Hondo who went oh-for-Saturday, bounced back strongly on Sunday by scoring on three of his four wild-card investment opportunities.
In other Bettor’s Guide news, Mr. Aitch has a sad note to report on the devastating effect of the dreaded “Polar Vortex,” which are just words until it devastates someone you know. In this case, the afflicted was none other than esteemed colleague and Post columnist Steve Serby, who was so cold last weekend he collected only one point.
Here’s how the Divisionals add up:
Saints-Seahawks: Much is being made of the Saints’ 34-7 Week 13 loss at CenturyLink. However, if Sean Payton is half the genius he thinks he is, Hondo is confident proper adjustments will be made. After all, it’s not like the Seahags were unbeatable at home — the Redbirds provided a late-season blueprint on how to do it. And don’t rule out the impact of the weather — there’s a 100 percent chance of rain, which could precipitate an upset. But probably not. Seahawks 28-23.
Colts-Patriots: Hate to throw a wet blanket on all the devout believers in St. Andrew, but let’s face it, if it wasn’t for bad Luck (which necessitates many of his comebacks), there wouldn’t be all this talk about great Luck. And now he heads into the Beli of the Beast. Count on Belichick pulling something out of his hoodie that will bring out the bad Luck. The Colts keep it close, but the Luck stops here. Patriots 31-27.
49ers-Panthers: These teams may look like mirror images — dynamic QBs, grind-it-out offenses, smothering defenses — but further reflection shows otherwise. And don’t read too much into the way the Panthers’ Kaepernickel Defense shut down SF’s QB in their Week 10 win. Since then, two key weapons — Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree — have returned to the Niners, while Steve Smith is now hobbling on a bad knee. It may take the Kaeped Krusader’s (Ric) Flair for the dramatic, but expect San Fran to pin a narrow defeat on the Panthers. 49ers 19-16.
Chargers-Broncos: It’s Mile High, so the joint will be jumping, and it will be puffed and passed as well. Freak stat: The last four Super Bowl winners have played the Eagles in their home openers, which would seem to bode well for the Chargers, who saddled the Broncos their only home loss. However, Wes Welker’s return puts Denver’s receiving corps at full strength, which should be enough to prevent Peyton from having to explain another embarrassing early playoff dismissal. SD’s Super dream will go up in smoke, but don’t hesitate to bolt down a bet on the Chargers. Broncos 35-27.
In other areas of importance to HondoNation:
It looks as if Chris Christie is trying to use the Obama/Hillary playbook on dealing with scandal: Talk tough and take full responsibility, but by no means suffer any consequences.
Christie is said to be so down about his predicament there’s only one thing that could cheer him up: A heartfelt hug from Barack Obama.
Christie is trying to say all the right things, which is what you have to do when you hire all the wrong people. … Former Jersey Guv and Turnpike rest-stop troll Jim McGreevey says if Christie is sincere about getting back in the electorate’s good graces, he should drop to his knees, if only to apologize.
If Dennis Rodman ever decides to retire as the U.S.’s unofficial ambassador/pawn to North Korea, Kim Jong Un might find a suitable replacement in J.R. Smith. He seems to meet all the requirements — NBA player who’s unhinged and knows all the words to “Happy Birthday.”
Word is J.Lo, Mariah Carey and Kanye West are livid with Rodman for cutting in on their multi-million-dollar, singing-“Happy Birthday”-to-dictators business.
According to a report, the “Wolf of Wall Street” broke the record for the number of “F” bombs in a movie with 506. It also caused many more from viewers, whose typical reaction to the film was: “That movie was f—in’ horrible.”
SoBe correspondent BarkingMut reports: The last Hilton to score on the screen in front of so many excited eyes as the Colts’ T.Y. was Paris.
Regarding Eliot “john” Spitzer’s alleged hot tub toe-sucking scene with topless Lis Smith at Half Moon Bay in Jamaica, observers weren’t sure it was him until he climbed out of the tub and they saw he was wearing his black socks.
Emauler Ed Buckmir on President Obama being criticized for playing six hour rounds of golf: Coincidentally, that’s about the same amount of time it takes to enroll online for Obamacare.
Jerry Jones is a big proponent of expanding the NFL playoffs, mainly because it would improve the Cowboys’ chances of getting in once in a while. He also wants to make it a double-elimination tournament in which everyone receives a participation trophy.
Mayor de Blasio has been credited with having a far better Spanish accent than his predecessor, SuperNanny Bloomberg. No doubt that’s due to all the time Red Billy has spent in Nicaragua and Cuba.
BarkingMut II: Florida State intends to give State Attorney Willie Meggs, who declined to prosecute Heisman-winning QB Jameis Winston for his alleged rape, its MVP award — Most Valuable Prosecutor.
Obama seems all business about his Supreme Court fight against the Little Sisters of the Poor over their Obamacare contraception exemption. Apparently, he is concerned the Little Sisters, who care for sick and dying, might delay the work of his death panels.
Judging by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates memoir, Obama wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic about fighting the Taliban as he is about going to war with the Little Sisters.