LOCAL
PROGNOSTICATOR UP FOR GRABS IN EXPANSION DRAFT
LAS
VEGAS, Nevada (REUTERS)…Less than 48 hours following
revelation of the nickname for Sin City’s new pro-hockey franchise, the
remaining NHL clubs released their lists of players who, for contract reasons,
are exempt from selection in the expansion draft to fill the roster for the
Vegas Golden Knights. Local fans cheered loudly when they recognized the Vegas Vindicator was not on any of those documents. Renowned for his ability to shatter
plates during the annual pre-All-Star Game skills-competition (not for
accurately firing the puck at dishes secured to the corners and center of a
net, but simply for smashing mass-quantities of dinnerware sets into the boards),
Vindicator said he learned to play the goaltender position by
repeatedly-watching Jean Claude Van Damme’s save between-the-pipes for the
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup
Playoffs during a brief on-ice appearance in the flick “Sudden Death”.
Getting’ no
love from last week’s AP Top 11 (0-9-1 with #7 Oklahoma and #10 Oklahoma State
on byes), we crawled to a 6-10-1 finish (112-118-5, .487), including 1-fer-4 on
“over-unders” (though both winning “best bets” selections came via totals) over the holiday-weekend. Bustin’-up
da’ good china like a boss, it’s…
THE
WEBER KID’S 2016 CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK FORECAST
(Lasting
slightly-longer than Aretha Franklin’s crooning of da’ National Anthem prior to
da’ Vikes-Lions game on Thanksgiving!)
FRI.
DEC. 2
PAC-12
Championship (@ Santa Clara, CA)
#4
Washington (-7 ½) over #9 Colorado: It’s almost (emphasis
on “almost”) like someone opened a time-capsule and found a late-Eighties Colorado
team that often fought Nebraska for B12 supremacy and factored in the National
Championship picture, but loss to USC and close-wins over a down 12-PAC suggest
they’re not quite there. UDUB has
threatened the past few seasons. Looks like they get over the hump with a tenuous-chance
at the playoffs… Huskies 37 Buffaloes 24
MAC
Championship (@ Detroit, MI)
#13
Western Michigan (-19) over Ohio: Currently at 8-4, da’
Bobblecats get a decent bowl, but…Broncos 35 Ohio 13
AAC
Championship
#20
NAVY (-3) over Temple: LOCK OF DA’ WEEK. We plunked-down
some pesos on this one Monday,
well-ahead of our usual Thursday/Friday wagering. Middies get the home-port
advantage by way of the better record between the two teams. Owls, with
under-the-radar 9-3 SU/10-1 ATS (Boy, did we miss the bus on those!) and
making their first appearance in da’ Picks this season, were in this spot last
year too, but lost at Houston by 11. Temple’s American Idol Athletic
Conference-best scoring-defense has been excellent of late, coughing-up just 23
total points over the past four games, throwing a pair of shut-outs along the
way to a 5-1 “under” run, but Sailors’ AAC second-best offense also yields
north of 30 ppg. and accounts for current 7-3 “over” tally. Navy is perfect 5-0
outright in Annapolis (2-1-1 ATS by our numbers). First Top 25 opponent for TU,
who entered the season 5-1 ATS vs. ranked foes, losing all five, by 3 at home
twice. We look for an Admiral-able (Okay,
feel free to boo that one), high-scoring contest, going to...Ensigns 42 Temple
31
SAT.
DEC. 3
SEC
Championship (@ Atlanta, GA)
#1
Alabama (-24) over #15 Florida: Rematch of 2015 SEC
Title game, won 29-15 by ‘Bama. We mentioned it not-long-ago and we’ll repeat
it here…Florida ain’t got the offensive-prowess to keep-up vs. the Tide and
Gators injury-hampered defense faces third straight Top 25 opponent. ‘Bama will
wanna’ put this away early, needing just a victory to stay in the playoffs, but
will pile-on to secure the top-seed. Elephants allowed 9 of Auburn’s 12 total
points last week following turnovers. We expect better ball-security here. Early-season
10-point defeat at Tennessee nor three-TD loss at Arkansas inspire much
confidence in Crocs’ ability to cover, much-less manage a tremendous upset.
