SB Nation User Blog: Cody K

WEEK 5 PICKS

Cody K — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:32:52 -0000

Real short today, gotta hop out for a wedding.

I'd like to first say that I really like Syracuse in a "rivalry game" +10 at the DOME vs. WVU. I'll def take that. Syracuse should keep this one close right? 7 turnovers to me is flukey. I have to believe that they will not turn the ball over 7 times this week and that Bill Stewart is dumb enough to forget that he has Noel Devine. I'm fine with him forgetting that for another week. Look to the 'Cuse to cover.

And I'm going to keep riding my horse(s):

Auburn: they're currently -3 @ Arkansas. I think they can definitely win this game by at least a TD. They're a decent team and they're starting to put together a little roll. Plus, they can cover. Nicely.

And I also like TCU (-10) @ Air Force. I know Air Force is a tough team, but the Horned Frogs are used to going on the road and kicking some ass. I don't care if they play in Ft Collins, or wherever - TCU just hands out ass kickings.

WEEK 5 NCAA PICKS: TAM-PUH edition

Cody K — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:20:36 -0000

First things first:

I took Syracuse +7. I really have zero clue how this game will go. The Orange, with the exception of Syracuse's inability to keep Maine out of the end zone in garbage time late in the 4th Q, have gone 3-1 ATS this year. I guess I like that trend to continue. Hopefully this is a win by the almighty Orange, but BB's comments on how this is a trap game for USF and just by seeing how SU plays at home (plus, you know, homecoming and all) I think Syracuse has a shot here, at least to keep this thing really, really close.

And BTW, allow me a little bitching session: Dear Maine Black Bears: nice back-door cover, bitch-ass hizzo Black Bears from Maine!! WTF! Seriously.

And I won't go into much detail on this, but I like the following four teams this weekend:

Michigan (+3½) SRSLY you guys TATE FORCIER!

Auburn (+2½) GUS GUS GUS M

Miami (FL) (+7½) Algebra 101: (Injured Sam Bradford^Landry Jones pornstache) + (Jacory Harris is a stud) = WINNNNNNNA!

USC (-5) Matt Barkley > Jahvid Best

WEEK 4 NCAA PICKS:

Cody K — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:09:16 -0000

Well this is sorta disappointing. Syrcause/Maine is "Off" meaning that as of today, Fri Sept 25th, there are no odds on the game. WTF, Vegas!!? Can't I get my fix!? Can't I ride my boys to another week of covering ATS? Make no mistake, SU has been brilliant ATS this year. They're well coached, they play well and cohesively, and they don't get down on themselves no matter what the score. In other words, this 'Cuse team is everything this year that they haven't been the past 4 years. Suck it G-Rob. GET FUCKED. GET FUCKED AND DIE NAKED IN AN ABANDONED MINE SHAFT.

The next Big East game I will discuss here is NOT UConn vs. Rhode Island (lips buttoned up on this one, you know, glass houses). However: Pitt v. NC State is innnnnnnteresting. Currently Pitt is a 1 pt underdog; which basically means to me that this game is a pick 'em (ie if Pitt loses by 1 its a push). But I actually like Pittsburgh to win this game outright. They're solid, they found another great RB, and I expect them to pound on a team like NC St.

Next game is a big one: TCU @ Clemson: TCU is +3 in this game. That's right. A ranked team vs. a middle of the pack ACC team. Granted, the game is in SC. Buuuutttt.....still. Ride the horse. Take TCU here. Trust me.

Two more (bonus!!):

I like Florida vs. Kentucky +22 in Lexington. Lexington for some reason is a tough place to play (remember they upset #1 LSU there a few yrs ago) and Florida looked pretty crappy last week. I'm not saying UK can win this one, I just think they can keep it closer than people think.

Houston vs. TTU (pick 'em): I like Houston to whomp whomp on TTU this week. Actually, more than that, I like the over. It's currently listed at 74. But one of these teams could ring up 50 pts. Seriously. This will be a fun game to watch, no matter what. Likely the last team with the ball wins.

The Death of the Screen Pass (Open Letter to Kevin Gilbride)

Cody K — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:34:29 -0000

Dear Kevin:

Congrats on the big road win despite your best efforts to thwart it. I have one question for you: why didn't we see single screen pass until the 4th and only then did we see two pathetic attempts at this?

