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Jan 22, 2025
A Numbers Game | January 22, 2025 | Hour 1
A Numbers Game | January 22, 2025 | Hour 1
00:00
44:33
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Transcript
0:00
The numbers told the story. They always do. He's one of those idiots who believe in analytics. This is a Numbers Game with Gil Alexander on VSiN. Good Wednesday morning to you.
0:10
This is Numbers Game at VSiN, the sports betting network, vsin.com, Game Plus, iHeartRadio, YouTube TV, and of course, Sirius XM channel 158. It's Gil Alexander.
0:21
That right there is Kelly Bidlin, and this is a Numbers Game. How you doing, man? I'm doing well. It's cold still. Still cold. Still cold. Real cold. Uh, I hear it's going to warm up today, so you'll be okay.
0:31
What does that mean, 40? Uh, you know- [laughs]... a living condition. Okay. All right. [laughs] A living condition for you, Kelly Bidlin. Uh, this show has more guests than one show should be allowed to have.
0:42
We're gonna allow it for today. Jonathan Von Tobel, VSiN senior NBA analyst, football and basketball talk with JVT. Matty Cox from 3 Man Weave, having a little college basketball. Can we talk some Danny Hurley today?
0:53
Man has lost his mind. Uh, Farmers Insurance Open preview with, with a little country club and a little later with Kelly. That's right. In his golf plays. Starts today. Get your bets in.
1:00
Uh, I have a couple tennis plays as well. Our tennis plays split last night, which we'll get into momentarily. Uh, and then our number two, the beat goes on, on and on to the break of dawn.
1:10
Jason Weingarten, uh, at SpreadAPedia, will join us with all his plays. Alex Kane, the CEO of Sportrade. He hasn't been around in a while, so, uh, we check in with Alex Kane. Mm-hmm.
1:19
Um, remember, minus 104 is better than minus 110. We'll get him to, uh, tell you what Sportrade is about for those who are not hip to it.
1:26
And then our buddy Mike Pritchard, Pritch Please, he's gonna join us a little later on.
1:31
Former national champion, but as we say, once a national champion, always a national champion, at the University of Colorado, and then of course, former NFLer, to give his thoughts on both championship games this weekend between the Eagles and the Commodores, and of course, the Bills and the Chiefs in the AFC.
1:46
Cannot wait. We'll do all of that on the show today. Um, and we'll also talk, uh, NFL Draft pick number one here momentarily, 'cause you can bet on this. I just wanna say, uh, last night, uh, we split our tennis plays.
1:59
Uh, the, the dog did not get home. Elina Svitolina, plus 164 dog, she won the first set against Maddie Keys, the American, yesterday. Uh, it did go to three sets.
2:08
The, the game total that we bet on did go over, so we hit that one, but we split because Svitolina could not get home. Maddie Keys takes it down in the third set, 6-4.
2:16
So we have the semis set in both the men's and the ladies' side. On both the men's and the ladies' side, and the ladies go first, as they do.
2:25
Uh, tonight it is going to be, uh, two great matches, Sabalenka, Badosa, Swiatek against Keys. Um, I will have a play. Will not put them up now, guys.
2:36
We'll, we'll save this for a little later, or should we put them up now? What do you wanna do? We can hit 'em both. You wanna hit 'em both? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. All right, we'll do it now.
2:42
Uh, I have two plays, and it's very similar to last night. I am on, uh, Paula Badosa. She is Spanish. Uh, she's plus 265 tonight against world number one, Aryna Sabalenka.
2:54
We're also going over the total, 'cause I think, uh, Badosa gives her a run tonight, and I think, uh, however we get to 21, I'll take it, but I think this is gonna be a hard-fought match.
3:02
I prob- I think it probably goes three sets. It's Badosa on the money line at plus 265. Badosa, Sabalenka over 21 games. Again, raw data on these two. Sabalenka with the slightest of edges over Badosa.
3:16
It is not what the market is representing, uh, per my data. So plus 265 on Paula Badosa and over 21 games. By the way, you see the, uh, there's, there's multiple controversies happening in the Australian Open.
3:28
Are you familiar with them, Liz? [laughs] Uh, I feel like I've seen bits and pieces of, yes, multiple things, but no, I'm not familiar with any of them, I don't think.
3:35
There's one that's v- you know, serious in the tennis world, and then there's one that's kind of amusing, but I guess also serious. I, I, not serious to me.
3:42
But the one on court, there's one on court and there's one off court. Okay. The on court is, uh, last night we had two incidents.
3:48
There's, you know, there's four quarterfinal matches, two on the ladies' side, two on the men's side. We had two back, we had back-to-back matches where a double bounce happened. So in the, uh- Oh, really?...
3:57
in the Swiatek-Navarro match, which by the way, Iga 6-1, 6-2. Iga, Iga has lost seven games in the last four matches. That's not bad.
4:09
I'm telling you, as I've said, uh, many, many times on this show, she'll be the GOAT when all is said and done. She also jumped, real quick, she also jumped Sabalenka in the futures market.
4:17
So she's now, she's now- Yeah, because if you watch her play tennis, it is- [laughs]... unbelievable. But it was Sabalenka been the f- the, the favorite there for, until today, I think. Yes.
4:27
She's minus 115 now- Yeah, but-... uh, Swiatek... yeah. Well-... Swiatek... Sabalenka has had, has, has been choppy, let's say- Mm... so far, and then Iga has been ridiculous.
4:36
By the way, we get our quarter home on Iga last night at plus 115. But anyway, there was a, there was a point in the second set, um, where Iga had a game point to hold her serve, and, uh, Navarro had a drop shot.
4:50
It bounced twice. Like, the ball hit the second time, and then Iga hit a, hit it back. The ump didn't catch it. Iga ends up winning the point. Navarro lets a, uh, the point continues. Iga ends up winning the point.
5:00
Iga wins the game for the hold to go up 3-2. She eventually wins that set 6-2. Um, but what are you looking back there? Eh, you're distracted? [laughs] The service tech. Talking to, talking to Kelly.
5:09
He's looking right behind him. [laughs] Talking to the man. He's like, "How cold is it in here? Oh, it's 70?" Geez, like, god, you... I don't, I'm sure- I thought they even had the air conditioning on for a second.
5:19
I'm freezing. I'm sure it was riveted. I'm sure the audience must be riveted. [laughs] Anyway, the point is, is that they didn't go to replay, which they should have, but they, they shouldn't.
5:27
Well, they could have, but it was on Navarro to stop the point right at that point during the rally to trigger the replay. So she continues playing. So she- They just let the point go?
