Utah was up 24-10 at the half. As the intensity of the rain increased at Shea, St. Louis took a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning while New Mexico stormed back and stole a 34-31 victory. Not a great start to the wagering weekend for the politician formerly known as Councilman Carcetti.
After going 9-3 last weekend, Mayor Carcetti and his staff are going to put the Thursday Nite Debacle behind us and build toward the future. We won't forget what happened, but we definitely don't expect to repeat it by an means on Saturday.
(As a side note, does anyone know why the next episode of The Wire isn't airing until October 29th? Am I missing something? Why is HBO choosing to have the new mayor and his crew take a Sunday off in their first week in office? I know the editors of the Rap Sheet aren't satisfied with this brief hiatus. Along with myself, my buddies Hokie and Teddy Ballgame are pissed. We are in the process of drafting a formal complaint to the corporate brass at HBO. They have some serious explaining to do).
But I digress. Calling into session our first meeting as Mayor of Baltimore, the following is the Legislation we are looking to pass in our first official weekend in office. (Please note that all trends referenced this week are courtesy of the true college football guru Phil Steele and his crew of stat rats).
Friday Night Lights: Don't think for a minute that 4th ranked West Virginia minus 22.5 will get caught looking beyond UConn to its Thursday Night Throwdown at sixth ranked Louisville on November 2nd. Not with a bye week to prepare for The Ville. Westie, 9-1 ATS in games played during the work week since 2002, is going to put a serious hurting on the depleted Huskies. RB Steve Slaton and WR Brandon Myles will each score in the first half en route to a 35-0 halftime lead. Westie will easily coast to a second half victory and cover. Did you know that UConn only rushed for 12 yards in this game last year?
Grind It Out: I'm not a big fan of wagering upon games in which both teams are ranked. This being a new regime and all, this is the ideal time for change so we're going with fifth ranked Texas minus 5 to go on the road and run over and around #17 Nebraska. Both schools are 6-1, but we all know that Texas would be undefeated had they not decided to improve their squad's long term objectives by playing Ohio State in early September. Look for RB's Jamaal Charles & Selvin Young to once again pound the defense of the Huskers. These two studs will open things up for frosh QB Colt McCoy (18 TD/3 INT) to hit Limas Sweed for a few big plays deep. If this line were double digits, I might be slightly hesitant. Texas is 4-2 ATS vs Nebraska in the last 6; we're Grabbing the Horns laying less than a sixer.
Speaking of top ranked Ohio State, they're favored by 30 at home against Indiana. We're staying away from this game, but don't be surprised if the Buckeyes win 49-7.
Stuck on Stocco: Because Stocco's Stuck on You. Road Underdogs are the flavor of this Saturday. We're not about to turn our back on 6-1 Wisky even though they're traveling to a suddenly "great" 5-2 Purdue team. We don't believe the Boilermakers' hype mainly because they don't have a defense even worth writing about. We'll stick with Wisky's savvy Stocco under center until he proves us wrong. Lay the 6.
Primed and Pissed: We like going with teams coming off a loss that shouldn't have been a loss (if that makes any sense). For this reason we're taking a 6-1 Missouri team coming off a 25-19 defeat at the hands of the slightly above average Texas A&M Aggies (also now 6-1) over Kansas State. Mizzu doesn't have any "stars" on offense. They play as a team; spreading the rushes & receptions around to the entire team. Most importantly they have a quarterback in Chase Daniel with a 3:1 TD/INT ratio. With a defense that crowds the line of scrimmage, this game is ideal for Mizzu to get their confidence back prior to hosting Oklahoma and traveling to Nebraska. There are way too many trends that contradict each other in this game so we're going with our gut and taking Mizzu minus 14.5 over KSU.
NFL Come A Callin: Unless Charlie Weis wins the PowerBall Jackpot, he's not leaving South Bend, or so he says. I've been waiting for the Irish program to get back to its glory days for a while now. Weis' Irish, who are 8-2 ATS coming off a bye in their last 10 games, are giving 13 at home against a potential QB-less UCLA Bruins team. Starter Ben Olson has an injured knee and there's something supposedly hindering backup (and probably starting) QB Patrick Cowan in the throat area. I refuse to wager against a Charlie Weis coached team at home that has had 2 weeks to prepare. UCLA is 13-6 ATS versus Non-Conference foes, but I cannot envision UCLA walking into South Bend and competing for 60 minutes against such a diversified offense. Brady Quinn (4:1 TD/INT ratio) spreads the ball around equally as 4 receivers have 25 plus recepts & 250 plus yds. Notre Dame wins in a blowout as WR Jeff Samardzija will have a big day for Tom Brady, I mean Brady Quinn.