Tide had beat the line in five consecutive outings before pushing last week (or
six straight if ya had at -17 ½ at game-time)…Pachyderms 45 Florida 13
ACC
Championship (@ Orlando, FL)
#3
Clemson (-10) over #19 Virginia Tech: Tigers 34 Hokies 16
B10
Championship (@ Indianapolis, IN)
#8
Penn State (+2 ½) over #6 Wisconsin: First…kudos to both head
coaches James Franklin and Paul Chryst for sharing accolades as Big Tentacle
Coach of Da’ Year! The Alma Mater slapped us not once, but twice for calling
the spread-loss to Michigan State, scoring a pair of 4th Quarter TDs
to not only cover minus-12 ½ but also slipping the final score into the “over”
category (though Sparty’s 12-10 edge at the intermission was lookin’ mighty
good!). Andre Robinson appears to be a nice complement to Saquon Barkley at RB.
Wisconsin lost by 7 to each of the two teams ahead of it in the standings (at
Michigan, vs. the Buckeyes) and looked vulnerable before rallying last week to
beat da’ Gophers. Can’t argue with State’s 8-0 SU/7-0-1 ATS run…Nifty Lions 19
Badgers 16
Oklahoma
State (+11) over #7 OKLAHOMA: Won’t be stunned by an
upset, but…Sooners 41 State 34
Baylor
@ #14 WEST VIRGINIA (“Over 68 ½”): Best guess for “wish we
had it back”. Minus mere 7 allowed
to NCAA tournament blue-blood-but-FCS-worthy football-school Kansas, Bares have
conceded almost 44 ppg over last 5 games, while scoring less than 24 all year
just twice (vs. defense-minded
K-State and vs. TCU). ‘Eers gave up 19 to Iowa State last week to deny our
“under” pick and have gone “over” in three of last four games…WVU 47 Baylor 27
Conference
USA Championship
Louisiana
Tech (+9 ½) over WESTERN KENTUCKY: Hilltoppers tied Old
Dominion for best conference-record at 7-1, but beat the Monarchs convincingly
earlier this year and look for some payback for 55-52 October loss to the Bulldogs in Ruston. WKU has scored
at least 44 nine times this year. LT has scored that many or more in eight
contests. Don’t know what happened to the Canines last week in bad home
upset-loss to Sudden Mist, but we look for more focus here. ‘Toppers returned
just nine starters this year for coach Skip Holtz. They’ll get the revenge, but
they’ll work for it. WKU has already played three overtime sessions, could be
another one here…Western Kentucky 48 LT 42
Mountain
West Championship
WYOMING
(+6 ½) over San Diego State: UPSET PICK OF DA’ WEEK (again!) WTH!!!!
Both sides were clobbered by inferior
opponents last week. So, this one features Cowboys-Aztecs:
Da’ Sequel after Wyoming’s 34-33 win over State just two Saturdays ago. Sudzu,
with an early-season shot at a New Year’s-Six game, has little to play for,
outside a conference championship in back-to-back seasons, which lands it in one
of two December-locales…Vegas vs. Mississippi State, if it’s lucky, otherwise
vs. a 5-7 squad that gets the berth for good academics… or in its own backyard in the Poinsettia Bowl (unless the bowl
committee tags Boise State instead of the MWC champion). On the other sideline,
Wyoming has to be stoked to be in-line to potentially grab a conference crown
and its first bowl since 2011 following its second winning-record in past six
years…Laramie Lassoes 38 SDSU 34
BETWEEN
THE HASHMARKS
To provide some perspective on how, not only this
season, but life-in-general, has gone
in 2016…we were 121-110-3 (.523) at this juncture last year.
This weekend, we’ll be blaring Tommy James & Da’
Shondells from the 8-track ahead of the SEC title game. Sing it with us…”Crimmmm-son and o-verrrrr….o-verrrrr and o-verrrrrr!”
