One of the best bands you've never heard of. Hopefully that will change soon.
Pic O' The Day
With $161 mil banked, ya'd think the fat fuck could afford a personal trainer.
Pick O' The Day
Looville came through for us in a big way last night , but the Pacers couldn't quite overcome Little Nate Robinson's Knickers, losing 123-119. That four point deficit is three less than Indy was spotted though, and our $100 bet on this brings back $191, for a net loss of $9 on the day. We'll try again...
I'm really ready for baseball to start, can't wait to do some Pete Rosing. For now though, it's hockey and hoops, two sprts I've gotta admit that I know WAY less about than either baseball or football. Let's crossbreed again today, taking Portland to win at +170 in Houston, and combo that with Boston -1.5 goals at +135 over Florida. The B's are returning home after a terrible 1-6 road trip, and one of the teams they lost to was Florida. Revenge time comes tonight, and this $200 bet will return $1269.
53 years ago today, Jackie Robinson signed a contract to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, thereby paving the way to him becoming the first Black man to play in the major leagues (African Americans hadn't been invented yet). In honor of The Man, here's some good old baseball footage to carry us over at least until Spring Training starts. One of the all time greats, here's to you, Jackie Robinson!
Pic O' The Day
"How's MY ass taste, Shaq?"
Rajon Rondo celebrated the beginning of his 24th year on planet earth with a 32 point 10 assist effort, as the Celtics pounded Phoenix 128-108 on Sunday. Rajon also added 6 points and 3 steals, and the Suns three game streak of scoring 140+ points went the way of Terry Porter.
Pick O' The Day
Yeah, a big bike race came through town yesterday, and excitement abounded. What a friggin stupid sport. Lance Armstrong spent the day blocking out guys and protecting his teammate, some German guy, and came in seventh overall. The German guy won. This whole team racing concept is a bit stupid to me, here you have arguably (?) the greatest cyclist who ever lived and he can't even get cut loose to race. Way too much sportsmanship involved in this for me, thankfully I didn't get a bet down.
There's not a lot of action tonight, one NHL game and less than a dozen NBA/NCAA games combined. Let's combo up Indiana +260 to win at NY along with Louisville giving away 2 points to Georgetown at -110. We'll put $100 down, and cover it with Indiana +7 at -110 for another $100. The first bet will pay $687, the cover bet on the Pacers will return $191, for a possible total of $878. Let's kick this week off with a nice payday!
Say what you will about these guys, but Blink182 had a lot of really catchy shit in the day, and Travis Barker can pound the drums with anyone. Thankfully, Travis is still among us after a horrifying plane crash a few months ago, but Blink disbanded four years ago today. Here's to ya, Boyz!
Pic O' The Day
Levi Leipheimer leads teammate Lance Armstrong in Saturday's penultimate stage of the Tour of California. The race concludes today in downtown Escondido, about 5 miles from here. I won't be in attendance, because I really don't want to be, plus it's on Versus at 2:00.
Pick O' The Day
Well, So much for "safe" bets, as both the Bruins and Wings got smoked yesterday. Kinda pounds home that the only sure thing is to keep your money in your wallet, the safest bet I know. Screw that, we'll play to win, and hopefully win big every now and then.
We're going off the board here, since I'm getting another late start and already missed my Celtics lock. It's now in the third quarter, and the boys in green are up 15. I don't have any official odds odds on the bike race, so I'm not gonna make a real bet today. But here's my Pick: Lance Armstrong will come from 6th place, 1:45 overall behind front runner Leipheimer, and win this race. The riders start in Rancho Bernardo, and have a brutal trip up Palomar Mountain, a 5,123 foot climb. Remember all those Tours de France Lance won? Remember where he absolutely kicked ass, ALWAYS? That's right, in the Pyrenees. Over in France, they get that crap out of the way fairly early and on the last day they have a little parade over flat land down the Champs D'Elysees. Here in North San Diego By God County , we save the toughest test for last, not like those French pussies. And Mr Armstrong has one helluva track record of passing life's toughest tests.
Every time I see this it reminds me of a guy generally known as "BunnyBoi". He cracks me up, and so does this.
