The Wheel of Cheese

Tonight, ESPN aired one of their 30 for 30 documentaries on Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, a famous bookie who made a name for himself in football and the bookmaking industry.

In watching this one-hour short film, it was interesting to learn about the life of Jimmy The Greek. For those of you who don't know, he was a person who brought bookmaking, or as many call it "sports betting" out from the underground and into the limelight. Through owning his own business and working for NFL Today on CBS, he helped transform the bookmaking industry singlehandedly to what it is today in the United States, and he was a very well-known person up until his death in 1996.

What I found to be really impressive about this guy was his knowledge on bookmaking. From a betting standpoint, he knew his stuff, as many people turned to him for advice on handicapping everything from sports, to horse racing and even presidential elections. He had many interesting winning wagers that won him lots of dough, including a $10,000 bet that featured 17:1 odds on the 1948 election between Truman/Dewey, which net him a cool $170,000.

Overall, the short film on him was very interesting, and it did a great job documenting the life of Jimmy The Greek. If I had to choose one word to describe the greek's lifestyle, I would have to pick "intense". This film did a great job capturing the intense life that Jimmy The Greek lived and he seemed to be an individual who went full-throttle up until his death living his life to the fullest.

Also, prior to tonight, I had not seen any of the 30 for 30 documentaries that ESPN had aired, but after watching this one on Jimmy The Greek, I have to say I am impressed what ESPN is bringing to the table.

ESPN will have additional 30 for 30 documentaries airing on television through the end of this year, including a re air of Jimmy The Greek in the next couple days. Full Schedule

Labels: espn, jimmy the greek, sports betting

Posted by Kyle at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments

Being a fan of sports gambling, I occaisionally place bets on sporting events. Lately, its been a lot of NBA/College Hoops for me, and in the past few days, I've stumbled upon a system that produces some pretty good profits. I have only used it for a couple days now, but in that short time period, I have gone 11-6 in my sports picks and have posted a profit each day.

The system basically is useful for both NCAA/NBA basketball games and revolves around the first half of betting on a game. Since the second half can ruin bets due to garbage time and whatnot, the first half is used for this betting system, as teams will be competetive during the first half, no matter what is going on (ex - No starters pulled if its a blowout).

1. The first rule and the basis of the system. When you see the favored team's odds are -110/-115/-120/-125 this means to pick the underdog. When you see the favored team's odds are -105/even/+100 pick the favored team.

2. A lot of people have a hard time finding a book to use. Try basing your picks of multiple sites. The more sites that are available to get info, the stronger your pick would be. I use covers live odds to get the 1st half lines. Another good site to use is SBRLINES.com. Sometimes you ask yourself, why does this site say this, while this one is exact opposite? So far this week, the most successful sites are sportsbook, bodog, beted, pinnacle.

3. This system works both in NBA and NCAA. So far NBA has been very successful with this system. But for NCAA, it has been off and on.

4. CHECK GAMES THAT HAS A TEAM -115/-110 in all the sites or even/-105. That is a good indication this going to be a sure bet.NOTE *when a favorite team is -110 in 11 or 12 sites, this doesn't necessarily mean to take the other team.

5. When tracking different sites, make sure when comparing the odds, make sure the spreads are the same in the sites, or else you have a guessing game when picking.

6. Games that are really low in spreads tends to be a toss up game such -1 or -2. The system may work but either team can take the lead so be cautionary.

7. Remember you don't have to bet every game that is out there.

8. Never use the system when there is a very late change in the lineup. Pick at your own risk.

I think its a pretty sweet system for the most part, and if your a sports bettor, be sure to check it out, as its a nice system to use. Personally, I only use it on the early games that get a lot of bets placed for them, and avoid late night games, as the betting public is not usually on those.

Labels: gambling, sports betting, systems

Posted by Kyle at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

From time to time, I enjoy a little sports betting, and quite regularly, I am up late at night checking out the early morning lines, deciding whether or not to wager on the day's games early. I don't bet a whole lot of money, as this is no way of getting rich, as I just do it for the enjoyment and the thrill of victory.

Here is a quick preview of a couple of the games coming up tomorow, as I posted this on a popular sports betting site Covers.com in their message forum.

Detroit / Minnesota

* In looking at this game, I like two things. For starters, with Verlander and Santana going at it, I like the UNDER (5 inn/game), as both of these pitchers should get locked up in an exciting pitchers duel at the Dome on Friday. Jim Leyland even said it best as when asked about Friday's expected pitching duel, he stated, "If I was in the neighborhood, I'd stop by,". In picking a team for this game, although Santana in an underdog (+110), I really like his chances Friday night. He will be facing a Detroit lineup that will be without Gary Sheffield, and his offense will hopefully give him some run support that Santana deserves. His record may be 8-6, but if he was on another team in the MLB, he would probably easily have 10+ wins right now (or if the Twins started hitting the ball on a regular basis ).

Washington / Pittsburgh

* This matchup seems to have me divided, as I was originally thinking Nats, but now am starting to sway towards the Pirates. Ian Snell seems to be having a descent year, and like Santana is not getting run support from his offense. His 6-5 record and 2.92 ERA speak for themselves. The Nats have lost 4 out of 5 coming into this game, and are looking to Matt Chico for a rebound. I liked Chico on the mound against the Pirates, but then after seeing this game is on the road, Chico is 0-4 with a 4.95 ERA when pitching away from the friendly confines of RFK Stadium. This game will come down to the Pittsburgh Pirates bats, as Snell should give them a chance to win, but it will all matter if he gets run support.

Tampa Bay / Cleveland

* If you want to sum this game up in one word, you would have to say "run-scoring". The D-Rays and Indians are sending two of the worst pitchers to the mound in MLB, and the result will not be pretty as both pitchers have ERA's over 7 coming into this game. However, taking a closer look at the game, the outlook may not be as it seems. It should be noted though that D-Rays pitcher Edwin Jackson got his first win of the season last game against the Dodgers, and pitched a pretty descent game, going six innings and giving up two runs. Also, Indians pitcher Jake Westbrook recently came off the DL, and had a good outing pitching 7 innings of six hit ball, giving up three runs. What does this all add up to? Well, basically I'd stay away from this game. The initial temptation is to bet OVER, but these pitchers have showed that they can have two different sides to them, as they can pitch both good and bad.

Watch Out - Indians (-200) / Red Sox (-235)

* I circle these two teams going into tomorrow, because they are all favored by a large margin and could get used as a parlay of sorts in a person's eyes. At the same time, I feel weary of these teams all winning, as they could easily slip. The Indians are high favorites due to the fact that Edwin Jackson has been horrible this season, but he came around this past weekend against the Dodgers and just might have another good start against the Indians. When looking at the BoSox here, I know they are heavy favorites becuase of Jamey Wright's rubber arm taking the hill, but just like Edwin Jackson, he too had a descent start last time out and could be in line for another strong outing. I guess I'd just say although its tempting to parlay these teams in some sort of way, I'd keep them out, because I see one if not both of these teams losing tomorrow. On a personal note, I am going to stay away from Parlays for awhile, as I am either hit or miss with them, and they have given me less confidence as of late. So there's another reason not to parlay right there.

Labels: parlay, sports betting, twins

Posted by Kyle at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments