Beating the Bookies: Conference Championships

A decent week with 3/4 of the outrights and a 2:1 ratio on the spread (plus an Atlanta/Seattle push). It's a shame the Broncos failed so miserably on their final stand or it would have been consecutive perfect weeks for me calling the winners. 

As it stands we don't have the Conference show-downs many people expected, but that's all part of the beauty of the post-season!

Divisional Round:
Outright = 3-1
Spread = 2-1-1
SFBOTW - 1-0

Post-Season:
Outright = 7-1
Spread = 2-5-1
SFBOTW = 1-1


Regular Season:
Outright = 166-91 (65%)
Spread = 140-114-3 (55%)
SFBOTW = 8-8-1 (50%)
Animal Corner = 4-2-1 (67%)





49ers @ Falcons +4 
As much as I enjoyed the Seahawks, I'm glad Atlanta repaid the faith I had in them (and have had all season) by beating them. I'm not glad they let their dominant lead slip so far, very nearly costing them the game. Whilst their reputation as play-off chokers may have been shrugged (for now), I still think San Francisco have too much for them in this one. Colin Kaepernick recovered spectacularly well from a bad start to lead a confident win over the Packers, and he along with the rest of the SF squad should feel very confident they can make it to the big dance. 4 points isn't too much of a margin.

49ers -4

Ravens @ Patriots -9.5

The Pats comfortably saw off the Texans (and a healthy spread) last week, but have a much tougher test in store with the visiting Ravens in a replay of last year's Championship game. For those who remember that was the game of the infamous Cundiff miss, and I fully expect Sunday night's encounter to be another close affair. I'll bite the bookies' hands off at +9.5, with the Ravens able to stretch the field vertically far more successfully than Houston did. I even like Balimore's chances enough to be bold and call the upset, especially with Gronkowski ruled out.

Ravens +9.5 (and to win) SFBOTW!!



Long Term Prospects!

Superbowl special:

I'll update you on the odds of my outside recommendations:  

Baltimore (were 18.00) = 9.00. These are still decent odds in a 4 horse race after their suprise win over Denver. New England is another tough test, but at this stage they are all I have left! WHY NOT?

*All odds accurate as of 15/01/13 via Yahoo's 'Sportacular' App. LTP via skybet.*