Cashing In

Your "Bad Beat" for Thursday is on:

Maple Leafs (minus 115) at Carolina.

Anybody who backed the Toronto Maple Leafs last night has a reason to be pissed today!

For one, the Leafs opened up a 3-0 lead after the first period. With Carolina's unreal struggles this season that alone should have been enough for the visitor's to win this game going away.

The 'Canes, though, did rally and tie this thing up at four midway through the third on Tim Gleason's second goal of the game. But then the Leafs' Ian White, with only 30 seconds remaining, lit the lamp and it appeared that Carolina's horrific start to the season was going to continue.

Or not.

At 19:57, as in with only three seconds left, Erik Cole's wrister beat the goaltender and all of a sudden we are heading into overtime.

This game would go into a shootout where Carolina would eventually prevail and show a little bit of life in semi improbable comeback fashion!



Your winners for Friday are on:

2* Bowling Green (minus 10 1/2) vs. Akron.

2* Utah State (plus 24) vs. Boise State.

2* Eastern Michigan (plus 16 1/2) at Toledo.

A small winning 1-1 Thursday as the 3* Colorado Buffaloes came through in flying colors!

I like all three college football games today and therefore will play them. Now obviously with them all being only 2* I am not calling these stone cold locks or anything but I do see some value.

The days of Charlie Frye are long gone at Akron and now the Zips are a pretty bad football program. Just last week they had the lead after a quarter at home against Temple and imploded in amazing fashion losing 56-17. Sure the Owls are a much improved squad but to do that at home was dreadful. The Zips have actually failed to cover in five of seven and now go on the road to play a Bowling Green team that has some serious talent.

The Falcons boast a stud wide receiver in Freddie Barnes and a capable quarterback in Tyler Sheehan who knows how to get the ball to his main man.

BG has won four of five and has covered three of four. At home today I see nothing but a resounding victory for the men in orange and green!



Utah State is not close to being able to really compete with Boise State but the Aggies are a lot better than they used to be and you know that the players and their fans will treat this as the biggest game ever in the history of the program.

State has fared alright in game's against other superior teams like Nevada and Fresno State and to get such a gaudy number back is just too much.

The Broncos will win the game as Kellen Moore and Titus Young and the stout defense is way too good but Boise has shown some chinks in that armor this season and an inability at times to put the pedal down and step on the necks of an opponent.

Boise certainly needs to win impressively in order to impress the pollsters but I don't see that really happening here on the road against a decent enough foe.



Eastern Michigan is terrible and probably the worst team in the MAC but Toledo without Aaron Opelt does not scare me at all.

The Rockets appeared to be pretty good earlier in the season as they went north of 50 points in a blowout win over Colorado but that game was a mirage as these guys are just not very good at all.

Last week Toledo was pounded at Central Michigan which doesn't mean all that much because the Chippewas are great but without a lot of momentum and being a pretty bad team overall without their starting quarterback the Rockets are giving too many points.

Toledo should win but more like by 10 or so points, max!