NFL – Casino Review

March 9, 2015March 8, 2015

Thoughts on Rory,NFL Free Agency and the Kentucky Wildcats for Monday

As hard as I am on Tiger Woods, I’m a little disappointed that the sports media world hasn’t been a little harder on Rory McIlroy after he chucked his 3-iron into pond on the par five fifth hole at Trump Doral. One ESPN writer even went so far as to say “it wasn’t all negative.” Wait a minute… Why do we crush Tiger Woods for moments of anger that are a simple as a curse word but McIlroy gets a pass? Sorry but if you’re going to continue to push golf as a game of honor then demand it from all players not just some.

National Football League’s free agent frenzy is underway with some surprises and some some very expected moves. Ndamukong Suh will reportedly sign the richest deal for a defensive lineman ever on Tuesday when the formal signing can begin. Suh will get $60 million in guaranteed money as heads to the AFC East to play for the Miami Dolphins. The Raiders were thought to be major players for Suh but in the end the first rumored team to want him has gotten him.

In a bit of a surprise, Randall Cobb re-signed with the Green Bay Packers after it appeared there was no way they would be able to afford him. The Raiders reportedly offered him as much as $11-12 million per season but Cobb made a decision that far too many players do not. He chose less money and the chance for team success over anything else. Cobb continues to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers and will benefit from having other talented receivers around him.

I’m not sure I understand what the Philadelphia Eagles are up to in terms of their running back situation. They traded LeSean McCoy who is arguably in his prime years and now are rumored to be looking at former 49ers’ running back Frank Gore who is absolutely on the downside of his career. Granted, if they sign Gore, he’ll make much less money than McCoy would have but at the same time isn’t McCoy a better fir for the Chip Kelly offense?

No pun intended by this but what a tough break for the San Francisco Giants who have lost outfielder Hunter Pence for six to eight weeks. Pence, who played in all 162 games last season was struck on the forearm which fractured while he was batting. The defending champion Giants really have no room error in their quest to return to the playoffs. With the Dodgers already poised to be the division’s best team, the much-improved Padres will not be easily dismissed in 2015 either.

The Kentucky Wildcats achieved a perfect 31-0 regular season on Saturday with a win over SEC rival Florida. The arguments will be far and wide as to whether the team needs to lose in the SEC Tournament in order to capture the National Title. My take is that there will be pressure on these kids one way or another. They’ve been the overwhelming favorites to win the title since the season began and losing in the conference tournament will not make a bit of difference in the amount of pressure these players will face. Should UK lose somewhere in the next four weeks, the hindsight will be ridiculous. Just let the kids and John Calipari navigate the waters. There will be rough seas ahead one way or another.

Usually by this time in the NBA season I have a firm grasp on who I think will win the title but to be honest, I think any team in the Western Conference is capable of winning the championship while in the East I have faith only in the Hawks and Cavaliers.

March 5, 2015March 4, 2015

Bills-Eagles Trade Opens the NFL’s League Season With a Bang

The National Football League free agency period doesn’t begin until the 10^th of this month but already there has been one major shift on the League’s landscape.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported yesterday that Philadelphia will trade LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso. The trade cannot formally happen until the 2015 NFL Season officially starts on the 10^th.

The easiest question to ask why didn’t the Eagles ask for more? Alonso has played one season in the NFL and while he was spectacular, it’s still one season which was followed by a year on injured reserve after he tore an ACL in his knee.

McCoy on the other hand is an established star running back. Although he had a below par season for himself, he still rushed for over 1,300 yards but his receptions dropped significantly.

In 2012 and 2013, “Shady” had 54 and 52 receptions respectively. Last season, he recorded just 28 catches.

It’s no secret that McCoy was not exactly happy with things in Philly under Chip Kelly but we are hearing that he’s also not thrilled about going to Buffalo either.

What the trade does for the Eagles is create cap space which is always important and it brings another familiar face to town for the former Oregon coach who will now have nine former Ducks on his Eagles’ roster.

Don’t be surprised if Kelly does everything he can to make it ten. There’s been plenty of speculation that Kelly will try to trade up to grab Heisman winner Marcus Mariota. That idea has time to brew however.

For the Bills, new Head Coach Rex Ryan gets a running back his offense needs because there’s shock when I tell you that Ryan likes to run the ball. The question for him though is this the type of back who runs between the tackles for three yards and a cloud of dust?

That’s where I think there could be some issues. McCoy is much better suited to being in an offense more suitable to his skills which is something more like the Eagles. I think McCoy can thrive in just about any offense but I think that line of thinking is fair.

