The Hlog

Wanna Bet?

The Super Bowl, America's reason for being, is also a big deal for wagerers. Yes, Indianapolis is a 7-point favorite over Chicago, blah, blah, blah. But the real betting action is resolved long before the final score is determined.

For instance, the over/under on the time it takes Billy Joel to sing the National Anthem before Sunday's game is one minute, 44 seconds. Go with the under. Joel will surely be aware that America is tired of prima donnas who turn the anthem into something longer than Meat Loaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." Which is a very long song, for those unfamiliar with Mr. Loaf.

You can place bets at some Internet sites on which team gets the first quarterback sack, the first first down, the first penalty, the first blown-out knee. You can bet on which team is the first to use a coach's challenge. You can bet on which team has the first field goal. You can bet on whether or not either team converts a first-down on fourth-down. You can bet on - wait, I was typing this during a "Seinfeld" on television, and Jerry just told George that he could read the sports section if his hair was on fire. That was after George complained about how boring he was, and that he's not interested in anything, but he can always be interested in reading the sports page. It warms a sportswriter's heart.

The over/under on the number of Indianapolis players who will make a catch is seven. The over/under on Colts tight end Dallas Clark's receiving yards is 50.5. The over/under on Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman's rushng yards is 1. Yes, 1. The over/under on the number of Mediacom subscribers who curse Sinclair Broadcasting for pulling affiliate KGAN (and thus, the Super Bowl) off of Mediacom is 21,973. It's only 21,972 if I'm not included.

You can get 900 to 1 odds on Indianapolis scoring 2 points and only 2 points in the game. But you can only get 12 to 1 odds that the Colts will score 50 or more points. If you can find someone who will let you bet that Indy scores between 2 and 50 points, take it.

You can bet on who will score more points Sunday, the Colts or the Cleveland Cavaliers' Lebron James. You can get 100 to 1 odds on Prince falling off the stage during his halftime performance. You can get 34 million to 1 odds if you bet that Gloria Estefan will score a touchdown during the game.

The odds that somewhere in America a dozen people will get together and do their taxes during the game? There are no odds on such a thing. That would be silly.









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