The Champ has the week off. So…

Editor’s Note: The Champ has the week off because he’s high stakin’ it up at a charity poker tournament in New York City. Man gave up Tiger ALCS tickets for Friday and Saturday night for poker. He was also ripping on A’s fans during Game 2, yeah…you sit there and judge him. I won’t mind. In the absence of The Champ, we knew we still needed to make BOLD predictions. Remember why we have him doing this column…it was sparked by predictions of the Tigers being at/near the top of the division for a DECADE and Jason Marquis winning 20 games this season (how’s he doing on the post-season roster?)…anyway, I put on The Champ hat this week and see if I get go BOLD with these predictions.

Prediction #1: The next athlete to die in a plane crash will be…

Stone Cold Locks of the Week (6-8-1)

Well this week I have a chance to have a winning record. I usually stick to pro games, but this week there are a couple Big Ten matchups I cannot avoid.

1) Ohio State over Michigan State (MSU getting 14)
Well I hate to bet against the teams I like, but this appears to be foolish logic when a couple of my favorite teams are Michigan State and the Detroit Lions. OSU is coming into east Lansing ranked number one and are playing a team that has done nothing but disapoint. State has no chance of pulling anything out of this year, and thus, will be blown out at home displying their quitting attitude.

2) Michigan Over Penn State (Penn State is getting 5.5)
I was at the Penn State game against ND earlier in the year. Yes, it was at the beginning of the season, but I don’t expect the Corpse to make any changes. I hate Michigan, but I can’t get away from this spread. All Penn State has is a running game and one of Michigan’s strengths is stopping the run. I expect Michigan to win by at least a TD.

3) Eagles over the Saints (Saints getting 3.5)
Well the spreads are mixed on whether it is 3.5 or 3, but I am confident enough to take the larger. Saints are overrated, and their emotion in their home games is decreasing as displayed by barely defeating the 1-4 bucs last week. McNabb has been in MVP form this year and will give the Eagles another win