Rex Ryan wants to win games 17-10 if he can behind a punishing defense and powerful running game. The fact that his Bills traded yesterday to bring in quarterback Matt Cassel is more proof of the style Ryan wants to win with in Buffalo.

Now in terms of Alonso, he just wasn’t going to fit in Rex Ryan’s 3-4 defense. Now he goes to Philadelphia where the Eagles in a more traditional 4-3 alignment and he has the familiarity of playing for his college coach in Chip Kelly.

The question for Alonso is what can we expect from him coming off of his ACL tear which by the way was his second one in his football career? Many players come back from these injuries and play at a high level and I see no reason why Alonso can’t do the same.

If we peer into the crystal ball for both coaches it isn’t easy hard to see what’s happening with this trade. Besides creating more cap space, Chip Kelly brings in more of his “own” guys and gets rid of a guy who allegedly wasn’t crazy about playing for him.

For Ryan it’s even more clear. He’s now on his second head coaching stop and most coaches are lucky t have even one shot. With that said, Ryan is going all-in to win now because a couple of poor seasons in Buffalo with the talent he has will surely be his final head coaching stop.

March 1, 2015March 1, 2015

The First Sunday in March Brings Many Thoughts From Across the Sports’ Spectrum

With numerous goings on in numerous sports, I’m giving you a little bit of everything as the third month of 2015 begins.

There was a time when it was extremely rare for fans to get a hold of hats, shirts or jerseys of their favorite teams and while that difficulty no longer exists the Pittsburgh Pirates have to wish it still did. With the revealing of “Jihadi John” of ISIS this week, a photo of him surfaced wearing a Pirates baseball cap and it has sickened not only the fans but the Pirates’ organization. It’s too bad you don’t actually have to do something to prove your fandom.

Remember the saying, “Do you want another hole in your head?” While a hole is not what Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook has after being kneed in the head inadvertently by a teammate. Westbrook had a clear ‘dent’ on the right side of his face and he had surgery to repair the zygomatic arch bone which is officially part of the cheek. He’s out for today’s game against the Lakers and will be re-evaluated this week,

Kentucky rolled to another SEC victory yesterday as they knocked off a pretty good Arkansas team. I have a really hard time seeing the Wildcats get beat before the NCAA Tournament begins. Yes, they could face some challenges in the SEC Tournament but once tourney time hits I expect them to be even better.

QBs — Mariota and Winston each have questions about their games heading towards the draft.

In what is already a weak quarterback class, both Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota have separate issues that teams considering them will have to contend with as the draft approaches. Winston’s issues are obvious; can he mature enough to make off-field problems a thing of the past? For Mariota, the issue might be bigger. I worry about him having to take traditional three, five and seven step drops at the pro level. It might not sound like a big deal but trust me, it is.

RIP Anthony Mason. The former New York Knick was the epitome of basketball in the mid-1990s when the game went from a fast-paced, back and forth style to an aggressive, physical style ushered in by the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons. Mason played with the Knicks and Patrick Ewing when they made the NBA Finals in 1994 and lost to the Houston Rockets. Mason was consistently at the epicenter of the chaos in the sometimes brutal and physical Eastern Conference Playoffs. Whether it was the Jordan-led Bulls or the Alonzo Mourning Heat, Mason was a physical presence not to messed with.

The Cleveland Browns did their due diligence in getting Josh McCown to come to them for the 2015 season. McCown will not be any kind of savior for Cleveland at 35 years of age but with Johnny Manziel in rehab and Brian Hoyer likely heading elsewhere, the Browns acted wisely to get a veteran QB into the fold. McCown was 1-10 last year with Tampa Bay and perhaps the reason the Browns liked him was that his one win was over the Steelers. Still, one has to wonder just what the direction of the Browns is.

While the NFL toys with the idea of one or possibly two teams in Los Angeles, a new study says a new stadium there would immediately be a terrorist target. While terrorism is nothing to joke about, why should we assume that a stadium in LA would be any more of a risk than one in New York or Chicago or Kansas City for that matter? Obviously bigger cities are better targets for terrorists but I don’t think we can just say the others aren’t susceptible as well.

February 27, 2015February 26, 2015

Thoughts on the NFL This Weekend Include Hernandez, Peterson and More

I can’t tell you for certain if Aaron Hernandez was the man that pulled the trigger and killed Odin Lloyd but it certainly doesn’t look like he “didn’t” do it either. The former New England Patriot is currently on trial for the murder of Lloyd back in July of last year.

