The following tale is not one for the faint of heart. It is a story of ups, downs, hopes, hopes being crushed, sorrow, anger, and success.

It is the story of a quest to purchase a microwave.

My Mom and I went out to Target to look for a microwave because the motor on our old one had blown out or something. The initial drive was quite a trial. For one thing, we had to first take my nephew to church for bell choir, in the total opposite direction of Target. The second thing was that we also had to take my niece home to my sister's house. The third thing was that my niece was crying and in a rage because I made her stop playing Webkinz on the computer. Thus, for over one hour straight, she was crying and screaming, "I want to play Webkinz!"

It took her five seconds to sob that phrase and catch her breath. So she repeated those words approximately 720 times for us. The last 360 were inside of the car.

We dropped her off with her mother (still chanting that she wanted to play Webkinz) and made our way to Target. The microwave selection at Target was okay, but nothing great. There were two panasonic models that interested my mom, and I recommended the cheaper one. However, she wanted to go to Sears for this one she had seen before that her heart was set on. It had a handle for opening the door (instead of a push button), and a knob to turn instead of a numberpad. So off to Sears we went.

Sears was largely deserted, as I imagine it usually is at 8:30 at night. We walked up to the microwave area, and the salesman was sitting on a bench, on the phone with one of his cronies. It actually looked like he was sort of hiding from management, but I can't be sure. We found the microwave that she had seen before, and at 129.99 it didn't seem obnoxiously expensive.

The salesman tried selling us one of the other two models next to it, conveniently priced at 349.99 and 299.99. I informed him that there was no way we needed to spend 300 dollars on a microwave.

We told him to ring up the one we wanted. He asked us to hold on for a sec, because he needed to check if they had it in inventory.

If you've never been to a Sears, the way it works is that you buy the item, and then you have to go to a pickup area where someone brings the item out for you. Its a bit strange, but thats just the way they do things.

So he confirmed that he had the microwave in stock, we paid, and were on our way to pickup.

Unfortunately, the story does not end here. In fact, its not even half over.

The pickup area of Sears is a dungeon-like room that looks like the type of spot where people generally have criminal things done to them. When you enter the room, you scan your receipt in the machine. Then, your name shows up on the display, as well as a timer. There are signs posted that the have a 5 minute guarantee. Your item comes out in five minutes or you get... wait for it... a 5 dollar gift certificate to use on your next purchase at Sears.

Their monthly success rate was 90.3%. That can't be good.

So we're waiting for our item, and we're approaching the four minute mark. Still no microwave. But wait! At 4:03, our order suddently went into the "completed" list. The timer stopped running. Unfortunately, we did not yet have our microwave, which pissed me off to no end. So we waited. And waited.

After five more minutes or so, I went to the machine and asked to speak to an employee. Someone eventually popped out and said that there was a problem and that he coudln't find it. It might be up in the area where we purchased it, he said, but he needed to check it out. We said okay. We waited some more.

He came out and said that he's still looking. But that if he can't find it, we're going to have to go back upstairs and they'll order one for us. I told him hell no, we'll just return our nonexistant microwave. He shrugged his shoulders and went in the back to search some more. Minutes later, he came out for a final time, apologized, and informed us that its not back there.

We angrily trudged back upstairs to electronics and voided the sale. Sears was a bust.

We were not defeated yet though. Best Buy was right in the area, so I suggested we go there to take a look. I mean, they must have a lot of microwaves there, right?

Not so right. They had some models, but most were pretty crappy looking. And some of the models were ones that were built into the wall, so they were totally useless to us. I did purchase Patapon while I was there, so the trip was not a total loss, but we did concede defeat for the night.

There was one small victory though. There was a Chic-fil-a adjacent to the Best Buy parking lot. We walked over and ate. Chic-fil-a has a way of making everything better.

