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

THE INTRO

(First and foremost, sorry for getting the Dime out SO late this weekend. Through a very crazy party Friday night in honor of midterms being over, and before I knew it, it was 3:30am Sunday. Sorry its a bit short and hurried, but I did my best under the circumstances. Enjoy!)

(Sing to the tune of David Bowie – Space Oddity)

Ground Control to Vegas Dave, your circuits dead, there’s something wrong… can you hear me Vegas Dave? Can you hear me Vegas Dave? Can you hear me Vegas Dave? Can you heeerrree am I picking very poorly, faaaaaar below the norm… All I do is lose, and theres nothing I can dooooo….

(End singing)

After a 21 – 11 start, I’ve now slipped into a 12 – 25 rut that leaves me wondering what the hell is going on. Is it the schedule? Is it my technique?

This isn’t a girl, man. I’m used to screwing up in that field. This is FOOTBALL. I’m supposed to know this stuff.

Oh well. After consulting my trusty ZEN book, it points out that indeed, everyone goes through some ruts. And while I continue to lose credibility as a sports person right in front of your eyes, I hope you all will stick with me through the good times and the bad. Or, if things keep up… just the bad.

By the way, I have to give props to my journalism teacher who with a completely serious expression says to me (on the topic of the Dime)… “Do you have any idea how much money your picks are losing me?”

If I keep picking like this, I’m gonna have to get a frigging “For entertainment purposes only” disclaimer.

THE RECORD

Last Week
With the spread: 3 – 8 – 3 (.273)
Without the spread: 11 – 3 – 0 (.786)
$$Money Picks$$: 1 – 1 – 1 (.500)
^^Zen Picks^^: 1 – 0 – 0 (1.000)
**Outright Upsets**: 0 – 3 – 0 (.000)

Season
With the spread: 33 – 36 – 5 (.478)
Without the spread: 51 – 23 – 0 (.689)
$$Money Picks$$: 5 – 7 – 1 (.417)
^^Zen Picks^^: 5 – 5 – 1 (.500)
**Outright Upsets**: 9 – 10 – 0 (.474)

LAST WEEK’S RECAP OF DAVE’S BRILLIANCE AND FOOLISHNESS
(Often Foolishness)

Not a single upset took place this week, which was shocking. If you took all favorites, you’d have gone 8 – 3 – 3. You may have. I did not.

Buffalo 7 2 – 2 (+10.0) @ Chicago 40 4 – 0 (-10.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN Chicago
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Chicago

Cleveland 12 1 – 3 (+8.0) @ Carolina 20 2 – 2 (-8.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: TIE *Cleveland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Carolina

Detroit 17 0 – 4 (+6.5) @ Minnesota 26 2 – 2 (-6.5)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN Minnesota
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Minnesota

Miami 10 1 – 3 (+10.0) @ New England 20 3 – 1 (-10.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: TIE $New England
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN New England

St. Louis 23 3 – 1 (-3.0) @ Green Bay 20 1 – 3 (+3.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: TIE St. Louis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN St. Louis

Tampa Bay 21 0 – 3 (+6.5) @ New Orleans 24 3 – 1 (-6.5)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS New Orleans
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN New Orleans

Tennessee 13 0 – 4 (+18.5) @ Indianapolis 14 4 – 0 (-18.5)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS Indianapolis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Indianapolis

Washington 3 2 – 2 (+5.0) @ N.Y. Giants 19 1 – 2 (-5.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS *Washington
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS *Washington

Kansas City 23 1 – 2 (-3.5) @ Arizona 20 1 – 3 (+3.5)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS Kansas City
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Kansas City

N.Y. Jets 0 2 – 2 (+7.0) @ Jacksonville 41 2 – 2 (-7.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS *$N.Y. Jets
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Jacksonville

Oakland 20 0 – 3 (+3.5) @ San Francisco 34 1 – 3 (-3.5)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS *Oakland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN San Fransisco

Dallas 24 2 – 1 (+1.5) @ Philadelphia 38 3 – 1 (-1.5)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN $^Philidelphia
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Philidelphia

Pittsburgh 13 1 – 2 (+3.0) @ San Diego 23 2 – 1 (-3.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS *Pittsburgh
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS *Pittsburgh

Baltimore 3 4 – 0 (+4.0) @ Denver 13 2 – 1 (-4.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS *Baltimore
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS *Baltimore

DAMN, I’M GOOD

For the 2nd week straight, crickets in this section.

THE PICKS

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

SUNDAY

Cincinnati 3 – 1 (-4.5) @ Tampa Bay 0 – 4 (+4.5)
Pure and simple. Cinci is coming off a bye, they’ve had time to sort out the holes in their defense that caused them to lose to New England. And lets not kid ourselves, Tampa Bay is no New England. The simply better team wins this one by a TD or more, even if Tampa Bay plays well.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Cincinnati

Tennessee 0 – 5 (+10.5) @ Washington 2 – 3 (+10.5)
Last week we saw Tennessee play Indy with everything they had and lose by only one, and we saw Washington lose in a rather pitiful effort. We are supposed to do the math and take Tennessee with the points. I, on the other hand, will peer through the mist and take the two score victory for the Redskins.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Washington
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Washington

Houston 1 – 3 (+13.0) @ Dallas 2 – 2 (-13.0)
I really don’t want to give up 13 points to the Texans, but lets not forget what Dallas did to the Titans a few weeks ago (ding ding ding! You win if you said “blew them out, destroyed them, demolished them, or something along those lines”). They should be able to do along the same lines against the Texans.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Dallas
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Dallas

