Just Finished up......

installing the rubber padding on all my walls, along with hiding anything with sharp edges. Sent a mortgage payment to the book and talked myself off the ledge.....once again. With the Tigers-Twins being the only must win series, I will refrain from throwing a dart on the board with the other games. Take the Tigers game 2 tonight at 7pm. Regardless of what happens (game is tied at 1 in the bottom of the 9th). Everyone is talking about the run the Twins have made despite their injuries. Guess what? Feels like the run is over.
I would like to thank Michael Crabtree for officially being the biggest dope alive. While I have tried desperately to claim that title with my recent handicapping performance, this guy is worse. Who needs a guaranteed contract in the neighborhood of $20mill for playing a sport they love? Not this guy. With his great people skills, I am sure he could find a more lucrative career elsewhere (do not think he even received his college degree). In any event, lets just hope Crabtree hasn't spent whatever money he has listening to any of my picks.

Sunday.......

Bloody Sunday. Absolutely awful. Only 1 thing to do- take the Cards -2.5 tonight! Break out the anti-anxiety meds and enjoy the game.

Happy Birthday......

A belated Happy Birthday to Legendary sports handicapper and cultural icon Super Bro Bro, who celebrated another birthday yesterday. Kudos to SBB for avoiding page six and other tabloids. While Super Bro Bro vehemently denies that he was the inspiration for "Two for the money", many beg to differ. An anonymous source claims to have seen Super Bro Bro celebrating a South Carolina $ line win last night over Ole Miss with a few "thrusts" and a fistful of hundo's being thrown in the direction of every waiter, bartender, and pedestrian within his wake. As one person close to SBB said, "this is how you make it rain, unlike those dopes who throw a bunch of singles around". Super Bro Bro's gift to the people- Raiders over the Broncos.

NFL..........

Get out your pen and paper ladies and gents. Titans +2.5 (buy .5 to make the line +3). Fisher is an excellent coach, Chris johnson is one of the only runners whose style could work against this Jets defense, and above all the Titans are desperate. Furthermore, Kerry Collins is the Johnny Drama of the NFL. Raiders +1.5 over the Broncos. I LOVE THIS GAME! As bad as Russell is, the odds of the Broncos starting 3-0 are even worse. I don't care if the Raider coaches punch each others faces in during the game, their defense will win this one. Offensively, let Mcfadden run behind a much improved offensive line, thus keeping the ball out of Russell's hands. Bills +6 over the Saints. As ridiculous as this sounds, could the Saints be looking ahead to the JETS? Big let down week after burying Philly last week? Either way, this team has been annointed "common man team of the year". Do not fall prey to this way of thinking. This game will be close. Another game I have an opinion on: Lions +6.5. Anyone unlucky enough to goto this game should : drink and/or bet aggressively. There is absolutely no reason to be watching this stinkfest.

No One Likes......

a quitter! After monday's night's prison screwing I swore off gaming. That lasted for less than 2 days. I am back today with the angels over the Yanks. After finally slaying the dragon with a 6-5 win last night, the Yankees are resting Arod, Posada(xrays on his foot), and Nick Swisher. Furthermore, Scott Kasmir traditionally owns the Yanks. Burnett is well overdue for a big outing, just hope it doesn't come at my expense.

Congratulations to Jose Canseco. On this day in 1988, the "Big Roidbag" became baseball's first player to hit 40 home runs and have 40 stolen bases in a season. Twenty one years later, life hasn't gone quite as Jose had planned. After whoring himself out with a 900# for his fans to hear what he thought about his accomplishments and life as a big league star, Jose made the gradual transition to internet stock trader a decade later. Then after being thrown in the slammer for a nightclub brawl(where he also tested positive for steriods), Jose came up with a novel idea: Auction himself off on ebay. Some disillusioned fan paid a lowly sum of money to spend a day hanging with Jose in his soon to be reposessed home. Evidently the fan was distraught when Jose's porsche bearing 40/40 on the license plates no longer existed, along with the hot tail that also used to hang around Mr. 40/40.

Game Over.......

