Sad news from the NHL world.
Just found out from John Buccigross that Barry Melrose has Parkinson's disease and is stepping away from ESPN to spend more time with his family. Have watched Melrose for almost 30 years on ESPN and LOVED everything that he brought to the table. His MULLET was classic. His wardrobe, mostly his socks, was from another planet. His laugh was infectious.
But it was his sharp, insightful and honest look at every game, every team and every player. The only problem I ever had with Barry was when he put ketchup on his French Toast at breakfast here in Vegas. There's a great clip narrated by Wayne Gretzky that you can find on Twitter. Check it out. And as you know, COOL IS THE RULE!!!
TABLE FOR TWO AT THE WICKED SPOON BUFFET PLZ!!!
If you're not interested in paying a few hundred bucks for a fancy-schmanchy meal, then meet me at the Wicked Spoon Buffet inside the Cosmopolitan Hotel. If you like early, we can do the breakfast buffet for $38 per person, or, lunch, which is a few dollars more at $45 per. And if you wanna add the 'Bottomless Beverages' package, it'll cost you $25. Your choice of Mimosas, Champagne and Bloody Marys.
And if beer is your go to, you can choose from St. Pauli, Bud Light/Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, Goose Island IPA 9, New Belgium Fat Tire White Ale 9 or Sam Adams. 'Bottomless' is as many as you can hold, but there is a two hour limit. We can tell you that the quality of the food is as good as any joint on the Strip. And the variety of dishes is exceptional. May I recommend that you start with seasonal fruit, maybe some Chips & Guacamole and a bowl of clam chowder. Then you move to the main course and while we're not exactly sure what some of the ingredients are, MAN is it TASTY.
Like the Beef Tataki with Citrus Ginger Ponzu & Dehydrated Duck Egg. Or if you're not a meat eater, how about the Tuna Crudo with Grapefruit Reduction, Bee Pollen, Pistachio & Basil. Again, can not shed any light on the Grapefruit Reduction, but DO take Bee Pollen every day! Or if pizza is your jam, they have this Sopressatta Pizza with Calabrian Chili Pesto. And YEA, it's HOT! When you come to Vegas, gimme a call and I might just treat you WICKED!!!
LOX & BAGELS!!!
Another Thursday night bang for the wallet last week when we bet the Bears to go Over 19.5 points and they wound up scoring 40. That's now 4-1 (80%) for LOX & BAGELS.
EASY money baabbbeee! Gonna drop some more LOX on you, but you'll have to wait till Saturday to cash the ticket. Jumping on Maryland -14 points over Illinois. If you look at the Terrapins and notice the 37-17 loss to Ohio State last week, shake it off. Almost everyone loses to the Buckeyes. The Terps had won seven in a row dating back to last season.
The last loss? Yup, THE Ohio State. Against all teams that do not dot the I, Maryland is a money machine. Especially at home. Check out these scores. They rocked Towson in the opener 38-6. Eased past Charlotte 38-20. Blew past Virginia 42-14 and smoked Indiana, 44-17. That's an average win of 26 points per game, more than enough to cover two touchdowns. And with Tua Tagovailoa's baby brother Taulia at QB, it should be another easy W. Gimme the Turtles for the money.
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Benjamin Eckstein is a nationally syndicated sportswriter/oddsmaker. His column, America's Line, with the Ecks & Bacon appetizer, has run in the New York Daily News and over 100 other papers since 1988. You can follow him online at www.americasline.com. He is beloved by most, when he picks winners, and detested by others, when he picks the occasional loser. If you wanna piece of Eck, hit his Email...ben@americasline.com.
