A friend traveled in from Texas -- his first time to California -- and asked if the Rose Bowl game was a huge event out here. And he was surprised to learn that it was not.Maybe it is a big deal for the kids working at Disneyland who watch players from the BCS Title Game (and the Rose Bowl the week before) walk around the park. But until I see that Chrysler 300 with two Alabama flags on the 405 Thursday morning, I had forgotten there was a game being played out here.
And really, Southern Californians can only display their sports loyalty through car flags, as witnessed by the numerous Lakers flags which sprout during the NBA Finals.
But as for the game, no. There was no excitement in this town. Mainly because USC or UCLA was not playing in the final game. And second, the bowl thing is so spread out, and as mentioned earlier this week, most people saw the best two teams play on Monday.
Or probably because this can be a bad sports town when the locals are not winning.
Still, decent game but you cannot convince me that Boise State and TCU could not hang with those teams. Neither Alabama or Texas was very impressive.
(Photo from Sports Illustrated's Hot Clicks)
There are some pro games this weekend, but this round of the NFL bores me, so we will turn it over to Kid Vegas and the Sports Book Hustle. And remember, gambling is bad.
Well boys and girls, that wraps up another exciting NFL season, and quite a profitable one it was at that, while my dalliance into college football was predictably mediocre, I did manage to squeak out a record one game over .500 (pending that Alabama win), NFL I was predictably awesome checking in at 68 percent, and on my picks of the week I was a scorching 13-2, all in all quite a successful season, but just like Peyton Manning, regular season dominance is a cakewalk for me, my record-setting performance is meaningless if I can�t double up my winnings on the postseason, so here we go�
Boy, that Week 17 was awful huh (sans our winner in Dallas)? In addition to all the games sucking, three playoff round 1 games were �previewed� with some teams trying and some teams scouting, muddying up the spreads and confusing everybody, so let�s take a look at the picks�
3. Over 47.5 in Arizona � Somehow I think the Twin Terrors of Team Pugly (Matthews and Hawk) might have a little more trouble with Kurt Warner and the starting lineup of the Cards than Leinart and his losers. This one has all the makings of a shootout, as long as A-Rodg doesn�t get the postseason jitters in his first big game, I think he�ll be all right, the Pack have been pretty hot lately, and Zona losing their Pro Bowl corner last week should open things up even more. Warner will not doubt pick up where he left off at the end of last postseason, he�s got to have one of the all-time best post-season passer ratings right? (L.B. would be my guess for lowest, at least for QBs with at least 3 games). Anyway hopefully this baby gets over.
2. CINCI (-2.5) over Ny jets � Gotta love how the Jets drubbing of the Bengals 2nd string really lowered this line, Sanchez hasn�t had a decent game since somewhere around week 4, they�ve limited his INTs by not letting him pass, but the Bengal defense has been stout all season, it would be �unusual� to see Tom Jones run for a bunch of points here, Sanchez is going to have to toss it at some point. On the other side of the ball the Jets defense is as ferocious as they come and the Bengals have been pretty pathetic, with Palmer not even showing flashes of his pro bowl self, everyone is hopping on the under in this one, but that seems a little too predictable, and that line is dropping fast, I�ll take the safe bet and go with the Bunglers.
1. Baltimore (+3.5) over NEW ENGLAND � This one is a trendy bet, but for good reason, the Ravens matchup great with the Patriots, even more so with Wes Welker out. Their defense has a clear advantage once they double cover Moss, don�t have to worry about underneath passes, and let Reed roam downfield. The emergence of Ray Rice has really helped Flacco develop all the way up to mediocre. The Patriots may squeak this one out somehow, lord knows they�ve won games by pure luck before, but the Ravens are the better team, sure they�re on the road, but that 3.5 points is a pretty nice cushion. I think Tony Dungy said it best when breaking it down on NBC, �The Patriots have Tom Brady.� Enough said right there, take the Ravens.
AND FINALLY ...
There are some pro games this weekend, but this round of the NFL bores me, so we will turn it over to Kid Vegas and the Sports Book Hustle. And remember, gambling is bad.
Well boys and girls, that wraps up another exciting NFL season, and quite a profitable one it was at that, while my dalliance into college football was predictably mediocre, I did manage to squeak out a record one game over .500 (pending that Alabama win), NFL I was predictably awesome checking in at 68 percent, and on my picks of the week I was a scorching 13-2, all in all quite a successful season, but just like Peyton Manning, regular season dominance is a cakewalk for me, my record-setting performance is meaningless if I can�t double up my winnings on the postseason, so here we go�
Boy, that Week 17 was awful huh (sans our winner in Dallas)? In addition to all the games sucking, three playoff round 1 games were �previewed� with some teams trying and some teams scouting, muddying up the spreads and confusing everybody, so let�s take a look at the picks�
3. Over 47.5 in Arizona � Somehow I think the Twin Terrors of Team Pugly (Matthews and Hawk) might have a little more trouble with Kurt Warner and the starting lineup of the Cards than Leinart and his losers. This one has all the makings of a shootout, as long as A-Rodg doesn�t get the postseason jitters in his first big game, I think he�ll be all right, the Pack have been pretty hot lately, and Zona losing their Pro Bowl corner last week should open things up even more. Warner will not doubt pick up where he left off at the end of last postseason, he�s got to have one of the all-time best post-season passer ratings right? (L.B. would be my guess for lowest, at least for QBs with at least 3 games). Anyway hopefully this baby gets over.
2. CINCI (-2.5) over Ny jets � Gotta love how the Jets drubbing of the Bengals 2nd string really lowered this line, Sanchez hasn�t had a decent game since somewhere around week 4, they�ve limited his INTs by not letting him pass, but the Bengal defense has been stout all season, it would be �unusual� to see Tom Jones run for a bunch of points here, Sanchez is going to have to toss it at some point. On the other side of the ball the Jets defense is as ferocious as they come and the Bengals have been pretty pathetic, with Palmer not even showing flashes of his pro bowl self, everyone is hopping on the under in this one, but that seems a little too predictable, and that line is dropping fast, I�ll take the safe bet and go with the Bunglers.
1. Baltimore (+3.5) over NEW ENGLAND � This one is a trendy bet, but for good reason, the Ravens matchup great with the Patriots, even more so with Wes Welker out. Their defense has a clear advantage once they double cover Moss, don�t have to worry about underneath passes, and let Reed roam downfield. The emergence of Ray Rice has really helped Flacco develop all the way up to mediocre. The Patriots may squeak this one out somehow, lord knows they�ve won games by pure luck before, but the Ravens are the better team, sure they�re on the road, but that 3.5 points is a pretty nice cushion. I think Tony Dungy said it best when breaking it down on NBC, �The Patriots have Tom Brady.� Enough said right there, take the Ravens.
AND FINALLY ...
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