Betting
Just as a lottery ticket is a license to dream, so, too, is an entry into a football handicapping contest. But one is a 17-week ticket to ride a rollercoaster of emotions, and the thrill of it all is becoming more hair-raising each year.
One game into the NFL season, everything is already upside down. Underdog bettors are winners and Eli Manning, quarterback of the New York Giants and conquering hero of the Super Bowl seven months ago, is the biggest loser.
Advocare 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
There’s some obscure horse race showing on the big screen in The Mirage sports book. It’s a Wednesday, a slow day by sports standards, so the 30 television screens broadcast a baseball game, a sports talk show and horses.
In his third year at Notre Dame, coach Brian Kelly still is trying to wake up the echoes, shake down the thunder from the sky and do a few other things that have been missing for quite a while.