A Wednesday Free NHL Pick

There isn't a lot going on tonight, which is why we're excited to have a Free NHL Pick at our disposal. Hopefully, we don't wish we threw it down the disposal.

Tampa Bay Lightning ML +152 over the Detroit Red Wings

Taking a bit of a gamble with the road dog at a good price.

Good luck!

2011-12 Free NHL Picks
Record: 2-2
Units: +.85

Thankful For a Perfect Free NFL Picks Weekend (63% YTD)

Finally, we are back to giving thanks to our Free NFL Picks.

After a 1-0 Thanksgiving day that woulda coulda shoulda been 2-0 had we pulled the trigger on the Ravens, we followed up with some leftovers on Sunday.

Both the Texans and Panthers covered as small road favorites to give us a perfect 3-0 woulda coulda shoulda been 4-0 weekend.

After an 8-8-1 stretch in the last four weeks, we are finally thankful for our Free NFL Picks once again.

Hopefully, this momentum carries over to the month of December, as our 63% Free NFL Picks continue their best season yet.

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Week 11: 2-2-1

Week 12: 3-0
Total: 31-18-2... 63%

Our First Free CFL Pick is a Grey Cup Winner!

Our first foray into handing out Free CFL Picks came in this year's Grey Cup, the Super Bowl of Canadian football.

And we wish we would have been betting on the CFL all season.

The B.C. Lions took care of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 34-23, covering a -7 spread in what essentially was a home game for the Lions.

So, in what has been an impressive season of football betting here at Stock Lemon (for the most part), we can add the CFL to our list of winning records for the season at an impressive 1-0... that's 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not How We Wanted to Close the College Football Regular Season...

Aaaaaaand we're back to our horrible habit of alternating winning weeks and losing weeks in college football. Just when we thought we were beginning to get back on track with our Free NCAA Football Picks, we go 1-3 for the second time in three weeks and knock ourselves to 54% on the season.

The good news? We step our game up for the postseason. Last year, we posted a 9-1 record in bowl games and we look forward to more of the same this year. But first, we have a few conference championship games to throw down on.

And hey, the good thing about alternating winning and losing weeks is that we can fairly confidently say that next week will be a winning week in college football here at Stock Lemon.

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Week 10: 5-3
Week 11: 1-3
Week 12: 3-2
Week 13: 1-3
Total: 38-33-2... 54%

Free CFL Grey Cup Pick

Oh Canada...

While there's plenty of crappy NFL games to watch today, we only have two Free NFL Picks, which does not meet our football wagering quota for a Sunday.

To alleviate this problem, we'll have our first ever Free CFL Pick in the 99th Grey Cup between the British Columbia Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

B.C. Lions -7 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

This year's Grey Cup takes place in Vancouver, so it is a home game for B.C. Aside from that, they have been covering spreads left and right down the stretch, and we think they'll do the same in the big game tonight.

Unfortunately, we don't have the appropriate knowledge to go crazy with Grey Cup prop bets, as we do with our Super Bowl prop bets, so this line pick against the spread will have to suffice.

Best of luck and enjoy the clash of Canada's finest.

Miami Heat Top Odds to Win the 2011-12 NBA Championship

With the end of the NBA lockout apparently in sight, we thought we'd take a look at the odds to win the NBA Championship in this shortened 66-game season.

Keeping in mind that goofy things can happen in shortened seasons (the eighth-seeded Knicks made the NBA Finals in 1998-99 after a 50 game season), we still like a couple of the favorites.

We seem destined for a Heat/Bulls Eastern Conference Finals and a Lakers/Thunder Western Conference Finals, and from that grouping we like the Heat and Thunder to emerge.

And at 5/2 odds, we're picking the Heat to win it all in the 2012 NBA Finals.

Fair warning, though. We are kind of squares when it comes to the NBA. We stopped wagering on the league a couple years ago when our Free NBA Picks--previously our pride and joy--began to taper off. We couldn't find a solution and eventually conceded that we could no longer cut it in the NBA, what with Tim Donaghy controlling the outcomes and such. In fact, we really only bet on college hoops during March Madness, leaving us devoid of any basketball picks for most of the year.

So take our advice with a grain of salt, but we consider the Heat at 5/2 odds to be a lock to win the NBA Championship this season, followed by the Thunder at 15/2.

Full 2011-12 NBA Championship odds are below.

