GAMBLING FOR DUMMIES by ST

Once football season arrives, I get a ton of calls or e-mails about the betting site I use for my wagers. I know it's a slippery slope to talk about gambling because so many horror stories exist about losing rent money or cash ticketed for more important things. I learned a long, long time ago, seeing others learn harsh lessons, that winning is secondary. Once upon a time, back in the early 80's, before online accounts or trips to Nevada, we used an old fashioned bookie. Call in, get the line. Call back with your special code, mine was YanJet(combo of Yankees & Jets), and make your plays. A "time" equaled five bucks. So if you wanted a $50 straight bet on the Giants - 4 1/2 against Philly, it was "Give me the G-men 10 times". Then you'd have your meeting place. Pay on Monday, collect on Tuesday. That said, unless you live in Reno or Vegas and gamble for a living, it's about the action, not winning or losing. When I sit in my den on a football Sunday or during March Madness, we have a great time betting a bunch of games, but limiting the amount played and just having fun. Anyone who thinks they have a system, or an easy way to pick games is nuts. The deflected or dropped pass, the horrible call, the 3 pointer at the buzzer, the error by the 2nd baseman that costs the run, can not be accounted for. Players who do this to earn their keep don't bet on a game just because it's on TV, they find the key 2 or 3 match-ups each week and lay down their dough. The minute you're not having fun gambling, it's a freaking nightmare.
By the way, if you want to site I use, drop me an e-mail at stevetannen@live.com
If done properly, it's a lot of fun.
I was thinking the other day about my favorite, "non" favorite teams. As fans we obviously have our loyalties, but if you're a junkie like me and many of you about these sports we watch, there are times your team isn't involved and another catches your imagination. That will make for one of today's topics. I've long been in the closet about certain teams. From middle school on, since the Immaculate Reception, I've always had a warm spot for the Steelers. Just seemed to have players easy to root for, the quality of the organization and other factors made them appealing. The Spurs in the NBA qualify. From David Robinson to Tim Duncan, just a team's team with a single goal sans the ego's and dirty laundry we see too often. I think the Angels under Mike Scocia fall into that category. In college football, you have to admire Gary Patterson at TCU, and what Paul Johnson is doing with Georgia Tech since moving south from Annapolis. I'll be very curious to see what you all have to say about this when we rally the troops for Sportstalk.
I'm not calling for the mega-blowout tomorrow night at Autzen. ASU has just enough defense, the weather scares me and historically with Jake Plummer tearing it up in 1995 and Andrew Walter re-writing the Pac 10 record book, the Sun Devils have had their moments in our backyard. I also don't see an upset win. Oregon is the far superior team and a true freshman quarterback like Brock Osweiler should not be able to do too much business at this venue versus this defense. Ducks a 17 point favorite? Big number, but if they're in control, I wouldn't be shocked if they put up a mid to late 4th quarter TD to push it past that number.
Enjoy the weekend & Go Ducks.