Olympic Bet of the Day – I knew that there was a reason I don’t typically play parlays. I threw in the curling yesterday because they were the two games I felt most sure of. They were the only ones I lost. Annoying. These parlays are a lot of fun, though, so I’m going to keep trying. I pretty much have to because I have a bit of a hole to get out of – $342 – and only a week to get out of it. Here’s what I’ll be including today: Kristina Groves to win 1500m speed skating (-107), Ole Einar Bjorndalen (-265) over Michael Greis in 15km biathlon, Ivica Kostelic (-169) over Benjamin Raich in Super Combined, Russia (-145) over Czech Republic in hockey, and Canada (-188) over U.S. in hockey. That would pay a whopping $998 if it won. That would help.
The Other Stuff
Tracy McGrady honestly shocked me last night. He had played a grand total of 47 minutes all season. No more than eight had come in one game, and he hadn’t played since December 23. In short, he should have been incredibly rusty and mostly ineffective in his first game with the Knicks. Instead, he was brilliant. He scored 26 points in 32 minutes, and added five assists and four rebounds. In my mind he’s a washed up player, but it’s easy to forget that he started when he was just a baby, so he’s only 30. If he can find himself a decent situation – with the Knicks or elsewhere – and he can get healthy and happy then he can still be a very nice player. Of course, that’s a lot of ifs for a guy as flaky as he is. I guess we can just start by seeing how he plays out the rest of the season. Interesting stuff, though.
The other interesting thing that game – a loss to the Thunder – is just how good Westbrook and Durant are together when they are in form. Durant had 36 points, and Westbrook added 31 and 10 assists. It certainly isn’t hard to get excited about the future that team has. Heck, that future is right now – they have won eight in a row, and could feasibly host a home playoff game if Utah falters at all – which they could do if the rumors that Deron Williams is unhappy are true.