5:39
Yeah, which, which by the way, is a horrible rule- Yeah... because you're expecting the, the onus put on the player to stop the point in the middle when your instinct is to keep playing. It's ridiculous.
5:49
Yeah, it sh- I mean, if anything, it should be the other way around, right? Like, keep playing. Like, almost like the football rules of, like, hey, uh, you know, let the defense return- That's right...
5:56
the touchdown- Don't blow the whistle... then we're gonna review it. That's right. Yeah. Don't blow the whistle. Well, it's the opposite in tennis.
6:00
The player in the middle of a rally is supposed to stop the point, trigger the replay. So Iga ends up getting the point. She ends up winning the match.
6:06
Anyway, it wa- it wasn't like it was 7-6, 7-6, and this was during a tiebreaker. She won, for God's sake, 6-1, 6-2, and it wasn't like it was a break point or anything.
6:14
But, you know, some people can say afterwards, they're like, "Well, Iga should have said, you know, That's your point." I don't know if she saw the replay or not. I'm not sure.
6:23
In the second game- In the second match, what happened right after that? I kind of agree with that too, though. Uh [laughs] Well, well, well, well let me give you the, let me give you what happened in the next match.
6:31
Next match, it's Shelton against Sonago. Same thing happens, this time on Sonago's racket.
6:37
They do stop, they do go to replay, and finally after about a, I don't know, six-minute delay, I'm not sure, don't hold me to that exactly.
6:45
Finally, Shelton, just because he gets an, is, is impatient, he's like, "Ah, you can have the point."
6:50
So people who are like a- retroactively giving Shelton credit, I'm like, "It took him six minutes to give her the point." [laughs] He had to play- Right?... if it hit twice, it hit twice.
6:56
And, and he actually got to see a replay, so I'm not sure if he actually did when the, when one wasn't triggered in the first one.
7:02
So anyway, this, if you may recall, there was one incident of this last year, but on a match point between Auger-Aliassime and, uh, Jack Draper. Mm.
7:09
Where Draper clearly knew he won match point on a double bounce, and Auger-Aliassime just looked at him like, "Really? You're not, you're not gonna call it? You're not gonna, you're not gonna concede the point?"
7:18
So anyway, this is a problem. They gotta figure out replay in tennis. That's the on-court thing. The off-court thing is- That's fascinating...
7:24
these, uh, well, I'm sure by the, by your checking with the temperature, I'm sure you were fascinated. [laughs] Um- I was listening intently, all right? Geez. Uh- I wasn't on camera. I knew I wasn't on camera.
7:32
The, the off-court thing is these post-match interviews. Sh- like Shelton went off on 'em. You know, Djokovic- Yeah... Djokovic punted on one 'cause he was offended by something.
7:41
Shelton last night went after them in the press conference 'cause he's like, "These are ridiculous." Someone literally said after he beat, uh, Monfils, he's like, "He, he could be your dad.
7:49
In fact, maybe he is your dad." Like, there's really awkward interviews. Learner Tien, the 19-year-old who beat Medvedev, Learner- What, what's that supposed to mean? Like a Pedro thing? Like, I owned you?
7:58
No, it's like, it's like the g- the guy wants to be the star, the interviewer. They get three questions and they wanna be the star, they wanna go viral or something. Learner Tien, the 19-year-old who beat Medvedev. Yeah.
8:07
Th- literally it was like, "Wow, you're 19." And then he puts the mic in his face. [laughs] And he's like, "Uh." [laughs] Is there a question there? Sure. [laughs] Uh, anyway, it's, anyway, it's nuts.
8:17
So Djokovic had a problem with it, too. So it's not just the Americans losing their stuff. Oh, no, no, it's everybody. Okay. Everybody's having trouble with it.
8:23
In a pr- in a- 'Cause I'm not sure that Danielle Collins and Ben Shelton are the best representat- [laughs] Well, this is-... best representatives of America. [laughs] Yeah, that's very true. That's a very good point.
8:33
Anyway, Badosa's the play, Badosa Sabalenka over is the, uh, other play on the same match tonight in the Australian Open semifinals. Uh, Mel Kiper has his first mock draft of 2025. Let's go. Mel Kiper from ESPN.
8:47
Tennessee Titans, you're on the clock, and according to Mel's first mock draft, and yes, if you're scoring at home, this draft ain't happening for a while. There'll be many more mocks.
8:56
He's got Cam Ward from Miami going number one to Tennessee. The Will Levis experiment is over. Cam Ward going number one to Tennessee, per Mel Kiper's dr- uh, mock draft 1.0.
9:07
Then he's got Cleveland, which might be a mild surprise to some who think maybe the Deshaun Watson experiment should be over. It's Travis Hunter.
9:16
Maybe the Deshaun Watson experiment is over either way, but they're not going quarterback, per Mel Kiper's mock draft 1.0.
9:22
Travis Hunter, uh, wide receiver primarily, he suspects, with sprinkled in at cornerback, goes to Cleveland at number two.
9:29
And then Shedeur Sanders, who Kiper has just w- who has w- uh, on his big board, he has Sanders one slot better than Cam Ward. Shedeur falls into the Giants' lap, per this mock.
9:41
Uh, Abdul Carter, of course, uh, continuing the, uh, the 11 history, the LaVar Arrington, uh, Micah Parsons history at Penn State. Abdul Carter goes to the Patriots at four.
9:52
The outside linebacker Mason Graham, defensive tackle, Michigan, goes to Jacksonville, five. Tedarrell McMillan, the wide out from Arizona, falls into the l- in Raiders' lap. Now, do you remember we talked about- Oh...
10:02
Tedarrell McMillan? He's ridiculously, I mean, I, I think I've seen one and a half- Oh... Arizona games this year, Gil- He's-... but he's ridiculously good... he's incredible.
10:09
And then Michael Williams from Georgia goes to the Jets at seven, and on, and so on and so on. But you can bet on number one, and right now, here are what the odds look like.
10:16
Again, agree or disagree with what Kiper's doing, but Cam Ward buoyed a little bit by this, by the way. Cam Ward minus 195. That's a bit of a move, yes? Yes. Um, because of that. It's like minus 115.
10:30
Yeah, so, so people are buying into the literal first Mel Kiper mock draft as if he's the best indicator, which by the way, he hasn't been historically. Daniel Jeremiah, I think, gets that nod.