(I've never been to a game in South Bend. Every single person I've talked to that has actually seen Touchdown Jesus in person has this look on their face like they've just gotten out of bed with Jennifer Aniston when they provide details of the trip/game etc. I gotta experience it firsthand. Here's hoping my boy T-Slats and his connections can make it happen before I fade into Bolivian).
We were going to write about the BC/FSU game but enough scribes in the Boston area have been writing about the game in depth all week. Also, in doing so it would cause family issues as my Almost-Mater (FSU) is taking on the Alma-Mater of my father and brother-in-law. We'll simply sit back and enjoy this 3:30 slugfest. It should be a good battle, regardless of who wins. Noles are favored by six if interested.
Similar to last week, we wanted to grab undefeated Michigan minus 12.5 at home over 5-2 Iowa, but Bubba The Mush loves the 'Wolves. Plus it's on at the same time as BC/FSU.
Can we turn our backs on undefeated and underdog Rutgers on the road at 6-1 Pitt? I think not. I know Pitt may be a better squad overall, but we'll take the karma of the 2006 Scarlet Knights as well as the free 6.5 points.
We also like another road dawg when 1-6 Colorado travels to the Adrian Peterson-less 4-2 Oklahoma Sooners. We know the Oklahoma offense won't fall apart completely, but it should struggle while learning to play without AP. If Vegas wants to give us a free 14 points, we might as well take the money and run.
If nothing is going your way by mid afternoon, and I know this may be tough to comprehend, drop a C-Note on 11th ranked California giving 23 at home against Washington in a 3:30 pm EST tilt. You'll have to look into what happened to Washington last Saturday and you'll see why we like the Golden Bears. Also, we know that Cal has always been able to light up the scoreboard. But they can actually play some defense this year (Seriously). I can't imagine what Washington will be able to accomplish on offense against such an improving defense without . . .
Sorry folks, you'll have to figure this one out on your own. The Mayor has a few political palms to grease for getting him elected. We will leave you with one final thought, which is the following:
"Research is the Key to a solid Wagering Weekend."
Last night's game featured Oliver Perez with a very gutsy performance on the mound, only to be outdueled by future Cy Young Award Winner Jeff Suppan (joke for Sox fans only) pitching slightly better in key spots. Endy Chavez made the best WebGem I've ever seen when he brought a home run that was 10 feet beyond the fence back onto the field of play and into his mitt (and managed to double up the RedBirds at first). Ultimately, the Mets were deflated by a ninth inning 2 run blast by Cards catcher Yadier Molina to give San Louis a 3-1 victory. I don't care whether the Tigers or the Cards win the World Series. But I hate Tony "I wear my sunglasses at night" La Russa so we'll go with the Tigers in 6.
Not to be outdone by the drama of the Mets loss, I failed to get my money to The Book in time, and of course the Virginia Cavaliers blanked UNC 23-0. Being a fiend for the action, I went with Utah giving a sixer to New Mexico. Utah was up 24-10 at the half. As the intensity of the rain increased at Shea, St. Louis took a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning while New Mexico stormed back and stole a 34-31 victory. Not a great start to the wagering weekend for the politician formerly known as Councilman Carcetti.
After going 9-3 last weekend, Mayor Carcetti and his staff are going to put the Thursday Nite Debacle behind us and build toward the future. We won't forget what happened, but we definitely don't expect to repeat it by an means on Saturday.
(As a side note, does anyone know why the next episode of The Wire isn't airing until October 29th? Am I missing something? Why is HBO choosing to have the new mayor and his crew take a Sunday off in their first week in office? I know the editors of the Rap Sheet aren't satisfied with this brief hiatus. Along with myself, my buddies Hokie and Teddy Ballgame are pissed. We are in the process of drafting a formal complaint to the corporate brass at HBO. They have some serious explaining to do).
But I digress. Calling into session our first meeting as Mayor of Baltimore, the following is the Legislation we are looking to pass in our first official weekend in office. (Please note that all trends referenced this week are courtesy of the true college football guru Phil Steele and his crew of stat rats).
Friday Night Lights: Don't think for a minute that 4th ranked West Virginia minus 22.5 will get caught looking beyond UConn to its Thursday Night Throwdown at sixth ranked Louisville on November 2nd. Not with a bye week to prepare for The Ville. Westie, 9-1 ATS in games played during the work week since 2002, is going to put a serious hurting on the depleted Huskies. RB Steve Slaton and WR Brandon Myles will each score in the first half en route to a 35-0 halftime lead. Westie will easily coast to a second half victory and cover. Did you know that UConn only rushed for 12 yards in this game last year?
