Hello all,

First, we lost a faithful warrior. Moose Hopkins was called home to Heaven and his memorial service was truly a great sight with more than a thousand people in attendance. The strength and courage his family members and closest friends spoke with was amazing. That is a day I will never forget. Moose would not have wanted all that, but he deserved it.

With college basketball getting underway, here is a brief preview of the men’s and women’s teams here on campus. I have seen a little game action of the women’s team. I think they will surprise some teams even though they don’t have much in size, which will hurt them in the tough American Rivers Conference. I like the philosophy of coach David Wells and think the program is in good hands.

The men are picked at No. 8 in the conference preseason poll. I expect the Beavers to finish higher than this with a strong returning core of players and a ton of experience. I cannot wait to watch this team run up and down the floor with coach Trevor Johnson pushing the pace.

After some talk with my friends, my blog will now take on a new meaning in terms of sports gambling. I am a pretty smart guy, so I think all you faithful readers should bet for me. Sports gambling is now legal in Iowa.

Here are a few tips and a few of the games I am interested in this weekend. No. 1: Never ever bet on Nebraska. No. 2: If you ever get 10,000-to-1 odds, take it.

Wisconsin is an 8.5-point favorite over Iowa. I have the Hawks winning off of a bye. That said, stay away from this game. Iowa 17, Wisconsin 13.

LSU +6.5 dogs at Alabama. It’s hard to bet against Coach O, but again, stay away from this one. Alabama 24, LSU 20.

My college lock of the week: Oklahoma -13.5 at home vs ISU. Nothing against ISU, but Oklahoma needs this game. ISU doesn’t have the ability to hit the big play and will struggle to tackle Jalen Hurts. Oklahoma 35, Iowa State 21.

Moving on to the NFL…Stay away from the Lions at Chicago -2.5. Can QB Trubisky do enough? No, he is a glorified Blake Bortles. Bears 21-20.

My lock of the week is the Packers -5 vs. the Panthers. Aaron Rodgers comes off a terrible loss and returns home. The Panthers stand no chance. Packers 35, Panthers 17.

Rams -3.5 at Pittsburgh. Rams 28-21 I would lock the Rams, but I am still not sold on Jarred Goff.

Upset of the week, Ravens -10 at the Bengals. Bengals fall short but the cover the spread. Ravens 21-17.