10:40
Shedeur is plus 165, Travis Hunter's 12 to one, Abdul Carter's for- 14 to one. Would you make a bet here any which way, and I'm not talking about Ward, I'm talking about with anybody else, thinking Kiper's wrong?
10:53
I, I guess I still have a little bit of a problem thinking that Ward's gonna go before Shedeur Sanders, but I, I think the one thing that hel- one of the big things that helps Ca- uh, Cam Ward is just seeing Jayden Daniels and how good he was this year and any, a- a, we go back and forth it feels like every NFL season of whether you should be concerned with these quarterbacks that are slighter of build or not, right?
11:15
And Jayden Daniels would tell you that [laughs] this season that there is nothing to be concerned about.
11:20
So if you're the Titans and that's your guy, and that's kinda what we've heard, then yeah, I guess I think it's gonna be Ward.
11:25
Uh, Gil, I think the one I keep thinking about is Travis Hunter and playing over on whatever his draft position is. You think he could fall? I think he could fall a little bit. Okay.
11:32
But, but we're, we're- So not this market, but whenever those markets appear. Right. Yeah. Like, we're talking McMillan. He's awesome. He's incredible.
11:37
Is someone really telling me Travis Hunter's a better wide receiver than McMillan? Oh, he's so not. So, like- He's so not... that's what we're talking about here, right? Oh, Tedarrell McMillan is amazing.
11:46
Uh, we'll come back. JVT on the NFL and the NBA next Numbers Game. A Numbers Game on VSiN, the sports betting network. Ready to take your tailgate to a whole 'nother level?
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12:13
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12:22
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12:35
By the way, we get tweets at Beating the Book, always appreciate the feedback. Um, best listeners of the game, without question. Mr.
12:40
Masterline, "This might be the dumbest question of the day, but I'm searching for the Megapod and don't see anything about gambling. Is that just the Beating the Book podcast by chance?" Yes.
12:49
It is just the Beating the Book podcast. Uh, when the Megapod is, is the football, the weekly football, uh, the second one that we do each week.
12:57
'Cause we do Guessing Lines on Monday, and then we do, uh, the Megapod on Thursday. But it is the Beating the Book feed.
13:03
By the way, during the post-season, we do the Megapod on Wednesdays, which is today, and so Christopher Felica will join us. Are you familiar with El Oso, Chris Felica? The, the bear.
13:12
El Oso joins us today, the bear, uh, on our championship round, uh, podcast, Megapod, today. So yes, Beating the Book feed.
13:19
Nevada Azer, "Hey Gil, given all the noise that the NFL has heard this week, does the Buffalo-Kansas City officiating crew swallow the whistle this weekend? Thoughts." Um- Probably. I, listen, I don't know.
13:30
I, I hate when people, like, determine what they'll do based on that kind of stuff- [laughs]... but I sure hope so, Nevada Azer. I really do.
13:36
The worst possible thing that could happen in the NFL this weekend is the Skins losing. No, is, uh, is that. Is Kansas City winning by whistle. So- That's the worst outcome...
13:47
what, what you said at first is absolutely correct, that I hope that we wouldn't, you know, it, it, it, nothing should change, because nothing should change when it comes to officiating.
13:56
But oh my God, if you're blowing whistles like you did in Houston- No way... Kansas City, we could not have that, yeah. No.
14:01
Gibby, uh, Gibby, "How do you think books will grade Travis Hunter, uh, as it relates to first defensive back/wide receiver/defensive player to be taken? That could be a very messy situation."
14:12
You're right, Gibby, it could be. In fact, uh, it's the old Doug Kazerian- Mm-hmm... uh, Jam the Kiosk thing, right?
14:18
Where a player was, uh, s- what was it, safety and cornerback, but he sort of- It was like defensive back was the prop, yeah. Yeah, the books weren't really on their Ps and Qs with that one.
14:28
They will be though for Travis Hunter. I, I was gonna say- They will be... this one, they will be all over that. Yeah, they're, they're very well aware of Travis Hunter.
14:34
Uh, Jim, James Satt saying, uh, "So Kelly, I have to be in the office this week and, uh, check out my morning commute and walk into the office? I'll take that 40 degree high please." He's at minus six wherever he is.
14:45
Brutal. Minus six. Uh, and then finally, Sean at Sean Fox Plays, "Word will go to Tennessee, as word is Dion has told them he doesn't want Shador there.
14:53
Cleveland is open for business, and Dion going to Dallas is contingent on Dallas acquiring that pick. If they do, place a bet immediately on Dion coaching Dallas." Oh, there's a theory. I- Okay...
15:04
actually think it's very likely something like that happens. That could be, very well be true. Jonathan Von Tobel joins us, everybody.
15:09
He's our senior NBA analyst, and of course, uh, part of the whole glue that holds this whole operation together. Uh, you can follow him at MeJVT on the old Twitter machine.
15:18
He joins us now courtesy of Progressive Guest Line. How you doing, Jon? Uh, I'm good. I'm good. This is, uh, I am a winter guy, so I think I can gather that Kelly was, uh, bitching about the weather here.
15:28
[laughs] I enjoy the cold. Was actually taking the kid out to play hoops the last couple of days out there, getting him ready. Wow. So, uh, yeah, very much enjoy this weather.
15:35
Does he have some, uh, does he have some yo-yo in his dribble? Has he got some talent? Um, he has the passion. I don't know if he's got the- [laughs] We'll see what happens.
15:42
But he also just started, like, I think a week ago. He's... I, I've indoctrinated him on watching it every day, and then they started doing in P.E. He's like, "This is great." So, uh, we are, we are working on it.
15:51
One of my favorite five-second stories in the history of this show is you talking, like, how you've become your dad, and when your son comes around, you fall asleep watching TV- That's right [laughs]...
15:58
and your son's like, "Hey, I'm watching that." [laughs] Jon, what's up? Yeah, watching golf tournaments on a Sunday. It's the best day. [laughs] Hey, hey, hey, hey. Check it out. Watch, watch out.
16:04
Hey, let's start with the two games this weekend in the NFL, the two championship games. Have you placed a bet, sir? Uh, yeah, I laid five and a half, I'm sorry, with Philly- All right...
16:12
against, uh, uh, against Washington. And here's the thing, like, I, there's a side that I feel very strongly about here, and then there's a part of this that I don't feel very strongly about.
16:20
And it's kind of the same thing. You'll see what I'm saying. But I, the thing that has worried me about Washington is defensively they just, they just haven't been good.
16:26
Like, if you look at every metric down the stretch here, they, they've been very, very subpar.
