sports

Andrew’s Play of the Day: 1/7/20

Posted on by Andrew Champagne

RECORD: 5-1

Like Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” I don’t have a lot of very close friends, so I’ll fight for the ones I’ve got. Gino Buccola’s one of them. I came into TVG right as he was exiting stage left, and we quickly realized we had a lot in common. We’ve bonded over the years, and he had me in for a podcast to discuss my recent article detailing a 50-point plan to save horse racing.

We talked for 90 minutes. It felt like 10, and it may be the best piece of racing-related content I’ve ever had a hand in producing. At around the 60 or 70-minute mark, the wrestling fan that I am, I thought to myself, “is this what Ric Flair felt like?”

Gino says the finished product will be online late-Tuesday or Wednesday. I’ll have it on all of my social media channels, and if any one of podcasts, horse racing, or my irreverent brand of humor strike a chord with you, you’re going to want to check it out. I’m grateful to my friend for allowing me the chance to talk about my work and my passion, and hopefully that shines through in the discussion.

MONDAY’S RESULT: The college basketball game between West Virginia and Oklahoma State didn’t win any beauty contests. While West Virginia shot a paltry 38.8% from the floor and 55% from the foul line, Oklahoma State was even worse in scoring 41 points on 48 shots, and the Mountaineers easily covered the one-point spread in a 14-point victory.

TUESDAY’S PLAY: It’s a great night for college basketball, but I’ll focus on a game being played in upstate New York (shocker, right?). Syracuse hosts Virginia Tech and is a 4.5-point favorite as of this writing…but why? The Orange are 8-6 with one win over a power-conference team (a drubbing of Georgia Tech). Meanwhile, Virginia Tech is 10-4 with no bad losses and wins over Clemson (on the road) and Michigan State (on a neutral floor). I’m taking the Hokies getting four and a half, and I wouldn’t be stunned if they won outright.

Andrew’s Play of the Day: 1/6/20

Posted on by Andrew Champagne

RECORD: 4-1

A little less than a year ago, I took up the game Off And Pacing, which can be played on Apple and Android devices. I got into it for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that I’m insanely competitive and enjoy bludgeoning several friends who also play the game into submission.

Essentially, you manage a harness racing operation, which includes racing, breeding, and claiming standardbreds. It’s quite fun once you know what you’re doing, and I’ve been blessed with easily the best 2-year-old I’ve ever had. Named King Elliot (after my feline partner-in-crime), he qualified for my stable’s first-ever final Sunday night…where he promptly received the worst drive of his career.

I am sure driver Mike Wilson is a very nice man in real-life. However, after taking a speed horse back to seventh or eighth and leaving him with way too much to do, I hate his Off And Pacing likeness more than my Twitter trolls hate me when I pick a 5-1 shot that goes wire-to-wire. If you heard someone rampaging around in Northern California around 6 pm Sunday night, it was me, and I kind of, sort of, apologize.

SUNDAY’S RESULT: Vegas likely got killed. Philadelphia was favored by three over Seattle when betting for the NFL wild card playoff game opened last week. When the game kicked off, the Seahawks were favored in some books because they took so much money. I was among the bettors who backed Seattle, and as a result, another one goes in the left column.

MONDAY’S PLAY: I’ll turn to college basketball and focus on some Big 12 action. West Virginia heads to Oklahoma State, and the Cowboys are reeling. They’ve lost four of their last six games after a 7-0 start to the season, and they now get a two-loss West Virginia team that gave Kansas all it could handle at Allen Fieldhouse. The Mountaineers are favored by a point, and I’ll take them to cover.

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.