SERVICE PLAYS FOR SUNDAY 1/13

[GIANTS007]

VEGAS SPORTS PICS

01/13

Indianapolis Colts - 8.5 over San Diego Chargers


S.D. (12-5) is 1-4 last 5 playoff games dating back to '94 off grinding out a 17-6 home win over Titans last week, a team missing four offensive starters. Defending Champ Indianapolis (13-3) ranks 5th in the NFL in total offense and 3rd in total defense. The Colts are 4-1 (SU & ATS) last 5 home playoff games.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New York Giants + 8 over (at) Dallas Cowboys


Dallas (13-3) vs. New York (11-6) enters on an eight game road winning streak allowing an average of 13.9 points over the eight games. N.Y. QB Manning has thrown six TDs vs. one INT last two games. The Giants are 2-2 (SU & ATS) last four games at Dallas.

 

[GIANTS007]

THE SPORTS REPORTER (HOOPS)

NBA

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13

BEST BET
*GOLDEN STATE over INDIANA by 18
The blockbuster trade from last season has so far been an utter debacle for the Pacers
while turning the Warriors into one of the NBA?s most marketable teams. What happened to
Larry Bird, exactly? Tonight is Indiana?s chance for short-term redemption but they are finishing
a five-game Western Conference road trip by finishing a back-to-back in Northern
California. That revenge will just have to wait until Wednesday?s rematch in the Hoosier
state. GOLDEN STATE 119-101

 

[GIANTS007]

POINTWISE

COLLEGE KEY RELEASES

DUKE over Virginia (Sun) RATING: 5

 

[GIANTS007]

SPORTS MEMO GUYS


TEDDY COVERS

NBA

Portland at Toronto
Recommendation: Toronto

The Raptors have a truly exceptional track record in these early
start Sunday games at home, a regular occurrence on their schedule.
We?ve seen Toronto beat Houston by 13 as 3.5 point underdogs.
We?ve seen them beat Chicago by 15 as five point chalk. The
Raptors even took mighty Boston into overtime before succumbing
in a three point loss. Opposing teams that visit Toronto for a
Sunday afternoon game have a decided disadvantage in both the
awkward start time and the tremendous crowd support that the
Raptors receive for these Sunday afternoon games. In my opinion,
the strength of this scheduling spot is never reflected in the pointspread,
giving us solid value with the Raptors. And let?s not forget
that the Raptors took a 20 point lead against Cleveland this past
Sunday, only to blow the game with a horrific fourth quarter, giving
them a notch more motivation this time around. Portland has
certainly been the single biggest surprise in the NBA this season,
reeling off 16 victories in their last 17 games through the weekend.
But Portland ?s success has largely come at home ? this is
not a team to fear on the highway as they are at the Rose Garden,
with a 5-10 straight up mark in road contests. When these
two teams met in Portland last month, Toronto had little trouble
putting up points, hitting 50% from the floor. But the Raptors did
not get many calls in that game, taking only ten free throws for
the entire contest. As long as the refs don?t swallow their whistles
this time around, we can expect a comfortable Toronto victory.


DAVID JONES

NBA

Indiana at Golden State
Recommendation: Over


Indiana has become a vastly different team under new head coach
Jim O?Brien this season. The Pacers are second in the Eastern
Conference in scoring while allowing the most points per game in
the East (through January 3rd). Indy has three solid scoring options
with Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger, and Jermaine O?Neal
all averaging more than 15 points per game. Point guard Jamaal
Tinsley is thriving as the catalyst of the higher tempo offense.
The Pacers also have some depth and the ability to score on the
break or in half court sets. The Warriors counter by leading the
NBA in scoring while giving up more points than any team in the
league (through January 3rd). With a 19-7 run to close 2007,
the Warriors are regaining their mojo from last season?s playoff
run. With six players averaging in double figures, Golden State is
able to provide constant offensive pressure to their foes. Baron
Davis continues to be one of the NBA?s elite point guards with
an average of over 20 points per game to lead the attack. The
Warriors are especially explosive at home with an average of
about seven more points per game compared to their offensive
numbers on the road. Golden State went 9-5 to the over in their
first 14 home games of the year. While this total will be very
high, these clubs should be poised to go up and down the court
in a game that should get into the 230s to yield an over in a
showdown of the highest tempo teams from each conference.