Pic O' The Day
LeBron James went nuts last night, knocking down 55 points in a win over the Bucks on 16 of 29 shooting, including 8 of 11 three point shots. He pooned it up from virtually anywhere on the floor, and simply couldn't miss. This was my favorite shot, what the hell, why not throw up the old hooker, right? Like many of his other attempts, it went in. He is The Awesome.
Pick O' The Day
After starting out 0-6, we're 3-2 over the past 5 days - that's more like it! Portland covered at home like champs, and Phoenix hit 140 AGAIN to cover against the road hapless Okies. I would never have picked the Suns last night had I known that Amare Stoudemire got hurt, but once you lay your money down, it's done laid down. Tough break for the Arizona boys, Amare's their best player and may be done for the rest of the regular season.
I guess we'll count our blessings and move along with a seemingly safe NHL parlay, taking the Bruins at -150 odds to win over the Panthers, and Detroit at the same odds to beat Minnesota. Both Boston and the Wings are on the road, but both should win against weaker opponents. Our $200 bet will return $555.
Julius Peppersgot tagged as the Carolina Panthers' Franchise Player yesterday, although he no longer wants to play for the team.Matt Casselwas designated as the Pats' FP a couple weeks ago, and will be a $15 million a year bench warmer in 2009. The Panthers are desperate for a QB, the Pats could seriously use a young stud on defense. I can't be the only one who thinks a trade involving these two is the biggest no-brainer EVAR, can I???
Pick O' The Day
There is no feeling quite so bad as betting against your favorite team and losing ... Youch! We'll try to just walk, no RUN away from those situations in the future.
Nothing is grabbing me today. Half the spread lines aren't showing up and the money lines are closed too. Guess we'll try the NBA again, two home favorites are in action and look like the closest thing to decent bets available. Phoenix has been on a tear since canning Terry Porter and bringing back the run and gun under Alvin Gentry last week. They averaged 141 in two games against the sad Clippers, not a monumental accomplishment, but a good sign that this team will shoot first and answer questions later. The Suns are 9 point favorites at -110 over the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that has only won three road games all season. Hit that, and make it a combo with Portland over Atlanta by 5 at the same -110. The Blazers are tough at home, period (21-5), while the Hawks are pretty mediocre on the road (13-16). This $200 parlay will return $729.
It's s beauty day here in So Cal, clad in shorts and japflaps, and working from home. Just doesn't get better, unless you take out the whole working thing.
Pic O' The Day
Brad Van Peltpassed away yesterday, he was 57 years old. I remember this guy playing at State when I was a kid, makes me quite sad.
Pick O' The Day
Well, NC State covered last night, unfortunately Tech did not. Gat Damn Georgians, anyway. We'll just trudge onward, and head out west to Pauley Pavilion, where Pac 10 leading Washington faces off with UCLA. I love UCLA, my son graduated from there, and I hate going against them, as I always want them to win. The odds and the line on this one just seem way too lopsided in their favor, though, and I'm taking the Huskies to win for $100 at +325 odds, and am backing that up with the classic cover bet of $100 at +8.5 points at -110 odds. Washington is getting no respect, I guess we'll find out tonight if they deserve any. Both teams have a 19-6 record, the Bruins trail the Huskies by 1.5 games in the conference, and Washington owns an eleven point home victory against UCLA already. I don't get it, but I'm gonna bet it. The win bet will return $425 and the spread bet will return $191.
Dwight Howard may have been upstaged by a midget in the Slam Dunk Contest, but there was no stopping him last night - 45 points, 19 boards, and 8 blocks as Orlando whacked Charlotte 107-102. Emeka Okafor reports that Howard's ass does not, in fact, taste good.
Pick O' The Day
Thank You Bruins and Hawks, you guys manned up and got us out of the hole. Let's see if we can keep the MoMentum going!
Nothing is really grabbing me today, so let's just head to the wacky ACC and parlay a couple underdogs... Take Georgia Tech +14 points at Wake Forest, -110, and hit that with N.C. State at U.N.C. +19.5, also at -110. Our $200 bet will return $729. These are two huge spreads, a couple pretty elite teams against a couple weaker, yes, but these lines seem pretty exaggerated to me. Tech beat Wake by 2 on Jan 31, and the Heels did beat State pretty badly, by 17, on the same date. But the Pack's last two games were a 6 point victory over the Deacons, and a 21 point blowout of the Jackets, and they seem to be on the upswing as March approaches. You just never know in today's ACC, remember, this is the league where Boston College owns wins against both NC and the Dookies.
