Lost Opportunities: At Wrigley and in World Series

October 26, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

Sunday smorgasbord: The biggest surprise of the Chicago Cubs offseason? At this point it has to be that the team is not selling tickets for folks to be in Wrigley Field (at least in the upper deck) to watch the demolition that has been happening with the ballpark’s bleachers. A lost opportunity for additional revenue. Tsk, tsk.

Playmate of the Year Kennedy Summers in her Playboy Halloween party attire.

* Speaking of lost opportunity, the Kansas City Royals turned a three-run lead in Game 4 of the World Series into an 11-4 loss to the host San Francisco Giants. If it is any comfort to Cubs and/or White Sox fans (and the guess here — uneducated as it may be — is that it is not), the Royals’ revered bullpen faltered big-time in seeing a 4-1 lead evaporate.

* Speaking of Royals relievers, left-hander Brandon Finnegan — who had enjoyed an impressive postseason — allowed five runs in one inning. The first player to appear in the College World Series and the World Series in the same season, Finnegan had been almost unhittable before he became what Royals fans would consider unwatchable. And, yes, K.C. manager Ned Yost has returned to being an object of scorn — well, unless the Royals actually win the World Series.

* Speaking of the Royals’ bullpen, on the bright (?) side for K.C., its seventh-, eighth- and ninth-inning specialists — Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland — had the night off and should be ready to go for Sunday’s Game 5. Well, if the Royals can solve Madison Bumgarner, who was the Game 1 winning pitcher in a 7-1 decision.

* Speaking of the NFL (OK, we weren’t really; merely checking to see if you’re paying attention, here are some odds (strictly for entertainment purposes, of course) from the fine folks at Bovada, (www.Bovada.lv, Twitter: @BovadaLV):

Something football-related. Sure it is.

Odds to win the 2015 AFC Conference
Denver Broncos 13/10
Indianapolis Colts 5/1
New England Patriots 6/1
San Diego Chargers 6/1
Baltimore Ravens 10/1
Cincinnati Bengals 16/1
Kansas City Chiefs 25/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 33/1
Buffalo Bills 40/1
Cleveland Browns 40/1
Miami Dolphins 40/1
Houston Texans 75/1
Tennessee Titans 200/1
New York Jets 400/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 500/1
Oakland Raiders 1000/1

Odds to win the 2015 NFC Conference
Green Bay Packers 3/1
Seattle Seahawks 4/1
Dallas Cowboys 5/1
San Francisco 49ers 7/1
Philadelphia Eagles 8/1
Arizona Cardinals 9/1
Detroit Lions 14/1
New Orleans Saints 16/1
Carolina Panthers 33/1
Chicago Bears 33/1
New York Giants 40/1
Atlanta Falcons 75/1
St. Louis Rams 100/1
Washington Redskins 150/1
Minnesota Vikings 200/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 400/1

How ’bout those Cowboys? Or something like that.

Divisional Odds

Odds to Win the 2014 NFC East
Dallas Cowboys 2/3
Philadelphia Eagles 6/5
New York Giants 20/1
Washington Redskins 66/1

Odds to Win the 2014 NFC North
Green Bay Packers 4/9
Detroit Lions 2/1
Chicago Bears 12/1
Minnesota Vikings 100/1

Odds to Win the 2014 NFC South
New Orleans Saints 11/10
Carolina Panthers 6/5
Atlanta Falcons 13/2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33/1

Odds to Win the 2014 NFC West
Arizona Cardinals 3/2
Seattle Seahawks 3/2
San Francisco 49ers 5/2
St. Louis Rams 50/1

Odds to Win the 2014 AFC East
New England Patriots 1/10
Buffalo Bills 9/1
Miami Dolphins 9/1
New York Jets 66/1

Odds to Win the 2014 AFC North
Baltimore Ravens 5/7
Cincinnati Bengals 9/4
Pittsburgh Steelers 6/1
Cleveland Browns 10/1

Odds to Win the 2014 AFC South
Indianapolis Colts 1/10
Houston Texans 11/2
Tennessee Titans 33/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 300/1

Odds to Win the 2014 AFC West
Denver Broncos 1/7
San Diego Chargers 5/1
Kansas City Chiefs 12/1
Oakland Raiders 300/1

PLAYER PROPS

2014 Regular Season MVP – Odds to Win
Peyton Manning (DEN) QB 5/2
Demarco Murray (DAL) RB 7/2
Aaron Rodgers (GB) QB 5/1
Andrew Luck (IND) QB 6/1
Philip Rivers (SD) QB 10/1
J.J. Watt (HOU) 15/1
Tony Romo (DAL) QB 15/1
Tom Brady (NE) QB 20/1
Joe Flacco (BAL) QB 25/1
Drew Brees (NO) QB 33/1
Russell Wilson (SEA) QB 33/1
Colin Kaepernick (SF) QB 50/1
Nick Foles (PHI) QB 50/1

WEEK 8 SPECIALS
Will Aaron Rodgers record 3 or more TD Passes and have 0 interceptions Week 8?
(Note: Rodgers has done this for four straight weeks)
Yes 5/2
No 1/4

Bryce Brown Rushing Yards Week 8
Over/Under 52

Colt McCoy Total Passing Yards Week 8
Over/Under 240

TEAM/GAME PROPS
Will the winner of the NFC South have 8 wins or less?

Yes: EVEN (1/1)
No: -140? (5/7)

Season Win Total Jacksonville Jaguars
Over/Under 3

Will the Raiders finish the season 0-16?
Yes 7/1
No 1/15

Will the Raiders have the #1 draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft?
Yes 1/2
No 3/2

How many turnovers will the Carolina Panthers have Week 8 vs the Seahawks?
(Note: The Seahawks have forced zero turnovers in their three road games this year.)
Over 1 (+110, 11/10)
Under 1 (-150, 2/3)

Will there be a streaker during the Lions/Falcons game?
Yes 6/1
No 1/10

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