Gotta Shop Around

Who would have thought the difference in this game would be between 4.5 to 5.5 points. With the score deadlocked at 14-9 throughout the game, that point made all the difference. One point! For those who had the game at -5.5, don’t send too much hate mail to the Saints kicker, who missed 2 field goals including a 32-yard chip shot.

Tonight’s lesson: Always shop around for the best line.

Covers.com allows you to do just that. While the Hilton had this game at -5.5, the Mirage had it at -4.5. If you bet online, BetUS had this game at -4.5, while Bodog had this game at -6.

Hopefully you took got that game at -4.5 or -5. Brandon and I got this one at -5 where most books had the line before kickoff. A day too late from getting it at -4.5, which would have brought in a very nice win. The Yahoo Pick ‘Em League had this spread at -5 so nobody came out ahead. It was a plain, old vanilla push! However, you also have to consider yourself lucky if you did take that line because the Vikings missed an extra point which would have given the Vikings the cover with the 4.5 or 5 points.

That’s the NFL for you and that’s why Vegas employs professionals to come up with the lines.

By the way, Brandon has a ton of college games to look at and my NFL Week 1 picks are there.