NBA Championship Odds
Miami Heat... 5/2
Los Angeles Lakers... 11/2
Chicago Bulls... 7/1
Oklahoma City Thunder... 15/2
Dallas Mavericks... 17/2
Boston Celtics... 12/1
New York Knicks... 20/1
Memphis Grizzlies... 25/1
Orlando Magic... 25/1
Portland Trailblazers... 25/1
San Antonio Spurs... 28/1
Atlanta Hawks... 40/1
Denver Nuggets... 50/1
Houston Rockets... 50/1
Los Angeles Clippers... 50/1
Phoenix Suns... 70/1
Indiana Pacers... 75/1
New Jersey Nets... 75/1
New Orleans Hornets... 75/1
Philadelphia 76ers... 75/1
Utah Jazz... 75/1
Charlotte Bobcats... 100/1
Golden State Warriors... 100/1
Milwaukee Bucks... 100/1
Minnesota Timberwolves... 100/1
Washington Wizards... 100/1
Cleveland Cavaliers... 150/1
Detroit Pistons... 150/1
Sacramento Kings... 150/1
Toronto Raptors... 150/1

Week 12 Free NFL Picks (62% YTD)

We said we were disappointed in ourselves for our unwillingness to pull the trigger on the Harbowl last night, and a big part of our disappointment stems from the fact that we have just two more Free NFL Picks for the week--even with every team in action.

We're taking down the AFC South on Sunday...

Texans -4 over Jaguars

Panthers -3 1/2 over Colts

Good luck! We'll be sure to let you know which picks we should have played... after we know the results of the games.

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Week 11: 2-2-1

Week 12: 1-0
Total: 29-18-2... 62%

Packers Cover the Thanksgiving Spread

Once again, we enjoyed success in the NFL yesterday. And once again, we regret not playing a lean and making it an even better day.

The Packers did their part against the Lions, easily covering the smallest spread they're likely to see from here on out (-6), while the Ravens (-3) beat the 49ers in the Harbowl.

Unfortunately, as we tweeted in between helpings of stuffing and mashed potatoes, we didn't end up making the Ravens a Free NFL Pick.

(Oh by the way, we didn't really mention this but our new twitter handle is @stocklemonblog, as we strive for some consistency in the way that we market ourselves. If you're not following us on twitter, you should probably do so now. If you already were one of the 443 geniuses following our every electronic word, you don't need to manually change our name to continue following us or anything. Simply a heads up.)

So, as it stands, we're happy to go into Sunday up a game on the weekend already, but we're once again disappointed that we didn't capitalize on an opportunity Thursday. We've been preaching (and practicing) selectivity in our picks, and we've hurt ourselves more than we've benefited from doing so.

Or so it seems.

The rest of our Week 12 Free NFL Picks card will be up shortly. Enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend!

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Week 11: 2-2-1

Week 12: 1-0
Total: 29-18-2... 62%

A Free Helping of NCAA Football Picks on Thanksgiving Weekend (55% YTD)

Our Free NCAA Football Picks are searching for a fourth winning week in the last five on this Thanksgiving weekend, with a small card of Friday and Saturday action.

Northwestern +6 over Michigan State

Florida State -1 1/2 over Florida

Arkansas +12 over LSU

Georgia Tech +5 1/2 over Georgia

Stuff your face with some turkey and your wallets with some extra cash from this holiday weekend.

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Week 10: 5-3
Week 11: 1-3
Week 12: 3-2
Total: 37-30-2... 55%

Giving Thanks to Our Free NFL Picks (61% YTD)

Our Free NFL Picks have been a little dicey lately, but all in all, it's been a pretty good season of football betting here at Stock Lemon. So, while we've spent some weeks running around like turkeys with our heads cut off, our picks have been mostly successful to the tune of 61%.

We're hoping that we'll continue to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day, with a Thursday pick to get us off on the right foot this weekend.

Green Bay Packers -6 over Detroit Lions

We sort of bet the Packers a lot, we've realized, but hey, they are undefeated. This is a great price for the best team in the NFL, and frankly we still aren't sure as to how good the Lions really are. Granted, Detroit is better if they have discovered a running game again, but we think the Packers feast on the Lions.

We're still looking at the late game tomorrow with a possible Free NFL Pick, but we wanted to give you the main course before we skip to dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Week 11: 2-2-1
Total: 28-18-2... 61%

A Winning Sunday For Free NFL Picks (61% YTD)

Our Free NFL Picks have seemingly leveled off, as we struggle for anything better than a .500 week (just one winning week since Week 7).

As evidenced by the Jaime Edmondson picture above, the Raiders covered along with the Lions to get us a couple of Sunday wins.

