BJal's Lock du Jour - Monday, October 18

Today was my first day back at work after battling strep throat all of last week. What a grind that was. I wish strep upon no one, it is absolutely horrendous. I can't get on here and post shit during the day because my client, which is where I work, is real strict about websites and what not. Apparently I can sit on ESPN.com and visit every MMA website in the world, but it's illegal to go on Facebook or update my stupid blog. So BJal didn't text me his lock until I was already halfway down 495 this morning and at that point, there was no chance of me getting it up in time.

He's going with tonight's Monday Night Football game tonight between the Chargers and Broncos, taking the under on a line of 44 points. Not sure if you're following, but it's already 20-17 San Diego. I'd say he's screwed. I'm not sure what's worse, BJal at picking games or the special teams play in this one. In the first half alone Eddie Royal has returned a kickoff and a punt for a TD and Darren Sproles took a punt return to the house. Seriously, is it that hard to cover this stuff?

By the way, everyone will point to Girardi taking out Robertson and putting in Aceves as a huge managerial gaffe tonight, but what about when Scioscia blatantly outcoached him in the 8th? Posada was up and Gardner had been inserted as a pinch runner at first. Scioscia called a pitchout and they hosed him at second. Next pitch, Posada goes yahtzee to tie the game at four, except it should have been a 5-4 Yankees lead and eventually a 3-0 series lead. Woops.

BJal's Lock du Jour: Under 44 points - Chargers/Broncos MNF game
Overall: 4-8

P.S. Great pick yesterday taking the Titans, buddy. I really thought you had em there in the 2nd quarter.

-Bess

BJal's Lock du Jour - Saturday, October 17

I've been waiting for today for 2 weeks. Notre Dame-USC at 3:30. As a lot of you have probably figured out by now, there's one team we watch in this house and that's Notre Dame football. Today's game is absolutely huge for several reasons. The Irish haven't beaten USC in 7 years, and most of them haven't been close. There was the Bush Push game a few years back which derailed the Irish's title hopes, and today, Charlie Weis needs this win.

With an impressive victory, the #25 Irish will springboard up the rankings just in time for the BCS standings tomorrow night. The Michigan road victory hurt, especially since the Wolverines are playing like a Pop Warner team now, but there are still a few solid wins down the road that look more enticing than they did at the beginning of the season. Pitt took down Rutgers last night to move to 6-1, their lone loss on the road at NC State, which isn't good, but isn't the end of the world. There's the annual BC game, which is a must win against a decent ACC school, and Stanford at the end of the road, a team on the cusp of the top 25.

But this morning I almost threw up when BJal texted me and said his lock of the day is Notre Dame (+10). How could he do this to me? He's lost 3 in a row and is 4-7 overall now. He's like William H. Macy in the cooler. It's awful. Worse than coming down with the bubonic plague. So now I'm telling myself that he's lost 3 in a row and is due for a win, so hopefully ND covers AND wins outright. Can't wait.

BJal's Lock du Jour: Notre Dame +10 over USC
Overall: 4-7

-Bess

BJal's Lock du Jour - Wednesday, October 14

I'm proud, and relieved, to say that BJal has finally reached the .500 mark, as his pick of Louisiana-Monroe (-1) prevailed last night in the team's 16-10 Sun Belt conference victory over Arkansas State. You know you have issues when you're picking games in the Sun Belt, but that's how BJal rolls.

Tonight's pick is Boise State (-9) over Tulsa. I'd write more about this, but I'm still sick and practically laying on my death bed right now. I've called out of work the last two days, my temperature last night was 102.3 and stands at a robust 100.8 this morning. In fact I'm sitting here sweating my bag off as I type this, to the point where I'm leaning back trying not to drip on the laptop. I've felt better, I can tell you this much.

BJal's Lock du Jour: Boise State (-9) over Tulsa
Overall record: 4-4

I'm going to the doctor today...if they give me some cure-all medicine and I'm able to control the sweating, I'm hoping to get something up today about post-season awards for MLB. That remains to be seen. For all I know things will take a turn for the worse and I'll have to start drawing up my will.

