The blog took a one-week hiatus for Thanksgiving, but the previous week was the best of the year so far.  The results were 2-1 in the NFL, 2-2 in college hoops, 2-0 in the NBA, and a stunning 4-0 in college football.  Busy week in the real world has the blog coming out on Saturday this week, but still plenty of plays on the board.  As always, read the disclaimers in the first blog (short version: don't do anything illegal), and then proceed with the rest of this weekend's edition. 

 

Blog Records:

 

College Basketball:  5-2, +$280

NBA:  4-6, -260 

MLB Playoffs:  5-3, +325

College Football:  17-13-1, +270

NFL:  6-6-1, -60

 

 

College Basketball

 

     It looks like there are about a thousand college basketball games on the board today, so it's tough to narrow it down to just a few.  Here are the top four plays:

 

James Madison +5.5

 

     Huh?  Northeastern has a couple nice players, but JMU is loaded this year and the sportsbooks are still underrating them so far, which is good for wanna-be handicappers like me.  James Madison probably wins this game outright, but I'll happily take 5 insurance points, just in case.

 

UNC-Wilmington +4.5

 

     Even though UNC-W has started out 4-2, and one of those two losses was against Indiana, I feel like they have underachieved a little bit this season.  With the talent they have returning this season, they should be winning more convincingly this season so far.  Today, against a very mediocre Hofstra team (although Agudio is very good) that has already lost to Holy Cross and St. Francis, I think the Seahawks finally put it all together this afternoon.

 

South Carolina +7.5

 

     With two former South Carolina Mr. Basketball winners transferring back home, Devan Downey and Zam Frederick, the Gamecocks are a really dangerous team this season.  I like Clemson a lot this year (I ranked them #3 in my ACC Hoops Preview), but with Sam Perry and James Mays injured, South Carolina should be able to at least keep this game close today.

 

Western Michigan +7.5

 

     Western Michigan has a deep roster which returns all 5 starters from last year's team.  They have already posted an impressive win over Davidson (who almost beat UNC a couple of weeks ago) so far this season.  San Diego State had a really good season last year, but lost a lot of firepower to graduation at the end of the season.  Too many points to give a talented team.

 

 

NBA

 

       I have never been very good at picking NBA games, but won both picks in the last blog and I am slowly trying to dig myself out of the hole.  There are so many psychological factors involved with the players in the NBA that it makes it pretty much a guessing game as far as I can tell.  Still, I'll throw a couple of darts for Saturday:

 

Mavericks-4 

 

     Both teams played last night, which favors the Mavs with their deeper roster.  Plus, it seems like it has been a long time since the Hornets have defeated Dallas, and sometimes a team just has another team's number.  The matchups always seem to work in Dallas' favor when these teams meet.  Neither Chandler nor West is capable of defending an inside/outside threat like Dirk Nowitzki.

 

Rockets -5

 

     Obviously, the Rockets are a very good team and the Kings, well, not so much.  With Ron Artest leaving the team to care for his daughter who is facing some serious health issues, I can't see the Kings keeping up with Yao, T-Mac, and crew.

 

 

College Football

 

     I considered just calling it quits in college football after the 4-0 performance in the last blog, but it's a big weekend and I thought I should put a couple out there.  Saturday's picks:

 

Tennessee +7.5 

 

     Nice job, Les Miles.  Well played.  The morning of the SEC Championship Game, the story comes out that Miles has agreed to leave LSU and accept the job at Michigan.  Brilliant.  If you're an LSU Tiger, are you going to run through a wall for this guy today?  I don't think so.  I've been saying that LSU was a fraud all season, and I'm going to go with that theme again today.  Tennessee has been playing well lately, while the LSU defense has not looked as dominant in recent weeks.

 

UCLA +20 

           

     USC is better team, I can't argue with that.  But, in a big rivalry game, that's an awful lot of points.  USC will win this game, but I think the Bruins will keep the score within two touchdowns.  Weather report says it will be pretty windy tonight, which makes it hard to throw and should keep the scoring down to some degree.  Lower scoring is always a great thing when you've got a 20-point underdog.

 

 

NFL

 

     I think that's three undefeated weeks in a row in the NFL after getting off to a bad start. I'm going to try and make it 4 in a row with two home favorites on Sunday:

 

Redskins -6

 

     This one's for Sean.  I think emotion is often overrated, but football is a sport where it can really be a factor.  Emotion won't make it easier to hit a curveball and it won't make your aim better when shooting a 3-pointer with a hand in your face, but emotion and desire CAN make you run faster, hit harder, and play through pain.  Also, with Marshawn Lynch out again the Skins only have to put 6 or 7 defenders in the box, and the Bills are going to have a hard time scoring against an inspired Redskin defense.  Washington blows out Buffalo tomorrow, you heard it here first.

 

Saints -3

 

     The Buccaneers have done an admirable job of overcoming injuries in their backfield so far this season, but if Jeff Garcia is out or unable to perform up to his normal standard, I think Tampa is going to have a long day tomorrow.  It's hard to back a Jeckyll and Hyde team like the Saints, but at home and only needing to win by a field goal, I think this is the side to be on in this game.