By Jim Vallet and Robert Perea
These days, it seems to me that what happened is not as important as what everyone perceives happened. As soon as there is a major event, people on both sides of the political aisle scramble to tell me what happened was not what my eyes saw happen.
Take the ICE shooting of Renee Goode by ICE officer Jonathan Ross which, is, to me, a perfect example of that.
We have all seen the video, and probably formed an opinion on what happened and who is at fault. Within hours of the shooting, I heard many call the ICE officer a murderer while others called the victim a domestic terrorist. I’m pretty sure neither of these characterizations is accurate and the truth lies somewhere in between. Yet, a week after the shooting, both the Left and the Right are spinning the story to fit their narrative.
We need Greenland, no, that would be hegemony. The cost of living is up, no, that’s a hoax. Abortion is a woman’s right, no, it’s murder. Trans women have the right to compete in women’s sports, no, that’s unfair to the other women competitors. The Fed Chairman is responsible for the state of our economy, no, it’s tariffs. Our President is senile, but, what about his predecessor? It’s ok to attack boats carrying drugs without providing any proof of that and seize oil tankers, no, that’s piracy. Immigrants are arriving at our southern border by the millions, no that’s an exaggeration and we need immigrants. Even what we watch late at night is frequently shaped by our political leanings.
And it’s not just politics. If you're a REAL American, buy this truck. A certain sandwich chain changes prices so now I pay what I used to pay for a foot long, but only get a six-inch sub, and they’re telling me it’s a good deal. A “value pack” of candy is only a value if you’re on a diet, and we’re told that’s a good deal. In almost everything, we are paying more and getting less and being told that is somehow good.
So, I decided to try “spin’ (a euphemism for lie) with much lower stakes, in my daily life.
When my wife asks me why I didn’t do the dishes I say the dishes she bought are camouflaged by our counter, so it’s really her fault for buying the dishes she did. When my grandson blames me for eating his candy I tell him I’m doing his teeth a favor by eating his candy, and it's really his fault for picking candy I like. When my granddaughter needs help going potty and I don’t want to get up I say she needs to learn how to perform a necessary life function. When I don’t feel like going out to ride my bike I say I am actually being safer sitting inside on my butt.
And that brings me to my predictions for last week. 0-6, boy, does that need spin. I need whoever got so many people to believe that Jan. 6 was a, “...day of love” rather than a riot. I need whoever convinced so many people that a porous southern border was good for our country. I need REAL help.
So, I called a political consultant and…too pricey. So I’m on my own, and here’s my best shot.
Even though my prediction of the Rams covering a 10 point spread was wrong, I did warn against betting it. That’s a ½ win.
Even though my prediction of the Packers beating the Bears was wrong, the Packers were ahead by 18 at halftime and 16 in the 4th Quarter. In bowling leagues, you get credit for every game won, so if I get credit for every quarter won I actually won, 3-1.
Even though my prediction that the Jaguars would beat the Bills was wrong, Tony Romo said the winner of that game very well might go to the Super Bowl so I was kinda right.
Even though my prediction that the Chargers would beat the Patriots was wrong, I did point out that the Chargers did have problems on their offensive line. Don’t mention that I also said that I didn’t think the Patriots would be able to exploit it, which they did to the tune of 5 QB sacks and 21 (!!??) QB hits.
Even though my prediction that the Eagles would beat the 49ers was wrong, I did say that the only team that could beat the Eagles was the Eagles, and who would argue that didn’t happen?
And, the toughest of all, how could anyone defend my pick of the Steelers beating the Texans? Well, CJ Stroud tried to give the game away, Pittsburgh just didn’t want it.
On top of all that, the mainstream media (MSM) gave me bad information, clearly forcing me to make bad picks. The officials in all six games had Vallet derangement syndrome (VDS) and were obviously against me. I promise to investigate and prosecute those responsible.
But, I will try again this week. Lines are from espn.com on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
Buffalo Bills (+1 ½) at Denver Broncos: This line opened at Buffalo
-1 ½, and has moved 3 points. I like to bet against the steam and I, like Tony Romo, was very impressed by the Bills last week, especially Josh Allen.
New England Patriots (-3) vs Houston Texans: Bet this one early, because any line movement will have the Pats giving more points (it’s already at -120 if you like the Pats) Do you think Houston’s win Monday night was because the Texans are good or because the Steelers stink?
Seattle Seahawks (-7) vs San Francisco 49ers: Didn’t these two teams just play?
Los Angeles Rams (-3 ½) at Chicago Bears: I’m going to wait until later this week to bet this one, as it opened Rams -4 ½ and I’ll be hoping it moves more in the Rams favor. The Bears deserved to win by more against Green Bay, but the Rams are a better team than the Packers.
Last week 0-6
Season 63-60
Robert’s picks
Miami (+8 ½) over Indiana: After the season Indiana has had, followed up by dominant playoff wins over Alabama and Oregon, betting against the Hoosiers is absolutely stupid. But Miami was my pick to win the national championship, so I’m not changing my mind now. One of my best friends is from Indiana, and I’m hoping he gets to celebrate something he never in his life until about two weeks ago believed was possible. I hope I get boastful calls and texts from him all night on Monday. I also hope the winning score happens on the last play of the game and they win by less than 8 ½.
Seahawks (-7) over 49ers: I’ve mentioned a few times how this 49ers team is like the character in those zombie movies that keeps going even with arms and legs falling off. The 49ers path to victory here is that Sam Darnold starts seeing ghosts and throwing passes to defenders. But the 49ers pass rush is almost nonexistent these days without so many key defenders, that ghosts might be the only things that get close to Darnold. And like we saw two weeks ago, the Seahawks can avoid that by just handing the ball over and over to Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.
Bills (+1 ½) over Broncos: I don’t have anything very astute to say about this one except if this game is close, then I’m betting that Josh Allen finds a way to win it.
Texans (+3) over Patriots: You hear all the time that some team or another can’t be as good as they seem because of a weak schedule. I think the Texans fall in the opposite category. Their schedule was one of the toughest in the league, and I think they’re actually better than perception. (Also, I don’t want to have all the same picks as Jim, because what fun is that?)
Bears (+3 ½) over Rams: I really don’t want to pick this, but the Rams are playing their fourth road game in five weeks, and of those previous three, they lost two and almost lost the third. I don’t see them suddenly controlling this one.
Last week
College 1-0
NFL 1-2
Season
College 26-25-1
NFL 26-30-1
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