Countdown to Kickoff - NFL Week #8

#1 Auburn, #2 Oregon, and #3 Boise State all took care of business this week and for the first time all month we won't see any changes atop the BCS Standing. 

Two minor surprises from Saturday action had #14 Nebraska take down #6 Missouri.and #5 Michigan State getting beat down by #18 Iowa.

Now it is time for the professionals to step on the field of play for an interesting week of action.  Lots changes at the QB position.  Romo (right) is out probably for the season, in comes Jon Kitna for the cowboys.  (side note: raise your hand if you knew Kitna was still in the league.... that's what I thought, hardly anyone.)

Matthew Stafford is back for the Lions, Vince Young should start for the Titans,  Troy Smith is starting for the 49ers, and old man Favre is scheduled to try out the ankle for the Vikings.

Here are the best bets heading into kickoff:

Bills @ Chiefs (-7)
As written earlier this week, we like the Chiefs to come out and be able to run the ball in the 2nd half and take control of this game.  The line has moved from -8 to -7 in our favour as people are believing the Bills are not as bad after a close loss to the Ravens.  Guess what, the Bills are 0-6!  They are scrappy, but they have no talent and can't win here.  Riding the favourite, take the Chiefs.   (Side Note:  Gus Johnson will be calling this game.)

Redskins @ Lions (-3)
Been reading this week that the line makers have set the line like this to get the public to back the Redskins.  As mentioned in our write up earlier this week, the Lions should be the fresher and healthier team in this contest and getting Stafford back can only help.  Take the home team and ride Detriot.

Panthers @ Rams (-3)
No Deangelo Williams for this game, means one less weapon for the Kitties to throw at the Rams.  This line is surprising me as the Panthers are not a good football team and are even worse when they go on the the road.  Rams are a strong play this week.

Dolphins (+1) @ Bengals
Cincinnati is coming off a bye, but just can't trust them with Carson Palmer at QB.  He has been great at padding his stats during 'junk' time, but when the game is on the line he has thown key interceptions and turned the ball over.  The Dolphins are 3-0 on the road and we like them to become 4-0.  Riding the fish here.

Packers @ Jets (-6)
The Packers are still pretty injured at the moment and are in a tough spot with the Jets fresh off a bye and healthy.  The Packers can't run the ball and will have a tough time throwing against a great secondary for the Jets.  The Jets will be able to the run the ball and wear down the Packers and by the fourth quarter should be able to establish dominance and put away the Pack. 

Other leanings this week....

• Steelers (+1) over Saints.  The Saints just lost to the Browns, a team that the Stealers beat by 20 two weeks ago.  Until the Saints get a running game, I can't trust them to beat a good team like the Steelers.
• Patriots (-5) over Vikings.  Can't see a banged up Favre leading this team to a victory here.

Good Luck in Week #8.
D$ Out.

NBA Season Begins Tonight

Tip off to the 2010-11 NBA Season is underway - hard to believe the regular season begins tonight as it feels like the finals just ended the other day. The season starts with a marquee matchup between the Celtics and the Heat.  Later on we see two other games with the Trail Blazers vs the Suns and the Lakers taking on the Rockets. 

As reported on ESPN, Lebron James better watch out as a Cleveland radio show has hired a witch doctor to put a curse on James.  No sour grapes from the Cavs fans at all eh?http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/news/story?id=5730079

 Season win total bets are closed now, but it will be interesting to see if the Heat live up to all the hype and if the Lakers can repeat with 5-2 odds.

An early look at the NFL Week #8 games worth a best bet:

Panthers @ Rams (-3)
St. Louis has been under-rated all year.  This team almost pulled off a road upset against Tampa last week - leading for most of the game and ended up covering.  They get a fabulous matchup this week with the Kitties coming to town.  The Panthers barely beat a terrible 49ers squad at home.  With Steven Jackson expected to play this week this line should have been higher and we like Sam Bradford and his boys to win big this week.   Kitties 9  Rams 24

Bills @ Chiefs (-8)
At first glance this might be an opportunity to take the points and fad the favourite here, but the Bills this past week were a flukey cover against Baltimore.  The Ravens just came off a loss and were not 'up' for playing the worst team in the NFL.  The Chiefs won against Jacksonville and should have no problem beating the Bills here with a solid run game.  I see lots of points getting scored,  Bills 24, Chiefs 34

Redskins @ Lions (-3)
The Lions have covered nearly all their games this year.  Fresh off a bye, with their starting QB Stafford back in the lineup and more rest for Javid Best and Calvin Johnson to heal minor injuries, this team is prime to give a tired Redskins squad a hard time this week.  The Skins were extremely lucky to win against a turnover prone Bears squad.  Like the Lions to get win #2 this week.  Redskins 17  Lions 34

Othere early leans....