 

[GIANTS007]

WINNING POINTS (HOOPS)

NBA

Sunday, January 13
***BEST BET
Portland over *Toronto by 5
The Trail Blazers certainly should have their legs, this being only their second game in
nine days. The Raptors had problems keeping Brandon Roy in check when they lost
at Portland a month ago, 101-96. Despite batting the flu, Roy scored 25 points,
grabbed nine rebounds and dished off eight assists. The Blazers have covered 15 of
their last 17 through the first week in January. The Raptors have still been missing
injured point guard T.J. Ford (check status). PORTLAND 103-98.



***BEST BET
New Orleans over *Houston by 7
The Rockets still may be without Tracy McGrady (check status), while the Hornets
have been one of the best road teams going 22-6-2 ATS through Jan. 8. The Rockets,
by contrast, don?t have a winning home pointspread mark. The Hornets can compete against any club with a healthy Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic and David West (check status).
The Hornets ranked No. 4 defensively entering the first weekend this month.
They had held 10 straight foes under 100 points going into the first weekend of
January. NEW ORLEANS 102-95.





NCAAB

Sunday, January 13



***BEST BET
Syracuse over West Virginia* by 10
If you thought that we thought Syracuse was overrated, you haven?t heard the dissertation
against West Virginia, who will be ordered to hit the weight room at halftime
of this affair. You don?t go from Beilein to Huggins without more than a few bumps
along the way and since non-conference season didn?t show it, we might as well expect
it to materialize now, as a Big East team with both size and scorers enters the home of
what some people who have written about college basketball have comically labeled as
Huggins? ?typically tough defense.? Chuckle, chuckle and thanks, we think. SYRACUSE,
85-75.

 

[GIANTS007]

DAVE PRICE

Take New York Giants
1 Unit on NY Giants +9 It is very tough to beat any team 3 times in a row period, especially a team that is as talented as NY and in the same season. We?ll take NY catching points in this one. The Giants? road success cannot be overlooked. The Giants are 7-1 ATS in road games this season and 12-2 ATS in road games against conference opponents over the last 2 seasons. They have won 8 consecutive road games this season counting the neutral field matchup with Miami overseas. NY is also 12-3 ATS versus good offensive teams averaging >=350 yards/game over the last 3 seasons. Dallas has lost 4 straight games ATS heading into the postseason. With New York getting the first round playoff monkey off its back, they?ll be very confident here. Also, with TO not at 100%, the Cowboys defense should take a hit. Take the points.

 

[GIANTS007]

LT PROFITS (COMP)
San Diego Chargers @ Indianapolis Colts u46.0 (-110)
Sun Jan 13 '08 1:00p
As oftentimes happens in marquee playoff games like this one between the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers, the total seems a tad inflated due to the ability of the offenses, while the two excellent defenses are seemingly undervalued.

Everyone knows about the explosive potential of the Colts offense, especially with Peyton Manning?s favorite target Marvin Harrison expected to be back in the lineup. But remember that the Indianapolis defense was again one of the best in the NFL this season, allowing just 16.4 points and 279.7 total yards per game. The unit includes the Defensive Player of the Year in Bob Sanders, and his presence allows the secondary to use one-on-one coverage, freeing the front seven to concentrate on a way to contain LaDainian Tomlinson and the running game. If they are successful in that regard, we simply do not trust Philip Rivers to put up a lot of points at this stage in this environment.

