Raleigh's Best Bets NCAAFB Week 9

Another week, another 1-2 performance.

Iowa St @ Texas A&M (-6)
Missouri (-3.5) @ Colorado
South Carolina @ Tennessee (-6)

Last Week: 1-2
Overall: 9-11-1

The Ultimate Fighter Episode Recap - "You Feeling Froggy? Jump."

This is certainly not the best (although perhaps it may be the worst) season of the Ultimate Fighter, but this weeks episode at least gave us some highlights. Tensions were starting to rise on Team Rampage after falling down 6-0 last week and this episode things started to boil over. After Team Rashad picked Matt Mitrione to fight Scott Junk, the trash talking started between the coaches. Rashad got in Rampage's face about quitting on his fighters and Rampage retaliated by saying that he wasn't a coach and that it was his fighters who quit. After Rashad threatens to break his shoe off up Rampages ass, they square off and Rampage utters my new favorite quote. You feeling froggy? Jump.
Following that there are more Mitrione meathead moments. He writes a note throwing his teammate Mike Wessell under the bus and the house continues to turn on him. He has words with Jon Madsen in the kitchen over orange juice, and after he leaves Madsen says he wants to slap him in the face. Of course that gets back to Mitrione who decides to go ape shit on Madsen during a sparring session. Rashad calls Mitrione into the locker room and tries to talk some sense to him, to no avail. They don't call him Meathead for nothing.


As for the fight, everyone on the show thought it was going to be an easy first win for Team Rampage. Junk has experience and seems to be slightly more mentally stable, while Mitrione seems to focus on everything other than the task at hand. But apparently he quieted the voices in his head, talked to his wife (in his head), and was ready to fight.

The fight starts off with Mitrione landing a few solid shots to the head and Junk appears very dazed. For someone as confident as Junk, I could believe he came out and looked like, well, junk. He took some shots to the face, weakly offered a few takedown attempts, and looked spent 2 minutes into the first round. On the other hand, Mitrione got very tired as well and started looking very sloppy when he had opportunities to win the fight. Junk finishes the round with a few decent shots, but overall he was knocked to the canvas 3 separate times and this was an easy round for Mitrione.

Round two starts and both fighters look like they just ran the NYC marathon. Flailing punches , hands dangling by their sides, these two are totally gassed. Junk manages to score a takedown nearly halfway through the round but isn't able to afflict enough damage while on top. They are stood up, they trade a little more and the bell rings. I scored it 20-18, although I wouldn't have been surprised at a 19-19 score. Two judges agree with me and Matt wins by decision. This is touted as a great fight and one of the best fights of the season, but that's more of an indictment on the previous fights than it is praise for this one. Team Rashad goes up 7-0, Rampage destroys a door, and with only 1 first round fight left Rampage is on the verge of embarrassment.

Watching the World Series...as a Mets fan

A Mets fan's nightmare happened when the Yankees and Phillies were the teams meeting in the World Series this year. How am I supposed to watch this series? Who am I supposed to root for?

The Phillies:
Like any good sports fan, my least favorite teams in sports are the ones in the same division as me. As a Mets fan I can't stand the Braves and Phillies. I hate Philly fans and I hate Jimmy Rollins. It bothered me that they won a World Series last year and it'll bother me if they win another one. That being said, do the Phillies winning a World Series affect my day to day life?

The Yankees:
The Yankees on the other hand do impact my day to day life. I listen to WFAN 90% of the time I'm in my car and right now it's unlistenable for me since it's 90% Yankees talk (deservedly so...but no less irritating). I hate the sight of the Yankee jersey, but on a player by player basis they really aren't that bad. I would kill for a Jeter sex or drug scandal in the near future but as for guys like Cano, Teixeira and Swisher...I could get behind guys like that in a different uniform. Win or lose though the Yankees are going to be in my face for the next few weeks.

New York Pride:
Screw it. That doesn't fly with me. In 2001 when I told people I was rooting for Arizona over the Yankees in the World Series you would have thought I told them I was hiding Bin Laden in my own basement. The Yankees aren't America...I rooted for the National League like I always try to do.

The Verdict:
I am not rooting for either team but my preference is that the Yankees win and here's why: it all roots in sports talk radio and newspapers. Most people will only call sports talk radio to complain. If the Yankees lose than callers will complain until Christmas. If they win and callers have nothing to complain about maybe they could die off as a topic by Thanksgiving. Let's Go Yankees?

