Damn Duke and Damn those Hedge Bets

Jumping straight to the end of the story moral and it is STICK TO YOUR GUNS!

As a card carrying tax payer with blood type Tar Heel Blue positive, its in my dna to hate the Puke Poo Devils, but as a college hoop nut, one has to respect Coach Sha-gets-the-most-outta-his-talent-ski! But too much respect was given last night with the +7 point bet of Duke at The Ohio State Buckeyes.

To put it simply, just like a Mr. Big choco bar, when you play that good like Ohio State did, they call you THE!

Jared Sullinger was unstoppable last night. Duke tried an out-of-character 2-3 zone in the end of the 1st half that led to a huge run by the Buckeyes to go into halftime up 19. Then it was off to the races. Ball game!

OSU stamped the second half as a statement game as Coach Thad Motta left the starters in until about 2 min left in the game where Coach K played his bench pretty much for the whole 2nd half.

This also stamped CrazyDavoA's stupid stupid halftime hedge bet of Duke to win the 2nd half by 1.5 points. Ouch!

Stick to your guns Adolph and hate the Poo Devils and make an effing profit!

Everything about last night was uncharacteristic of Duke, especially that 2-3 zone. It was literally 5 pylons standing in the 2-3 formation with zero movement. Ohio State just cut to the free throw circle at will for uncontested 8-10 foot jumpers. My coed basketball team could've broken that zone!

Also, Duke's frontcourt must've stayed back in Durham, because Miles Plumlee was as inspiring as a pregame speech from the Hoodie himself,  Bill Bellichek! Mason Plumlee stamped himself as a useless big bodied Dukie. He is first ballot Useless Slug Hall of Famer with former Dukie, Greg Newton having a statue outside that great hall. Ryan Kelly also came back down to earth too with a performance reminiscent of a Dave Adolph's Mudhen coed basketball league performance.

Austin Rivers remains to be a talent but continues to force shots like a bald headed Kobe Bryant in his rookie season. The remaining guards were no where to be seen.

All in all an uncharacteristic evening leading to an uncharacteristic third person reference of CrazyDavoA in todays blog.

My apologies.

Some takes for tonights games

DUKE +7.5 @ OHIO STATE
A true test for both sides. Duke on the points looks like the play based on Duke's tougher sked leading up to tonights game. But OSU's personel advantage with Jared Sullinger who D$'s scouting report has said has slimmed down.

Duke's depth at frontcourt will give Sullinger a tough game. Sr. Fwd Mason Plumlee is an underachieving forward but his size and willing to bang will make Sully earn his hoops. Jr. Fwd Miles Plumlee should drop his 10-12 underwhelming yet efficient points to go with Ryan Kelly's jumpers and 10-14 points.

The match up at guard is intriguing with Soph PG Aaron Craft taking on FR Guard Austin Rivers or converted PG Seth Curry.

The most intriguing one will be OSU's William Buford vs. Duke's Andre Dawkins.

Overall one could convince me to take OSU but alas there's the Coach Krazy-chef-in-your-kitchen-ski factor and this fits Duke's overrated m.o, they'll get big wins and earn a #1 ranking in the nation only to fall unexpectedly to a Virginia type team or Maryland on the road in ACC sked.

This should be a back and forth battle so 7.5 points is a good cushion.

ST. LOUIS -9 @ LOYALA MARYMOUNT

Head Coach Rick Makerus is turning the Bilikens around after a controversy filled season off the court last season. They won an underwhelming tourney at the 76 Classic last week but Majerus' stingy defense should be too much for LMU tonight.

Long Beach State +11 @ Louisville

Trying a new format here with emailing from the ol mobile. That's cell phone for those of you not from England.

We're loving Long Beach State on the road tonight in the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Ever since Louisville moved into the YUM! Center they've received an extra five points on the spread for the name alone! It's just a way to recognize a facility with an actual exclamation mark in the name and it'll (11 herbs and) spice up the spread too. (Hayyyyy ohhhh!)

This is an even match up here due to the personel alone and due to Louisville's current injury status.

From a straight personel status, the LBC State have a six man, sometimes seven man rotation made up of entirely Juniors and Seniors. They are led by ex-Gonzaga head coach Dan Monson who preceded Mark Few. He was obviously another mid major casualty in the major ranks when he parlayed his Elite Eight run with Gonzaga back in the late 90's to a forgettable 5-6 year run in Minnesota. He has landed in the LBC and has used his first 4 years there to mold this lineup into a definite mid major threat.

You can tell that LB State was full of undisciplined pick up players in their freshmen and sophomore seasons, but Monson has used his patience to mold this group's skill into a disciplined and opportunistic bunch.

LB State is led by Sr. G Casper Ware who will get Reggie Miller type screens to hit open treys. But Ware is capable to create his own trey but his strength is in the open court. He will explode into transition and is fearless attacking the hoop. Being under 6-0 feet tall is no hindrance as his explosive jump gives him some airtime to fanagel (or fahnaygel?) the attempted blocks into easy lay ups and and-1's.

I'll pay to watch Ware on his drives from the wing alone. He has such a quick and explosive first step, to go with such long strides that allows him to be as creative as a Bob Ross painting. Ware definitely doesn't make any mistakes but he has happy accidents on his drives to the hole.

Overall, Ware is a patient player on the offensive side with not forcing the shots he takes which for many are the type of shots that could be forced for 20-25 shots per game. Ware is a very under rated defender as an average one-on-one defender but great great ball denyer. He can ice opposing team top scorers from getting the ball before he can averagely close out and defend him.

JUCO transfer, James Ennis is a 6-5 guard with a wing span longer than Paulsen's go-go gadget arms at KFC! NO ONE and I mean no one can crossover Ennis as his long reach will steal it. As the top of LB States 1-2-2 zone, Ennis' reach gets in the passing lanes so much that they might as well be playing a 2-2-2 zone. His steal totals may not reflect it but his reach is something opposing teams will avoid like QB 's avoided Deion Sanders.

Also look for 6-5 small forward Larry Anderson to take smaller checks into the paint for easy mismatch layups.

LB State has a bad half court defense in terms of their footwork in the post matchups and non-chalant close outs on the wings. But their athleticism and effort on defense will lead to the high percentage shots on their lightening quick transition game. Their team First Step into transition is quicker than Adolph walking through the racoon-infested path to his apartment building!

And Louisville is still a good team, but their depth has definitely been challenged with their rash of injuries early in the season. They are playing with Sr PG Peyton Siva who is severely limited on offense but can play serviceable defense on his sprained ankle.

Fwd. Kyle Kuric is holding up the ship with streaky shooting and opportunistic garbage put backs. And Rakeem Buckles is their only threat as a scorer as Louisville's sixth man. He should be hitting the starting line up soon enough with Louisvilles MASH unit they're displaying.

Louisvilles defense will suffocate most of LB State's posessions but the LBC will get their transition opportunities. But Louisvilles lack of size in the paint will only help LB States obvious athleticism advantage. Plus this team doesn't jack the treys like Rick Pitino coached teams usually do, so the weak close-outs shouldn't be a factor.

LB State may even walk away with another BCS upset like they did in Pitt a couple weeks back, but if they don't, the Easycovers Staff loves the 11 point cushion. Long Beach has followed their Pitt game with a loss to Montana of all schools, but tonights game should motivate them to step their game up immediately from tip off.

vs. Pitt, LB State and Ware were unconscious from down down which led to the 10-12 point cushion they held the whole game, and once they cooled off, Pitt's "Grade-8 dance"-like lack of initiative and LB State's transition made it a trading hoops game. Even if LB State and Ware aren't as hot tonight, their consistent strengths should keep the score close towards another trading-hoops affair.

