EX-BALLER STAR DEBUTS SIN CITY RESTAURANT
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (REUTERS)…With the 2018 regular-season now just-underway, former much-travelled NBA player Shaquille O’Neal christened his new Big Chicken restaurant here in Las Vegas earlier this month. The eatery, well-received so-far, by tourists and locals alike, allows patrons to feast on a variety of poultry-dishes while watching pro and college hoops contests on a multiple big-screen TVs. The venue does tout “Throw-Back Free-Throw Thursdays”, when visitors scoring more from the charity-stripe than its owner in a sixty-second period get a discount on their tabs. In addition, Big Chicken features a happy-hour promo that gets customers two-for-one each time an announcer mentions “Hack-a-Shaq" during any broadcast!
We posted a third-consecutive winning-week going 9-7 (63-60-2, .512) and 32-22 (.593) over that span. Hopin’ to do more than just “barely-drawin’-iron” with..
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THE WEBER KID’S WEEK 8 FORECAST
(Dressed like Charles Barkley because he’s our “bestie!”)
SAT. OCT. 20
#1 Alabama (-29) over TENNESSEE: Vols pulled off upset last week courtesy of five (count ‘em, five) turnovers by Auburn. “And now back to our regularly-scheduled programming!” Tide’s trek to Baton Rouge still two weeks out. It’s ‘Bama. Quoting Alfred E. Newman...”What?...Us worry??!!”...Pachyderms 54 Vols 13
PURDUE (+13) over #2 Ohio State: Buckeyes 34 Choo-Choos 24
#16 NC State (+16 ½) over #3 CLEMSON: Both sides rested last weekend. Wolfpack lost 38-31 last year on a pick in the End Zone with under a minute left. State’s covered five of last seven facing the Top 25. Tigers are 10-6 likewise, with five ATS losses by ½-point margins. Marc Lawrence notes State has been gold getting points in ACC play off a bye in last 12 opportunities. Gotta’ support the ‘dog here...Clemson 27 NCSU 17
#4 Notre Dame: IDLE (next vs. Navy @ San Diego)
#5 LSU (-6 ½) over #22 Mississippi State: Bayou Bengals 27 Bulldogs 16
#24 MICHIGAN STATE (+7) over #6 Michigan: We would normally bet against Sparty in a letdown-spot here off very-late upset-victory over da’ Alma Mater in Not-So-Happy Valley, but figure Spartans will muster the inner-strength to host rival Ann Arbor-squad lookin’ to eventually take the conference-crown...Wolverines 22 MSU 19
#7 Texas: IDLE (next @ Oklahoma State)
#8 Georgia: IDLE (next vs. Florida @ Jacksonville, FL)
TCU (+7 ½) over #9 Oklahoma: So, Da’ Sooners helped Mike Stoops find the exit as DC in wake of 48-45 Red River Shoot-Out defeat by Texas. Replacing him is...Ruffin McNeill of HC of ECU fame. In his final three seasons in Greenville, NC, Ruffins’ Pirates allowed 25, 26 and 26 ppg from 2013 thru 2015, respectively. Stoops troops permitted insignificant-difference of sub-28 ppg to-date. McNeill does inherit better-caliber athletes. Toads will be desperate to even the home-SU record at 2-2 and show 4-1 “under” tally so far. With just the Kansas Jay-Woks on the horizon, they’ll be concentrated here. They will, however, face Spooners team, 0-4 ATS prior to K-State per Marc Lawrence’s Playbook.com, that lost in OT to rival-Horns. We’ll stop short of the upset-call, but won’t be shocked by it...Okie-Doke 28 Kermits 27
EAST CAROLINA (+21 ½) over #10 Central Florida: Knights hit the AAC tarmac again after hard-fought 31-30 triumph at Memphis. UCF features #14 rushing yardage O behind country’s best-rusher Darrell Henderson, but Pirates stand-in at #20 rush-D (just north of 118 rypg-allowed) and don’t suck on pass-defense at #65. Buckos lost by 22 last week to Houston and have conceded 126 points over past three outings and show 6-20-1 spread-record in the American over last three-and-a-half seasons...Central Florida 44 Shiver Me Timbers! 29
#11 Florida: IDLE (next vs. Georgia @ Jacksonville, FL)
#12 Oregon (+3) over #25 WASHINGTON STATE: MINOR UPSET PICK OF DA’ WEEK #1...Drakes 31 Wazzou 27
#13 West Virginia: IDLE (next 10/25 vs. Baylor)
#14 KENTUCKY (-11) over Vanderbilt: Second-choice fer “lock” and best-guess fer “wish we had it back”. Can ya’ tell we’re conflicted???!!! ‘Cats were on “R&R” (Rest and Repetitions), while Vandy squandered 18-point-advantage over the Gators. KY sucks in this role, but no team has scored more than 20 against them (average of less-than-15 ppg-allowed in FBS play). Just third roadie for the Commodores. Bluegrass Kitties are on the upswing from years-past, while Admirals are spiraling-downward. Caveat...Kentucky is 2-9 ATS layin’ points in Lexington over past 2 ½ seasons. Collectively, the clubs are 8-1-1 “under” thus far...Felines 31 Boat-People 14
Colorado (+15 ½) over #15 WASHINGTON: Sled dogs K Peyton Henry is still thumbin’-a-ride home from Eugene (see our Black Shirt segment below). Health of Huskies RB-tandem could be key to the cover this week. All five Bison I-A games finished ‘under” the total. Huskies have dropped three of last four o the line and have beaten only BYU and FCS North Dakota by at least this many. Despite ATS-loss at USC last week and 0-5 spread-tally in as many-tries against ranked-opponents, we haven’t lost faith in da’ Buffs...UDUB 27 Colorado 23
