(Sorry for the extremely late column. It has been an extremely busy week academically, so I hadn’t had any time to work on it previous to yesterday, which as you all know, was a pretty wild day/night. So, I started this this morning. As usual, I swear on whatever you want me to swear on that I haven’t changed picks because of scores or anything like that. Last I saw Buffalo is leading Miami 14 – 0, note that I have Miami! Thanks for understanding!)

Dave’s Dime
“Because Two Cents Just Isn’t Enough”

THE INTRO

66.

But lets go one thing at a time. Lets not forget that besides the fact that the Trojans pounded the living snot out of the Bruins, I pounded the living snot out of the spread last week. 12 – 3 – 1, with the spread, is absolutely insane. Vegas was like the Bruins of spreads last week. Does that last sentence even make sense? No, none. But who cares? Its official – I’m kinda good at picking games, and the Trojans are kinda good at football. Hell, I want to talk pros more, but I’m just itching for some Bruin bashing.

I hope someday to be a successful sports broadcaster, and unless I do so in the column setting, I am going to make a career out of being biased and fair. I think thats fantastic. But right now, I’m not a professional, and so I’m going to enjoy every minute of it and take you who weren’t lucky enough to be sitting next to me through some of the highlights of the things I screamed (and those of you who know me know that my screaming certainly projects, and I was only 20 rows from the field at the 50 yrd line) at the game yesterday. After all, what better way to relive yesterday? I can recap the game all I wan’t, but you’ve all seen that. Here goes (in order)

“CHANT START: HEIS-MAN, HEIS-MAN, HEIS-MEN” (After his run out of the endzone), “CHANT START: BRUINS SUCK! BRUINS SUCK!” (This one was actually spread stadium wide, right after our 2nd TD was scored), “YOU GUYS F—ING SUCK!” “EVEN YOUR BAND SUCKS!” “YOU GUYS WERE SUPPOSED TO GOOD!” “F— UCLA!” “CHANT START: NA NA HEY HEY GOODBYE” “YOU GUYS ARE WORSE THAN ARKANSAS!” “TOO BAD YOU DONT GET POINTS FOR TRYING… OR SUCKING!” “WE BROKE THE SCOREBOARD!” (When the scoreboard malfunctioned), “HAVE FUN AT THE TYSON CHICKEN BOWL OR WHATEVER F—ING BOWL YOUR GOING TO” “HAVE FUN AT THE OIL OF OLAY BOWL!” “HEY! F— UCLA!” (Me and buddies decided to give UCLA a standing O when they scored), and then one more hey hey goodbye song at the end.

Professional? Naaa. But I’m a hell of a fan. Hope you all enjoyed the game; I know from the football standpoint it wasn’t great, but its the last time the Coliseum will house that offense, which will go down as one of the greatest all time. I will go over my heisman pick next week (Bush) but give Vince Young the love he deserves as well, and I will go over my bowl prediction (USC) in detail when the time comes. But for now, lets pick some games!

THE RECORD

Last Week
With the spread: 12 – 3 – 1 (.800)
Without the spread: 12 – 4 – 0 (.750)
$$Money Picks$$: 3 – 0 – 0 (1.000)
^^Zen Picks^^: 4 – 2 – 0 (.666)

Season
With the spread: 94 – 77 – 5 (.550)
Without the spread: 111 – 65 – 0 (.631)
$$Money Picks$$: 21 – 16 – 3 (.568)
^^Zen Picks^^: 15 – 7 – 0 (.682)

LAST WEEK’S RECAP OF DAVE’S BRILLIANCE AND FOOLISHNESS
(Usually Brilliance?!?)