Still microwaveless, we went back to the original Target this morning. We were in-and-out in 5 minutes. I was half-expecting the box to contain like a TV or something when we got home. But no, it was the microwave we purchased, and it works. I triumphantly boiled a cup of water and make some green tea.

Fin.

Instead of going to the Feb Club party last night, we went to The Biltmore. With the 2 dollar pitcher special on Tuesday nights, you'd be stupid not to go. Its like making money!

When we got in the door, we were greeted by a table of women who had cups in front of them. They claimed to be from the Fashion Design Club, and demanded that we buy a cup from them for three dollars. That cup entitled a bar dweller to the following "specials":

*Dollar fifty rails
*One dollar natty lights

So lets see... I can pay $2 for a pitcher of a mystery beer, which may or may not be natty light. Or, I can pay 4 dollars for my first natty light, and one dollar for subsequent ones. I'm no math major, but as long as a pitcher contains at least two beers, that cup is a deal for suckers.

Of course, one must punish stupidity. Why on earth would you do a fund raising night when there is a bar special that is better than what your cup entitles a person to? Idiots. I ignored their pleas to buy a cup and went upstairs, while Berde claimed to not have any cash. One of them then told Charles it was for charity, which struck a chord with us. Is it for charity or for your club? It was unclear, but in any event, we can do math. So we got a couple pitchers and ignored those morons at the door.

Homer: Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau?
Apu: Such a beer does not exist, sir. I think you must have dreamed it.
Homer: Oh. Well, then just give me a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.

The day started off innocently enough. I woke up, still recovering from sitting next to that jackass who came to class with the unknown plague, and read a little tobacco policy.

Me, Charles, and Akure then went to Wendy's. In line we discussed the relative merits of the baconator, and Charles tried to convince me to get one. While it is true that beeffest starts tomorrow (you didn't know?), I said that I would have to hold off on that and instead get my usual chicken nuggets meal. Out of the blue, this older woman behind us overheard the baconator discussion and said, "I'll see you guys at the CCU!"

We weren't sure what to make of it. I joked about how it looked good, and she said that I needed some antioxidants to digest some of the grease. I replied that I already had a big glass of pomegranate juice today, so I was in good shape. That was the last we heard from her. But was she saying that she was a nurse and would see us down the road after we've had a heart attack? Or was she implying that she'll see us in the CCU while we both have heart attacks? I guessed the former, but Akure said that the woman ended up ordering a baconator, so I guess it was the latter.

Mark brought over Rock Band to play this afternoon, and it was pretty fun (after we figured out that the foot pedal was not connected to the drum set, making it impossible to drum correctly). My one gripe with it is that you have to play the same song over and over in new venues. There are only so many times that I can play "Say It Ain't So" before I get sick of it. Wait, I have another gripe. The guitar parts are okay, but the bass parts are mind numbing, even on expert. I would get through many songs literally missing only one or two notes. Still, it is a fun time when you get everyone involved, and the downloadable content looks to keep the game fresh for a long time.

After some Rock Band, we prepared ourselves for the highlight of the day. Red Lobster. It is, after all, Lobsterfest.

Just what Lobsterfest is was a mystery to us. But the commercials indicated it was some sort of celebration of lobster that only happens once a year. Thus, all day I told people that it is Lobsterfest and we have to celebrate accordingly. 14 of us readied to celebrate this national holiday.

Of course, anyone who has ever been to a Red Lobster knows what the real treat to the visit is.

The Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

We didn't get served until 9 PM, so we were starving. The biscuits and salads arrived, and what ensued was a biscuit eating contest of epic proportions. At the four biscuit mark Ryan challenged me to a biscuit speed eating contest. First one to finish the biscuit (completely swallowed) was champion. I didn't back down, and at the count of 3 I stuffed the entire biscuit in my mouth. Ryan did as well, and he then swigged some water to aid in the digestion. I realized this was a strong move and reached for my glass, only to find it empty. Ryan laughed, which caused him to choke a little. I used that advantage to end up victorious in round 1 of the biscuit championship.