All told, we turned in another .500 week in Week 11. However, to make ourselves feel a little better, we can take pride on the fact that we did have a 2-1-1 Sunday (including a backdoor push by the Bengals against the Ravens). So, had it not been for our first Thursday pick of the year, we would be ending the week on a slightly more positive note.

This week, we expect to have a pick on Thanksgiving, so we'll once again set the tone for our Sunday picks. And with no more bye weeks scheduled, we'll have a full slate of games to pick from now until the playoffs.

Perfect time for our Free NFL Picks to bounce back.

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Week 11: 2-2-1
Total: 28-18-2... 61%

Our Second Free NHL Pick Win of the Year!

Over the last 10 months, the only thing you saw less of than our Free NFL Picks has been Sidney Crosby. But when Sid the Kid made his triumphant return tonight, we weren't going to miss it.

The Penguins defeated the Islanders 5-0, cover the -1 1/2 (+130) puck line behind Crosby's involvement on four goals (2 goals, 2 assists).

The win puts our Free NHL Picks back up to .500 and in positive unit territory again. Interestingly enough, we're 2-0 on "underdog" bets that net us positive juice, and 0-2 on favorites. Proof that we don't completely know what we're doing quite yet.

2011-12 Free NHL Picks
Record: 2-2
Units: +.85

Sid the Kid Returns to Lift Free NHL Picks

After a big win to begin our 2011-12 foray into the NHL, our Free NHL Picks have now lost two straight and are losing us money.

We're hoping that tonight, with Sidney Crosby's return, comes the return of our winning ways.

Penguins -1 1/2 (+130) over the Islanders

The Isles are not playing good hockey at the moment and we expect the Pens to get a big boost from their star player.

Good luck!

2011-12 Free NHL Picks
Record: 1-2
Units: -.45

Another Winning Week for Free NCAA Football Picks (55% YTD)

For the third time in four weeks, our Free NCAA Football Picks found enough success to compile a winning record. And once again, we feel it could have been better.

Three dogs came through for us Saturday, while our two big favorites--Wisconsin and Stanford--did not. We've been riding the Badgers and Cardinal for a while and it looks like that well has run dry.

We seem to be finding our way a little bit with these picks, which seem to be slightly more consistent than they had been. But still, it's been a strangely disappointing season as, much like with our Free NFL Picks, we just seem to be missing opportunities for more success.

We'll hope to find that success next week.

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Week 10: 5-3
Week 11: 1-3
Week 12: 3-2
Total: 37-30-2... 55%

Free NFL Picks Hope to Rediscover Winning Ways (60% YTD)

We started the week out the wrong way, with a Thursday night loss, though that won't deter us from some Thanksgiving Day betting to kick of Week 12.

For now, though, we're looking forward to the remainder of Week 11, the last week of the season that includes byes. As such, we didn't fall in love with too much on this card, but think we have some good value picks lined up for Sunday.

Raiders -1 over Vikings

Packers -14 over Buccaneers

Lions -7 over Panthers

Ravens -7 over Bengals

We're going with four (mostly) big favorites, and feeling pretty nervous about it. Allow us to justify:

We're most nervous about Oakland, and likewise the entire AFC West. If this falls through, that's probably it for us betting on that division.

The Packers have given up 10 points in their last two home games, and while we're dealing with spreads that are uncomfortably large in the NFL, we're also dealing with a team on and a quarterback on a mission. Lot's of similarities between this team and the 2007 Patriots, so bet accordingly (potentially including betting on a double-digit dog in the Super Bowl).

We think the Lions, despite dropping some home games recently, will feast on the porous Panthers defense similar to the field day they had against Denver, and we're expecting the Jekyll and Hyde Ravens to show up again against the division.

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Week 11: 0-1 (sorry, God)
Total: 26-17-1... 60%

Forgive Us Our Sins! We Repent!

And deliver us to Tebow!

We've prayed on it, and we've decided never to bet against Tim Tebow, and therefore against God, ever again. Lucifer's grip hath held us down for too long.

At least, that's our explanation for picking the Jets (-6) over Tebow's Broncos last night.

Not only did siding with Satan cost us the Thursday nighter and get us off on the wrong foot for our Free NFL Picks on Sunday, it also cost us our third Free NHL Pick of the season, putting us in the red on units (-.45) early in the process when the Oilers were destroyed by the Senators.

At least they weren't playing the devils.

We'll have our remaining Week 11 Free NFL Picks out later this morning and hope for forgiveness from the man upstairs.

A Free NHL Pick to Compliment Thursday Night Football

Our Free NHL Picks are 1-0 on days when there is NFL football, and we're looking to build off that and any other stat we can use to ignore the fact that we suffered a loss on Tuesday.