16:31
If you're looking at EPA, if you're looking at success rate, you look at what Baker Mayfield did to them, you look at what Jared Goff and the Lions did to them when they were holding onto the football.
16:38
Uh, you even look what Kenny Pickett/Tanner McKee did to them in that final match up that they had with Washington, um, in the regular season. I think that there's a lot to be worried about here with Washington.
16:47
The other part too is Cosby going down I think is low-key kind of big. I mean, he was a pretty good pass protector. It is.
16:53
We saw the Carter along the interior right, uh, really disrupted those last two plays for LA against Philly last week, and I think that's gonna play a pretty big role in at least moving Jayden Daniels off his spot.
17:03
Uh, to add the adulation, by the way, to Jayden Daniels, go look up his numbers under pressure. You talk about, uh, the inability to be flapped. Holy smokes- It's incredible... the guy's great. Yeah [laughs] it's nuts.
17:13
But I do think all of those things play a role. But I'll say this, Gil.
17:16
The other thing if you look at, if you sort by m- some numbers and some metrics, since week 13, if you include post-season, Jalen Hurts is the 30, like the, I think the 26th ranked quarterback in the NFL by PFF passing grade.
17:27
He has not been good. He doesn't turn the ball over, he just hasn't been accurate. He's not finding guys. Is your floor raised by this defense?
17:34
I'm not entirely sure, but I do know that you're gonna be able to run the ball and have some success on the ground against Washington, and this is a very different defense.
17:41
Uh, it looks like, uh, Quinyon Mitchell's gonna play here for Philly too. That makes me feel a lot better, so laid it with the Philadelphia Eagles. Yeah. Daniels just put some numbers behind what JVT is talking about.
17:50
Since week 13, which is when the, uh, Washington seven-game winning streak began, Jayden Daniels' QBR, this is out of 100, 82.3. 82.3. Uh, when you blitz him during the regular season, 90.1 QBR.
18:08
Against Detroit, 91.8. The, the, this is what I say, and I love how people come in here sheepishly like, "I'm sorry, Gil, I'm fading the Washingtons." [laughs] I appreciate that.
18:16
But, uh, but I, I say the case for Philadelphia is they're a defensive team first. Yep. And they don't have to blitz, right? That's the case for Philly.
18:25
And so because they're good enough where they don't have to, and Philly, what is it, on the year, 18% rate, blitz rate. Fourth lowest in the league. So that's their path. But, but that's...
18:35
What you said about Jalen Hurts, man, woo. Like, they better get ahead, and they better play, you know, their, the, the script they wanna play, otherwise, ooh boy, we could have Jayden Daniels in a Super Bowl.
18:46
Yeah, it, and I, and I think too, I mean, I guess the, the positive you'll hang your hat on, it's not really a positive with Hurts, is like when other quarterbacks don't play well, they're putting the ball in danger.
18:55
It's, uh, you know what I mean? Like, it's, it's, you're giving teams extra possessions.
18:58
With Hurts, over this six, uh, seven-game sample size that I'm talking about where he's been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL, he's actually got one of the lowest turnover-worthy play rates in the NFL.
19:06
It's just that he just hasn't been good, right?
19:07
I mean, everybody has seen the frozen screenshot on the safety that he took where he's got a guy open in the middle, over the middle open, and he doesn't wanna just pull the trigger on that for whatever reason.
19:16
Those are the kind of mistakes you see with Hurts.
19:17
So to your point, if he does not play well again, if you can at least run the ball, have a lead, and don't ask him to do too much, and get another one of those playoff wins with under 200 yards passing, that, that I think is something that is foreseeable.
19:29
And again, going back to Daniels, I just, I really do wonder if that cosmic injury's going to play a factor here.
19:33
To have a guy like Carter be able to put pressure to the pocket, be able to put it up the middle, right, force him out either way.
19:39
It's not like he's bad out of the pocket, but it just takes you off your first read, do those sort of things. I think that's gonna play a factor here in this game. Yeah.
19:45
He just went into Detroit and took down arguably the greatest Detroit Lions- Yep... team of all time. It's just incredible.
19:51
Uh, he has more wins now in the post-season than he does sacks, picks, and fumbles combined in two games. So it just, it's on and on and on with just unbelievable stats. It's nuts. Anything on Buffalo, Kansas City?
20:03
Yeah, I, so I, I did lay one and a half with Kansas City. I do think that the, the injuries and the j- for Buffalo's defense is a little worrisome. I also don't feel the most confident about either side.
20:13
Look, I thought these were two teams that were very outplayed in their games respectively in the divisional round, right? I mean, uh, only f- under four or five yards per play for the Kansas City Chiefs.
20:21
For Buffalo, you gave up over seven yards per play to the Baltimore Ravens. You didn't really play well, um, on either team.
20:27
But the one thing that I think we know about Kansas City is, first off, they are a team that will play mistake-free football. They are very good at that. Mahomes does not put the ball in danger.
20:34
Uh, at, playing at home in that environment I think is gonna be very beneficial for them.
20:38
And I just get really turned off by the way I saw that Buffalo defense again get really gouged by a team that has the ability to generate some explosive plays, and how beat up they are on the back end.
20:46
So, uh, this one was the least strong of the two, but I did lay one and a half with Kansas City here in the AFC Championship game. Pretty big slate in the NBA tonight. You are our senior NBA analyst.
20:55
What did you play so far? Anything? Yeah, so I, I got a, yeah, I got a couple of games. I mean, some of them already moved. Like, I took seven with New Orleans here against Milwaukee. We're down to five and a half.
21:03
I think the market was just kind of a little out of whack with how much healthier this Pelicans team is getting.
21:08
So we'll see how much farther this goes down, but I do have, uh, New Orleans here in this spot against them.
21:12
And then later tonight, I did lay a little bit of a shorter number for with Boston on the road against Los Angeles Clippers. Uh, this thing's up to 10. Uh, I laid nine.
21:20
I, I think that you've seen the Clippers play a lot of basketball, right? They had to throw in that out of the game against Chicago because of everything going on and the fires.
21:26
Uh, you're talking about a team that's got some really high miles on them. Boston's trying to, I think, bounce back here over a tough stretch. They got a big revenge spot against Golden State.
21:34
Uh, day of rest as well, and I think they're gonna come in here and beat up on a Clippers team that has had to play a lot of basketball in the recent days.
21:39
So those are the two so far that I've got, but again, a little off-market considering everything's moved so much so far.
21:44
Before we leave, since you brought up the Warriors there briefly, uh, in mention, could you have possibly anticipated this turnaround? And when I say turnaround, I mean to the bad. Um, no.
