Posted by Johnnymac 8:56 PM
I posted this on Hornfans, but it's hosted here.

Man, these guys are weird.




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Posted by Johnnymac 9:05 PM
Not good at all. The Cards about to win and if they do, then they will be able to close it out Sunday with no need for the makeup game on Monday. All along the Astros have had very little margin for error and now that margin has gotten much smaller. The Cards' magic number is down to two now. Damn.

Let's root against the Cardinals tomorrow afternoon and then hope for a big Astros win tomorrow night to at least make Sunday's game mean something.


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Posted by Johnnymac 5:11 PM
I've been posting all day long and in the midst of getting my ass kicked playing Omaha, I came across something very funny. I know we don't normally post political stuff, but this is less political than it is just plain funny as shit.

Top Ten Chapter Titles In Jim McGreevey's Book Presented By "Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey"

10. "The Day I Got Caught Governing Myself"

9. "How To Pretend To Like Girls For 47 Years"

8. "From Schwarzenegger To Pataki: Governors I'd Like To Oil Up"

7. "Another Confession -- I Can't Resist Entenmann's Pound Cake"

6. "At First I Just Thought I Was Bipartisan"

5. "The New Jersey Budget Crisis -- What Would Judy Garland Do?"

4. "A Look At The Governor's Balls"

3. "Politicians Who Left A Bad Taste In My Mouth"

2. "How To Push Through A Bill -- Or A Steve Or A Larry..."

1. "Why I Don't Like Bush"

UPDATE: I forgot to credit my source in the Home Office in Wahoo, Nebraska.


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Posted by Johnnymac 1:24 PM
ESPN, sharing the Astros love:

Seventh, [the Cardinals are] just not a great team. We've granted them the NL Central crown since May because we're awestruck by Albert, and because the Astros got out of the blocks the way Jabba the Hut gets up out of a papasan chair. But take another look. This team is not going to win the World Series. This team is going to rely on Jason Marquis and So Taguchi. Aaron Miles is going to get serious time for this team. And unless they wise up and ask Adam Wainwright to close, this team will struggle mightily to hold even the most comfortable of late-inning leads.


Contrast that to Houston, where Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt start twice in every seven-game series. And where young Luke Scott is looking like old Roy Hobbs. And where Lance Berkman continues to do a very, very credible Albert Pujols impression again this year. As a nonpartisan fan, which club looks more compelling? Which club looks more like one you'd actually want to see play in a postseason series? Careful, the questions get harder after this. Next, I ask you your name and the color of the sky.

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Posted by Junelli 10:13 AM
"Michigan State Meltdown"

Listen to this radio show segment. It gets completely awesome about 4 or so minutes into it, and just keeps getting better. This is about the very best meltdown that you could ever possibly hope to hear. Outstanding.


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Posted by Johnnymac 8:37 AM
Wow. They are giving up in St Louis.

There is no reason to believe the Astros will lose again this season, given their hot hitting, pitching depth and momentum.

So that puts the Cards on the spot. Either they pull out of this swoon -– nine losses in 11 games -– or they will suffer one of the worst late-season collapses in the history of major league baseball.

Either they will return to postseason play . . . or their 2006 implosion will live in infamy. It will become the failure that all future failures are measured against.

Of course, they felt the same urgency Thursday night and allowed the Brewers blow them off the field. After this fiasco, are there any believers left in Cardinal Nation?

I kept promising myself that I would not get excited about this until they got to within 1/2 game. Now they have. The Cardinals are in such a funk right now that I would not be surprised if that infamous makeup game doesn't have to be played, because the Astros will end up clinching on Sunday. I may be mixing in some baseball with my football on Sunday afternoon.


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Posted by Johnnymac 7:33 PM
Round three of football picks. My God, I hope I can do better this week than last. I got cocky and loaded up on the pros and the football Gods punished me. I should have kept my head and remembered that it's much much harder to pick the pros every week because the competition is simply more equal. If I had done this earlier today, I probably would have gone with SOUTH CAROLINA +14 and TCU -6 in tonight's games. As of this writing the Gamecocks are hanging with Auburn and BYU has beaten the hell out of TCU. Call me Mr Coin Flip.

OK, here we go.

Actual betting results so far this year:

College betting: 5-2-1
College pickem pool: 35-22-2
Pro betting: 4-5
Pro pickem ("Snyder") pool: 22-24; money picks: 5-10



This week's picks:


College:

LSU -33 vs Mississippi State
A huge number, yes, but LSU is at home, playing with a little redass, and except for last week against the #3 team in the country, an offensive machine. I cannot see LSU struggling one bit against these guys and scoring less than 45 points.

Purdue +14 at NOTRE DAME
I say it's a shootout that's not decided until the fourth quarter or maybe even overtime, so logically, 14 points is a nice fat cushion.

IOWA +7 vs Ohio State
I've ridden the tOSU wagon far enough. I think they probably win by a field goal here. Except against Texas (gulp), I have not been that impressed with Ohio State with the barely-covers two weeks in a row. I'll take the home dog in this one.

MISSOURI -14 vs Colorado
Missouri has scored a lot of points this year and Colorado simply cannot. About the only thing the Buffaloes have going for them is a decent defense, but I think their success in the near-upset last week at Georgia was more due to Georgia taking them lightly than due to anything Colorado did in that game.