Bobs NFL Picks Week 7

I took some shots last week, but at 10-5, Im still on top of the world. Im taking 4 games this week, because I couldnt decide on the last one. I know they're all road teams, but last time I did that I went 3-0.

Chargers -5.5 @ KC Chiefs: Big let down game for the Chiefs against a tough Chargers team.

Indy Colts -14 @ St Louis: My new theory is bet against the worst teams in football. No one is as hopeless as the Rams.

Packers -9 @ Cleveland: See above.

NY Jets -6 @ Oakland: Oakland destroyed survivor pools everywhere last Sunday, and that may be the high mark of their season. I expect a bloodbath because the Jets have alot to prove.

Last Week: 1-2
Season: 10-5

UFC 104 Fight Predictions

Since I am not going to be able to watch tomorrows event, I havent spent much time following it. But my predictions for the main PPV fights are below.

Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua: Machida is clearly on a roll. After his destruction of Rashad Evans, people expect him to make quick work of Rua. Although I think he'll win, prior to his last 2 fights almost everything went to decision. I expect it to be closer than people expect and Machida to win by submission in the 4th Round.

Cain Velasquez vs Ben Rothwell: I dont know anything about Rothwell since he is an IFL guy, but his height and weight advantage scare me. However, Velasquez has beat some big dudes and I expect him to win in the 3rd round.

Gleison Tibau vs. Josh Neer: A tough fight to call. Both of these guys have lost 3 of their last 5 fights, and I was at Neer's last loss and it was embarrassing. They both usually go the distance, so I'll take Neer by decision.

Joe Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher: Stevenson has lost 3 of his last 5 fights, but they were to BJ Penn, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. Arguably the 3 best guys in the weight class, worlds above Fishers class. Stevenson by stoppage in round 2.

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida: I always like the guy with the crazy height advantage, and with Johnson's kicks, 3 inches is a big deal. Might be the shortest fight of the night. Rumble in round 1.

The Ultimate Fighter Episode 6 Recap

Evert Wednesday night at 10:00 I start to feel like I'm having Deja Vu. Rampage and Rashad go at each other for a minute. Kimbo growls about getting another chance to fight. A fighter from Team Rashad destroys a fighter from Team Rampage. Rampage gets furious. Repeat.

I wish I could say this episode was much different, but in fact, it was not. The episode starts with Team Rashad confronting one of its members, Darrill Schoonover, about his excessive drinking. He promises to slow down on the drinking to focus on fighting. Shortly after, Schoonover runs into Rampage, and that's when we'll start the Titty count. He refers to Schoonover as Titties several times (see total count below) and then for whatever reason, Darrill says that he'd cut wight to fight Rampage at 205. That's right. A guy nicknamed Titties says he could beat Rampage. This gets under Rampages skin, which makes no sense. That would be like me getting annoyed that an 8 year old kid said he could beat me in wiffleball. I know that could never happen. Because my rising fastball is nuts.

At the fight selection, Rashad chooses Schoonover to fight the much tormented Zak Jensen. Rampage insults Schoonover again and he responds with "F*ck you, motherf*cker." They start jawing, and Rashad separates them and tries to explain to Rampage why Schoonover is getting upset. Rampage proves once again he has the mentality of an infant.

Lost in the Titty commotion is the fact that Slice nicknames Zak Jensen Linderman. Thats funny to me. Everyone starts betting on when Zak is gonna lose his mind, and the poor kid just sits there and takes the abuse. Over and over and over again. First he is picked last. Then he gets the coach who doesn't coach. Then everyone takes it up on themselves to break him down mentally. Sounds like fun.

One of the coaches on Team Rampage gets a giant caricature made of Team Rashad and decides to hang it in the gym. Its actually pretty funny, but would be funnier if they weren't 0-5. Zak gets clipped in practice and his eye opens up. Kimbo jumps at the idea of fighting again, but Zak doesnt even consider backing out. I think that disappoints some people.

The fight starts and they both trade punches for a few seconds. Schoonover pins Zak against the cage and lands a knee. Zak pushes off the cage, lands a few knees himself. He then takes a vicious knee to the body and Schoonover starts teeing off on his face. Surprisingly, Zak is able to take Darrill down and lands a few punches. Then, in the most obvious and deliberate fashion ever, Schoonover gets Zak in a triangle and Zak does nothing to get out of it. Schoonover makes it tighter, and tighter, and tighter, until Zak passes out 2:33 into the round.

