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| Superbowl XLII: Lancaster's Locks |
| Jimmy Lancaster |
| February 1, 2008 |
Super Lancaster
For his final column of the season, the Lancaster will preview some data from his next book, a study on public education in two small towns. Any racy gambler waiting for some high energy plays on the proverbial �Big Game,� knows that a profound discussion of investigative journalism is always what your mind needs to bend itself into the ready position; remember, the mind flexes just like any muscle, and needs to be kept in shape too. So here�s to Upton Sinclair!
South Georgia has some of the most capable practitioners of education in the nation. In fact, the head of the social studies department at one school had seven spelling errors in a recent PowerPoint slide, yet was shifty enough to have told one student (from Italy, not Georgia, of course) that �ruff� was indeed not a misspelling, but a high-level thinking term that might be used on the state exam�
One school �nurse� sent a child who threw up all over the hallway and bathroom back to the room with a handful of Tylenol for his well-equipped stomach. After speaking freely to the principal about some female classmates who had rubbed �period� all over the walls, the principal suspended him! Not surprising for a Machiavellian woman who changes discipline numbers to meet annual progress and tells teachers to instruct their kid (the ones that do have families who feed them) to throw away school breakfast so the school can renew its qualifications for the state free lunch program�
Let�s have some fun, then. Here are my plays for Sunday, in an effort to find some decent prices, while spreading it out just enough to keep me going all game:
Three First TD plays:
1. Field: 4-1 (because many sportsbooks are not offering David Tyree at the +4000 he should be allowed to pay you, once he breaks one and kickstarts the game)
2. Ben Watson: 11-1 (The Pats have gone to him in the red zone more times this year than anyone on the first drive; it�s a good play, especially with this number and with the idea that they always try and establish him early. With his big play capability, he can always break one from far away too).
3. Amani Toomer: 12-1 (not sure why he�s this low, based on this year�s TD production; but last year, he was a major target for Eli in the red zone. This is a fair play for the price.
4. Plaxico Burress: 6-1 (at this size and since he�s a Spartan, why not?)
5. Most Receiving Yards: Plaxico Burress: 5-2 (Plax averages more than his number for the game, too, in case you are looking for another �Plax Prop�).
6. Will Welker Over 6.5 Receptions: -150 (this dipped from 7.5 as an opener, and with the Giants� Cover-Two, the Pats should be able to cut up the middle with ease, leaving Walker busy all day).
7. Over Brady Completions: 26.5, +110 (this came up from 25.5, and I just like him to connect on close to 30; with an average of only 23 when you plug in the algorithms, this one makes sense).
8. Patriots by between 8 to 11 points: 8-1 (the line opened at around 14, and came down to 11.5 at the lowest, never getting to 11. Tell me I�m crazy, but sometimes it works like this. If you can get them at exactly 10 or 11, I would do those too).
9. Under 54 (Again, it opened at 54 and trickled down, never lowering past 51.5. I like the game total, of course, therefore, to equal 51. And still you fancy me mad????).
10. Giants Money Line! Sounds contradictory since I�m taking the Pats to win by 8-11, right? But if there�s an upset, I want to be part of it, baby, because it�s going to be a historical one.
Greatest Day Ever: 2-4-0 (Pack was -330)
Lancaster�s Worst Season Ever: 35-48-1
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