I ordered some shrimp and a lobster tail for dinner and it was passable. Pretty much what you'd expect from Red Lobster. However, more biscuits arrived in the middle of our entrees. Ryan demanded it be a best 2 out of 3 match. I accepted his challenge.

Then, for some unknown reason after I finished my meal, I ate another biscuit. I don't know what was going through my mind, but it wasn't Ryan's challenge. After I finished, Ryan looked over and asked if that was my warm up biscuit. I said yes, and readied for what looked to be two more biscuits. Unfortunately, the mind was willing, but the flesh was weak. At the count of 3, I tried stuffing the biscuit in my mouth. But only half would go in before I had to stop. I conceded that loss, and although Ryan claims to be biscuit champion, I declare it a draw for no real reason. In any event, Ann is probably the true biscuit champion, as she ate more biscuits than either of us. Maybe we need two divisions of biscuit eating - quantity and speed.

My recovery at home from this massive meal was as expected. We played some beer pong and I set up DDR for the girls to play. I played a bit, but DDR on a stomach full of biscuits and lobster is not ideal. I also wanted to stay sober tonight as I'm still recovering from my encounter with the plague. Tomorrow I'll go full power.

I feel like Sherrod from The Wire.

In one scene, Sherrod tries convincing Bubbles that he is really working at his math. He tells Bubbles that he has his textbook and a workbook, and the two build off of each other. It is a fine plan until Bubbles looks at the two books. One is indeed a math textbook. The other is a French to English dictionary.

And here I am, sitting in class. I have no idea what is going on because I didn't do the reading. I don't even have the right edition of the book! Sadly, it took me 3 weeks to realize that I don't have the right edition. As a 3L, I'm not planning on getting the current version of the book.

Making things even worse is the one thing you don't want to hear when you sit down in your seat. The guy next to me is sick with some sort of mystery illness. He has a big bag of cough drops and a pack of tissues. He went to student health earlier this week and they didn't know what was going on. Perfect.

We had quite the epic Sunday yesterday.

It began with a super brunch. We had marinated french toast, biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs with sausage in it, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit salad, and mimosas. It was an epic feast and the best breakfast I've had in some time.

We then recuperated for an hour or so before hitting up Kluge Estate Winery. On the way there we passed an open house, and Akure conjectured that the house had at least six bedrooms. Kim, Charles, and I all considered that statement to be "way off" (especially as we've been watching Flip This House and Property Ladder for the last few weeks).

We got to sample six different wines from Kluge. Our favorite was the Cru, which is an obnoxiously strong wine fortified with brandy. Kim wasn't able to finish hers, so I took care of that.

As we drank, our debate over the open house intensified. Nicole and Mark, who had driven in their own car to the winery, also had thoughts on the house. Nicole estimated that the house had ten bedrooms, which Akure took as adding credibility to her "at least six" guess. We decided to bet on the number of bedrooms. Everyone got pretty excited for our open house visit.

We left the winery and found our way to the house. Nicole and Mark said that this house was not the one they had in mind, clearly trying to get out of any bet we've made. Akure began to back off from her estimate as she realized the house was not as "deep" as she originally thought, whatever that means. We knocked on the door and the six of us greeted the seller.

Our pretend interest was pretty funny. The fact sheet said 5 bedrooms, so the bet was a push. The best exchange of the visit:

Charles: So how do we bid? Do we just call it in?
Seller: No, you just write down your bid on that sheet then we call you with how it did.
Charles: (no movement towards sheet). Okay.

We left shortly after that. But not before I used the bathroom. I wasn't sure if that was "appropriate" or not, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Our day had been pretty full already, with a substantial brunch and visit to a winery, but it was about to get even better. Mark was making wings and Charles had prepared some ribs for dinner, and we had ordered the WWE PPV No Way Out. The food was great, but the PPV was only eh, although it did feature Floyd Mayweather breaking the Big Show's nose (for real).

