Saturday, November 04, 2006

Betting on Lance Armstrong - NYC Marathon

Sporting betting is funny sometimes. I just stumbled across this bet...

2006 New York City Marathon
Will Lance Armstrong finish the race?
Yes -770

Hello free money.

Sure, it's steep odds, but Armstrong is on the front page of yahoo in "Armstrong swaps bike for NY Marathon running shoes ". He's running for cancer. He has been training. Unless he loses a leg, he is finishing this race.

From the article:
One hundred runners have signed up to race as part of Armstrong's team, raising more than $600,000.

Former winner Alberto Salazar will pace the American for the first 10 miles before ex-Olympic champion Joan Benoit Samuelson leads him for the next 10. Olympic 1,500 and 5,000 metres winner Hicham El Guerrouj will run with him for six miles before leaving Armstrong to finish in Central Park.

"If I could break three hours I could leave happy."

"My schedule is so busy these days but I can bring a pair of running shoes with me everywhere I go and run for an hour and be complete," he said, adding his longest run was for 16 miles two weeks ago.

Like I said, easy money... I wouldn't bet a fortune, but I'm risking a unit for a little extra cash.

- The Online Sports Bettor

Week 9 NFL Football Sports Betting: 8 Bets

5 sides, 1 over, 1 under and 1 money line play this week for this sports betting extraordinaire. Without further delays, the plays:

Miami Dolphins (over the Chicago Bears)
5-November-2006 10:00 AM PST
Spread +13.5 for Game -109
Going with the fish. I can see the Bears blowing this out, but after carefull consideration, I decided Miami was the play.

Cincinnati Bengals/Baltimore Ravens
5-November-2006 10:00 AM PST
Total Points UNDER 41.5 for Game -105
I don't like betting unders, but there is too much value in this line...

Washington Redskins (over Dallas Cowboys)
5-November-2006 10:00 AM PST
Spread +3 for Game +106
Standard bet. Home dog getting points.

Detroit Lions (over Atlanta Falcons)
5-November-2006 10:00 AM PST
Spread +5 for Game -105
Standard bet. Home dog getting points.

Monday Night bet:
Oakland Raiders (over the Seattle Seahawks) BEST BET
6-November-2006 5:30 PM PST
Spread +7 for Game -101 AND Money Line for Game +285
Oakland is very underrated. Oakland has one of the best defenses in the NFL, much to the surprise of many football fans across the country. They forced four turnovers against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers last week, and, with Matt Hasselbeck sidelined again this week, they should be able to do the same against Seneca Wallace. Also no SA for the birds, but Lamont Jordan will be back for the Raiders.

All Bets to win 1 unit.

Already on:
Green Bay Packers/Buffalo Bills Total Points OVER 40.5
San Francisco 49ers +5 (over Minnesota Vikings)

I'm still confused over the Denver/Pittsburgh line... No big deal, I'm going to pass on that game.

2006 NFL betting record: 22-19-2, +2.98 units YTD

Good Luck.

- The Online Sports Bettor

Friday, November 03, 2006

New Jersey Insane Asylum by Menlo Park Mall

I'm watching the Celebrity Paranormal Project on VH1. (I'm home because Borat was sold out and I have to work tomorrow...) This show takes celebrities and makes them walk around an old insane asylum. The fun of it is they all freak out.

Anyway, I grew up in New Jersey. In high school, we used to play manhunt (aka. hide and seek) in an abandoned Insane Asylum in Edison. We were real hard asses when it came to scary shit. There would be a group of us (usually 5-8 people), and probably 2 flashlights. Everyone would get separated (as it was a game), and you’d get lost, by yourself, in the dark, in the solitary confinement wing… only one way in and out, but with about 20 doorways leading into single rooms (or cells).

Side note: One of my friends fell down an elevated shaft here once. Only one floor and he was alright… needless to say, he didn’t have a flashlight.

Occasionally we saw some other people on the property (it was fenced in), but we never talked to anyone that wasn’t a part of our crew. We had a rumor that bums used to sleep there sometimes.

We used to smoke cigarettes and weed on the roof. Maybe have a few drinks and a few of my friends used to trip acid. To get to the roof, you had to climb a tree on the side of the building from a broken window on the top floor, and use both the building and tree to push your way up. This was our main meeting spot once at the asylum.

Anyway, after watching the show, I began reminiscing about these times and decided to do a search for the asylum (now torn down) on the net. I stumbled upon this LINK at Weird NJ.

Quote:
Well, Bob comes back in to lead us out, but tells us not to look up. The way it was laid out, was once we went outside, you could look up to your left and see the rest of the building which was a couple of stories high. Of course, the first thing we all do? Look up! On the roof was a group of people staring down at us.