Buffalo 2 – 3 (-1.5) @ Detroit 0 – 5 (+1.5)
This is a strictly Zen pick. This is the type of pick that you say to yourself, why isn’t Buffalo favored by 6 points? Why did the line actually open up at Detroit -1.0? EVERYONE is betting Buffalo, and is the public ever right? The answers to questions 1 and 2 are “probably because Vegas knows something we dont” and the answer to number 3 is an emphatic NO. So screw public (and my) perception, I’ll take the Lions.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^*Detroit
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Detroit

Carolina 3 – 2 (+3.0) @ Baltimore 4 – 1 (-3.0)
Baltimore’s defense is phenomenal. Baltimore’s offense… is laughable. Now against most teams, that’s okay, because defense wins ball games. But against Carolina this week, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this defensive struggle ends with a Carolina victory.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Carolina
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Carolina

N.Y. Giants 2 – 2 (+3.0) @ Atlanta 3 – 1 (-3.0)
This is a really tough game for me to pick, as both teams are pretty difficult to read. I’m going to assume it’ll be a low scoring affair and give Atlanta the slight edge since they are at home.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Atlanta
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Atlanta

Seattle 3 – 1 (-3.0) @ St. Louis 4 – 1 (+3.0)
Another toughy, as St. Louis has geared away from their normal dose of suckiness and have won 4 of their first 5 games. I still think Seattle is among the best in the NFC though (besides those damn Bears), and judging them on their one loss to the aforementioned Bears simply isn’t fair. So I’ll pick them and hope for the best.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Seattle

Philadelphia 4 – 1 (-3.0) @ New Orleans 4 – 1 (+3.0)
I like both of these teams alot, and while the heart of course is going to lean towards the home town, the brain is leading towards the Eagles. McNabb has been absolutely silly good, and even if the Saints can put up their share of points, I think McNabb can go ahead and put up more.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Philadelphia
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Philadelphia

San Diego 3 – 1 (-9.5) @ San Francisco 2 – 3 (+9.5)
Finally, an easy one! While San Fran did make the RAIDERS look bad, the point is, they are still a lower echelon team. San Diego, meanwhile, is pretty damn legitimate. They will have no trouble winning by 3 or 4 TDs in this one.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $San Diego
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: San Diego

Kansas City 2 – 2 (+7.0) @ Pittsburgh 1 – 3 (-7.0)
Pittsburgh is done. This team is playing with no confidence, making stupid mistakes left and right. They are just completely off que. I will pick the stunner in this one and say KC goes INTO Pittsburgh and beats them outright.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Kansas City
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Kansas City

Miami 1 – 4 (+2.5) @ N.Y. Jets 2 – 3 (-2.5)
Doesn’t matter who’s QBing for the Dolphins, the popular early season playoff pick looks like complete garbage. And after the Jets embarassing 42 – 0 loss last week, they are going to come out fired up to impress the home crowd. They take care of business and beat the Dolphins by the necessary field goal.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $^N.Y. Jets
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: N.Y. Jets

Oakland 0 – 4 (+14.0) @ Denver 3 – 1 (-14.0)
Is analysis really necessary? Denver’s defense is impeccable and their offense is adequate. My Raiders, in a word, are just BAD. Anything short of 35 – 3 Denver would stun me, to be quite honest.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $$Denver
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Denver

MONDAY

Chicago 5 – 0 (-11.0) @ Arizona 1 – 4 (+11.0)
Loving the fact that Leinart is starting for the Cards these days, but no one is touching these Bears. I will continue to pick and bet them until they give me a reason not to. And I honestly don’t think they will.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Chicago
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Chicago

PICKS CHALLENGE

No Picks Challenge this week since I’m sending this out literally only a few hours before opening kickoffs. Next week the section will return, along with full results from last week.

THE COLLEGE NICKEL

(Results, since today’s games already took place. I made $136 Saturday!)

RECORD: 15 – 8 – 2 (.652)

1. Cal Golden Bears (-8.5) @ Washington State (+8.5)
Cal is an absolutely dominant team, and the fact that they are under two scores is an absolute steal here. I’ll take them against almost anyone at this point, and Wasu makes it even easier.
RESULT: WIN

2. Arizona Wildcats (-3.5) @ Stanford Cardinal (+3.5)
Anytime you can bet against the Cardinals at less then 21, you’ve gotta jump all over it. They are basically the exact opposite of the Golden Bears, and are equally profitable.
RESULT: WIN

3. Michigan Wolverines (-5.5) @ Penn State Nittany Lions (+5.5)
Michigan has been impressive all year long, and Penn State has the misfortune of having an insanely tough schedule. They just aren’t quite up to par with this Wolverines team.
RESULT: WIN

4. Baylor Bears (+27.0) @ Texas Longhorns (-27.0)
In Texas against a lowly Baylor team, I took my chances that they could blow them out. 63 – 31 wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but it certainly worked.
RESULT: WIN

5. Florida Gators (-2.0) @ Auburn Tigers (+2.0)
Undefeated teams that lose a game tend to lose their next one, too, because they are still down. Auburn prevented my 5 for 5 day and proved that theory wrong in this one.
RESULT: LOSS

HONORABLE MENTION (6 – 8 – 0):

Florida International (+26.0) @ Miami Hurricanes (-26.0)
RESULT: WIN

Cincinnati Bearcats (+24.5) @ Louisville Cardinals (-24.5)
RESULT: LOSS

Arizona State Sun Devils (+19.0) @ USC Trojans (-19.0)
RESULT: LOSS

Kentucky Wildcats (+26.5) @ LSU Tigers (-26.5)
RESULT: LOSS

Questions? Comments? Love the Dime? Hate it? Should I cut it down to a nickel? SEND ME FEEDBACK!

MY TEAM’S RECORDS
OAKLAND RAIDERS: 0 – 4 – 0
USC TROJANS: 6 – 0 – 0
LOS ANGELES KINGS: 2 – 3 – 0 – 0