The penultimate week of the NFL season features 13 games this Saturday with 10 of the 13 games played in the early window (1:00 Eastern) and three games carrying playoff implications presented in the late window (4:00 Eastern).
The NFL did not schedule a night game for Christmas Eve -- the Hawaii Bowl between Nevada and Southern Miss will take center stage -- but the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers will play the injury-riddled Chicago Bears (0-4 without Jay Cutler) in the league's longest rivalry (Chicago leads the series 92-85-6 after 183 meetings) on Christmas night at Lambeau Field.
Journeyman quarterback Josh McCown will replace ineffective back-up Caleb Hanie for the struggling Bears. McCown's last start in the NFL came with Oakland in 2007 and he was out of the league for the entire 2010 season.
Green Bay will gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs this week with a loss or tie by the San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers have not played a playoff game before their rabid fans at Lambeau Field since 2008.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH....Good luck to both WVU and Buskie in tonight's title showdown in the first-ever $10,000 EOG Invitational. WVU, an advantage gambler living in south Florida, arrived in the finals after going 13-7-1 in defeating Paul Bovi, Micelli and IrishTim over the event's first three rounds. Buskie knocked out cheapseats, Rainbow and OSUCOWBOYS while recording a three-round pointspread mark of 12-8-1.
EOG contributor ComptrBob noted Buskie's three opponents combined to post a feeble record of 7-14 when facing the 35-year-old professional sports bettor from Philadelphia. WVU was forced to beat opponents who compiled a 12-8-1 mark.
One other note: Buskie has pledged the entire prize purse of $10,000 to charity.
Tonight's head-to-head showdown will be featured as part of The EOG Sports Hour, a one-hour radio show dedicated to the hearts and minds of sports bettors everywhere. The show will be broadcast live Friday night at 10:00 Pacific on KLAV-AM 1230 (www.klav1230am.com).
An archive of the program will be available at www.eogradio.com.
DEAD BUFFALO.....Since starting the season 5-2, the Bills have lost seven straight. Imagine the gambler who bet Buffalo's regular-season win total "over" 5.5 games. Since signing his $60 million contract with the Bills, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is 1-7 in eight games with an inexcusable 17 interceptions.
THE NEW AND IMPROVED CLIPPERS.....L.A.'s other basketball team may emerge from the large shadow of the Lakers and Kobe Bryant after the Clippers recruited superstar point guard Chris Paul to play on the same team as young sensation Blake Griffin. Add veterans Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler to the mix and anything less than a playoff berth for the "Clips" will be deemed a disappointment.
Expect to see plenty of highlights featuring alley-oop passes from Paul to Griffin. Paul has career averages of nearly 19 points a game and nine assists per contest while Griffin was the only player in the league last season to average 20+ points, 12+ rebounds and 3+ assists per game.
EOG WELCOMES SPORTSOPTIONS.....Eye On Gaming welcomes Rick Allec's company after a six-week courting process. SportsOptions soon will announce details of a free contest involving in-house handicapper Mark Simons (nicknamed "Shark") and EOG contributors where participants will be afforded a chance to win $500 per week. Details are under development. Stay tuned.
BEST BETS.....I wagered on both favorites in tonight's basketball action at Orleans Arena. Take 763 Baylor -5.5 over West Virginia and 766 St. Mary's -5.5 over Missouri State.
I also love the Week 16 card in the NFL. Here are my top plays for Saturday as graded against the current numbers at Pinnacle: 104 Kansas City -1 (-127) over Oakland, 105 Denver -1.5 (-121) over Buffalo, 123 San Diego +1 (+111) over Detroit and 126 Seattle +1 (-112) over San Francisco.
PARTING SHOT.....Unbeaten welterweight boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 knockouts) always fares well on judges' cards in Nevada unless he's appearing before a Clark County municipal judge. Mayweather earlier this week was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty in a domestic violence case. Mayweather's sentence is scheduled to begin January 6 which begs the question: Are Cantor Gaming mobile wagering devices allowed inside the Clark County Detention Center?
