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2010 College Football Week 3 Odds

September 15, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 08: A general view of the opening kickoff during play between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 8, 2008 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

We’ve still got a couple of days before another Saturday in college football kicks off, but here are some point spreads that jumped out at me for this weekend’s slate of action.

East Carolina +19 at. Virginia Tech, 1:30PM ET
The Hokies are reeling after dropping their opener against Boise State and then being shocked by James Madison at home last Saturday. While they’re still very much alive in the ACC, I’m not sure what kind of mental condition Frank Beamer’s squad is in right now. So getting almost three touchdowns with an underrated, undefeated East Carolina team is a gift. This smells a little bit like a trap, but still…19 points? I like the Pirates.

USC vs. Minnesota +12, 3:30PM ET
Virginia Tech’s defeat to James Madison overshadowed the Gophers’ embarrassing 41-38 home loss to FCS South Dakota. But USC is 0-2 ATS to start the year and barely squeaked by Virginia at home last weekend. I generally like taking home teams getting points and considering this is unfamiliar territory for USC, I like Minnesota. (Although I’d like them a lot more if they were getting two touchdowns instead of 12 points.)

Texas vs. Texas Tech +3, 8:00PM ET
This is a statement game for the Red Raiders, who would love to earn a victory and catapult into the top 25. The Longhorns are only 3-3 in Lubbock under Mack Brown and we all remember what happened the last time Texas traveled to Tech. The Raiders won’t have Michael Crabtree for this game, but I see an outright victory.

Utah -22 at. New Mexico, 8:00PM ET
Twenty-two points is a ton to give up when taking a road team, but the Lobos have allowed 124 points this season, which is the most of any FBS team. Utah has won three straight over New Mexico and leads the all-time series 32-17-2. Yes, I think the Lobos are as bad as they played in the first two weeks of the season, which includes a 72-0 loss at Oregon and a 52-17 loss to Texas Tech at home last week.

Read on for the rest of this weekend’s point spreads.

College Football, External Sports

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Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 2

September 15, 2010 / John Paulsen

The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Let’s see how my Week 1 picks fared:

External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

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Report: Mets to oust Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya after season

September 15, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

New York Mets Fred Wilpon sits while Omar Minaya (R) reacts in a game against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field in New York City on July 30, 2009. The Mets defeated the Rockies 7-0. (UPI Photo/John Angelillo) Photo via Newscom

Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse is reporting that the Mets will rid themselves of not only manager Jerry Manuel by the end of the season, but general manager Omar Minaya as well.

There has been little doubt for a while the Mets will not bring back Jerry Manuel as manager, and a source confirmed reports that general manager Omar Minaya is likely out as well. Ownership seems to be leaning toward hiring an experienced GM, as they are not inclined to promote assistant GM John Ricco, and Wally Backman — a popular ex-Met who was nearly manager of the Diamondbacks before the team discovered some off-field issues he didn’t disclose — as manager.

Manuel is 197-203 (.461) in New York since first taking over as the interim manager in 2008. Under Manuel, the Mets went from being a second place finisher in the NL East to a fourth place finisher last year and as it currently stands, a fourth place finisher this year as well.

Minaya’s best season with the club came in 2006 when the Mets lost to the Cardinals in the NLCS, but outside of that he’s been the man in charge of putting together a roster of underachievers. Injuries have played a part in that, but enough is enough.

It’s time for the Mets to move in another direction.

External Sports, MLB

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A case against an 18-game season

September 15, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 09: Quarterback Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings grabs his torso as he lies on the turf after taking a hard hit from Roman Harper of the New Orleans Saints at Louisiana Superdome on September 9, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

If an 18-game regular season schedule facilitates the crap football we saw last weekend in the NFL, then as a fan I want nothing to do with an 18-game schedule.

It all started last Thursday night when Brett Favre (who shockingly wasn’t on the same page with Percy Harvin after skipping all of training camp) used the Vikings’ opener with the Saints as a personal practice. Outside of the touchdown drive right before halftime, Brett used virtually the entire game to shake off the rust that had been accumulating since January.

The Saints defense is good, but they’re not as good as what Favre made them out to be last week.

I understand that offenses aren’t going to be firing on all cylinders in the first week of the season. But what we saw last week out of teams like the Vikings, Cowboys, Jets, Falcons, 49ers, Chargers and even the Saints for that matter was akin to watching two drunken fathers try to assemble a kid’s tricycle in the dark. And we’re talking about teams that are supposed to be contenders this year.

If the league subtracted two preseason games and added two regular season games, then coaches would probably limit starters’ playing time to only a couple of series during the first preseason game in effort to avoid injuries. That means the offenses would spend the first two or three regular season games trying to get in sync and therefore, produce the same lackluster football we saw in Week 1 this year.

If the players are going to put themselves even more at risk for injury by adding two regular season games and the first couple of weeks are going to be garbage hour, then I’ll pass. Keep the four preseason games and hopefully by Week 2 the action will be more crisp and exciting. As much as I would love to see another two weeks of football that counts in the win-loss column, I couldn’t stand watching any game where Favre skips passes to receivers for four quarters – especially in what should have been a thrilling opener to start the season.

External Sports, NFL

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