Again loving the 11 point cushion.

Good luck
CrazyDavoA out!

Butler v Indiana -13

The previous takes on Indiana and Butler was due to a preview of their matchup tonight at Assembly Hall.

D$ and I are going to take Indiana -13 based on the following match-ups:

1. The Cody Zeller factor for the Hoosiers in the blocks over Butler's Andrew Smith. Smith is all the Butler has in the paint vs. Zeller and the depth at forward with Christian Watford and Will "Don't call me Purdue" Sheehy. Although, the depth of Indiana's forwards should trump Butler's, Indiana should pound the ball to Zeller anyways.

2. The Ronald Nored point guard factor for Butler should be negated by Indiana's depth at point with Jordan Hullis and Verdell Jonee III. Hullis pushes the ball up more agressively than Nored. Plus Hullis and Jones average a combined 6 assists per game. The x-faxtor for the Butler is Senior that has Madness experience, but he is so non-aggressive this year, that if he does decide to get out of his shell, it should be negated by Indiana's depth at guard.

3. Indiana's new aggression on transition gives them an advantage of up to 7 more trips to the charity stripe than their opponent. Butler could try to slow the game down by limiting Indiana's transition game, but the Hoosier defensive pressure in the half-court set and quick outlets should get some easy transition hoops.

The easy hoop factor from the Hoosier transition game and pounding the ball into Zeller should give the Hoosiers a 15-20 point win. there is the Assembly Hall factor, the honeymoon of Indiana's resurgence factor and the Butler's development factor.

The Insanity Report like the Hoosiers -13.

Book it!

The Skinny on Indiana

INDIANA HOOSIERS

Get ready for the New Hoosier Revolution coming outta Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana! Head Coach, Tom Crean will reap the rewards of the 3 years of rebuilding the Indiana Hoosiers back into a national powerhouse. Not since 2008 with the debacle that Calvin Sampson put Indiana through has the Hoosiers seen such big names in the program as top 10 national recruit, F Cody Zeller.

Before we go on further, it hasn't been since the early 2000's that Indiana has had top recruits enter Bloomington like they do in Lexington, Chapel Hill and Durham year in and year out.

One could make a theory that the success that Purdue and Butler have had in the past decade has been due to Indiana's slow demise since Bobby Knight's departure in 2000, by taking advantage of the high school hotbed of Indiana and taking recruits that in years past would have signed with Indiana.

Back in 2008, Butler freshman, Gordon Hayward was reportedly originally committed to Purdue but eventually chose Butler due to the killer recruits they had in E'Twaun Moore, JuJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel. There was not enough touches to go around, and hence Gordan went to Gene Hackman Court in Hinkle Fieldhouse leading Butler to their first National Championship title game in 2009.

If this occurred 15 years earlier, Hayward would probably have signed with Purdue, as Moore, Johnson and Hummel would most likely have signed with Indiana. Purdue was Indiana's sloppy seconds over the years, but now with the demise of Indiana, Purdue moved up one spot over Indiana as the top program in Indiana and the Butler took over as the "Sean Avery Sloppy Seconds" program of the state of Indiana.

The re-emergence of Indiana will truly test Butler's place at the table and see if Brad Steven's Bulldogs program can compete on the recruiting trail. Stevens can coach, there's no question, but his commitment to Butler may be short-lived as Tom Crean's signing of Cody Zeller could put an end to Butler's recent recruiting coups.

Forward, Cody Zeller is the real deal. He is composed and intelligent. He has great foot-work in the post and will run the lanes on the fast break for the entire 40 minutes. He is a great focal point for the Hoosiers offence as Crean has the majority of offensive sets go through the Zeller highway toll booth. This is no shock to Indiana's offence as Crean has instilled Coach Norman Dale's "minimum of four passes" philosophy. Right now, it's tough to see any huge weakness in Zeller's game as he is quite composed beyond his years. Despite his maturity, he could get out-muscled in the blocks by a hulking defender, but this will be negated by Zeller beating that defender down the court on the transition. Yeah I'm looking in your direction Jared Sullinger! I can't wait for that match-up.

Crean has used the past 3 years to rebuild the program the right way with heavy loss seasons, but the development of the following players have helped form the surprising depth of the Hoosier roster.

The guards are set with JR. PG Jordan Hullis pushing the ball up constantly as Crean is pushing the transition game this year more than ever. SR. G Verdell Jones III may not take the ball up the court ala Hullis, but his passing within the half court set has him leading the team in dimes (4.6 assists per game) even above Hullis (3.2 assists per game). The Hoosiers as a whole drop assists in the majority of their scores making it tough to defend them in transition or the half court set.

Soph. G Victor Oladipo is playing great from the wing with his athletic drives to the hoop while playing great one-on-one defence vs the opposing teams top scorer usually. He is still an untapped talent, which makes him a scary commodity once he realizes his potential. He can play well away from the ball, making it easy for Hullis to find him on the break as Victor spaces himself well enough to get open looks under the hoop or from the baseline.

The depth at forward centred around Zeller is soldified with Jr. Christian Watford, Soph. Will Sheehy and Jr. Derek Elston. Watford has some wing span to get off any shot within 10-12 feet of the hoop. Will Sheehy is deceptively fast with an Indiana farmboy jumper ala Jimmy "I can make it" Chitwood. In their game vs. Evansville last week, Sheehy dee'd up Evansville's top scorer very effectively giving Oladipo a break from doing the bang up job one-on one that he was doing. Elston is a big body, still pretty raw, but there will be no digression when he's on the floor giving the other forwards a rest. He will offer the necessary spark a 7th-8th man is supposed to.

Indiana has an under-rated pressure defence that fuels their transition game. They force turnovers above the 3 point line giving pick-six-type easy lay-ups. They will struggle at times with their 3's, but they are less reliant this year on the 3 as in the past couple seasons now with Zeller occupying the paint.

The Hoosiers lack overall size, so they will have games where they struggle getting Zeller the ball. But another strength of Zeller's is his free throw shooting, and Indiana's aggressiveness to to the hoop leads to easy hoops and more trips to the charity stripes. Those easy points add up and will negate any size difference the Hoosiers may be susceptible to.

The emergence of UNC and Kentucky as the top teams in the country this season via their track meet fast breaks makes Indiana's emergence even more likely as they do have fire to fight a Tar Heel or Wildcat fire. This will make Indiana's match up vs. the Jared Sullinger led Ohio State Buckeyes on New Year's Eve an event that could rival that of the UFC pay-per-view that night.

It's been a long decade for the Hoosier nation, and this year could be the first time that the Indiana campus in Bloomington indeed, finally party like it's 1999!

The Skinny on the Butler...

BUTLER BULLDOGS

The Butler may not do it in the Madness with the Upset this year, but they will continue to develop this year, and we will see where they're at vs. Indiana tomorrow.

They still have super mid-major coach in Brad Stevens. They have some young talent that overall will be mismatched vs. a "BCS" conference team, but the Steven's defence is solid and their offense is patient. Overall, the Butler Bulldogs are just that, they're a bulldog team that will grind their way to constant improvement throughout this non-conference sked and throughout an improved Horizon Conference sked. As far as the Madness in March? Stay tuned for future Insanity Reports to track their progress.

The Bulldogs are led by SR. PG Ronald Nored. He's starting this season as a distributing guard who is not looking for his shot whatsoever. He's dropping 4-6 dimes per game but he is needed to come out of his shell if the young freshmen and sophomores of Butler are going to develop.

The developing talent includes SOPH. G Chrishawn "Make up your mind, is it Chris or is it Shawn" Hopkins who is capable of 20 point outbursts, but is still young and will have deer-in-the-headlight-itis vs any sort of pressure from a more experienced defender.

