They like to call it parity in the NFL. Which is a nice way of avoiding the term mediocrity. Mediocrity kills the handicapper, because predicting can't be based on trends. In other words, things aren't always what they seem. There is no way, at this point in the 2006 season, to know the true character of teams like St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Jacksonville or Dallas. They're all
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Greed and Bad Weather Have Ruined the World Series
Posted on 10:30 AM by ergeg
There's a new book out called Reel Baseball: Baseball's Golden Era the Way America Witnessed It—In the Movie Newsreels (Doubleday, $29.95). The book compiles baseball stories from the early 1930s to the early 1960s, covering notable World Series, All-Star Games, and individual achievements like Johnny Vander Meer's two consecutive no-hitters, DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, Maris's 61 home
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
NFL Week 8 ATS: Back to the Future
Posted on 4:25 AM by ergeg
Now with two straight sub-.500 weeks under our belt, we sit brooding with a 33-30-5 record ATS for the season. It’s getting to the point where about the only way the SMA swami can get anything right is to get a hold of that sports almanac that Michael J. Fox had in Back to the Future, Part II. Looking for silver linings, we did have some sweet picks last week (Falcons over Steelers, Raiders over
Thursday, October 19, 2006
NFL Week 7 ATS: Sunday, Bloody Sunday; and a Pox on Frist's House
Posted on 9:36 PM by ergeg
With cap in hand—that phrase is the origin of the word handicapped; think about it—I come to you, dear reader, with the word that last week's 5-8 ATS was an all-time low for the SMA swami. Hunches didn't play out, favored visitors (the Eagles, the Seahawks, e.g.) tanked, home favorites (Redskins, Broncos) did the same, and visiting underdogs given a chance by the oddsmakers (the Texans) looked
Thursday, October 12, 2006
NFL Week 6 ATS: When Push Comes to Shove
Posted on 8:50 PM by ergeg
The bettor’s “push” is just like what they say about playing any competitive game to a tie: It’s like kissing your sister. Well, we kissed two sisters this past week, ending up at 7-5-2. All things considered, maybe we should be grateful. If Brett Favre holds onto the ball at the end of the Packers/Rams game, we might’ve had overtime and an eventual Packers victory. So we’ll take that push. As
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Division III Football: Alive and Well in Dubuque, Iowa
Posted on 5:22 PM by ergeg
There aren’t 103,000 screaming, raucous fans in the stands. There’s little media coverage. The major networks don’t even scroll their scores along the bottom of the television screen during the high-profile Saturday broadcasts. The games don’t generate millions of dollars. You probably can’t get odds in Vegas on the outcomes. Welcome to the world of Division III college football. What Division
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
NFL Week 5 ATS: Tweaking the Game Plan
Posted on 4:34 PM by ergeg
The SMA “swami” again scored 8-5-1 against the spread (ATS) last week. Consistency is an okay thing, and at 16-10-2 for the year, we’re not grousing. But we’re not jubilant either. Oh, to have shown some faith in those upstart Jets and Chad Pennington. Oh, to have listened to that inner voice that whispered, “The Titans really suck.” Oh, to have realized that it’s never wise to underestimate Tom
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