Final Titty Count: 33

Raleigh's Bets NFL Week 7

I've stopped my "What I learned" blog posts and removed the word "Best" from the Blog title this week for the time being since I apparently haven't learned anything and there is nothing "best" about my picks recently. Here they are anyway...

Minnesota @ Pittsburgh (-5.5)
I initially wanted to go with Minnesota because even if they lose their first game, it will be close. But being that I've been doing so poorly I switched it. So far Minnesota is 3-0 on the road but they've only beaten Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis in doing so. I think it's a trap.

Atlanta (+4) @ Dallas
Atlanta caused 6 turnovers in their last two games (granted they gave away 4 also but I'm choosing not to look at that for the purpose of this pick). Tony Romo is a turnover machine. I think this game is a field goal game in either direction.

Philadephia (-7) @ Washington
There is a game or two every year during the NFL season that clears out half a Survivor Pool. Unfortunately for Philly, they happened to be in the one last week losing to Oakland. I still think they are the 2nd best team in the NFC East and Washington is beyond hope.


Last Week : 0-3
Overall: 8-10

Raleigh's Best Bets NCAAFB Week 8

Last week was my best week of the season so far despite not hitting on all 3 games. I feel a streak coming on...

Georgia Tech @ Virginia (+5.5)
After allowing back to back 200+ yard rushing games earlier in their 2nd and 3rd games this year, Virginia has come back and has been averaging allowing a little over 82 yards on the ground in their last three. I think they'll keep it close enough to cover. Something is going to give here being that both teams in their last 4 games are 4-0 ATS.

Iowa (+1.5) @ Michigan State
This is going to be an ugly game as all of Iowa's games seem to be. Iowa is +8 in turnover margin on the road alone. I'm envisioning a 13-10 type of Iowa win.

Boston College @ Notre Dame (-7.5)
This is only BC's third road game of the season and they weren't even close in the first two. I've taken BC a few times at home this year but I like Notre Dame big in this one.

Last week: 2-0-1
Overall: 8-9-1

Raleigh's Best Bets NFL Week 6

Sorry these are going up so late...

New York Giants(+3) @ New Orleans
I like the Giants to win this game outright

Baltimore @ Minnesota(-3)
That annoying Brett Favre train just keeps rolling

Philadelphia(-14) @ Oakland
This line could have been 24 and I would still taken Philly

Last Week: 1-2
Overall: 8-7

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Recap

Due to traveling, I was forced to skip this weeks in depth recap of TUF. Team Rashad went up 5 fights to 0 when Justin Wren made quick work of Wes Sims. He submitted him with an arm triangle shortly into the 1st round. Stay tuned for next weeks recap.

Bobs Best NFL Bets Week 6

Wow. Much like a shopping cart speeding down an enormous hill, I have incredible momentum and cannot be stopped. Save for that one week where I went 1-2, I am on point this year. By my calculations I have made betting Americans somewhere between $750,000 and $0 with my picks this year. So here are my picks this week, hopefully they will be the key to your kids college tuition.

Pittsburgh - 14 vs. Cleveland: The Cleveland Browns are in a downward spiral that cannot be stopped and trading away Braylon Edwards may have been the final catalyst. I expect the Steelers to go up big early and then maintain the rest of the game. Steelers 27 - Browns 6

Tampa Bay +3 vs Carolina: This game has push written all over it, but i'll take the Bucs hoping they are the ones kicking the game winning field goal. Granted, they are not a very good team but nor are the panthers. I regret this pick already, but i'll trust my gut. because my gut makes people money$$$

KC Chiefs +6.5 @ Washington: Interesting pick you say? Well, know this. Every game the Skins have played this year has been decided by 6 points or less. That includes games against St Louis and Detroit. KC is not very good, but they play a tough 4 quarters. I actually think they can win outright, but for sure I think they will cover the spread.

Last week: 3-0
Season: 9-3

Raleigh's Best Bets NCAAFB Week 7

Just the quick picks today as I'm off to Belmont for the day...


N.C. State @ Boston College (-2.5)
Oklahoma (+3) vs Texas
USC @ Notre Dame (+10)


Last Week: 1-2
Overall: 6-9

Mike and the Mad Dog Reunited

If you live outside range of Sports Radio 660 WFAN in New York Mike and the Mad Dog probably didn't mean that much to you growing up. And actually I didn't think they meant that much to me either until August 14, 2008 when Mad Dog left the show to go to Sirius. In fact, I didn't really even think about them at all. It was routine to just turn them on if I was in a car between 1-6pm every week day.