Virginia -6 at DUKE
This is a special pick for Mrs Johnnymac and our good buddy Canonico as both are alums of the respective schools. Virginia has no offense, but does have a pretty good defense. Against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, this was a problem, but Duke is terrible on both sides of the ball. I cannot see Duke keeping this closer than a touchdown, so I think the 6 points is value.


Other teams I like this week (but didn't pick for this post): VIRGINIA TECH, Houston (I just couldn't bring myself to actually make the pick), TEXAS A&M, Wyoming, Troy, Nevada, UCLA

Pro:
(These games are EXTREMELY tough this week, not one layup in the bunch and I am picking 5 road teams. What the hell is wrong with me?)

New Orleans +7.5 at CAROLINA
I am beginning to believe in the Saints, even if there are internet rumors about just how "competitive" Monday Night's game was. Steve Smith might be a factor here, but the Saints have plenty of weapons, too. Not to mention that the Saints are also undefeated against the spread so far this year.

Miami -3.5 at HOUSTON
Why can't Miami play a good team this week so I don't have to renege on my Daunte Culpepper swearoff less than a week after it was made?

Cleveland -3 at OAKLAND
This one is tough, too, but the Raiders are a bottomless pit of mediocre football right now and probably will remain that way for the rest of the year. Bill Simmons says to always bet against the Raiders as long as Art Shell is the head coach, and I can't think of any reason not to.

Dallas -10 at TENNESSEE
Vince Young might start and even if he doesn't, he'll play a lot and the Cowboys will feast on him. Not to mention that after the T.O. fiasco yesterday I wouldn't be surprised to see him score 3 TD's and have 150 yards all by himself along with 2-3 end zone pantomimes of drug-related offenses.

Jacksonville -3 at WASHINGTON
This is a good example of linesmakers overvaluing both team's previous week's performances. Washington rolled up the points against Houston and Jacksonville lost to Indianapolis. I like the Jags, although I am nervous about them being on the road.

ESPN Suicide Pick: Dallas
Other teams I like this week (but didn't pick for this post): Minnesota, Detroit, CINCINNATI


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Posted by Johnnymac 6:40 PM
Ah yes, Fro's favorite player (posing with one of Saddam's boys):



(By the way, Willie Nelson got absolutely hammered that night, but that's nothing new.)

That party was almost three years ago, and If I remember correctly, Craig (Biggio, that is) had hosted a No Limit game a couple of nights before. That was the first time any one of us had ever played no limit outside of a tournament and it was a new and strange experience. I didn't get to play that night, but I think we talked about it for at least an hour at the party two night later... that is, until we really couldn't talk coherently any longer and started posing for photos instead.


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Posted by Johnnymac 6:26 PM
Great starting hand, promising flop, more outs on the turn... and then 100% horseshit.



"bet 500" scooped the whole freaking pot with Q555 (!!!!!). I had to fold. Jiminy Crapper. This has been happening to me now for about a week's worth of Omaha.


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Posted by Dr Fro 5:43 PM
Honestly, this is getting a bit silly. We are 1 game behind St Louis now. If they lose tonight, we will be 1/2 game. And we only need to be 1/2 game behind at the end of the week to force them to play the Giants on Monday, lose and put us in a tie.

I was up pretty late last night watching that game. One thing I have enjoyed in this 9-game run has been how many times we have come from behind and how many times my favorite player, Biggio, contributed one of the the game-winning runs or RBIs.

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Posted by Johnnymac 1:50 PM
Football picks are delayed until tonight because I can't access some of my gambling websites from work and I forgot to look at them last night.

In the meantime, you can read about a really bad coach. Clueless school board members, I can understand, but a coach quitting on his team? That sucks.


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Posted by Johnnymac 10:32 AM
En Fuego

(technically, it should be "prendido" but that's not as funny)


Football picks will be up this afternoon.


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Posted by Johnnymac 11:48 AM
Football Wrapup

My God, this was bloody. I got a bad feeling on Saturday when both Michigan and Virginia Tech struggled in the first half of their respective early games and when the pro games were done on Sunday it was World War I style carnage. Here we go.

This weeks actual wagers:


OHIO STATE -16.5 vs Penn State WIN $10
MICHIGAN -14 vs Wisconsin PUSH $10
VIRGINIA TECH -27.5 vs Cincinnati LOSE
-$10


Chicago -3.5 at MINNESOTA LOSE -$25
Chicago -3.5 at MINNESOTA LOSE -$10
SAN FRANCISCO +6 vs Philadelphia LOSE -$25 SAN FRANCISCO +6 vs Philadelphia LOSE -$20
SAN FRANCISCO +6 vs Philadelphia LOSE -$10

(yes, I loaded up on the biggest loser of the weekend… ouch)

Pickem pool results:

Yahoo College Pickem 9-11-1
(The weekly leader in our group went only 12-8-1, so there wasn’t a lot of ground lost)


Snyder Pool (before Monday night) 2-12; money picks 0-5


Season results:

College betting: 5-2-1
College pickem pool: 35-22-2
Pro betting: 4-5
Pro pickem ("Snyder") pool: 22-23


Last week's blog picks

College: (4-0-1 this week, 8-1-1 overall)


Louisville -14 at KANSAS ST CORRECT
They didn’t blow K-State off the field like I thought they would, but it was still an easy cover. I guess there is a difference between the backup QB and RB and the starters, but not much of one.