It was just a spectacular, action-packed day overall.

Last season, Adam Eaton was the worst starting pitcher in baseball.

I don't mean that he was the worst starting pitcher over a certain salary. I mean that, overall, of pitchers who threw more than 160 innings, he had the worst ERA of all of them.

Also, he is making 8 million dollars per year.

It is bad enough to have the worst pitcher in baseball. It is even worse to pay him a ton of money. But what is the worst sin of all?

Continuing to pitch him.

And yet, we have this nugget from Charlie Manuel:

But Manuel admitted the competition might not be a case of survival of the fittest. Eaton, after all, will earn more than $8 million this season, which is a lot of money to pay someone who doesn't pitch.

"I'd say he definitely has the inside track, without a doubt," Manuel said. "But that doesn't mean that somebody can not move him out."

I wonder if baseball executives will ever understand the meaning of sunk costs.

Thoughts on The Wire, Season 5, Through 6 Episodes

Okay, we're now full on into an anti-Wire backlash. Well, maybe we're not. But the only commentary that I consistently read about The Wire seems to be pissed off about season 5. I don't really see any problems with it thus far. Sure, its not as great as Season 4 or 3, but those are among the greatest seasons of any TV show I've ever seen. If those seasons were 9.75/10 and 9.9/10 (with season 4 being the 9.9), then why is it so infuriating that Season 5 is a 9.2?

I think two reasons that people have problems with Season 5 are Freamon and McNulty.

In prevoius seasons, Freamon was one of the few unequivocally "good" characters in the show. He has no flaws. He is extremely intelligent and always on the right side of the debate. Lester can pose as a bum and knock out a suspect. Lester can craft dollhouse miniatures. Lester can track down a paper trail to nail a state senator. In short, Lester is the superman of cops.

The illusion of Lester has been shattered this season. He is now willing to go to whatever ends necessary to get Marlo. I don't think this is exactly a problem. It just shows that Lester, like McNulty, is not superhuman. He has let a case get under his skin, and as a result is making numerous flaws in judgment. It happens. Did we really want Freamon to go through 5 seasons of The Wire without any mistakes or issues? If anything, Freamon illustrates an important point. Even the absolute best cop can be done in by incompetent superiors, budgetary constraints, or a lethal combination of the two.

People may also be irritated with McNulty's latest turn. He has created a serial killer in order to get city hall to turn on the faucet. And he actually kidnaps a homeless man, takes some pictures of him, and drives him 2.5 hours away to Richmond! Whatever McNulty has done in previous seasons, these acts are clearly over a line that we thought he would never cross. But he has crossed them, and I think it is a logical progression. Even McNulty recognizes this. In episode 6, you see him numerous times thinking long and hard about his taking the homeless man to Richmond. He realizes that he has done something reprehensible even by his standards. What will this lead to? I don't know. But I'm totally fine with the way this is going.

Marlo getting to Prop Joe was a sad moment for me, as Prop Joe was one of my favorite characters in the show. It happened the only way that I think it could have - Joe being betrayed by Cheese. If it had been Slim Charles or someone else getting to Joe, it would have been implausible, given that Joe is aware of every angle of every situation. But he let family get in the way of his judgment. He knew Cheese had given up Butchie, but he wanted more evidence before knocking off his sister's kid. It cost him, and he knew it the moment Marlo walked in the room.

I'm actually happy with the way the Omar / Marlo storyline is going. Chris realizes what a bad position they are in by missing their shot at Omar. Yes, Omar jumped out of a sixth story building and survived. But he had what appeared to be a broken leg! Its not like he just ran away. I'm not an expert on jumping out of buildings, but I think it is at least plausible that this could occur, given the bushes and other shrubbery that were on the ground.

