Sunday, October 26, 2008

Contest Plays

Here are the Selections for Week 8, We stand at 15-20 for the year. I have chosen BALTIMORE - 7.5, CAROLINA -4.5, PITTSBURGH - 2.5, and NEW ENGLAND - 6.5, Mike has chosen TENNESEE - 4.5

Friday, October 24, 2008

One Time Around......2

Interesting sidenote from this years Fall Classic, The All Star Game decided home field advantage for the World Series; it was a 14 inning marathon that ended around 2 o' clock in the morning. Scott Kazmir of the Tampa Bay Rays was the winning pitcher, Brad Lidge of the Phillys, the loser.





If you can present a strong case for one particular NFL team winning the Superbowl this year, I'm all ears.





The Freak that is Randy Moss......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ikIrQ5O7w








For anyone intrigued by ultra high stakes gambling, Google " The Life of Ivey", its a series of episodes that you can watch right from your computer. Poker Pro Phil Ivey is followed around winning and losing millions playing craps, betting sports, prop betting, playing golf, and of course, playing poker. It's worth a look.




More look-alikes, New York Yankee hurler Mike Mussina and detective Nick Stokes( George Eads) from CSI Vegas.












I'm fine with the projected Red Sox starting rotation of Beckett, Lester, Matzusaka, Masterson, and Buchholz, but would really like Peavy or Sabathia in the mix, which more than likely will not happen.



If anyone was paying attention to the final out of Game 7 between Tampa and Boston, and the ensuing celebration on the mound, you had to see the Rays Johnny Gomes do his best Jimmy " Superfly" Snooka impersonation and swan dive on top of Rays phenom David Price, knocking him to the ground. The whole Tampa front office must have let out a sigh of relief when Price made his way out from under the Chaos. I'll bet the mohawk wearing Gomes would be riding the pine for a new organization, had he done the # 1 pick any harm.




From The Online Sportsbook Bodog: They have odds on which team Manny Ramirez will sign with for the 2009 season, they are as follows,
LA Dodgers 20/27
New York Yankees 11/10
New York Mets 5/1
Philadelphia Phillies 15/1
Boston Red Sox 100/1




" And with the First pick in the 2009 NFL draft, The Detroit Lions select......................"

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Victory is mine!

It was a good week for my Fantasy Team this past sunday. I outscored the whole leauge, and the closest team was 34 points behind me. Needless to say, I blew the doors off of " Will work for food" 208.15- 140.55. The blockbuster trade I made 2 weeks ago paid huge dividends, as Chris Johnson ripped the KC defense for 19 carries 168 yards and a score, Hines Ward added 4 catches for 60 yards and a TD, and The Bears Defense( a throw in the deal) had 2 sacks, 4 picks, 1 fumble recovery, a blocked kick, and 2 TD's. Not a bad trade for Brandon Marshall and Earnest Graham( who is now helping out at fullback) Things are looking up in the coming weeks, as I scratch and claw for a possible playoff birth.



Our contest plays this week went 2-3, I stand at 14-14 for the year, My partner( who would be better off picking from a hat) is 1-6. Through 7 full weeks in the contest we stand at a disapointing 15 up and 20 down. As always, the link below outlines the contest and updates the Standings every week, our entry is " ONETIME"



http://www.americanwagering.com/contests/2008/pro_challenge/index.html



I am kicking myself for the way I bet the NFL this week. I loved Carolina as my best play, and liked Miami second. so what do I do? I take a " conditional" wager with Miami in the front and Carolina in the latter part of the bet. it never made it to Carolina, as Baltimore, and the golden arm of Joe Flacco, strode into Miami and laid a beating on them. For those that dont know what a conditional wager is, its basically you risk a certain amount on 1 team, then you have an option to have that bet go onto another team( only if your first bet wins obviously)



I will be back tommorow for another segment of "One Time Around"

Monday, October 20, 2008

Do I still play Poker????

You would'nt think so.......truth is I played maybe 10 hours or so last week, it seems every night there is a game on, and every night I have action on it, and have to sweat. I am going to buckle down after the World Series and get back to putting in serious hours. I will post more about poker as I start pumping in the hours on the virtual felt in the very near future.

I want to congatulate the Tampa Bay Rays, they did what I thought they could never do after losing game 5 the way they did( up 7-0 with 2 outs in the 7th) and then losing to an obviously hurt Josh Beckett in game 6, they beat the Red Sox's ace Jon Lester in game 7. Matt Garza was just filthy, utterly un-hittable, and just downright dominating. And this freak David Price they all of a sudden roll out in the 8th with 2 outs, and then to finish the 9th, is another story. To sum him up- he throws 97 mph blurs that paint corners and buckle knees. He made the sweet swinging J.D. Drew look like a little leauger. For those that never heard of him, Price was the Rays #1 pick last year out of Vanderbilt, look out MLB hitters. Here is a little more about Price http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Price_(baseball) I like the Rays to beat the Phillies in a tough series, 4 games to 2.

