Anyone else sick of the Miami Heat?

I already am over the Miami Heat.

Does anyone really care that Miami is practicing on an Air Force base? Like this team needs another reason to draw more attention to itself. Sports Center is basically going balls deep on this team and ESPN has it plastered all over its Web site already. Do I really need a recap of how LeBron James did during defensive drills? I am pretty sure training camp is just as interesting in Miami as it is in New Orleans: boring as hell.

The Heat, which opened the season at 25-to-1 to win the title and has dropped down to a league-low 7-to-5 has an over/under of 63.5 wins. I can’t wait to go big against them on the under. Maybe it’s my irrational hatred of them – I will admit that I can’t wait to see the team play – but I don’t need any more Heat love.

Sure, it’s better than ANOTHER Lakers feature or Phil Jackson interview, but there is only so much Heat blowing that I can take. As a huge NBA fan, I can’t wait for the season to start. However, let’s stay cool on the Heat until we see them actually play in a real game.

How do you feel about the Heat? Are you ready for the season to start? Sick of all the Miami love?                          &n... [More]

Frisky CFB Dogs This Weekend

There are a number of games featuring ranked teams this weekend, but let’s take a gander at those featuring a double-digit favorite or a ranked team versus an unranked one that could lead to some nice quan for those brave enough to play the dog.
Temple (3-0) at Penn State (2-1)The Owls have beaten just Villanova, Central Michigan and Connecticut, but those teams went a combined 34-8 last year. Temple isn’t a world beater, but Penn State still has a true freshman at quarterback and has forced turnovers in only one of three games this season. The Owls are no stranger to Happy Valley and are a solid value at +425.
Tulane (1-1) at Houston (2-1)The Green Wave aren’t world beaters, but the team plays to its strengths, controlling the ball and trying to keep the score low. The team also played a very close game against Mississippi two weeks ago as they shut down the Rebels in the second half and go into a rhythm. Houston also must overcome the loss of its first and second-string quarterback as freshman quarterback Terrance Broadway, who the team wanted to redshirt, will make his first start. The Green Wave at +750 is intriguing. 
Oregon Ducks (3-0) at Arizona State Sun Devils (2-1)OK, so a team that has 189 points in 180 minutes is tough to go against. But follow me. The Sun Devils demonstrated a newfound toughness last week at Wisconsin where only a missed PAT kept them from pushing a Top 10 team to the brink. The Ducks have few holes and even won at Tennessee, but th... [More]

Epic NFL Week 2 Betting Moment

I reached over and grabbed my friend’s paw on the table of the pizza buffet where we were transfixed on the Chief’s fourth-and-1 dilemma late in their game against the Browns. Leading by only two points, Kansas City opted to go for it from Cleveland’s 35 with less than two minutes left and effectively ice the game. My boy turned his head and looked at me.

“You’re holding my hand. Stop it.”

I looked directly at him: “It’s not gay when football is involved.”

Maybe even Derrick Thomas was looking down on us.....

Well, not just football, but way more money than either of us – an inner-city public school teacher and unemployed law student – should have wagered on the yellow and red. But when we saw that Seneca Wallace was to take the place of Jake Delhomme -- super, double disaster -- we both jumped at the chance to make a lot of extra green we both desperately needed.

He snatched his hand away as Thomas Jones hurdled a pile of bodies for the first down. But then we both jumped in the air and my friend put me in a bear hug.

Pretty straight.

What’s your best betting moment so far this season? Any clutch performances or last-second covers that made your bankroll bulge?

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Pumped for the return of The League on FX

I’m no shill for FX. I don’t watch Rescue Me or Sons of Anarchy.

But I didn’t miss one episode of The League last season. Sure, the commercials now are annoying as hell and really don’t represent the show that well. Trust me. Get past them and tune in on Thursday night at 10:30. Right about then you should be cashing the under from the Cincinnati at North Carolina State game anyway. Check out some highlights from last season. Me and my boys had chain emails going out after each episode. This clip is from this season coming up.

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Mark Sanchez is Trent Dilfer 2.0

How am I supposed to believe that a guy who went 10-for-21 with 74 yards in the team's home opener on Monday night is going to lead the Jets to the AFC crown and a berth in the Super Bowl?