The NFL did not schedule a night game for Christmas Eve -- the Hawaii Bowl between Nevada and Southern Miss will take center stage -- but the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers will play the injury-riddled Chicago Bears (0-4 without Jay Cutler) in the league's longest rivalry (Chicago leads the series 92-85-6 after 183 meetings) on Christmas night at Lambeau Field.
Journeyman quarterback Josh McCown will replace ineffective back-up Caleb Hanie for the struggling Bears. McCown's last start in the NFL came with Oakland in 2007 and he was out of the league for the entire 2010 season.
Green Bay will gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs this week with a loss or tie by the San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers have not played a playoff game before their rabid fans at Lambeau Field since 2008.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH....Good luck to both WVU and Buskie in tonight's title showdown in the first-ever $10,000 EOG Invitational. WVU, an advantage gambler living in south Florida, arrived in the finals after going 13-7-1 in defeating Paul Bovi, Micelli and IrishTim over the event's first three rounds. Buskie knocked out cheapseats, Rainbow and OSUCOWBOYS while recording a three-round pointspread mark of 12-8-1.
EOG contributor ComptrBob noted Buskie's three opponents combined to post a feeble record of 7-14 when facing the 35-year-old professional sports bettor from Philadelphia. WVU was forced to beat opponents who compiled a 12-8-1 mark.
One other note: Buskie has pledged the entire prize purse of $10,000 to charity.
Tonight's head-to-head showdown will be featured as part of The EOG Sports Hour, a one-hour radio show dedicated to the hearts and minds of sports bettors everywhere. The show will be broadcast live Friday night at 10:00 Pacific on KLAV-AM 1230 (www.klav1230am.com).
An archive of the program will be available at www.eogradio.com.
DEAD BUFFALO.....Since starting the season 5-2, the Bills have lost seven straight. Imagine the gambler who bet Buffalo's regular-season win total "over" 5.5 games. Since signing his $60 million contract with the Bills, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is 1-7 in eight games with an inexcusable 17 interceptions.
THE NEW AND IMPROVED CLIPPERS.....L.A.'s other basketball team may emerge from the large shadow of the Lakers and Kobe Bryant after the Clippers recruited superstar point guard Chris Paul to play on the same team as young sensation Blake Griffin. Add veterans Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler to the mix and anything less than a playoff berth for the "Clips" will be deemed a disappointment.
Expect to see plenty of highlights featuring alley-oop passes from Paul to Griffin. Paul has career averages of nearly 19 points a game and nine assists per contest while Griffin was the only player in the league last season to average 20+ points, 12+ rebounds and 3+ assists per game.
EOG WELCOMES SPORTSOPTIONS.....Eye On Gaming welcomes Rick Allec's company after a six-week courting process. SportsOptions soon will announce details of a free contest involving in-house handicapper Mark Simons (nicknamed "Shark") and EOG contributors where participants will be afforded a chance to win $500 per week. Details are under development. Stay tuned.
BEST BETS.....I wagered on both favorites in tonight's basketball action at Orleans Arena. Take 763 Baylor -5.5 over West Virginia and 766 St. Mary's -5.5 over Missouri State.
I also love the Week 16 card in the NFL. Here are my top plays for Saturday as graded against the current numbers at Pinnacle: 104 Kansas City -1 (-127) over Oakland, 105 Denver -1.5 (-121) over Buffalo, 123 San Diego +1 (+111) over Detroit and 126 Seattle +1 (-112) over San Francisco.
PARTING SHOT.....Unbeaten welterweight boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 knockouts) always fares well on judges' cards in Nevada unless he's appearing before a Clark County municipal judge. Mayweather earlier this week was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty in a domestic violence case. Mayweather's sentence is scheduled to begin January 6 which begs the question: Are Cantor Gaming mobile wagering devices allowed inside the Clark County Detention Center?
