Thursday, August 30, 2007

It Tastes So Good When it Hits Your Lips...

For the past couple of weeks I've been feeling a little itchy. I tried different powders and creams, but as we neared the end of summer, I realized that my itch was an old friend returning for another visit.

(Recreational) Gambling on football. Around the start of football season I get like Frank the Tank after a couple of funnels. There is nothing like the thrill of having an underdog cover or a late defensive stand allowing a favorite to cover the spread.

On the flip side, there is nothing like a couple of bad beats that make you want to stab somebody. Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Vanderjagt, Drew Bledsoe highlight last season's list of "Guys I'd Like to Stab in an Alley".

1. Steelers at Oakland - Roethlisberger throws a million picks, two returned for touchdowns, in a horrible road loss to Oakland. Pittsburgh loses despite only giving up 50 yards of offense to the Raiders.

2. Cowboys at Redskins - Boys are a 1 point favorite. Tie game with six left in the fourth and the "drunken kicker" gets his attempt blocked. Sean Taylor picks up the ball, returns it to Dallas territory and gets facemasked while tackled. On the final play with time expired, a Nick Novak 47-yard field goal won it for the Skins.

3. Cowboys at Eagles - Have the Cowboys +8 and the score is 31-24 with a minute left. The Cowboys are driving late in the fourth for the tying touchdown. A sure cover by the underdog at this point. Either the Eagles hold and the Boys cover or Dallas scores and covers. Bledsoe throws a weak out-route and its jumped on by Lito Shepherd, who returns it 102 yards for a touchdown. Bledsoe blows the game and the cover. That one hurt.

My site of choice is Sportsbook.com. I feel like it is reputable, easy to navigate, and gives the best odds and prop bets. While I'll throw a little money around on basketball and baseball every now and then, college and NFL football is where the fun is.

Our friend PPD lives for college football and is our resident expert. In his new blog, The Pride and The Pagentry, he gives his breakdown of his top-25 teams and offers his opinion of who's going to cover in big games. We're going to bet PPD's picks this season and see how we come out.

First (recreational) bet of the season is on LSU -20 (Sportsbooks' odds at the time of the bet). Derek sees this game as a 31-3 victory for the Tigers. He also suggested the under, but we're going to play it slow to open the season.

First (recreational) bet - LSU -20 for $20.

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