Play of the Day

Andrew’s Play of the Day: 1/5/20

Posted on by Andrew Champagne

RECORD: 3-1

As you may have read yesterday, a friend challenged me to handicap a two-day Pick Five carryover at Turf Paradise Saturday. I did just that, came up with a $60 ticket, and promptly ripped it up as my opening-leg single finished off the board as a heavy favorite.

That’s not really the story, though. Those who were alive to #4 Ficety Lady in the finale saw her come up the rail, engulf tiring pace-setter #10 Baby Rose, and get nailed at the wire by #2 Faith in Excess, who went off at 32-1 and, for my money, should’ve been double that.

Those horseplayers were nosed out of $16,000 and some change on a 50-cent bet. If you’re one of them and you feel like quitting gambling, I can’t say I blame you. On the other hand, if anyone out there fits this description and wants to talk about it, by all means shoot me a tweet or an email.

SATURDAY’S RESULT: The Texans and Bills made me sweat by going to overtime, but when Ka’imi Fairbairn’s chip shot field goal split the uprights to make it a 22-19 final, the number snuck in under the 43.5-point total.

SUNDAY’S PLAY: Oddsmakers who installed the Eagles as three-point favorites over the Seahawks last week have to be sweating. Money has poured in on Seattle, and the spread has shifted so much that the Seahawks are now a one-point favorite. Philadelphia’s a great story considering how many Eagles have gotten banged up this year, but I think the ride ends here. I’ll take Seattle giving a point.

Andrew’s Play of the Day: 1/4/20

Posted on by Andrew Champagne

RECORD: 2-1

For all the horse racing folks out there, in addition to strong cards at Gulfstream and Santa Anita, there’s also a really nice Pick Five carryover at Turf Paradise. There’s nearly $80,000 in the pool ahead of Saturday’s sequence, which starts in the fourth race (scheduled for 2:10 pm Mountain time) and can be played for as little as 50 cents. There’s no special jackpot provision, either, so if you hit it, you’re going to be rewarded handsomely.

I’ve taken a look at the sequence, and I’ll have a ticket up on Twitter once scratches and changes are posted. In a bit of a plot twist, though, I may not be alone. I was alerted to the carryover by a friend of mine who challenged me to a good-natured competition. I’ll have his ticket, too, and we’ll see if one or both of us can take this down.

FRIDAY’S RESULT: Remember that Delaware offense I said could put up points in a hurry? Well, the Blue Hens only managed 20 in the first half against Drexel and lost outright as one-point favorites.

SATURDAY’S PLAY: As tempting as it is to take the Titans getting five against New England, there’s another wager I’m leaning to a bit harder. The Buffalo/Houston over-under has gone up to 43.5 as of this writing, and I don’t trust either offense to put up many points. This hits me as a 21-17 kind of game, and as a result, I want the under.

Andrew’s Play of the Day: 1/3/20

Posted on by Andrew Champagne

RECORD: 2-0

I played horses at Santa Anita on New Year’s Day and had about the worst handicapping day of my life. It prompted someone on Twitter (a follower, no less) to message me and demand that I give up handicapping publicly, past accomplishments be damned. I responded in kind, saying that I’m going to be the same person until either horse racing goes away or I do.

The response that I got to that was mind-blowing. If you took the time to say something, know that I appreciate you. Part of being in my position is knowing there are going to be days where the only things I pick correctly are clothes that match. On the other hand, another part is having the confidence to trust the process and keep firing, which is what I plan to do.

To the person who tried to tell me to stand down: You’re not the first, you won’t be the last, and I’m not going to be intimidated by anyone like you. If anyone out there agrees with him…well, then go make your own website, with your own picks, and see how easy it is.

THURSDAY’S RESULT: Boston College simply did not show up to the Birmingham Bowl, and Cincinnati rolled to an easy cover en route to the team’s 11th win of the season.

FRIDAY’S PLAY: We’ll shift gears over to college hoops and head to the Colonial Athletic Association. 11-4 Delaware (a team you may want to get familiar with come tournament time) heads to Drexel, where the visiting Blue Hens will be just a one-point favorite. At that spread, give me Delaware, a team that is very capable of scoring lots of points very quickly.

Andrew’s Play of the Day: 1/2/20

Posted on by Andrew Champagne

RECORD: 1-0

For the first time since I joined it in 2013, I won my fantasy football league. With the trophy came a pretty nice chunk of change, and I wound up buying a new piece of furniture for my living room. Christened as “the couch Saquon Barkley built,” it should be arriving at my Northern California residence next weekend.

That I’m truly excited about all of this scares the bejesus out of me. Nobody ever warns you about the true perils of getting old. It’s not the physical infirmities or the mind tending to wander just a bit more. It’s feeling giddy over buying things in such a way that the 21-year-old version of yourself would scream bloody murder if he/she suddenly materialized.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULT: As a Michigan fan, it sickened me to bet against the Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl. However, Alabama proved to be too much and the Crimson Tide easily covered as 8.5-point favorites, which means I got off to a good start.

THURSDAY’S PLAY: I’ll stick with college football and focus on the Birmingham Bowl. Cincinnati’s only problem this year was an inability to beat Memphis, a good team that put up a fight against Penn State earlier this bowl season. Meanwhile, Boston College fired its coach after a 6-6 season, one where the Eagles went 3-5 in the team’s last eight games. I think Cincinnati wins comfortably, and I’ll take the Bearcats giving 7.5 points.

Andrew’s Play of the Day: 1/1/20

Posted on by Andrew Champagne

RECORD: 0-0

In 2019, I decided to try my hand at picking four NFL games every week on Twitter. I missed a few weekends for various reasons (some good, some bad), but ultimately I wound up 33-23 on the season for a success rate just shy of 59%. That doesn’t sound earth-shattering to some, but it’s enough for a flat-bet profit if you played all of my picks.

With that in mind, and also with the understanding that writers need to write, I’m debuting a new daily segment on my website. It’s modeled after Mighty Quinn’s long-running blurb in the New York Daily News, where he’d wax poetic on something and offer a sports play of the day. I’ll be tracking my results as I go, and hopefully I can keep the success of the NFL season going for a long, long time.

As always, reader input is welcome and appreciated. Tweet me at @AndrewChampagne or get in touch by utilizing the “contact” function on the site. I see everything that comes in, and I respond to most of it.

WEDNESDAY’S PLAY: I’m a Michigan fan, and I’m fully expecting the Wolverines to get rolled by Alabama in today’s Citrus Bowl. They simply don’t match up, and I’m gobsmacked that the point spread is single-digits. Alabama is an 8.5-point favorite, and I’m taking the Crimson Tide to cover.