SOPH. F Khyle "Don't call me me Minogue" Marshall is a smooth wing who can find the odd drive from the elbow or the wing. Either he can't find his jumper or it's not within the Butler offense, but I haven't seen him utilize it as much as he could.

There is also a smooth wing in FR. Kameron "Don't call me Kirk" Woods. He can turn into a silky smooth scorer later in the year and definitely into his Sophomore and Junior seasons, but he has to gain some much needed l.b's as he will get pushed around in the blocks with those olive oil arms. He's having an alright start to his career with 4 ppg and 4.5 rpg. He will improve these stats once Steven's is more comfortable with upping his minutes.

Closing out the guards is JR. G Chase "Don't call me Milt or Hugo" Stigall who is a chucker. A pure hot and cold chucker from down down. If he gets hot then the Butler will use this to get on a roll, but when he's cold, he will be forcing up shots like Paulsen at last call at the Lamplighter!

The kicker for Butler is JR. C Andrew Smith who is leading the Bulldogs so far at 12 ppg. He is a presence in the pain, but moreso the short corner. He can score and board, but he has a body and game that will get out-muscled by bigger posts such as OSU's Jared Sullinger and Indiana's Cody Zeller.

The Butler is pretty much the Butler, a team that is lacking in UNC/Duke/OSU/etc-like talent but is extremely well coached and after this year's developing season after losing super talents such as Gordan Hayward, Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack, they will develop into a force, but it's up in the air who else will step up off the bench, there is still a freshmen trio in F Roosevelt "E. Roosevelt" Jones, Wing Andy "Light as a " Smeather and G Jackson "Heeeeee Heeeeee" Aldridge that will have a say into where the Butler will be at come the New Year.

Stay tuned!

The Skinny on Stanford

STANFORD CARDINAL

If they can find the right combo of players within their deep bench, the Cardinal could be offishall if they play around SR Fwd. Josh Owens. He shows a skillset that is very similar to that of Derrick Williams from Arizona last year. Josh has a post game with both his back to the hoop and facing the rim. Although defense is not his strong suit, he positions well while ensuring he won’t get into foul trouble. An underrated strong suit is his passing game with Soph. Fwd Dwight Powell.

Soph. Guard Aaron Bright is a great, great spark plug who can penetrate well and shoot the trey while stopping on a dime. He is a young guard prone to turnovers and will get flustered easily when an opponent’s defensive pressure will take him out of his comfort zone. Add in Freshman talented guard, Chase Randle, and there will still be some growing pains for the Cardinal backcourt.

Sr. Fwd. Andrew Zimmerman is a mountain-man spark plug off the bench with nothing but hustle and energy and a big ol’ urban-omish beard. You’ll see when you see him, it’s very omish yet you can notice the chin strap.

I’d like to see their defense better as they were given gifts from the lackadaisical passing from the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Wednesday at the Pre-Season NIT opener. The Cardinal, especially Owens attacked the passing lanes well, but rather then being great defense, it was more of a great scouting report, so alas I say they might be well coached by Duke-alumnus Johnny Dawkins.

The Cardinal have some talent, and learned some valuable lessons last year as a young team, so the turnovers that will be coming from the Cardinal backcourt may be short-lived. In a wide open Pac-12, this could be a great opportunity for Stanford to take over the Andrew Luck Campus of Palo Alto come the Pac-12 schedule in the New Year.

The Skinny on Duke

The hatred for Duke runs free and clear due to the fact that they have a huge sweat factor. The Puke Blue Devils will either cover the spread or lose the spread by 1-3 points. Plus they have many questions to answer such as where Austin Rivers stands in his freshmen season, is Ryan Kelly for real and can Duke play defence?

As a card carrying Tar Heel Honk, it's tough to do this, but much respect must be extended to Coach K for his NCAA Men's Hoops Wins record he achieved with his win vs. the current best coach in college sports, Tom "to the" Izzo and Michigan State.

Coach Sha-chef-ko-whats-going-on-in-the-kitchen-ski gets the absolute most out of his players. Many examples can be made but most recently getting a top recruit in Kyrie Irving last year. However, upon Kyrie's toe injury that took him out for the rest of the regular season after 8 games, Nolan Smith parlayed this opportunity as the new starting PG into a 2011 Outhet Player of the Year Award season. Nolan was a distinct untapped talent that Coach K schemed into using as the new penetrator for the Poo Devils into a 20 ppg guy.

Coach K will have to perform some more miracles with this years team. It looks like he is running a similar offensive and defensive playbook, but as of now Duke doesn't have the horses to repeat any deep run into the Madness.

First off, Freshman G Austin Rivers is a talent. He's getting some great box scores to start his career, but it seems like he is forcing many drives and shots similar to the shots Kyrie took last year. Right now, he seems like a poorman's Kyrie Irving and until Austin can find a niche within the Duke offence, he'll be resorting to forced drives to the hoops and long range jumpers shot out of the rhythm of the offence. He will still find his own game, but it remains to be seen when that will happen.

The Blue Devils came into the season with these questions at guard especially after losing Smith and Irving. So the consensus was that they would need to depend on their forwards, especially Jr. Fwd Miles Plumlee. The issue with Miles is he is still a talent. He can drive to the hoop, hit the odd jumper form the short corner and he can bang on the blocks and score in bunches. But he seems to be the Tony Romo/Mark Fraudchise of the NCAA. He'll perform well in easy situations, but it remains to be seen how he'll react to pressure cooker situations in ACC action or the Madness. Right now, he is a fair weather player. I don't see him as a reliable focal point for the Doo-doo Devils come winning time.

Then there's the other Plumlee brother, SR. Mason Plumlee. He has developed into a huge body but has not fulfilled his potential as he still has awkward one-on-one post moves and lacks full control of his body causing him to get into early foul trouble.

Mason has already been replaced in the starting lineup by Jr. Fwd Ryan Kelly. Last year, Kelly was out of his element in the paint but could shoot the long range jumper. This year he has found some much needed foot speed and has an improved first step for both ends of the court. He's had consistent 15-17 games, using the improved game to go with his proven shooting ability.

The x-factor with Duke is the remaining guards in Jr. guards, Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry. Curry has a lot of pressure on him and he's stepping up as Duke's leading scorer so far at 16 ppg. His strength is his 3-pt shot, but he has worked hard at increasing his point guard responsibilities, and it remains to be seen, like Miles Plumlee, how this new role will fit Curry deep into the gauntlet that is the ACC season and March.

Dawkins seems like this year's Nolan Smith with his untapped talents and patience to unleash his potential once he get more opportunities. He won't be the penetrator to the hoop like Nolan Smith, but moreso a 3-pt assassin.

Finally, as with tonight Maui Invitational clinching 3 point shot, Soph. G Tyler Thornton is a huge spark. He's a limited talent but has the hustle that Coach K can't keep on the bench.

There are some unorthodox parts to the gears that turn Duke, but Coach K will most likely find a way to make the Poo Devils' Top 25 talent into a Top 10 ranked team. But Duke horrible lack of defence upon giving up too many drive-n-dishes almost at will, will ensure an early exit in March with a one and done Madness.

On a roll.....here's some takes.....