21:54
I mean, if you guys remember, pre-season it was my favorite win total. I loved this team. Like, I didn't think they were gonna win a championship, but I thought they were gonna be way better than expected.
22:00
But they, they're just all over the place. The offense is awful, especially when Curry's not out there. They're not really getting that much from their young players.
22:07
The dynamic between Kuminga and the front office of Curry seems to be kind of playing out on the field, uh, on the court to a certain extent.
22:13
Uh, i- if you would've told me they would've fallen back down to earth, would've totally understood it. To this degree, though, I think this is really, really shocking to see how bad they've been.
22:20
I mean, is DeAnthony Melton the, the, the league MVP through the [laughs] I mean, it's just, like, incredible. Look at his on-court numbers last year for Philly. I mean, he might be. It's unbelievable.
22:28
Uh, John, always a pleasure, man. Good luck with all the bets. Appreciate it. Thanks, guys. I'll see you in about an hour and 15 minutes. There you go. Jonathan Vontobel in today on Money Moves.
22:37
Oh, I think, uh, I don't know if it had directly to do with this, but Stormy's been traveling for, like, 18 straight hours. She got locked up into- Yeah... the Atlanta airport in Delta. Yeah. Uh, we'll come back.
22:47
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23:18
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23:32
I didn't know if you were gonna check the thermostat. Oh, I see you knocked it up, uh, four degrees. 75 degrees, baby. Let's go. Man is trying to smoke me out of here. What was it? It was 70 before?
23:42
That was too cold for you? Uh, it was 70, but I heard it kick on. That's what distracted me, and I thought I, I thought I felt cold air, and I was gonna lose it on Dave Ross.
23:49
I swear, if sweat comes down my back, I am climbing over you and knocking it down. Dave, Dave for- Ther- thermostat battles...
23:56
former Marine, so might as well throw that out here, but he sits here, like, at 64 degrees every day. Like, how are you not freezing? [laughs] Uh, let's talk some college hoops.
24:05
Uh, he is one of the three gentlemen that make it. Not yet. Mm-mm. Oh, not yet? Yeah, not yet. Oh, I thought that was a thumbs up from you. No.
24:10
[laughs] Did, by the way, did you see what happened in college hoops yesterday? The, the Dan Hurley thing? Yeah, I did.
24:15
Okay, so, so earlier this sh- season, I don't know if you remember this, they were playing a tournament in Hawaii. Yep. And they lost, I wanna say, three in a row, right?
24:24
Two very close, but one was a, an overtime loss to Memphis. Right out of the gates, right? Um, not right out of the gates- What did they maybe play, like, one, two games before or whatever?...
24:31
but, but a few games in, yeah. Um, defending national champion, Dan, Dan Hurley and, and UConn. And remember, he got a, he, during that overtime against Memphis, he took a technical foul.
24:42
Like, he got a tech for, for arguing, and then after the game he's like, "Eh, it had nothing to do with the loss," when, like, of course it had something to do with the loss.
24:47
They, he cost you a point, and you lost by two or whatever it was. Um, but he also said famously after that, he goes, uh, "We're never coming back." We're never coming back to Hawaii. Really?
24:57
You're never coming back to Hawaii? It was that, was that bad for your program? Um, then last night, uh, UConn does beat, uh, Butler by two last night, but- In overtime, right? Uh, yes. In over- Did it go to overtime?
25:09
Yes, it did go to overtime. Uh, but did you see the quote? Do we have this tweet, by the way? Does the, uh, lip- No, no, I don't. No, I don't. Oh, you don't have it. I don't, no.
25:16
It was a, it was a, uh, lip reader's delight.
25:19
[laughs] Uh, but basically, and I'll paraphrase 'cause there was a curse word in there, but basically, uh, the ref, uh, turned his back on Dan Hurley, and Dan Hurley was, "Don't turn..."
25:28
I- i- in a tense moment of the game, as he's walking onto the court in a break, he goes, "Don't turn your back on me. I'm the best blanking coach in college basketball," unquote. Uh- He's lost his mind. Yeah, he has.
25:42
You also very rarely see... You sent me the v- you sent me the video- Yeah... not the tweet. Mm-hmm. Very rarely see these networks take, take something down and copyright, uh, flag it. Yeah. They did with that video.
25:53
They did with that. I was a little surprised. I don't know about you, the, the lip reading always blows my mind, 'cause I can't do it at all. I can't. Y- you could- Oh, I'm terrible at it. I am terrible at it.
26:02
You know who- I'll never forget Primetime Action, Matt Brown would try to, like- Oh, yeah... mouth things back at me in the back. I'm like, "Dude, you gotta text me. I have no idea what you're saying."
26:09
You know who's great? John Boy, world-class lip reader for baseball stuff. John Boy- Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah... looking at the managers and the pitchers talking at each other.
26:15
Uh, Matty Cox is here from Three Man Weave, one-third of the Three Man Weave college basketball trinity, uh, joins us now in front of, uh, multiple college basketball banners. How you doing, Matty? Fellas, I'm terrific.
26:27
How are you? Good. Um, Dan- Danny Hurley losing his mind again. Uh, arrogant beyond belief. Thing or not a thing? Let's just... Uh, on, on the basketball court, their defense is horrible this year, right?
26:41
Yeah, it's funny. There's, like, debate whether or not that is, how much of that is, like, a show and how effective that is in, uh, referee puppeteering, as I call it.
26:50
Uh, I, I'd argue it works against them, at least this year from what I've seen, at least it has. So I don't, I don't know. It's just who he's been.
26:56
I think we sort of forgot about that because they were so damn good the last couple of years, but I think, uh, w- i- in face of some adversity, I think there's a little bit of that old, um, you know, he's got that Hurley in him, right?
27:05
Like, they just can't ever control themselves when it really gets- [laughs] He's got that Hurley in him... up against. I mean, Bobby loses his mind sometimes.
27:10
He's, I mean, y- you know, it's, it's a family lineage thing, it really is. It, it runs in the blood. Um, do you- The bloodline...
27:15
do you feel like, and I know we're sitting here in January, so perhaps this is not a, you know, a fair question because there's so much basketball to be played, but do you consider them among the legit contenders this year?
27:26
No, I, I don't. I think the defense has been too shaky. Uh, and frankly, their injuries have been really a problem. Like, they have Liam McNeilly and Alex Karaban, neither of who have been 100% all this season.
27:36
I think this team's not deep enough to, uh... They have to have their top, like, core six, seven, and now you could argue those are probably their two most important dudes.
