Vegas Rejoice

I don’t know if it was everyone and their brother knowing Eli couldn’t lead the favored Giants to victory or maybe how easy it was to see the Pats covering against Jacksonville but sports books across the country took major hits last weekend.

No worries.

I’m willing to bet my reserved copy of “Two for the Money” that more than a few people paid back their winnings and much more this weekend. And if Saturday sucked, I’ll bet my life Sunday was downright tear-provoking.

By no means was either game on Saturday a lock and the two favorites actually did win. But I’m petty sure I would have been in the majority had I wagered on Washington and New England.

The Skins were ten point dogs which is a lot, even for an injury plagued road team. If you did bet that game, it probably seemed like money in the bank when Shaun Alexander left in the first quarter with a concussion. Even though Washington was down, it was pretty much a given that John Hall would kick a 36 yard (gimme) field goal that would cut the lead to four with eight minutes to play.

Needless to say, Hall’s kick went wide left, the Seahawks took over, marched down field and kicked a field goal to clinch the game and cover the spread.

That night, the whole country assumed that the call would be reversed and the Patriots would get the ball back when Champ Bailey appeared to fumble into the end zone. I mean that’s how the whole dynasty thing started, right? By catching a break.

Of course, the call wasn’t changed and the Broncos advanced.

So Saturday’s losses only meant one thing for Sunday: Bet the ranch on Indianapolis.

All week, everyone talked about the high octane offense of the Colts and how sharp they would be, seemingly forgetting the fact they hadn’t played a real game in a month.

Instead, the Steelers were on the board quick and dominated until the fourth quarter when the home team finally showed up. The referees even blew a call just so Peyton Manning might orchestrate a late comeback, but in the end, he choked.

I hate to bad mouth Manning because he makes great commercials but I can’t see how many people like him right now. He can’t win a big game so Colts fans are calling him Marino, anyone who drafted him lost in their fantasy football playoffs week 15, and degenerates everywhere lost their shoes this afternoon.

The final game of the weekend was more infuriating than anything else.

There isn’t one sane person who didn’t wake up last Monday morning and think, Carolina is a safe bet to beat the Bears outright. They had just dismantled the Giants on the road and seemed red hot.

But then again, no sane gambler (if there is such a thing) places his bets that early in the week.

So we watched television and listened to sports talk radio all week and decided the Panthers couldn’t possibly play that well two weeks in a row. We heard the “eighty percent of home teams win in this round” nonsense. We were told Soldier Field was one of the five hardest places to play in the league.

Our opinions swayed back and forth, ultimately flipping completely. Chicago was definitely going win.

Well, you know how that went.

Now bookies everywhere are feeling better and the whole process starts over. At first glance, I like Seattle and Pittsburgh to win and meet in the Super Bowl.

But don’t bet on it.