Walking the Dog.....

It's so hard being Stefan Marbury.  He's the sixth highest paid player in the NBA(tied with Allan I). 

For a mere $19 million a year, he's played a total of 24 games over the last 2 years, which equates to roughly $1.6 million a game, or about $113,000 per point scored.  Even for a Knick team that can use every point they can get, that's an awful lot to pay. Even A-Rod looks good by comparison.

Stefan is now in full dispute with the Knicks and new coach, Mike D'Antoni---who refuses to play the angry scowling child (can you blame him?).  Marbury went on a rant with the press yesterday that ended with him saying, "I wouldn't trust him(Mike D'Antoni) to walk my dog across the street."

Evidently, Stefan doesn't have enough time to walk his own dog, which we find puzzling given that he has only played a total of 12 hours of professional basketball in the last two years!

What is even more intriguing is that Marbury evidently has a thing about dogs. He caused some controversy during the Michael Vick incident by defending  Vick and saying, "We don't say anything about people shooting deers and shooting other animals. You know what I mean?  From what I hear, dog-fighting is a sport."

So that explains what Marbury has been doing these past two years, he's been in a sport where he fights dogs.  Dogs, that Mike D'Antoni is not allowed to walk to the ring.  And we're just not clear.  Does Stefan want to walk the dog or fight it! 

And note to Stefan: you don't actually need the "S" on deers.  Further note to Stefan: the deers aren't actually raised by humans then trained to fight each other for money.  That's called "deer fighting" or "Stag vs. Doe" or "The Buck Stops Here." It's quite popular in Eastern Finland where they also love to discuss how you're not worth the 1/10 the money of Allan Iverson.

The Top is spinning smoothly right now.  We're 6 of our last 7, which brings us over the magic number of .500. We nailed the Boise State game--they ran up the score while waving a finger at the BCS and beat Fresno St. 61-10.  

Today is the beginning of a power-packed weekend, so we'll preview the first couple NFL games, then weigh in on English Premiereship which features two classic match-ups, Chelsea/Arsenal and Man City/Man U (home teams listed first, as is custom).

This should be an active weekend for all of you--the market is up, your wallet is fatter and the demands of Christmas are bearing down on you.

Let's start with last week's darlings:

NY Jets -6.5 at home against Denver

Over/Under 47

Denver, after being one the of year's sure fire bets (Denver over hit first 4 games) are now entrenched in a sea of problems and they all began with the letter "D"--defense, desire, "don't have no running backs."  For a team who is in the worst division of all, who ranks 2nd in the NFL in overall offense, and who arguably has one of the best home field advantages, to be 6-5 shows you how just how much they suck.

The Jets, meanwhile, aren't as good as everyone thinks.  They're middle of the pack in offense, and while they can contain the run, (shouldn't be a problem with Denver!), they do rank 27th in pass defense.

We don't want to say "SCORING" too loudly, but this one will be high-flying. Smells like a 35-21 kind of affair--the Jets could be on a let-down weekend and even have to catch up in some point in this game.

Play the over, and we like the Jets to cover

New England -1 at home against Pittsburgh

Over/Under 39.5

NE has been a tricky team to back this year.  They are almost 50/50 on overs and spreads. They played four straight games to the under, then Matt Cassell hit his stride and they have easily covered the over the last two weeks.

Pittsburgh is the same way, though actually struggles against the spread (thanks in part to dubious officiating).

Who needs this game more?  Quite clearly, New England, who is fighting for a wild card spot. They still have a top ten offense, even without Tom Brady or a real running back. And their defense isn't bad either, especially in points allowed (8th).  Pair that with Pittsburgh's number 1 ranked defense and we think you have a slugfest.

Play the under, and skip the spread--this is anyone's game.

You couldn't ask for a more storied match-up in Chelsea/Arsenal. Arsenal is reeling, having lost two straight and not finding the goal in their last two premiereship matches.  Chelsea is struggling slightly as well, especially at home.

We suggest playing under 2 goals and think this will be a 1-0 game.  You might play the 1-1 draw as a back-up.

On the opposite side of things, one of the great hometown Derbys--Man City/ManU takes place and the fireworks should be shooting.  Man City has been a scoring machine and even one early goal by either team will mean a feverish pace for the remainder of the match.

We love the over 2 goals in this one.  We love it so much, we'd marry it in some parlays.

Should be a great day--with good college football rivalries and classic English football.  We wish we could be in your living room snuggling in a blanket, or at the very least, walking you dog so you can have your full attention turned to Alabama/Auburn.

Enjoy the day, and as Stefan would say, "Happy Deers Hunting."

Go Stuff!

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