Totally Uninformed Bowl Game Gambling Picks – Round 8

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New Year’s Day is upon us. One last day to waste watching football on your couch from noon to midnight. The last three meaningless bowls kickoff early in the day, with the playoff kicking off late this afternoon.

My last round of picks went just as well as most of my other picks this bowl season – not great. With my Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee in hand, I try my best at picking the final five games before next week’s national championship game. Just like the consolation bracket in your fantasy football league, I don’t have much left to play for. Just trying to save some face at this point.

Round 7 (1-3) / Overall (11-23 )

OUTBACK BOWL – Michigan vs. South Carolina – 12 p.m. ET SC +12

PEACH BOWL- No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 12 UCF – 12:30 p.m. ET AUBURN -9.5

CITRUS BOWL – No. 14 Notre Dame vs. No. 17 LSU – 1 p.m. ET LSU -3

ROSE BOWL GAME (CFP SEMIFINAL) – No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia – 5 p.m. ET GEORGIA -2.5

SUGAR BOWL (CFP SEMIFINAL) – No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama – 8:45 p.m. ET
ALABAMA -3

A Quick Prediction Regarding UFC 219, The Lightweight Division, And Its Champion(s?)

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So UFC 219 is tonight and with it comes the return of one the most intriguing, frustrating fighters in UFC history: Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov. The dominant Dagestan-native is 24-0 and has long possessed a championship level grappling game with some great boxing to boot. However, he couldn’t even make it to weigh ins at UFC 209 which set in motion Tony Ferguson’s ascent to the Interim throne at 155 lbs while Conor McGregor was out collecting a $100 million payday from Floyd Mayweather. This all leads us to today, UFC 219 and Khabib’s fight against Edson Barboza, and in my honest-to-God suspicion, another step in the long term plan regarding the 155lb division and Conor McGregor….

Beyond being a championship level fighter, The Eagle is also a star/main event money maker in the making. His brutal ground and pound combined with his terse yet comical, Russian-accented mic skills make for an excellent package for the UFC and the man himself to cash in on in a big way. To that end, there really aren’t many fights that make sense right now for the Undisputed Lightweight Champion, Conor Mcgregor, to take. No offense to Tony Ferguson, who has built up quite the name for himself both in and outside the Octagon, but McGregor-Ferguson just isn’t a fight people are totally clamoring for yet.

What they are clamoring for, and have been, is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s shot at the belt and whoever holds it. He’s a draw already, even if his true superstar potential has yet to be reached. The UFC knows that. Conor knows that. Khabib knows that. So with Conor taking 2017 to box and Khabib not fighting until now due to an embarrassing failed weight cut at the aforementioned UFC 209 in March, they allowed the interim 155 belt to be decided. They let Tony due his thing. They gave Khabib time to get ready. What everyone wants -the UFC, Conor, Khabib, and A LOT of the fans – is for Khabib to win tonight against a verrrry tough Edson Barboza and then beat Tony for the right to fight Conor. Think about it. Why did Dana White recently say he hopes Conor is back by the summer? Conor is probably ready at a few months notice (Feb, March, April). As is Tony Ferguson, who recently had a minor surgery but shouldn’t be shelved too long. If they wanted to book that fight for the spring they could. OR, they could stall, let Khabib sort his shit out in the form of hiring rising star in the fighter nutrition/weight cut world Tyler Minton, win a couple fights, and book McGregor-Nurmagomedov for late summer/early fall. It makes too much sense for all involved.

Now this also comes with huge risks. I mean this all could play out the EXACT opposite, Edson Barboza could beat both The Eagle and Ferguson and make for an awkward contender for McGregor’s belt. Or Ferguson could win the already twice-cancelled fight between he and Nurmagomedov and McGregor and the UFC might have to eat that fight to find get to what’s next (again, hopefully, in their minds). Above and beyond all this, Nurmagomedov isn’t the most active fighter we’ve seen, having only fought 8 times in the almost 6 years he has been in the UFC. 3 fights in 6-9 months, let’s say, would be a drastic shift Combat Sambo World Champion.

In conclusion I think the last few months to a year in the 155 pound division represents a lot of business saavy from multiple parties who are doing all they can to set up a MASSIVE fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The next step to make that fight happens has to be taken by Khabib. Tonight.

Totally Uninformed Bowl Game Gambling Picks – Round 7

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Another big day of bowl games this Saturday. After a nice day of picks Thursday, a bit of a step back on Friday. With four games on the docket today, a chance to get some momentum as we get set for the New Year’s Day games and the College Football Playoff.

