Celebrity Boxing and Football

It is Friday, which means there is more football tonight. Who has been betting and winning on soccer? Well Vince has haha. We won't go into that breakdown unless at some point somebody wants some soccer breakdown. We do have a boxing request, which is interesting, so we will get to that along with some other football games. Good luck this weekend!

V & D,

I haven't seen you saucy gents break down a boxing match, but could you please give us a rundown on the Dykstra/Canseco fight which is happening this Saturday? Obviously Lenny is giving up some size, but he looks like he has a square jaw and nothing to lose. Is this the first time two legally retarded people have fought for cash in front of a national audience? Could this become a trend? Thanks and stuff.

Sincerely,

Brassy Bill
Bartlesville

Dykstra, fresh out of jail for felony grand theft auto, Canseco, a ring veteran losing to Vai Sikahema and working a draw with Danny Bonaduce. Canseco is also the self proclaimed "Godfather of Steroids." Jose is 6'3" roughly 200 lbs and is clearly still using steroids at the age of 47. Dykstra on the other hand is 5'7" and probably at this point closer to 200 than his playing weight of 167. Dykstra is nicknamed "Nails" and might be able to throw Canseco off with the fact he is left handed. One would think that this height advantage would be worthwhile, but Canseco had the same advantage with Bonaduce and wasn't able to close the deal. You also have to take into account that Dykstra just spent 4.5 months in prison, so this might have toughened him up, and he has to go back for more charges at some point. These guys are going to duke it out, but I really look for the ring veteran Canseco to knock Dykstra on his ass and take advantage of his reach advantage. We shall see, but this is one for the decades. Take Canseco in a split decision.

Thoughts from Dave...

South Carolina @ Arkansas (-5): Here's the deal, no bullshit, Arkansas breaks out of their traditional first half slump and this is over early. The #9 Gamecocks come into Fayetteville to face a resilient Razorback team that has found ways to win. And they will do it behind the big arm of Tyler Wilson. What Tyler Wilson has hesitated to do is throw the ball down field. He is great at throwing crossing routes and the boundaries, but this week Petrino wants him to sling it down field. The Gamecocks are playing with replacement players at QB Conner Shaw and RB Brandon Wilds. Arkansas brings in the top passing team in the SEC and should continue it's aerial attack on Saturday. This will be a prime time game on ESPN and the hogs need to shake their slow start, what better way than to do it on prime time. On a side note, I will be there to witness the slaughter. If you have any money stashed away in the mattress or coffee can, now is the time to lay it all on Hogs to cover at home.
Hogs roll 55-24.

Michigan @ Iowa (4) : Michigan rolls into town to take on a mediocre team at best in the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes dropped one to Minnesota last week, yes Minnesota. Minnesota picked up only their second win of the season and first conference win of the year. Iowa has looked horrible all year long and should continue their trend on Saturday. Denard Robinson should own this defense, you don't know how much that pains me to say that, b/c I think this kid gets more credit than what he deserves. The only way Iowa hangs around is to contain the one dimensional Robinson into throwing the ball, if they don't, the Wolverines will walk away with a fairy easy win.

Texas A&M @ Oklahoma (-13.5) This has the potential to be a back and forth game if the Aggies can limit their mistakes. I said has the potential, just like I had the potential to win the 280 million dollar power ball that was won in CT. Hey, I had a shot. Oklahoma is back in contention in the BCS championship race again. But to continue to stay in the hunt, they need to take care of business in Norman. I think the Sooners carry over the momentum they had in the Blowout win of the Wildcats last Saturday in Manhattan. They contain Ryan Tannehill and they win convincingly. Sooners put up 50+ plus and roll.

Kansas State @ Oklahoma State (-21) : Oklahoma State has some serious weapons on offense and the defense is getting better each week. The senior citizen QB continues to impress and operate with ease in the pocket. Randle is gaining confidence with every carry and the WR corp is in the top 3 in the country. I think K-State packs it in for the season and it was good while it lasted, but after coming off an ass whooping from the Sooners, the Pokes will greet them with the same high octane offense and the fans in Stillwater are going to love it. OSU is deadly, I mean deadly, especially when playing at home and have a shot, a legit shot at a national championship run. Bill Snyder is no doubt a great coach, but he didn't have an answer last week and the trend will continue as he won't have an answer this week. Pokes roll.

Rams @ Cardinals (-3.5) I like the Rams straight up to win this one. They come off a big win against the Saints and the Cards will be without starting QB Kevin Kolb. Also, the Rams possibly welcome back Sam Bradford and the newly acquired Brandon Lloyd has meshed well so far with the Rams offense. I look for the Rams to win a close one on the road.

Bears @ Eagles (-7) : This one could go either way, the Eagles are riding a 2 game winning streak, last week clobbering the Cowboys 34-7, does that continue? I honestly don't know. I have picked the Eagles in this one, b/c they have to continue last weeks performance to compete for a playoff berth within the division. The Bears have looked good so far behind the legs of Matt Forte, I look for this to be a barn burner 41-31 Eagles.

Thoughts from Vince...