Happy 46th Birthday to Michael Jordan, shown here putting up his last shot as a Chicago Bull in the 1998 NBA Finals. He got nothing but net and sent the Jazz home, securing his sixth ring and legacy as one of the best players of all time. Probably THE best, IMO.
Pick O The Day
Sometimes the best bet is the one not made... Luckily for me, I couldn't hit U Conn to win as that bet was closed when I posted, and Pitt came through by not only covering, but by beating the not-for-long-#1 Huskies 76-68. So we played it a little safe and finally won, probably going to follow that strategy again today, right?
Screw that, we're going right back to parlaying 2 goal winners in hockey.
Boston is struggling right now, but owns a 3-0 series lead over Carolina this year, by a combined 13-5 score, and Timmy Thomas is 13-4 on the road this season. Take the Bruins -1.5 goals at +175, and parlay it with Chicago -1.5 goals over Tampa Bay at +145. The Hawks are 4-2 this month, and all four wins have been by at least two goals. Baby Huet is 8-3 lifetime against the Lightning, who have lost 6 of their last 8 games. This $200 combo bet will pay $1347.
Streak: Won 1 (!) Overall: 1-6 Cash Balance: - $818
I'm about ready to suspend the gambling portion of this section - not the Pick itself, just the gambling part - as it's tough to do these early in the morning when all betting options aren't offered. Unfortunately, early morning is when I can fit writing into my schedule, and it's the right time to put this out anyway. Today's marquee matchup is a very good example of being handcuffed by lack of choices, as #4 Pitt rolls into Storrs to face #1 U Conn, in what should be a very close game. There is no money line established yet for this game, I like the Huskies to win a squeaker, but like the Panthers to cover the 3 1/2 spread. It's a decent cover bet, one side should happen and both easily could, but since that wager isn't available we'll go with Pitt +3.5 points at -110, with a payout of $382. Time to make some "safer" bets and recoup a bit of moolah anyway...
Streak: Lost 6 Overall: 0-6 *Cash: -$1000
*It was pointed out to me by myself that I couldn't have bet the initial $200 if I didn't have it in the first place, therefore after the first loss my cash should have been $0 rather than minus $200. I am making that adjustment here today, not gonna go back and edit 6 entries...
Decent quality home video featuring my favorite guitarist. Don't give up on this one, halfway through Dave takes the song over and the rest is vintage Alvin.
Pic O' The Day
They're back! Mi Capitan Jason Varitek imparts wisdom to new/old Sox catcher Josh Bard, who will lead the league in passed balls this year if he draws the unenviable task of catching when Wakefield throws.
Pick O' The Day
We continue to plunge into gambling debt as neither of our hockey picks came through yesterday. Holy crap, when DOES baseball start? I play ESPN's Streak for the Cash, and yesterday I actually picked Tony Stewart to finish ahead of Dale Earhardt Jr. This is what it has come down to? Picking NASCAR results?? Jesus H Christ.
Today is more of the same - hockey, college hoops. As it's pretty well documented that I suck at picking both those sports this week, I'm going out of the box and picking the East over the West in the NBA All Star Game. The Right Coast is +155 and a $200 bet will bring back $510. Gotta win one sometime, and this game I could give a rat's ass about might just get us headed in the right direction. I mean, how the hell do you set odds for a friggin All Star Game, featuring two teams that have had a grand total of maybe two practices together? Please note if the West had been getting the plus odds, I would have taken them.
Now to the hard part... Kinda got the crap kicked out of me this week going 0-4 and down $800. We can make that up in a day, but a bit safer approach might be in order.
Well fuck that. We're diving right back into hockey, taking two favorites at -1.5 goals each. Boston is at Nashville, still stinging from a home loss to the Sharks, and have odds of +175 to win by two, while The Pens are in Toronto, at +190 to win by the same margin. Our $200 bet will return $1595, and we'll be in the pink, a nice place to be on Valentine's Day.
Fuck sports betting today, I now sit at 0-4 for the week, down 8 bills, and have to wait for a virtual payday so I have more rent money to gamble. Got Damn Tail Blazers. This is where the "And Stuff" part of the blog title comes in handy...