The prosecution has so far done a masterful job of piecing together that events that led to the murder and everything points to Hernandez as at the very least the mastermind if not the actual murderer. So far the prosecution has revealed video of Hernandez with the same type of gun that was used to kill Lloyd.

They’ve also gotten testimony from Hernandez’ fiancee admitting she put a box containing two handguns in the trash. There are several other bits of damaging evidence that have been presented but to this point, it looks like Hernandez will be spending a long time in prison.

Of more importance in this particular case is whether other National Football League players are living lives that are at all similar to Hernandez.’ We know about Ray Lewis and Ray Rice and Rae Carruth and we are now waiting for so-called “damaging” video of Dez Bryant but is there other behavior out there like this? With all that Roger Goodell has on his plate looking into more of these types of behavior should probably be pretty high on the list.

Peterson to be reinstated?

U.S. District Court Judge David Doty ruled that the NFL did not handle things properly in the case involving Minnesota Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson. The decision allows Peterson to seek reinstatement immediately and may also allow former Carolina Panther Greg Hardy to do the same.

Make not mistake, this ruling doesn’t remove what Peterson did; it just rules that the NFL once again over-stepped its’ bounds in terms of how it and when it can punish players.

Let’s assume that Peterson is indeed allowed to play in 2015 and for my money he should be. It seems unlikely that Peterson will remain in Minnesota after his agent go into a pretty heated exchange with one of the top executives from the Vikings during the NFL Combine. Assuming the Vikes are ready to move on, where would Peterson go?

The easy answer is that Dallas doesn’t keep DeMarco Murray around and brings in the hometown kid in Peterson. If you recall, there was a phone call in which Peterson admitted he’d like to play in Big D so this seems the most likely move.

Death threats for Bostick

I wish I could say I was surprised by this… Former Green Bay reserve tight end Brandon Bostick admitted this week that after his gaffe in the NFC Championship Game in Seattle he received several death threats. Bostick was the guy who went up for the ball on Seattle’s eventually successful on-sides kick and bobbled the ball.

Bostick admitted after the stunning loss that his coaches made it clear that he was not to go after the ball should it come to him. Instead, his job was to be the first line of blockers or “protectors” for the guys behind him who would grab the ball. Bostick did what many of us would do as the ball came directly at him; he leaped high to grab it but couldn’t get a firm grasp of the ball.

The rest as they say is history. What’s sad obviously is that anyone would actually threaten a person’s life over this. Perhaps what they should focus their attention on was the conservative play-calling and inability to stop the Seahawks when they needed to. Maybe that’s what these idiots need to focus on rather than cowardly threatening a football player.

February 18, 2015

2015 NFL Win Totals Posted by Odds Makers

Super Bowl XLIX was played just 17 days ago and the win totals for the 2015 season have already been posted for futures wagering online and in Las Vegas.

According to Bovada and betonline, the Seattle Seahawks are projected to win 11 games during the 2015 season, which is the high for the league, while the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots are projected to win 10.5 games.

A number of teams expected to improve their win totals by two or more games were middle of the pack teams this past NFL season. Among those teams are the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.

According to topbet and sportsbook.com, the Arizona Cardinals a playoff team with 11 wins during the recently ended NFL season despite a number of issues with quarterbacks going down injured were given a win total of 8.

The Dallas Cowboys should according to the numbers posted drop from their 12-win total of this past season as they have been projected to win 9.5 games.

The Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos are also expected to win fewer games next season than this season, although the two teams are two of just four teams that opened with win totals in the double digits. The win total for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been listed at 8.5, which is two and a half games down from their total of 11 wins this past season. The Oakland Raiders are at the bottom of the heap as they are projected to win just 4.5 games, while the Tennessee Titans are at 5 games and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sitting at 5.5 wins.

