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You can say that the NFL starts to settle because I'm starting to choose the games properly. But enough about me. The game of the week is Saints-Minnesota Vikings of New Orleans.
Do you remember the miracle of Minneapolis last season, sometimes called the miracle of Minnesota? It was the last time the teams played. The Vikings led the Saints 17-0 in the NFC division playoff game, but the Saints rallied to take a 24-23 lead.
The Vikings had the ball on 39 with 10 seconds to play. Case Keenum spent 27 yards at Stephon Diggs along the right-hand line. Diggs went high to win, and New Orleans rookie safety, Marcus Williams, is defeated.
He missed the tackle, and since there was no one between Diggs and the end zone, and at the end of the allotted time, Diggs looked for easy TD.
Unless snowshoeing, skiing, snowmobiling or skating, the month of January in Minnesota is bad. Spring looks like a myth. The more the Vikings break into the playoffs, the easier it is to tolerate extreme cold. The game was played on January 14th.
The Philadelphia Eagles hammered the Vikings the following week. But if you look at the end of Minnesota-New Orleans, you'll never forget.
The revenge is Sunday at 20h20.
Last week: 10-4
Season: 60-43-2
Lock of the week: Chosen Kansas City (-6½) against Cincinnati. Kansas City won 45-10.
Season lock of the week: 5-2.
The choices of this week, with the local team in CAPS:
HOUSTON 7 in Miami
CHICAGO 9 against the Jets of New York
CINCINNATI 6 on Tampa Bay
Seattle 2 on DETROIT
KANSAS CITY 10 in Denver
Washington 4 on NEW YORK GIANTS
PITTSBURGH 8 on Cleveland
CAROLINA 1 on Baltimore
Indianapolis 3 on OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES RAMS 9 on Green Bay
ARIZONA 2 in San Francisco
MINNESOTA 3 on New Orleans
New England 13 on BUFFALO u0009
Lock of the week: Philadelphia (-3½) 6 on Jacksonville (in London)
Interesting betting line this week: the Carolina Panthers, who play at home, are an outsider against two points against the Baltimore Ravens. (That's what happens when I write this column, chances can change at a glance.)
The Ravens (4-3) were not overwhelming. They beat the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans. They lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and last week at home to the New Orleans Saints.
I know that Brown is no longer Brown. But losing against Cleveland still means you lost to Cleveland.
The Ravens are 2-2 on the road. beating the Steelers and Titans, losing to the Bengals and Browns.
So why did the Ravens open as 2-point favorites?
Some of you think that people who do odds do not respect the Panthers. Respect has nothing to do with that. Odds managers respect the opportunity to make money and are a way to make money if they can convince people to bet on one team as well as the other.
These are the bettors who do not respect the Panthers.
I expected the Panthers to be favored. It's not like they're secret. They have made the series three of the last four seasons.
Their 17-point return to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday was their best job of the season. When you made up for a 17-point deficit against that team there, you did something. The Panthers did something. I think the Eagles are a better team than the Ravens.
Carolina's problem is the ease with which he is falling behind. Two weeks ago, the Panthers took over the Washington Redskins 17-0 and are almost back to win.
The month of October bears witness to the return of Cam Newton and his close return. The game plan seems to be falling behind and relying on the arms and legs of the quarter to assemble and win.
Or, against the New York Giants, rely on kicker Graham Gano's leg to take it home. Gano scored a goal of 63 yards with a second to play for the 31-30 win.
It's a dangerous way of making a living, falling behind and coming back. But only five teams have a better record than Carolina and only two, the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, play in the NFC.
Another statistical quirk: At the start of the season, the odds of winning the Panthers Super Bowl 53 were 20-1. These chances are now 30-1.
If Carolina continues to win, the chances of winning the Super Bowl will be 40-1.
My last four sports
People ask me why I do not practice certain sports – football especially, but also hockey.
As for football, I love the World Cup and I absolutely believe that Major League Soccer would succeed here. Regarding hockey, I enjoyed watching the Charlotte Checkers, especially when they let me spend the game in the penalty area.
But I can not love everything. My sports are NFL, NBA, college basketball and boxing. I like other sports too, but not as much as the last four.
Almost everyone loves the NFL. Some fans say that they boycott professional football because of these damned protesters. But these fans say it so often and so much that I wonder if, when nobody looks, they look. If they really did not care about the NFL, would not they ignore it?
The NBA is riding a wave of popularity, and this should be the case. The sport is dazzling.
Unless the scandals of college basketball grow, the sport will survive and, in the spring, thrive.