MICHIGAN -14 vs Wisconsin PUSH
Before the Longhorn game on Sunday my brother and I were hanging out in the End Zone Club pounding Coors Lights and watching the end of the early games. The place was full of Longhorn Fans and most of them naturally were disappointed that a promising Michigan loss (which they were all rooting for due to poll considerations) had slipped away. You could tell the gamblers, though, because they were intently watching Michigan kick a FG to cover with 5 minutes left and then watched and cheered and moaned just as intently as Wisconsin put together its only scoring drive of the second half to force the push. I was forced to drink another beer after having to watch that.

OHIO STATE -16.5 vs Penn State CORRECT
I am lucky that Ohio State pulled the backdoor cover here with two INT’s for touchdowns in the closing minutes or this week would have been even worse. Pure luck that I didn’t lose this one, too.

HOUSTON +1 vs Oklahoma State CORRECT
About the only pick this weekend that I can be proud of. The Cougars had a heck of a home crowd behind them and just seemed to play harder in the 4th quarter. I was especially impressed with how well the UH defense played in the second half. Once Okie Lite got behind and it started raining, they gave up.

MICHIGAN ST +3.5 vs Notre Dame CORRECT
On Sunday morning I was faced with the dilemma of counting this one as correct, since I did take the deciding half point on Thursday before the line went to 3, or as incorrect, since I felt the burning disappointment of watching the ND lovers react as if they had actually won the game instead of having it handed to them by a Spartan team that gave up after being up 17 points in the third quarter. I was very disappointed in this game, mostly because I hate all of those long-haired cocky prep-school looking punks who play for Notre Dame and because I hate their fans. Now, considering how my Sunday turned out, I’m keeping this one as a win. I was offered three points on an actual wager on Friday and turned it down because I was holding out for the 3.5 and now that looks like a genius move. That is enough for me to count this one as a win.



Pro (0-5 this week, 2-8 overall)

Chicago -3.5 at MINNESOTA INCORRECT
Of course, the half point cuts in the other direction, too. Minnesota’s side of it worked out about the way I figured it would, but the Bears’ offense was mostly a no-show with a bunch of field goals and one long TD to clinch the game in the fourth quarter.

Baltimore -6.5 at CLEVELAND INCORRECT
Ditto. Baltimore played just good enough to win it in the fourth quarter, but the defense seemed to still be at the hotel until the third quarter started.

SAN FRANCISCO +6 vs Philadelphia INCORRECT
Well, I was wrong. Philly showed up to play and I didn’t think they would. The long fumble recovery for a TD just as the Niners were about to make it interesting was the game breaker. This one hurt. After watching this game I am of the opinion that I love Alex Smith, but I’ll be careful about betting on him anytime soon. (Also, if you're paying attention, yes, I should have stuck with my Saints pick from last week... I outsmarted myself in switching to this game)

INDIANAPOLIS -7 vs Jacksonville INCORRECT
Again, pick the winner and give too many points to avoid a back-door with less than 4 minutes left in the game.

NEW ENGLAND -7 vs Denver INCORRECT
No excuses here. Denver just flat took it to these guys. It has been a long time since I have seen the Pats get so totally beaten in a game. A big part of my original analysis here was coaching and Mike Shanahan absolutely outcoached Bill Belichick.


This weekend’s picks are coming on Thursday, and it can’t come soon enough.


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Posted by Dr Fro 9:05 AM
Maybe it can happen.


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Posted by Johnnymac 12:01 PM
I'll have my writeup of the football picks later tonight or tomorrow morning after the pro games are over, but I have two observations from yesterday:

1.) Who is the new Wisconsin head coach, Art Schlichter? Why drive the ball down to the 10 at the end of the game and kick a meaningless field goal that does nothing but force the push? You were down by 17 points! Why kick? God, that was awful to watch.

2.) I have never seen a team quit so early and so completely as Michigan State last night. Hey guys, the game is 4 quarters long, not 3. Nice job keeping all of the Notre Dame lovers deluded for one more week. Jiminy Christmas, that was bad, too. And now I have the dilemma of claiming the pick as "correct" because I picked it against Thursday's 3.5 pt spread or as a push since it went out on Friday at an even 3. Not to mention that the Michigan State collapse was so complete that I feel like it's cheating unless I call it a loss, too. Man, that sucked.

UPDATE: Good Lord, this is ugly. After the twelve afternoon games today I am 2-10. I didn't pick Tampa or Seattle for the blog, so I am 0-4 on the blog picks with the Pats/Broncos game left for tonight. It's a common occurrence every year to have 1-2 weekends like this, just as it's common to have a great weekend like I did last week, so really we're just reverting to the mean, but man, this is ugly. I loaded up on the Bears and 49ers with actual wagers and now there will be some payments to be made tomorrow. I'll also have the wrapup posted within 24 hours, too. Now to go find a pillow to sit on...


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Posted by Johnnymac 9:46 AM
Talk about a gambler's delight last night... I am at my brother's house in Austin this weekend to attend my first Longhorn game in 3 years and when we arrived last night he was sweating Nevada -7 with a 10 point lead and Northwestern driving. Then Northwestern scored a TD and Nevada got the ball back and seemed intent to run out the clock. What a horrible place to be as a gambler.

But then! Then Northwestern got the ball back and threw a very dangerous pass towards the sideline and i'm sure every sports book in Las Vegas was going nuts. Wow.


