Mighty Bets for 2010 BCS Bowls

If the other bowl games are for fun , the BCS is where the real gamblers earn their keep. The stakes are higher, the predictions harder, the fact that everyone will taunt you looms high. And yet I will not only make predictions but as always make substantial wagers......

Fiesta Bowl
What I'm willing to Bet: Rod and Todd Flanders

Pick: Oklahoma over UConn

The Big East has never won a BCS bowl and UConn might be the worst team to ever represent the Big East. They are 62nd in total offense! Yes Big Game Bob has been awful in bowl games lately but if he can't beat UConn he needs to pack it in. I'm so confident I'm willing to risk the Flanders.

Rose Bowl
What I'm Willing to Bet: Colonel's House

Pick: Wisconsin over TCU
I'm willing to grant that TCU has a phenomenal defense. However it is a defense built for combating the small fast teams (TCU literally invented the 3-3-5 - the alignment that's used against spread-option teams now). A 3-3-5 (that's 3 DLs, 3 LBs, and 5 CBs) is not going to match up well against Wisconsin's mashers up front. Yes it's possible but I'm risking Castle Grayskull, Colonel's main fortress.

Orange Bowl
What I'm Willing to Bet: An Alpaca


Pick: Stanford over Virginia Tech

If you fell asleep after week 2 you'd think that this was a giant mistake having V-Tech in the BCS. It still might be but V-Tech did go undefeated in the ACC. So they got that going for them. Which is nice. On the one hand Stanford has Andrew Luck - a great pro prospect. On the other V-Tech has Taylor - a great college QB. V-Tech has the home field time zone and a statistically superior defense. However I'm going to side with Harbaugh. When it doubt go with the coach that would ride an alpaca to a bowl game.

National Championship
What I'm Willing to Bet: A trip to an Indian buffet

Pick: Aurbun over Oregon

While most people are falling heads over heels in picking an Auburn win, I'm willing to entertain Oregon. The main reason...Cam Newton. How often have we seen Heisman Trophy QB winners fat off banquet tours fall flat in the National Championship game? It's a lot . Add in that Oregon has made great adjustments at halftime and it might nullify Auburn's comeback nature. However as much as I want to go with Oregon, the SEC myth has seeped into my brain and I'll go with Auburn. But it's going to be close...

Sugar Bowl

What I'm Willing to Bet: My Self-Esteem


Pick: Ohio State over Arkansas

Last year tOSU reversed its' BCS losing ways and crushed Oregon. This year they face the other major monkey on their back...the SEC. The Buckeyes are 0-9 versus the SEC in bowl games. Not sure why that matters other than it means my self-esteem as a proud Ohioan/Union Man is on the line. Arkansas is the best offense the Buckeyes have faced in a looong time. A pro style offense averaging nearly 40 points a game, a passing attack 4th in the nation, a future first round QB, an evil soulless head coach, etc.. It'll be tough. However the Buckeyes are getting healthier in the secondary, are laden with seniors, and have actually pulled out some quality wins in the TP era. It might just be the year tOSU can help silence the cries of Slow Big 10. And whether I want to or not I'm risking crying in the corner with Binky if they don't win....

NFL Hypocrisy

People criticize baseball’s “unwritten rules” and, to an extent, I can understand the criticism and acknowledge that a portion of that critique is valid. What I find amusing annoying as shit is how football has its own set of unwritten rules yet is never criticized. Just as with the steroids issue, the NFL manages to skate by with nary a peep of condemnation or chastisement.

This column is borne out of this story about the Jets who might be in trouble with the NFL for not listing Brett Favre on their injury report for the final five games of last season. As is well documented at this point, Favre had torn tendons in his throwing arm near the end of the ’08 season.

Apparently, because he did not receive daily treatment and there was no talk of him missing any starts, the Jets decided that there was no point to listing Favre on the weekly injury report. This line of reasoning makes sense to me but the NFL sees it otherwise. According to the league, the Jets should’ve listed Favre because they knew he had an injury that could affect his performance, even if his presence on the injury list had him labeled as “probable.”

Contrast the Jets’ apparent injury list faux-pas with the Patriots’ well-known act of gamesmanship, where they list nearly one-third of their active roster on the injury report, irrespective of those players’ conditions or likelihood of playing in games. In their adherence to the letter of the law (but clearly not the spirit of it), the Patriots manage to water down the value of the injury list to the point that no observer can actually look at New England’s list of players and assign it any value.

As we all know, the entire discussion of the injury list revolves around that “unwritten rule” in football called gambling. As much as the NFL pretends that it doesn’t cater to the legal bookmakers in Las Vegas (or the illegal ones found in the backs of pubs and betting parlors), there is no question that the NFL derives an ancillary level of revenue from the actions of those who participate in sports betting.

Most recently, the NFL fought a measure by Delaware which would’ve legalized parlay bets on NFL games in that state. Due to its incredible financial might and its connections with the federal government, the NFL was able to slow down Delaware’s betting initiative.

I find the NFL’s hypocrisy both insulting and infuriating. If you truly don’t want to be associated with sports betting then cut the charade with the injury list. The Patriots already make a mockery of it and yet are above reproach. But when the Jets use a degree of thoughtfulness and honesty with the injury list, they are “under investigation.” This isn’t a plea to stop the seeming persecution of the Jets to the benefit of their tormentors the Patriots. This is a plea for the NFL to get off its high horse and just admit that gambling and the injury list are part of it’s “unwritten rules.”

Third Annual BSD Tournament Challenge

Well its time for the Madness to begin. As part of our American heritage the great tourney fill out officially starts. We here in the internet age can do it online (where we can also buy plane tickets to flee the country due to our bets on said tournament). As such please feel free to join the fun. If for whatever reason you weren't included in the initial foray please just let me know via posting or e-mail. This year's winner gets a free ticket on the Colonel's Survival Adventure (I believe this year its being held in Australia with such fun activities as shark wrestling, knifey-forky, gator head butting and kangaroo kick-boxing). Good luck to everyone and by that I mean I hope you all lose to me...