By JIMMY D / Super Bowl props contest adds spice to game | Jimmy's archive

The past four Super Bowls went ‘under’ the total. The NFC rep has won the Super Bowl coin toss 14 of the past 16 games.

Weird stats, fun trends and dozens of player comparison questions differentiate one online Super Bowl contest from the others. Oh, and the fact there is $5,000 in guaranteed prizes for Canadian-only contestants in a completely free game!

 Jimmy D will be hanging out at the Bowmans.net ProperBowl free fantasy contest this Sunday when the Steelers and Cardinals lock up in Super Bowl XLIII. In fact, Jimmy’s picks are already in.

Everyone knows stats and trends are crucial to deciding which players you sit and start on your fantasy roster.

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Mathematicians say a coin toss is a 50-50 proposition, but when the Giants won last year, it made 11 straight and 14 of 16 wins for the NFC team in the Super Bowl coin toss. Toss up? Gimme a break, this is money in the bank.

Which team will punt first? Jimmy has Arizona winning the coin toss and failing to score on that stout Steeler defense on its first drive, so that one is a lock to Arizona and good for 110 points.

Don’t think there will be a single punt all game? That’s a longshot, but you’ll get 200 points if that happens.

Will the game’s longest touchdown score be over or under 47.5 yards? Will Pittsburgh running game outgain the Cardinals by at least 34 yards?

There are 25 questions, with obvious answers tallying 100 points and less likely outcomes generating far more. The strategy is in playing safe and slow or taking a chance on a longshot.

Two years ago, one contestant took a 800-point longshot that the first TD of the game would be a kickoff return. That had never happened before in a Super Bowl but the Chicago Bears had a guy named Devin Hester, won the coin toss and you all remember what happened next.

Check it out, challenge Jimmy D at Bowmans.

Mano a’ mono

Phil Kessel has rebounded from cancer surgery to establish himself as one of the premier young talents in the league. But he’s on the shelf for at least another few weeks with mononucleosis, meaning it will be mid-February until Boston gets him back.

Jimmy owns Kessel in his main hockey head-to-head league and has him parked.

Danny Boy out again

Daniel Briere has only played nine games for the Flyers this year and he just experienced yet another setback in his return from abdominal surgery. His recovery timeline is similar to Kessel’s, so poolies can bench him for another three weeks or so.

Jimmy still believes there might be something brewing here on the trade front. The Flyers are flush with young forward talent and Briere’s softy, perimeter game doesn’t fit with the rest of the more rambunctious Flyer forwards.

Philly is hard up against the salary cap and will have to move players to the minors or trade someone when Briere is finally ready. With three years on his contract (at reasonable terms after his first year was front-loaded at $10 million), there are teams that should be interested, maybe the Sabres?

SOS for GSP?

MMA fans get to see Montreal Georges St. Pierre defend his UFC welterweight title against former champion BJ Penn this weekend on pay-per-view from Las Vegas. The pair battled in 2006 with the Canadian emerging victorious in a close decision.

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This time, Penn has warned GSP that he will be trying to kill him in the ring. New fans to the sport should see a classic battle between two of the top fighters in the game.

Jimmy D

jpoole@herald.ca