Get the straight jackets out! My apologies for a lack of takes on games bet on. To start the season the Insanity Report Staff is 8-3 ATS including a 2-0 day today with Kentucky -19.5 vs Penn State today which covered by at least a billon-million points today.....as we say in the blog bizness: EASY COVER!!!!! Also Duquesne covered over Akron by 5 points today when the spread was 3 points. Tight cover, but a cover is a cover......is a cover

So with tomorrow's games we have one game we like:

It's not on the menu as of yet, but on other sites we like:

WASH ST (Pick) vs. PORTLAND

Wazoo is coming into the season losing two players who left to go pro. Klay Thompson parlayed his early entry into the draft with a first round selection into the "nuclear winter" league of the NBA. (Somewhere, Homer Simpson is heard, saying, "It's pronounced, NEEE-YOOK-LEE-ERR.........NEEE-YOOK-LEE-ERR") Either way, he's gone and according to the preview mags and handicappers, Washington State is destined for a massive rebuilding year ......hold up....not so quick.......

The Insanity Staff was scouting Gonzaga/Wazoo and Gonzaga had an easy win vs. the Cougars of Pullman, but Wazoo has a great passing game on the offensive end showing basketball IQ and competent guards and forwards. Their main scoring threat is a smooth shooting SR. G Faisel Aden with a solid frontcourt with SR. POST Charlie Enquist and JR. FWD Brock Motum. Wazoo plays competent defense and the Portland Pilots have lost their top 2 scorers from last year and also had a 30 point drubbing by the hands of UDub.

We like Wazoo to win easy tomorrow!

Bye-bye NBA. Hello the Madness.

Commish A-Dish out!

Oh Carolina!!!!

#1 NORTH CAROLINA 67 vs. MICHIGAN STATE 55

Closing Spread: UNC -8.5

Result: UNC -8.5 (Won by 3.5)

Bet: UNC -11 and UNC -9

Result: Won both bets

This was a great event upon the Aircraft Carrier, USS Vinson. A fitting place to launch the USS Tar Heel which left for deployment amongst the NCAA landscape on Friday night showing just how dominant they will be for the upcoming season within the whole nation and ACC.

Here's the skinny on UNC. Once again there's the Super Frontcourt of Soph. Harrison Barnes, Jr. John Henson and Sr. Tyler Zeller. And the run of UNC depends pretty much on the health of Soph. PG Kendall Marshall! If Kendall stays healthy, then UNC will be cutting down the nets in New Orleans! It's as easy and that.

The strengths of UNC? Their frontcourt offers 3 different weapons.

Barnes will take over spurts of every game with a flurry of transition lay-ups and jumpers. Plus, he can hit the odd jumper within the halfcourt set.

Tyler Zeller will use the advantage of the collective wingspan of the forwards to cheat one extra step towards the helpside and draw 2-3 charges a game. Once he gets position and receives a well led entry pass, he'll get many hoops in the blocks.

And Henson? His wingspan led to 9 friggin' blocked shots vs. MSU. He altered twice as many shots with his albatross like twigs. He was his usual self on the boards, but then showed a turn around jumper from the short corner and the wing that may show some foreshadowing towards a Player of the Year (Outhet Award) season if he can consistently make those jumpers for the whole season.

The collective wingspan of the Super Frontcourt makes it difficult for any team to get comfortable shots within 15 feet of the hoop. It pretty much forces a team to HAVE to shoot the lights outta the gym from down town just to have a chance vs. the Tar Heels. This may very well be their greatest strength. This will lead to blocked shots, and many rebounds off altered shots that will lead to their identity, which is the fast break.

A fast break that is led by Kendall Marshall. Marshall's thread-the-needle outlets mine as well be Joe Montana passes to Jerry Rice. Marshall fills in the gaps that will connect the UNC Frontcourt Trio's Trix; He has got to stay healthy! Plus he will compliment Barnes' open J's in the half-court set with timely drives to the hoop.

The weaknesses of UNC?

Their defensive strengths of cheating one step more towards the helpside and altering shots forces the bigs to play straight up in the air and a bit off the rebounding lane to effectively block out on the glass. This led to UNC giving up 19 offensive rebounds to The Brave 300 of the Michigan State Spartans. But this will be remedied by simple hustle and preventing the true weakness of UNC....which is the possibility of UNC defeating UNC.

If they rely purely on their out-of-stratosphere talent, then they will be outworked by one of the many teams out there that are capable of shooting the lights out from 3-point land. This will also land the Tar Heel's into a slowed down half-court game which stalls their strengths and forces them to force jumpers and one-on-one post moves that Zeller and Henson rarely convert. But, Roy will get the fella's hustling. If they maintain an adequate level of hustle, they will be able to force their fast tempo and rhythm that will lead to the Dance in New Orleans in March.

Also, the Tar Heels must develop a threat from downtown to further make opposing defences from clogging the key making things difficult for the Three Tar-Heel-go Frontcourt. Soph. Wing, Reggie Bullock didn't impress too much on the USS Vinson from downtown, but Freshman, G PJ Hairston has come into Chapel Hill as gun slinger from the three-point line.

Finally, the most freaky aspect of UNC is their 2 McDonald All-American freshmen in PJ Hairston and forward, James McAdoo can be phased into the UNC line-up rather then being thrown to the wolves like John Henson and Harrison Barnes were as freshmen. The expectations on Henson and Barnes over the past 2 seasons were unrealistic and added needless stress onto their development. Now that McAdoo and Hairston will be coming off the bench, they will be able to adapt to the rigors of the national spotlight.

This may lead to an aspect even more dangerous for the NCAA landscape, a post-National Championship UNC team with continuity. Uh oh!

First Takes for Tonight's Games

4 Games on the Menu:

North Carolina -9.5 vs. Michigan State

Taking North Carolina hard on this game!!! The Insanity ReportStaff Betting Manifesto has Law #2 stating: "Never Bet against the Izzo!.....you don't have to bet for the Izzo, but NEVER bet against the Izzo!"......until tonight!

Sorry Izzo, I love you, you're the best coach in College Basketball and you get the most out of your players year in and year out. But from a personel point of view, I see this game as a UNC ass whoopin'!

UNC's front court of Tyler Zeller, Harrsion Barnes and John Henson have a combined rebounding stat of 80 rebounds a game. MSU has Draymond Green who is a great great talent at forward, but he's a guard/wing trapped in a forwards body. So once he has his match-up, most likely vs. Tyler Zeller, then Barnes and Henson will go off on the boards.

The x-factor for UNC is PG Kendall Marshall who is a perfect fit for this team as a pass first PG who can mae the odd jumper. Michigan State has underwhelming and under-perfoming talent last year and they bring in little to address that. Other than Valpo transfer, Braydon Wood, there is little talent for the Brave 300 to keep up with juggernaut talent of Carolina tonight,

Liking UNC by 15 tonight

Valparariso -3.5 @ Georgia Southern

Valpo kept up with Arizona a couple nights ago, where Georgia Southern is coming off a 1-17 season last year in their shit conference.

3.5 points is a gift!

Connecticut -23 vs. Columbia

National Champs at home to a shit Ivy Leaguer team? UConn by 35!

Ohio State -27.5 vs. Wright State

Jared Sullinder, William Buford and Aaron Craft vs. a Wright State team that returns no one from a weak roster last year. They have no bigs, so Sullinger goes off tonight!

COLLEGE HOOPS!!! FINALLY

My head is spinning!!! We're going through a great (and as of the past 3 weeks, profitable) NFL Season. The NHL season is up and running (but call me in the New Year, there's still a Stanley Cup hangover). And then there's the NBA lockout....or is it a strike? Doesn't matter, no one cares. That goes to show how much the NBA is a free-falling stock as the media surrounding their Plaxico Burress like mess. Whatever deal gets done, either soon or next summer, both sides have shot themselves in the foot (or thigh)! And then there's the horrible and possible sports landscape changing story over in Penn State!

So lets get right into it......COLLEGE HOOPS!!!!!

No NBA hoops? No problem...there's real basketball goin' on in campuses across the country!