Omar's strategy for Marlo is I think a sound one, and the only one he can do: Call out Marlo as a bitch and see what happens. If there is one thing we know about Marlo, its that his reputation is supremely important to him. He wants people scared of him, and if he isn't able to take down ol Omar, that is likely a dent in his armor that he cannot deal with. I'm very interested to see the way this turns out, much more than th McNulty / Freamon serial killer or the newspaper.

The newspaper storyline has lost a bit of steam as it focuses on Templeton's serial killer. It seems like almost an afterthought right now. Gus is pissed off, Templeton makes stuff up, and the managing editors eat it up. I don't know how many ways this part of the plot can go. I do wish that there was more of an insiders view of the newspaper, as it seems really one dimensional, and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future.

I do wonder how Dukie going to die. I put odds on him surviving the season at... well not good. Maybe he'll go back to school or something, but he can't really do that while taking care of Bug. So he's resigned to taking crap from Kenard and Spider. He's going to get it one day. I can imagine Michael getting pissed (probably at the same time Bunk finds out that Chris's DNA is all over the beating murder of Michael's stepdad), and Marlo or Chris telling Michael to just deal with Dukie's death. Then Michael will get ready to give everyone up. Michael can't take the rap, because then what would happen to Bug? In season 4 Michael told Chris that he already has a family. Bug comes first.

Who knows what will happen at that point though. Too many moving parts. But that's a good thing.

In my Tobacco Policy class we've been learning about the mechanics of addiction. One of the mechanisms through which an addictive substance causes addiction is that it disrupts reward pathways in your brain. So not only does your body want the substance itself, but without the substance in you, it is more difficult to become happy or feel good through other, unrelated means.

I wondered for a little bit if I was addicted to gambling. But then I realized its not playing poker or craps in and of itself that makes me happy or pissed, but its the winning or losing. If I was addicted, I'd be encouraged to keep playing, even if I was getting pounded. Which I guess is what happens to degenerate gamblers who end up bankrupt. But when I lose like I did this weekend, I don't have a problem with walking away from the stupid Borgata craps tables, and in fact want to stay away from them for quite some time.

This did bring up a question in my mind. Most addictive substances, like alcohol, nicotine, heroin, etc., are addictive and have bad health effects. When you take these things, they are basically 100% bad for you (although nicotine itself does have some positive effects on the body, the bad stuff that comes along in the nicotine delivery mechanism more than outweigh these things). Gambling can also be addicting, and if you're playing against the casino, it is a recipe for disaster.

But what about poker?

You're not playing against the house in poker, and if you're good at the game you can have a significant advantage over the other players at your table. You do have to worry about the rake (the cut the casino takes out of each pot), but if you're a good enough player you can beat it. So imagine the situation of the very skilled poker player who is addicted to gambling. He makes his living, and its quite a good one, by playing poker. However, he needs the rush, and it is very tough for him to become happy without it. Is the addiction a problem for him? Which is the problem: addiction itself, or the problems that usually come along with it?

Greg Paulus will get a lot of hype for last night's game against UNC. He buried 6 three pointers, most of them coming at absolute back-breaking times for a Heels team that struggled all night to find any sort of offensive flow. But he was not the MVP of the game.

It was Lance Thomas.

Lance Thomas, well he's been a bit disappointing thus far in his career. He came out off Newark, NJ rated as the 4th best PF in the 20006 class, and 18th overall by Scout.com. He was also a McDonald's All-American. All things pointed to a solid college career.

To say he's been disappointing is a massive understatement.

As a starter this year, he's averaged 4.3 points and 3 rebounds a game. As a starter! He usually is in foul trouble, which I suppose is understandable due to his being the only big man presence we have on the team. Still, in 8 ACC games, Thomas has averaged 4 fouls per game. He has done this while playing more than 21 minutes in one game (this last UNC game).

Thus, expectations were not very high coming into the UNC game. He would be matched up with either Hansbrough or some other guy, and Thomas would likely be the nonfactor that he usually is. However, things seemed different right off the bat. Thomas was being assertive underneath, popping in layups after getting some post position on whoever was guarding him. Thomas would go 5-7 from the field, scoring 10 points (his previous high in ACC play was 6).