So I also read. Not out loud, not to crowds of people, but for enjoyment. When I read Christopher Moore books, I am not a quiet reader, as I typically snork and giggle like a schoolgirl at most every page. The man is simply my favorite writer and makes me laugh. A lot. Chris' latest book, "Fool", came out on Tuesday, and with each new release we get the pleasure of attending a book signing, which was last night at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego. Zip and I got there early and had the pleasure of not only a good cup of cinnamon laced Starbuck's, but a half hour visit with The Author Guy his ownself and a couple of his close friends. It was a special treat, Thanks for tearing yourself away from the nubile minions a tad early and suffering us AG! The event was awesome, standing room only, I'd estimate 175 people. Chris talked for 20 minutes or so and had the crowd laughing from the start. The requisite Q&A followed, and then we trudged outside to our assigned spot of number 86 in line to get the Man's signature on the new Precious. It took a good hour and a half to get through the line, but persevere we did, and after a brief visit we exited for the evening, priceless autographed first edition in hand. It was a great night, one I won't soon forget.
So anyway, read this book. Here's the intro:
"This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank . . . If that's the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!"
HERE is a brief synopsis from the author's website, fondly known as The Boardello. If you poke around the site a bit (like, right on the Home Page) you will also find Chapter One, should you still be teetering on the fence as to whether this truly is a "must" read. How cool is that? So hie thee there, fair maidens and stout lads, and venture to the local bookseller posthaste. You shant have regrets, this is one pick for which I have full confidence that I am fucking spot on.
Jeremy Lusk lost his life this week doing what he loved. Too fast to live but way too young to die. He will be missed.
Pick O' The Day
One rule I always follow is "Never bet against The Streak". Sure, all streaks come to an end, but there's absolutely no reason not to ride one to its end. My advice to anyone who's thinking of throwing down a couple sheckels based on what they read here is to do exactly the opposite of what I do today. My streak is an embarrassing 3 losses right out of the gate. Go against me until I win one, then reevaluate.
The Heels came through just fine last night, but I underestimated the Wolfpack. The ACC is pretty tough to call this year, seems like any team can beat any other on any given day, and that certainly hasn't always been the case.
So far we've fucked up the NHL and NCAA hoops, lets expand our horizons to the NBA tonight and see if we can't raise a little harm. Portland is getting +4 at Golden State, while Miami is spotted +3.5 at Chicago, both at -110. We'll play the parlay here, bet $200 to return $729.
On Feb 11, 1964, The Beatles played their first US show, in Washington By God DC. I'm betting they played this one. Good quality, great performance, filmed in Stockholm, 1963.
Pic O' The Day
No story, I just ran across this and thought it was a cool shot.Some days that's good enough!
Pick O' the Day
Yesterday's bet was a sucker bet, and I let myself get sucked - not in a good way either. This was an old conundrum - do I bet against "my" team? For me, the answer is no. I truly liked San Jose +1.5, but the odds were much nicer for Boston at -1.5, and I talked myself into "the Bruins will win by two goals easily". This is play money, but if you're going to throw cold hard cash around, the lesson is "bet with your head, not your heart". Or just stay the hell away. Time to move away from hockey and feature the Red Sox -yanx rivalry of college hoops, North Carolina at Duke. NC was a consensus Number One at the start of the season, many thought they could be the first team to run the table since Bob Knight's Hoosiers went 32-0 in 1976. Lofty expectations, those, and the Heels weren't up to it. Now 21-2, the Tyler Hansbroughs invade Cameron Indoor with something to prove, as Psycho T and Danny Green try to become the first NC players to win four straight against Coach K on his home court. The Dookies are still reeling after a 27 point loss to Clemson last week, and will be no match. We're taking Carolina heavy here, -2.5 points at -110 and parlaying that with Wake Forest -6 points at -110 over NC State at Raleigh, for a payout of $729. Gotta get healthy here, and gotta love Tobacco Fucking Road Baybeeeee!
On Feb 10, 1979 Dire Straits released Sultans of Swing, and kicked off a pretty kick ass career. I've always liked this song way better though. A bit long, and not exactly an ass kicker, but a beauty featuring Eric Clapton.