There is not much of a preview this year as the keyword for this year is: TOP HEAVY!

The national rankings are top heavy with UNC at #1 and everyone waaaaaaay behind. Looking at all of the 6 major conferences, they are all top heavy.

The ACC has UNC and Duke and alot of teams with 1st/2nd year coaches, so they're in rebuilding mode. The prognosticators are trying to shove Virginia down our throats, but no....not Virginia. The one thing that scares me for UNC's run is that they will have little competition in the ACC. But watch out for Florida State to continue their defensive style run towards another Sweet 16 run.

The Big 12 has Baylor set at #1 almost by default being the only team returning any experience. KU will have something to say about that, but there's also new coaches in Texas A&M, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Texas lost their whole roster as did K-State. Iowa State will be interesting with a surprisingly good team last year with a lot of new transfers coming in.

The Big East is the Big East and is microcosm of what these eventual super conferences will be like. They will eat up everyone in the conference from the top-down. but there is a tough UConn defending their title with Jeremy Lamb taking the reigns from Kemba. Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt and Marquette lost some bug talent, but have reloaded. Look for rising teams like St John's and Cincinnati to make some noise into the Top 8 of the 16 team conference.

The Big 10 is as top heavy as Kim Kardashian! There's Ohio State with Jared Sullinger, William Buford and Aaron Craft. Wisconsin has Jordan Taylor at PG but lost alot of big men. In a conference where Michigan was an up and comer last year sky rockets to 3rd or 4th in the pre-season previews......yeah that's a conference that's reloading as well. Never and I mean never count out the Izzo in Lansing, Michigan though!

The SEC has Kentucky reloading with a McDonald All-American freshmen crew with Terence Jones coming back to Lexington. Jones has all the potential in the world to dominate the SEC at wing, but he will be tested due to his much needed, but untested leadership required from Coach Calipari.

And the PAC-10? Get a dominant big man someone! The Pac-10 has been on a downward spiral the past couple years but they have some interesting teams with depth in California. Arizona has had 2 games already and can't take care of the ball. But their talent and depth will get into a groove. Zona Head Coach, Sean Miller will make sure of that. I'm not sold on UCLA with them losing 2 guys to the NBA draft from a season last year where they barely escaped the Izzo in the Round of 64 (1st Round) of the Madness.

So there is so much room for the obligatory mid-major conference/team to make a good run. Look for teams in the Colonial Conference with Final 4 darlings VCU and George Mason reloading. There's the Horizon Conference with the Butler.

Never forget the Atlantic 10 conference with Xavier, Temple and a slew of teams that will give many Top 25 teams fits this season pushing the conference RPI through the roof. Also the Conference-USA has more talent then just in Memphis. Marshall and Central Florida have opportunities to make some noise. If UCF does make some noise then look for the media darling stories of His Airness' son, Marcus Jordan at the helm for UCF.

This is the first of many takes to come, so lets see how tonight goes with the first round of games.

CrazyDavo out

Week 4 Morning Takes

It's been a while for posts by CrazyDavo, so lets get back at it with a quick overview of the morning games:

DET 34 @ DAL 30

CLOSING LINE: DAL -1

RESULT: DET +1

Easycovers Bet: DET +1 (Won)

Two things:

1.) Romo went Romo with his 2nd half meltdown today. As a neutral fan for Romo and the 'Boys, I just feel sorry for Cowboys fan who stays faithful to their Cowboys loyalties. Romo will win games for Dallas. He'll chalk up tonnes of fantasy points for Fantasy League honks. But, IT IS A GIVEN that Romo will implode and single handedly cost the Cowboys the game. You can't predict when it'll happen, you just know it's inevitable. Sucks being you Cowboys fan

2.) MEGATRON is taking over the NFL! His large hands are just one decepticon weapon for Calvin Johnson. His routes are precise which hides the subtle throwing mistakes of Matthew "Starscream" Stafford! Megatron will always keep Starscream in check!

Keep riding the Lions ATS, and if they're down, then lay some serious cheddar on 2nd half bets! Staying away from the Cowboys, because now it's an absolute coin flip on how Romo will respond, especially in 2 weeks after their bye weekend at New England who may be smelling blood.

BUF 20 @ CIN 23

CLOSING LINE: BUF -1

RESULT: CIN +3

Easycovers Bet: BUF -1 (Loss)

The man-crush on Bills QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick is still on. Fear the Beard! He didn't march the Bills in their last drive to even attempt a FG late in the 4th. And the Bills defense showed many chinks in their armour. Credit to the Bengals, they out-"gamered" the reigning Gamers of the NFL in B-Lo today. Should've seen this coming. As much as it's great to see a hard-working team like the Bills at 3-1, it was quite inconceivable to see them at 4-0.

But keep riding the Bills as they will win you more games then they'll lose. That'll garner some profits.

CAR 29 @ CHI 34

CLOSING SPREAD: CHI -7

RESULT: CAR +7

Easycovers Bet: Stayed Away

Great stay away game. Cam Newton is solidfying his NFL debut season as a definite ATS cover-er! His stats don't lie and the 4 weeks of backdoor covers will be quite interesting at home to Nawlins next week. And today's Devin Hester punt return TD solidifies Da Bears as a stay away team. Hester is Romo-esque in that you know he'll get his special teams touch downs, but the timing is always unpredictable. That, to go with Cutler being Cutler screams STAY AWAY from Daaaa Bears!!!

NO 23 @ JAX 10

CLOSING SPREAD: NO -8

RESULT: NO -8

Easycovers Bet: Stayed away.

This game was nullified with D$'s hunch in Nawlins to cover vs. the offensively woeful Jags. But I don't trust the Saints on the road, which might influence next weeks NO @ CAR bet. But the Saints are a quiet ATS covering team and are quietely 3-1. They're next 5 games involve a home-n-home with Jaaaaaash Freeeeeman and the Bucs, so we should get a great take on both teams by then. For now, riding the Saints should garner profits.

SF 24 @ PHI 23

CLOSING SPREAD: PHI -10

RESULT: SF +10

Easycovers Bet: Stayed Away

Let's re-iterate one thing from the pre-season takes: PHILLY IS NOT A SUPERBOWL FAVORITE! The pre-season hype was just due to the fact that they had the loudest pre-season transactions for a fanbase and media starving for NFL news other then the NFL lockout in the summer. This exploded the Eagles as the sexy pick.

But, they're hype is squashed almost as much Sidney Crosby's noodle. This is due to 3 things:

1.) The Eagles Offensive Line CAN NOT be trusted. They give no time for Vick to work in the pocket. Which is ironic since he is actually an improved pocket QB. The glass-jawed Philly O-Line allows for no running game and hence no deep ball threats for the DeSean Jackson, despite a 61 yard reception today.

2.) The health of Michael Vick CAN NOT be trusted. He was knocked out of Week 2 @ ATL with a concussion. Last week he was knocked out with a suspected hand fracture. This week Vick was limping noticeably all game. This is to due with Vick's playing style and his non-existent O-Line. As Chuck D said in 1991, Can't Truss it!!!!

3.) Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin IS A BONAFIDE ATS KILLER with the untimliest turnovers highlighted by his forced fumble due to his tucking the football like a friggin bread basket! A couple weeks back he made an unforgiveable drop on 4th down in their last drive at ATL. Chuck D can't truss Maclin either!

Countdown to Kickoff - NFL Week #3 (Late games)

Kansas City @ San Diego (-15)

The Chiefs appear to be leading the pack early in the season for the 'Suck for Luck' sweepstakes after getting mauled by the Lions and Bills.  They will be facing an angry and motivated Chargers team.  Huge amount of points to put up for a Norv Turner team, who is a little banged up, but we might just do it since KC is that bad.  (We go against Walterfootball.com who has the Chiefs this week as their lock of the month.)