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Posted by Dr Fro 10:08 PM

Could it happen? Could it really happen?

I mean, I am usually the biggest cynic there is. Yet, after the past two Astros' seasons where they came out of nowhere to make a run at it and after watching UT pull wins out of their ass over and over and over, each time in more dramatic fashion, I have grown to expect the unexpected.

So then I see Biggio pull a win out of his ass (ok, it was 3 RBIs on 2 hits in 2 innings and they came off his bat, not out his ass), and I get to wondering:

Could these guys (these sub-.500 guys) win again tomorrow, win on Sunday with Clemens pitching his (final?) home game, get within 3.5 games, and then catch the Cards next week? I mean stranger things have happened. I have seen stranger things at Minute Maid, at Busch, in Stillwater, in Austin, in Pasadena, in Pasadena again, in Columbus and in Lawrence.

So, maybe it could happen. Maybe.

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Posted by Dr Fro 11:56 AM

The $40 lesson

I have a new rule when playing Omaha:

If, on the very first hand, I find myelf facing an all-in bet while holding the nut low and a mediocre high, be sure to notice if I am actually playing Omaha High versus Omaha Hi-lo. Just a suggestion...

(I may dub this the "Jayson Baird Rule", as he actually learned it first. I should have learned from his mistake.)

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Posted by Johnnymac 8:33 AM
I changed my mind about one of my Snyder Pool picks this week - instead of going with the Saints over Atlanta, I am switching to another home dog.

SAN FRANCISCO +6.5 vs Philadelphia
With how well SF is playing right now and how many points they're scoring, I like the +6.5 at home. If it were 7 or more I would REALLY like it, but I'll still take the points here. The over/under is 42, which works out to a final score of roughly 24-17. The 49ers have averaged 23.5 points so far this year, the Eagles are averaging 24 points (actually they've scored that exact amount in both games so far) and have given up an average of 20 (the low being 10 to the Texans and you know how I feel about them). For this spread to hold, the Eagles will need to play better defense than usual against a very good offense and the very good offense will need to play its worst game of the year. I just don't see that.

The numbers are pretty convincing, but then when you factor in the Niners getting points at home, the 6 hour trip for the Eagles, and the loss of Jevon Kearse and how well the SF offense (Smith, Bryant, Gore) is playing right now, it's overwhelmingly convincing. I rarely bet the total in football, but I would probably take San Francisco and the overs here, it's all so convincing.

(Now watch the Eagles go win 10-3 or something like that.)


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Posted by Johnnymac 9:06 AM
And now the second installment of weekly football picks. Last week's method of picking 5 college and 5 pro seemed to work OK so I'll do that again and then make a mention of anything else I happen to like. Again, these are not necessarily the games I'll be betting on, these are just some spreads that I like.

Now an update on actual betting results so far this year:

College betting: 4-1-0
College pickem pool: 26-11-1
Pro betting: 4-0
Pro pickem ("Snyder") pool: 20-12; money picks: 5-5



This week's picks:


College:

Louisville -14 at KANSAS ST
I thought this one was a typo when I saw it. I agree that UL might stumble a little bit after the big win against Miami, but only giving 14 points here is a steal. This team can move the football and score and I don't think K State will be able to keep up.

MICHIGAN -14 vs Wisconsin
Michigan is on a roll and I just don't see Wisconsin staying close. As much as I think Notre Dame is overrated this year, they're still better than Wisconsin and Michigan went on the road and beat the Domers by 26. Now, to be fair, the Michigan guy here at work is adament that the Wolverines will come out flat and that Wisconsin "always plays tough" at Michigan. He is so adament that we're probably going to actually wager on the game if he can get past his hangup of betting against his beloved team from Ann Arbor. Now you have both sides, but I'm still going with Michigan.

OHIO STATE -16.5 vs Penn State
There may be a little bit of my anti-Penn State bias here, but Penn State is terrible and lost by 24 the last time they went on the road against a decent opponent. Ohio State is much much better than Notre Dame, so why should we expect them to have a harder time against a common opponent?

HOUSTON +1 vs Oklahoma State
This is the best UH team in at least 10 years and I think this game means more to the Cougars than to Okie Lite. Plus, it's always good to be getting points at home.

MICHIGAN ST +3.5 vs Notre Dame
Getting points at home against a team that is still overrated and got torched by a good QB last week. ND is not that good, people, no matter how cute you think Brady Quinn may be.


Other teams I like this week (but didn't pick for this post): North Carolina, NORTH CAROLINA ST, GEORGIA, Connecticut, AKRON, MISSOURI

Pro:

Chicago -3.5 at MINNESOTA
The Bears are good. Minnesota won't score more than 10 points and the Bears will score at least 14.

Baltimore -6.5 at CLEVELAND
I will continue to keep picking Baltimore until the point that they play a good team. (Which will be next week against San Diego, btw)

NEW ORLEANS +3.5 vs Atlanta
This is going to be a hugely emotional game for the Saints. Atlanta's defense has been really good so far but they also have not played any offenses as good as the Saints' yet, either. I like New Orleans getting points at home.

INDIANAPOLIS -7 vs Jacksonville
OK, now we see how legitimate Jacksonville is. They were lucky to be playing two shaky QB's at home in their first two games, but now they get Mr. September Peyton Manning on the road. 12 points definitely won't be enough to win or to cover, especially since Matt Jones is hurt.