I will be back tommorow to talk about the weekend in the NFL, for those sweating us in the 100k Leroys contest, we went 2-2 on sunday, and have DENVER + 3.5 tonight. We need a positive week to gain a little ground.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Contest Plays for week 7

This will be quick, as I always seem to be rushed. For those following along our progress in the Leroys Spotsbook 100k Handicapping Contest, you know we went 2-3 last week, my picks were 2-2, and my partner was 0-1, bringing my total to 12-12, and my sad excuse for a partner at a dismal 1-5. Together we are 13-17 after 6 weeks, and need to make a move with some 5-0 and 4-1 weeks. Hopefully week 7 will be that kick start for us. OK, on to the selections, I have chosen the following 4 sides:
CHI BEARS -3.5, CAR PANTHERS -2.5, MIA DOLPHINS - 2.5, and SD CHARGERS + 0.5

Count Lose-ula( my partner) has chosen: DEN BRONCOS +3.5

Hopefully we can string together some strong weeks starting with this week. here is the link covering everything you need to know about the contest, including overall standings of all the entrys http://www.americanwagering.com/contests/2008/pro_challenge/index.html

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

One Time Around.......

Kevin Youkilis standing in the batters box, with his hands a foot apart, and his can jacked up to the high heavens, would have the casual fan shaking his head, until they rolled this across the screen, an average of .312 , 29 homers and 115 RBI's , not bad for an 8th rounder out of Cincinatti.


2 guys you would never want to meet in a dark alley, The Cowboys Marion Barber, and The Bills Marshawn Lynch.



Give Tom Brady the MVP award again. Now. The Pats are clearly # 12's team, and will be lucky to win 8 games without him.


The Red Sox have the Rays right where they want them, down 3-1 and the whole planet leaving them in the gutter for dead. I have seen this movie before, my friends.



You can say what you want about Manny Ramirez , but I want him on my team in October.



My brother would backwards K Jason Varitek on 3 pitches these days. Matt Cassell could not hit a sheet hanging on a clothesline in your backyard, let alone Randy Moss 30 yards downfield.



Charlie Frye, Dan Orlovsky, and Ryan Fitzpatrick all were starting QB's this week in the NFL. Think about that.



Congrats to the Atlanta Falcons siitng at 4-2, and also to their owner Arthur Blank. Right around this time last year, his QB Micheal Vick was in the big house, and his coach was getting a pink slip. Now he has QB, Matt Ryan, who should be the rookie of the year, and a coach, Mike Smith, who could take Coach of the Year honors.



My college football Guru tells me to watch out for Missouri beating Texas on the field this saturday


Just put a Minnesota Twins Jersey on Poker Pro, Eric " E-Dog" Lingdren, and he could pass for Justin Morneau anyday of the week.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Weekend Update

The NFL gets crazier and crazier each week. Washington, playing as good, if not better then any team in the leauge, has a disgraceful St. Louis Ram team come into their home field with an 0-4 record, and casually depart with a last second victory. The New York football Giants, undefeated and playing well, get dismantled by a Cleveland Brown team without argueably, the best Tight End in football, Kellen Winslow.

The reverse to this trend is a team like the Jaxsonville Jaguars, who have looked dispicable on both sides of the ball, yet they find a way to stroll into Denver and emerge victorious. The NFL is full of bad teams, folks. How bad are the Minnesota Vikings, who needed a last second FG to defeat a Detroit Lions team that has been outscored by 70 points combined at the half in their first 4 games, and oh yeah, they had Dan Orlovsky under center, who before this game had attempted a whopping 17 passes in the NFL for his career.

Not only was the NFL hard to watch on TV, it was also hard on The Prophets wallet. For those of you following I am involved in a handicapping contest and my 4 plays went 2-2 this week. My partner, the ruination of our chances, was 0-1, bringing our overall record to 13-17 after 6 weeks. I am 12-12, and my sad excuse for a partner is 1-5 on his total picks. We need a few weeks at 4-1 and 5-0 to get back in the hunt. For those interested in our progress, check out the official site, it explains the contest, shows picks, and updates standings every week .http://www.americanwagering.com/contests/2008/pro_challenge/index.html

And just to make the weekend as bad as it could possibly be, my Fantasy Team dropped to 2-4, which was almost inevitable due to the lineup I rolled out. The coming weeks look promising, and I need to string together some wins to have a shot at the playoffs, and ultimately, the title.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Contest plays, Fantasy woes

