Coyote Blog

This nifty quote from Senator Jay Rockefeller got me to thinking:

"There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to FOX and to MSNBC: "˜Out. Off. End. Goodbye.' It would be a big favor to political discourse; our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and more importantly, in their future."

This last election demonstrated exactly what politicians don't like about election law when they complain about things like Citizens United.  No, its not the influx of campaign donations-- politicians are perfectly thrilled to be on the receiving end of more money.  The failure in the eyes of politicians was the large turnover in Congress and the losses suffered by many incumbents.  For most in Congress, election law is about maintaining their incumbency.  Any law that makes it harder for them to be criticized in the press or by challengers is good.  Anything that increases public criticism of them is bad.

I am all for full legalization of gambling, but, at the risk of preaching at you, if you are betting one of the following Superbowl prop bets with any kind of cash, you might have a gambling problem.  Here are several examples from Sports Book Review:

What song will Tom Petty open with?
Petty is this year's halftime entertainment in
Glendale; FOX advertised this fact during previous NFL games using
"Runnin' Down a Dream" off the 1989 album Full Moon Fever. That's a
strong indicator the song will at least be part of what will be a short
set, although a medley like the one Prince performed last year is
certainly possible.

"Runnin' Down a Dream" is the favorite at +110, followed by the 1977 classic "American Girl" at +175.

Color of liquid winning head coach is doused in?
Football lore has it that Bill Parcells got the first Gatorade shower
in 1985, courtesy of Jim Burt and Harry Carson, when the Giants beat
the Washington Redskins
17-3 during a midseason game. The Gatorade was orange (+200), as it was
when Parcells took a bath after winning Super Bowl XXI. But Bill
Belichick was doused in a clear liquid (+300) after winning Super Bowl
XXXIX over the Eagles.

Halftime commercial to have highest rating
Budweiser is the big favorite at "“180, followed by godaddy.com at +275.
Last year's winner was a commercial by Hewlett-Packard; the Bud Light
ads didn't even crack the Top 3. So Anheuser-Busch has reportedly taken
out nine (!) Super Bowl ads this year; Bud should be the value pick
here by sheer volume alone.

Length of National Anthem
American Idol winner Jordin Sparks will sing the
Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XLII, presumably because FOX is the
television host for both programs. The over/under for this prop is
103.5 seconds. Sparks took about 102 seconds to complete the anthem at
Game 1 of the 2007 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Here are a few others I found at this site, with all the prop bets you could ever wish for:

2008 Super Bowl XLII Props - First offensive lineman called for a holding penalty.
Chris Snee (NYG)
David Diehl (NYG)
Grey Ruegamer (NYG)
Kareem McKenzie (NYG)
Shaun O'Hara (NYG)
Dan Koppen (NE)
Logan Mankins (NE)
Matt Light (NE)
Nick Kaczur (NE)
Rich Seubert (NE)
Stephen Neal (NE)
Field (Any Other Player)

Who will the MVP of the Game thank first?
Teammates
God
Family
Coach
Doesn't thank anyone

We must be a secular society - God's fallen to third.  I always wanted to see someone from the losing side get interviewed right after the winner thanked God for their win.  Wouldn't you just love the losing player to say "Well, you heard it.  God was against us.  What chance did we have?"