27:44
And I don't like a not deep team with a slight dip in talent without all the core pieces intact flowing continuously and without those two guys who have been super important on both ends. I just don't trust this team.
27:56
Unless I see them play, like, five games in a row together, maybe the mojo starts to pick up late in the year. Um, but, but until I see that, I can't put them in that class right now, no.
28:04
Top 10 adjusted offense per KenPom. Guess what their adjusted defensive rank is, Kelly? Yeah, 100? Just guess a number. 57th. 132nd. That's not great. Yeah, no, it's- It's not good... no, that's not good. It's not good.
28:15
Um, okay, before we get to your plays, give me a team, 'cause right now Duke and Auburn, the short shots to win it all this year. Duke five to one, Auburn plus 550 at DraftKings.
28:25
Then Iowa State leads the double digit parade, uh, followed by Houston and Tennessee and Alabama, there you go, baby, at 14 to one. Give me a team beyond those.
28:34
If I took those off the board and I said, "Give me a sort of sneaky team that you could see, once they get into the big dance, could be live." Matchup's unknown right now, obviously. Yeah, I'll, I'll give you two.
28:46
I, you know, the one that's, uh, value-wise, man, I just feel like I missed the boat. But Illinois, I think when you talk about title contenders, you're looking for ceiling, right? You're looking for, for upside.
28:57
And I, I think that team's good as looked as anyone's good, save maybe Auburn and Duke, uh, and Houston, Iowa State, and Spurs. I think, I, I think Illinois is worth a, worth a shot even at the current number.
29:08
Um, and I, this is from a guy who basically held this team would be like an average middle-of-the-road Big Ten team to start a theory. I mean, their, their talent's crazy.
29:13
Uh, and Underwood's a great coach, great adapter. I think that chameleon type coaching thing is important in a tournament setting. Uh, I, I'm also looking at, uh, Louisville.
29:22
They have a really easy schedule down the, down the stretch. I think they could climb into a very favorable seed position, give them a good edge to maybe make a run to the second weekend.
29:31
And once you're there, at the current number, I think it's a live price, right? So that's the, the, the two I'd give you. I think Kelsey is an underrated coach.
29:37
Depth wise, I have concerns, but again, tournament setting, rotation tends to tighten. They can keep the guys they have there right now healthy.
29:44
I think Pat Kelsey's a good bet there at the, I think they're what, 80 to 1? 75, maybe 100 to 1 at some places. I think that's a good, good number. Somewhere in that pocket. Shop around, of course, for the best. Yeah.
29:52
I lied. One more question before your, uh- Yeah... before your picks.
29:55
Um, has there been, to your guys handicapping, and obviously results based as well, has there been a, a team that you look at and you're like, "Oh, that's a, that's a dead solid over team," or, "That's a dead solid under team"?
30:08
Oof. Uh, you know, it's... The, the Big 12, a lot of the Big 12 teams, um, they, they, like, uh, like, you know, Texas Tech, uh, Baylor's actually a good example, Kansas to a degree.
30:21
I've kind of been looking at just that sort of subset of teams to the under. I think defensively they're all really strong and maybe had some inflated metrics or distorted metrics from the non-con and who they played.
30:32
And all those coaches, like, I think really embrace, like, the conference grind does take a toll on these teams, and it's very taxing.
30:38
You see almost just, like, both teams handshake, agree to get into, like, a rock fight, slow nip and tuck possession affair.
30:44
Just, like, a lot of these, you know, just 'cause there's more parity, more variability, it feels like a lot of these games trend towards that.
30:49
So Big 12, some of those unders Uh, but God, I mean, Iowa State with the way they're playing, who knows? I mean, that might just be an Alabama team at this point. I mean, they're putting up
30:58
190, and that's kind of what I think makes them slightly more dangerous long-term than they have in the years past. They've been out early in the tournament the last couple of seasons.
31:04
Do you agree the biggest change in college hoops, like, the last two years just betting this stuff, is that, you know, we als- w- we always just took it for granted that these teams were gonna foul with, like, a minute, minute and a half left, and they were gonna foul repeatedly- Oh, yeah...
31:17
and, you know, if they were down a certain amount of points, let's say six points, and they were gonna keep fouling till they, they, they got, you know, back into it if they could, in fact, uh, have the other team miss free throws.
31:27
And now teams just don't do it anymore. The last couple years they're like, it's almost like an NBA thing. They're like, "Nah, we lost. Whatever." It's like a load management thing. It's weird.
31:35
Yeah, no, yeah, I do think you see some of that a little bit quit maybe. Um, is that what you're trying to get? Yeah, s- trying to s- you know, dance around it.
31:41
It's funny, the, the free throw rate is up this season, but that's mostly a function of the block charge change that was instituted last year. You saw the jump. It actually gr- it's actually risen even more this season.
31:52
But in that late game stuff, you're right, I don't have the data, but I think anecdotally you definitely see a lot more, a lot less of that end game stuff. But again, that's why betting totals to me is just really tough.
32:00
Like, you could argue there's higher ROI opportunities, more inefficient market, but the game flow is just so volatile in some of these college games, man.
32:07
You really have to have a good strong edge, and even then it's just never as solid of an edge, at least for me, as I have, I think, with sides.
32:13
But, you know, it's probably a function I've been doing sides for longer myself. All right. The picks are... Uh, headed west here, uh, tonight, Gil. I like Cal.
32:23
So on that weird, you know, the ACC disjointed schedule, now we got East Coast, West Coast teams flying across the country. It's hurt the West Coast teams more. I think that's sort of an accepted premise.
32:32
We see that in football, too. But first time Florida State's making the trip out west. They've not been great on the road this year. Got a couple of rotation guys down tonight. I like Mark Madsen.
32:40
I think his team is improving. Finally back at home, I think you have some undervalue. Uh, you know, I think you could probably get an extra, a bonus point or two 'cause of how poor they played in those travel spots.
32:49
So I like Cal there. Um, and the other one I do like as well is, uh, yeah, this is actually, it's a late game, but, uh, Central Time Zone, I guess, Mississippi laying three against A&M.
32:59
Um, man, Chris Beard, they're actually playing defense this year. They played basically one bad game. That was against Memphis, against a desperate Memphis team after Christmas. Consistent team.
33:10
I think they get it done tonight. Minus three, better team at home. I think home for three in this conference, so give me the Rebs minus three. All right. Against the market I believe there. A pair of plays.
