Well, folks here we are. One game for all the marbles. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has been a rousing success, with viewership up dramatically in all phases. We had a lot of fun and our share of excitement and upsets. We are 8-7 ATS with one big game left. Let’s nail it, shall we? 9-7 in the tournament beats 8-8 anytime. Winning is winning.
Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for: the Final Four of men’s college hoops. Fasten your seat belts and hold my beer, we’ve got winners coming your way.
Sweet 16 -This Separates Pretenders from Contenders — As stated earlier, I’m not a big proponent of picking too many early March Madness games. Not the same for the Sweet 16- this is big time. And in order to be the Godzilla of Wins, we have to have made big-time picks on the big stage. We have started off 2-2, hoping to run the table over the next two days, at 8-0.
We are off to a smoking hot start, going 2-0 last night with wins on Houston -9 and Iowa State +2.5. I announced them on my TV show Outside the Beltway on Real America’s Voice if you missed it! Let’s keep it going today. It’s always good to get out of the blocks with a few wins, and a little jack to play with. Are you tired of all the winning yet?
From Rags to Rent. Stay tuned. In the interim, I’m waiting for the opening day of the baseball season (if we have one) when my beloved Astros take on the Phillies in Houston on March 31. Verlander is back. Screw the Braves. Chop this.
Screw the Bengals. Sitting in Nissan Stadium last week an hour before kickoff, my son Joe turns to me and says: “Dad, the only way we lose this game is if Tannehill throws three picks. Our defense can overcome two. Three will nail us.” Prophetic words from a 17-year old.
Many believe this is the most exciting week of NFL football: Divisional playoff round two. Eight teams left, and the pretenders got eliminated in the first round. This year the NFL expanded playoff-eligible teams to seven per conference, adding one each, from the traditional two wild card entrants. Â While it was fun to watch in the final several weeks of the regular season, the extra teams diluted the playoffs. Both seven seeds (Eagles and Steelers) got pummeled on the road and did not belong in the dance. Week one saw every home team win except Dallas, and now only one of the six Wild Card teams remain the ‘Niners. Home cooking at this stage is real.
Here we are! It’s crunch time. The regular season is long and grinding, but playoff picks separate the contenders from the pretenders. It’s all or nothing. Win or go home. Cover the spread or not. Don’t be a Karen. Don’t be that guy at the traffic light sitting in his car alone with the windows rolled up wearing a mask. He picks losers.
Well, here we are! Week 18 at last! With Wild-Card weekend next Saturday we need to get our momentum going into the playoffs. The marquee match-up is Sunday night with the Chargers traveling across the desert to take on Raider Nation in Vegas. Its a playoff game in and of itself: the winner makes the dance, the loser plays golf.