• Although they can't win at home, the Dolphins look interesting as dogs to against an over-rated Bengals team.
• The Broncos will be hungry to get their manhood back against the 49ers who are staring their backup QB.

With the world series starting tomorrow we are in gambling heaven.   NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and NCAA football all happening right now.  Enjoy!

D$ Out.

NFL Week #7 And Another #1 Falls in NCAA

Another Week of NCAA Football, and another #1 on the road falls.  Unbelievable!  This time Oklahoma gets beat by Missouri and it is party time in Columbia!

The BCS is wide open this year and the losses of the big name schools keep the door open for Boise State to make a case to be including in the BCS championship if they keep winning games.

Next #1 looks to be Oregon.  Let's see if they can last longer than a week at the top.

Now it is NFL kickoff time and here are the 5 best bets for Week #7:

Jacksonville @ Kansas City (-9.0)
As stated earlier this week, we really like the Chiefs here. Gotta like KC when Jacksonville is starting their 3rd string QB with Garrad out with an injury.

Cincinnati @ Atlanta (-3.5)
Another game we previewed earlier this week. The dirty birds are solid at home and will be hungry to get back on track after laying an egg last week. Carson Palmer is not a good QB anymore which makes us like this even more.

Cleveland (+13.5) @ New Orleans
Seriously think Cleveland could surprise New Orleans for an outright upset here. Take the points as don't think the Saints can cover 2 TDs here.

Washington (+3.0) @ Chicago
The bears O-line is terrible and can't keep Jay Culter upright. The Redskins have their flaws, but if McNabb doesn't turn the ball over too much here this should be a defensive struggle and like getting the points here. Redskins 20, Bears 17

Pittsburgh (-3.0) @ Miami
The fish are 0-2 at home this year and don't like their chances against Big Ben and the Steelers. The Steelers D will allow Field Goals but don't see Miami being able to score too many TD here. Steelers 23 Fish 16

Other leanings this week...
Eagles +3 over Titans
Baltimore -14 over Bills
Rams +3 over Bucs
Patriots +3 over Chargers
Raiders +7.5 over Broncos

Good luck this week and lets cash some tickets!
D$

Yankess vs Phillies in the World Series... Not So Fast!!

MLB Roundup:  The Yankees starting pitching is being exposed and they will face elimination on Wednesday afternoon in Game #5.  At the start of the series there were some serious prop bets having the Phillies re-matching against the Yankees in the Series this year, but the smarter money may have been on the opposite futures bet with the Giants and Rangers clearly in the driver seat.  The Phillies still have a decent shot at making that series go seven, but I will be surprised if the Rangers don't wrap this series in 6 games at home with Cliff Lee on the mound. 

NFL Early Looks:  Lots of 3 point spreads for Week #7, we like a few of them already and couple others.

Jacksonville @ Kansas City (-4.5)
The Chiefs are under-rated and will be hungry after a loss against the Texans.  They had a good chance to win against some solid teams the past two weeks and now are moving into their softer part of their schedule and could easily go on a 4-1 run in their next five games.  (Bills, Raiders, & Arizona all coming up afterwards)  The Chiefs can run the ball and play decent defense and appear to be a team who should beat the mediocre squads but will have trouble beating the elite teams.  Watch the injury reports for this one and see where the spread ends up later this week.

Cincinnati @ Atlanta (-3.5)
The Bengals are not that good as Carson Palmer is not an elite QB anymore.  Atlanta holds a solid home record over the past two seasons of 11-3 when Matt Ryan is the QB.  I see this trend continuing and like the dirty birds to bounce back after a lackluster effort against the Eagles.

Cleveland (+13.5) @ New Orleans
Cleveland should have covered against the Steelers last week if not for junk touchdown late in their game.  New Orleans isn't playing as well as the Steelers, and having to cover this many points might be a struggle against the Browns. and a surprising poise Colt McCoy.

Buffalo @ Baltimore (-13)
The Bills are the worst team in the league and going on the road to face a Ravens D - that could cover this spread on their own - is not looking promising.  Definitely like Baltimore in a Survivor pool, teaser and ATS this week.  Dare I say... an easy cover.

More to come.  D$

NFL Week #6 Recap

Some quick takes from this past week of pro football action:

1) Best bets were 2-3. this week.  Gambling Rule #14:  No excuses - play like a champ, BUT losing by 0.5 points on two separate games sure hurts.  Easily could have been a nice profitable 4-1 week, but I guess we could have been 1-4 if Big Ben doesn't throw a late TD to cover the 14 against the Browns. 