33:17
Thank you, Matty. Appreciate that as well. I really do find that- Thank you, boys... that, that end of game thing fascinating, 'cause it's like a, a memo got passed around. I know. It's like the March of the Penguins.
33:25
Bye, boys. And then one day a penguin took one step and everybody followed. Well, you know, being an NBA guy, I'm always like, "Why are these kids trying so hard? It's over." [laughs] That's right. Thank you, Matty.
33:34
Appreciate it. Thank you, fellas. Good luck. Matt Cox, everybody, from A Three Man Weave. 3MW_CBB for all of their plays. Country club and golf and tennis next.
33:44
[upbeat music] A numbers game on VSiN, the sports betting network. Horse racing action heating up in South Florida. What you know about this, Kelly?
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34:16
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34:32
Oh, you know, you know, uh, occasionally I do. De- definitely the Triple Cla- uh, Triple Crown races. Couldn't say that word. Um- They still run, still running around the track, your horses that you bet on? Yeah, yeah.
34:41
Yeah. They, they, they're still, they're still going. Yeah. They're, they're, they're still going somewhere. The Gulfstream, can you believe I've never been there, though? Really? Never been there. Huh. Yeah.
34:48
In all my time in South Florida, never went down. Where is it precisely in South Florida? Uh, it's Miami-ish area. Miami-ish. Yeah, I know about it. I don't, I don't know exactly where it's at.
34:55
[laughs] I know about Miami-ish. Very familiar. Um- Um, I think Felique would be very disappointed in me. Yeah, I think so too. Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh, he'll, he'll let you hear about it.
35:03
I played cards at a lot of tracks in Florida, but, uh, you know me, I'm not the biggest race guy. No. Um, a week, uh, not a week ago, but now what has it been? Five days? Mm-hmm.
35:11
Pardon me, since we, uh, reentered the SiriusXM world here at, uh, VSiN, SiriusXM channel 158, as those of you who are listening know very well right now. We're happy to have you aboard.
35:23
Uh, we used to be on SiriusXM 58, and then we went away for a while, and now that Steve Cohen's aboard with us, we're back on SiriusXM, and we're thrilled to be there. Mm-hmm.
35:32
Um, and then a f- a bunch of folks were asking about this last week, 'cause we talked about how I was on with Sway in the Morning on Eminem's Shade 45 channel to sort of kick this off. That was so awesome.
35:42
Um, and, uh, here's a little snippet of that, Sway in the Morning last week. Hey, Gil, I'm super proud of you. Um, I think we're both tremendously blessed that still- Yeah...
35:53
in 2025, that you, that you and I could be on the same radio platform together, man. Mm. This is pretty amazing, bro. Woo! It's amazing, man. Yeah. Yeah. I really appreciate y'all having me. Thank you. Yeah, for sure.
36:04
Yeah. Gil, Gil know the young Swiggity. Young Sway. Gil, you can tell them stories. Go ahead, man. Yeah, write a book for us, Gil. [laughs] I'll read it. [laughs] You know what's, you know what's so funny about that?
36:14
The people I work with now would never believe you. Never. [laughs] I know, right? If I told them your stories, woo-hoo-hoo. [laughs] Oh, man. Hey. Anyway. [laughs] Gil, tell them the channel again.
36:28
Uh, SiriusXM channel 158, uh, starting today. There you go, man. Beautiful. I'm proud of you, brother. Congratulations. Shout out to you, Gil. Yeah. And shout out to our guy Steve Cohen. All right. Check in with us, Gil.
36:37
Yeah. All right? And you a super citizen. A Sway in the Morning. Oh, man. Sway in the, Sway in the Morning gave me super citizen status. I think everybody's a super citizen. Yes. I don't know, guys.
36:46
Uh, so Sway and I worked together in the '90s Many, many years ago. By the way, I have no idea what the young sweetie, I have no idea what that means. [laughs] I have no idea.
36:54
All I know is this, is that Andre, who does our clips sometimes for, for a Numbers Game- Associate producer Andre... he, he now has five million times the respect for me that he did yesterday.
37:03
[laughs] And I hope what this will mean is that our clips will be, uh, put up on Twitter in a much more expeditious fashion. I hope that's the result of that. Yeah, that's good.
37:12
Uh, Andre, uh, uh, Andre has got some d- renewed respect for you? Yeah. Good, good. Once again. Renewed. Now all of a sudden it comes from zero to 100. [laughs] Initial just has respect for the first time for you.
37:21
For the first time. [laughs] It's like, uh, he b- he did. Oh, man. He went on the intercom for the first time. He's like, "I didn't know you knew Sway."
37:27
Sway used to do a show called The 10 O'clock Bomb at KMEL, 10:00 PM till 2:00 in the morning or till midnight some nights, and I would follow him. I would do overnights. This is when we were kids, right? Yeah.
37:38
Um, and I would often [laughs] I would often- What, in your mid-20s?... I would often sleep through. Yes. Mm. Mm. [laughs] Yeah. And so I would get a call be, "Hey, where are you?" [laughs] I'm like, "So sorry, Sway.
37:48
I'll be right over." That was, that's how our relationship began. And it was only uphill from there. That's awesome, man. Yeah.
37:53
I, I don't know what, uh, if you could've seen my face driving in, uh, i- into, into work here, uh, listening to that interview on Friday, I was so happy. [laughs] I couldn't stop smiling.
38:04
It was just my favorite thing ever. Oh, man. We really need, we really need more crossover, uh, promotional stuff like that.
38:10
He wanted to tell, he wanted me to tell stories, but, uh, as a man in my 50s now, Kelly, it's unbecoming, so I will not. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's probably a good idea. Probably a good idea.
38:17
You ready for country clubbing? Yeah, let's go. Let's go country clubbing. [upbeat music] Oh, yeah. That guy's got great hair in the back. Hey, look at the DJ in the little corner. I never noticed that in the back.
38:32
Yeah, you have. You texted me about that one. Right? But now- He goes on forever... on text I noticed it, but never on air before. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm pretty sure it just goes on, right, Brandon?
38:40
Is the little DJ still playing? Do you want him to play this- No, he faded out... over, under your golf? Yeah, yeah, look at, look at. Oh, yeah, now he faded out.
38:46
Do you want this music under your golf picks to make golf exciting? To make golf exciting. [laughs] All right, Mr. Exciting, why don't you start first?
38:53
Kelly's, Kelly's like, Kelly's like, "And then Hudson Swafford is my next pick." [laughs] Oh, man. Anyway, the tennis one real quick, since this all falls under the country clubbing. Yeah.
