Good for Clemson and South Carolina for turning down their bowl bids to make a strong statement after their wild 60-yard brawl on Saturday. But would they have made the same decision if the bowls they were turning down were in Jacksonville and Orlando instead of Shreveport and Boise? Too bad for Lou Holtz, who cracked wise at his farewell press conference, saying that both he and Woody Hayes saw their careers end in a fight against Clemson. Holtz quietly has a tremendous commitment behind the scenes to cancer patients and other terminally ill folks. There is much to admire about him.

A few questions about Detroit’s NBA riot:

• How is Jamal Tinsley not suspended when replays clearly showed him brandishing a long, sharp object (hey those industrial dustpans could slice a cornea) and swinging it at fans?
• The NBA issued a gag order to prevent players from other teams commenting on the brawl. Can the NBA say “Our average player has the IQ of a turnip” any more clearly?
• When people say it is a “societal issue” what society are they talking about?
• Did you catch the jock sniffathon on ESPN in the hours following the histrionics? I realize that broadcasters have to give players a lot of leeway in order to protect their access for interviews and such, but what would an athlete actually have to do to get criticized by these guys, criticize people on the #7 train heading to Shea Stadium or something?

We’ve made mention of the terrific year we’ve had, as Strategic Sports Publishing late telephone service is now documented at 58-28 (67.4%) against the spread on the full season, including a spectacular 40-14 (74%) in college football. We’ve also relayed some of the positive reviews and kind words that media types and readers of my new book have passed along (read review at www.realworldsports.com). So it is only fair to offer some equal time by displaying an email we got this week:

“As a subscriber and advertising agent for a book company let me say how upset I was reading you criticize a fellow client for having the audacity to question the "great" Kevin! Who do you think you are? I've read and listened to you bully others, and myself and others are fed up with your style. Your plays are worthless...your reasoning is insane...and your books has page after page of quotes stolen from other authors without crediting them! You'd think someone who went to a Catholic school would know better. I've talked to many of my Vegas sources and they, to a man, tell me you're the laughingstock of 'cappers! Please cancel my subscription immediately and I've taken the time to contact your publishing company about the plagiarism that's been used in your books!”

Wow, imagine how pissed off this guy would be if I was “only” 63% or so for the season. Actually, this “subscriber” and “client” didn’t sign his name, is nowhere in our email records, and I have no idea what he’s talking about in regards to me bullying others and criticizing clients. But that doesn’t mean his views shouldn’t be aired in an era when Michael Moore’s movies are considered “worthy of consideration”. I’ll look forward to receiving future emails from him on how no plane actually hit the Pentagon, how the Clinton’s ordered the murders of over 80 opponents, how my kidneys might get stolen by some chick who drugs me at a bar, etc. etc.

Happy Thanksgiving, but you should be careful this weekend, especially if you’re not the smartest gambler in the world (you know who you are). There’s a reason that the scamdicappers of the world isolate this weekend for big marketing campaigns and have their boiler rooms fully staffed on Thanksgiving morning. Some people tend to go overboard when they’re planted in front of the tube for a few days. Be wise.

NFL favorites went 12-3-1 to the number last week. Bookies don’t do well on a day like that. They don’t do well at all on a day like that. They also haven’t liked the results of the selection packages at www.Vegas5.com, which have been winning consistently. Check out that site to see what’s going on this weekend.

Let’s talk about the BCS. First of all, the BCS has absolutely ravaged the bowls. It wasn’t that long ago that the Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta Bowls would all be interesting. They would all contain matchups that people wanted to see and as many as three would have had national championship implications, even if one of them was of the “If Team A wins big in the Orange Bowl and Team B struggles in the Sugar Bowl…” variety. In the new system most years there is one meaningful bowl. When the system screws over someone a second meaningful bowl is added, as the jilted team plays for their own form of national championship. The other two bowls see scalpers unloading 40-yard line tickets for $5 amidst a decided lack of buzz. The Rose Bowl can be an exception to this, simply because it is the Rose Bowl, but in their non-championship years the Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowls attract scant interest outside of fans of the attending teams. That didn’t used to be the case and just imagine the interest if these four bowls were springboards into a four-team national championship series.

