Book of Numbers: Gamblor's Return

Fall is hands down my favorite season of the year. Finally, the heatwave of summer passes. I was always one of those kids that did not mind going back to school. It also helps that the end of summer signals the start of football. I am still working under the efficient market theory. Any research I might be able to do is already priced into the spread so I might as well shoot from the hip. Going for 2 winning seasons in a row, here we go:

$100 Miss St -27.5 @ Memphis. I am a sucker for a good "tomato can" crushing. Miss St won 49-7 last year. I do not think home field advantage is going to make up the difference this year.

$50 Boise St -3.5 vs Georgia (Neutral site, sort of, in Atlanta). Sure the last marquee game Boise lost was to Georgia, but you just do not bet against these guys when they have to prove themselves to the big boys.

$25 Indiana -6.5 vs Ball St. Indiana has a pretty good track record against teams they should beat. The problem is they do not have that many opportunities.

$25 LSU +1 vs Oregon (neutral site, Arlington Texas). I can not bet on two SEC teams to outright lose. I don't think Jordan Jefferson will be that missed for LSU. Oregon has been the opposite of Boise in big games and their high powered offense has slowed down against tough defenses. It also gives me a dog in this weeks picks.

Games I like but can not put the mythical bankroll on:

UNLV +35 @ Wisco. Wisco is a slow starting team so I should be on UNLV, but it goes against my can crushing nature.

Minnesota +21 @ USC. USC really did not whip anyone bad last year. However, I think there are better games than Marquis Gray's first game at QB.

On a Sunday morning sidewalk

I think this season is going to be better than expected and worse than ever dreamed of. Having said that, cool van. Love the "Fire Chilly" sign.

Minnesota Hits Sporting Nadir

As the last gasps of life literally (I know it's figuratively) are choked out of the Minnesota Twins season of disappointment, we find ourselves at the low-water mark of the Minnesota sports scene.

A recent FTLOSBW review found the following:

1. Vikes - Getting rid of McKinnie is hopefully the last 'move' for a team coming off arguably the oddest 2 years ever in the history of sports. A year out of the NFC championship game, we finished 6-10.

2. Twins - Goodbye Jim, glad we sold a few extra seats while sitting on you until you hit 600. A year off of a 94 win season, we just got swept by the Orioles at home, are 16 games out and may not win 5 more games this season.

3. Gopher Football - Brewster laughed out of town and (I think) is still unemployed in the game. Enter a guy named Kill.

4. Gopher Hoops - Tubby, Tubby, Tubby, don't prove your detractors right. You need to find a way to keep talent on the squad (and going after "Hoffarber" didn't help.)

5. Gopher Hockey - 2010 we were irrelevant. IRRELEVANT.

6. Minnesota Wild - See "Gopher Hockey"

7. T'Wolves - See "Gopher Hockey"

8. Minnesota Lynx - Best record in the league at 21 and 6 and going to the playoffs.

Just a thought

Brett Favre has the longest consecutive start streak for a QB, 297 straight games. Peyton Manning is second with 208. It appears that Manning's streak is in jeopardy due to his recovery from neck surgery. I think Brett Favre deserves a little payback for taking a dive in the final moments of the last game of the season giving Michael Strahan a free sack which broke Mark Gastineau's single season sack record. It is my belief that the Colts should start Manning regardless of his health to continue his streak. They should run the first play from shotgun, hand the ball off and then pull Manning for the rest of the game. The streak would remain intact and Brett Favre and his incredible ego could do nothing but steam about it.

The bulletin

It is that time, the new Blake Bulletin is out. Time to review what is going on in the land of Blakedom.

It starts off with a list where the graduating seniors are going next year. Unofficially, it takes more than one hand and less than two to count the number of students headed off to Ivy league schools. Same thing for the number of Northwestern kids. Holy crap, there are two kids going to Iowa. I was the first kid in 5 or 6 years to choose Iowa. I was the last one to go there until a year or two ago. These kids are starting to infringe on my legacy. Just go to Wisconsin like everyone else in the 4th quintile. I am not amused.

