(EDITOR’S NOTE: King Richard is 12-0 in college and pro football over the last two weeks. Well done is an understatement.)
First, wishing all a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.
I have many things to be thankful for – family, friends, job. Every morning I wake up and enjoy coming to work and that is rare in today’s culture.
I am thankful for growing up in Steubenville, Ohio, in the 50’s and 60’s. This was a special time of the year for me and my brother Tom when we were young. Our little city of around 35,000 would be decorating the streets for the annual Thanksgiving Day parade with all the bands, and Santa showing up at the end.
Those were some good times and after the parade we would all head down to see my dad Bennie at the restaurant for some breakfast.
I am thankful for the great education I received in my grade school days at Saint Peter’s.
I’ve never forgotten a nun named Sister Mary Hubert, a great teacher, and that ruler she carried around was a lethal weapon of sorts. One day I was being a little rowdy; she whacked it over my knuckles. And, it hurt.
When I got home I told my mother what Sister had done. Mom had the nerve to say “you must have had it coming.” She was right. After that episode my grades soared and school became a learning experience.
Today Sister Mary would probably be in prison, but I am very thankful and hope we get some more winners this week to help us digest our turkeys.
Having gone 12-0 these past two weeks, I am getting a little afraid.
In the past I have always picked all the games on Thanksgiving Day but this year these games just don’t appeal to me. I will make some small plays to keep me awake when the tryptophan from the turkey starts to kick in.
NCAA Football
Saturday
Wake +14 at Vandy: The Deacons end their season on the road against the high flying Commodores who have won and covered three straight, including a very gutty win at Tennessee. A win at home will run their record to 8-4 heading to a nice bowl. VANDERBILT
Duke +4 at UNC: Both come in on high notes. The Blue Devils have won and covered seven straight to reach 8-2. The Tar Heels have won and covered five straight to put them in the bowl picture after starting 1-5. They are in revenge mood, losing in Durham last year 33-30 as a 10½ point favorite. N. CAROLINA.
Wyoming +19½ at Utah St.: Where did the month and the football season go? The Cowboys are a disappointing 4-7 and were life and death to beat Hawaii last Saturday, 59-56. The Aggies are 7-4 and they have won their last four. Their only non-cover came at Las Vegas. The Aggie defense will get the job done. UTAH ST.
Texas A&M +4 at Missouri: A&M was exposed last week in Baton Rouge and now hits the road again to meet an angry Tigers team who they embarrassed last year in College Station, 59-29. Mizzu would love to have that 27-24 loss to South Carolina back but this is the game that has been circled all year. MISSOURI.
Alabama -11 at Auburn: In the battle for Alabama we will find out how good the Tide is and if the Tigers are for real. Bama will be ready and looking for the jugular with no better QB in this situation in college football than A.J. McCarron and no finer HC than Nick Saban. Auburn will hang for a while but the Tide defense will get the job done. ALABAMA.
SD State -3 at UNLV: Bowl eligible UNLV with six wins will try to get another one. We will be rooting, hoping and betting they do. Rebels have gone 5-0 ATS as dogs when coming off a double digit straight up win if they are a dog in their next game. The Aztecs have gone 0-7 ATS as the road chalk of less than 10 points when facing a team .500 or over. Go Rebels! UNLV.
I find the NFL very mediocre to say the least. There may be about a dozen players out there who have any idea what’s going on. They can’t catch or tackle, but I can give most of them credit for doing a good job of celebrating success – even when losing by two or three TDs.
Now to my plays.
NFL Football
Sunday
Broncos -2½ at Chiefs: The gig is up with KC after winning seven straight and now on a two-game slide. It’s possible with a loss here they could drop seven straight. Maybe Art Manteris out at Red Rock could put a prop up on that. Denver lost a wild and crazy game this past Sunday night. The very smart Peyton Manning was a very angry man watching how stupidly his teammates danced around a punt. I don’t think he slept. They now regroup and head for this rematch. Denver has gone 5-0 SU off a loss as a favorite. Chiefs are 0-6 in second of back-to-back home games when meeting a foe coming off a loss. BRONCOS.
Richard Saber, a former director of race and sports at the famed Stardust book, is GamingToday’s horse racing and sports handicapper. Follow Richard on Twitter @SabesBet. Contact Richard at [email protected].