It sure didn't take long for

.... this blogger to grow tired of football season. I'd say I was officially sick of America's favorite sport sometime during the first quarter of the Redskins embarassing loss to the Giants on Thursday night. I'm not sure what the official breaking point was. Maybe it was when a Giants player smacked a Redskin in the face mask and the refs inexplicably did not throw a flag. Or perhaps it was when Fred Smoot was called for a completely bogus pass interference penalty in the end zone that gave the Giants the ball at the 1 yard line. At the time I was literally thinking to myself, "Well that sucks but at least Brandon Jacobs (One of the hundreds of fantasy players I have spread across my dozens of teams) will score a TD." Moments later, when Eli Manning outran Jason Taylor to the end zone, I really wanted to switch the channel over to Cable Guy on Starz. But I think what really bothered me the most was that scumbag Al Michaels. He was so excited during the Giants opening touchdown drive that I hear he had to change his shorts at halftime.

I love how everyone wants to point the finger at Jason Campbell for the Redskins loss. Yeah, Campbell looked completely lost playing in his first game in a new system. But he was hardly the only one at fault for that debacle. The offensive line was terrible. Clinton Portis had to fight and claw for every inch he gained. The cornerbacks, Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers, were both routinely beaten by Plaxico Burress. Carlos Rogers is officially a massive bust. He can't cover an NFL WR one-on-one. The front four couldn't get any pressure on Eli Manning and were gashed by Jacobs on the ground. The new punter looked like a high school kid out there. But mostly I blame that loss on new Head Coach Jim Zorn. He called one of the most unimaginative games I have ever seen. At least that moron Steve Spurrier would take a shot down field from time to time. With his team trailing 16-7, and less than 5 minutes remaining, Zorn was calling for HB traps to Portis and screen passes. Yeah, that's really the quarterback's fault. As bad as Campbell looked on Thursday night, he was hardly the only one to blame.

People are just too stupid to ever look past the QB position at the rest of the team: "Oh, the team lost. Their QB must suck." Believe it or not, there's actually a lot of other players and coaches involved in a football game. And besides, this weekend, Brodie Croyle, Tarvaris Jackson, JaMarcus Russell, Kyle Orton, J.T. O'Sullivan, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, Trent Edwards, Matt Schaub, Aaron Rodgers, Jake "Tommy John" Delhomme, Kurt Warner, and the remnants of Chad Pennington's right arm will be starting for NFL teams. I'll continue to take my chances with Jason Campbell. Zorn on the other hand....

Before I move off the topic of the Redskins game, I just want to point out that Brandon Jacobs running over LaRon Landry was nowhere near as impressive as the chip block Clinton Portis had on Mathias Kiwanuka, knocking the DE/LB on his ass. Jacobs had a full head of steam and outweighs Landry by 50some pounds. What did you think was going to happen? A running back pancaking a defensive lineman is much more impressive. But the NBC producers showed the Jacobs-Landry replay about 10 more times so stupid people were amazed by it.

I really did have plans to preview the other NFL divisions I never got to. I even had an interview lined up with a highly respected linesmaker/Philadelphia Eagles SuperFan. However, I am already sick of this league. (Incidentally, if the Redskins had won on Thursday night, I would have to hire an editor to go over everything I wanted to say about the beautiful game of professional football.)

Here's how I rank the rest of the divisions in this stupid league:

NFC East:

1. Cowboys
2. Eagles
3. Giants
4. Redskins


NFC South:

1. Panthers
2. Saints
3. Bucs
4. Falcons


AFC East:

1. Patriots
2. Bills
3. Jets
4. Dolphins


AFC West:

1. Chargers
2. Broncos
3. Raiders
4. Chiefs


In lieu of more formal divisional breakdowns, I will mention some specific NFL future bets I am currently recommending to those of you in the greater Las Vegas area:

* Will the Cleveland Browns make the playoffs? NO -170 (Venetian/Palazzo)

I knew I wanted to play this team 'Under' the total, but decided that playing the 'No' on them making the playoffs was the better value. You can find them Under 8.5 wins but I consider the no postseason option to be the more sensible play, even though it requires laying more juice. Consider that last season the Browns won 10 games and still didn't make the playoffs in the ultra competitive AFC. With a much harder schedule, I don't see any way this team can qualify for the postseason. Brady Quinn will be starting for the Browns by mid-season.

* Ben Roethlisberger TD Passes (-115) vs. Derek Anderson TD Passes (Lucky's)

See what I did there? That's called a segueway. I don't see Anderson making it through this season. On the other hand, Roethlisberger has more weapons this year than ever before. Dumb line.

* LaDainian Tomlinson Rush Yards (-120) vs. Adrian Peterson Rush Yards (Lucky's)

L.T. ran for 1,474 yards last season and has averaged an incredible 1,521 yards per season over his 7 year NFL career. Peterson is a phenomenal player but had a tendancy to disappear in games last season. He was also plagued by injury problems at Oklahoma and just lost his starting left tackle for the first quarter of the season. With defenses keying on him and daring Tarvaris Jackson to beat them through the air, I find it very hard to believe that AD will outrush LT this season. Especially when you look at the Chargers schedule and reason that they should be playing with the lead a lot this year. I think Peterson is a great player and he could prove me wrong but I don't think LT should be -120 against any other RB in the league. He's been way too good for too long.