The play most people will remember, however, is one of his two blocks. Hansbrough got ultra deep post position in the paint, and UNC got the ball into him. All night I was screaming "just let him score!" Hansbrough has the uncanny ability to look like he's been shot any time he either shoots, rebounds, or gets in the way of flying elbow slams. So avoid the three point play and let him have the two. For the most part, Singler and Thomas had been doing that. But Thomas had enough. Hansbrough went up for the dunk. Thomas came from the side and swatted the ball into the backboard.

Paulus got the board, Kyle Singler hit a crippler three pointer on the ensuing possession. Duke up by 9, and the game was effectively over.

Hopefully this is the start of a big career for Thomas.

And because any Duke related post must make fun of David McClure, here are Ben's comments:

(11:56:14) Ben: my favorite play is when paulus or someone gave Mcclure a money open shot like 8 feet from the basket
(11:56:20) Ben: and bricked the crap out of it
(11:56:28) Ben: and unc goes down for a easy layup
(11:56:42) Evan: oh yeah
(11:56:44) Evan: it was hilarious
(11:56:47) Evan: mcclure shooting
(11:57:02) Ben: it looked like he had no idea what to do

I'm generally a texas hold em player. I've dabbled a bit in razz and 2-7 triple draw, but I've never put much of my bankroll at risk in those games. I played them as a change up for hold em, which can get monotonous after a while. But I think I've found a new game that might keep me occupied for a bit. I've started playing pot-limit omaha.

It began with a tournament over on the Tao of Poker. It was a weekly event called "Saturdays with Dr. Pauly," a 11 dollar omaha high tournament. I was an outsider to the usual bunch who play, and I didn't know the game of omaha at all, but I figured what the hell. It will probably give me 11 dollars worth of enjoyment. I had an amazing string of luck and managed to take down 2nd. It was a nice boost to my account, and really got my interest piqued in omaha. Since then, I've been reading up.

While the game seems to play out in a similar way to hold em, the game is both less and more complicated. It is less complicated in that there doesn't seem to be a great variety of pre-flop and post-flop moves. Pre-flop you're either folding or calling the blind no matter how strong your hand is, because even the strongest hand (A/A/K/K double suited) is weak if it misses the flop. Post-flop, you're betting the pot if you think you have the top hand (trips, nut flush, nut straight, etc.). If you're chasing your hand, you're calling the pot sized bet.

Now you may be wondering why you're betting the pot with such a strong hand after the flop. The reason is that because each person has so many cards in their hand, chances are the next card will drastically change the situation. For example, if you have a set of aces on a flop with 2 spades and you get two callers after you jam the pot, a spade on the turn pretty much means that you need to river a full house to win. Suddenly, you're the one chasing. And it doesn't even have to be a spade. It could just be a card that makes an obvious straight possible. So in omaha, there isn't a lot of variety of the type of bets that come out.

What makes the game more complicated is the amount of thinking that you have to do regarding your hand. It is entirely possible that you have a hand on the flop with:

a) top two pair
b) second flush draw
c) gutshot nut straight draw

Is that a favorite over someone who you're almost certain has a set? Your decision on the flop will almost necessarily commit your entire stack to the hand, so you better be right.

Even reading the board takes some getting used to. On one hand in that tournament, I had something like k/q/4/2 with a couple clubs, and the flop was 7/10/a with two clubs. The turn and river were both tens, so I missed completely. At showdown, my opponent flipped 7/6/5/4. I cursed and thought that if I had just pulled the trigger on the river, I would have won the pot. Suddenly, the pot was pushed towards me! I was confused. But then recalled that you MUST play two cards from your hand. My opponent could only play 7 and 6, which when coupled with the three 10s from the board would give him three 10s with a 7 kicker. I did the same, only played the 10s with my K and Q. So I outkicked him and took down the pot. I've read that one of the most common mistakes from beginners in the game is thinking you have a boat that you really don't. If there are three of a kind on the board, you need a pocket pair to have a boat.

