Big AL McMORDIE
AFC South Game of the Year
Houston Texans
Fox Sports Net TV
Miami (Fla) Hurricanes CBB
NFL Game of the Week
Arizona Cardinals
AFC Total of the Year
'under' Baltimore/New England
NFC Favorite of the Month
New York Giants
BIG AL's 100% (14-0) NFL DIVISION GAME OF THE YEAR
At 1 pm, our AFC South Game of the Year is on the Houston Texans plus the points over Tennessee. The Titans have been dreadful on defense in their last three games, giving up 97 points. Last week, Tennessee suffered its worst loss in over a year when it fell 35-6 at Cincy. In that game, the Titans gave up 426 yards. Some will point to the absence of Albert Haynesworth (who is questionable this Sunday) as the primary reason Tennessee has not played well on defense, but one player won't cause an entire team to miss tackles, and play poorly. On the other side of the ball, Tennessee's offense has also struggled, especially RB LenDale White, who has mustered just 81 yards in his last three games. The Titans have been blown out their last two games, losing 35-6 at Cincy, and 34-20 at Denver. Now, Tennessee falls into a 0-14 ATS system which goes against .454 (or better) home favorites of less than 9 points off back-to-back double digit losses, if they're matched up against a foe off a SU/ATS loss. Take Houston. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my other big winners in football this weekend, including my AFC Total of the Year tomorrow in the Ravens/Patriots game.
BIG AL's SUNDAY AFTERNOON COLLEGE HOOPS TV WINNER
At 4 pm, on Fox Sports Net TV, our selection is on the Miami (Fla) Hurricanes minus the points over St. Johns. The Red Storm will be playing their first road game of the season today, after opening up 2007 with four cupcakes at home. St. John's has beaten St Francis NY (72-64), Sacred Heart (76-49), Fairleigh Dickinson (92-67), and Long Island (68-56). That's not exactly top-flight competition. In contrast, Frank Haith's Hurricanes are 6-0 and have beaten VCU, Providence, and Marist, who are all superior to anything the Johnnies have faced. Also problematic for St. John's today will be the absence of one of its best player, Anthony Mason, Jr., who sprained his ankle. He was the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder. Miami is 19-5 ATS off 6+ wins, including a perfect 9-0 ATS if the Hurricanes are undefeated, and 8-0 vs. Non-Conference foes. Take Miami-Fla. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.
BIG AL's #1 NFL GAME OF THE WEEK; GOY WINS ON OKLA
At 4:05 pm, our NFL Game of the Week is on the Arizona Cardinals over Cleveland. Last week, Kurt Warner & Co. were upset 37-31 by the SF 49ers, and Arizona was a 10-point home favorite in that game. I look for Arizona to rebound off that upset loss, and soundly defeat the Cleveland Browns. Since 1980, .583 (or worse) teams are 57-24 ATS vs. .454 (or better) foes when priced from +5.5 to -2.5 points if our 'play-on' team is off an upset loss as a home favorite of more than 6 points. Cleveland's best offensive player -- Braylon Edwards -- is banged up with a hamstring injury, and is listed as questionable to play in today's game. And the Browns' defense is extremely beatable, as it has given up an average of 290 passing yards and two TDs to opposing QBs over its last four games. Anquan Boldin, especially, should have a very strong game today against Cleveland's weak cornerbacks. Take Arizona. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my other big plays on Sunday, including my Division Game of the Year and my NFC Conference Game of the Month. And, then on Monday, I'm featuring my AFC Total of the Year.
BIG AL's NFC CONFERENCE FAVORITE OF THE MONTH
At 4:15 pm, our NFC Favorite of the Month is on the New York Giants minus the points over Chicago. Last week, the Bears miraculously came back to defeat Denver in overtime, but would never have been in the game without Devin Hester's two returns of kicks for touchdowns. Rest assured that New York will NOT let Devin Hester repeat that performance on this Sunday. Of course, it doesn't hurt that New York has the league's best directional punter in Jeff Feagles. Indeed, last year, Hester fielded two punts from Feagles, and failed to have a return yard. And Feagles' other three punts last year vs. Chicago all went out of bounds. New York should be buoyed by the return of RB Derrick Ward this week, and he may find lots of holes in a Chicago run defense ranked 27th of 32 NFL teams. Also, for technical support, it's worth noting that losing home dogs of +5 points or less are a dismal 8-25 ATS since 1980 off a SU/ATS win as a home favorite. Take the Giants. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my NFL Division Game of the Year Winner on Sunday, or my AFC Total of the Year in the Monday Night game between Baltimore and New England.
ANTHERS