Guilty Pleasures

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and once again time for all of us in the United States to stuff our faces.  Grab some extra turkey, pour on a bit more gravy and go back for that extra piece of pumpkin pie.  But that isn't the guilty pleasure I am excited about.  Today I am nearly giddy over watching Ben Roethlisberger get punched by Richard Seymour.  Was it wrong? Yes.  Would I ever do something like that?  Probably not.  Was it great to see someone else do it?  Definitely.  There are a few people in the sports world that, quite simply put, are slimy.  The type of guy that if you shook their hand you might feel the need to wash it immediately.  Barry Switzer, Urban Meyer and John Calipari come to mind.  One more of those guys is Roethlisberger.  He just reeks of being the arrogant bully everyone had to tolerate while in school.  The guy that was always bigger than everyone else so tended to get his way all the time.  Roethlisbergers behavior as an adult seems to be the same, allegedly.  But after incidents in both Nevada and Georgia, the NFL finally did something, implementing a 6 game suspension that was then reduced to 4 games for good behavior.  The most interesting aspect of the punishment and attitude of Roethlisberger since then is the easy compliance and lack of any real denial.  The most valuable position in sports, as it relates to marketing, is a NFL quarterback.  Being the quarterback of a popular franchise like the Steelers should make Roethlisberger one of the most valued commodities in the sports marketing world.  By basically accepting everything that has been said and not putting up a fight, Roethlisberger is forfeiting millions of dollars and more or less acknowledging some form of guilt.  Unfortunately, nobody other than him and the women involved will truly know what happened.  But for one day I feel that a small measure of justice took place.  As misplaced as the punch was, it felt great to watch it happen.

Money money money.  After a 3-0 weekend I have gotten over the .500 mark, now standing at 8-7-1.  Since we are on a roll, time to do what everyone wants to do at Thanksgiving and sit at the big boy table.  Normally I give you two picks today and three on Friday, but with the holiday, I am giving myself Friday off.  That being said, you will get 5 picks today so you can make plenty of money Thursday and Friday while enjoying all the football action.  First up, the traditional games on Thursday as the Patriots visit Detroit and the Saints travel to Dallas.  The third game that day is a ridiculous marketing gimmick from the NFL so I am ignoring it.   New England goes into Detroit as a 6.5 point favorite and coming off of back to back emotional games against Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.  The Lions are a much better home team and even with a back up quarterback are starting to resemble a real franchise.  In a bit of a letdown for New England, they will win a close one so give me the points.  In Dallas, things have turned since the coaching change and the Cowboys are playing much better.  The problem is, the Saints are on fire lately and come in with revenge on their mind as the Cowboys gave New Orleans their first loss last year.  The Saints are laying three points and that is where my money will go as I expect a bit of a reality check for the Cowboys.  Friday is a great day of college football, with three of the top four teams playing in big games.  First up will be the Iron Bowl with Auburn going to Alabama.  Auburn is coming off a bye but so is Alabama basically, as they played last Thursday night against Georgia State.  Auburn is heading to the SEC title game next week while Alabama is playing for nothing more than knocking the Tigers out of the BCS title game.  I am expecting a few points to go up on the board in this game but Bama to get a few more stops than Auburn.  I will lay the 4 points with Alabama.  Next up that day is Arizona at Oregon, where the Ducks are a 19.5 point favorite.  Arizona is coming off of back to back losses while Oregon struggled to win at Cal.  Both teams had byes last week which I think will benefit the Ducks more.  Their style of offense wears down other teams, but I have to believe the rest did their own legs some good.  Eugene is a tough place to play and I expect the Ducks to send the nation a message so I am laying the points.  Finally that night, Boise State travels to the great state of Nevada to battle the Wolfpack of Nevada-Reno.  Boise has won 10 straight in this series by an average of 34 points per game.  But this Nevada team is much better than most of those other teams and last year only lost in Boise by 11 after falling behind 27 to 3 late in the second quarter.  The home team is getting 14.5 which I will be taking.  Boise should win, but that is all they will care about so play the Wolfpack and enjoy cashing all your winners.  Have a great Thanksgiving holiday and don't forget, never bet what you cant afford to lose.