NY Jets @ Oakland (+3.0)
Bad spot for the Jets who travel across the country to play a decent Raider squad and giving points.  The side to play is the RAIDERS.

Baltimore (-4.5) @ St. Louis
Good News: The Rams could start the season 0-3 and still could very much be only be one game out of first in the NFC West after this week.
Bad News:  The Rams are really banged up right now and Steven Jackson will not be 100%.
Expecting the Ravens to bounce back here after a big let down last week.

Atlanta (+1.0) @ Tampa Bay
Yikes, this game is too close to pick here.  Jaaaaaash Freeman and the Bucs seem to turn it on for the second half roaring back both weeks to cover the second half spreads and last week winning the game outright against the Vikings.  The Falcons got lucky that Michael Vick got knocked out of their game last week and were able to escape with a win.  Atlanta has disappointed from pre-season hype and don't like them a ton on the road.  Best bet here is to wait until the second half - if Tampa is down then bet them hard as they got the Falcons exactly where they want 'em!

Arizona @ Seattle (+3.5)
Wow, Vegas really thinks that Seattle is bad as even with the Qwest (now CenturyLink) home field advantage they are still taking points at home to a questionable Cardinals team.  The Seahawks are pretty crappy and appear to also be 'sucking for luck' right now, but if they are going to win this would be the week as they face Atlanta and the Giants after this which means they could be 0-5 heading to their bye week.  Recommend not betting this game as it might entice you to actually watch it.  Save your eyes and cash for other games.

Green Bay (-4.0) @ Chicago
The Bears were exposed last week vs the Saints and I expect the Packers to bring their 'A' game in this division rivalry as opposed to the 'C' effort they displayed in Carolina last week.  The Bears can't protect Cutler and Green Bay should be able to get in his face all day.  Aaron Rodgers when on can't be stopped and this should lead to victory for the Pack.  Expect the first half to be close and then Green Bay to pull away in second half. Like the UNDER quite a bit in this matchup too.

Pittsburgh (-11.0) @ Indianapolis
Peyton Manning is starting for the Colts.... just kidding!  For all the Colts fans out there you are officially the other team which is 'sucking for luck' right now.  (Circle Week #5 - Oct 9th - on your calendar for the "Suck for Luck Bowl" vs the Chiefs.)  An excellent plan to take this year off and find an heir for PM, as they clearly won't be winning many games without him.  The Colts will show a lot of pride, but are no match for the Steelers in this contest.  Don't over think this one.

Washington (+4.0) @ Dallas
Even if Romo was healthy and not suffering from broken ribs last week, and even if Miles Austin was in the lineup, and even if Felix Jones and Des Bryant weren't banged up we would still like the Redskins this week.
Because of all this, we like them even more.

We know that Rex Grossman is not real sexy, but the Redskins D is legit and as long as Rex doesn't turn the ball over the Redskins should have a good shot to win outright here.  Hard to believe this team has a shot of being 3-0 out of the gate, pre-season take was dead wrong on this squad.  (Harder games to come for the Redskins who may be a fade in the second half of the season with a treacherous schedule.)

Good luck to everyone this week... best bets to come before kickoff via Twitter @easycovers

D$ OUT

Countdown to Kickoff - NFL Week #3

Last week was a pretty even week for the EasyCovers staff.  Time to do some damage on the books with our NFL Week #3 picks..... here we go! :

Early Games

San Francisco @ Cincinnati  (-3) 
Up until late in the week D$ was excited to take the Bengals at home, but WR Jerome Simpson gets caught with a boatload of marijuana at his home this week and might not play.  Add Jordan Shipley out for the season with an ACL tear and general bad mojo exists in Cincy.  The Niners aren't much better after blowing a 10 point lead at home in the 4th quarter last week and their offense hasn't looked too great with Alex Smith as starting QB.  We got a west coast team coming across the country to play an early game here, but in the end we recommend staying away from playing a side and lean towards to the under 40.5 total with these two questionable offenses.

New England (-7.0) @ Buffalo
The Bills have a gamer in Fitzpatrick that is for sure and the team showed a lot of heart coming back in the second half last week to win in the final seconds.  Public perception has the Bills a little better than expected and has kept this line around a touchdown all week.  The Patriots are one of the 2 best teams in football and are the class of the AFC East.  Many worry there could be a backdoor cover here, D$ is not one of those people. Make sure to grab -7.0 (before it rises above that key number) and ride the Pats.
(Note:  The Pats make an excellent Teaser play this week - winners of 15 row vs Buffalo.)

Houston @ New Orleans (-4.0)
Houston has looked good beating the lowly Colts and Fish, but face their first real test at the Superdome this week.  We will likely find out how good the Texans really are based on this performance.  For that reason we can't recommend either side at the moment and recommend taking notes.

NY Giants @ Philadelphia (-9)
Michael Vick is confirmed to start on Sunday in this division rivalry which explains the large spread.  The Giants were lucky to win by 12 on Monday Night and are dealing with a lot of injuries at the moment.  Eli looks pretty average and expect the only way this game stays close is for him to not turn over the ball and exploit the weakness of the Eagles D which is the defending against the run.  The Eags should keep things simple at home and not expose their Vick to many extra hits and should win here - but NOT a best bet for us.

Miami (+3) @ Cleveland 
Don't have a super strong opinion on this game.  Miami is away from home which actually could benefit them as they are just 1 for last 12 at home.  Cleveland has been a bit of a disappointment compared to what was expected coming out of pre-season.  Peyton Hillis has is feeling sick on Saturday with a Fever and expect Cleveland to continue struggling if he not 100%.   Like the Fish to bull a minor upset here on the road.

Denver @ Tennessee (-7)
The Titans are a bit shizzo to predict.  They appeared to be the better team against Jacksonville but lost.  They were predicted to lose last week against Baltimore but took advantage of a flat team.  Clearly Denver is the inferior team here and dealing with some key injuries and shaky QB play so we would back Tennessee or nothing here.  Leaning on a stay away as 7 just seams like a lot for Tennessee to cover.

Lions (-3) @ Minnesota
Count D$ as another person who is drinking the Lions Kool-Aid!  I fully realize this sets up to be a bit of TRAP GAME, (public perception high on Lions and low at moment for Vikes), but gonna keep riding the Leos until they get injured or lose a game.

Jacksonville @ Carolina (-3)
Rookie QB, Blaine Gabbert, will be making his first start for the Jags on Sunday.  This has the Vegas Sharps liking their chops as the Jags are on the road and only getting 3 points against Cam Newton and the Panthers. Newton has been the story of the early NFL season with his exciting play making ability.  We like him to get his first win of the NFL season this week.

Stay tuned for our late game predictions...... coming soon.

NFL WEEK 2 PREVIEW

Lets get on with a quick run through for Week 2:

CHI @ NO -7

Take Nawlins because of their offensive power even though their defense got worked at Green Bay last week. The Bears’ offense looked pretty solid with an offensive line that gave redemption to overrated fantasy leaguer, Matt Forte. He had gaping hoes to run through and got plenty of YAC during well-executed screens. The Bears defense showed it’s typical freakiness with Brian Urlacher leading the charge. The rational side of the brain is saying to take the Bears and the points, but my gut is saying that New Orleans will cover with their offensive output and the Superdome advantage.

KC @ DET -9

Consider this a gift that Detroit’s not favored by the 14-15 points the score should end up as. KC is brutal in all facets where Stafford and Calvin Johnson will be having a hayday with Chiefs safety Eric Berry out for the season with a torn ACL. The Lions D-Line should have a dominant performance over the Pats sloppy seconds!