I've started playing cash games to moderate success. I'm trying to prepare myself for the swings. Given that you're rarely an overwhelming favorite, a couple hands that don't go your way can cripple you pretty quick. We'll see how it goes - going on a bit of a rush in the next few days could be important for the annual March trip to Vegas.

Its clear! Its clear! The gatorade dumped on Coughlin is clear! I win!

Bets thus far at halftime (all even odds unless noted):

*At least one member of Fox Pregame Show picks G-Men: Win (7-5)

*Jordin Sparks over 1 min 42 seconds for the National Anthem: Win

*Coin Toss is Heads: Loss

*Maroney first TD (5 player draft): Win

*Patriots field position after G-Men kickoff < 25 yard line: Loss - Tynes kicked the ball out of bounds

*Penalty called on Giants drive: Win - Eli or coaches cause G-Men delay of game penalty

*Giants convert on 3rd and 4: Push - Eli fumbles, ball almost recovered by G-Men, knocked forward, recovered by S. Smith past the first down line, but umpire rules that ball illegally batted forward when it obviously was not. Clearly there was a lot of jumping around and yelling in the room during this play.

*First song played by Tom Petty is Free Fallin: Loss - Berde took Runnin Down a Dream, Mark took field. Stupid field.

I don't understand this McDonalds commercial:

Three people are standing around an office, talking about how down the dollar is. Then, some other guy walks in with a bag of McDonalds stuff from the dollar menu. He's eating a double cheeseburger, and the three people change their tune. They now conclude that the dollar is strong. One of them asks the other guy if he needs fries. The guy smirks and says he's fine on fries, thanks. Then, one of the original people tells the asker, "That's cold."

What's cold about asking if the guy has fries?

Ridiculous Super Bowl Prop Bets and My Picks

Lines from Bodog and BetUS.

Who will the MVP of the Game thank first?

Teammates 2-5
God 3-1
Family 5-2
Coach 6-1
Doesn't Thank Anyone 7-1

Everyone keeps saying that the Pats are a team first team, with everyone buying in to that concept. That makes "teammates" an obvious pick. And the likely MVP would be Brady (1-2 odds on that), although I'm gunning for Maroney (5-1) or Moss (4-1). Are Maroney and Moss God-fearing men? Who knows. I'm going with "God."

Will the entire Fox pre-game team pick the Patriots to win the Super Bowl?

Yes (-170)
No (+130)

I love, love, love the "no" pick. There will be at least one guy on the pre-game team who will want all the glory of being the only guy to pick the G-Men, and thus having the chance of gloating after the game. Where is the potential glory in picking the Patriots? The upside of picking the G-Men is too high - at least one of them will recognize it.

How Many Times will Joe Buck mention Peyton Manning's name during the Broadcast?

Over/Under: 5.5

I like the under here. First, it's Joe Buck, not the entire broadcast team. Second, 6 times is a lot. That is my reasoned analysis.

How long will it take Jordin Sparks to sing the National anthem?

Over/Under: 1 minute 42 seconds

This would be a great bet to make. Can you imagine getting to the 1 minute 30 second mark, Sparks only having to do "and the home of the brave," thinking you're money... and then Sparks somehow drags it out to 1:44? It would be phenomenal. I like the over, because singers like to be in the spotlight. I'd sure drag it out.

Color of liquid winning Head Coach is doused in?

Transparent 2-1
Green 5-1
Yellow 3-1
Orange 2-1
Red 3-1
Blue 10-1
Purple 16-1

I like the transparent pick here, even though it is the favorite. If I had to go with a non "water" pick, I'd go with Red. On an unrelated note, I think everyone should concede that blue Gatorade is the superior drink out of the bunch.