-Bess

BJal's Lock du the last two jours

I've been sick as a dog and completely forgot to post BJal's lock du jour yesterday. He did actually take Miami (+1) against the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!!! In fact, he was so excited about the pick he sent it to me yesterday morning at 6:54am...on a holiday. Unbelievable. Yea I wasn't sleeping. At least he got it right, unlike Rex Ryan, who didn't get it right when it comes to using timeouts during a critical defensive drive at the end of an NFL game.

For tonight, BJal will take Louisiana Monroe (-1.5) over Arkansas State. I'd type more about this, but I'm coughing non-stop and it's taken me about 10 minutes to type this friggin post. I'm going to go back to being sick. Focker, out.

BJal's lock du jour: Louisiana Monroe (-1.5)
Overall record: 3-4

BJal's Lock du Jour - Sunday, October 11

After I saw that BJal won yesterday's Va Tech pick, I couldn't help but think about the lockerroom speech he must be giving today. It has to be reminiscent of Lou Brown in Major League...

"Ok, guys. We've won two games in a row. If we win tonight, its called a winning streak. IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE."

Let's be honest, even after winning a couple in a row, he's been so bad he can't honestly believe this is anything more than a stroke of luck. Today he's going with the Rams (+10.5) over the Vikings. Jimmy the Greek is taking the Vikings, and I trust the Greek. But hey you never know. It has happened before.

By the way, I woke up this morning and panicked because I didn't have BJal's lock du jour for today. Then he texted me a minute later and I felt relieved. That can't be good.

BJal's lock du jour: Rams (+10.5) over Vikings
Overall: 2-3

-Bess

BJal's Lock du Jour - Saturday, October 10

Welp, I guess sometimes people just get lucky. That's my only reaction after seeing Nevada paste Louisiana Tech 37-14. I honestly started to wonder if BJal would get a lock of the day right, and by god he's done it. To quote the immortal Joe Castiglione, "Can you believe it?!?!"

So today he looks to make it two in a row, and he's going with Virginia Tech (-13.5) hosting Boston College. Last night I told him I thought this game had upset written all over it, I was half in the bag and now I've had a chance to sleep it off, gather my sober thoughts and clearly assess what I think will happen. This game is probably going to be an absolute blowout. B.C. lost to a pedestrian Clemson team 25-7 on the road a few weeks ago, and they struggled at home against very mediocre ACC teams in Wake Forest and Florida State. I don't even know if B.C. will manage to score. This could be a shutout.

In other news, the Red Sox suck and the Yankees will win the World Series. My buddy Kevin put it best last night while we were watching the game...if A-Rod is going to go and do stuff like he did last night - hitting a 700ft moonshot off Joe Nathan in the 9th inning to tie a playoff game - there's no way the Yankees don't win the World Series. In fact, it wouldn't shock me if they just rolled through the rest of the postseason undefeated. This team is scary good, and when one of the best hitters in baseball, with a track record of failing in the postseason, decides to heat up...wow.

Jimmy the Greek will have his Week 5 NFL picks for you by tomorrow morning, so call you bookie and let him know to be on call. Also, I'll be posting postseason awards in the next few days. We had a healthy arguement last night about who should win the AL MVP. I completely disagree with the rest of the world, who thinks Joe Mauer is the easy, sexy pick. So for my awards, I'll break it down by who will win and who I think should win.

-Bess

BJal's Lock du Jour - Friday, October 9

Last night's Missouri loss, at home against Nebraska, ran the season record to 0-3. At this point you have to wonder if BJal could even pick his nose. This is getting bad. Vegas is about to run out odds as to whether BJal will lose more picks in a row than the Lions did games. Could he possibly do it? I almost feel like he should make his pick, then do the complete opposite. Maybe BJal should syndicate this column across all the major papers, websites and betting prognosticators. Once he makes his pick, hardcore gamblers from afar would flock to the casinos or call their bookies and bet their kid's college fund on exact opposite of what he picked with the utmost confidence. I thought about taking up gambling again a few nights ago when he started this. I'd probably be out of debt by now. Instead, I'm sitting here trying to figure when I can make the next payment on my college loan.

But thus, without further ado, Bjal's pick for tonight is Nevada giving up 10.5 to Louisiana Tech. Nevada is 1-3 and I know them for getting shutout and demolished by my Irish back in early September. I know nothing about La Tech except a kid from there transferred to Northeastern a few years ago to play quarterback. They hyped him up like the kid never had to take a shit, and then he threw three picks in the spring game and never saw the field. He transferred out that same year. And they wonder why NU won't win a game this year. It's because they bring in losers like that.