JAX @ NYJ -9

The Jets should dominate Jacksonville, although there will be no money laid on this game. The Jets and Cowboys both showed, last week, that they are 2 talented and potentially dominating teams, but they will implode at various points either with their QB blunders or Coaching blunder calls. The timing of these implosions is extremely unpredictable, so the Jets and Cowboys are stay away games until further notice.

OAK @ BUF -4

Oakland didn’t look as bad as we thought last week, and Buffalo looked way better than anybody thought last week, even if it was at a horrible Kansas City team. B-Lo QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick remains a gamer despite his lack of the righteous playoff beard from last year. The Bills defense was impressive last week as well. The crappy thing is that at press time, Buffalo’s -4 spread was at -115. This shows that there is plenty of money coming in for the Bills as it did last week right before kick-off. Unfortunately, the Bills won’t be an underrated team ATS and they won’t be as easy money as we’d like them to be.

ARI @ WASH -4

Two crappy teams, but Sexy Rexy Grossman gets another chance for 300 yards vs. an atrocious Cardinal secondary. Kevin Kolb should become a stabilizing QB for the Cards, but will need a week or two to gain the needed consistency.

BAL -6.5 @ TEN

The bottom-line with the Titans is that Matt Hasselbeck will be benched in lieu of rookie Jake Locker by Week 9. And Chris Johnson will bust out and get 1200 yards for the season. But his rust and the Titans slow start in Week 1 will give the Raven’s veteran defense the upper hand, and Baltimore’s offense is running at full throttle. If this game was slated later in the season, then the Chris Johnson factor would make it intriguing, but tomorrow should be a Ravens double-digit victory.

SEA @ PIT -14.5

Tough to give a Pitt team that turned the ball over 7 times in Week 1 a 3 score head start ATS even if it is versus the Seattle Shithawks. But Mike Tomlin is the best coach in sports (!), and he will have the Steelers recovering from their Week 1 blunder. Rational thinking says to take Seattle +14.5 because of the high spread being applied too early into the season, but my hunch says to take the Steel. (Not Blue Steel, as at the time I was typing this preview, Zoolander was on the tube……next to Mark Wahlberg’s “The Lovely Bones”, the worst movie ever!)

GB -10.5 @ CAR

Welcome to the NFL, Cam Newton!

TB @ MIN -3

At press time, the Vikes are 3 point favorites but at -115 odds. This might suggest that more money is coming in for Jaaaaash Freeman and the Bucs. This is a match up between 2 potential bracket busters, but I’ll give the tie-breaker to the Vikes and the Adrian Peterson factor. I agree with Bill Simmons, in that, after this loss, the Bucs could very well win their next 5 games.

CLE -2 @ IND

Indianapolis should be in Week 2 of their 4-week state of shock dealing with the loss of Peyton. And Cleveland should learn from last week that giving Colt McCoy 40 throws and Peyton Hillis only 17 touches is like giving Charlie Sheen the key to Pablo Escobar’s secret vault….a bad idea! If the Browns learn to ride Hillis down the Colts throat, this should be enough to beat the Indianapolis Andrew Luck All-Stars.

DAL -3 @ SF

See the JAX @ NYJ. Stay away from Romo and the ‘Boys!

HOU @ MIA +3

Total scout game. If you wanna lay money down, then we’re going straight Law of Costanza here and going with the Fish. This is due to the fact that my hunch is all for the Texans, which means that the Fish should win outright. Just like George…..if every Houston pick by CrazyDavo is wrong, then the opposite must be correct.

CIN +3.5 @ DEN

Same as previous takes regarding the Broncos….when the whole Bronco nation is craving for the start of a third string QB, then there is not much options in the Mile High City. Especially since, 1^st string QB, Kyle Orton had Kobe Bryant-like tantrums at his own teammates in Week 1. Take the Bengals and their surprisingly good defense.

PHI -3 @ ATL

Take the Michael Vick homecoming. Plus ATL looked really bad on both sides of the ball last week. Their lack of tackling most likely will not be rectified in 1 week. The main question for the Eagles is their offensive line, as Vick was forced to scramble a lot, however Vick seems to find a way to counteract this with his improving arm.

STL +7 @ NYJ

Both teams are suffering many injuries. Flip a coin on the ugliest Monday night show since Shasta McNasty hit the airwaves!

CrazyDavo out!

WEEK 1 AFTERNOON GAMES RECAP

CAR 21 @ ARI 28

Spread closed at ARI -7

Result: PUSH

EasyCovers Bet: ARI -7 (Push)

New Arizona QB Kevin Kolb came as expected with a 300-yard performance, however getting those yards and completions in an ugly fashion. If anything, Kolb adds much needed stability from the Anderson/Leinart failed duo since the Kurt Warner hayday. Hopefully Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald will find more chemistry with Fitzgerald getting 3 receptions from only 7 throws in his direction.

Speaking of chemistry, Carolina Receiver, Steve Smith seems to have found a QB to throw to him in order to quiet his complaining the past couple of seasons. However, the Cardinals secondary was atrocious with huge gaps for Smith to get off 2 big touchdowns and no tackling for a lot of Carolina YAC! (Yards After Catch). QB Cam Newton had an amazing debut, albeit somewhat inflated due to this horrible Cardinal coverage.

Overall, Arizona still needs to figure it out on both sides of ball next week @ WAS vs. a now-over-valued Rex Grossman (who fluked out a 300 yard day at home vs. a hapless New York Touch Football Giants). Depending on the opening spreads for next week, we’re staying away from ARI @ WAS.

MIN 17 @ SD 24

Spread closed at SD -8.5

Result MIN +8.5

EasyCovers Bet: SD -8.5 (Loss)

As expected from the Chargers and a bit of a surprise from the Vikings.

The strengths from San Diego came as expected from Philip Rivers being Philip Rivers, and the Chargers Special Teams being the Chargers Special Teams. Minnesota opened the game with a Kick-off return to the house with their Place Kicker getting knocked out the game to boot. This blew our cover by SD, as they had to go for it on 4^th down inside the 25 yard line in the first half, rather than kicking the field goal. Leave it to the incompetence of Norv Turner to have no emergency back-up field goal kickers. Heck, N-Dominate Suh was an emergency place kicker for Detroit last year! Thanks a lot Norv!

Minnesota exploited their obvious strength in Adrian Peterson carrying the ball for typical AP yards. Plus any questions regarding Donavan McNabb was answered by his 15 total pass attempts. Even Gus Frerotte could hand the ball to AP for Viking W’s. And that’s the post-self inflicted concussion Gus Frerotte from his Redskin days!

Minnesota will squeak wins from AP and the dirty speed of Percy Harvin. (let’s not forget the Minnesota defense…..we haven’t forgotten that sweet INT Mr. Allen. Damn, an All- Pro Defensive Lineman in pass coverage?!?)

But the Vikes have Tampa Bay at home next week, which is a stay away between 2 evenly matched tweener teams.

SEA 17 SF 33

Spread closed at SF -6

Result: SF -6

EasyCovers Bet: SF -6 (Won)

Take off the 2 Ted Ginn special teams touchdowns, and the actual score would indicate how atrocious both teams are. Tavaris “Non-Action” Jackson looked like the second coming of Dave Krieg….mediocre! The Niner’s coverage left Jesse Ventura from Predator-type gaps for Seahawks’ receivers to extend drives.

Both rushing games were non-existent, especially the lac of running gaps for Frank “Your Mothers A” Gore. And Alex Smith is still the Steve Lavin of the NFL with his record tenure as a 7-year interim QB.