Dolphins @ Chiefs -4. Sure I am a homer, sure I am a season ticket holder, but I was also one that was on the Chargers when we played in San Diego and were 15 point dogs. They covered that game and have covered every game since. They have also won 4 in a row, all games which they were dogs. This is the first game since opening day the Chiefs are favored, and it is a surprisingly low long considering how hot one team is and how 0-7 the other team is. Sure the dolphins have been in games, and have been fighting time and time again, but this one is real simple. Chiefs are at home, get up early, and you will see a team quit. This Dolphins team has a coach that will be lucky to be around the rest of the year, has the leg up for Luck, and haven't won a game. If the Chiefs were 5-2 instead of 4-3 I could see a let down here, but they are focused, they know this game is just as big as the last one, and they will come out and get up on Miami early. This Chiefs team also now has the triple B receiving core. Breaston, Baldwin, and Bowe! The Fins can cover, but not 3 quality receivers. Chiefs come out and actually establish the pass to open up the run for Jackie Battle. Battle again keeps the ball secure and runs the clock out in the 2nd half after the Chiefs get up early.
Chiefs 24 Dolphins 16

Broncos @ Raiders -7.5. Let me get this right, Al Davis dies, they trade way too much for Carson Palmer, and now they sign TJ Houshmandzadeh? Really? This guy was washed up when he was in Cincy. Who the hell is running the team? Palmer? Go sign my friend off the streets, he has been catching the ball from my wobble launcher as we have been working out? Oh well, I appreciate the Raiders self-imploding, makes it easier for the Chiefs to win the division. Sure Tebow looked like crap last week, and so did the entire Broncos team, but John Fox will get the blown coverages fixed, (Titus Young in the end zone 41 yards down the field, closest player, Kyle Orton on the sideline) and have his team fired up for a division game. Palmer looked horrible against the Chiefs, and I don't care that he only knew 9 or 10 plays, his arm looked horrible. He has no zip on the ball, same as in Cincy last year. He is washed up, he doesn't have the cannon that he used to, hell Matt Cassel has a stronger arm than Carson Palmer right now. I see Denver covering this game, they could win but it depends on how many times Tebow Tebows before the game? Oh and I almost forgot, McFadden is not expected to play, so that doesn't help the Raiders chances. I am taking the points and the Broncos.
Raiders 20 Broncos 17

Bengals @ Titans -3. I have been on the Bengals for most of the year, and I think most of us have made money on them. I thought they would get derailed traveling to Seattle last week, but I was wrong, they showed up and dismantled the Seahawks. This is just one of those games though that is tough for Cincy to get up for. First off they traveled across the country last week and now are traveling again. Back to back road games, but the 2nd after the longest trip they will make this year. Also, the Titans have way more to play for here than the Bengals. This game doesn't mean anything to Cincy and I say that because they are young. This team is looking forward to next week against Pittsburgh and how big that game will be and will overlook this somewhat talented Titans team. Not sure if Chris Johnson gets going or not, but they have a talented backup and will use him if they have to. I think Cincy comes out flat and lays and egg.
Titans 24 Bengals 14

LSU @ Alabama -4.5. This is the prime time matchup that everybody is looking forward to. #1 vs #2. Kind of funny to me most of the money in Vegas is on LSU, I guess they are getting all the hype here, and I can see why, but this is where Saben is at his best. Before even looking at the stats or trends on this game, I liked Bama by 14. I am sticking to that now for sure. When Saben is playing an undefeated team as an undefeated team he is 14-2 straight up and 13-3 ATS. Saben is also 10-0 in revenge games when his defense is allowing less than 16.5 points per game. LSU wins by taking big gambles on both offense and defense and I think this gambles will not result in the rewards they have so far this season. Bama gets the running game going and controls the game from the get go. I look for at least one defensive touchdown for Bama in this game and they hang on to that early lead.
Bama 28 LSU 17

Missouri @ Baylor -2.5. I have said for the entire year that Missouri is better than Baylor and here is their chance to prove it. Josey leads the Big 12 in rushing, and don't look for him to slow down here. Baylor can't stop anybody on defense so how do they plan on stopping one of the best running backs in the nation? Also, looks like Franklin has settled in and if he can stay away from the mistakes Mizzou wins this game going away. Sure sure, RG3 will get some points, but did you see they had like 600 yards of offense and 24 points last week? I don't expect them to have that many yards this week, but I look for them to score a little more. Missouri gained a lot of confidence last week by winning a tough game on the road in the division in overtime and they and Gary Pinkle will build on that. Wrong team favored here
Missouri 45 Baylor 30

Stanford @ Oregon St +21. I don't think you have to question me here, I have been on Stanford the entire year and I am not getting off them now. They have now covered in every game of the season and 11 straight. Last week was their first win of less than 20+. They still won that game with an off game from Andrew Luck. He threw a costly pick 6 at the end of the game, but again I think he knew the spread and wanted to cover that 7.5 in triple overtime by winning by 8. This Stanford team is on a mission, and they know they need to blow Oregon St out. I think Oregon St scores early, and then goes to sleep.
Stanford 42 Oregon St 10