By JIMMY D / Sometimes, the wrong team wins | Jimmy's archive

There’s an old adage in sports betting, which is one part truth and two parts phony justification that the losing pick was really the right pick anyway.

“Sometimes, the wrong team wins.”

Anyone whose fantasy football fortunes rested on a spectacular day from LaDainian Tomlinson or whose sports wager rested on a Colts victory Sunday will be parroting that quote today.

Despite 400 yards and three TDs from Peyton Manning and despite the visiting Chargers relying on the Billy Volek-Michael Turner tandem instead of the LT-Philip Rivers pairing, San Diego won 28-24.

The wrong team won.

Right or wrong, San Diego is headed for Boston to face the perfect Pats in the AFC title game while the Giants go to Lambeau to face the Packers. New England opened as whopping 15.5-point favorites, while the Packers are laying seven points to the Giants (who are 9-1 on the road this season including two straight playoff games as road underdogs).

Here are some more good and bad, right and wrong snippits from the week gone by.

Dany damaged

Off to the best start of his career with 56 points in 43 games and a whopping +32, Dany Heatley will watch for the next six weeks rehabbing his shoulder. Only positive to be taken for Heatley owners is that one of these weeks in All-Star time, so it’s a week of free healing time with no damage to your roster.

Watch for the Senator power play to suffer in the medium term and for red-hot Daniel Alfredsson to cool off a bit. And depending on where you are in your league standings, this could provide an opportunity to make a big trade that gets you the fantasy booty you need near-term and to help you win the title.

Keeper poolies don’t have this luxury, unless you have a real Heatley lover in your league and you can reap immediate harvest plus suitable young players and/or prospects in the deal.

Alexander The Great (Deal)

Expect players to start lining up Alexander Ovechkin. Not for hip checks or pot shots over his lucrative 13-year, $124-million contract. Rather, to line him up as their agent.

Seems Rusky Alex didn’t bother with an agent in finalizing his record deal to stay in Washington until 2021. How long is that? Long enough for Britney Spears’ children to grow old enough to do dumb stuff and get their faces in the tabloids.
Note to self: shame on Jimmy for putting Britney Spears in his column. She is obviously troubled and in need of consistent and measured doses of professional help and medication.

By comparison, Sid Crosby makes a bare $8.7 million in salary. What is a ‘poor’ 20-year-old to do with such a paltry salary? Oh wait, he makes a gazillion more in endorsements (God bless him and his good work, and aggressive agent).

Ribeiro’s big deal

Jimmy has to admit he never liked Mike Ribeiro. He was soft and floppy in Montreal and seemed to only flourish on the power play in Dallas. Small wonder. Dude is skinny as a stick and not much prettier.

But after putting up 49 points in 44 games and with Mike Modano nearing the end in Big D, signing Ribeiro for five years and $25 million makes as much sense as anything.

Jimmy wins Bowl Pool, again

Picking 23 of 32 bowl games correctly earned Jimmy a second consecutive NCAA football pool crown last week.

In a contest where you weight the teams you are more certain will win (the team you are most confident will win was assigned 32 points), Jimmy led early and held on late when LSU handled Ohio State for the BCS title.

He had intended to wager his entire bankroll on Georgia hammering unbeaten (but untested) Hawaii. The Bulldogs won easily and Jimmy forgot to his money down. Stupid Jimmy.

Stay busy, stay lucky.

Jimmy D