Round 6 (2-3) / Overall (10-20)

TAXSLAYER BOWL – Louisville vs. No. 23 Mississippi State – 12 p.m. ET LOUSIVILLE -7

LIBERTY BOWL – Iowa State vs. No. 20 Memphis – 12:30 p.m. ET MEMPHIS -4

FIESTA BOWL – No. 11 Washington vs. No. 9 Penn State – 4 p.m. ET WASHINGTON +3

ORANGE BOWL – No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Miami – 8 p.m. ET WISCONSIN -6

Totally Uninformed Bowl Game Gambling Picks – Round 6

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Finally some good news. Thursday was my best day of picks so far this bowl season. It looked like it would be a good day when Virginia took the opening kickoff of the Military Bowl back for a touchdown. That optimism quickly evaporated, though, as Virginia went on to allow 49 unanswered points to a team that did not complete a single pass the entire game.

Thankfully I was able to rebound with the three late games all going my way. Even Stanford, who blew a 21-3 lead, held on to cover.

Here are the picks for Friday. Hopefully this bike doesn’t fall apart on me.

Round 5 (3-1) / Overall (8-17) 

BELK BOWL – Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M – 1 p.m. ET WAKE FOREST -3.5

SUN BOWL – No. 24 NC State vs. Arizona State – 2 p.m. ET NC STATE -6.5

MUSIC CITY BOWL – Kentucky vs. No. 21 Northwestern – 4:30 p.m. ET NORTHWESTERN -9.5

ARIZONA BOWL – Utah State vs. New Mexico State – 5:30 p.m. ET NEW MEXICO STATE -4

COTTON BOWL CLASSIC – No. 8 USC vs. No. 5 Ohio State – 8:30 p.m. ET USC +7.5

Nate “The Great” Marquardt Retires After A Helluva Career

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natemarquardt.com – I have learned that I can trust God in every situation and need to put him first. After 22 years as an athlete in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, I believe God is calling me in another direction. When an athlete, a fighter in particular, retires, their career’s obituary is often fluffed with the notion that they retire with “nothing to prove”. Well, Nate Marquardt, a fighters fighter if there ever was one, hasn’t had anything to prove for quite awhile.

Marquardt began training when he was 15, wayyyy before it was a thing to do, in 1994. Although a great striker, he has always been known as an extremely talented and obscenely strong grappler. Just a bull of a guy when he gets his hands on you.

At just 21, he became the King of Pancrase (what they call a titleholder). For those not in the know, Pancrase is not only a promotion but an MMA rule set/school of thought of it’s own with a few quirky rules, and Marquardt was largely dominant in it from 2000 until 2005. That year he made the move to the UFC, winning his first four fights before losing a Middleweight Title Fight to a guy named Anderson Silva.

He’d fight in the UFC for another five years, losing only three times (twice in title elimination fights against Yushin Okami and Chael P. Sonnen),  before dropping to 170 for Strikeforce and beating Tyron Woodley for the Welterweight strapped that had been vacated by Nick Diaz. He’d lose the belt in his next fight to Tarec Saffiedine (what in the fuck happened to him?) in 2013 and things have gone pretty steadily downhill since, a KO over a reeling CB Dollaway in Marquardt’s fourth fight back at 185 his only win of note, if that. But he always came to fight. And there was always an air of possibility. His skill set was just too well-rounded and too high-level for there not to be.

In the end, you see a fight like his 2016 bout against Thiago Santos, where a reputable vet can have all the guile in the world and still be made mincemeat of by a younger, explosive, hungry fighter like “Maretta”, and you realize it’s probably time to move on.

Unbeknownst to me, and probably many more, Marquardt has become really deep in his faith and says in the blog posted above he possibly will go into sports ministry, probably with an MMA/martial arts flavor. He’ll still train and teach MMA seminars, as it seems to never really leave you. To put it simply, Nate Marquardt is leaving to be ‘The Great” at something else, with a greater purpose. He has nothing left to prove, after all.

Totally Uninformed Bowl Game Gambling Picks – Round 5

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I can’t believe I picked Boston College. I knew better. Again, it’s clear that I’ve learned nothing this month.

This is starting to get serious and I’m starting to get worried. Round 4 of my picks, Wednesday in particular, was another rough outing. We’re going to take it one day at a time from here on out. And because I’m just throwing darts at this point, no explanation of my picks is warranted. They’re getting tougher to defend anyways.

Round 4 (1-6) / Overall (5-16)

MILITARY BOWL – Virginia vs. Navy – 1:30 p.m. ET VIRGINIA +1.5

CAMPING WORLD BOWL – No. 19 Oklahoma State vs. No. 22 Virginia Tech – 5:15 p.m. ET
OKLAHOMA STATE -5.5

ALAMO BOWL – No. 13 Stanford vs. No. 15 TCU – 9 p.m. ET STANFORD +3

HOLIDAY BOWL – No. 16 Michigan State vs. No. 18 Washington State – 9 p.m. ET MICHIGAN STATE -2

Totally Uninformed Bowl Game Gambling Picks – Round 4

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My picks went 2-2 over the weekend, and I’ll take anything just to get back on the board at this point. With seven games today and tomorrow, there’s a good chance to get my head close to back above water.