This was the single worst loss known to man kind. The line jumps to +3.5 at home, the Dolphins control ball for 46 minutes running wild against a winded colts defense and they cannnot get the job done(could care less about the loss but how about the non cover?) Kudos to Peyton Manning, he's the best. I think someone should tell coach Sparano and big Fat tuna that running a gimmick offense doesn't help when you need a quick score. Better yet, just keep doing this and go 3-13 for the next 5 years since no one will have caught on to the wildcat by then. Even better, try attracting a real quarterback to play for the Dolphins, Im sure star QB's are interested in sitting half the game out, while some 3rd stringer runs a retarded wishbone. That being said, the wildcat will work against the likes of the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay, and other lousy teams. My only solace after an awful loss like this would be for San Diego to put up 50 points on these dopes, while the "vaunted wildcat" gains 300 yards and produces 13 points. Furthermore, the clock management by Chad Pennington could not have been worse at the end of the game. Fustrating because Chad has a worse arm than Johnny Damon so his brain is essentially the only redeeming quality he posesses. Anyone looking for contra indicators you know where to reach me.....Good Luck.

Things I Learned This Weekend.........

Norv Turner's play calling is atrocious, Wade Philips has the DOPIEST looking facial expressions ever. Whether his team scores a touchdown or Romo throws one of his many interceptions, Wade looks like he just crapped his pants. After years of watching Joe Walton picking his snout on the sidelines during Jet games in the early 80's, I never thought anyone could top that. Kudos to Aaron Rodgers who along with an awful Packers defense knocked me out of a few survivor pools. At least last year he waited until October before he collapsed in the second half of games. After being handed a gift by Jay Cutler on opening night, these morons couldn't beat one of the worst teams in the league, let alone at home. How did Mangini get another coaching job? This guy should be teaching driver's education in a remote midwestern suburb.
Tonight I am reiterating my Game of the Year Release from Friday.........Dolphins +3 over the Colts.

CHARGERS......

I like Sproles better than LT (who is injured) in this matchup against the aggressive Ravens defense. The world is sour on the Chargers after struggling against a much improved Raiders team on the road last week. Meanwhile, the Ravens were deadlocked at 24 in the fourth quarter at home against a lousy Chief's team. Factor in a cross country trip in week 2 and I like this game alot. Take the Chargers -3.

Some Observations......

Texas is a complete joke and quite possibly the worst #2 ranked team I have ever seen. Playing against a Texas Tech defense, which is average at best, the Longhorn offense stunk. Despite scoring just over 30 points, there was a punt return for a touchdown and the defense set up the offense a few times. Heisman trophy candidate Colt McCoy just played himself out of the Heisman race with his multiple interception game. Despite not having a 100 yard rusher, Coach Mack Brown tried to run the clock down with over 10 minutes to go in the game and only a 7 point lead. Brilliant move Mack. When you play in a major conference where defense is an after thought, you need to put up points. In an effort to prove their stupidity, Texas then played "prevent" defense (for all you Jets fans just think Joe Walton). To make matters worse, I have to watch my bet go up in smoke as Brent Musburger's got his head up the ass of the Longhorn's....Shoot me. How this game wasn't a 51-24 game is beyond me.
On a happier note, Tennessee covered and I have become a fan of the new coach of the Volunteers. What I would have liked to hear from Lane in the post game speech is "We lost, Im making about 3 sticks a year and no other coach in the sport has a wife half as hot as I do....go scratch".

The Only Game........

you need to play this week is Monday Night's Dolphins vs. Colts game. I will be back with my college and more NFL plays later but for now I am leaving you with my 2009 NFL Master Lock Game of the Year. Take the Dolphins +3 at home. Over 74% of the betting public is on the Colts and I think the fins win outright!

Detroit.........

Tigers over the Royals in the afternoon game. The line is a pick em due to the fact that the Royals send Zach Greinke to the hill. While the Royals hold a pitching edge, its not as much of an advantage as people might think. In Edwin Jackson's last 10 starts, the Tigers are 9-1. With the Tigers playing at home and having a much better offensive team, I will recommend taking them to win a close game at home. Be back later with opinions on the later games.

Angels......