Pic O' The Day
Pick O' The Day
Well, yesterday's pick sucked, Got Damn Canadiens! Let's try again. Big Joe Thornton is back in Boston! Unfortunately, he's playing for the San Jose Sharks, who sport the NHL's second best record, trailing only the Big Bad Bruins. The line is Boston minus 1.5 goals at +210, I'm going with it as I think Boston sends a message in this one, plus it will pay $620 and get us back in the black. Should be a great game, enjoy!
You didn't hear this from me, but you can probably watch it HERE
OK, let's launch this bitch. First, Thanks to the dedicated followers of PFFFFTT. You both know who you are. PFFFFTT was started out of part boredom and part inspiration over Thanksgiving weekend, and I had fun with it, although I'm still waiting for the new guy in the White House to call. I'll leave it up just in case, but it'll likely be dormant until next football season. The football format was just way too limiting, there's much more going on in the world than football. Like baseball, hockey, and basketball, just to name a few. So I decided to start anew, and expand my horizons.
I hope to post here every day, something rather simple, like me, and will have three regular features. The first will be a video, the Vid O' the Day, in fact. I can't say that it will always be of any particular format, but I do like a good tune with my first cup of coffee and Marlboro, gets the blood moving. To that end, and in keeping with today's "First" theme, here's the first song from the first Doors album, circa 1967. This also happens to be the first album yours truly ever owned, and I still have it. Enjoy.
Next, we'll have the Pic O' the Day. With today's nap fodder known as the Pro Bowl, we bid adieu to Hawaii and football itself for six months. Be well, NFL, here's your sendoff:
Larry Fitzgerald became a superstar this postseason, and put a nice finishing touch on today's game with another leaping catch over a mere mortal. Chris Collinsworth had a great line: "It's like having a six-three guy trying to guard Bill Russell." Yep, he pushed off, but it's the Pro Bowl so just deal with it.
Last, we'll have a Pick O' the Day, which will always be sports related. I'll throw an imaginary $200 at some event each day, track results, and hopefully have some fun. If you saw my NFL Playoff picks, your strategy should be clear...
Today's Pick: Montreal Canadiens +130 at Vancouver Canucks -150, bet $100 on Montreal to win.
While sporting an 8-4 record at home this year, Roberto Luongo is only 1-2-3 with a 3.62 Goals Against Average and an .878 save percentage since his return from a severe groin injury on Jan. 15. He'll round into form soon enough, but is still struggling while dealing with a D that is now ranked 22nd in the league in giving up power play goals. Add to this his very average 7-7-3 lifetime record against Les Habs and the Canadiens' need for a win, and I give Montreal a good chance to pull off an upset here.
We still have $1oo to bet, and it's going on the Canadiens +1.5 goals at -110. For the casual or non-gambler, I'll explain just once how these lines work, and a bit of my logic, twisted as it may be. In the $100 "Montreal to win" bet, the +130 means that a winning bet of $100 returns $130, plus the original bet of $100, for a total payout of $230. When betting on the minus side, in the case of part two here at -110, a you must bet $110 to win $100. Our bet will pay somewhere around $92 plus the original $100 wagered if the Canadiens don't lose by 2 goals or more. I call bet two a cover bet - if the Habs lose by 1 goal, bet one is lost but bet two pretty much covers the loss - down $100 from losing the bet on the game itself, but back up $192 on the point spread bet. A net loss of only $8 is minimal, nothing to write home about but better than being out 200 clams. If Montreal actually wins the game, we pocket $230 plus $192, totaling $422 for a nice profit of $222. If I knew I could do that every day, I wouldn't feel overly compelled to go to work. You won't see me betting the minus line often except in cover bets, against the spread. What's the sense of throwing $200 out there to win $100 or so when you can always find some schmoe at work to bet you straight up? I believe in taking odds, pretty much breaking even with cover bets, and hoping that the big wins offset the occasional $200 a day loss. Sounds good on paper anyway.
So there's a pretty long introductory post, the daily ones will likely be much shorter, and hopefully fairly sweet. Because it's the first entry, and because I can, I'm going to post a second video today. The title refers to something generally considered to be lucky, however the song is more about someone down on their luck. Let's hope we do better with our picks than the subject of my likely favorite song by my undoubtably favorite band, in a live performance from 1997. Turn it UP!