Record in Round 3 (2-2) / Overall (4-10)

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL – Utah vs. West Virginia – Dec. 26, 1:20 p.m. ET
Mostly a pick against Utah, as they went 2-6 over their last 8 games. WEST VIRGINIA+6.5

QUICK LANE BOWL – Duke vs. Northern Illinois – Dec. 26, 5:15 p.m. ET
Duke has won two in a row, but Northern Illinois feels like a better pick. NORTHERN ILLINOIS +6.5

CACTUS BOWL – Kansas State vs. UCLA – Dec. 26, 10 p.m. ET
Kansas State fared better versus ranked teams this season. KANSAS STATE -6.5

INDEPENDENCE BOWL  – Florida State vs. Southern Miss – Dec. 27, 1:30 p.m. ET
Florida State should win, but Southern Miss should cover. Clearly I haven’t learned anything this month. SOUTHERN MISS +16.5

PINSTRIPE BOWL – Boston College vs. Iowa – Dec. 27, 5:15 p.m. ET
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but BC played pretty well the second half of the season. BOSTON COLLEGE +2.5

FOSTER FARMS BOWL – Arizona vs. Purdue – Dec. 27, 8:30 p.m. ET
Going with the high-flying offense in this one. ARIZONA -3

TEXAS BOWL  – Texas vs. Missouri – Dec. 27, 9 p.m. ET
Looking for Mizzou to make it 7 straight to close out the season. MISSOURI -2.5

Totally Uninformed Bowl Game Gambling Picks – Round 3

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It was a very rough week for my picks, no two ways about it. The favorites went 4-1 and I picked four dogs. Even worse, none of the games were even close. No game this week was closer than three scores. The average margin of victory was 34.2 points.

Luckily, we’re only a quarter of the way through bowl season. There’s still time to turn this ship around. And this week reminded me that favorites are favored for a reason. Just like March Madness, you need to pick a few upsets but you can’t pick three 14 seeds to win in the first round. I won’t be afraid to go with the chalk more frequently the rest of the way.

With three games scheduled for Saturday and one for Sunday night, here are my picks for the remaining games through Christmas.

Record in Round 2 (0-5) / Overall (2-8)

BIRMINGHAM BOWL – Texas Tech vs. South Florida – Dec. 23, 12 p.m. ET on
I’ll go with one of the highest scoring offenses in the country here. USF -2

ARMED FORCES BOWL – Army vs. San Diego State – Dec. 23, 3:30 p.m. ET
No line on this game but I’ll pick the Aztecs to win. SDSU

DOLLAR GENERAL BOWL  – Appalachian State vs. Toledo – Dec. 23, 7 p.m. ET
Appalachian State lost to UMass this year. TOLEDO -8

HAWAI’I BOWL – Fresno State vs. Houston – Dec. 24, 8:30 p.m. ET
Boise State proved me right, so I’ll show some more love to the Mountain West.
FRESNO STATE +2

Kind Of A Slow Day/Week, So Let’s Talk About a Semi Crashing Into Evan Turner’s Backyard

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ESPN – A semi-truck hauling a large trash bin crashed and plunged into the swimming pool of the home owned by Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner….Authorities say the truck’s driver lost control on a hairpin curve and wound up down a hill and submerged in the pool.

There really is not a whole lot going on, especially if you’re Dave Dombrowski (got em’) so let’s just gloss over this really quickly while trying not to think about how one of your fellow bloggers said something positive about Harry whatshisface from that boy band.

You all remember Evan Turner right? The former Ohio State star and lottery pick who just plain doesn’t have the athleticism or ball-handling skills to be an elite player but has had a tough time coming to grips with that? Who more specifically is completely oblivious to the fact that he really isn’t on the Melo/Paul George/Kawhi level? Well apparently his house, and more specifically his backyard and the pool that lies therein, is nestled just below a fucking deadman’s curve kind of road. Anddd that’s where things get interesting.

The story goes that and as you can see from above there aren’t a lot of details out there so I could be a little off, a trucker lost control of his rig on this treacherous strip above Evan Turner’s abode and careened down the hill right into his pool. CANON BALL! AMIRITE?!

Anyway, really the only intriguing thing about this other than, you know, that fact that Evan Turner bought a house below a stretch of road the Toretto gang would have a hard time navigating, is picturing Evan Tuner’s reaction. He’s just such a fucking weirdo. I like to picture Evan Turner at home, having just woken up. He’s in a robe and putting on a pot of coffee when he hears quite the chaotic, motorized hullabaloo coming from his backyard. I like to think Evan Turner glided over to the glass sliding door that leads to said backyard to find a 16 wheeler jutting out of his pool, the driver nowhere to be seen. His face expressionless, he sips his coffee and stares for another moment. And then he turns back to his kitchen and continues on with his day.