Not the be outdone, the San Diego defense is allowing just 17.1 points per game, and the Chargers have allowed no more than 17 points in any of their last seven games, including their 17-6 triumph over the Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card Round. Yes, the Colts offense is obviously a tougher assignment, but the Chargers have actually done fairly well against Manning & Co. because of their fine pass rush. The last time San Diego played in this stadium, they ended the Colts? dreams of a perfect season by handing them their first loss after a 13-0 start in 2005. Some of the players may now be different, but the philosophy remains the same in that the best way to stop Manning is to apply constant pressure on him, and this Charger team is well-equipped to do that.

Naturally, we do not expect either of these offenses to be shut down the whole game. However, we do expect each defense to make enough stops to make this a much lower scoring battle than many people expect.

NFL Free Pick: Chargers, Colts Under 46

 

[GIANTS007]

MY PREDICTION

GIANTS: 31
COWBOYS: 27


:drinky: :drinky: :drinky: :drinky:

 

[ronald91]

LOOKING FOR BIG AL'S TEN DIMER OF THE YEAR. THANKS

 

[boyd]

LOVE THE PREDICTION, LETS GO BIG BLUE!!

 

[boyd]

L. Ness NFL
(mess went 7-1 yesterday)

insider - colts

20* playoff total goy - dallas/giants over

 

[boyd]

teddy covers nfl playoff 20 star GOY
Colts


Tom Freese Blue Line Club- Sunday, January 133
San Diego at Indianapolis (1:00pm)
Indianapolis is 8-1 ATS at home when the total is 45.5 or higher and they are 6-1 ATS as home favorites of 3.5 to 10.5 points. The Colts are 8-2-1 ATS after scoring less than 15 points in their last game and they are 10-4 ATS vs. winning teams. Peyton Manning and company are 4-0 ATS their last 4 Playoff games. San Diego is in a 13-2 ATS Play Aginst Super System that says to Play Against any NFL team this year that won their last game straight up if they were out gained in that game by 100 or more yards. 20* PLAY ON INDIANAPOLIS -

 

[GIANTS007]

MO MONEY

Teaser--Indy/NYGiants 5* XL Large Play

 

[GIANTS007]

FERRINGO FOOTBALL

3.5-Unit Play. Take #109 New York Giants (+7.5) over Dallas (4:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 12)
It?s pretty tough to beat a team twice in the same season ? much less three times in a row. I do think that the Cowboys are at least a bit distracted by the whole Romo Situation. And I do think that they are overvalued because they are America?s team. The Giants were stride-for-stride with Dallas in their last meeting and I think that they perform well enough on the road (8-1 ATS) to be a threat in this game. Also, if T.O. is too injured to perform or is limited in any way then I think New York is in a perfect position. Yes, Eli is a mess. But Tony Romo really isn?t much more predictable and then there?s the Wade Philips Factor. The player to watch for is Terry Glenn. If he is healthy and can be effective then we are in trouble. But I think the Giants can win this game outright so I?m taking the points.

2-Unit Play. Take #108 San Diego (+9.5) over Indianapolis (1 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 12)
Only six of San Diego?s last 21 losses have come by more than a touchdown and I think the defending champions are giving away a few too many this weekend. San Diego is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games against AFC opponents and are 13-3-1 ATS as an underdog. Throw in the fact that they are 4-1 ATS in their last five trips to the RCA Dome, and the fact that if you stopped anyone on the street and asked them who was going to win this game they would say Indy in a rout, and I think we have a solid against-the-grain pick.

 

[GIANTS007]

Gavozzi/ PPP

3*Indy--

1* Indy under--

2*NYGiants--

3*NYGiants under

 

[to1]

Ben Burns

'08 NFL PLAYOFF GAME OF THE YEAR

Last season, Ben Burns waited until the Conference Finals before releasing his 2007 Playoff Game of the Year. That proved well worth the wait as the Bears (-3) SLAUGHTERED the Saints by a score of 39-14. Good news. Ben's BIG GAME is arriving a week EARLY this season. If you liked that LAUGHER, join this Big Game Expert for the '08 version..