NEW ENGLAND -7 vs Denver
You don't think that Bill Belichick will have these guys ready? The Pats are dying for revenge from last January and Denver can't score more than 10 points in a game.

ESPN Suicide Pick: MIAMI

Other teams I like this week (but didn't pick for this post): MIAMI, SAN FRANCISCO


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Posted by Dr Fro 3:16 PM

I expect very few people to appreciate this post. This picture is of a desk used by 6 different friends that had the same 10th grade English teacher in six different periods. We communicated to each other by scribbling on the desk top. At the end of the school year, two of us some unknown person, broke into the school, stole the desk and gave it to one of our friends as a birthday present. Anyway, two of the people that read this blog (out of millions of readers!) will appreciate this pic:

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Posted by Junelli 11:13 AM
Actual quote from Asian Nick talking to Chris Morris this past weekend in Lake Charles.

"Chris. We friends. And you good poker player. But when you on tilt, you pure donkey."


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Posted by Johnnymac 5:48 AM
And to wrap up Monday Night:

Pittsburgh +1.5 at JACKSONVILLE INCORRECT
About halfway through the 4th quarter yesterday the score was 3-0 Jacksonville and the Steelers were driving so I was feeling good about my Pittsburgh -4 prediction from yesterday afternoon. Then the Steelers quit driving and the Jaguars got two quick field goals and that was that. Wow, look at Jacksonville - two good wins in two weeks. Next Sunday they go on the road for the first time, to Indianapolis, so if they really are this good, we'll find out quickly.

Roethlisberger didn't look all that great - he missed a lot of open men and threw some really bad balls - but I'll let him have one rusty game to start the season after everything he's been through (motorcycle accident, appendectomy... I'm also pretty sure his dog died and that he lost to someone playing Omaha who made a straight flush with a starting hand of 4s-2s-4c-8c). One player on the Jaguars I really like is Matt Jones. He seemed to make a first down every time he touched the ball. I was in Austin when he was the Arkansas QB and torched the Horns four years ago; he is unbelievably fast in person, so being 6'6 240 we know he has the tools to be a pretty good WR, too. Let's hope Leftwich doesn't hold him back.


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Posted by Johnnymac 1:51 PM
Football Wrapup

This weeks actual wagers:


Texas at RICE -30.5 WIN $5
Texas at RICE -32 WIN $10
(both bets were with the same guy, a Rice alum I work with)

BALTIMORE vs Oakland -13 WIN $25
(see below)

Pickem pool results:

Yahoo College Pickem 11-5-1
(Could have been better, I actually picked against Texas here)


Snyder Pool (before Monday night) 12-3; money picks 3-1 (+ Pittsburgh tonight)


Season results:

College betting: 4-1-0
College pickem pool: 26-11-1
Pro betting: 4-0
Pro pickem ("Snyder") pool: 20-11


Last week's blog picks:


OHIO STATE -30 vs Cincinnati CORRECT
I love it when the #1 team in the country kicks a field goal to cover with 30 seconds left in the game.

TENNESSEEE +3.5 vs Florida CORRECT
Now the Vols have shown up twice as home dogs.

Nebraska +19 at USC CORRECT
This one worked out OK but not the way I thought. USC pretty much dominated but never put NU away. For what it's worth, the clock rules helped a lot here, as did the USC holding call in the 4th quarter that took them out of field goal range.

Miami +4.5 at LOUISVILLE INCORRECT
I completely totally and utterly missed this one. Louisville's offense must be pretty good - they won this going away with their backup RB's and backup QB.

TCU +1.5 vs Texas Tech CORRECT
I would say I nailed this one, my brother would say that Tech is just a lot worse than an overrated TCU team. Regardless, it's going to be a long season in Lubbock if all they can manage is 3 points in a game, even against (what I still think) is a quality opponent.



Pro:

MIAMI -6.5 vs Buffalo INCORRECT
Daunte Culpepper is terrible. I don't know what else to say. I am still waiting on the Pittsburgh game tonight, but I would venture a guess that this one cost me the weekly money in the Snyder Pool.

BALTIMORE -12 vs Oakland CORRECT
One of the easiest picks ever: the raiders are a terrible team with a terrible coach who was playing against a reborn Baltimore defense in a 1:00 game on the East Coast. Puh-leeze. This was also my suicide pick this week.

ATLANTA -6 vs Tampa Bay CORRECT
Michael Vick seems to be in the groove right now and the Bucs are struggling. I was iffy on this one since Tampa always seems to bring out the worst in Atlanta, but this game didn't hold to form.

INDIANAPOLIS -13.5 vs Houston CORRECT
The Texans are terrible and nothing has changed. Indianapolis had covered the spread by the time 4 minutes had passed in the first quarter.

This brings up a good question - just why the hell are there still so many damn-fool people running around Houston with their Texans flags and jerseys and bumper stickers and going to games and getting all riled up about a 4 year old team that is terrible and always has been terrible save a 4-1 stretch two seasons ago? I just don't get it. Until that team actually wins something, anyone who claims to be a Texans is an idiot and a corporate stooge. The first year was fun - I even liked the Clay Walker song, myself - and there was a lot of cathartic release of all of the pent-up anti-Oilers misery that people seemed to have been holding, but that was four years ago and we still have people like this stupid wench acting like the Texans are the greatest thing since instant replay. What the hell? There is plenty of other good football out there that you could be watching, you don't have to be a slave to the hometown team.