Atlanta 27 6 – 4 (-3.0) @ Detroit 7 4 – 6 (+3.0)
Win 1 came easy enough
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – Atlanta
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Atlanta

Denver 24 8 – 2 (+2.0) @ Dallas 21 7 – 3 (-2.0)
A bit closer than I anticipated, but I loved heading into the weekend 2 – 0.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – *$Denver
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Denver

Carolina 13 7 – 3 (-4.0) @ Buffalo 9 4 – 6 (+4.0)
Why couldn’t it be -3.5 instead?
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: TIE – Carolina
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Carolina

San Fransisco 22 2 – 8 (+7.0) @ Tennessee 33 2 – 8 (-7.0)
I guess I’m still giving SF a little too much credit.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – *San Fransisco
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – *San Fransisco

New England 16 6 – 4 (+3.0) @ Kansas City 26 6 – 4 (-3.0)
“One of the few picks I’m confident with this week.” – Guess there shoulda been more than a few
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – $Kansas City
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Kansas City

Cleveland 12 4 – 6 (+4.5) @ Minnesota 24 5 – 5 (-4.5)
“Statistically, Cleveland is the favorite here. But that doesn’t matter. For whatever reason, the Vikings have just been winning every game they’ve been playing. Motivated my a bad division and super bowl champion QB Brad Johnson, the Vikes are hot, and Cleveland shouldn’t be able to slow them down. ” – And they didn’t.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – ^Minnesota
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Minnesota

San Diego 23 6 – 4 (-3.0) @ Washington 17 5 – 5 (+3.0)
“One of the main reasons why I’m so successful these days is because I’m not only looking at the numbers, but I’m looking at the emotions, too. Washington is coming off of a heartbreaking loss, and the Chargers are coming off of a blowout victory. They are ripe for a letdown game in Washington. While SD is the much better team, upsets make the NFL, and this is going to be one of them” – Washington took them into OT, so I certainly wasn’t way off. Unfortunately for me, Ladanian single handedly tied and won it for SD.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – ^*Washington
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – *Washington

St. Louis 33 4 – 6 (-3.5) @ Houston 27 1 – 9 (+3.5)
“Even without Bulger, St. Louis should definitely be good enough to beat Houston, who can’t beat much of anyone. Especially after losing to Arizona last week, St. Louis should be hungry and excited to face such a bad team this week.” – What can I say, I’m good
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – St. Louis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – St. Louis

Miami 3 – 7 (+7.0) @ Oakland 4 – 6 (-7.0)
“Miami had a terrible loss last week, and Oakland had an emotional win. That means, by Zen standards, that Miami should win the game Sunday. I don’t think they are talented enough to do so, but I do think they can keep it close.” – Zen was right, oh, and my Raiders suck.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – ^*Miami
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – Oakland

Jacksonville 24 7 – 3 (-3.5) @ Arizona 17 3 – 7 (+3.5)
“What is there to say? Jacksonville will probably win by like 2 and screw me over on the spread, but point is, they will win. And for 3.5 points, I’ll take my chances.” – And I couldn’t go wrong this week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – Jacksonville
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Jacksonville

Green Bay 14 2 – 8 (+4.0) @ Philidelphia 19 4 – 6 (-4.0)
“Without McNabb and without Owens, I still feel that they can beat this weak GB team and give their fans a rare something to cheer about.” – Of course they can.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – ^Philidelphia
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Philidelphia

New Orleans 21 2 – 8 (+2.5) @ New York Jets 19 2 – 8 (-2.5)
“What an awful, awful game this will be. I had New Orleans typed in, but I’m gonna change it to the Jets.” – Shouldn’t have done that. Was right about the awful game part, though.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – ^New York Jets
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – New York Jets

Pittsburgh 7 – 3 (+7.0) @ Indianapolis 10 – 0 (-7.0)
“Bet on Indianapolis as often as you can. They have proven Zen wrong time and time again, and they just consistantly win football games by alot. Will they go undefeated? Maybe, maybe not. But I certainly don’t think this is the week they are in jeopardy.” – Nope, it isnt.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – $Indianapolis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Indianapolis

DAMN, I’M GOOD

Baltimore 29 3 – 7 (+9.0) @ Cincinnati 42 7 – 3 (-9.0)
This is a Zen pick through and through. Baltimore coming off an impressive win against Pittsburgh can certainly win WITH 9 points, right? Wrong. They are due for a let down, and Cincinnati will want to bounce back strong after last weeks emotional loss. At home, they take care of Baltimore without trouble.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Cincinnati
– Really tough to give up 9 points, I’m pretty proud of myself on this one.