#17 Texas A&M: IDLE (next @ Mississippi State)
#18 Penn State (-14 ½) over INDIANA: LOCK OF DA’ WEEK. Nitwit Loins (no, that’s not a typo!) know they let a big-win escape them late vs. Spartans. Hoosiers will bear the brunt of that frustration...PSU 41 Indy 10
#19 IOWA (-9 ½) over Maryland: Both clubs enter this one off blow-outs of their respective Week-Seven foes. But unlike Terps’ contest, there won’t be a freshman under center this week on the Hawkeyes’ side of the line-of-scrimmage. Box Turtles’ opening-week neutral-site victory over Texas looks better-and-better each week. Birds have covered 4 of 5 and are on 3-0 “over”-run. Iowa has gone 5-1 in past half-dozen giving DD (not quite DD this week, but would need to win by such). Terrapins lost by 21 at home to Temple and a like-score at Ann Arbor. Homecoming in Iowa City... Hawkeyes 37 MD 17
#20 Cincinnati (+3 ½) over TEMPLE: MINOR UPSET PICK OF DA’ WEEK #2. Owls opened with back-to-back non-AAC defeats, including 17-19 fall to FCS Villanova, but have recorded 4-1 SU/4-0-1 ATS since then. Barnyard Fowl got past Navy at the Inner-Harbor 24-17 and get a bye ahead of journey to Central Florida. TU has also won and covered each of the past three years in this series and validated Marc Lawrence’s tip of betting-on previous-season bowl-team that loses first two contests SU, wins Game Three outright and plays 4th game at the friendly-confines. In addition to season-starter loss to ‘Nova, Owls lost to Buffalo, then beat Maryland on the road and bested-and-covered –6 ½ vs. visitor-Tulsa. Bill Cosby’s alma-mater (What? Too soon?) conceded just one home-game in each of past two-years against eleven homefield-victories, but show two already in 2018 on the wrong-side of the final scoreboard. Conversely, Bearkats had posted a total of three outright wins in the conference over the previous two outings, but have a pair of AAC wins to their credit this year...Cincy 24 Temple 20
Connecticut (+32 ½) over #21 SOUTH FLORIDA: Takin’ da’ ‘dog against our better-judgment. Second-best guess fer “wish” pick with Connecticut givin’-up almost 55 ppg and East Hartford Hounds 0-5 SU/ATS, includin’ 7-point home-demise to FCS Rhode Island. But little voice in Vindy’s head is screamin’ UConn!...Bulls 45 Huskies 17
Illinois @ #23 WISCONSIN (“under 58”): Cheese-heads 34 Illini 9
BETWEEN DA’ HASHMARKS
BTW, Big Chicken lesser-advertises that its in-game commercials all feature promos for Icy-Hot! In addition, walls of said-venue are adorned with photos of fellow-LSU-alum Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who likewise floundered on free-throws, notably the 4-fer-10 “try” in 2006 Final Four match and loss to UCLA!
Until a certain technological-device gets coded to recognize sports-gambling...Vindy: “Alexa...who’s gonna’ cover between Alabama and Tennessee? Alexa: Album-covers...which ones would you like to See?! Vindy: No, Alexa... who’s going to beat the point-spread? Alexa: Did you mean bedspreads or cheese-spreads?!
We offer a shout-out to former-Penn State and current Giants rookie-RB Saquon Barkley for recording a buck-thirty rushing yards on 13 totes in loss to da’ Iggles over the weekend!
Back in April, Vindicator impressed coaches at the NFL Combine with his top-performance in the 40-yard Deal Dash.Com!
Also this past April, da’ Tampa Bay-New Jersey hockey-tilt was broadcast on...da' Golf Channel! Did we hear Bill Murray in his role as "Carl Spackler" in "Caddyshack" quip..."It's in da' five-hole...it's in da' five-hole." "Last year...a lowly Zamboni-driver...about to become...this year's...Stanley Cup...champion."
Bizarre random-thought...if an Olympic-curler intercepts the opponent’s “hammer”/”rock”, does it get taken “to da’ house”??!! BTW, we suggest a new medal-sport for da’ 2020 Winter Games...Rhythmic Curling (Curdling? Cuddling?)!
“Wish We Had It Back”: Yup, we tagged “Missouri-’BAMA over 75 ½” fer this one, after noting Nick Saban called-out his D following un-Tide-like performance in the Arkansas game.
“Locked in a Box”: Oddly, we had a sinkin’-feelin’ after makin’ Our Lady minus–three-TDs over PITT our “lock’”. We ignored that discomfort and fall to 3-3 (.500) as a result.
“Black Shirt”: The Tremendous-Tee, this week, goes to UDUB K Peyton Henry for missin’ a 37-yard FG on the final regulation snap, sending the contest to extra-frames, where the Ducks brought-home our “minor upset pick of da’ week” over da’ Sled-Dogs!
Shoppe Talk: Becoming permanent-fixtures at the Shoppe are Miami (0-6, .000), as well as ‘Bama and Michigan, each at 1-6 (.142)!
Vindy’s Picks Week 8 Best Bets: Last Week: 3-1 Season: 17-12-1 (.586)
Vanderbilt @ KENTUCKY “under 48”, Tulsa @ ARKANSAS “under 56”, MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE –17 ½ over Charlotte, Memphis +9 ½ over MIZZOU, Memphis @ MIZZOU “under 74”
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