2) Houston's defense is terrible.  They are only going to be able to win games by outscoring their opponents (see Exhibit A : vs Redskins during Week #2 or Exhibit B : vs KC in Week #6 as classic examples).  Don't think we can really trust them ATS for the rest of the season, but if the Texans are playing mediocre defenses we will have a leaning towards the OVER.

3) KC is good this year.  More to come tomorrow about this topic.

4) Detriot is 5-1 against the spread this year, with a 1-5 SU record.  They will be getting healthy after a bye and already looking at them for Week #8 in two weeks against the Redskins - especially if the Redskins win next week.

Best Bets - NFL Week 6

There certainly is a lot of jumping around happening in Wisconsin with the Badgers pulling the upset over #1 Ohio State.  Second week in a row we see the #1 team lose.  Looks like the Ducks from Oregon will take over the top spot and perhaps Boise State going to be #2.  Look out for Oklahoma though, but they first got a big matchup against Missouri next week - if they get through that they got a shot at BCS glory.  

Now it's time for kickoff to NFL Week #6.  The leaders of all the betting contests have been riding the underdogs hard this season.  Not much strategy to picking 14 underdogs but it seems to be working well.  Does the trend continue?  Lets see our 5 best bets:

1) Pittsburgh -14 vs Cleveland.   Hard to back a team that is starting a third round rookie QB (McCoy) in his first ever game in the NFL againist the #1 defense in the league.  (There could be a lot of moments like this picture on the right.) As long as Big Ben plays a solid game this should be a beat down. 

2) Atlanta +2.5 @ Philly.  Atlanta has a great running game which should be able to control the time of possession here and wear down an average Eagles defense. The Eagles will have trouble with pass pretection as their LT Jason Peters is out with injury and his replacement was a big reason the 49ers were able to crawl back in the 2nd half last week and make it close game. The dirty birds might be the better side here so like the fact we are getting points.

3) Houston -4.5 vs Kansas City.  Mostly just following CrazyDavo's Constanza theory here.  Kansas City is in a tough spot and Houston appears to be a zig - zag team who should be zigging with a healthier line up at home.  Kansas City QB doesn't have ability or the receivers to take advantage of the Texans weakness which is their secondary.  KC is still in good shape and like them with the upcoming schedule for future weeks.

4) Miami +3.5 vs Green Bay.  Way too many injuries for the Packers to overcome here especially playing a hungry team coming off the bye.  The Packers are too one demensional with no running game and have to rely heavily on Rodgers - Miami will be up to the challenge.

5)  Denver +3.5 vs NY Jets.  This is basically a bad spot for the Jets.  They have played 3 straight 'big' games and now have to travel across the country on a short week to play a team who also seems to zig-zag in the Broncos.  The Bronc catch a break with Revis and Pace not 100% and Kyle Orton is playing well.

If I was looking to add some games to make this a teaser, liking STL +15, DET +16, BAL +10, TB +11, and CHI -1 to the mix for an interesting 10 gamer.

Good Luck and lets win some money!

Saturday Morning News and Notes

NCAA College Basketball:  Hummel retears ACL
Robbie Hummel of Purdue re-tears his ACL on Saturday morning - out for the season.  Check out the story on ESPN.  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5691032


NFL:  Las Vegas Hilton Super Contest Week #6 Now Posted
Be sure to check out what the Vegas sharps are picking in the Las Vegas Hilton Super Contest before laying down your cheese this week.  Check out the details here:  http://www.lvhilton.com/Supercontest

NFL: Starting QBs for Week #6
Teams with QB issues due to injuries have listed their starters for Week #6...

Browns :  Colt McCoy

Eagles : Kevin Kolb

Raiders : Jason Cambell
Packers : Aaron Rodgers (probable)
(Source  ESPN)

Saturday Night Jump Around in Wisconsin

Saturday College Football has kicked off for another week. Canadians miss out on being able to watch one of the best college traditions in sports during the #1 OSU vs #18 Wisconsin Badgers. The 4th Quarter Jump Around. (As game is on ESPNU 7:00pm EST.)

Here's hoping that the Badgers can hang tough vs mighty #1 and then we can start cheering hard for the upset. (Badgers are listed as a 4.5 point underdawg at the moment.)

If you have no idea what the jump around is - then crawl out from under your rock and check out this video. Camp Randall goes crazy with the stadium jumping around to 'House of Pain'.  The Fans, Cheerleaders, Mascots, the band, and usually even the opponent join in on the fun. Crazy good atmosphee and definitely something I think may need to be added to my bucket list. Enjoy!