Now Bob says they were wearing all black, I couldn’t tell since it was dark and all we could see was their outlines. Whatever they were wearing, we were defecating ourselves. Bob had told us stories of cults gathering there and stuff so our first inclination was: Satan-worshippers. One guy was smoking a cigarette and just staring at us. We started walking quickly, looking for the exit, but we were fenced in. While we’re walking and simultaneously praying and trying to get out, the group on the roof was slowly walking along with us. We counted about a half dozen or so of them and we were absolutely petrified as it was until we saw them stop and what looked to be the leader guy (cigarette man) talking to another guy. All of a sudden that guy turns and walks away from them. We immediately realized that the guy was probably coming downstairs to do something to us (which probably wouldn’t have been to say hello), so we ran like a bunch of scared little girls.

We ran around the side of the building and decide to forget about trying to go through an opening in the fence and just go OVER the fence.

We scampered up the fence, where Matt got his watch caught and ended up losing it, but we weren’t going to stop to look for it. We ran all the way to the car and didn’t stop for anything.
End Quote.

I nearly pissed myself laughing… I think they were only there about 10 minutes. I don't know if it was us on the roof at the time, but it very well could have been. Some stoned teenagers playing hide and seek made you run like a little girl.

Gotta love it :O)

Week 9 NFL Football picks

How is Denver not a play? How is Pitt favored? I have no idea what's going on with this line, and it scaries me. I give the edge to Denver, but so does the rest of the sports betting nation... wierd... games like this, it's usually best to pass or go the other way. Saying that, I'm still in debate.

Another game that jumps out is Maimi/Chicago. The Bears killed the 49ers last week. The Dolpins haven't covered yet this year. 90% of the public is on the Bears, yet I still find value in a line that hasn't moved since it opened. This game REALLY looks like a trap. That said, I have to sit on it for now and possibly bet the other way (on the Fish).

Even the home dogs look off this week, with the exception of the San Francisco 49ers...

San Francisco 49ers
5-November-2006 1:05 PM PST
Spread +5 for Game -108
Home dog getting points. The line has moved a point in the right direction. The Vikings got cruched last week and now have across the country to face a team who plays their best at home. San Fran isn't anything great, but I'll take the points in this one.

Green Bay Packers/Buffalo Bills
5-November-2006 10:00 AM PST
Total Points OVER 40.5 for Game -110
I respect the Packers Defense (and I'm starting them this week in a fantasy league), but the Bills may finally break above 20 points this week. With Brett Farve throwing to Driver, Losman throwing to Evans, and McGahee and Ahman Green running the ball, I see this game going over. I'm expecting a few turnovers, but more big plays.

Anyway, that's it for now... I have a lot of games to sit back and think on... I'll see how things develope tomorrow before I make the rest of the bets... but there should be more.

Good Luck.

- The Online Sports Bettor

Thursday, November 02, 2006

nice billboard...


Italian chicks.

If you look closely at the bottom, you can see the real life poeple... but who is looking at them?

This week's football bets...

are coming tomorrow. Work has been kicking my ass and I'm too tired to think.

I ran my lines tonight, but I'm in no mood to pick games. I'm just glad that there are still a few days to Sunday.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Fantasy Football @ Yahoo

Yahoo runs some great fantasy leagues. My main baseball and football leagues are both at yahoo, and I prefer them to both ESPN and sportsline. BUT their fantasy advice is horrible. Their player ranks are outdated and based on... who knows? who cares? They suck.

Defensive players like Ronde Barber are ranked 1288 while defensive rookies who have 3 tackles this year are in the 500s. Also their Week 9 NFL player rankings are laughable. They actually have Michael Vick ranked above Peyton Manning. This is NEVER the case.

Anyway, if your looking for a good site to play fantasy sports, it's yahoo. But if you are looking for good fantasy advice, I would look elsewhere.

Week 9 football picks and bets coming tomorrow.

The Online Sports Bettor

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

NFL Sports Betting: It feels good to win...

6-1 in NFL football betting week 8... sometimes things seem too easy :O)

adding 5.01 units to this year's record brings me back to the plus side of things:

2006 NFL betting record: 22-19-2, +2.98 units YTD

check back later in the week as I'll be posting plays the NFL week 9.

By the way, if you are looking for a good sports book and poker room (one not intimidated by the US government), check out BoDog.com. They offer sports betting, online poker, and online casino play (slots, blackjack, etc.) With a sign up bonus for new players, you can't go wrong here.

In fantasy football news, it could be a good time to buy low or pick up Chris Chambers. He's by far the most talented wide receiver on the Dolphins, and Miami's coaching staff said this week that thay are working on getting him more involved in the offense. While he hasn't done much this year (but piss off his owners), according to SI.com (who tracks this stuff) he gets the most looks from his quarterback (QB looking to throw to him) and is in the top 20 in looks in the league.

Chambers is also a 2nd half player. If you look at last year compared with this year so far, things look quite similar. Through seven games in 2005, Chambers had 27 catches for 377 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for an additional 95 yards. But in the months of November and December, Chambers went on a tear, catching 50 passes for 666 yards and eight TDs.

He's worth a look if you can him cheap.

Good Luck.

- The Online Sports Bettor (talking about online gambling)