I ask because I'm a lifelong Giants fan, and I have a vivid memory of watching Tiki Barber run this play to perfection. Tiki, you may remember, was a one-man show for the Giants, and the offense's bread-and-butter play was the screen pass. It worked really, really well.

As I'm sure you know, when the D sends a big blitz (as the Cowboys did over and over last night), an appropriately timed screen pass can be an absolute back-breaker for a D. If you can time it right, it's a great, great play. Agreed? With the Giants smaller O-linemen, they have the perfect personnel to execute this play. And last night, with the pressure that the 'Boys were bringing, I cannot for the life of me figure out why this was not once called.

I think you ran two plays that closely resembled a screen: one was a quick dart to Bradshaw (without any attempt to suck the D in - so that can't really be considered a screen) and the other was a nicely executed set-up to Boss in the 4th where Kevin B just couldn't shake the tackler (he had an easy first down if he gets past the first guy). But I just can't figure it out. You have the personnel, right? (eg. Bradshaw in the Tiki role, with his speed and moves in the open field is an absolute terror.)

And one more question, the swing to hedgecock was.....mystifying. Nothing else, other than I really have no clue WTF you were thinking there.

PS: 0-8 in the red zone is simply not going to cut it this year.

WEEK 3: NCAA PICKS, HERE WE GO! EDITION

Cody K — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:58:44 -0000

A fair amount of mayhem this week. Let's do it!

via fc05.deviantart.com

Northwestern @ Syracuse: Syracuse is listed as a 3 point underdog. Yep. All day. I'm taking the almighty 'Cuse here. I like home 'dogs and Syracuse "needs" this game. They need a win, and I think that the difference in talent between PSU last week and N'Western this week will be miles apart. Bring it, Wildcats. Cuse either wins this outright - or, at worst, gets me a push.

Cincinnati @ Oregon State: this lines has been jumpy all week. Started out as Cinci by 1, then yesterday I was able to lock in Cinci on a pick 'em, meaning all they have to do is win. So Cincinnati is the pick here. Tony Pike is the real deal, the Bearcats can score and defensively they can shut down the Rogers bros.

West Virginia @ Auburn: for you true degenerates out there - the line is currently WVU +7.5. Going to tease this 7 points with the over. This game is going to be a track meet. I'm thinking this is looking something like a 44-35 game.

and one random one for you:

Wyoming @ Colorado: did you guys see the Toledo game? Or even hear about it? The fact that Colorado is favored in any game (they're -7 in this one) is a sham. Wyoming hung with Texas throughout the 3rd Q. Take Wyo all day in this one.

WEEK 2: NCAA PICKS, INUNDATION EDITION

Cody K — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:21:18 -0000

Fresh off my 3-game sweep last weekend, I've got a lot of confidence heading into this weekend.

So - Wassup, Ya'll!! I'm moving today, this weekend, and Monday (just cross town, from Pac Heights over to Russian Hill) so things are definitely in flux. Plus I've got [GASP] actual work to get done today! So today's entry will be [somewhat] brief.

Syracuse v. Penn St.: this line is anywhere between 28½ and 29. I took Syracuse here +28½. Actual quote from one of my best friends, a former Penn St. lax player who is (obviously) a huge fan of the Nittany Lions:

"Did you see the Akron game? PSU was lucky to be up by 31 at the half and in the 2nd half, even then the starters were still in, could not move the ball after Akron made adjustments and they were outscored 7-0 in the 2nd half. Yes PSU rested their starters after a while, but they looked terrible in the 2nd half, and I'm left with some serious questions about this team after watching that game"

Ok, so granted this is knee-jerk reaction after ONE game, but still....I didn't see the game, so it's tough for me to say what the deal is there. However, +28½ pts? Wow. So PSU would have to win by 29; so they'd have to win by something like 39-10, right? I think JoePa would call off the dogs if the game gets out of hand - typically early in the season if a game is getting out of hand, I think very good coaches like to see what they have out of their 2nd and 3rd string guys. So, I like Syracuse to keep it within 28½

Two more after the jump.

#2: No brainer: TCU -11 @ UVA. TCU - ALL DAY! Uhmmm......did you guys see this? Things have gotten so bad that Poor Al Groh has been forced to set up his own Twitter page. With such gems as:

I just hooked all my paperclips together and made a lasso. Gonna rope me a trash can. Yeehaw!

And:

Seriously, who gets a triple Whopper *without* cheese?

