Settling A Bet

Bet was if the Packers win DP had to put this picture up on the site for the day, if the Steelers won SMack had to send over 2 large pizzas.

Enjoy.

BMack's NFL Picks

For all you gamblers out there, here are my picks...

Denver @ Jacksonville -1 1/2
Pick: Jacksonville

Oakland @ Tennessee -7
Pick: Tennessee

Cincinnati @ New England -5.5
Pick: New England

Indianapolis -3 @ Houston
Pick: Indianapolis

Detroit @ Chicago -7
Pick: Detriot

Atlanta @ Pittsburgh -1 1/2
Pick: Atlanta

Miami -1 1/5 @ Buffalo
Pick: Miami

Carolina @ N.Y. Giants -7
Pick: NYG

Green Bay @ Philadelphia -1
Pick: Green Bay

Arizona -3 1/2 @ St. Louis
Pick: Arizona

San Francisco @ Seattle Even
Pick: San Francisco

Dallas -3 1/2 @ Washington
Pick: Washington

Baltimore @ N.Y. Jets -3
Pick: Baltimore

San Diego -4 1/2 @ Kansas City
Pick: Kansas City

Locks: Indianapolis, N.Y. Giants, Green Bay

Kind Of Ridiculous Vegas Odds

Last year, the Redskins were 75:1 Odds to win the Superbowl, this year they are 10:1. To me that makes no sense, I know they upgraded at QB and coach and have 19 ex pro bowl runningbacks, but 10:1? That seems a little bit of a stretch to me, I wouldn't even bet on the Redskins if it was 10:1 odds for them to make the playoffs. Taking this bet would be the equivalent of taking your money and throwing it away.

Even though this has nothing to do with the NFL. I feel as if the NFL is the most evil of the 4 major sport organizations.

Another Shocking Iverson Story

Allen Iverson suffers from drinking and gambling problems. Wow, how shocked are you?

In a way I feel bad for the guy. His kid is sick, and I totally support that he went home to take care of her instead on continuing his NBA career. Still, these problems have been around for awhile, and I think they are finally catching up to him.

The gambling really shouldn't shock anyone. It happens to a lot of athletes, especially after they retire (Barkley, Jordan, Gretzky, ect). I guess it's fills that missing rush they don't get anymore now that they are retired. You hope he can turn it around, but if you trust Stephen A. Smith's reporting (can't say that I do) it doesn't sound good...

"(Iverson) will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away," Smith reported.

Ouch. Well he has always been somewhat of a thug, but I don't think this has much to do with that. He is currently going through a divorce, and those usually don't happen over night. So, lets look at his life...

- Basketball career is probably over.
- Wife is leaving him.
- Daughter is very sick.
- He has a drinking problem.
- He has a gambling problem.

If I didn't know better I would think I was writing about John Daly again. Anyways, even though I predicted that there was going to be no turnaround for this guy, I do feel bad for him and hope he can straighten out his shitty life.

How Much do the Puerto Ricans Pay?

Antoine is taking that stupid shake thing he does off to the Virgin Islands where he has recently signed on with the Guaynabo's down in some PR league. Rumor has it he needs the cash pretty badly. Something about bad checks in a Vegas casino

I'm guessing he'll see something in the range of $10,000 - $20,000 per season based on the crowds those games draw. He'll have that 4 mil chipped away in no time.

What confuses me about guys like Toine is what is wrong with China. Marbury took his crazy ass over there recently and played to sold out crowds every night. He played only a handful of actual games yet commanded several hundred thousand dollars for his services. And if not China, what about Spain, Greece, Italy or Russia? All respectable professional leagues that pay a surprisingly decent amount of money.

Rasheed Wallace: Refs Are A Bunch Of Cheaters

Have I told you how much I love Rasheed Wallace.

"Rasheed Wallace, he of technical foul fame, had this to say about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy and his betting scandal to the Boston Herald.

"I always said to myself and had the thing that there's no way that the things that he did he could do them by himself," Wallace told the paper. "I always said that. It's virtually impossible. The things that he's been accused of, there's no way, to me, in my opinion, he could have done those things by himself."

Wallace was asked if other refs were betting on games.

"Possibly. I mean, I'm not sure if they were betting or whatever. But I know it's going to be, to me, once all this stuff comes out, it's going to be like -- what year was that? -- I want to say, was it the '32 New York City basketball scandal?"

Wallace was referring to the CCNY scandal of the '50s here (ESPN)."

The Celtics have to be the most hated team by refs in the NBA. They hate Wallace, Garnett gets technicals, Pierce can complain, Rondo likes to be a tough guy, Perk is constantly the angriest man on the planet, and Doc has been down every refs throat since the beginning of the season. I hope it doesn't affect the way games are called, but I can't argue with anything Wallace has said.

