| March Madness? Big deal. The
Oscars? Pass me the No-Doz.
For sheer excitement, give me the City That Never Sleeps any day.
Ah, Vegas!
Just the mention of it sends tingles down my spine. Make me a Bloody Mary, with a
little extra touch of tobasco, turn on the Sinatra music, and feed me the action —
from dusk till dawn.
Yeah, I used to go to Vegas every year with my own Rat Pack. Every year in the middle
of March, with the NCAA tournament first-round games in full bloom, we made the
pilgrimage. In the early '90s, I stopped being a regular due to work/family commitments,
but every year around the same time, a piece of me is with the same pals who just returned
from their 29th straight three-day orgy in Gambling Heaven.
And once again, they have supplied me with this year’s NFL preseason odds of
winning Super Bowl XXXV, as of March 19, courtesy of the Venetian Resort/Hotel/Casino.
"Odd" is the operative word here. After you check the following numbers,
I’ll give you a few reasons why.
| Team |
Odds |
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
7/2 |
| St. Louis Rams |
4/1 |
| Washington Redskins |
4/1 |
| Minnesota Vikings |
8/1 |
| Indianapolis Colts |
8/1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
8/1 |
| Denver Broncos |
10/1 |
| New York Jets |
10/1 |
| Buffalo Bills |
12/1 |
| Green Bay Packers |
18/1 |
| Atlanta Falcons |
20/1 |
| Dallas Cowboys |
20/1 |
| Seattle Seahawks |
20/1 |
| Oakland Raiders |
22/1 |
| Miami Dolphins |
25/1 |
| New England Patriots |
30/1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs |
30/1 |
| Detroit Lions |
30/1 |
| Carolina Panthers |
30/1 |
| New York Giants |
35/1 |
| San Francisco 49ers |
35/1 |
| Baltimore Ravens |
40/1 |
| Arizona Cardinals |
45/1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
45/1 |
| Chicago Bears |
60/1 |
| San Diego Chargers |
75/1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles |
100/1 |
| New Orleans Saints |
100/1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals |
125/1 |
| Cleveland Browns |
125/1 |
So, what do you think? Pretty interesting stuff, huh? I’m willing to bet you see
more than a few peculiarities.
To wit:
 Jacksonville
has lower odds than the Super Bowl-defending champion Rams? Hmm. Is there something a
little fishy going on in St. Louis? Is there a little concern that Kurt Warner might come
down to earth this season — a possibility the Rams might even be thinking about
considering their reluctance to give him the multiyear contract he feels he so richly
deserves? Doesn’t matter to me. As far as I’m concerned, either Warner or Trent
Green is a better bet to win the big one than Mark Brunell, who has come up shorter on a
more consistent basis than my uphill putts.
Minnesota
8-to-1 to win the Big One? A team that had the gall to say their top priority this
offseason was re-signing their punter? A team that has jerked around Jeff George no end,
which can be dangerous, considering George can be a pretty big jerk himself? What the hell
has Dennis Green been eating?
The best bet on the board? I love the Ravens at a whopping at 40-to-1. Great defense,
improving offense. Now there’s a "future" I just might have to consider.
Hey, I can go on and on, but the deadline for this ditty is staring me square in the
face. So I better be moving on.
But before doing so, here are a few more odds worth pondering.
Most of your NCAA tourney teams are probably dead in the water anyway.
2000-2001 NFC championship
| Team |
Odds |
| St. Louis Rams |
3/2 |
| Washington Redskins |
2/1 |
| Minnesota Vikings |
4/1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
4/1 |
| Green Bay Packers |
8/1 |
| Atlanta Falcons |
10/1 |
| Dallas Cowboys |
10/1 |
| Detroit Lions |
18/1 |
| New York Giants |
18/1 |
| Carolina Panthers |
18/1 |
| San Francisco 49ers |
18/1 |
| Arizona Cardinals |
20/1 |
| Chicago Bears |
30/1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles |
50/1 |
| New Orleans Saints |
50/1 |
2000-2001 AFC championship
| Team |
Odds |
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
9/5 |
| Indianapolis Colts |
4/1 |
| Tennessee Titans |
4/1 |
| New York Jets |
5/1 |
| Denver Broncos |
6/1 |
| Buffalo Bills |
7/1 |
| Seattle Seahawks |
10/1 |
| Oakland Raiders |
10/1 |
| New England Patriots |
12/1 |
| Miami Dolphins |
12/1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs |
12/1 |
| Baltimore Ravens |
18/1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
20/1 |
| San Diego Chargers |
35/1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals |
60/1 |
| Cleveland Browns |
60/1 |
|
