Before we get into this week’s “Wet the Beak” I need to pay tribute to the great Dick Enberg who passed away yesterday at the age of 82. There are very few voices more recognizable to the sports fan of the last 40+ years than Dick Engberg’s. If you were a sports fan then at some point you listening to Dick and you were lucky. The thing I loved about Dick was that he was a steady hand narrating the game almost as if you were looking back on it rather than watching it live. His voice carried the weight of history behind it, and he never made himself the story. He got excited only when it was appropriate. He gave you the facts you needed and deferred to the experts when the time called. I think you could argue that Dick Enberg was more respectful to the craft of announcing and to the audience than any announcer before or since.

Dick Enberg’s resume is too long to list here, but what I personally remember him most for is his work in the NFL. From 1977-1998 he did the NFL on NBC, during that span he called 8 Superbowls including Superbowl XX won by my beloved Chicago Bears.

I was just a toddler when the Bears won in ’85. I was too young to experience the game in real time, luckily my grandparents had a copy of the game on VHS. Whenever I went to my grandparent’s house I would go straight for their VHS collection. Terminator 1&2 Aliens, The Godfather Trilogy, and Superbowl XX. So my first and most lasting memory of Dick Enberg will always be his call from the Louisana Superdome on January 26, 1986, when the Bears put it on the New England Patriots to the tune of 46-10.

Look at that old school turf! That must have been fun to play football on.

RIP DICK. Your voice echoes through the Halls of Eternity!

On to WET THE BEAK.

If you follow my picks last week then you most likely did not win money. All apologies, those lesser bowl games are hard to pick, we at A-Train Corp. are excited to put big money on the big games.

Our Boy Lane Kiffin was the one bright spot for us last week. Our continued support of Lane and his visor have led to another gambling victory and the game was never in doubt. Hail Lane!

This edition of Wet the Beak is still in the “lesser bowl game” period. There isn’t a lot that I want to bet on, so instead of taking a side in every single game and getting killed for it like I did last week, the plan is to pick and choose. So what are the picks and who are we choosing? I’ll tell ya…

Saturday:

Armed Forces Bowl: Army vs SDSU -6.5

Is it a bad idea to bet against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl? I”m not sure but that’s what we are doing. We like the Aztecs to cover. Feel pretty ok with this one.

Birmingham Bowl: Texas Tech vs USF Over/Under 65.5 total points.

We want the suspiciously low over. I’m feeling like this is going to be a high scoring affair.

Sunday: 

Hawaii Bowl: Fresno St. vs Houston -2.5

I like Fresno St. and Jeff Tedford to win this straight up. Take the Bulldogs money line.

Tuesday:

Ok, none of these games inspire my confidence but I like Utah to cover over West Virgina in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. I like Duke to cover over NIU in the Quick Lane Bowl. I want UCLA over Kansas State in the Catus Bowl. As long as Josh Rosen is playing.

I’ll be back to update the games for Dec 27th and beyond in the near future, Merry Christmas and more importantly good luck. A-Train Out.