Taking the Angels Pick em over the Red Sox tonight. Dice K makes his return tonight against John Lackey. This play is less about Lackey than the return of Dice K. Even when he was piling up wins all last season, Dice K had a bloated ERA and made every inning an adventure. If the Angels lose this one, it will be a high scoring affair and not because Dice K shuts them down.

Just took a look at this weeks NFL lines. After blasting the Bills for last night's meltdown, I see they are at home against the Bucs. This is pure hell. If both teams could find a way to lose they would. Without getting ahead of myself Im leaning towards taking the 4.5 and the Bucs. After last night I cannot in recommend the Bills with a clear conscience.

Only......

a complete horses ass takes the Pats -9 for the second half, after watching that putrid first half performance they put forth. I liked them for the game at -11 and was doing flips when I saw the line move to -13 (you know all that smart$ that came pouring in). While I can't second guess that call, the second half disaster still has me scratching my head. Here is the good news......After getting financially decimated I got to watch 85k Boston drunks celebrating a win that the Pats should be embarrased about. Here is my advice for the rest of the season- Short Buffalo every single game. Teams, especially bad ones, do not bounce back after losses like this one. Thankfully the Yanks beat the Angels and allowed me to avoid witness protection for at least another night.
Congratulations Steve Young. What did this former Super Bowl MVP and Hall of Famer do to get stuck broadcasting the Chargers-Raiders game with Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg? Even worse, he's the "Sidekick" to this team. Was Steve driving the white bronco 15 years ago or is just an effort to drive Steve out of broadcasting for good?

Monday Night.......

Taking the Pats-10.5 over the Bills. The Bills have one of the worst offensive lines, no Marshawn Lynch, a hurt Terrell Owens.....and are playing in New England against a healthy Tom Brady and Co. This feels like the biggest trap game going but then again so did the Vikings, Cowboys, and Saints and all of those teams covered. Looking for a 45-17 type of game with little chance of an "oh bye the way last minute backdoor cover". In Baseball take the Yankees -110 over the Angels. The Angels have owned the Yanks over the past few years and have an edge in the pitching matchup tonight with Jared Weaver facing Joba Chamberlain. That being said, the Yanks need to get this one at home before heading out to Anaheim for a series later in the month.

Sunday..........

Take the Panthers +3 at home over the Eagles. The world has fallen in love with Philly and the line has moved from 1 to 3 as a result. With over 74% of the betting public on board the Philly express, I am taking the Panthers with the points at home. This should be a hard fought, close game. Furthermore, people seem to forget how good the Panthers were last year featuring the best running game in the NFC. I also like the Yankees run line (-1.5) laying 155. Yanks are trying to avoid a sweep and I am expecting a big outing from Sabathia and the Yankee offense today.

College Plays......

Looking to follow up on a strong week 1 in College Football. My Favorite Game is Ohio State +7 at home against USC. There are several very strong trends at work here. First there is the classic negative over reaction to the Buckeyes, following a lackluster effort against Navy last week. Secondly, USC did dominate last week, but struggled in the first quarter before completely blowing out an over matched San Jose State team. Finally, whenever you have a home dog playing a night game against a young quarterback, you take em until proven otherwise. If Matt Barkley comes up big tomorrow and USC blows out the Buckeyes, then I was dead wrong but this is a discipline that works a majority of the time. My other game is Notre Dame -3 over Michigan. While I am not a fan of the road favorite, remember "not all road favorites are created equal". Notre Dame has screwed me for years whether I bet for or against them. That being said, Michigan is where Notre Dame was a year ago. This pick is more about Michigan needing another year to develop, than it is about Notre Dame being an elite team. With a stronger offensive line and offensive fire power, I expect Notre Dame to take care of business at the Big House.

Are You Ready ...........

for some Football? First off I would like to thank JV handicapper for last night's horse racing winner. Secondly I would like to thank the Texas Rangers for putting 5 runs up in the top of the 9th to kill my under play en route to a 10-0 game. Tonight's game is a total crapshoot. The Steelers are at home and have the emotional edge, Superbowl ceremony,etc. However, this is the same Titans team that beat em soundly last December 31-14, in Nashville even without former teammate Albert Haynesworth. The Titans have a great game coach in Jeff Fisher and matchup favorably against the Steelers. At Pittsburgh -6.5 this line smells worse than Bernie Madoff's prison cell. Vegas is begging you to take the Titans and I am not going to do it. Pittsburgh gets a bunch of turnovers and win this thing by 10 points. Lay the 6.5 and take the Steelers.