2015 NFL Projected win totals, 2014 win totals
49ers 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 8
Bears 7 wins, 2014 wins: 5
Bengals 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 10
Bills 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 9
Broncos 10 wins, 2014 wins: 12
Browns 6 wins, 2014 wins: 7
Buccaneers 5.5 wins, 2014 wins: 2
Cardinals 8 wins, 2014 wins: 11
Chargers 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 9
Chiefs 8.5, 2014 wins: 9
Colts 9.5 wins, 2014 wins: 11
Cowboys 9.5 wins, 2014 wins: 12
Dolphins 8 wins, 2014 wins: 8
Eagles 9 wins, 2014 wins: 10
Falcons 8 wins, 2014 wins: 6
Giants 8 wins, 2014 wins: 6
Jaguars 5.5 wins, 2014 wins: 3
Jets 6.5 wins, 2014 wins: 4
Lions 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 11
Packers 10 wins, 2014 wins: 12
Panthers 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 7
Patriots 10.5 wins, 2014 wins: 12
Raiders 4.5 wins, 2014 wins: 3
Rams 7.5 wins, 2014 wins: 6
Ravens 9 wins, 2014 wins: 10
Redskins 6 wins, 2014 wins: 4
Saints 9 wins, 2014 wins: 7
Seahawks 11 wins, 2014 wins: 12
Steelers 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 11
Texans 8.5 wins, 2014 wins: 9
Titans 5 wins, 2014 wins: 2
Vikings 6.5 wins, 2014 wins: 7

February 15, 2015February 15, 2015

Bullets Are Back for a Frigid Sunday

I’m not sure where you are on this Sunday in February but I hope you’re warmer than I am. It’s always a real eye-opener when you look at the digital readout on the counter and it says “minus.” Ya, that’s not good but let’s talk some sports.

-I stopped watching the slam dunk competition a long time ago because it got stale and rarely did any of the game’s top stars actually participate. With that thought in mind I give you last night’s Slam Dunk Champion Zach LeVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves. I just watched his dunks and I admit, they were pretty darn spectacular. The problem is that most casual NBA fans have no clue who LeVine is. He averages about seven points per game. I’d rather watch LeBron take on Kevin Durant in H-O-R-S-E.

-The New York Jets yesterday decided not to extend running back Chris Johnson who now becomes a free agent. Johnson becomes just another one of those running backs who had a couple of big seasons and then petered out.

-Major League Baseball is apparently toying with the idea of shrinking the strike zone for 2016. Since new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred took over, he’s mentioned outlawing the defensive shift against pull hitters and now wants to make the already small strike zone even smaller. If you want more offense Mr. Commissioner then how about having umpires use the original strike zone? Then maybe hitters would be more apt to swing more often?

Petrino — If this man recruits your son, I'd look elsewhere.

-By trade, most college football coaches are salesmen. They have to sell themselves, their school and their program in order to get the talent they desire. That said, if Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino ever sent so much as a post card to my son I’d send it back express with a big middle finger on it. Many high schools in South Carolina have now banned Petrino after he pulled a scholarship offer promised to a player. Yes, it’s a business, but it doesn’t have to include people like Petrino. Just look at the way he’s conducted himself wherever he’s been.

-UFC President Dana White has a growing problem whether he is willing to admit it or not. More and more of his fighters are testing positive for everything from cocaine to performance-enhancing drugs. These aren’t his middle of the road fighters either. Guys like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva have tested positive after recent fights and White has to recognize that this isn’t a good look for his sport.

-NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the state of his sport yesterday and he touched on a couple of issues that I think fans will like. First of all, he wants to tweak the schedule to get players more rest and that includes cutting back on preseason games. He also appears to be open to altering playoff seeding as well but that may take awhile. My hope is that Silver also decides to cut back on regular season games period. There are too many games that are meaningless especially ones where the top players are getting rest.

-I have no idea how the game of cricket is played in terms of rules but I can tell you that India defeated Pakistan in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. What I find most interesting is that these are two countries that politically, ethnically and religiously despise each other. Yet once again sports has shown that nations can get along for a little competition every once in awhile.

February 7, 2015February 6, 2015

My First Saturday Bullets of the “Football-less” Period

In the old days, this weekend was the one where there was that last taste of football for basically a half a year. The NFL Pro Bowl for many years in my lifetime anyway was always played the Sunday following the Super Bowl. That tradition no longer exists as the Pro Bowl is now played the week prior to the Super Bowl.

Therefore for my football-loving friends, we are stuck without our favorite sport for the foreseeable future. Then again, the NFL Combine is in just a few weeks…

On to the bullets.

-While I think Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers could have chosen his words more carefully Thursday night, I really don’t believe he was attacking referee Lauren Holtkamp. In her first season as an NBA official, Holtkamp T’ed up Paul during the game against Cleveland. Afterwards, Paul felt the technical foul was undeserved and added “If that’s the case, this might not be for her.” Many felt Paul was criticizing her because she was a woman and I don’t think that’s the case here. He was clearly frustrated and I feel his shot was more at her inexperience than anything else.