As an aside, the Bowl Championship Series is not a championship series involving bowl games. It is brilliant revenue creation strategy created by former SEC head man Roy Kramer that the networks and media have swallowed hook, line, and sinker. The BCS was crated to get the most money for the power conferences. The purpose of this influx of cash is so the college athletic directors could add to their fiefdoms and bureaucracy, take their wives on junkets, save their friends from a life of selling insurance by hiring them in cushy administrative roles, and maybe have enough money left over to spiff up the weight room.

Last Thursday’s New York Times ran an article headlined “Republicans Outnumbered in Academia”. I turned to the sports section looking for an article entitled “Football Played with Oblong Ball” and expected the business section to run a story trumpeting “Money Desired by Entrepreneurs”. Alas, I was disappointed.

Rapper Old Dirty Bastard died last week at age 35. He had just completed a prison sentence for escaping from a rehab clinic. The wire story included the following item:

“When MTV News followed him around at the height of his popularity, he took the camera crew and several of his kids (he was said to have more than a dozen, by numerous mothers) to the welfare office -- in a limousine -- to get an allotment of food stamps.

And he received them.”

And you wonder where the NBA guys get it from. Of course interesting lifestyles are not limited to professional basketball players. The wife of John Daly recent plead guilty in a federal money laundering case. The AP story reported:

“Daly met his fourth wife at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis in 2001 and married her seven weeks later in Las Vegas.”

Charming.

When you’ve got the Smurf Turf advantage, you do everything you can to avoid leaving your cushy home. That’s why the Broncos have played only three games away from Boise this season, and the result has been three pointspread losses, including the stunning skin-of-the-teeth wins at Tulsa and at San Jose State. Now BSU is laying big wood to a Nevada team with a split personality. This is the Wolfpack’s 12th game (NCAA rules allow teams playing at Hawaii to play 12 games) and they sport a 5-6 record. Nevada is 5-0 at home and 0-6 on the road. Take the big points with the undefeated homester as Nevada gives Boise a scare.

Do you like a lot of analysis that is often uncluttered with any advertising whatsoever? Visit my free sports information phone at 770-618-8700, a 24-hour free voicemail broadcast that is updated every game day. Dave Fobare has been red hot on his free hotline at 770-618-8707.

One good way to play NFL totals is to look for reversals of obvious form. To play a totals streak is usually a losing proposition in professional football, but we’re going to play a streak today. After opening the season with four straight unders, then being involved in a push, the Dolphins have gone over the total five straight times. The ‘fins have seen low totals posted on their games after a couple of nationally televised snoozers earlier in the year. But with little public attention now, this lousy Dolphin team has improved their offense while their defense is playing a decidedly poorer brand of ball than they were earlier in the campaign. Clearly that hasn’t been reflected in the lines, and the Fish just keep going over and over. If they were a contending team playing games that people were watching it would be time to look for a reversal. But the public hasn’t noticed the points scored in the last four Miami games have been (starting with the most recent) 41, 47, 55, and 45. Let’s remember that they’re playing against a beat up Frisco D that allows 30 points per game on 5.8 yards per play. Look for some points to be score in this one. Consider using over the Dolphins total, a move we made with success in this space last weekend.

Thanks for reading us this week. Good luck and be careful. If you’d like to get this newsletter directly via email you can do so by signing up at http://www.consumerbet.com/email.html. Remember to call our free hotline at 770-618-8700, a free 24-hour service with analysis and selections every game day.

Thanks for reading us this week. Good luck and be careful. If you’d like to get this newsletter directly via email you can do so by signing up at http://www.consumerbet.com/email.html. Remember to call our free hotline at 770-618-8700, a free 24-hour service with analysis and selections every game day.