Week 2 Bettors Guide: Time 4 Sum Aksion

Hoooo Boy!!  This is a juicy week indeed.

First and foremost: Syracuse v. Washington.  I'm damn excited for this one.

via www.keatleyphoto.com

"You're damn right I hit on your girl behind your back, I'm Jake Locker, future #1 NFL draft choice.  And you can kiss my ass"

Let's dive in head-first, shall we? J U M P!!

Syracuse vs. Washington:

- The Spread: Washington -13½

- The Pick: Syracuse

The primary reason here is that like the ESPN Big East blogger, I think SU will give Washington all they can handle.  BYU is decent, no doubt - but for a team like Washington with aspirations of being a Pac-10 darkhorse as well as boasting a Heisman candidate in Jake Locker (who also happens to be the odds-on favorite to become the frist overall pick in next year's draft), well I suppose its fair to expect a little more out of the Huskies, no?  So maybe they're just not that good?  Or at least not good enough to be favored by almost 2 touchdowns over a Syracuse team that will make the Huskies earn every yard.  The public is obviously backing Washington here - the spread moved from 11 as of Tuesday up 2½ points to where it stands today.  And if this goes up to 14, I like it even more (for the push factor).  Anyway, back the Orange here.  Smart play.  The Orange obviously have an uphill battle in terms of perception, given the lack of the respect from the public.  That's ok, though.  We all know this team is heading in the right direction.

Miami vs. Ohio St:

- The Spread: Ohio State -8½

- The Pick: Miami +8½

I hate going with Miami, but at some point, I think they have to show up.  And here's why I like that to happen this Saturday.  There are two factors, really: (1) Jacory Harris has a little bit of a "F@#$% IT!  I'm going deep" mentality (which I applaud wholeheartedly!) and (2) Ohio St has shown that it can tend to struggle in early season mathcups (last year against navy, 2008 struggled vs. Ohio, etc).  I'm not saying the 'Canes can waltz into the Horseshoe and walk out with a victory...but I think the 'Canes can keep this close.

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Week 2 Music Recommendation:

I hope that some (any?) of you checked out Real Estate and maybe even liked what you heard.

This week's recommendation:

Howlin' Rain

This band is best described as in their wikipedia entry: "combination of psychedelia, blues, funk and classic 1970s arena rock" - and that's definitely true.  Check out this interview where the band discusses how they were influenced by the Allman Brothers, CSNY, Neil Young, the Dead, etc.  And their next album is being produced by music god Rick Rubin.  Heard enough?  If you aren't convinced, these guys typically play tiny venues (ie tix will be around $10-$15) and they put on a killer live show.  If you grew up listening to classic rock on the radio (for me it was 101.5 WPDH in Poughkeepsie - The Home of Classic Rock and Roll!) , than I can promise you that you will absolutely dig these guys.

Specific recommendations: Roll On The Rusted Days, The Hanging Heart, The Firing Of The Midnight Rain, El Rey, Goodbye Ruby, Dancers at the End of Time, and Riverboat

Enjoy!