Horse Whisperer.......

In an effort to bring the gaming community what they want and need, I have enlisted the help of a race doper from Boston. My prior experiences with the ponies have yielded lousy results, so I am bringing in a ringer. JV handicapper, hails from a sleepy New England town and has 2 great passions: Ponies and booze. Here is Jv's first release, scheduled for 8:32pm (EST) tonight live from Delmar: 8th race bet the 6 horse "Gotta Have Her". This race shapes up nice for her. Play her to win and place and she must be in your exactas and trifectas. Also throw a few sheckles on "good quest" to win/place, this horse also has a decent shot.

Under 9.........

In the Rangers-Indians game this afternoon. After sweeping the Indians 11-9 and 10-5 yesterday, Im looking for a low scoring contest today. The world has to think this game goes Over and I dont mind being on the other side. Incidentally, the Under has come in the last 37 out of 55 times that the Rangers have played on the road .

Football Season has officially kicked off. While most point to Thursday's Steelers-Titans game, I prefer to focus on the annual Jelly Donut Jenn Fantasy League draft. This year there will be 12 teams competing for this prestigious crown. In the event of a tie breaker, the official JDJ league rules stipulate all ties will result in an "Eat Off". Competitors will put on their respective bibs and eat eat eat away. Most donuts eaten during a 15 minute quarter will result in crowning a league Champion.

Phillies......

As much as I hate backing the most "popular" of common man plays, I have no choice. I tried catching a falling knife yesterday in Houston where the Astros beat the Phils and swept them in all 4 games. That was a stinkbomb and showing that Ive learned absolutely nothing, I am back for more tonight. Pedro Martinez is 3-0 and the Phillies have won all 5 games that he has started(just mushed him). This has the feel of a breakout game for an offense that has been lackluster these past few weeks. Take the Phillies -140 over the Nationals.

Labor Day......

Toronto -120 over the Twins and Arizona even money over the Dodgers. Both the Twins and the Dodgers have one commonality: they have played absolutely awful these past few months. The Twins refuse to make a move in the worst division in all of baseball and the Dodgers do their absolute best to blow one of the biggest division leads ever(15+ games in June), while losing a series at home to the Padres.

Crushed It..........

2-0 in college football and I almost picked the score in the Cal game. Enjoy the rest of your Labor Day Weekend on Propick. Jump start your local economy and spend...Velour suits, obnoxious vehicles, anything frivolous and over the top will suffice.

California Love.......

California Golden Bears over Maryland tonight. The line is enormous with Cal laying 3 Tds but I dont care. This game has 52-21 written all over it. In addition to having a huge edge on both sides of the lines, Cal has much better skill position players. Factor in a 10pm game Pacific time and you have a Maryland team that will feel like they are playing a 1am game. Last season a much better Cal team lost to Maryland in a game that was played at noon eastern time. It wasn't until the 4th quarter that Cal even showed up to make the game close. This year I expect the exact same thing to happen but with Cal having the advantage. Close your eyes, hold your nose, lay the 21 points and goto sleep knowing you will wake up a wealthier person!

Drumroll Please............

Shook of tonights setback and just loaded the boat for tomorrow. Most of my peers (hacks if you will), choose to focus on the obscure games and then tout them as "Games of the Century". The less meaningful the game, the smarter they look. That's fine but I am going in a different direction. Today's play will be the most watched game this weekend and by far the most intriguing matchup. When number 13 Georgia visits number 11 Oklahoma State they will do so with a lot of new faces on offense. Oklahoma State returns all their key players from a year ago and should have one of the best offenses in all of college football. Is the SEC a better conference? YES. Has Georgia been a dominant road team over the past 5 years against ranked non conference teams? YES. Isn't Georgia +5 points a lock then? NO .....This is the first game of the season and Ok State will have a HUGE homefield edge. If this was week 8, I would take the points and run. A new quarterback always has growing pains in his first big game of the year. I expect a sloppy performance from the Georgia offense and unless their defense forces multiple turnovers for touchdowns, I cannot see them winning this game. Is there a chance Ok State plays tight and wins a half-assed 21-17? Doubt it. Lay the 5 and take Oklahoma State over Georgia.