* Miami Dolphins +0.5 WINS (EVEN) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Lucky's)

The Dolphins defense looked really fast in the preseason and should be way better than it was a year ago. They will attempt to control the clock by running the ball with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams and hope for big special teams plays from second year man Ted Ginn Jr. in the return game. Meanwhile, Kansas City is openly rebuilding and will struggle mightily with Brodie Croyle playing behind a patchwork offensive line. This line opened +0.5 (+115) but some enterprising Sherman's person beat me to the punch.

* Green Bay Packers +0.5 WINS (-155) vs. Cleveland Browns (Lucky's)

There seems to be a theme here. I am really down on the Browns. I'd like to ask all these people who are humping Cleveland if they have ever bothered to check out their schedule. Allow me:

Dallas
Pittsburgh
@ Baltimore
@ Cincinnati
Bye
N.Y. Giants
@ Washington
@ Jacksonville
Baltimore
Denver
@ Buffalo
Indianapolis
Houston
@ Tennessee
@ Philadelphia
Cincinnati
@ Pittsburgh


Those road games are just brutal. It wouldn't surpise me one bit if the Browns were 0-4 going into their bye week. And in Green Bay, the only real difference between this year's team and last year's 13-3 club is that some QB they used to have is now playing for the Jets. Or something like that. Wasn't a real big story. There are actually a lot of other positions on the field besides QB. Trust me.

I'll even give you guys my Super Bowl pick. I've said three years in a row that the Chargers had the most talented team in the NFL and I stand by that. What always prevented me from considering them a legit Super Bowl contender was their Head Coach, whether it was Marty Schottenheimer or Norv Turner (Both Redskins castoffs.) However, we now live in a world where Tom Coughlin and Doc Rivers are world championship coaches in major sports. So why can't Norv do it, too? San Diego's schedule sets up very well for them to have home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Chargers will be your Super Bowl XLIII champions.


Last Sunday: 1-0, +$200

Year to Date: 5-4, +$220

I had Kentucky +3.5 at Louisville last Sunday and it was never in doubt, as the Wildcats strolled to a 27-2 win. I am pretty sure that will go down as my best bet of the college football season.

I just don't like much on Saturday's college card. So I reached for a pick.

(348) New Mexico +3 (-101) vs. Texas A&M

No less an authority than Chris Bennett has requested that I include the exact price I get on all my plays in my posts. That is not a typo. I laid 202/200 on this game thanks to a little promotion known as "101 Wednesdays." By all accounts, Texas A&M is in a full on rebuilding mode under new coach Mike Sherman and they will have a real tough time on the road at New Mexico today. At least, that's what I would like to believe.


NL East Update: Those Fightin' Phils won a crucial game last night at Shea. Brett Myers has taken a break from beating up his wife and is now taking it out on opposing batters. He was dealing last night. Phillies 1B Ryan Howard extended his Major League home run on Wednesday night, by hitting two more meaningless, tie-breaking HRs in Washington. He is also closing in on the Majors RBI leader, Rangers OF Josh Hamilton, who is now only 2 ahead of "The Big Guy." Howard now leads TGCU 39-31. Mike - I accept cash and.... cash. Thank you.

Today's game was postponed due to Hurricane Hanna. How does one become part of the committee that names these tropical storms? Not only do I do think that would be really fun, I also have a feeling I would be quite good at it. If we make it to the "L's," perhaps we could call it Tropical Storm LaJerius?


Decision 2008 Update: Look, I'm just going to come right out and say it: Sarah Palin is a MILF. I really don't care if that's inappropriate. What are you going to do about it, Mr. Logistics Coordinator? Is that even a real title?


Jeff's IPhone Update: This guy takes the cake as the biggest Chatty Cathy on the planet. No wonder he says he doesn't have any time to read my blog. I wouldn't have time to do anything else either if I was on the phone that much. He's like a 6th grade girl.

(Please don't fire me, Jeff. I don't even really mean this stuff. It's for the kids. They eat this slop up. I'm sorry, sir. I'll get you an extra big Sprite on Tuesday. I promise.)


Jorgen Update: Our man Yorgie appears to be on the verge of leaving the SuperBook. Let's not kid ourselves guys: We are all going to miss that kid. Crazy Iowan bastard. But this is certainly for the best. Do you want to be the one who has to explain to the police why Jorgen jumped over the counter and bludgeoned a customer to death with a hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Me neither.

I just don't want to be there when he and Bennett say goodbye. That's going to be painful to watch.


Last season, myself and two buddies I've known since high school, participated in the Leroy's College Challenge. And we did just as bad as everyone assumed we would. It was terrible. But we've put aside last season's disappointment and are hoping to come back strong in 2008. Here's our card for today.

Syracuse -4.5
Georgia Tech +6.5
Miami-FL +21.5
San Diego St +22.5
Duke +6.5
Ohio +33.5
Oregon St +16.5

Two of the games are already over and both miraculously resulted in W's! Look for the alias 'Avon Barksdale' on the leaderboard in the weeks to come.

Alright, that's enough for one day. I had to wake up at 8 AM for a stupid East Coast fantasy draft (Thanks a lot, Mertins) and I have a hunch that this may be a long night at the SuperBook. In the meantime, I will be watching the Mountaineers play East Carolina in a game that has me worried.

Lots of college football on the card today but tomorrow could be one of the busiest sports days of the entire year. Look at this schedule: Opening day in the NFL for 26 teams, a crucial Phillies-Mets doubleheader as part of a full MLB card, and both Cup and Nationwide races for all you Virginia readers to enjoy. I know how big a part of your lives car racing is.

Sunday is going to be crazy. But for now just sit back and watch some college football.



Enjoy the game.