Firsts

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!

Til tomorrow...