(And to be honest, I kind of feel that way about ANY sort of fan-devotion to any single team in pro football - good or bad - under most circumstances (college is a different story), but I'll save that rant for another day)


And tonight's game:

Pittsburgh +1.5 at JACKSONVILLE
Last Thursday Pittsburgh was receiving points. I liked that as did apparently every single football bettor ("punter" for those of you in Dallas) in the universe. So the line has been moving and is currently at Jacksonville +3. I still like Pittsburgh there, but I think it's a 4 point game. If it were to get to 4.5 or better, I would probably jump on the Jaguars and hope to find the middle. I don't think Vegas will take it that far, but considering how much action they are apparently still getting on the Steelers, you never know.

One final thing: As far as game watching, I was devastated by Bobby Ross's brain fart at the end of the Aggie-Army game - how sweet it would have been to have seen the all time greatest College Station meltdown of all time had the Aggies somehow succeeded in giving it away. I even managed to get myself banned from Texags during the middle of that game for pointing out that the game was "Real Army" against "Just-pretend Army", and that brought up a good point: like, if I were in the Corps at A&M and went around playing army and flinging poo, I think it would be more than just a little embarrassing to go into the Alamodome and sit next to REAL cadets in the REAL army. Wouldn't you be ashamed? And even beyond that, wouldn't you be scared of getting your ass kicked? I would. And yet, here were the Aggie Turds in there acting like their usual turd selves oblivious to the guys sitting next to them in the stands. Unbelievable. But that's just Aggy being Aggy, I guess. And even better, the spread on that game was A&M -27.5 and they won by just 4, and yet, when it was over those morons rushed the field like they had upset the 1986 Chicago Bears and Fran was interviewed saying, "this kind of game is just what these kids needed." Yeah, struggling against a weak team in an almost-home game and holding them off at the end because the other coach just happened to be dumber than Fran for once.

Unbelievable, and so disappointing.


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Posted by Junelli 11:14 AM
Most Amercians have never heard of Ricky Gervais. He is the co-creator of the British television show "The Office" which has of course, been re-created in America and stars Steve Carrell. The Amercian version of "The Office" just won an Emmy for best comedy of the year.

Two weeks ago, I only knew his name. Then I came across his Podcost of "The Ricky Gervais Show" which is #1 podcast in the entire world.

I was surfing through I-tunes before leaving for Telluride, CO and was trying to find an audiobook or some good poker podcasts (of which there are many).

Anyway, I downloaded a bunch of episodes of The Ricky Gervais show, and haven't laughed that hard in ages. The people in front of me on the airplane were visibly upset at the 2 hours of nonstop laughing.

I highly recommend you download this for your Ipod. You won't be dissapointed.

You can get it on I-tunes or Audible.com.


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Posted by Dr Fro 6:54 PM

Dr Fro spent a lot of time watching football today with his daughter, and they collectively came out with the following list of awards on the day:

Biggest puss award: Bret Meyer of Iowa State, who dove out of bounds just shy of the 1st down that would have well-positioned ISU to beat Iowa.

Best sack: Walter Thurmond of Oregon came in from the corner and blind-sided Paul Thompson for a brutal sack. He took a tricky turn inside the DE.

Most stressful 3-way parlay: OSU, ISU and BC: Ohio State scored a last minute field goal to go ahead by 30 (lines was 29.5), Iowa had a last minute TD called back to keep them from covering and BC took it to 2 OTs to cover (depending on the line you got, for some, they pushed). This all happened within a couple minutes.

Best block: Marshal Yanda of Iowa absolutely leveled an unsuspecting soul from Iowa State on a reverse. (as a side note, as dramatic and fun as these blind-sided pancakes on reverses are, TV commentators need to stop salivating on what "great" blocks" they are; it is easy to level a guy in this situation. A fun-to-watch block? Yes. A "great" one? Not really)

Worst officiating: The crew in Eugene, Oregon blew 2 calls in the last minute to completely screw OU (hee hee hee). Worse than that, BOTH calls held up under review even though even my 13-day old daughter could tell you that the calls should have been reversed.

Record breaking performance award: Texas earned a record number of penalties tonight. The bulk of them were false starts and most of the rest were illegal blocks.

Defense Wins Championships award: TCU held the nation's highest scoring offense to 3 points. With wins over Tech, Baylor and OU over the past two years, the gay frogs now think they deserve to be considered good. I will wait for their inevitable loss to a bad team before expressing my thoughts on TCU.

"Which bitch is which?" Award: NU v USC; we completely own NU and consequently, they are our bitch. Although we can't exactly call USC our "bitch", we definitely have scoreboard on them.

Best thing to happen to Protestantism since Martin Luther Award: Michigan completely embarrassed the Irish at home. Omigod. I am a big ND-apologist, and I was surprised at how poorly they performed. I knew they weren't as good as billed, but I didn't expect as ass-whooping in South Bend.

Strength of schedule award: UT; Check out our awesome competition:
North Texas- lost to Tulsa 28-3
Ohio State- won big

Rice- lost 52-7
Iowa State- lost to Iowa by 10
Sam Houston State- lost to freaking SMU
Oklahoma- lost to Oregon
Baylor- lost, of course
Nebraska- lost to USC
Texas Tech- lost to TCU, scored 3 points
Oklahoma State- beat Florida Atlantic, the best Atlantic team of them all
Kansas State- beat powerhouse Marshall 23-7
Texas A&M- barely beat a terrible team.