Chicago 13 7 – 3 (+3.0) @ Tampa Bay 10 7 – 3 (-3.0)
One of the biggest surprises of this season has been the Chicago Bears, who are now owners of a 6 game winning streak. Tampa Bay slipped up, but is now back on track with a 2 game winning streak. This should be a good game, but the Bears defense is just impenetrable right now, and I don’t see the Buccaneers finding a weakness.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Chicago
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Chicago
– Just a good, sound ‘upset’ pick

New York Giants 21 7 – 3 (+5.5) @ Seattle 24 8 – 2 (-5.5)
Out of nowhere, Seattle has the best record in the NFC. Many would argue, though, that the Giants are the team to beat. This game will say alot. I’m not giving up 5.5 points to a team as talented as the Giants, but I will say Seattle holds on to win it at home.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – *New York Giants
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Seattle
– Easily the game of the week, as NYG’s Feely misses on game winning opportunities 3 straight times. Not how I forsaw it, but same result.

THE PICKS

* – Indicates Upset Pick
$ – Indicates Money Pick
^ – Indicates Zen Pick

Atlanta 7 – 4 (+3.0) @ Carolina 8 – 3 (-3.0)
My first of many upsets, I feel like Atlanta is a strong team that just hasn’t been able to get wins against the better teams in the league, and they are due for one. @ Carolina would be a very impressive victory.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Atlanta
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Atlanta

Buffalo 4 – 7 (+3.0) @ Miami 4 – 7 (-3.0)
Statistically, this game is exactly even. I guess I’ll take Miami solely on the grounds that they are at home, and Buffalo plays most of its good football at home, not on the road.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Miami
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Miami

Cincinnati 8 – 3 (+3.5) @ Pittsburgh 7 – 4 (-3.5)
I buy into every bit of the hype surrounding the Bengals. They are one of the AFC’s best, and with a win today, they can prove it.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Cincinnati

Dallas 7 – 4 (+3.0) @ N.Y. Giants 7 – 4 (-3.0)
Should be an absolutely great game, and I’m angry I’m missing it as we speak to type this up. After losing to Seattle and being embarassed on a national level last week, look for the Giants to destroy the Cowboys to try and regain that aura of strength they were walking around with.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^$N.Y. Giants
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: N.Y. Giants

Green Bay 2 – 9 (+6.5) @ Chicago 8 – 3 (-6.5)
Upset of the year, and I’m calling it! Chicago has to go into Pittsburgh next week, which will be remarkeably tough. Playing a 2 – 9 lousy GB team at home, I can’t help but think they can’t be worrying too much about this game. I respect Chicago alot and think they will make a huge splash in the playoffs this year, but everyone makes a mistake sometime. I say this week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^*Green Bay
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: **Green Bay

Houston 1 – 10 (+7.0) @ Baltimore 3 – 8 (-7.0)
Baltimore is not 7 points better than anyone, I’m sorry. However, they are a few points better, and should get the win.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Houston
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Baltimore

Jacksonville 8 – 3 (-2.5) @ Cleveland 4 – 7 (+2.5)
Vegas must know something I don’t with this spread, but Jacksonville is really strong, and I’m not convinced that Cleveland has the slightest chance of winning this game. Less then a field goal? Very interesting.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Jacksonville
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Jacksonville

Minnesota 6 – 5 (-3.0) @ Detroit 4 – 7 (+3.0)
Let the good times roll. Minnesota picked the right time for a hot streak as the weak teams keep rolling in.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Minnesota
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Minnesota

