David Alcaro: The CHieF

First Saturday without a slate of college football games, it is going to be a lot harder to find some worthwhile picks, but I got to sleep in. After a very ordinary season with few big games and performances last week provided fans with some thrilling games and remarkable performances. The national championship game is set with the SEC champion Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0) installed as a 5-point favorite (opened 3.5) over the Big 12 champion Texas Longhorns (13-0). My first instinct is Alabama, as it has to be for most observers after how incredible they looked last week, Texas having an awful game barely beating Nebraska, and the SEC winning 3 BCS championships in a row. However the game is weeks away and a lot can happen such as suspensions, injuries and other distractions. The Heisman Trophy winner will be announced tonight, it has been a wide open race all season and in the age of electronic voting, went down to the wire. Alabama running back Mark Ingram is a huge favorite to win and I think he is deserving. His performance in the SEC championship game along with an incredible season in the best conference in the nation distinguishes himself over (in order of how I think they will finish): Toby Gerhart, Colt McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, and Tim Tebow. In what will be a very regional vote, the northeast will be the deciding factor for Ingram. Stanford’s RB Toby Gerhart will dominate the voting in the west and will also do pretty well in the northeast for a close second. I personally think that Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh should be second after dominating the Big 12 championship game. Texas QB Colt McCoy ruined his chance after almost letting the clock run out on Texas’ season and lying about it all week on television was just disgraceful.

I don’t have a feel on Army-Navy or the 1-AA semifinal, so I will give you one selection each from the NBA, NCAA basketball and the NHL.

Milwaukee Bucks (H) vs Portland Trailblazers (Bucks by 4, opened 1)
I am going with the Bucks -4 as both point guard Brandon Jennings and shooting guard Michael Redd are expected to play. The Blazers have been battling injuries, and is playing back-to-back and their 3rd game in 4 nights, the Bucks are on 2 days of rest.

Purdue Boilermakers vs Alabama Crimson Tide (H) (Total 134, opened 137)
I am going with the line move and taking the Under 134. This is a nationally televised game and it is uncommon to see the total go down. Purdue is ranked 5th in the country and I expect Alabama to try to keep the game close and shorten the game.

NHL Grand Salami (69 Goals)
They have barely been hitting, but the Saturday night overs are starting to come back and have went over the past 2 weeks. I am going with Over 69, in the total goals tonight in the NHL. I am hoping for a lot of goals out of Washington at Toronto.

Bucks -4 (3 out of 5)
Purdue/Alabama Under 134 (2 out of 5)
NHL Grand Salami Over 69 (2 out of 5)