Immediately following its victory over rival Rebels,
players from UNR painted “FUNLV” on the trophy Fremont Canon. What the players
from Reno have specifically-against North
Las Vegas is still a mystery! It’s all about spacing. Maybe they meant to portray “Fun, Las Vegas!”
“Domino’s pizza…there in 30 minutes (Minions?) or less or it’s free-safety!”
If da’ Mid-Eastern
Athletic Conference is represented by the Pirates in the 2017 Big Dance, will
we see a subsequent flick entitled “Straight Outta’ Hampton”??!!!
Since July, Shaq’s been hawkin’ car insurance
through Da’ General. Will we see a
commercial featurin’ the former-NBA star’s father imploring him to…”Take da’ Rocket’ to da’ hole, Shaquille”???!!!
SEASON
RECAP
Best
Weekly Effort: Week
Eight’s stellar 13-4 (.765), which resulted in Vindy drawing an
unsportsmanlike- conduct hankie for a “choreographed demonstration” with
several members of his pre-season forecasting strategy team!
Worst
Weakly “F”-fort: We’re
still undergoing concussion-protocol for Weak
Five’s 7-12-2 (.368; which might also explain Week 13’s dismal results)!
WEBER-FRIENDLIES
(Best percentage on the predicted-side of the spread; minimum 7 at-bats in the
forecast): This year’s Allstate “Yer in Good Hands” award goes to (drumroll, please)…da’
Bengals of Weeziana State (7-2, .778). Second-Place to Oklahoma State (5-2,
.714), while Honorable-Mention went to Boise State (6-3, .667).
FLAME-THROWERS
(Worst percentage on the predicted side-of the spread; again, minimum 7 at-bats
in the forecast): Grill-Master
Supreme award-winner…Clemson (3-8, .272), Suckin’ Place is presented to West
Virginia (2-5, .285) and a tie for Dishonorable
Mention, going to Alabama (3-7-1, .300) and Texas A&M (3-7, .300).
Didn’t
make da’ cut, but we’ll be watchin’: Joja’
at 1-4-1 (.200)! BTW, the Puppydogs were in a similar-spot last year at 2-4,
putting them at 3-8-1 (.272) over past two seasons!
Thanks
for playing: Western Michigan at 5-1 (.833) and
Stanford/Miami (both at 4-1, .800 each)!
“Wish
We Had It Back”: Guess
we’d like to go back and support da’ Alma Mater vs. Michigan State, knowing
Sparty had spent itself in one-point loss to Ohio State and noting teams in
close-wins or close-losses do not fare well ATS in the subsequent game.
BAMA-Auburn also falls into this category after we changed our original choice
on that one.
“Locked
in a Box?”: The
Chicken Nuggets got deep-fried by Clemson (we’re shocked), lowering the record to a very-forgettable 7-6 (.538).
Shoppe
Talk: We’re wall-paperin’ Da’ Shoppe with Wolverine-skins
as Michigan, who won’t leave with any post-season awards or “awards”, but has
hosed Da’ Picks five times in six weeks after opening 4-2 through the first
half-dozen!
Black
Shirt: We’re mass-producing the ebony tee for each member
of the Air Force defense that stuffed Boise State four times at the goal-line
to keep our “upset pick of da’ week” intact! Honorable mention to Irish RB
Dexter Williams for a failed attempt to convert a two-point run vs. USC to keep
the final margin at 18 and allowing Troy to cover!
Vindy’s
Championship Week Best Bets: Last
Week: 2-6 (5-13, .278 the last three
weeks) Season: 34-38 (.472)
Limited selection this week, but we’ll take…Temple @
NAVY “over” 62 ½, New Mexico State +11 ½ over SOUTH ALABAMA, IDAHO -7 over
Joja’ State, Weeziana Tech @ WESTERN KENTUCKY “over 81 ½”, Penn State-Wisconsin
“under 47”On-deck, our annual thoughts on…Army-Navy!
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