>> Two more snow days this week. It's not even fair anymore. We ended up only getting about 8 or 9 inches (that's what she said) and most the town just shut down for two days. Unreal after living in North Dakota most of my life. It seems like Lawrence is in this weird safety pocket or something. Topeka (to the west) and Kansas City (to the east) will both get hammered worse than us during big storms, and we skate by relatively unscathed. Whatever, I'll take it. With the holidays, and now all these snow days, the next time I have to actually work two five-day weeks in a row is gonna be torture. After two days off, I can't shake the feeling that today is Monday, it's bizarre. Poor me.
>> Johnny Damon AND Manny back in Fenway Park 10 games a year, but playing for Tampa? Why don't you kick my dog while you're at it?
>> I don't know how many of you are big Sopranos fans, but I feel obliged to pass this link along. I didn't even watch the last season of the show because after I watched the first five seasons that were available to me, I still wasn't hooked enough to go out and actually pay for the last season (although of course I watched the last episode of the series after all the cut-to-black hullabaloo) but this is one of the best things I've read in a while. I'm a sucker for internet theories on TV shows and movies. It's a soft spot for me. Either way, this guy says there's no doubt that Tony Soprano was killed at the end of the last episode. I find his point hard to argue.
>> Saturday night is my buddy James' wedding. But the real news is that a certain QB for the Detroit Lions will be in attendance. I don't want to name drop, so we'll just call him S. Hill. No, that's too obvious. Let's go with Shaun H. I think the only friend I have who has gone to a wedding with an NFL player is Jon-Jon, when he attended Dallas Clark's wedding a few years back, and he has reminded me of that fact somewhere around 600 times. I predict I will be twice as annoying after Saturday night.
>> Initially I was torn on who to bet on during this year's Super Bowl. My newfound love for all things Aaron Rodgers-related is documented; but the Steelers have probably won me the 2nd-most money this season (I wish I knew the actual numbers here.....Blake Griffin would have to be the all-time leader. Between his last season at Oklahoma, and the 4-1 odds I got on him winning the NBA Rookie of the Year this year...he's better than my retirement plan.) And I'm confused by the Green Bay -2.5 line. So I just bailed on betting on the actual spread, and instead dove headfirst into the wonderful world of prop bets. Which really is the greatest thing about the Super Bowl. Cheer along with me:
- National Anthem: over 1 minute, 54 seconds. You haven't gambled until you find yourself in a serious discussion regarding the biggest opportunities to stretch notes during the Star Spangled Banner. It's gambling in its purest form.
- Coin toss: tails. Tails never fails, bro.
- First score of the game is a TD? Nope. I always take this bet, and usually lose.
- First coaches challenge: Steelers. Just a hunch.
- Distance of the first field goal: over 33.5 yards.
- 3 straight scores by one team? No. This should be a back-and-forth battle.
- Longest TD of the game: under 44.5 yards. I know I'm tempting fate with this one. Both QB's love to bomb.
- Aaron Rodgers total completions: over 22.5. No-brainer.
- Aaron Rodgers -9.5 vs. Brett Favre's rushing yards in Super Bowl XXXI. So basically Rodgers has to rush for 22 yards here. Just betting against past Super Bowls makes me feel warm inside. It's like they're retroactively allowing those of us who were 14 years old in 1997 to gamble on that Super Bowl.
- Dustin Johnson's 4th round score -12.5 vs. the longest gross punt in the game. I feel this is as close to a lock as you can have in a cross-sports prop bet, and I bet accordingly. If DJ shoots a 65, which is pretty stellar, all I need is for the longest punt of the game to be 52 yards or less. To be honest, my biggest concern is DJ making the cut. As long as he does that, I should be solid. (Which means you just know that there's a fluke 70-yard punt coming in this game. The Gambling Gods demand it.)
- Gatorade bath for winning coach: over 45 seconds left in game. I'm picturing Green Bay turning it over on downs with around a minute and a half left, down 4, and Tomlin getting juiced by Polamalu and Harrison as Roethlisberger starts taking kneeldowns. Green Bay won't be able to stop the clock, since they used up all their timeouts getting the ball back before the two-minute warning. That's just me though.