Castledowns Bingo

I am starting to lose faith in the world...

Walker Can't Wiggle Out Of Gambling Debt

A criminal complaint has been filed against former Celtic Antoine Walker, with Las Vegas prosecutors claiming the former NBA star has not repaid $822,500 in gambling debts to three casinos, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Walker, who played with the Celtics from 1996 to 2003 (and again in 2005), has reportedly been charged with failing to pay back $1 million worth of markers at Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and Red Rock Resort. Chief deputy DA Bernie Zadrowski told the Sun he was asking a Las Vegas justice of the peace for an arrest warrant for Walker. Zadrowski said Walker has paid back some of the debt, but still owes $822,500 (Boston.com)."

Antoine Walker was one of my favorite players of all-time, but I am not at all surprised about this. Walker kind of reminds me of Barkley, plus Walker always like to take risks. He was once asked why he shoots so many threes. He replied simply....because there are no fours. Apparently he has a similar view on gambling.

Delaware = Vegas

"The Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that a law allowing sports betting does not conflict with the state constitution, paving the way for Delaware to become the only state east of the Rocky Mountains to allow wagering on the outcome of games (ESPN)."

Wow the first time ever the state of Delaware has done anything news worthy. Personally I think this is awesome, and I wish Mass would do this. I love betting on sports. I just wish I could be more open about it and not have to traffic it through a bunch of off shore websites...

Kentucky Derby Posts and Odds

1 West Side 30-1
2 Musket Man 21-1
3 Mr. Hot Stuff 30-1
4 Advice 30-1
5 Hold Me Back 15-1
6 Friesan Fire 5-1
7 Papa 20-1
8 Mine That Bird 50-1
9 Join in the Dance 50-1
10 Regal Ransom 30-1
11 Chocolate Candy 20-1
12 General Quarters 20-1
13 I Want Revenge 3-1
14 Atomic Rain 50-1
15 Dunkirk 4-1
16 Pioneer of the Nile 4-1
17 Summer Bird 50-1
18 Nowhere to Hide 50-1
19 Desert Party 15-1
20 Flying Private 50-1

Best Name:
I Want Revenge - Is supposed to win.

Who will win:
Pioneer of the Nile - Great name. Only reason I pick him is because it's what my parents wanted to name me. They went with Bob instead...bad choice.

ESPN's Streak for the Cash Changing Formats on April 1st

For those of you who don't already play Streak for The Cash, it's a pretty simple free play online game devised by ESPN where one's goal is to rack up 27 straight picks on various actual sporting events in order to win a million dollars. The matchups are usually hard to call, and frustrating to say the least, but what sports guru doesn't want a free chance at a million dollars? I suggest everyone play ... the game is changing its format on April 1st, so streaks will start over and new stipulations and prizes will be put into place ...

Streak for the Cash is ending soon, but the $1 Million is still up for grabs, so make your picks now. Even if you can't reach a Streak of 27, the $2,500 monthly prize is still available for March.

On April 1, come back to Streak for the Cash to check out the new game format. We'll have weekly prizes, a trip to Bristol, and a new $1 Million prize on the line.

Courtesy: ESPN.com

Is Vegas On Crack?

It never ceases to amaze me how accurate the odds makers are in any sport really. Everytime the line looks ridiculous, I laugh and then when the game is decided within 5% of said line I thank god I didn't bet my true feelings.

Have a look at the Sweet 16 lines for Thursday and Friday's games. There are a few that are just screaming for you to jump all over them -

Purdue/UConn - (UConn -6.5)
Xavier/Pitt - (Pitt -7)
Mizzou/Memphis - (Memphis -4.5)
Nova/Duke - (Duke -2)

Arizona/Louisville - (Louisville -9)
Cuse/Oklahoma - (Oklahoma -1)
Kansas/MSU - (MSU -1.5)
Gonzaga/UNC - (UNC -8)

Now, most of these appear to be reasonable. No problems with the Pitt, Louisville, MSU or UNC lines. The two that jump right out at me as easy winners are UConn and Villanova. UConn has dismantled its two opponents as if they were playing against high school kids. I know one was a 16 but it doesn't matter, the Huskies are on a mission. AJ Price has been absolutely on fire since the Big East Tourney game and when he's shooting like that UConn is untouchable. The fact they are laying only 6.5 points is unfathomable. I'm looking at them to win by 15 or 20.

As for Nova/Duke, how can Duke even be favored here? I never pick against the Blue Devils but compare the quality of play in the first two rounds and the quality of conferences the two schools hail from. No brainer. Nova is going to win and it shouldn't even be much of a struggle.

You want easy money, double up on UConn and Nova. The Dueling Couches Guarantee says you cannot go wrong.