Let's see what the old class of '92 is up to. Mary M moved to Europe. I think it is official, 9 out of 10 people live abroad now. Sure I am bashing, but had I moved to Malaysia, which was a definite possibility not too long ago, you can bet I would have written in. Andrew A writes he is a surgeon and maintains an athletic lifestyle. I expected nothing less. Mayank K is IN HERE AGAIN. DUDE GIVE IT A REST. WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE UP TO! YOU WRITE IN EVERY GOSH DARN TIME. I am not even reading the rest of this out of principal. He is also pictured twice in the issue. I am going to put together a collection of bulletins and sell it as a Where's Mayank K book. Hopefully, I can get him to wear a red and white sweater going forward. I bet Jan was not sure who Mayank K was at graduation.

The gem of the updates is from DTK's sister. She writes about how she home schools her kids and uses the notation "formerly class of 2020 and 2018" when referring to them. Nothing like rubbing it in the old schools face.

Other news and notes:

Carolyn M wins some alumni athlete award. She looks tasty, I would be all over all 6'6" of her. From reading her bio and looking at her physical features, there is probably not a person I am less compatible with on the planet.

This is interesting there are currently 2 Governors and 1 Senator that are Blake Grads. DTK was our next best hope, but he threw in the towel. That was probably best for all parties involved.

While the class of '92 avoided an in memory notice for the the first time in a couple of issues (we are sitting at 103 out of 106), two teachers passed away. One was former 6th grade social studies teacher Ms. Lindsey. In class when the lights were turned off she would fall asleep in a matter of moments. There was definitely some medical condition there. I think the only reason Buzz Lund passed his country project was he turned on a film strip and she missed the rest of his presentation. The other was Darryl Mac. I never had him so I do not have much to say.

Omitted from the bulletin any mention of a class of '91 student caught in an insider trading scandal. Instead they used the space for a picture of an Asian boy, a black girl and a white girl using a Bunsen burner together.

FTLOSBW celebrats "Congrats to Jim Thome Day"

Congrats on 600, Jim. Glad you did it as a Twin because there was a good chance you would have done it against us if you weren't on our squad. You're humble, you're a pro, you're a guy men have their sons look up to and have their daughters also look up to (funny how daughters change your perspective.)

Note: Not that it matters but as Roy Smalley pointed out to me, he did it on back to back swings as he hit 599 in the top of the 6th then in the top of the 7th hit 600 on a 2-1 pitch (apparently he had take a strike, not a swinging strike.) Kinda nerdy cool.

Note part deux: The "DYoung Fan Club - St. Louis Park Chapter 231" has officially closed. I now must curse his name.

Vikes 2011 - 2012 Let's Break It Down

Let's make our predictions for what is sure to not be another Championship season. These are simply just shootin' from the hit but I'm going with the old standby of 9-7. Yes, I realize that I have us going 4 - 7 then rattling off 5 wins, who doesn't like excitement?

at San Diego - L - Let the Leslie Frazier era begin with a loss.
vs. Tampa Bay - W - Gotta start somewhere
vs. Detroit - W - We will continue to own them, even if we didn't last year
at KC - L - Not good on the road against a team 3 years into rebuiliding
vs. Arizona - L - Our secondary will be torched
at Chicago - L - Even if he broke with Kristin Caveleri, Cutler will own up
vs. Green Bay - L - Yeah, right.
at Carolina - W - They're terrible, right?
at Green Bay - L - Yup.
vs. Oakland - W - Are they still bad? I think so.
at Atlanta - L - They will stomp us
vs. Denver - W - I'd think we take this
at Detroit - W - P'owned
vs. New Orleans - W - Because it doesn't matter, we'll win and everyone will feel vindicated
at Washington - W - They suck, right?
vs. Chicago - W - We beat them sometimes.

The Purple: Goodbye to a Mope and a Dope

Questions:

1. Does Randy go in as a Viking? Do you care? We kinda reviewed his career when he came back to the Vikes last year (yeah, that actually happened, remember?) so I don't think he deserved some sort of FTLOSBW "Ode to Str8 Cash, Homey."

2. Fat-ass McKinnie dumped, where does he rank on the list of "Dumbest Minnesota Athletes"? If he underachieved anymore you'd think he was a Twin. I, for one, say goodbye and don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. Also, cheers to Leslie Frasier for taking a stand, I like it.