Ecks & Bacon
LAS VEGAS — Totally GEEKED for the championship games tomorrow, so gonna throw out the AFC title tilt a day early. And it’s the Patriots -3 points over the Broncos. Talked to some of the sports book operators around town, and checked some offshore places, and can tell you that the favorites are getting a HUGE amount of action. Between 75% and 80% of the money flowing in on the AFC Championship is New England money. Not sure if it’s all HBO’s Bill Simmons’ cash, but the bookies are gonna be desperate for a Denver cover. Speaking of Simmons, he posted a stat on Twitter that appeared in the
Boston Herald concerning the referee for the game, Ed Hochuli. The Broncos are 7-0 in Hochuli games since 2000, and 6-0 since 2008. Conspiracy? Hmmmm. But you can balance that out with this stat: Tom Terrific and the Pats are 5-1 all-time against Peyton Manning when favored by three points or more. And now some of the Denver guys are calling Tommy a cry baby. REALLY? You wanna jack up arguably the greatest QB EVER just before the championship game? DUMB! Of course the Brady Bunch is dealing with all sorts of injuries, but with Julian Edelman now back, and taking some of the pressure off of the “Gronk,” no one stops this offense. The Chiefs couldn’t, and their D was pretty stout. And if you’re gonna yell at me about the Broncos winning back in November, 30-24 in OT, DON’T. The Patriots DIDN’T have Edelman, and Gronk went down with a knee late. OK, so Denver squeezed out a 23-16 win against Pittsburgh, but C’MON. Big Ben was working with half a shoulder, WR Antonio Brown was gone, as was RB DeAngelo Williams. Now on to Manning. He had the LOWEST QB rating of his entire career at 67.9. He threw almost twice as many INTs (17) as TDs (9). Peyton CAN NOT move, and his arm strength is questionable. Would rather root for Manning against “the cheaters” as Mrs. Ecks & Bacon calls the Patriots, but gotta go with the Brady Bunch. Thinking that the wind will not be factor on Sunday, and expecting the total to go over. New England 27, Denver 20. Gimme a FULL Benjamin on the cheaters, oops, I mean Patriots. Also gonna drop half a Benj on the Pelicans -5 points over the Bucks.