Anyone who was a frequent listener of the show would tell you that the show suffered during the summers when one of them was always on vacation while the other would do the show solo. So once Mad Dog left for good, those 5 hours on the FAN were not going to be the same. I still turn on the FAN because I guess there is a certain amount of comfort in hearing Mike's recognizable voice but he either needs to be reigned in or need someone to reign in for him to be at him best. I haven't really figured that out yet.

Mad Dog was on with Mike and gave us our first Mike and the Mad Dog hour in 14 months. I wasn't one of those people who thought Mike and Dog hated each other when the split happened. They had problems over the years but I always thought they respected what the other brought to the show. And during the call on Mike's first solo show after the break-up, Dog broke down on air while reminiscing and saying good-bye. That wasn't faked.

Mike always comes across with a big ego so I appreciate that he allowed the old Mike and the Mad Dog song and Dog's signature opening to start the show today. It's been 14 months but it was like they never split. They made jokes about how no one listens to Sirius and Mike's big new contract with WFAN. They jumped into a regular type show for awhile talking about the AL and NLCS. Shifted gears and talked about what Mad Dog's job entails now that he has his own channel to program, the differences and what he likes and misses about doing a local radio show as opposed to a national show. The WFAN portion ended on a really nice note. Mad Dog said he loves it over at Sirius but that he misses talking sports with Mike. How it's tough to find someone to talk sports with who has the depth and knowledge of topics that they have. Normally I would criticize that statement since Mad Dog mispronounces more names than anyone in radio should be allowed to do, I'll let it go because it was a fun little reunion. Mike is joining Mad Dog on his Sirius show for the last hour of his show so if I get to hear and anything interesting comes out of it I'll post it.

I'll close this with one of my favorite Mike and Dog moments of all time and easily my favorite reason they starting broadcasting on the YES network. We would have never seen this:

Raleigh's AL and NLCS Predictions

I picked a World Series of Angels/Cardinals. So much for that.

In the National League:
I fell too much in love with the Carpenter-Wainwright 1-2 punch. Underestimated the Dodgers completely. I'm taking the Dodgers in 7 this time around. I know Kershaw lost both his starts against Philly this year but the the 2nd time he faced them was June 4th when his ERA was nearly a run and a half higher. I think he'll do okay. The Phillies bullpen is just too suspect this year for me to think they are a World Series team.

In the American League:
Since I went with the Angels in my original prediction I'll stick with them.

What I learned from Week 5

A lot of mismatches this week. The most important results came from Cincinnati and Denver

-I guess it's time to take Cedric Benson seriously again. And by again I mean since college. Barring injury he's well on his way to the first 1000 yard season of his career and is on pace for as good a season as Rudi Johnson had in 2005 (aka the last time the Bengals were good).

-I guess Denver knew what they were doing when they traded Cutler. I've brought it up before, he takes care of the ball and somehow he just wins.

-The Patriots are still going to win the AFC East but they are not looking like a team that will get more than one home playoff game at this point. They looked less beatable last year.

Bobs NFL Picks Week 5

Okay, last week wasn't my best effort. But in my defense, I didn't like the lines and wouldnt have bet any of them. However, I went 1-2 and Im not happy about it. Today I sing my redemption song.

Minnesota -11 @ St. Louis: I am now convinced that St Louis is the worst team in the NFC and maybe even the NFL. Minnesota is poised for somewhat of a letdown game on the road this week, but I just think the talent discrepancy is too much. I think this game has 27-10 written all over it.

Washington +4.5 @ Carolina: Its hard to pick the Redskins, period. But they have only allowed 62 points all season (best in their division, 3rd best in the NFC) and the Panthers have only scored 37 (2nd worst in the NFL). So I expect a low scoring game decided by a field goal.

Atlanta +2.5 @ 49'ers: Admittedly, I dont love this game but I just dont think the 49'ers are that good. They have beat St. Louis, Arizona, and Seattle....not entirely impressive and the Falcons are coming off a bye week and a loss before that. I expect a Falcons win by a TD or more.

I am committing a novices blunder by picking 3 road teams this week, but I think you'll find they are winners.

Last Week: 1-2
Season to Date: 6-3

Raleigh's Best Bets NFL Week 5

This is a pretty tough week...