Genius. I love you, dontfirealgroh. Anyway, in case it isn't overwhelmingly obvious, Al Groh sucks. So does UVA. And TCU is goooooooood. So there.

***

#3: UNC (-4½) @ UConn. Why? Because I really freakin' hate UConn and guess what? This Butch Davis? He can recruit. He can coach. And he can piss-pound UConn. As alwyas, suck it, UConn!

WEEK 1: NCAA PICKS, Labor Day edition

Cody K — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:40:20 -0000

Ok! The eagerly anticipated (well, ok fine - by like 1 or 2 people) NCAA Picks column has arrived!

You guys know the drill here. Let's hop right in:

Pick 1: One of the bets I'm going with this time is the over/under on win totals. Now; for whatever reason (perhaps yet another sign of the GRob debacle) bodog.com DOES NOT EVEN INCLUDE SU on their season win over/under list. WTF, bodog!? I mean I know the team stinks and all...but really? Oh well. I'm jumping in now and I'm taking the over (which I believe was set at 3 wins). I see 4 wins for the Cuse and here are the four I see - along with a one-word description for each one.

Minnesota: W (8,572 tix left!)
Penn State: L (JoePa!)
Northwestern: L (PatFitz=BAMF!) Maine: W (Maine=Div1AA!)
South Florida: L (Grothe=Sloth!)
West Virginia: L (NoelF*ingDevine!)
Akron: W ('08revenge!)
Cincinnati: L (BrianKelly!)
Pittsburgh: L (FeartheWannstache!)
Louisville: L (law/averages!)
Rutgers: W (FUschiano)
Connecticut: L (SuckItHuskies)

So my four wins are: Minny, Akron, Maine, Rutgers. Why? WHY NOT!

Picks 2/3 after the jump.

Pick 2: Syracuse: who do they play again? Oh yeah, Minnesota. I'm going to jump right in with the pick: I'm taking Syracuse to cover the 7 pts. I might feel better if this was at 7.5, but I still like the 'Cuse as the play here. I think we're looking at a tight game, I'm not saying that Syracuse will win, I'm saying this game will be a lot closer than Vegas thinks it will be. Go back to that original post, where Reyes39 made the following astute comment

Minny is also ditching the spread for more of a running attack (most likely to cater to their new outdoor stadium.) Makes no sense to me when you have guys like Decker and Brewer. They’ll also be introducing a new OC and DC – I think we know best that new schemes don’t form overnight. Add to that – Minnesota didn’t beat anyone of any importance aside from maybe Illinois….FAU, Indiana, some D-2 school, Purdue, Bowling Green, NIU..theres a slight possibility that if we played Minnys schedule last year we might have hit bowl eligibility.

The line surprised me…but what surprised me even more is that it hasnt risen by more than half a point. Figured the public would have pounded Minnesota by now…just too fishy.

Wow. Great statements there; and there a few others reasons I like the 'Cuse:

(1) The Dome will be rocking. Sounds like the turnout will be decent for the home opener and the Dome should rock - and we can all remember what the Dome was like when that was happening - remember: the Dome used to be a tough place to play. Current students: please bring back the home field advantage. Please. Make the Dome shake.

(2) Everyone is going in the Gopher's direction. Vegas typically will edit the money before they move the spread (ie Vegas forces you to pay their vig so typically you would put $105 at steak to win $100 - in lieu of moving the spread, which could tip the gamblers to one side or another, vegas instead forces you to put more $ at stake, ie anywhere from $115 to $150 to win $100). Now when you see the line opened at 6, then moved to 6.5 and then moved to 7 (which is where it is now). Since everyone is obviously betting on the Gophers, an old Vegas adage is that you see where everyone is going - and promptly go the other direction (ie don't follow the herd mentality).

(3) Did you know that Minnesota finished last season by dropping five straight? @ Kansas, Iowa, @ Wisc, Mich, NWestern? Hell, even Syracuse finished with 2 wins in their final 5 games!

That's all I've got on this one for now. But those reasons are compelling enough.

Quick interlude: here's a gambling oddity for you - there were internet rumors yesterday that Ok St QB Zac Robinson was out of the game, so the gambling sites immediately pulled that game "off" their boards. Bizarre, huh?

Pick 3: BYU +22 1/2 @ Oklahoma. Ok here's my philosophy here - Early in the season the offense is almost invariably behind the defense, so given that Oklahoma would have to destroy BYU by 23 points for me to lose this bet, I like it. Plus Max Hall & BYU have a lot to prove in big games and you better believe those Stormin' Mormon's will be fired up for this game. I think they'll at least keep it within 22 points.

