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HOW NICK SABAN CIRCUMNAVIGATED NCAA RULES AT LSU
By Kevin O’Neill
www.ConsumerBet.com
9/30/05
Trailing 17-16 Mike Sherman did not have the Packers prepared for their only
opportunity to win in the final two minutes of their game with the Bucs. No time
outs with 1:58 left, it is a Bucs first down inside the Green Bay 20. Barring a
Joe Pisarcik moment, the only way to win the game is to let the other team
score. The Bucs give the ball to Cadillac, but despite coming out of the
two-minute warning, the Packers aren’t prepared for the opportunity to let him
score. Williams went down rather easily, not wanting to fumble, but actually
tried to make a bit of headway and if unchallenged, likely would have scored.
That would have made the margin 8, giving Brett Favre and the Packers a chance
to tie it up, instead of losing by 1, as they did when Brian Griese took a knee
on the next two plays.
How did Nick Saban get away with having more assistants than is allowed by NCAA
regulations when he was at LSU? There are no limits on strength and conditioning
coaches, and no limits to the LSU football budget, so Saban would give guys
strength and conditioning titles and then have them work with specific position
groups on the field. It will be interesting to see if the NCAA does anything
about phony “strength coaches” after Brian Baldinger told that story on the Fox
broadcast of the Dolphins/Panthers game last week. Speaking of LSU, that was a
nice gig Les Miles had at Oklahoma State. Reasonable expectations and a couple
of wins over Oklahoma granted Miles a lot of leeway in Stillwater, but he’s got
his feet to the fire after LSU’s colossal choke against Tennessee.
If you haven’t seen my 16-page football annual, there are precious few copies
remaining, but a lot of value in them. Visiting http://www.consumerbet.com/signup.html
will get a copy sent to you for no charge. Weekend calls to the recorded hotline
at 770-618-8700 gets you some weekend analysis as well, and the complimentary
play on Saturday will be well thought out. Never a bad idea to visit
www.Vegas5.com and see some of the fine work that is going on there as well.
Thanks to those who came out for the Stardust Invitational on Friday night.
Despite an uninspiring performance, I was fortunate to win my Stardust
Invitational matchup against Jay Ginsbach this weekend. Fairway Jay’s a sharp
handicapper with a solid documented record but had a rough card this weekend.
The Stardust is unfair in that anyone can have a bad weekend at any time, but in
this 16-man single elimination showdown there is no way to bounce back after a
tough week. Jay’s a nice guy and I hope he gets another shot some year soon and
makes a good accounting of himself. I underperformed my actual winning
performance for my customers over the weekend by going 3-4 in the contest by
staying off of some games that the Stardust didn’t have favorable lines on and
using others with good value at the Stardust that I did not end up betting
myself and releasing to my customers. That’s the smart way to play but didn’t
work in this instance. The reverse of that was true a couple of years ago when I
went 7-0 in the Stardust. The three games I cut from the contest that went to my
customers went 1-2. Skill wins out in the long run but luck has a lot to do with
short-term results.
Let’s talk some more about betting, handicapping, and luck. No whining from this
corner about my loss on Purdue, a 3½ -point dog that lost by a TD in double
overtime. Why no whining? Because it serves no purpose, creating a negative vibe
that cannot possibly positively influence your handicapping and betting.
Besides, I also had TCU, which I had all but written down an “L” next to before
their big comeback in Provo. Luck evens out in the long run. In this case it
evened out in the short run as well.
Nobody ever notices the offensive linemen. Amid all the attention to Rodney
Harrison’s injury, the undercovered story of the week is the loss of Matt Light
in the midst of the Patriots “upset” win over the Steelers. Light, the Patriots
best offensive lineman, protecting Tom Brady’s blind side in 63 consecutive
starts at left tackle. But the Pats, as the Pats do, just plugged in another
guy, and rookie Nick Kaczur (3rd round draft pick) from Toledo played well after
a shaky first series.
Segueing from a MAC rookie in the NFL to a look at a MAC affair this weekend,
we’re going to suggest taking the points with Central Michigan against Akron.
Both teams off of overtime affairs, but they way things played out in those
contests favors visiting Central Michigan. CMU lost in overtime to archrival
Eastern Michigan for the second consecutive year by a 23-20 count. CMU’s coach
Brian Kelly was pleased with the defensive effort but disappointed that the
offense couldn’t do any more than notch 7 points in the second half. Akron was
thrilled with their overtime upset of Northern Illinois. Worth mentioning,
however, that Akron had the game in hand before giving up three touchdowns in
the 4th quarter, which may engender a sense of relief rather than momentum that
can be built upon. Points look tempting as we’ll buck the satisfied team and
take the points with the better defense.
Kyle Vanden Bosch of the Titans has is the league’s leading sacker, with 5. With
two bad knees, the Titans are understandably thrilled with the Arizona Cardinals
castoff, who only makes the veteran minimum of $455,000. And if you had to come
up with the team that would have set this guy, a virtual freebie, loose, it
would have to be the Cardinals, wouldn’t it?
Another historically bad franchise, the Bengals, have turned things around, but
only on the field. The Bengals are unleashing collection agencies on fans that
paid $150 per pop for seat licenses back in 1996 but are now not purchasing
tickets. The contract language says, "failure to purchase your season tickets
will forfeit your right to your (seat license)." But the Bengals are doing much
more than taking away that right; they are threatening the good credit of their
fans while hitting them up for the full value of tickets they have not
purchased.
If you didn’t know it was from the Onion, wouldn’t you believe the following
story for a little bit?
PHILADELPHIA—Eagles wideout Terrell Owens, who recently returned to his team
after a training-camp holdout on the second year of his seven-year, $49 million
contract, took time Monday to verbally blast the amount, duration, and bonuses
of whatever contract he signs next.
“It's going to be a damn travesty," said the 31-year-old All-Pro, speaking to
reporters months or even years before the hypothetical contract is drawn up. "A
travesty. I'm one of the best receivers in this league—hell, after the
incredible, record-breaking season I'm sure I'll have had when I sign this next
contract, I might be the best ever. But I wouldn't go so far as to call this
next contract the best ever. It's going to be an insult on the part of whichever
team I eventually sign with, and they'll know it. I demand they give me what I
really deserve."
"I know I'm a top player in this game," Owens added. "But my next contract
simply won't reflect that."
Moving from guy with a bad attitude to a game being played in altitude (awful, I
know), consider using the under in the Cards/49ers game being played in Mexico
City. The Niners are coming off an abnormally high scoring game in their 34-31
loss to Dallas. Very high scoring games can sometimes leave an offense satisfied
and a defense working harder, which leads to an under in the very next game.
Very seldom do you see a game being played between two teams that each allow
more than 6 yards per play, but it is also rare to see a game between two teams
that have running games so putrid that they both average less than 75 yards per
game on less than 3.5 yards per carry. Tough to see how these two offensive
teams damage their defensively weak opponents, and the Niners pattern suggests
this game may go under the total.
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Have a great weekend. Good luck and be careful.