Once more dear friends unto the breach and our vain attempt to restore our bankroll and make you some money on the NFL. Unless of course you have been betting against the hapless Mets for the past month, (who lost their 8th straight last night 😱 and no longer have a playoff spot) which means you're probably driving a Bugatti by now. Thanks to the Florida Gators for keeping it close with LSU. It allowed us to cover with ease our expen$$ive night out at Sunny's last night. The meals are great. The bill is hefty. 😨
Survivor wise, the picks this week appear easy; The Ravens at home over the hapless Browns, or the Bengals at home over the Jaguars. But beware the ides of March and Cincinnati's football team in early September, which barely escaped with a win over the Browns, and often starts the season 0-2. There's also the Giants, who are going nowhere fast with an aging QB against a Cowboys team that looked pretty darn good opening the season in Philly. If you like a well-rested team looking for a win, the Cowboys are your pick.
So we will start with Dallas at home, -5 over the NY football Giants. Couple of numbers for you. Gints are 3-16 in last sixteen games against the Cowpokes and are riding an 0-13 streak. The Giants drafted a promising rookie running back and ...Rusell Wilson was NY's leading rusher last week. Those are stats that get a head coach fired. Next up for the Giants? KC. It doesn't get any easier.
We also like Arizona at home over the Panthers -6.5.
We kinda like the over 40 in the Steeler - Seahawks game. Last week was no fluke, the old guy Aaron Rodgers still has some juice in that arm and can throw up some points, while the over-paid Steeler D continues to under-impress and has two starting members of the secondary out with injuries.
And then there's the "who's worse?" game, with the Cheaters coming to town playing the Fins who could not have looked any worse against Indy. If you believe, as we do, in the regression to the mean betting philosophy, then the Dolphins were better than they played last week and should bounce back and win by a field goal at home, under the warm hot September sun against New England. The line is Miami -2 and if you must because you're going to the game and need a distraction, lay the points and take the cannoli.
J E TS Jets! Jets! Jets! The new look New York Jets are for real! But here's the problem. If they could not beat the Steelers, a solid second tier team at best, how are they going to beat arguably the best team in the AFC? Not bloody likely as they say in London's east side. Gang Green is getting 5.5 at home, which is not enough unless there's a backdoor cover late in the 4th quarter. We are ready to jump on the Jets bandwagon, just not this week.
Survivor pool to be posted soon. We are going to take either the Ravens or Cowboys. Not sure yet. Waiting for some stragglers to make their picks. POSTED BELOW Cowboys and Ravens are top picks. De La Over playing some 3d chess by picking the Lions!!? against divisional rival Bears (whose new head coach is the former D coordinator for Detroit, so maybe he has some insight on how to stop that potent offense) who we think will play them tough.
The Long Walk
Long time and careful readers of the blog know that one of our favourite short stories/novellas is Stephen King's The Long Walk, written in the tradition or homage to Shirley Jackson and her short story The Lottery.
The movie came out this weekend, and it was something we have been looking forward to. We will not reveal anything other than to say we are conflicted about the ending. The long walkers have been reduced from 100 to 50 to start, probably for movie purposes. And there are no crowds allowed during the walk except at the end, which we did not like. All your favourite characters are in the movie including Barkovich (the villain) Hank Olson (who is Asian), Stebbins whose story line is combined with another character from the book which we won't reveal, and Peter McVries who is black and forms a close bond with hero Ray Go Go Garrity (Maine's Own!).
King was the exec producer, so he had a say in the changes, which we respect. We are just not sure yet if we like the ending, which included an expanded story line for the major which we did like.
If you see it, and you should definitely read the book over a long weekend, or while on holiday, (or maybe during a boring Heat game), let us know your thoughts.