Cue in an opening spread of PIT -13 at home to SEA next week, which is a huge stay away, since the Shithawks are crappy, but will PIT wake up next week from their flat tire this week at Baltimore?

NYTFG 14 WAS 28

Spread closed at NYTFG -1

Result: WAS +1

EasyCover Bet: NYTFG -1 (Loss)

Trust the blog!!! D$ previewed to take the Skins. That’s on CrazyDavo for convincing him to take the New York Touch Football Giants!

Were the pre-season injuries to key Giants defensive players the reason Rexy Grossman looked so sexy with his 300-yard day?

Also, the NYTFG Offense was non-existent with their yards gained early in drives, but Peyton Jr. couldn’t deliver on 3^rd down or get the Giants inside the red zone during these failed drives vs. a weak Skins D.

Eli Manning seems to be this generations Joe Namath by living off one Super Bowl victory while doing nothing else in his career. Cue in an Eli drunken slobering pass onto Suzie Kolber’s neice 30 years down the road.

The EasyCovers Insanity Staff LOVES LOVES LOVES the spread next week with NYTFG at home to an under-rated St. Louis Rams. More to come throughout the week on this game!

That’s it. So far we’ve taken a hit in Week 1 ATS, but this is due to an unprecedented amount of turnover’s not in our favor. This is not a Vancouver Canucks-like excuse with too many injuries by the time the puck was dropped in Game 7, but it is what it is.

Onto Monday night! We like the Pats to deliver by double digits in Miami. But we are still interested to see the up and coming defense of The Fish, especially from CFL convert, Cam Wake.

And we’re staying from the AFC West Toilet Bowl game in the Mile High City.

Good night nooooooooooooowww!

CrazoDavo and D$. Out!

WEEK 1 MORNING GAME RECAPS

Merry Christmas! Here’s a quick take on the morning games and the Thursday games! It’s so good to be back! …..and Brett Favra’s nads are no where to be found!

Enjoy!

NO 34 @ GB 42

Pretty much a preview of the NFC Championship game. The difference was Aaron Rodgers was more of a surgeon than Drew “Live Crew” Brees and the Pack Attack’s defense was impressive especially with the clutch goal-line ATS-saving goal-line stance with no time on the clock.

IND 7 @ HOU 34

No take on Houston just yet. They have a lot to prove in order to take the AFC South which is still there’s to lose. Tennessee and Jacksonville still left a lot to be desired. Tattoo the AFC South as the Ugly Betty Division of the NFL as all division games between any of those 4 teams will be as attractive as a desperate Cougar at last call wondering down Granville Street.

Indy has slapped Cincinnati in the face as far as the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes go, and their college scouts will be seen with 50-yard seats at every Stanford game this year! Paint Andrew Luck as the next Aaron Rodgers as the Colts will pull off a 1996-97 San Antonio Spurs sandbag season by getting the first Twin Tower QB tandem since Steamin’ Willie Beamon and Cap Rooney.

The Colts looked brutal! Signing David Garrard or Brett Favre won’t help at all for the Colts, they were in utter shock at how brutal they are and will be for the year!

BUF 41 @ KC 7

All takes were correct in how tragic KC will be at all facets of the ball. They pretty much are stacked with New England Patriots cast offs with the Head Coach, Off/Def Coordinators and QB being Patriots sloppy seconds for the Chiefs. They are the Sean Avery Team of the NFL. Sorry Burtzy!

There was no timing on offense and a tackle was as rare as a Jeff Burt facial hair! Cue KC learning the same lessons as Denver did by eventually cleaning house from their Patriots experiment ala Josh McDaniels being shipped out of the Mile High.

B-Lo did not disappoint and look poised to be this year’s Detroit Lions Ascention-Outta-the-Basement Team. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked sharp, as did the B-Lo defense. Although they will rename nameless for the whole year, they will continue to surprise. It looks like the sharps have already caught up on the Bills in terms of laying down the chee$e as the line moved 2 whole points before kickoff in Buffalo’s favor.

PIT 7 @ BAL 35

Right takes for this game, except for opposite teams. The thought was that Pitt’s offense would be high octane and Baltimore looked great to go with the Steelers rust.

Quoth-The-Ravens are deeeeeeep at running back with Ray Rice going Ray Rice with the depth of Ricky Williams adding great depth. From the crazy channel surfing of Sunday Ticket, I was unable to see any carries by Vonta Leach.

Age has not creaped up on Ray Lewis and Ed Reed with their key interceptions. The Ravens have already sprinted out of the AFC blocks with Pitt pulling their best Usain Bolt impression with their false start. 7 turnovers will do that to a team. Ouch Steel-town!

TEN 14 @ JAX 16

No real take on Jax just yet, other than new starting QB Cade McNown didn’t look that outta place for the Jags. The Jags did what they needed to do to squeak a W from the hapless Titans.

Matt Hasselbeck is not the answer for Tennessee. Bad pre-season take on my part. And Chris Johnson did look rusty coming out of his holdout in the shortened Texan pre-season.

This result is neither teams fault, but rather CBS’. If they weren’t a-holes to Gus Johnson, this would have been infused with Gus Karma and the Titan comeback attempt late in the 4^th quarter would have given us a last second win and a Gus heart Attack Call.

ATL 12 @ CHI 30

The Yippe-Ki-Yay Mr. Falcons looked horrible on both sides of the ball. They’re defensive line left gaping holes never before seen since Jesse Ventura’s chest in Predator, for Bear RB Matt Forte to resurrect his fantasy resume. Their linebackers couldn’t make a tackle if their lives depended on it. Any coverage from their secondary was as lacking as Peyton Manning’s neck rehab media coverage over the summer! The Falcons look bad! Gimme an O! “Ohhhh”! Gimme a “verrated!”….what’s that spell!?!?!?

The jury is still out for Chicago. But they may make us some money next week as this inflated score based on Falcon turnovers may over-inflate the Bears spread next week @ New Orleans. This should be a juicy spread as the handicappers may not give as much points for the Saints from their loss to Green Bay and give too much for the Da Bears. Look for a juicy spread for the Saints on Monday!

PHI 31 @ STL 13

Philly did what they did to cover. The score is a bit inflated, as the game was in question for the majority of the game. The schedule for Philly and their huge media hype is an extended pre-season until Week friggin 12 at home to the Pats. Look for the Eagles to cover in ugly fashion and take advantage of a super-easy schedule this year!

Speaking of schedules, St. Louis has a murderers row of game every second week until mid-Nov at home to Baltimore, New Orleans and at Green Bay. We’ll get a good take on Sam Bradford’s handle of the pass rush and secondary as Philly came as advertised today.

The scary thing about the Eagles’ secondary is they STILL can improve. They are licking their collective chops at the thought of covering Matt Ryan duck passes next week!

DET 27 @ TB 20

Pretty much another as-advertised game between these two evenly matched tweener teams. This tough home opener loss by the Bucs may give us some points next week at Minnesota who is, at press time, giving San Diego a run for their money.

Detroit’s defense, particularly Still-Dominate Suh hasn’t digressed as much as I thought they would. Cue in a tough over-valued spread next week vs. KC in Pontiac Superdome Jr. Well, actually……anything under double digits will be a gift vs. the hapless Chiefs.

CIN 27 @ CLE 17

Cincinnati didn’t look as pathetic as we all thought, especially on defense. However, Cleveland did not utilize any player properly with Peyton Hillis getting a pedestrian amount of carries with only 17. The Browns Offensive Coordinator play calling was reminiscent of a Kenny Bania set and forcing 40 friggin passes from Colt McCoy. Ovaltine!?!?!? That IS NOT gold Jerry!!!!