-There was a time when I really enjoyed watching Tiger Woods play golf but now I’m really starting to wonder if we weren’t duped a bit by the 14-time major winner. Woods withdrew this week from a tournament at the very course he won his last major in 2008. This is now the sixth time Woods has WD’ed and in every case it was due to injury. Not surprisingly, he was also out of contention on each occurrence as well. As his body breaks down I can’t help but wonder if Woods was in fact a user of PEDs. Ironically, it was July of 2008 when the PGA started drug testing. Take it for what you will.

-Fresh off the heels of his thoughts on banning the defensive shift in baseball, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has added that he’d like to see a bidding process take over as the way to find All-Star Game locations. For the previous 82 years, the game has rotated between National and American League ballparks but this year and next, the game will be in National League parks. By moving towards a Super Bowl-like bidding process, I can’t help but imagine we’ll be seeing All-Star Games in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles on an annual basis.

-The Atlanta Falcons admitted this week that they were piping in artificial crowd noise to make the Georgia Dome louder. Therefore, the environment would be tougher for opposing teams. This same claim has been leveled many times against Indianapolis but has never been admitted to or proven. My question is this; if this is illegal, then why were the Seattle Seahawks allowed to build a stadium that creates more natural noise than any other?

-I have to admit it’s pretty cool to look at the standings in the NBA see teams up there that we aren’t normally used to seeing. In the Western Conference, you have Golden State and Memphis while in the East you have Atlanta and Toronto. As much as I like to see the Boston’s, LA’s and Chicago’s of the NBA up there it’s nice that these other cities get a chance to shine and feel the air of a top basketball team.

-Believe it or not, March Madness is just around the corner.

February 5, 2015February 4, 2015

Signing Day Craziness Plus the NFL’s “Second Season”

NSD — National Signing Day has become a complete circus in my opinion.

There was a time when yours truly was actually recruited to play football at the moderate D-1 level and basketball and baseball in the D-3 level. I’m not going to get into how long ago that was but lets just say the Buffalo Bills hadn’t lost a Super Bowl yet.

I tell you this because I was fortunate enough to be in the presence of some guys who were recruited by the big boys in football and it was nothing like it is today. I’m not saying that this is bad, but if you would have told me that national signing day (NSD) would become a “national holiday” I would have told you that you were nuts.

If you head over to the worldwide leader you’ll get an NSD bonanza that provides you with just about everything you need to know. You’ll get player rankings and team rankings and you’ll also get the schools that did the best job and those that did the worst.

But wait! There’s more! You can also get the best fashions of NSD! Just what every college football fan wants right?

Sorry but that’s where I have to draw the line. We are already putting enough pressure on these 17 and 18 year old kids but now we are going to critique what they are wearing when they sign on the dotted line? Let’s just end the shenanigans and call college football what it is; the National Football League Developmental League.

Making matters worse are the full-grown adults who attack these same kids on social media. “You didn’t come to my school!?!? How dare you!” What makes this scenario even worse is that the vast majority of these “fans” aren’t even graduates of the schools they love so much. I’m not suggesting you have to be an alum of a school to root for it but perhaps it would help your case.

Ya I probably sound like ‘grumpy old man’ but I really don’t care. It’s completely out of control and it isn’t going to get any better.

Here's the stash Green Bay's Letroy Guion had when he was arrested.

The NFL’s Second Season Off to a Fast Start

The National Football League’s 2014 season is officially over but the “excitement” of the second season is already underway. If you aren’t sure what the second season is, it has nothing to do with free agency or the combine or the draft. This is now the time where players who are no longer under the constant thumb of their teams start getting arrested and/or in trouble.

The biggest name in trouble since Super Bowl XLIX ended was Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. The now ex-NFL Network analyst was arrested for soliciting two prostitutes and assault in Arizona.

Also in recent days, Indianapolis linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was cited for simple assault when he got into an alteration with a pizza delivery man. You probably already know that Cleveland’s Josh Gordon has formally been suspended for all of next season for his repeated issues with drugs and alcohol.

Perhaps least known name is the one with most surprising arrest. Green Bay defensive tackle Letroy Guion was picked up by police in Florida with over 350 grams of marijuana, a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and almost $200,000 in cash.

Behavior like this is far from rare. Arrests of NFL players almost always spike in the days and weeks following the end of the season. Perhaps Commissioner Roger Goodell could take a few minutes from all that time he gives the media to address the situation.

February 3, 2015February 2, 2015

No Conspiracy, Just Over-Thinking the Obvious in Super Bowl XLIX

There’s no way Marshawn Lynch could be the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLIX if you listen to some of the conspiracy nuts out there. I mean, can you imagine the horror on National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell’s face upon seeing Lynch get the award?

