Friday, September 15, 2006

Money Matters

I can’t resist. I have so much knowledge and information to share. Money is a college basketball expert. If you have followed me and read The Truth, you know this is a proven fact! The college basketball season should be fantastic this year. There will be a flurry of great young talent, led by Greg Oden at Ohio State. Here is my top 5.

1) North Carolina
2) Florida
3) UCLA
4) Kansas
5) LSU

Do you want a dark horse? How about Texas A&M?

But this knowledge that I want to share with you in not about college hoops. It’s not about our national past-time either. The Mets will win it all, as Money predicted. (Watch out for the A’s though. Great rotation and an experienced bullpen). This information is about the air we breathe every day; Football.

Money has a theory in the NFL, one that he likes to call “The sky is not falling theory”. Every week in the NFL there are teams that are not as bad as they looked last Sunday. Alternatively, there are teams that are not as good as they looked too. How many times did you hear that the Baltimore Ravens are superbowl contenders this year after they stomped on Tampa Bay this past weekend? Please. How about Brett Favre and the idea that he should be replaced by Aaron Rodgers? C’mon. This is crazy talk. The Bears, Chargers and Ravens all posted shutouts, but are not that good. And the Buccaneers and Packers are not that bad. Vegas tend to overreact, simply because the bettors do. The key here is to do the thing that does not seem natural. It is important to look at these games and understand how something like this happened.

The Panthers looked very bad against the falcons. They are still a great team, but without Steve Smith they will struggle. Is Tampa Bay that bad? I say no. Gruden will whip those boys into shape. The Bears have a great defense and an easy schedule, but they are not a very good team. Rex Grossman loses his job soon. They will still win 11 games though. The Raiders are terrible any way you slice it.

So who overachieved/underachieved the last week and who do I like this weekend? Without further adieu, I give you Money’s Trip to the Bank for week 2 in the NFL.

LIONS +9 at Chicago: This is a classic trap. The Bears, everyone’s superbowl darling, are at home after posting a shutout in week 1. This game will be decided by a field goal.

BUCS +5.5 at Atlanta: Perfect situation. Atlanta beat Carolina, who is considered one of the best teams in the NFC, and Tampa Bay got punched in the neck at home by the Ravens. Tampa Bay will bounce back this week and win the game outright.

PACKERS +2.5 vs. New Orleans: Favre is getting old, but he can still play. Last years these two teams met and the Packers won 52-3. The Saints have Brees and Bush now, but not much else has changed. Packers win this game.