Tampa Bay 7 – 4 (-3.5) @ New Orleans 3 – 8 (+3.5)
Tampa Bay is a much better team than New Orleans, and I think Gruden can keep them focused enough to just come out and beat this team hard.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Tampa Bay
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Tampa Bay

Tennessee 3 – 8 (+15.0) @ Indianapolis 11 – 0 (-15.0)
With @ Jax in the cards for the Colts next week, this game at home against the Titans has the chance to be overlooked just a little. In a bold move, I’ll take the Titan’s 15 points, and just prey they make at least some sort of a game out of it. Colts should win by 14, though.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^*Tennessee
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Indianapolis

Arizona 3 – 8 (-3.0) @ San Francisco 2 – 9 (+3.0)
Honestly, who cares? I have no idea. Stats tell me nothing, Zen nothing. San Fran because they are home, and I’ll take the points too.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *San Fransisco
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *San Fransisco

Washington 5 – 6 (-3.0) @ St. Louis 5 – 6 (+3.0)
Yuck, two very disappointing teams that you never know what to expect from. I’ll take the Redskins here since they should be a little hungrier for a win, coming off of a series of tough losses.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Washington
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Washington

Denver 9 – 2 (-1.5) @ Kansas City 7 – 4 (+1.5)
Denver is quietly dominating this season, winning 9 of its last 10 games, and is one of the AFC’s many fantastic suprise teams. They are stronger than KC, and can overcome the crowd and win no problem in this one.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Denver
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Denver

N.Y. Jets 2 – 9 (+9.5) @ New England 6 – 5 (-9.5)
I was thinking the Jets w/ the points, but I remembered that New England just lost to Kansas City, and is going to be hungry as hell to come home and pound the Jets. I can’t see them matching the intensity, and I can see them dropping hard.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^New England
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: New England

Oakland 4 – 7 (+10.0) @ San Diego 7 – 4 (-10.0)
48 – 10 pops into my mind for some reason. I certainly hope it isn’t accurate, but I would not be shocked if it was. What a disappointing season, I really thought we had at least an 8 – 8 team on our hands.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: San Diego
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: San Diego

Seattle 9 – 2 (-3.0) @ Philadelphia 5 – 6 (+3.0)
Seattle is the best team in the NFC, statistically and literally. They are just too damn good to drop one against emotionally and physically battered Philidelphia this Monday night.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Seattle

Division rival week… every game anything can happen. I can easily go 4 – 12 and wipe out all my hard work from last week! But I certainly hope not.

KINGS HOCKEY

Okay, so the Trojans are going to the Rose Bowl, my spread winning percentage is up to a super-impressive 55%, surely the Kings are doing great, too! …Not quite. The Kings have pretty much fallen off the map since my last column, losing 5 of their last 6, and 4 straight. The problem? Just picked the wrong time to go on a slump. Few teams in the league can play all 82 games of the regular season at the highest level; slumps happen. What you hope for, however, is that during these slumps you can still find ways to win games here and there so the results aren’t totally catostrophic. Well, the Kings decided to slump at the toughest point of their schedule, and you aren’t going to beat great teams playing bad hockey. Dallas is now in 1st place by 2 games and they have played 3 games less than us so far. Things are looking grim, but I am (and I hope you are) keeping fingers crossed that they can turn things around and start winning again very soon.

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For past issues of the DIME, visit my website: Dave’s Dime

MY TEAMS RECORDS
OAKLAND RAIDERS: 4 – 7 – 0
USC TROJANS: 12 – 0 – 0
(Perfect regular season! Congratulations Trojans!)
LOS ANGELES KINGS: 16 – 11 – 1

TROJAN OUTSCORING O-METER
Season:
TROJANS 600
OPPONENTS 256
(The 66 made this an even 600 on the season, not bad huh?)

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