BONUS Pick 4!!: BSU favored by 3.5, so I bought a 1/2 pt on the Boise St./Oregon game tonight - meaning I have BSU by 3. I think this will be a shootout and i like the downside protection of a push in event that BSU wins by just a FG. If they win by more, I'm in good shape! If they lose, of course, I lose - but that's why they call it a gamble, right? Right.

So there you have it! Four picks this week!

College Football Season = Gambling Season

Cody K — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:52:24 -0000

Ed. Note: This is the first of a weekly series by TNIAAM "personality" Cody K. And of course, everything he mentions below is for fun and "widgets"

Greetings, ya'll. As we discussed in this post, this season I will make a mockery of gambling on college football and in the process do my best to empty out my bodog account. I'll win some, I'll lost a lot more, and I will have a fun time in the process. It's totally going to be kind of like this:

2 For The Money (via WimAbsoluut)

(Editor's note: Not really exactly like this; I likely won't start a feud with Alpa Chino)

Additionally, I will be licking my wounds each Sunday and Monday as I read through comments of people telling me things like, "I told you so" and maybe some "you are a total retard" and some other compliments like that.

(this will be so much fun you will feel like you are sitting in the MGM Sports book with me! On a related note, the MGM is a GREAT Sports book. A few recommendations: get there early-much earlier than you would think-to get a good seat, try to stay away from too many of the 20 oz. "beer specials" for $4, and do not, REPEAT DO NOT start gambling on horses - trust me, bad idea. Save that for August afternoons in Saratoga).

Anyway, the game plan I've discussed with Troy is to pick three-four games per weekend:

The Syracuse game (keep in mind that Syracuse has a few bye weeks this season - so on weeks when the almighty Orange is idle, I'll pick the best Saturday Marquee match-up in the Big East
One "upset" of the week (which will most of the time be a Top 25 game, but could just as likely be a random Pac-10 game)
One "Big Game" of the week, which will be a marquee match-up occurs that weekend, ie two Top-25 teams squaring off
Miscellaneous Big East related match-ups

Along the way I will also discuss my useless gambling philosophies. And lastly I will be betting on each game on my bodog account, so I'll be putting $$ where my mouth is. First post will go up Thursday with this weekends game; including the Syracuse game! I'm fired up.

Burress Indicted

Cody K — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:52:37 -0000

Burress is indicted on 2 counts of 2nd degree criminal posession of a weapon, 1 count reckless endangerment

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/08/03/burress-will-be-indicted/

Burress will be indicted

Posted by Mike Florio on August 3, 2009 1:49 PM ET

ESPN reports that receiver Plaxico Burress will be indicted on felony weapons charges arising from the November 2008 incident in a Manhattan nightclub, during which Burress accidentally shot himself with a gun he was toting in the waistband of his sweatpants.

The move means that Burress will, absent a plea bargain, face a trial.

No date has been set; his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, previously has indicated that his calendar prevents him from being available until March 2010.

The next question is whether Commissioner Roger Goodell will suspend Burress indefinitely until the case is resolved and any jail term is served.

Two years ago, Goodell did just that with quarterback Mike Vick.

"The Arizona Cardinals have reduced their trade demands..."

Cody K — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:11:17 -0000

Sweet!! Make this happen, J.R.!

The Arizona Cardinals have reduced their trade demands for disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin to a second-round pick in Saturday's draft and other considerations and are talking to at least three teams who seem to be newly interested, two sources told EPSN's Sal Paolantonio on Friday.

The New York Jets, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles have expressed interest given the downgraded demands from a first- and third-round pick, the sources said.

Cardinals general manager Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt jhad repeatedly emphasized at the team's pre-draft news conference Tuesday that they would be happy to keep Boldin and eventually try to sign him to a new contract.

"Quite a few teams have called but we have no offers from those teams," Graves said Tuesday. "Anything can evolve from this point through draft day so that's where it is right now."

Boldin expressed extreme displeasure with his contract in last season's training camp, accusing Cardinals management of failing to follow through on a promise of a new deal and vowing never to re-sign with Arizona.

Still, he went on to have his third Pro Bowl season in six years in the NFL as the Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl.

"I didn't say a trade was necessary," Boldin said last week. "I just want something to get resolved. It's something that's gone on long enough."