POETIC JUSTICE FOR MADOFF VICTIMS
MANHATTAN, New York (ITAR-Tass)....As Bernie Madoff’s estate continues to get sold off this month, noted items up for bid include a boogie board bearing the disgraced investor’s name, a baseball mitt, a Wayne Gretsky action figure and....copies of Vindy’s Picks! In a twist of fate, the Ponzi scheme felon who bilked investors out of billions, was himself taken to the cleaners as recently-discovered records indicate Madoff gambled away tons of money wagering on Vindy’s 2009 lock of the week choices and his best bet selections, which have combined to go just 25-33 (and falling). As his thirst for the outrageous spiraled out of control, an opportunistic bookie duped Madoff into believing he was betting with the advice of nationally-known touts such as Phil Steele, Jim Feist and Marc Lawrence. The soon-to-be jailbird even went so far as to wear an exorbitant replica chronograph watch, used by German POWs to time prison patrols for possible escape attempts, to ensure he placed his already-doomed bets by kickoff!
The Sin City Soothsayer posted just his second losing effort on the season in Week Eleven, going 9-13 (117-93-1, .557) and pulled a Mike Singletary by dropping trou in the locker room in an effort to get his assistant prognosticators to focus on....
THE WEBER KID’S 2009 WEEK 12 FORECAST
THURS. NOV. 19
Colorado over #12 OKLAHOMA STATE taking 17 ½: Bisons’ rushing defense has gotten worse each year since Dan Hawkins took over as coach (allowing 4.4 ypc last season and currently around 4.1 ypc this year). Not good news against Oklahoma State team running for better than 200 yards per game. CU just playing out the string, having only three outright wins. State defense had three INTs last week to turn away Texas Tech. Six of Colorado’s 10 foes have put up at least 30, while the Buffs have scored in the teens or less in three of last four. Still, Cowpokes can be streaky and yield more points than expected...OKSU 33 Colorado 18
FRI. NOV. 20
#6 Boise State over UTAH STATE giving 23: Okay, both of Boise’s ATS defeats came on the road and Utah State is 7-2 ATS on the year, including covers at in-state rivals BYU and Utah. “In-state rivals” may be the key words here. Aggies boast nice 15-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio, but have also given up 26 sacks. Boise’s QB Kellen Moore has a 32-3 ratio. USU is 21-10-2 ATS in last 33 overall games, but we just can’t pass up the Broncos right now....BSU 48 USU 20
SAT. NOV. 21
Florida International over #1 FLORIDA taking 45: FIU covered smaller lines at ‘Bama and at Rutgers. Crocs, en route to 9-0 ATS run as double-digit faves vs. non-conference teams, blew out Troy 56-6. In May, the Dalai Lama donated $100K to Florida International after getting a letter from a friend on the FIU staff requesting assistance. Officials quickly dumped the contribution into the financially-strapped Department of Religious Studies, but the religious leader quickly responded, saying “No, no, NO! That money goes toward scholarships for the Panthers gridiron team!”...Florida 48 FIU 6
Tennessee-Chattanooga @ #2 ALABAMA: No line.
#3 TEXAS over Kansas giving 27 1/2: KU’s pass offense behind Todd Reesing hangs around the nation’s Top 10 and the Jayhawks ain’t bad in total offense either, but those positives did not translate into a BCS title shot as Vindy (and folks in Lawrence) hoped. Steers allowing less than 100 passing yards per game, have covered 6 of latest 7 in this series and won 35-7 last year. Kansas still seeking an elusive sixth win toward the post-season...UT 45 KU 14
#4 Texas Christian over WYOMING giving 32: LOCK OF DA’ WEEK. Cowboys’ only spread losses in 9 lined tilts came in shutouts at Colorado and BYU. Wyoming’s been whitewashed in two of its last three, somehow rallying last week at SDSU from a three-touchdown deficit. Toads left no doubt they’re on a mission by annihilating Utah. Wyoming is near the bottom of the conference in most offensive categories and fair-to-middlin’ defensively...Frozen Frogs 42 Wyoming 7
#5 Cincinnati: IDLE (next vs. Illinois 11/27)
#7 Georgia Tech: IDLE (next vs. Georgia)
#8 Pittsburgh: IDLE (next @ West Virginia 11/27)
#9 Ohio State over MICHIGAN giving 12: Big Blew’s on 1-6 ATS skid and only outright win in past seven games came at the expense of Vindy’s first college venue, I-AA Delaware State. Buckeyes, already locked into the Rose Bowl, could be flat. Then again, they may want embarrass freshman QB Forcier in his first taste of this rivalry and rub a little salt in the gaping Wolverine wounds. Bruce Springsteen mistakenly greeted his recent Michigan concert audience with “Hello, Ohio!” and uttered a few more references to that state to the East before being advised of his boo-boo. Motor City’s Ted Nugent plans revenge by going into Bruce’s hometown of Asbury Park, NJ and opening with “How ya doin’, Philadelphia!”...OSU 27 Michigan 10
