Corn Dog Special

Everybody loves a good dog, even those commonly known as corn dogs. You remember those, right? The smell of the deep fried grease bombs wafting through the air like the carnival you experienced them at just happened yesterday. The corn dog, a non-nutritional hot dog on a stick deep fried in a crispy, burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth cornbread, slathered with mustard and ketchup too, probably weighing in at 1500 calories, minimum.

You know the scene, the Tilt-A-Whirl guy blasting Black Sabbath, Marlboro dangling from his lips, as his sweaty hands take your ticket for the ride. You toss your just finished corn dog stick to the ground, and he picks it up, to use as a toothpick. The County Fair. Corn dogs, unsafe rides and games you’ll never win.

There are other types of dogs as well, obviously. Those that people make pets and then the other lip and snout culinary delights that Chicago and Nathan’s have made famous.
But what does all of this have to do with sports, you ask?

Because, in the wonderful world of sports wagering, everybody loves a good underdog, the “dog”, the team that needs to beat the spread, the money line that pays a higher return. Well, the oddsmakers in Sin City have installed the Nebraska Cornhuskers tonight as a 16 point underdog versus the Wisconsin Badgers. This line may raise a few eyebrows, but a crazy as the Badgers season has been on the hardwood so far this year, they’ll probably win by 30.

Nevertheless, once the NCAA tournament kicks in on March 21st, you will be hard pressed not to take all the “dogs” on Thursday and Friday. As parity has taken over college basketball, the days of a 15 seed beating a 2 or even a 16 seed beating a 1 are no longer unthinkable.

So, as tempting as the scent of freshly dipped corn dog splashing into your wax paper lined cardboard basket might be, don’t be suckered into taking the Cornhusker dogs tonight. Chances are Ryan Evans will go 8-8 from the line jump shooting his free throws, and the new Mike Brusewitz hairdo might even translate into a double figure offensive performance.

Anyone for ring toss?

And for what