Friday.....

Phillies -135 over Houston. Cliff Lee back on the mound after his only loss last week. The Astros have not faced Lee at all and I expect him to shut them down and continue his dominance over National League hitters. I also like the Rays over the Tigers. Verlander struggles away from Comerica park(where he is dominant) and the Rays, with their playoff hopes slim at best, are an even more aggressive team these days. Whether it involves using 5 pitchers in a game or pinch hitting more often, the Rays will approach this game with a greater sense of urgency.

20 years ago today, Iron Mike Tyson drove his silver BMW into a tree in Upstate, New York. The tree won.....luckily Mike survived and continued to provide the sports fan/gambler with 20 more years of top flgiht entertainment. Be Back with my College Football MORTAL LOCK OF THE YEAR PLAY tomorrow morning. I have never been so steadfast in my conviction!

4 Runs..........

scored in the top of the 9th and the White Sox win. Luck? Keep telling yourself that while I start this Labor Day weekend with another one of my "Regime Change" winning streaks. If you feel something hitting your head while walking down the streets of NYC, do not be afraid- It Just Propick showering people with $$$$$$. Tonights Release: Brewers +250 over the Cardinals. I know Chris Carpenter has been lights out and the Cards have played great ball. That being said, I will take the 2.5 to 1 odds as a discipline while 80% of the gaming public pours their hard earned money on the heavily favored Cards.

Living The Dream.........

In the Wednesday afternoon game I like the White Sox -123 over the Twins. This violates some basic tenets being that the White Sox have lost 9 of their last 10 but if they cannot win with Mark Buehrle on the hill, when will they? Consolation prize if this game ends up a loser will be manager Ozzie Guillen going bonkers on his band of misfits. Will circle back with releases for the night games.

Big Day for sports birthdays.....Terry Bradshaw, Eric Dickerson, Lenox Lewis, Jimmy Connors, and most importantly Tommy Maddox. Tommy "the Dream" Maddox was best known as the UCLA underclassman who came out early in the 1992 Draft. Dubbed as "the next John Elway" (no one has ever owned up to that by the way), Tommy Dream bounced around for about 13 years before becoming a full time insurance salesman. Unfortunately for me, I had the misfortune of witnessing the dream first hand at a 1995 Giants-Eagles game. I forget the final score but I know that the game cost me $ and Tommy Dream threw 3 ints (all in successive drives) as he filled in for another All Time Great Dave Brown. Incidentally Tommy's stats for the 1995 season were: 6 for 23 completions totaling 49 yards with 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. All of which earned him a 26% completion percentage. Living the Dream......

Tuesday........

Todays Plays: Rangers over the Blue Jays and Dodgers over the Diamondbacks.
The Rangers have been the American League equivalent of the Colorado Rockies: the minute everyone got on their bandwagon, they fell down. After giving up 18 runs to a lousy Blue Jay team last night and going 4-6 in their last 10, they need to right the ship. Toronto plays well in Texas (7-3 last 10) but Im taking the Rangers tonight to get back on track. As for the Dodgers, those heartless animals kiled me last night, blowing a 3-2 lead in the 8th inning, before eventually losing 5-3 in extra innings. The thinking here is very "common man" but I cannot see these guys losing another game at home to an awful Diamondbacks club. I will recommend laying the 190 (cant go run line with these dopes because they seem to win every game by 1 run).

In CFL news, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced the signing of former NFL cornerback/career criminal Adam "Pacman" Jones. According to Pacman "I'm real happy for the opportunity that's been given to me. Of course it's disappointing to me to not be playing in the NFL. But things happen and you have to adjust." Yes Pacman, it is disappointing to be playing in a castaways league but not as disappointing as the laundry list of crimes you have committed including the one in Las Vegas which left a guy paralyzed. There is no way this guy makes it through a season up north without doing something incredibly stupid. Either way, Pacman ought to be quite the marketing tool for a struggling league.