Well, I finaly had time to get the Blog rolling, even though it is week 6 in the NFL. I'm going to talk a little about the pick 5 contest I am involved in through Leroys Sportsbook in Las Vegas Nevada. I was approached by a friend of mine( who lives in Las Vegas) to be his partner in the contest, the buy in was 250.00 per entry, the prize pool is a guarenteed 100,000 dollars. My friend proposed that I pick 4 sides and he would choose one total( over or under desired game) for the week, we are asked to select 5 games against the spread per week, for the full 17 weeks of the season. so far it has been slightly disapointing, as I stand 10-10 and my partners total plays are a dismal 1-4, for a combined 11-14. Week 4 was a tough one, as I went 1-3, but lost all 3 games by the "hook" ( half point) yep, all 3 games, all 3 losses by a half point, all 3 games were last minute nightmares. Hook beat #1, Houston + 3.5, winning 27-10 with 5 minutes in the 4th quater and INDY wins 31-27. fun. Hook Beat #2, Balt +2.5, up 10-6 with 3 mins left, and in complete control all game on defense. nope. the ageless wonder Kerry Collins leads TENN down the field 80 yards for the 13-10 win, and the metal rod in my you know what.

Hook beat #3, DENVER - 3.5, winning 16-6 with 2minutes left, and the meaningless( inevitable) Tampa TD to make it 16-13 and complete the trilogy.

The board is an absolute nightmare this week, but I have to select 4 sides, here is what "The Prophet" has come up with NO SAINTS - 7.5 at home vs OAK, HSTN TEXANS - 3.5 at home vs MIAMI, NY JETS - 5.5 at home vs CINCY, and DENVER -3.5 at home vs JAX, my partner has selected OVER 44.5 in the NE PATS/ SD CHARGER game. I dont have time to get in to my analysis of these picks, but I will in weeks to come. You can follow along our progress via this link, our entry name is, shockingly, " ONETIME"http://www.americanwagering.com/contests/2008/pro_challenge/index.html

Lets move on for a quick report on my Fantasy Club. If you saw my starting team for this week, you would think I had my 6 year old daughter draft my squad. I just finished a trade for Chris Johnson and Hines Ward for Brandon Marshall and Ernest Graham, both Johnson and Ward have byes this week. I made the deal because Graham was just not getting enough touches to be my # 2 RB, and Chris Johnson has really favorable match ups the rest of the season, plus he gets 18-24 touches per game. Ward is clearly no Marshall, but is rock solid year in and year out as a fantasy WR. heres a peek at my week 6 starting roster, cover up your eyes and just peek through the cracks, its gross fellas. QB Pennington( I have Carson Palmer out), RB1 Chris Perry ( Marshawn Lynch also on bye) RB2 Micheal Bush( good lord) WR1 Calvin Johnson, WR2 Vincent Jackson( Chambers is out this week) WR3 Robert Meacham( ever hear of him?) TE Anthony Fasano( Scheffler is out this week) K Josh Scobee, DEF MINN. there you have it.

the light at the end of the tunnel, is my studs come back week 7 , so hopefully I will rebound. I stand 2-3 for the season, but again, there is hope with my new additions. take a peek at our scoring system, as it is a little different then most conventional fantasy leauges.

Completions (.5)Passing Yards (20 yards per point; 3 points at 250 yards; 5 points at 300 yards; 7 points at 400 yards)Passing Touchdowns (6)Interceptions (-1)Rushing Attempts (.5)Rushing Yards (10 yards per point; 3 points at 100 yards; 5 points at 150 yards; 7 points at 200 yards)Rushing Touchdowns (6)Receptions (1)Reception Yards (10 yards per point; 3 points at 100 yards; 5 points at 150 yards; 7 points at 200 yards)Reception Touchdowns (6)Return Touchdowns (6)2-Point Conversions (2)Fumbles Lost (-1)Offensive Fumble Return TD (6)Field Goals 0-19 Yards (3)Field Goals 20-29 Yards (3)Field Goals 30-39 Yards (3)Field Goals 40-49 Yards (4)Field Goals 50+ Yards (5)Point After Attempt Made (1)Sack (1)Interception (1)Fumble Recovery (1)Touchdown (6)Safety (2)Block Kick (1)Points Allowed 0 points (10)Points Allowed 1-6 points (7)Points Allowed 7-13 points (4)Points Allowed 14-20 points (1)Points Allowed 21-27 points (0)Points Allowed 28-34 points (-1)Points Allowed 35+ points (-4)

I will be back early in the week for recaps, in the future I will give alot more insight, I'm just pressed for time right now.