Lynch has been nothing short of a pain in the side of Goodell most of the season and most recently in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. There were many thoughts late Sunday night that the reason Seattle went to the ill-fated pass was to keep Lynch from getting the MVP Award. Some also believe it’s why Lynch didn’t get the ball more in the second half.

While I love a good conspiracy theory, let’s just imagine for one second how this would look if the media ever got a hold of it. A conspiracy like this would have made “deflate-gate” look like brief news item at the end of a news telecast.

What happened at the end of Super Bowl XLIX is no less incredible though when you really think about it. There were the Seahawks lining up for a second and goal play with under a minute to play. They had just seen Lynch power his way to the one-yard line on a four yard carry. His play, followed one of the more miraculous plays in Super Bowl history where Jermaine Kearse caught a deep pass while laying on his back.

With one timeout remaining (more on that in a second), the Seahawks were a yard away from wrapping up back-to-back Super Bowl titles. With that one timeout, the Patriots knew that Seattle could afford to run the ball one more time among a potential final three plays. It’s obvious now that Pete Carroll thought the same thing.

Of all of the pass plays to call however, why, why, why would Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell take the ball out of Russell Wilson’s legs? Yes, you read that right. Here you have a quarterback with the best running ability in the league and instead of using him in play-action or on a roll out, you drop him straight back on a timing throw?

Of course if Wilson completes the pass it’s the greatest call in Super Bowl history but even had that happened, we would have to raise questions wouldn’t we?

If there is one thing about 99% of offensive and defensive coordinators share, it’s the unique ability to over-think situations. Their job is not easy, but at the end of the day it’s to call plays that they feel will create math-ups favorable to them. We can accept arguments that Bevell actually did this as the Patriots stayed with their goal line personnel.

The problem was that this was not a place or time for over-thinking the situation. This is where you go with what you know works. Had Bevell chosen to go with the read option to the left, his quarterback would have been isolated one-on-one with linebacker Donta Hightower. With just one yard to go, I’ll take Wilson’s legs to get me that yard every time.

Better yet, why not just give it to Lynch again? He was clearly getting stronger and was moving the pile. Perhaps if Seattle had one of their two wasted timeouts available things could have been different. At least one, if not both of those timeouts were wasted because of personnel issues.

While it’s easy to pin this loss on Carroll and Bevell, credit must go to the Patriots and Tom Brady too. Brady picked apart the Seahawks’ secondary when he needed to most trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter.

That will be forgotten though because this Super Bowl will always be remembered for what should have happened rather than what did.

February 2, 2015

Patriots/OVER Hurts Books in Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX has concluded with the New England Patriots winning their fourth Vince Lombardi trophy. The 28-24 victory over Seattle resulted in a four-way teaser victory for many bettors.

The parlay of New England and the OVER also cashed. That means for many sports books there was a less than ideal finish to the NFL season as the books were weighed down with public action in the form of teasers and with parlays with each team linked to the OVER. The majority of books will most likely end up on top but only with a very small win.

Last season’s Super Bowl set a new record for the handle with $119 million and it seems that will be surpassed due to a flood of betting in Vegas prior to the kick off on Sunday.

Sites such as Bovada and sportsbook.com lost teasers as well as parlays, but were able to make up from their futures, props and parlay cards to put them in the black.

As has become customary, the public bettor took the OVER and this time get the better of sharp money, most of whom were on the UNDER. According to topbet and betonline, the total before kickoff was hovering at 47 to 47.5.

The worst case scenario for the books was New England and the OVER but even though that took place, the 350 props helped them to a win.

The three yard TD pass from Tom Brady to wide receiver Julian Edelman with only 2:02 remaining combined with the Malcolm Brown interception at the goal line with only 26 seconds remaining in the game sent backers of the Patriots cashing their tickets.

Not all books were able to come out as winners however. Some took a large amount of action on the Patriots thus the day was not as good for them and even after the props and futures were factored into the equation, the day ended in the red.

One Vegas bookmaker always has higher wagers than others and said it took in one wager of seven figures on New England with a number of others of six figures. With bets of that size, the impact of parlays, teasers and props are minimized.

Many of the books were hurt with the interception by New England to end the game and prevent Seattle from scoring and winning. A win by Seattle and the OVER would have give the books a much better day since the majority of money was on the Pats.

Despite the parlays and teasers hitting the books hard, the intense betting on prop bets means bookmakers will likely come out overall on top.