INDY

 

[GIANTS007]

ASA 5-Star NFL Playoff Game of the Year - Indianapolis Colts (-) over San Diego Chargers, Sunday Jan 13th 12:00 pm CST. **This rating may be upgraded on Friday so be sure to check back here for details.

With so much attention paid to New England this regular season, many have overlooked just how of a season the Colts are having. Indianapolis, statistically, is actually having a better season than it did last year when it won the Super Bowl. The Colts defense, which was the team?s Achilles Heel last year, leads the NFL with just 16.4 points allowed per game and is second and third in passing and total yards allowed, respectively. The Indy offense has been nearly as good as last season?s despite numerous injuries suffered throughout the unit. The Colts are third in the league with 28.1 points per game and fifth with 358.6 total yards per game. Indy?s 13-3 record also trumps last year?s 12-4 mark. An easy argument could be made that the Colts could be the undefeated team, not New England. They led the Patriots by 10 points in the fourth quarter before losing. They would?ve beaten San Diego in the earlier meeting if not for a missed 30-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri. And they would?ve beaten Tennessee in the regular season finale if their starters played all 60 minutes. Much is being made of San Diego?s current seven-game winning streak but it is far from an impressive streak. The only wins over a team with a winning record came against Tennessee and both were far from convincing victories. The Chargers trailed the Titans in both the regular season and postseason games and could?ve easily lost both contests. This is also a very good spot for the Colts. Home teams in the second round of the playoffs, off a loss in the regular season finale, win at a 75 percent clip historically. That doesn?t bode well for a San Diego team that struggled on the road this year. The Chargers went just 4-4 SU and ATS on the road this year with the four wins coming against teams with a combined record of 25-39. The four losses came by 14 points per game and each came against a team with a .500 record or better. Another big factor in this game will be the availability of each team?s star receiver. Indy?s Marvin Harrison is expected back for the Colts after missing the last 10 games while San Diego?s Antonio Gates is questionable with a toe injury. These developments improve the Colts offense while weakening the Chargers offense. The Colts are the superior team in this second round matchup and that will be obvious by the final score. Indy gets its revenge from the earlier season loss with a double-digit win here. Take the Colts at home minus the points.

 

[GIANTS007]

joey gaffney

Ptshverj Gaffney, the winning entry in the 2007 Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest, is passing along NFL Playoff picks to ViewfromVegas.com visitors throughout the postseason.
Last week in the wild-card games, they were 3-1, losing only on Tampa Bay.
This week, Ptshverj Gaffney is pushing a Playoff Money Line Parlay of the Year on favorites New England and Dallas
"Yes, you're laying $4,000 to get back $500," Handzelek said. "These teams are both capable of blowouts and teams that score 500 or more points in the regular season are 9-1 ATS since 1961!" he said. "Big advantage New England.
"The NFC's No. 1 seed the past 17 years is 17-0 SU. Since the 1970 merger, 2-0 teams have gone 11-6 (65%) playing one team the third time around in the same season.
Ptshverj Gaffney's projected scores are New England 37-14 and Dallas 23-13.
The pair also is touting UNDER 46 1/2 on Dallas and the Giants.The pair also recommends betting Seattle plus 7 1/2 over Green Bay at Lambeau Field.
The final suggested wager is San Diego-Indy OVER 48.

 

[GIANTS007]

Sharp Betting Service
O U R P I C K S
San Diego Chargers (12-5) at Indianapolis Colts (13-3)
January 13, 2008 - RCA Dome - 1:00 PM ET

Opening line: Indianapolis -9
Line at the time of the pick: Indianapolis -9

Our pick: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS -9.
The AFC West Champion Bolts are confident. San Diego has won eleven of its last 13 games (11-2-0 ATS) including a 23-21 home win over Indy in mid-November and its first playoff victory in 13 years, a 17-6 W over Tennessee in the Wild-Card round last Sunday.