Grind It Out: I'm not a big fan of wagering upon games in which both teams are ranked. This being a new regime and all, this is the ideal time for change so we're going with fifth ranked Texas minus 5 to go on the road and run over and around #17 Nebraska. Both schools are 6-1, but we all know that Texas would be undefeated had they not decided to improve their squad's long term objectives by playing Ohio State in early September. Look for RB's Jamaal Charles & Selvin Young to once again pound the defense of the Huskers. These two studs will open things up for frosh QB Colt McCoy (18 TD/3 INT) to hit Limas Sweed for a few big plays deep. If this line were double digits, I might be slightly hesitant. Texas is 4-2 ATS vs Nebraska in the last 6; we're Grabbing the Horns laying less than a sixer.
Speaking of top ranked Ohio State, they're favored by 30 at home against Indiana. We're staying away from this game, but don't be surprised if the Buckeyes win 49-7.
Stuck on Stocco: Because Stocco's Stuck on You. Road Underdogs are the flavor of this Saturday. We're not about to turn our back on 6-1 Wisky even though they're traveling to a suddenly "great" 5-2 Purdue team. We don't believe the Boilermakers' hype mainly because they don't have a defense even worth writing about. We'll stick with Wisky's savvy Stocco under center until he proves us wrong. Lay the 6.
Primed and Pissed: We like going with teams coming off a loss that shouldn't have been a loss (if that makes any sense). For this reason we're taking a 6-1 Missouri team coming off a 25-19 defeat at the hands of the slightly above average Texas A&M Aggies (also now 6-1) over Kansas State. Mizzu doesn't have any "stars" on offense. They play as a team; spreading the rushes & receptions around to the entire team. Most importantly they have a quarterback in Chase Daniel with a 3:1 TD/INT ratio. With a defense that crowds the line of scrimmage, this game is ideal for Mizzu to get their confidence back prior to hosting Oklahoma and traveling to Nebraska. There are way too many trends that contradict each other in this game so we're going with our gut and taking Mizzu minus 14.5 over KSU.
NFL Come A Callin: Unless Charlie Weis wins the PowerBall Jackpot, he's not leaving South Bend, or so he says. I've been waiting for the Irish program to get back to its glory days for a while now. Weis' Irish, who are 8-2 ATS coming off a bye in their last 10 games, are giving 13 at home against a potential QB-less UCLA Bruins team. Starter Ben Olson has an injured knee and there's something supposedly hindering backup (and probably starting) QB Patrick Cowan in the throat area. I refuse to wager against a Charlie Weis coached team at home that has had 2 weeks to prepare. UCLA is 13-6 ATS versus Non-Conference foes, but I cannot envision UCLA walking into South Bend and competing for 60 minutes against such a diversified offense. Brady Quinn (4:1 TD/INT ratio) spreads the ball around equally as 4 receivers have 25 plus recepts & 250 plus yds. Notre Dame wins in a blowout as WR Jeff Samardzija will have a big day for Tom Brady, I mean Brady Quinn.
(I've never been to a game in South Bend. Every single person I've talked to that has actually seen Touchdown Jesus in person has this look on their face like they've just gotten out of bed with Jennifer Aniston when they provide details of the trip/game etc. I gotta experience it firsthand. Here's hoping my boy T-Slats and his connections can make it happen before I fade into Bolivian).
We were going to write about the BC/FSU game but enough scribes in the Boston area have been writing about the game in depth all week. Also, in doing so it would cause family issues as my Almost-Mater (FSU) is taking on the Alma-Mater of my father and brother-in-law. We'll simply sit back and enjoy this 3:30 slugfest. It should be a good battle, regardless of who wins. Noles are favored by six if interested.
Similar to last week, we wanted to grab undefeated Michigan minus 12.5 at home over 5-2 Iowa, but Bubba The Mush loves the 'Wolves. Plus it's on at the same time as BC/FSU.
Can we turn our backs on undefeated and underdog Rutgers on the road at 6-1 Pitt? I think not. I know Pitt may be a better squad overall, but we'll take the karma of the 2006 Scarlet Knights as well as the free 6.5 points.
We also like another road dawg when 1-6 Colorado travels to the Adrian Peterson-less 4-2 Oklahoma Sooners. We know the Oklahoma offense won't fall apart completely, but it should struggle while learning to play without AP. If Vegas wants to give us a free 14 points, we might as well take the money and run.
If nothing is going your way by mid afternoon, and I know this may be tough to comprehend, drop a C-Note on 11th ranked California giving 23 at home against Washington in a 3:30 pm EST tilt. You'll have to look into what happened to Washington last Saturday and you'll see why we like the Golden Bears. Also, we know that Cal has always been able to light up the scoreboard. But they can actually play some defense this year (Seriously). I can't imagine what Washington will be able to accomplish on offense against such an improving defense without . . .
Sorry folks, you'll have to figure this one out on your own. The Mayor has a few political palms to grease for getting him elected. We will leave you with one final thought, which is the following:
"Research is the Key to a solid Wagering Weekend."
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