Ultra Sports Bet

This isn’t directly related to sports betting, but it is just so ridiculous that I had to share it. I live in Canada, and my hometown of Calgary has a Canadian Football League team, the Stampeders. We are the former home of NFL greats like Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia. There are those up here that would argue that it is a better brand of football than the NFL or college football. Simply put, it is not. It is entertaining – a great way to spend a sunny afternoon – but it is full of Division II players and NFL …read more

Comments Off

Now that the smoke has cleared and I have had a day or two to reflect on what was a pretty decent bowl season, it’s time now to look back at what happened and how I did in my predictions. In a word (two, actually), not great. My final record was 15-16-1. Though that’s obviously a slight loss, I feel okay about it. I would obviously would have looked to have done better, but it should be equally obvious that I would normally never play all 32 games, nor would I make all my picks a week before the first …read more

Comments Off

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
LSU (-4.5) vs. Ohio State (Monday, Jan. 7, 8:00 p.m. ET) – This is the end of the line. It’s a shame that the whole bowl season has to end with a game that no one wanted and few people care about. I certainly don’t care, but I will pick LSU. They beat better teams, and their losses were less concerning. The Big Ten has had a challenging year, and the SEC should exert their dominance in this game …read more

1 Comment

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
Rutgers (-9.5) vs. Ball State (Saturday, Jan. 5, 12:00 p.m. ET) – This is one of those games where I would take one team, Rutgers in this case, pretty much regardless of the price. Ball State gets too much credit for almost beating a lousy Nebraska team. Brady Hoke is a terrible coach and I don’t have any faith that he will have his team ready. Rutgers is well coached and will show up here just like they did …read more

Comments Off

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
Virginia Tech (-3) vs. Kansas (Thursday, Jan. 3, 8:00 p.m. ET) – This is a showdown between two talented but flawed teams. Ultimately, I have to actually go for the team I emotionally like much less. Virginia Tech is a much tougher defense than Kansas has ever seen, and they are much more used to the bright lights of public scrutiny than Kansas is. That makes them attractive at this spread. Pick: Virginia Tech.

Comments Off

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
Oklahoma (-6.5) vs. West Virginia (Wednesday, Jan. 2, 8:00 p.m. ET) – This is the game I wanted to see played for the national championship. Obviously that didn’t quite work out. I think this will be the most interesting and exciting BCS game. It is a tough game to pick, but ultimately I have more faith in Sam Bradford than I do in Pat White. White is an amazing player, but he isn’t very consistent and he’s been fragile recently. …read more

Comments Off

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
Georgia (-9.5) vs. Hawaii (Tuesday, Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. ET) – This is definitely one of the hardest games on the card in my  mind. On one hand, doing well in the SEC gets more credit than going undefeated in the WAC. On the other hand, Hawaii has always found a way to win, and I think it would be a mistake to underestimate their offense. I have gone back and forth many times, but ultimately I think that …read more

1 Comment

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
USC (-14) vs. Illinois (Tuesday, Jan. 1, 5:00 p.m. ET) – USC should be the favorite here, but I think this line is inflated by public love. Illinois finished strong, and I think that they will be at the top of their game to prove that they belong in the BCS and that Ron Zook truly has the program turned around. The dynamic Illinois offense could surprise some teams if it keeps up the form it had at the …read more

1 Comment

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
Florida (-10) vs. Michigan (Tuesday, Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m. ET) – I am a huge Michigan guy, but I can’t be blinded by my loyalty here. The Michigan coaching situation is a mess, the team just isn’t very good, it is fighting injuries, it has nothing to play for, and it can’t stop a mobile quarterback. Other than that, this is a great spot. Florida’s offense is designed to exploit a team like Michigan, and I have no faith in …read more

1 Comment

This is part of our Bowling for Dollars contest. You can start participating at any time. Check out the announcement here.
Texas Tech (-6) vs. Virginia (Tuesday, Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m. ET) – The Texas Tech victory over Oklahoma is the one that sticks in everyone’s mind, and I suspect that is why this line is where it is. I was initially seduced by the memory of that game, but the more I thought about it the better I felt about Virginia. They always seem to find a way to keep it close, and they showed against Miami that they …read more

1 Comment