GoG's Playbook

--- Best bets: 1-0 (+ 2 U)

Car (+3.5)... win

NYG (-13)... lose

*Phi (-3)... win

Det/SF (Ov 44.5)... lose

GB (+3.5)... lose

---ML Bets: 2-6 (- 1.2 U)

Car (3:2)... 1-0

NO, Hou, Jax, Det (2:1)... 1-3

Oak, NYJ, StL (3:1)... 0-3

Bal (-2)

Missou (-20) H

Missou (-34)

Tex (-17) H

Tex (-27.5)

PSU (-16.5) H

PSU (-27.5)

LSU (-2.5)

UGA (-6.5)

Oregon (-9.5)

Troy (+21.5)

Tulane (-6)

---ML plays:

Ball St (3:2)

--- ML Parlays:

*Florida / Alabama / Mich St (5:4)

Alabama / Tulsa / Purdue / Oregon (2:1)

---ATS: 12-9 (+3 U)

---Best Bets: 4-2 (+2 U)

---ML: 2-3 (+ .75 U)

*Ariz (-6)

Best bets: 2-1 (+1 U)

*NO (-3)... win

*Det (-3)... lose

*Phi (-5.5)... win

Balk (pk)... win

Buf (-1)... win

Mia/NYJ (Ov 37)... lose

NE (-16)... lose

NE/KC (Ov 46)... lose

Car (+10.5)... win

Indy (-7)... lose

Min (+3)... lose

Buf (-1) - 1/2 unit

Car (+10.5) - 1/2 unit

Eagles (30:1) to win it all

Saints (18:1) to win it all

Vikings (18:1) to win it all

i predict all 3 will win their divisions... the vikes and saints by comfortable margins... the Eagles have a tougher division race but have possibly the best overall talent (outside of minnesota?) in the NFC...

tough to bet any AFC teams since you would be pretty much crazy to bet on any team other than Indy or NE, and they are not getting good odds...

that is their doom!

5) I CANNOT BELIEVE THERE IS A 5!!! but there is, and it is HUGE! Doc Rivers endured a brutal season last year, made more miserable than anything by the death of his father... one year later he is in the finals with a chance to win the championship! now consider #4 (pressure)... for the first time the pressure is lifted... the Big 3 WILL for this 1 game look at this as an opportunity to give something to their coach rather than looking at this as an opportunity to get the monkey off their back...

i believe all of this means you are going to finally see the Celtics A game (amazingly) for a complete game, and that they are going to completely dominate a simply over-matched, though young and talented, Lakers team...

110-89

1) historically teams that go down 3-1 (as we all know) do not come back to win the series... but what most people don't understand is that a significant majority of those series end in 5 games... the reason is that there is a very damaging psychology that comes from dropping that game to put you on the brink... EVEN IF GAME 5 IS AT HOME!

2) ouch! remember the character of the SA/Lakers series after LA made that huge comeback in game 1... there was a sense that the series was already over, and most importantly it established the reality that the Lakers could play subpar basketball for a period and still overcome the deficit... that reality came to fruition in game 5... the psychological significance of that edge cannot be over-stated... a team can be blown out and come back to win the next game, quite often, in fact... but when a team blows a huge lead in a huge game, it is extraordinarily difficult to overcome...