Washington @ Carolina (-4.5)
I know Carolina hasn't won a game yet but right now I still consider Washington probably the 3rd worst team in the NFL after the two teams they beat this season (Tampa and St. Louis). Carolina will get their first win of the season in convincing fashion.

Minnesota (-11) @ St. Louis
St. Louis has one weapon on offense in Steven Jackson and Minnesota stops the run as good as any team in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if St. Louis doesn't get past mid-field all game.

Cincinnati @ Baltimore (-9)
I'm probably overrating Baltimore here but I had nothing else I felt overly confident about.


Last Week: 2-1
Overall: 7-5

Raleigh's Best Bets - NCAAFB Week 6

I'm only 5-7 so it was time for some self reflection. So far (since I missed Week 1) I've made 12 picks. 8 times I picked the road team and I'm 2-6 in those and only 4 times I went with the home team and I'm 3-1 in those. I've made fun of myself for going with a road team here or there but looking at it with this sample size, it's obvious what needs to be done. 3 home teams...no matter what.

Boston College @ Virginia Tech (-13.5)
Alabama @ Ole Miss (+4.5)
Georgia Tech @ Florida State (-3)

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Episode 4 Recap

I'm taking over the recap from Bob this week while he's out of town. I haven't been a UFC fan very long. I actually only started getting in to it when I turned on Spike one day and ended up catching the Season 7 semi-finals. I didn't even realize the UFC had a reality show at the time and have tuned into every episode since. I'm currently working my way through earlier seasons on Netflix as well. So Bob is better equipped at this than I am.

That being said, I understand that the UFC needs to take advantage of the ratings potential of Kimbo Slice but I can't remember seeing a more misleading promo of a TV show than for this week's episode of TUF. A mysterious illness strikes down Marcus Jones opening a window for Kimbo Slice to maybe get back in the ring this week. Not even close. There was something wrong with Marcus but it was even before fight announcements and the only purpose is served was as another way to showcase Kimbo as a likable guy as he was helping Marcus out.

Just like in the first three episodes, Rashad is proving to be ten times the coach Rampage is. I don't know if it's that Rampage isn't any good at coaching or that he just doesn't care. A part of me thinks he just doesn't care as evidenced by picking Kimbo first for his team in episode 1 despite other guys having more size and skill but then go back to his first coaching stint on Season 7 and out of the eight quarter finalists that season, he had 2 of the 6. I don't know. Rashad talked about his coaching strategy. He realizes that the few weeks he has to work with his fighters isn't enough time to reshape them so he's going to focus on making them better at what they are already good at. Rashad and his coaches also devise a strategy of who is going to fight who to ensure all eight of his guys makes the quarterfinals. After telling his fighters who they are going to fight next, Justin Wren initially agrees to fight Scott Junk before changing his minds because they're friends outside the show. But that's not the biggest problem because Mike Mittrione for some reason lets Team Rampage in on who's fighting who. There is speculation that Mike tipped their hand hoping that it would make Rashad change the fights because he wasn't keen on fighting Marcus Jones (who during a montage, was pulling a Lennie from Of Mice and Men on his teammates during training not knowing his own strength during sparring and rolling on the mat. Often connecting to hard or going too far on a submission).

Rashad picks Brendan Schaub to fight Demico Rogers which was Rashad's original plan despite Mike letting everyone know this was coming. Brendan is excited about the fight as is Rampage, calling it a "winnable" fight. There was some funny stuff this episode between Rampage and Demico. Rampage not wanting to train him because he looked like Rashad Evans. Even going as far as covering his face with a towel while rolling on the mat during one of those mid commercial vignettes.

I'm not going to play-by-play leg kicks and take down attempts since it wasn't that long of a fight but to sum it up, Demico was is very good position doing a lot of good work on top. Despite having good position he decided to continue to pass Branden's guard where Branden was then able to reverse it and within 30 seconds was able to get Demico to tap out via Anaconda Choke. Incredulous that one of his guy could lose by Anaconda Choke, no one went in to the ring to console Demico. Rashad comforted Demico and severely questioned Rampages coaching style in his confessional.

One good thing might have come out of this loss for Team Rampage. Rampage called his coaches in for an emergency meeting. He came to the conclusion that the fighters here are very green and that they can't feed them as much information as they could to someone more seasoned. It looks like Rampage may actually start coaching.

