OK, so some of us still are trying to figure out what day of the week it is. After that, maybe we will figure out what to do. After all, this is the first weekend of January 2015, isn’t it? Based on voluminous research, we are fairly certain New Year’s Day was Thursday. And if yesterday was Friday (as well as January 2, 2015), then there is overwhelming sentiment that today is Jan. 3. And Saturday. Or as some people regard the occasion: Wild Card Weekend. As in NFL postseason games. Pretty sure Chicago Bears fans remember what those are. And not necessarily from their team playing in many any time recently.
* Speaking of the start of the NFL postseason and Bears fans, thankfully they will have at least one team to root against — even though the Green Bay Packers have the weekend off after winning the NFC North. The Motown Meanies — also known as the Detroit Lions — travel to Dallas (actually Arlington, Texas) to play the Cowboys on Sunday. The other NFC game has Arizona playing Carolina on Saturday in a matchup of coaches — Bruce Arians of the Cardinals and Ron Rivera of the Panthers — who likely would have been better choices as Bears coach than Marc Trestman proved to be. Of course, that assumes somebody actually could get through to quarterback Jay Cutler and the Bears had better talent on the team. Dream on.
* Speaking of the NFL playoffs and coaches and things like that, the fine folks at Bovada (www.Bovada.lv, Twitter: @BovadaLV) have provided the following observations and numbers. Purely for entertainment purposes — although if you do happen to win a friendly wager that results in an overwhelming abundance of cash, the ElliottHarris.com retirement fund always is available for a contribution (and remember, any such donation is 100 percent non-tax-deductible).
Kevin Bradley, Sports Book Manager, Bovada.lv: “The Seahawks and Patriots remain clear favorites to meet in the Super Bowl, but we have seen quite a bit of support for the Dallas Cowboys who have already dropped from 9-1 to 15-2 and continue to be bet.? The Carolina Panthers have also been backed as a long shot going from 40-1 to 33-1. That said, the Seahawks even at low odds of 12-5 have taken more money than any other team.”
ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIX
Seattle Seahawks 12/5
New England Patriots 3/1
Green Bay Packers 6/1
Denver Broncos 13/2
Dallas Cowboys 15/2
Pittsburgh Steelers 14/1
Indianapolis Colts 28/1
Carolina Panthers 33/1
Baltimore Ravens 40/1
Detroit Lions 40/1
Cincinnati Bengals 40/1
Arizona Cardinals 66/1
ODDS TO WIN NFC
Seattle Seahawks 5/6
Green Bay Packers 3/1
Dallas Cowboys 9/2
Carolina Panthers 18/1
Detroit Lions 22/1
Arizona Cardinals 33/1
ODDS TO WIN AFC
New England 10/13
Denver Broncos 3/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 7/1
Indianapolis Colts 14/1
Baltimore Ravens 18/1
Cincinnati Bengals 20/1
EARLY SUPER BOWL LINE
AFC +1
NFC -1
COACHING PROPS
Who will be the next coach of the Atlanta Falcons?
Josh McDaniels 5/2
Teryl Austin 11/4
Rex Ryan 3/1
Todd Bowles 5/1
Adam Gase 5/1
Dan Quinn 5/1
Who will be the next coach of the Chicago Bears?
Mike Shanahan 2/1
Rex Ryan 5/2
Todd Bowles 5/1
Dan Quinn 5/1
Darrell Bevell 6/1
Matt Patricia 12/1
Mike Holmgren 15/1
Mike Singletary 15/1
Who will be the next coach of the New York Jets??
Todd Bowles 7/2
Dan Quinn 4/1
Josh McDaniels 5/1
Pep Hamilton 6/1
Darrell Bevell 7/1
Adam Gase 7/1
Gary Kubiak 7/1
Jim Mora Jr. 10/1
Mike Holmgren 20/1
Norv Turner 20/1
Who will be the next coach of the San Francisco 49ers?
Dan Quinn 2/1
Kyle Shanahan 4/1
Mike Shanahan 4/1
Darrell Bevell 5/1
Adam Gase 5/1
Josh McDaniels 7/1
Tom Cable 9/1
PLAYER PROPS
ODDS TO WIN NFL MVP
Aaron Rodgers (GB) QB 1/4
J.J. Watt (HOU) 3/1
Tom Brady (NE) QB? 15/1
DeMarco Murray (DAL) RB 15/1
Tony Romo (DAL) QB 15/1
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) QB 66/1
WILD CARD WEEKEND PROPS
How many Wild Card Teams will win this weekend?
Over 1 (+150, 3/2)
Under 1 (-180, 5/9)
How many Wild Card Teams will win this weekend?
0: 3/1
1: 3/2?
2: 5/2
3: 7/1
4: 50/1
Will a Wild Card team win the Super Bowl?
Yes: 9/1
No: 1/18
Will a Wild Card team play in the Super Bowl?
Yes: 4/1
No: 1/6
Who will record the most Passing Yards?
Andrew Luck (IND) 7/4
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) 2/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 4/1
Tony Romo (DAL) 7/1
Joe Flacco (BAL) 10/1
Andy Dalton (CIN) 12/1
Cam Newton (CAR) 15/1
Who will record the most Receiving Yards?
Antonio Brown (PIT) WR 5/2
Dez Bryant (DAL) WR 4/1
Calvin Johnson (DET) WR 4/1
T.Y. Hilton (IND) WR 6/1
A.J. Green (CIN) WR 7/1
Golden Tate (DET) WR 9/1
Kelvin Benjamin (CAR) WR 10/1
Steve Smith (BAL) WR 15/1
Torrey Smith (BAL) WR? 15/1
Greg Olsen (CAR) TE 20/1
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