39:03
Once again, Paula Badosa tonight against Aryna Sabalenka. Badosa at plus 265, also taking the over 21 games. Those are the two tennis plays. But as for golf, where are we headed this week in golf? Farmer's Insurance.
39:16
Tory Pines. Yeah. Farmer's Insurance. Old, beautiful, gorgeous Tory Pines, which sounds like it's gonna get a couple tournaments this year 'cause Riviera is going to be moved, uh, down there.
39:24
By the way, I, I played one of the two courses at Tory Pines. I can never remember which one. The south, the south one's the better one, and it's the one you see on TV more.
39:32
The one I played, I was kind of underwhelmed by. There, there's the old south course. Yeah, you might have played the north course. The, uh, I don't know, I don't know about- Can I drop a name, who I played with?
39:43
Of course. Kornheiser and Wilbon. No, you didn't. Yes, we did. How have I, how have I heard this story- In the forest... for the first time? No, it's true.
39:50
And Wilbon kept putting out his little binocular thingies, like every hole to, to see. [laughs] He's like analyzing everything. I was just like, oh my God. Was this, was this, this have something to do with work?
39:59
And it didn't improve his game. I don't care about my bets anymore. This was at a, this was at a convention. Okay. Okay. Yeah, back in the day in San Diego. Like a radio convention? Uh, yes, sort of.
40:08
Like FM radio is here. [laughs] Let's all get together. Sort of is different. [laughs] Not exactly. Anyway, I'm sorry. Go ahead. All right. I, no, are you kidding me? I'd rather talk about that.
40:16
I'm so, uh, I'm so off my game now. All right, Farmer's Insurance Open.
40:20
Uh, so yes, Tory Pines, uh, if you are not used to the setup here, how they will, they will play, as Gil's br- brought up, there are two courses, so early season we c- play with a couple of these rotations.
40:31
Th- uh, this is a event that starts today. First tee time's in about an hour, so get your bets in. They do this every year, and- Oh, wow. Wednesday start...
40:39
and annually, I forget every year, Gil, until about Monday that this starts on Wednesday because they've done this to get it out of the way of the conference championship games. That's what they do. Which is smart. Yeah.
40:48
It makes a ton of sense. It would just be nice if I ever remembered. [laughs] Um, so anyways, you're gonna see, everybody's gonna play the north and south course once over Wednesday, Thursday.
40:58
Then we'll have a cut, and then on Friday, Saturday, you will get the final rounds played on the south course. It is one of the toughest tests of golf that you're gonna see all year. Uh, longest course on the PGA tour.
41:09
It's got small greens. It is very difficult. Unlike the past couple weeks, this will not be a birdie fest. Uh, this will be a challenge every club in the bag for these guys that are playing.
41:19
If you see who's won here in the past, yes, Matthew Pavon was a bit of a surprise last year. Bit of a surprise. He was a huge surprise last year.
41:27
Um, otherwise, you've had a lot of guys that have found success regularly on the PGA tour come here and win pretty usually.
41:32
Luke List, one of the outliers, another guy, does play this course very well, um, who's a w- was a bit longer odds.
41:38
But as you see, a little bit shorter odds than what we've been seeing, uh, for some of these tournaments the past couple weeks. The good guys usually win here because it is a tough test, uh, of golf.
41:49
And really, I love this every year, Gil, because it's, it's kind of the first tournament we get an idea of who, where guys are at really with their games heading, uh, heading into the true heart of the season.
41:59
The only problem with this one is because we're going back to Tory Pines in a couple weeks, some guys have chosen to not play in this one that normally would because they're gonna be playing the, playing there in the Genesis Invitational, uh, in a few weeks.
42:11
So Ludvig Åberg is your short shot, nine to one. DeChambeau's 11 to one. Sungjae 18 to one. Everybody else 20 to two, 22 to one or longer.
42:19
No one, no one wants to take the approach, "I'd like to play in this because it'll give me a practice run for that event"? Yeah, I kind of thought the same thing. Yeah. I, it's a, look, it, it's hilly. It's a long walk.
42:28
There's that kind of stuff. But I, I don't, I kind of think the same thing, Gil. [laughs] Like why wouldn't you want to get out there and- Right... yeah, I, I don't know.
42:35
Um, but we had like more a cowardry with illness and stuff, so you don't know what's really real and what's not- Yeah... uh, with golf injury reports.
42:42
Uh, three outrights for me this week, Will Zalatoris, Max Grazierman, and Shane Lowry. Zalatoris, look, he's had the back problems the past couple years. He's looked so f- uh, so far so good this year, uh, this season.
42:53
T13, or T12 at the AMEX, T26 at the Century. I really wanted to see what his form was looking at before I kind of bet him this year. Looks pretty good, and he's done well at this tournament.
43:03
T13 last year, miscut the year before that, second the year before that, T7 the year before that. So t- a lot of top 10 finishes here for him. Got him on the outright card and a top 20 bet.
43:13
Uh, Max Grazierman, we talked about him a little bit last week, uh, has started off the season really well. T7 at the AMEX, T24 at the Century. Nine top 25 finishes in his last 11 tournaments going back to last summer.
43:26
Uh, watch out for this kid. He could become a name this year on the tour, so 25 to one outright on him. Also played him in the top 20 market.
43:32
Shane Lowry, first tournament on the PGA Tour, so you're finding a little bit of longer odds on him. I love Lowry this week.
43:39
I really don't know how good he's gonna come with his first tournament, uh, Gil, being back here in the States, but 40 to one I thought was a really long price on a really good golfer that checks all the boxes for what I'm looking for, uh, in a guy, uh, in a golfer this week.
43:52
That's long off the tee, accurate off the tee, good on approach, good around the green game, and, uh, Lowry's got all those. Couple other longer bums, and Alex Smally, t- uh, top 20.
44:02
He rated out very highly for me this week. And then Joseph Bramlett, who's had some success here, plus 475 on a top 20. Did, did you say Max Grazierman is one of them also? Yep. Yeah, I did.
44:12
Yeah, he is, uh, he has played very well. Nine top 25 finishes his last 11 tournaments. Is he on the leaflet? I gotta check that out. Sounds very leafy. I'm not sure. Yeah. I'll check it out.
44:21
So I feel like I shouldn't guess. [laughs] That's, that's what I took away from the bets. Uh, we'll come back. Jason Weingart from Under a Cloud of Smoke, all of his bets.
44:29
It's a Numbers Game right here at VSAN, the sports betting network. [upbeat music]
A Numbers Game
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