Leonard advances at the Money Talks Invitational
Handicappers Bryan Leonard and Marc Lawrence advance to Round 2 of Leroy’s $100K Money Talks Invitational Football Handicap Tournament this weekend. The two will meet on Friday night, November 3 from the Silverton Casino. John Kelly and Jimmy Vaccaro will be the hosts live on radio and the Internet. The winner will receive $80,000 and second place will receive $20,000.
Only 16 entrants were invited and Leonard advances to round 2 after beating handicapper Al McMordie on the weekend of 8 September. The participants were selected by a committee that evaluated sports handicappers from across the country, limiting it to 16. Only eight remain.
Each handicap will pitch seven picks. Those plays are scored from 1 to 7 in that each contestant will risk a mythical 110 to win 100 on their weakest pick, increasing in increments of 110/100 until the Best Bet risks 770 to win 700. The contestant with the most money earned advances to the next round.
The sweepstakes airs on Las Vegas radio station KBAD (AM 920) at 7 pm PT and is available live on the Internet at http://www.americanwagering.com. The two contestants who win their first three matches will meet in the Finals on Friday, December 15, 2006 and are guaranteed to win $20,000 or $80,000.
Leonard is in his 23rd year as a handicapper and has finished No. 1 as documented by The Sports Monitor in every major sport. His tournaments include finishing first in the Millennium Invitational Handicapping Contest, second place in the Vegas Sportswire Handicapping Contest in 2002, and second place in the Station Casinos All-Star Handicapping Invitational in 2001.
There are a lot of new coaches in the NFL this season. Here’s a look at what some have done from a disability perspective.
Mike McCarthy (Packers): McCarthy wanted to bring more balance to Green Bay’s offense by incorporating zone-blocking schemes. The purpose was to take pressure off quarterback Brett Favre, and it has worked. The Packers average 114 rushing yards per game, 11th in the NFL. Unfortunately, the defense is a mess, ranked third worst in the league. This combination of good offense/poor defense has made the Packers play well overall, going 4-2 in the last 6 games.
Brad Childress (Vikings): So are the frauds of the Vikings, who were exposed in Monday night’s 31-7 home loss to New England? No. This is still a decent team, with a veteran quarterback, a balanced offense and still No. 1 in run defense. They are 4-2 short on total and Monday’s loss was the first time in 7 games that a team topped 20 points over Minnesota (5-2 ATS).
Eric Mangini (Jets): Kind of a mirror image of the Packers: good offense, lousy defense. Mangini doesn’t have much talent to work on defense, but the offense has been productive. NY is 6-1 overall under Mangini, with the fourth-worst defense in the NFL.
Dick Jauron (Bills): After appearing to be an outperformer in September, they’re coming back down to earth. This is a weak soccer team with a lot of holes. The offense has scored 7, 17 and 6 points the last three games (0-3 SU/ATS).
Scott Linehan (Rams): Linehan wanted a balanced offense and has emphasized the running game. He has helped QB Marc Bulger immensely, as he has 12 TDs and only one INT! Under Mike Martz, Bulger was prone to turnovers. That’s a key reason the Rams have a winning record and are 5-2 ATS.