Super Bowl Looming....

Hey, good morning.

Well, I delivered a 4-0 weekend for you, fellow gambling degenerates (and young degenerates-in-waiting...) I am now 9-7 on the season. I'd like to forget last week... Without last week I'm 8-1.

I'm sure Viking fans would like to forget yesterday. I observed yesterday (and I can supply signed affidavits) that "If the Vikings lose here, this is going to be brutal brutal shades of 1998 all over again..."

Of course you recall in 98 that the 15-1 Vikings hosted an upstart fiesty Atlanta team for the NFC Championship. Vikings were heavy favorites. Gary Anderson, their field goal kicker, had just finished an entire season with no missed extra points or field goals... A feat that never happened before or since. Game turns out to be close, and in the final moments, Anderson missed a chip shot field goal badly, sending the Vikings home. And two weeks later, Atlanta got housed in the Super Bowl, complete no-shows, blasted 34-19 by the same Denver Broncos who beat our beloved Packers the year before.

So, as of this morning, I'm sure my Brother In Law is in a straight jacket, locked in a padded cell, screaming obscenities, waiting for his next dose of painkillers...

I wonder if Favre Hating Nation actually pooled their money and payed the Vikings Offensive Line to "lay down" yesterday, and let Favre get blasted... Yeesh, what a hellacious beating. You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not. Make no mistake, there is a lotta hate out there. When Favre tries to throw that block on the end-around, and gets jacked up big time, there are people leaping out of their lazy boy recliners screaming with glee.... When he throws that pick in overtime, (very eerily reminiscent of the pick in OT at Lambeau vs the Giants, his last Pass as a Packer), believe me, half this state is still high fiving this morning, loving every minute of it.

Oddly enough, the playoffs have delivered us BOTH #1 seeds for the Super Bowl... when's the last time THAT happened....

Anyways, this is a great chance to educate the young gamblers out there about a POINT SPREAD. What is a point spread??? Is it a butter substitute??? No. Some emails I get clearly indicate to me that people in general are confused or somehow are not grasping the concept of a point spread, so rather than pick on people, and embarrass them, let me just go over this real quick.

Vikings vs Saints (-4)

What does that mean?? That means the Saints are FAVORED by 4 points. Betting a "side" in this game (lets say the Vikings) is an "even money" proposition, thus to EQUALIZE the game to an even-money coin flip type situation, the BETTER team has to SUBTRACT POINTS at the end of the game.

So, the game ends:

Vikings 28
Saints 31

Now for BETTING PURPOSES, the game ends:

Vikings 28
Saints 31 (-4) = 27

So, the Vikings won the betting side of this. If you bet the Vikings, you won your money, even though they lost the game.

See the (-4) there?? That's what that means. To make the game a "coin flip", Saints will subtract 4 points. Vegas bookmakers set that line, and then take bets on it. Thus, the (-4) means that Vegas feels the Saints, at home, are 4 points better than the Vikings.

Now, you might hear somebody say "The Vikings Covered." What does that mean?? Well, they were underdogs, so another way to look at that result is:

Vikings 28 (+4) = 32
Saints 31

By finishing WITHIN the 4 points, even though they didn't WIN the game, they did COVER THE SPREAD, thus WINNING the bet.

Anyways, I'll have more analysis later... We have 2 weeks now until the Colts - Saints Super Bowl...

Just to get you thinking, the Saints Colts Super Bowl has opened at Colts (-5). Multiple choice question:

The line is Saints vs Colts (-5). This means:

a. Vegas thinks the Colts are 5 points better than the Saints on a neutral field.
b. If the Saints lost by 3, you would win the money if you bet the Saints.
c. If the Colts win by 6, you win if you bet the Colts.
d. If the Saints win by 4, you win if you bet the Saints.
e. If the Colts win by 4, you win if you bet the Colts.
f. All of the Above
g. None of the Above
h. a and b only are correct.
i. a,b,c,d only are correct.

Good luck. Answer next week. (And if you don't KNOW this answer COLD, definitely DO NOT open an account at bodog.com or betus.com, please!!!! Please, I'm begging... Don't do it until you grasp what the eff a point spread is!!!)