In the first meeting of the season, Peyton Manning tossed a franchise-record six interceptions while reliable kicker Adam Vinatieri failed a 29-yard field goal with 1:31 left. Indianapolis was also missing several starters due to injury, including Marvin Harrison, Anthony Gonzalez, Dallas Clark, Tony Ugoh, Freddy Keiaho and Tyjuan Hagler.

This weekend, the defending Super Bowl Champions will be looking their revenge. Coming off a first-round bye, Indianapolis is extremely dangerous: well rested, at full strength?uh oh Peyton has had extra time to watch film.
The stellar Chargers defense, lead by Antonio Cromartie and Shawne Merriman, will have a tough Sunday facing the third-ranked Colts attack (28.1 points per game). Star signal-caller Peyton Manning, who recorded his eighth 4,000-yard passing season, will shred San Diego with his outstanding weapons: Reggie Wayne (104 receptions for 1,510 yards and 10 TDs), RB Joseph Addai (1,072 rushing yards, 41 receptions, 15 TDs), Dallas Clark (58 catches for 616 yards and 11 TDs) and Anthony Gonzalez (37 catches for 576 yards and 3 TDs). The unit with get a big boost with the return of elite WR Marvin Harrison.

The Colts posted an impressive strong defensive effort during their Super Bowl run, and they didin?t miss a step this season allowing a league-low 16.4 points per game and giving up just 279.7 total yards per contest (3rd in the NFL).
With the three-time All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates out (dislocated toe), the erratic Philip Rivers is not a threat for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders.

The Chargers still own one an offensive juggernaut in All-Pro RB LaDainian Tomlinson. However, L.T. won?t be enough to challenge Peyton and his mighty Colts.
Indianapolis sports an unbelievable amount of offensive weapons when the team is healthy?
Still thinking about the fist meeting? Despite the six picks and the key absences, Manning threw for 328 yards, two touchdowns and had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter.
__________________









O U R P I C K S
New York Giants (11-6) at Dallas Cowboys (13-3)
January 13, 2008 - Texas Stadium - 4:30 PM ET

Opening line: Dallas -7.5
Line at the time of the pick: Dallas -7.5

Our pick: NEW YORK GIANTS +7.5.
The Cowboys earned the top seed in the NFC and swept the regular season series against the Giants. However, the G-Men have been more competitive down the stretch.
While Dallas has dropped two of its last three outings, New York has won eight straight games on the highway while going 7-1-0 against the number in that span.

After securing a postseason berth with a hard-fought win at Buffalo, the Giants scared the unbeaten Patriots in the regular-season finale and then defeated the NFC South Champion Tampa Bay in last week?s Wild-Card round.
NY has scored 97 points in those three contests, behind an extremely efficient Eli Manning. Despite facing the stingy Bucs defense without elite TE Jeremy Shockey, the much-criticized QB completed 20-of-27 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
Manning is confident with the solid tandem of Amani Toomer (59 receptions, 3 TDs) and Plaxico Burress (70 receptions, 1,025 yards, 12 TDs) and a powerful ground attack that ranked fourth in the NFL (134.3 ypg) during the regular season.

Dallas? offense is extraordinarily talented, however everything starts with Romo (4,211 passing yards, 36 TDs and 19 INT) and Owens (81 catches for 1,355 yards and 15 TDs).
The 27-year-old quarterback is unfocused?unfortunately his romantic life is making headlines (yes, I am blaming Jessica). Romo was constantly under heavy duress in late-season losses to Philadelphia and Washington, and responded with two of his worst games. The Cowboys have scored just 32 points in the last three games.
On Sunday he will have his hands full with the vicious Giants defense: behind the ferocious trio of ends Osi Umenyiora (52 tackles, 13 sacks), Michael Strahan (57 tackles, 9 sacks) and Justin Tuck (65 tackles, 10 sacks), the unit has produced a league-leading 53 sacks.
T.O. is expected to play on Sunday despite his high ankle sprain?but how effective will he be?.

 

[GIANTS007]

Lineback

4* - NY Giants +7 1/2
4* - NY Giants/Dallas OVER 46 1/2