The Refs Got Paid

I had my doubts that this game was on the level. Something just did not seem right. Then the good people over at Deadspin cleared everything up with a well placed link to an interesting celebrity pick on SI.com. You see, it turns out that 2 time Olympic champ Kerri Walsh picked the exact final score of this game. Link Here.

Case closed, she clearly used the Cash4Gold site early and bought herself some refs. Then placed an exact score bet in Vegas paying out 30 or 40 to 1. And the poor Cards get f'd in the process.

Why Do the Titans Get No Respect?

Once again I went and read through the weekly spreads, and once again I knew one of my locks for the week would be the Titans (only favored 3 1/2 points over the Jags). Am I the only one seeing this? I mean it is every week the Titans are only favored by 4 points or less. The team seems to never disappoint me. Last year, the Patriots were the undefeated team, and they were cruising through the spreads for the first couple of weeks. Then Vegas caught on and their spreads got ridiculous, and you were much better off betting against them. That's the great thing about the Titans, their offense isn't flashy, they just get it done. 8-1 against the spread...Let me repeat that. 8-1 that's what the Tennessee Titans have done against the spread this year, and they are only favored 3 1/2 points to Jacksonville! The same team that is only 2 weeks removed from losing to the Bengals!!! I'm sorry, but that is just silly.

-BMack

DC NFL Picks

Once again, here are our Dueling Couches NFL picks. We had a decent week 1 going 8-7, but we cleaned up with our locks going 3-0. The 3 locks are the games that if you're going to be gambling on football games, we think you should bet on (if betting was legal).

1:00 ET At Kansas City -3.5 vs. Oakland
DC Pick: Kansas City

1:00 ET At Cincinnati -1 vs. Tennessee
DC Pick: Tennessee

1:00 ET Indianapolis -1.5 At Minnesota
DC Pick: Indianapolis

1:00 ET At Washington PK vs. New Orleans
DC Pick: New Orleans

1:00 ET Green Bay -3 At Detroit
DC Pick: Green Bay

1:00 ET At Carolina -2.5 vs. Chicago
DC Pick: Carolina

1:00 ET NY Giants -8.5 At St. Louis
DC Pick: St. Louis

1:00 ET At Jacksonville -5 vs. Buffalo
DC Pick: Buffalo

4:05 ET At Tampa Bay -7 vs. Atlanta
DC Pick: Atlanta

4:05 ET At Seattle -6.5 vs. San Francisco
DC Pick: San Francisco

4:15 ET At Arizona -6.5 vs. Miami
DC Pick: Miami

4:15 ET At NY Jets -1.5 vs. New England
DC Pick: New England

4:15 ET At Denver PK vs. San Diego
DC Pick: San Diego

8:15 ET Pittsburgh -6 At Cleveland
DC Pick: Pittsburgh

Monday Night Football:

8:35 ET At Dallas -6.5 vs. Philadelphia
DC Pick: Dallas

Houston vs. Baltimore has been postponed

Locks: Green Bay, Tennessee, New Orleans

DC Season Record: 15-15
DC Locks: 5-1

This Week: 7-8
Locks: 2-1

DC NFL Picks

For all your gambling needs, we will make our picks for each game, then give you our three locks for the week (those are the games we suggest betting on).


9/7 1:00 ET Cincinnati -2 At Baltimore

DC Pick: Cincinnati


9/7 1:00 ET NY Jets -3 At Miami

DC Pick: NY Jets


9/7 1:00 ET At New England -16 vs. Kansas City

DC Pick: Kansas City


9/7 1:00 ET At Pittsburgh -6 1/2 vs. Houston

DC Pick: Pittsburgh


9/7 1:00 ET Jacksonville -3 At Tennessee

DC Pick: Tennessee


9/7 1:00 ET Detroit -3 At Atlanta

DC Pick: Detroit


9/7 1:00 ET At Buffalo -1 vs. Seattle

DC Pick: Seattle


9/7 1:00 ET At New Orleans -3 vs. Tampa Bay

DC Pick: New Orleans


9/7 1:00 ET At Philadelphia -8 vs. St. Louis

DC Pick: St. Louis


9/7 4:15 ET Dallas -5 1/2 At Cleveland

DC Pick: Dallas


9/7 4:15 ET At San Diego -9 vs. Carolina

DC Pick: San Diego


9/7 4:15 ET Arizona -2 1/2 At San Francisco

DC Pick: Arizona


9/7 8:15 ET At Indianapolis -9 1/2 vs. Chicago

DC Pick: Indianapolis


9/8 7:00 ET At Green Bay -2 1/2 vs. Minnesota

DC Pick: Minnesota


9/8 10:15 ET Denver -3 At Oakland

DC Pick: Denver


Locks: Denver, NY Jets, Dallas

DC Season Record: 8-7
DC Locks: 3-0