Prophetic award: JMGreene, who went 4-1 on his picks this week.

Prophetic award v2: Dr Fro, who told you that Notre Dame would underwhelm you this year!

Purple Heart award: A&M, also known as the fifth arm of the armed services, gave four-time National Champion Army a heck of a battle, and in the end, they won.

Four years ago, Saddam Hussein supposedly had weapons of mass destruction. We later learned that was not true and attributed the whole ordeal to lack of intelligence. Lack of intelligence is nothing new in College Station, but to see Coach Fran's claims of having weapons of mass destruction so utterly exposed as untrue is a bit surprising. The United States Army hasn't won a big one since 1945. They came up short again, but they exposed A&M for being a very, very terrible team. Anyhew, my prediction still stands that A&M will win 8 or 9 of their first 9 games.

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Posted by Dr Fro 10:02 PM
The Stone Cold Nuts

Rendezvous posts small blind [ $0.10 ].
phreaux posts big blind [ $0.25 ].



Holecards:
Dealt to phreaux [ ]

FOLD Terminal_
FOLD djjeffypoo
RAISE Mr_Timequake, $0.85
FOLD imagineAri
FOLD hatetofld
FOLD BrewHahHah
FOLD keith5660
FOLD Vandy_Dad
FOLD Rendezvous
CALL phreaux , $0.60



Flop: [ ]

CHECK phreaux
BET Mr_Timequake, $1.75
CALL phreaux , $1.75

Turn: [ ]

CHECK phreaux
CHECK Mr_Timequake

River: [ ]

BET phreaux , $5.05
CALL Mr_Timequake, $5.05
phreaux shows [ ] a straight flush five high .
phreaux shows 5 4 3 2 A for low .
Mr_Timequake doesn't show [ ] a flush, ace high.
phreaux wins $7.33 from the main pot with a straight flush five high .
phreaux wins Lo ($7.32) from the main pot with 5 4 3 2 A .

(2) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 9:01 AM
Here is the first installment of weekly football picks. The games below are the ones I really like - I will try and pick 5 college and 5 pro each week - but not necessarily the games I'll be betting because some of these are so obvious I can't possibly expect someone else to give me action.

For what it's worth, I do this for entertainment, not to make money and not because I have a problem that needs a fix of sweat and adrenaline that only a $1000 3 team teaser can provide. This year, I am participating in the usual pro pickem $20 "Snyder" pool (mentioned here before) where every pro game is picked each week in a somewhat convoluted wagering structure (that won't be explained here) and I am also participating in a college pickem pool at work ($20 for the whole season) where most of the Top 25 college games are picked each week, too. Like I said, I am a low-roller, this is for fun.

Here are my actual betting results so far this year:

Week 1:

TEXAS -28 vs north tx WIN +$20
TEXAS -28 vs north tx WIN +$10

College pickem pool: 15/21

Week 2:

UCLA -30 vs Rice LOSE -$10
philadelphia -5 at HOUSTON WIN +$10
DETROIT +6.5 vs Seattle WIN +$10
san diego -2.5 at OAKLAND WIN +$5 (this was one of the easiest picks ever)

College pickem pool: 0/22 (I forgot to make my picks and didn't realize that there are no default picks... but you drop your lowest week so I might be OK)

Snyder (Pro) Pool: 8/16 overall, 2/5 "money picks" (I said it was convoluted)

ESPN Suicide Pool (free): Chicago WIN



And here are this week's picks. Like I said, I don't necessarily have any action on these games outside of the football pools. The 5 college games are the ones where I like the spread the best, the pro picks will always be my "money picks" from the Snyder Pool.


College:

OHIO STATE -30 vs Cincinnatti
Ohio State looked good on Saturday night in Austin. If they are for real then they should win this kind of game huge, and if they don't win this huge, then I am really worried about the Longhorns.

TENNESSEE +3.5 vs Florida
The Vols showed up two weeks ago when they were home dogs.

Nebraska +19 at USC
This seems like the kind of game where USC comes out flat and then plays catch up and wins going away - see last year's games against Oregon, Fresno, and Arizona State for a preview of what I think is going to happen on Saturday. I do think the Trojans will wind end up winning here but the new clock rules simply won't give them time to pull away by 19 points.

Miami +4.5 at LOUISVILLE
Louisville hasn't beaten Miami in 11 years, its star running back is out with a broken leg, and Miami is 7th nationally in defense and hasn't given up many points.

TCU +1.5 vs Texas Tech
This one sticks out at me and I can't quite figure out why. Oh yeah, TCU is a very good team with a perpetual grudge against the Big Boys that is playing at home and getting points. They beat OU on the road last year, I think Tech at home will be easier than that.


Pro:

MIAMI -6.5 vs Buffalo
Ronnie Brown is all they've really got on offense, though. (Don't tell me about Daunte Culpepper until he actually does something)

BALTIMORE -12 vs Oakland
Aaron Brooks?

ATLANTA -6 vs Tampa Bay
Atlanta has a better defense this year than many people give it credit for; Tampa didn't score any points and now Cadillac has a bad back.

INDIANAPOLIS -13.5 vs Houston
New coach, same results.

Pittsburgh +1.5 at JACKSONVILLE
Did I miss the part about Drew Bledsoe getting traded to the Steelers?

