I note you want to leave me, but I refuse to let you go. …
Bet you didn’t know the best football handicapper in America lives in Our Town.
OK, so it’s not an official title, but Denver resident Rod Lindholm has as much right to it as anyone. He did, after all, win ESPN.com’s Pigskin Pick ’em Contest. The number of contestants entered? About 220,000.
Now for the bad news: Lindholm didn’t sink a dime into any of his picks.
“I wish I would have bet on it,” Lindholm said. “When I’d talk to the people at ESPN, they’d say, ‘You bet on that, right?’ If I had, I probably would have lost my house.”
Lindholm had entered the contest several times, but, by his estimate, had never finished in the top 10,000. He won this season by hitting 63 percent of his picks against the point spread.
So what’s his secret?
Said Lindholm, “I’d look at trends, injuries, the weather. … And you need to catch some breaks, too.” …
Best of luck to Art Shell, one of the NFL’s classiest guys, on his return to Raiderland. Said Al Davis, when asked during Shell’s introductory press conference about firing him 11 years ago, “I have never forgiven myself … that I might have made a mistake.” …
Excuse me, Al, you also fired Mike Shanahan. Your thoughts. …
The number, by the way, is 10. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, that’s how many head coaching candidates the Raiders interviewed or approached before Shell got the gig. …
Davis, when asked about the Raiders’ dismal record vs. the AFC West since 2002: “I got the feeling the Raiders weren’t ready to meet the challenge. It may take a short while, but we’ll get that nastiness of the Raiders back.” …
Yeah, well, having a legitimate quarterback wouldn’t hurt, either. …
How nasty is the Big East in hoops? Don’t look now, but Louisville may not qualify for the tournament – the conference tournament, that is. …
Bode Miller, to reporters after his disappointing fifth-place finish in the men’s downhill at Turin: “What can you do? My subjective criteria was satisfied.” Hey, don’t ask me. Maybe that’s what Kenyon Martin‘s buddy was doing when he went in the Pepsi Center stands. He wanted to see if that fan’s subjective criteria was satisfied. …
Memo to Apolo Anton Ohno: Don’t feel bad, dude. I’ve never actually fallen down before writing a column, but I’ve been accused of it a bunch of times. …
Wondering how much Shaq has left in the tank? Don’t. He went for 31 against the Pistons on Sunday, the first time an opposing center had gone for 30-plus against Ben Wallace. …
According to Las Vegas Review-Journal gossip columnist Norm Clarke, formerly of the Rocky, Wayne Gretzky has dropped more than $2 million in Vegas casinos. He and his wife, Janet Jones, frequent the MGM Grand’s Grand Mansion, where players have to risk $250,000 over two or three days to get comped into the MGM’s high-roller suites. …
Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune, on Sammy Sosa pondering retirement: “I never thought it would come to this so quickly for His Samminess. I figured there always would be buyers for whatever Sosa was selling. Frank Thomas and his ailing ankle just signed with Oakland. Sosa and his ailing bat can’t find a home?”
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