#10 Louisiana State over MISSISSIPPI taking 4: Bengals still struggling to cover vs. SEC squads, but got the shaft in ‘Bama game. The switch at QB to former starter Jarrett Lee did not go overly-well in mere 8-point home win over Weeziana Tech, but while the last 3 games between the Bengals and Rebels in Baton Rouge have been decided by 3 or less, Tigers belted Ole Miss in Oxford by 17 in 2007 and by 33 in 2005. All things considered, Fightin’ Magnolias’ best win might actually have been the 30-17 triumph over Arkansas rather than 25-point victory vs. Rocky Top in Week Eleven. If State can put the same D on the field that stymied the Tide most of the game, they’ll win here...LSU 16 Mississippi 13
ARIZONA over #11 Oregon taking 6: ‘Cats should be hungry after letting Cal score on a 61-yard run with 90 seconds to play to lose the game. Ducks have lost the money four of their last five tries prior to facing the Beavers, but have two weeks before that game. AZ is 9-3 ATS in last dozen vs. Top 25 teams. Mallards win a close one... Decoys 30 Arizona 27
#13 Penn State over MICHIGAN STATE giving 3: Turnovers continue to plague the alma mater. Four giveaways were off-set only by Navarro Bowman’s 73-yard pick-six that kept feisty Indiana from taking a third quarter lead. Sparty’s biggest loss was by 8 at Notre Dame and MSU stayed within 2 of Iowa here in East Lansing. Holy cow! Lions actually playing outside Happy Valley! Lions have won and covered the previous three away treks by average of 21 points. In that case, we gotta’ lay da’ points and hope for a New Year’s Day berth for...Penn State 28 Michigan State 12
#14 STANFORD over California giving 7: Do back-to-back upsets by the Cardinal mean they beat the letdown curse that foiled PAC-10 brethren Arizona and Oregon or does it mean Stanford’s twice as likely to fall on its face here? Bears have won six of last seven battles outright vs. the Trees. Cardinal has hit the board for better than fitty each of the last two weeks. Tiger Woods will be an honorary captain on the Stanford sideline this week and plans to quietly chip or drive golf balls into Cal players to induce offside penalties or procedure calls during third-and-short situations!... Stanford 31 Cal 20
Minnesota over #15 IOWA taking 10: The line’s droppin’ like a rock in favor of the Gophers, who edged FCS squad South Dakota State 16-13 in Week Eleven. Golden Gerbils have lost four of last seven this year, going 2-4 ATS over that span and got blown out 55-0 at home last year by Iowa. Yet, the betting public (and perhaps the sharps out there) continue to distrust the Hawkeyes laying double-digits. The loss to the Buckeyes ended the Rose Bowl hopes and though there’s a remote shot of an at-large spot, Iowa can basically only look forward to some non-Orange Bowl game in Florida around the New Year. Minny no bargain vs. ranked teams, going 0-3 SU/ATS, losing by 13, 20 and 31...Iowa 20 Vermin 12
NC State over #16 VIRGINIA TECH taking 21: Disappointing year for NC State team that Vindicator expected to flourish in Tom O’Brien’s 3rd year as coach. How did these guys beat Pitt earlier?! Maryland’s only six vs. Tech came via a fumble in the end zone. These clubs haven’t met since 20-16 Hokies win in 2006. Tech just 3-2 ATS in Blacksburg and little voice in your host’s head is screamin’ take da’ points...Tech 28 Wolf Pack 13
NORTHWESTERN over #17 Wisconsin taking 7: Wildcats in midst of 3-2 SU/ATS run that includes straight-up wins over Iowa and Illinois. Badgers lousy as road favorites, covering just 4 of last 15. NW is making it happen on defense, but they haven’t posted more than 17 points in 4 of last 6 games...Wisky 20 NW 16
#18 CLEMSON over Virginia giving 20 ½: C.J. Spiller looks to be rolling for the Tigers after rushing for almost triple-digits and reeling in a pair of scoring catches last week. Cavs on 0-3 ATS slide after being battered by bi-polar Hurricanes. Clemson has four wins by 20 or more. This would be only 5th loss by three touchdowns or more in almost three full seasons for the Cavaliers...Clemson 34 Virginia 10
Air Force over #19 BYU taking 10: UPSET PICK OF DA’ WEEK. WTH?????!!!! Mormons managed just a 5-point win at New Mexico???!!!! Lobos kicker James Aho drew nothin’ but iron on two field goal tries and a PAT or BYU woulda’ had itself another one in the loss column. The Flight Platoon lost to TCU by 3 and to Utah by 7 in extra innings and have covered 16 of their last 22 MWC contests. Mormons have beaten the line the past five tries against the Pilots, handling USAF rather easily. Cougars are minus-three in turnover ratio. USAF is +18 and recovers better than two of every three balls put on the ground by their opponents. BYU’s only two SU defeats this season came at Provo. We’re callin’ for the hat trick...Flyboys 19 BYU 17
#20 Oregon State over WASHINGTON STATE giving 30 ½: More of a vote against Wazzou than for the Beavers, who’ve covered 5 of last 6 games on the season (though four of those came while getting points). Looks like a lot to lay, but Cougars made even Notre Dame look good on a neutral field. Replay of last week’s BYU-New Mexico debauchery? Naaaaaaahhhhh. Beavers tally half-a-hundred...OSU 52 WSU 13