Braylon Edwards trade

So I'm a bit surprised that this website has not spurred any Braylon Edwards talk - or maybe it has and I was just too blinded by the maniacal orange background to spot it. But I really dislike this trade for the Jets for a couple of reasons. One, I really believe Edwards' breakout season was a huge fluke. "Good" receivers simply don't drop as many passes as Edwards does. Okay, okay maybe they do. To some extent, dropped passes ARE a function of being thrown to as QBs nominally decide to throw to their most open and, frequently, best receivers. But, as I may have discussed with some of you when the Giants were said to be in the hunt over the off-season, I simply don't think Edwards is a good receiver. (Blogger aside> I'm doing a lot of google searches as I write this post and I've noticed that all of my search requests now have barcodes associated with them - what's the technological purpose of that?) BTW, this is the point in the blog post where, if I had access to a Football Outsiders premium account, I'd compare his statistics to players of similar statistics at an equal stage of their career. But I haven't paid the premium subscription rates, so I won't pretend to come up with any relevant names. However, here are two names/things , I would NOT trade for Braylon Edwards straight up: 1. Chansi Stuckey 2. A 2nd or 3rd round draft pick.
Now, I'm not going to pretend that Stuckey will be great or anything. He won't. But given his youth, role in the Jets offense, and salary, I'll keep the possession receiver over the "star" receiver who just caught zero balls against the Cincinnati Bengals and punched Lebron James' 5'8" 135 pound friend in the face last night. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine a professional football player punching a 50 pound lighter version of me or Bob in the face (apologies to blog readers who don't know the authors). That's ludicrous! Why would you trade anything but a sack of STD meds for such a player. Well maybe those STD meds are more valuable. Why would you even trade a sack of sorries.


If the Jets were absolutely adamant that Edwards would return to form with Mark Sanchez in NY, don't you think they still could have bargained a bit more aggressively with the Browns here? Again, zero catches in the last week. Problems with the law. Problems antagonizing the MOST FAMOUS AND POPULAR HUMAN BEING IN THE STATE OF OHIO (and maybe the country). You're telling me the Jets couldn't have taken a bolder trade stance?

Bob's Playoff Picks

AL Division Series
Yanks in 3
Boston in 4

AL Championship Series
Yanks in 6

NL Division Series
Phillies in 4
Dodgers in 5

NL Championship Series
Dodgers in 6

World Series
Yankees in 6

Raleigh's Division Series Predictions

I like to do it round by round so I can re-do it but my World Series pick is Angels/Cardinals. Popular pick is Yankees/Cardinals but the popular pick rarely happens and I think the Cardinals have an easier path than the Yankees.

Phillies in 4

Cards in 5

Yankees in 4

Angels in 5

Detroit @ Minnesota Play In Game - Live Chat

If the play-in game was close going to the 7th inning stretch we were going to bring it home in a live chat....it's a 3-2 Tigers at the Stretch so here we go...


CLICK HERE to read chat transcript

What I learned from Week 4

If I keep doing this for every team it's going to get a little redundant so I'm shortening to the important stuff.

-If Tennessee's schedule didn't have games against Indianapolis and at New England coming up, we'd be seeing Vince Young's second chance. I'm shocked that they are 0-4 going on 0-6 but it's probably the right move not to have Young come into a situation that's most likely going to end in failure. They have the bye in Week 7 so that's the perfect time to get him ready and get one last look at him before they decide to give up.

-Denver is a confusing 4-0 team. I called them pretenders of the 3-0 group last week. They were at home against Dallas which helps, but Dallas is a team that had been running at will for the first 3 weeks and Denver held them to 74 yards and a 3.0 YPC. I guess it's time to start taking them seriously?

-For the first time this year Mark Sanchez looked like a rookie in his 4th game instead of a 4 year veteran which is how everyone had been describing him. Regardless of how Sanchez played, they were still in the game with 6:00 to play and the defense only allowed 1 offensive TD to the best offense in football. The bloom is off the rose a little bit with Sanchez but the defense proved again that it can keep a game close even against the best offenses.

-Because everyone else mentioned it a thousand times this year I'm not even going to bring up Brett Favre today....crap, I guess I just did

A Look Back on MLBs 2009 Over/Unders

I'm a sucker for stuff like the Vegas Win Totals for teams in the beginning of the year. Now that the regular season is over I like to take a look back and see how each team did against the odds makers predictions. (Note: this does not take into account the one game playoff between the Twins and Tigers)

-Just looking at that, can you believe Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya are going to get another year?