It’s really beyond ridiculous how many people entered the season touting the second-year signal caller as a messiah for New York. But let’s get some perspective: if he wins games it won’t be for the stats he puts up – Sanchez is owned in only 29.2 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Last season he had four games with at least two interceptions and three games with three or more picks. Overall in his rookie year, he finished with 12 touchdowns against a staggering 20 interceptions. Also, he completed just 53.8 percent of his throws in his freshman season. And don’t forget – it took the Colts and Bengals virtually laying down and playing scrubs for the Jets to make the postseason. How are these guys Super Bowl favorites again?

No one doubts that the Jets have a great, play-making defense. But if the burden to go through New England, San Diego, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Miami, Houston and Indianapolis falls on Sanchez, don’t bet on it. He’s not a game-winner. He’s a game manager.

Can Sanchez still be elite? How overrated are the Jets?

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Attending NFL games is overrated

I don’t know if I will ever again pay money to go see an NFL game.

Sure, if I get a great deal on tickets or score a press credential I likely won’t pass it up. But go out of my way to secure tickets? Doubtful.

First off, why would I want to pay nearly $100 after conveniences charges for upper-deck seats? Not only are the nose-bleeds not worth that kind of green unless we are talking about the Super Bowl, but let’s also talk about the $11 sandwiches and $9 beers that are for sale at the concession stands. And if I somehow manage to stomach all of those costs, I need to try to keep down my food and drink as some jerk the row behind me curses his head off and starts rambling about pride and tradition.

Tell me again why I want to hang out with these guys instead of at the bar with friends or on my couch?

The guy behind me in the seats at the Navy-MD game this weekend wouldn’t shut up about the great Ravens tradition and how these teams should be honored to be playing on such an historic field. At that point I would have paid another $200 for a revolver and another $300 for a single bullet.

Now I can sit home and follow all my fantasy teams and wagers on a leather couch with Red Zone and snack on my cheap eats I got at the store. Save my quan for something worthwhile? Sit in a m... [More]

Is Sam Querrey the Great American Hope?

If an American man is to win the U.S. Open for the first time since 2003, it likely will fall to Sam Querrey.

Heading into Monday’s fourth round in Flushing Meadows, only Querrey, the 20th-seed, and No. 19 seed Mardy Fish were left to represent the host country. But the road to a Grand Slam title will get considerably harder. Fish (+275) has to get past No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic on Monday, a tall task for a player with only a pair of singles titles on this season’s ATP Tour.

But the road is less troublesome for Querrey. At least in this round.

Stanislas Wawrinka, the No. 25 seed, upset stud and No. 4 seed Andy Murray, making Querrey a -140-favorite in their match.

And while Querrey and Fish are hardly a renaissance of American tennis, the duo represent hope and chance for a U.S. player to win a Grand Slam on their own soil. That’s something that couldn’t be said last year when no American reached the quarterfinals in the 118 year history of the event.

"It's kind of like any sport. You've got waves where you'll have a group of Americans in the top 10,” Querrey told the Associated Press. “You might have a couple years where we don't. It's like with the Lakers: They'll win some championships, and [then] they won't make the playoffs. It's just like that."

Can Querrey keep his run going? Does Fish have a shot again... [More]

New Nike Pro Combat uniforms are freaking hideous

Have you seen the new Nike Pro Combat uniforms? Now I am no fashionista and I am an admitted Penn State fan, so I love the plain and ordinary like the Nittany Lion's all-white away uniforms. However, this new Nike uniforms are enough to even make a school like Oregon throw up their wings in disgust. 



That one in the middle? In the red? That's Ohio State. With the girlie letter script that looks like it was written on a 7th grader's trapper keeper. The red helmet is an homage to an earlier team at the school that won a national title with leather helmets. Um, there's a reason they don't use those anymore. And it has to do with the fact they are ugly as hell.

How about Miami's new duds:



It seriously looks like an Orange threw up on itself. Also, just go ahead and start making jokes about that looking like the jump-suit the players get at the Miami-Dade County lockdown following their playing careers. Seriously Nike, some thought going into these would have been nice.

But Viriginia Tech's new uniforms really take the cake. The Hokies haven't had black as part of their uniform colors in over a century. What the hell? Nike thinks it will look cool so who are we to argue? Seriously, this is just damn ridiculous now. Is Frank Beamer still alive?



Anyway, here's the link to check them all out in photo gallery format.

W... [More]