BJal's Lock du Jour: Nevada (-10.5)
Overall record: 0-3

BJal's Lock du Jour - Thursday, October 8

Here's something you can bet on: what gets canceled faster - Michael Strahan's new sitcom or BJal's Lock du Jour?

The Dodgers took down NH native Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals, running BJal's impressive total to 0-2. Not good. I'd write more about this, but a) I'm disgusted with BJal and b) I have a 9am meeting at work and need to leave.

But for tonight, BJal will again try and get on the winning track, taking #24 Missouri (+3) against #21 Nebraska in a college football game. I think it's probably the right pick, considering the game is in Missouri. This game is tough to pick, however, because neither team has played anyone of meaning aside from the Cornhuskers 16-15 loss at Virginia Tech. That tells me this team is competitive, and I'd probably take them if the game was at home, but this has push written all over it.

Only time will tell, but I'm actually rooting for BJal tonight. His confidence must be waning.

BJal's Lock du Jour: Missouri (+3) v. Nebraska
Overall: 0-2

-Bess

BJal's Lock du Jour - Wednesday, October 7

You know it's funny, when BJal texted me the other day about doing this lock du jour, his original text told me he was taking Troy (-6). I knew nothing about either one of the teams, but one thing I did know is that you never bet against Brad Pitt. So I was a little stunned when he texted me back claiming he misspoke (or mistexted) and that he wanted MTSU (+6). Perhaps that was actually the mistext, or maybe he thought MTSU was getting 60 points and forgot the zero, I dunno. But regardless, Troy ran for 264 and at one point led 24-0 in the 3rd quarter on its way to an embarrassing 31-7 romp. Woops.

So after watching an incredible game between the Twins and Tigers last night, BJal will try and redeem himself and get back on the right track. Personally, my lock of the century is the Yankees absolutely cremating the Twins. In New York. Today. After the Twins ripped through their bullpen in a 12-inning game. Last night. And partied. Celebrating clinching the division. Hangovers.

But that's just me. Instead, he's taking NH native Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals over Randy Wolf and the LA Dodgers. Fair enough. And by the way, this should actually be a great series. Two of the top managers in the league in Tony Larussa and Joe Torre squaring off. Manny and Pujols. The Matts, Kemp and Holliday. Adam Wainright, Ryan Franklin's goatee. So much to enjoy about this series.

BJal's Lock du Jour: Cardinals over Dodgers
Overall record: 0-1

-Bess

BJal's Lock du Jour

So I was driving home today when I got a text from my buddy BJal. Some of you may recognize his name, as he's contributed to TSB before. I'll preface this by saying that BJal has what some may call a gambling problem, but we choose to call a passion for betting on sports. He'll bet on an obscure soccer game at 1pm just because it'll be on ESPN2 while he's at work. You can't make this stuff up, but it makes for a good story.

Which leads me back to the text from BJal today. He asked if he could post a daily "Lock of the Day". I actually liked the idea for a couple reasons. First off, it gives him something to do. Second, it allows me to track his gambling success rate. And thrice, it gives you, the readers, more material to read and enjoy. I talked with Keefe and we both said yea, what the hell we'll do it.



And thus, much like a restaurant serves up a "World's best cup of coffee" or "Award winning clam chowder", we'll try and pawn off his addiction as a legitimate daily betting tip.

BJal doesn't like the odds for Brad Pitt and the men of Troy. Is he full of shit?

Starting tonight, you will be treated to a daily (or more or less daily) segment called BJal's Lock du Jour. We'll track his record every day as he gambles on one pick per night, any sport, any game. And in typical BJal fashion, he's opening up with a real douzy...this more or less sums up who the guy is. Tomorrow night on ESPN2 we'll be treated to a riveting college football game between Troy and Middle Tennessee State. I know nothing about these teams except what I just looked up: both teams are 1-0 in Sun Belt Conference play; MTSU (3-1) lost its opener at Clemson 37-14 but stunned Maryland 32-31 a couple weeks ago; Troy is a very uninteresting football team.

That being said, BJal's inaugural Lock du Jour is Middle Tennessee State (+6). Let's see if he can start out on a good note. Enjoy the game and hopefully this segment.

-Bess