Duke over #21 MIAMI taking 19 1/2: These ain’t your father’s Blue Devils, who own a win-loss record equal-to or better than six other ACC teams. Pelicans have beaten only I-AA Florida A&M (who?) by this many. ‘Canes followed up loss to Virginia Tech with one-point win over Oklahoma and OT loss vs. Clemson with near-loss to Wake Forest. Can’t see Da’ U whacking the Dukies, who can also throw the ball fairly well with senior Thaddeus Lewis at QB, by almost three touchdowns...Miami 27 Duke 16
#22 USC: IDLE (next vs. UCLA)
San Diego State over #23 UTAH taking 19 ½: Last lost as bad as TCU laid on Utah last week was 27-0 in early 2007 to...GASP!...UNLV! The only team with a pulse that the Utes have beaten by this much was Utah State in the opener. Aztecs on 0-3 ATS slide, but showed signs of life, taking a 27-6 lead into the 4th Quarter before lucky win by Wyoming.. Provo Panthers on-deck for Utah. Uggghhhhh...Utes 17 SDSU 6
#24 HOUSTON over Memphis giving 23 1/2: Memphis, with a couple exceptions, has been limited to scoring in the teens and has just one cover in nine games with spreads. Where has Houston’s defense gone???!! Off upset by Central Florida and back in the friendly confines against a school looking ahead to the hoops season, Coogs offense breaks the half-century mark as well for the third time this year and Case Keenum adds to his #2 TD pass total (just one behind Boise’s Kellen Moore)...Houston 54 Memphis 24
#25 Rutgers over SYRACUSE giving 8: Orange off hard-fought 10-9 loss at Louisville (and we don’t know if that speaks more to improvement of Syracuse or just the Redbirds futility this season) and have lost to the Knights by 18, 24, 31 and 22 the past four years. Half of Rutgers’ six scores vs. South Florida were field goals, but the Garden State Galahads have quietly placed their defense at #11 in scoring D, #12 in rush D (98.2 ypg) and #16 in total D. NJ requires decals on cars driven by teens (21 or under) that indicate ”teen on board”. Rutgers players’ vehicles bear stickers noting ...”Scarlet Knight on board”...Jersey Boys 22 Syracuse 10
BETWEEN THE HASHMARKS
The NFL has put the kibosh on players putting their hands on their hips and raising a bent leg in a nod to a certain well-known spiced rum company after Eagles TE Brent Celek did so following a touchdown catch vs. the Cowboys two weekends ago. Apparently, the No Fermentation League won’t tolerate their athletes taking the field when they “have a little Captain in them”! (Stay tuned for next week’s lead story for more thoughts on this topic!)
This summer, UConn hoops coach Jim Calhoun went you-know-what over tea kettle 12 miles into a 50-mile Cancer Challenge bike-riding event. Coach got busted up rather badly, but got back in the saddle and finished the course. Not only is Calhoun the heir-apparent to Lance Armstrong, Vegas has posted an over/under on total games lost to injury by his players during the upcoming basketball season as zero at minus–800 and 1-or-more at +1200!!!!
This week’s lunch special at Vindy’s Bet & Breakfast is a nice Asian dish honoring the run-and-shoot...Chuck-and-Peking Duck!
As a tribute to the late Michael Jackson, NBA baller Ron Artest will wear No. 37 for each week Thriller topped the charts. (Phew!...for a minute there, we thought he was making fun of Vindy’s total losses the last few weeks!)
Wonder if somewhere out there is an abbreviated version of the bookies’ manual on dealing with unsavory gamblers called...“Off Da’ Cliff Notes!”
Couldn’t help but notice the following AP headline in Monday’s paper...WIE SHOWERED WITH RELIEF AFTER FIRST WIN. Uhhhh....did the golf star plan to forego the whole personal hygiene thing until she wrapped up her inaugural LPGA Tour title on Sunday or what????!!!!!!
Black Shirt: Gets cleaned and pressed for North Carolina CB Kendric Burney for snaring three interceptions, including one for a score, in the Tarheels’ predicted SU win over Miami!
“Locked in a Box?”: The Mormons were on a mission outta’ the country apparently during poor offensive showing against the Lobos and dropped Vindy’s 4th consecutive lock pick (4-7, .364).
Shoppe Talk: Hurricanes (2-7) get to blow out to sea for a week after losing SU to Carolina (as we predicted), but the Ohio State Suckeyes fall to 1-8 in last 9 (and 3-8 overall) with the LSU Bungles still in the cages at 1-7 in the last 8 (2-8 overall). And the Dread Raiders of Texas Tech did what they do best to go 0-4-1 on the season (2-14-1 since start of 2008).
Vindy’s Week 12 Best Bets: Last Week: 3-1 Season: 21-26 (.447)
TEMPLE -13 over Kent State, Connecticut +6 over NOTRE DAME, Weeziana Tech +10 over FRESNO STATE, Southern Methodist +4 over MARSHALL, Weeziana-Monroe -2 1/2 over WEEZIANA-LAFAYETTE
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