-I feel bad for Pittsburgh. Their number was in the 60s and they still under-performed it...by alot.

-I went 4-2 on my selections this year. If anyone cares what they were, you can CLICK HERE

Bobs Best NFL Bets Week 4

After a 5-1 start to NFL picks this season, I understand that people will be checking in from all over the world to see who I pick next. Its not easy, but I will once again churn out a trio of games that you can bet the house on. Literally, try and bet someone your house.

Cowboys -3 @ Denver: Denver is a tough place to play, but its a lot easier in October than December. Running game is hurting in Dallas but Tashard Choice has filled in nicely and should continue to do so against a weak Denver defense.

Jets +7.5 @ Saints: No team has impressed me more than the Jets this year, on both sides of the ball. The Saints may put up points but I expect the Jets to hang in there for most of the game.

Cleveland +6.5 vs Cincinatti: Now, this could be a very tricky line but I like Derek Anderson taking over the bruised Browns offense at home vs. a team that hasnt looked great this year despite their win against Pitt last weekend. At the very least I expect this game to be close and 6.5 is a nice cushion.

Last week: 3-0
Season: 5-1

Raleigh's Best Bets - NFL Week 4

Bengals (-6.5) @ Browns
The Browns are just terrible and Cincinnati bounced back surprisingly well from their Week 1 loss.

Giants (-9) @ Chiefs
I hate taking two road teams but the Chiefs don't even belong on the same field as the Giants

Lions @ Bears (-10)
Lions got one at home but I don't see them being in many road games this year.

Last Week: 1-2
Overall: 5-4

Raleigh's Best Bets - NCAAFB Week 5

I'm done betting on Buffalo football for the year. In spite of that game, I am climbing back towards respectability. 2-1 last week and I would have hit Rutgers/Maryland but I only count 3 a week.

NC State @ Wake Forest (-2.5)
It does appear that NC State is letting Russell Wilson sling it around more than they did in Week 1 where after their loss to South Carolina I told myself I'm not betting on them again this year. They seem better now but I'm still going with Wake Forest at home. This is NC State's first trip away from home this year.

Clemson (-13) @ Maryland
Maryland is bad. I've been taking too many road teams (hence my sub-.500 record through the 4 weeks I've been keeping track) but I can't see Maryland keeping this game within 2 touchdowns.

Oklahoma (-7.5) @ Miami
I know Stafford isn't playing but I still think Oklahoma is better than Miami in every position except maybe QB and WR. Even though it's on the road, I think this is a 2 TD victory for Oklahoma.

Last Week: 2-1
Overall: 4-5

Karma and Sports

Being a Mets fan, I was looking forward to this football season more than any I can remember. Two weeks before the Week 1 I got an invitation to a Christening at 2:00pm on September 13th. Right in the middle of the Jets game. I could have gotten out of going to the church portion of it but being in my 30's I thought it would reflect poorly on me. I got to see most of the game but part of the fun of the NFL season is the entire day of football. The Jets won on the road against a supposedly good home team. I felt good about my decision. Because of course if I didn't go to the church the Jets would have lost, right?

Week 2, I went down to Florida to visit the mother-in-law. It wasn't a completely selfless act since I got to see my alma-mater (Buffalo) play at Central Florida. But we go every September and of course we were going to be flying back that Sunday...during the Jets game. Once again I caught most of the game at the airport and on my plane. Thank god for JetBlue though or else I would have missed most of the 2nd half against the Pats. But again, if I made a stink about detailing the whole trip around me watching the Jets they probably wouldn't have won.

Week 3, my wife and I are in the process of house hunting. The agent we're working with called up and said he has a few houses he'd like to show us on Sunday at 1:00pm. My wife, knowing that I have been dying to finally just sit and watch football all Sunday said I don't have to go. I didn't go look at a house because of a fantasy football draft which she said she was "cool" with. I still get made fun of for skipping out on a big life decision to draft an imaginary team for me to manage. So I decided to go because it was the right thing to do. Missed the first half but still got to see most of the 2nd half. Still not the same as watching a game wire-wire.

Like most big sports fans I believe in sports karma. I believe that I'm partially to thank for the Jets being 3-0 so far. I'm generally a selfish guy when it comes to watching sports. My selfless acts have to outweigh the Jets fans who were watching child pornography or killing someone the last three Sundays...I'm sure of it.