Boxing, well, the prognosis is not so good. Young fans are moved by mixed martial arts and, unless a city has a strong tradition or a casino, fans tend not to attend local shows.
I attended a very good boxing card at CenterStage @ NODA on Saturday, a building more likely to be used for wedding receptions or meetings than soft science.
Christy Martin, former lightweight champion and resident of Charlotte, promoted the card. I sat next to Zab Judah, a Saturday guest who held several titles in two weight divisions.
All night, fans approached Judah and asked for an autograph, or a pose with him, or both. Judah, 40 years old and still in boxing, never said no.
"You treat your fans as important," I said.
"They are important," said Judah.
In the ring that night, you had everything: decisions and knockouts, surprises and emotions, celebrations and, for the losers, the long, slow walk to the locker room.
Gastonia's Derek "H-bomb" Hyatt wore his black and white God Family Boxing t-shirt. A good guy, Hyatt is 35 years old. He fought against Kelvin King, 23, of Wilson.
King grabbed Hyatt early in the first lap, locked him against the ropes and caught him. While his fists were flying, the referee jumped and stopped the fight.
A friend had gone to smoke a cigarette on the outside and when he was there had heard shouts of fans. By the time he rushed to the window to watch, the fight was over, proving once again that cigarettes were bad for you.
Stevie Massey of the Charlotte, whose style combines power and speed, won an easy decision, pushing her record to 8-1.
I have been going to Charlotte's boxing cards since the 1980s and there are people I only see at boxing matches. Former heavyweight Calvin Brock. There is the quiet storm, Jared Robinson. There are fans whose names I do not know, but whose faces I know.
Boxers and boxing fans lead separate lives and we meet several times a year. We kiss and look and laugh and love to be there. It's a club. Our club is small and we are always looking for new members.
Boxing has a stigma. Hundreds of fans who order a fight on the pay-per-view TV stay away from the local cards. I do not know why.
I always take my girlfriend and she likes and enjoys the sport. We have an agreement. She goes to boxing with me and I go to ballet with her.
I can identify an arabesque. She can identify a left hook.
Everyone wins.
Hornets look fun, entertaining
I know it's early. But I take advantage of Charlotte Hornets 2018-19. Miles Bridges will be a basketball player; Malik Monk is.
By the time I write these lines, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is fifth in the league of blocked shots. MKG does not start anymore, but it works as hard as ever. He did not sulk at not starting. He does what he's used to doing and imposes on the game. Now in his sixth season, he's only 25 years old.
At the start of Wednesday's games, guard Kemba Walker was second behind Blake Griffith in the NBA with 33 points per game. He was assisted by Steph Curry in 3 points.
Last season, Walker hit 38.4% of his 3 points. This season, it hits 46.7%. Last season, Walker hit 43.1% of the field. This season, he gets 49%.
Look, the season is in its infancy. But do not you like what you see? I chose the Hornets to go 41-41, which would be a nice season. (I chose the Carolina Panthers at 8-8, so maybe there's a theme here.)
I love Charlotte's hurry, the fast-paced run for fast baskets, the demise, Monk's development, MKG's attitude, Tony Parker's leadership and Walker's absolute trust.
By the time I write these lines, the Hornets are second in the league for the blocked shots and the first for the 3 points.
They play as if they were having a good time. It's contagious. You can feel it on cheap seats and good seats too.
Short: NFL Transaction Deadline; Duke, UNC players go fast
▪ The trading deadline for the NFL is Tuesday. Would you like to see Carolina Panthers participate? If so, who do you want and what do you want to give up? I do not see them making a major gesture …
▪ Looked at my first draft of the NBA 2019 mockup. The first, third and fifth players picked will wear Duke's uniform this season, and the second selected player will wear …
▪ Rajon Rondo called the tiff between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets Spitgate. The Rockets claim that Rondo spat in the face of Houston guard Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Rondo vehemently denies it. After Watergate, every problem had a GATE but had not heard it for years. Maybe Rondo is he studying history …
▪ The renovation of the Atlanta Hawks is progressing slowly. But the renovation of State Farm Arena was to debut this week. Without leaving the arena, you can play TopGolf, get your hair cut, eat a donut and, depending on the visiting team, attend a decent basketball game …
Be interesting to see a basketball game at High Point, where Tubby Smith, who went to school there, is a coach. Smith coached in Kentucky and Minnesota, among others. Like the State of Appalachia and UNC Wilmington, High Point is one of those schools that alumni seem to love universally.
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