ESPN Suicide Pick: BALTIMORE


(1) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 9:09 PM
I think I am going to throw up.


(1) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 8:20 PM

I know that Mr. Needham is a long-time reader of this little blog. I found a picture of him playing in a poker tournament with the big boys:

(2) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 9:27 PM
Some good reviews by Buckeye fans of our fair state (and rave reviews of our women).


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Posted by Johnnymac 9:42 AM
Man, it was a crappy weekend for me in football.

The Horns lost.

The Cowboys lost. (ugly, but what can you expect from Bledsoe?)

The Dolphins lost.

My fantasy team lost. (and to add insult to injury I scored the second highest number of points in the whole freaking league)

And finally, I found out the hard way that the Yahoo college pickem pool at work doesn't have default picks - if you forget to enter your picks in time, as I did, then you get zero points. No default favorites, no default dogs, no default home teams, no default visitors. No, you get zero points. I won't be making that mistake again.

Of course, in the spirit of this blog, the only good thing that happened this weekend with football was that I went 2-1 in my bets yesterday after going 3-0 last weekend. This season's starting out pretty well at 5-1 after just two weeks.

But while it's fun to win money on the Seahawks not covering at the Lions and the inevitable beatdown of the Texans AT HOME, it somehow feels empty without getting to cheer for at least one of my favorite teams coming out a winner.

And for those of you who are Rice fans, nice job covering +28 at UCLA. That's my sole loss of the season so far.

Maybe I will add football picks as a weekly blog feature...


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Posted by Johnnymac 8:03 AM
I wasn't at the game on Saturday night, but someone who was called me and said they heard this from some fans sitting behind them in red jerseys:

"I have two words for the University of Texas... Those goal posts are mine!"

High-larious


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Posted by Dr Fro 8:59 PM

It is true: we have some great news to share. We had a little baby girl on Sunday night. Given the creepiness of some people on the internet, I am not going to post her name or picture here, but trust me, she is cute! If you didn't get my announcement email, let me know and I'll send you her picture. She has big blue eyes and a dark mowhawk. She doesn't cry much (yet), and she lovers her Daddy.

Unfortunately, I am terribly sick right now. It is hard enough for a couple to deal with a newborn baby, but try doing it while sick!

So what is up with October 1????

(2) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 4:28 PM
Jiminy Crickets, I hate it when this happens. (and yes, I did throw it away)




(3) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 3:36 PM
Well, I need to post something, so I'll post this.


(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 7:52 AM
Somebody has some news to share from this weekend and it ain't me...

Nor is it my place to share it, but it's good news. Be on the lookout for an announcement from someone else... but not me.

(My announcement comes Oct 1.)


(0) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 11:02 AM

This hand is an excellent example of why you should be willing to call enormous bets in the first few hands of a SNG on Party Poker. Look at how crazy this is (it is the second hand of the SNG, we already lost a player on the first hand!):

***** Hand History for Game 5082309344 *****

FOLD Its_a_SpearaSiting
FOLD phreaux
CALL bigmamajolie, 40
FOLD caretaker1
RAISE Tolst0y, 80
FOLD Str8Face4Me
FOLD johncd1
FOLD comic_vince
FOLD alex365
CALL bigmamajolie, 40


Flop:

[ ]

CHECK bigmamajolie
BET Tolst0y, 120
RAISE bigmamajolie, 240
RAISE Tolst0y, 480
RAISE bigmamajolie, 720
ALL-IN Tolst0y [ 1320 ]
ALL-IN bigmamajolie [ 960 ]

OK, so we have a bet, a raise, a re-raise, a re-re-raise, an all-in re-re-re-raise and an allin call. Wow, these guys must have some serious monsters!

Turn:

[ ]



River:

[ ]

bigmamajolie shows [ ] a flush ace high .

Tolst0y shows [ ] a flush ace high .

bigmamajolie wins 2020 chips from the main pot with a flush ace high .
Tolst0y wins 2020 chips from the main pot with a flush ace high .

Are you kidding me???? All that action was questionable for sure, but an all-in call with NOTHING? Wow!

(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 5:42 PM
Flop a set of T's and get beat on the turn... again. Argh.
(but at least this time I finished in the money)




(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 3:39 PM
The reason your humble blogger is playing internet poker all afternoon is because he has a sinus infection and is home sick from work. My recliner and my bed are about the only two places where I can be without getting dizzy. I can stand up for maybe 5 minutes before I need to sit down again. It sucks.

In any case, I was lined up to play poker tonight in a very juicy $5/10 LIMIT game and I'm not going to make it. I promised the host, the infamous "Poker Nazi", that I would try and find him a 10th player, so here is an announcement. If you want to play, send me an email at iagtourneys-at-gmail-dot-com and I will get you set up. Canonico is also going to be there and most of you know him, so if it makes a difference you'll at least know someone there.


(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 2:54 PM
Question: What can you do on the first hand of a SnG and you flop top set and get your opponent all-in?

Answer: Not a g*ddamn thing.




(0) comments

Posted by Junelli 10:30 AM
From "Middle Limit Hold Em"

A $30-$60 game. Two early players limp, and you raise from middle position having the . The big blind and the limpers call. There is $260 in the pot and four players. The flop comes: , so you have second pair and a backdoor flush-draw. The big blind and the first limper check. The next limper bets. What do you do?


(4) comments