We've got action on a good ol' fashioned Canadian showdown tonight.

Edmonton Oilers ML (-125) over the Ottawa Senators

With free picks in both football and football on ice tonight, we're hoping for a profitable Thursday. Our YTD (year-to-date for those who have been wondering) hockey total is below:

2011-12 Free NHL Picks
Record: 1-1
Units: +0.55

A Thursday Night Free NFL Pick (62% YTD)

We'll unveil the rest of the Free NFL Picks card tomorrow (mostly because it isn't quite complete as of yet), but we're kicking off our week on Thursday Night Football for the first time this season.

Jets -6 over the Broncos

We already regret not getting this earlier at -4 1/2, but ultimately don't think it will matter. We're comfortable taking the Jets up to a touchdown and see them winning by 10 or 14. The Broncos have three wins with Tim Tebow, sure, but they haven't been beating fantastic teams here.

Not including a blowout loss to the Lions, the Broncos resume reads as follows: flukey comeback against the winless Dolphins, divisional win over Oakland in Carson Palmer's first start, and an unorthodox use of a pro offense in a win over the off-and-on Chiefs (also a divisional game).

While we like Tebow and the Broncos to an extent, that extent doesn't include a Jets team that is better than their record and coming off a tough loss to their bitter rivals. We don't even mind that they are turning around from a Sunday nighter to tip-off the next week's slate.

Our records to date:

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Total: 26-16-1... 62%

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the rest of our Week 11 selections as we try to notch another week of NFL action.

Free NHL Picks Plummet to 50% YTD!

Our Free NHL Picks have gone cold!

The Washington Capitals failed us in our second hockey bet of the year, falling in Nashville to the Predators, 3-1.

We liked the Caps in this spot on the road, which tells us that we may have few bumps in the road as we bet hockey consistently for the first time in our site's nearly four-year history.

We're still up a half a unit thanks to our first win on Sunday, but would have liked to continue posting the obnoxious '100% YTD' headline for a little longer.

We'll bounce back with a pick either tonight (have a lean but not sure we're pulling the trigger) or likely tomorrow.

Stay frozen, friends.

2011-12 Free NHL Picks
Record: 1-1
Units: +0.55

Week 12 Free NCAA Football Picks (55% YTD)

Our Free NCAA Football Picks took a step back last week just when we thought they were ready to turn the corner, but we're ready to rebound this week with some familiar favorites (Stanford and Wisconsin) and three underdogs.

USC +15 1/2 over Oregon

Stanford -18 1/2 over California

Tennessee +1 1/2 over Vanderbilt

Wisconsin -14 over Illinois

Rutgers +3 over Cincinnati

As you can see, not only are we sticking with Stanford, we're picking against Oregon again, even after they embarrassed our Stanford pick last week. This week, though, we've got the secret weapon: posting a picture of USC fan Julie Henderson, who we've posted on this here site before.

And if that doesn't do it, well, we should probably stop betting against Oregon.

The weekly records are below:

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Week 10: 5-3
Week 11: 1-3
Total: 34-28-2... 55%

A Tuesday Free NHL Pick (100% YTD, +1.55 Units)

We told you we would have frequent plays in the NHL, and we have another one tonight after starting the season off with a win on Sunday. We may not pump out hockey content at the same rate as our friends over at The Program, but we're doing our best.

Washington Capitals ML over Nashville Predators (-109)

For those of you not used to us tracking units, we are wagering one unit to win .91 units. Good luck!

2011-12 Free NHL Picks
Record: 1-0
Units: +1.55

Packers Blowout Gives Free NFL Picks Another Winning Week (62% YTD)

The Packers salvaged a weird week of NFL action for us, blowing out the Vikings on Monday Night Football and giving our Free NFL Picks a 3-2 week.

Basically, we went with the wrong NFC East lean, going with the Eagles (vs. Arizona) over the Cowboys (vs. Buffalo) and looking downright stupid for it.

Every week we end up kicking ourselves for getting a lean wrong, but to make matters worse the Eagles pick was actually added to our original Free NFL Picks post. We would have felt a lot better about a 3-1 week, obviously, especially given that we now have three consecutive weeks with two losses and are just .500 over that time at 6-6 after a dominant 67% start (20-10-1).

Have we hit a wall? Maybe. But optimistically speaking, we've improved each week after suffering our first losing week since Week 1, and plan on improving yet again next Sunday with our picks that are still hitting a respectable 62% on the season.

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 3-2
Total: 26-16-1... 62%

College (Football) Is Hard (Free NCAA Football Picks Now 55% YTD)

Another week, another maddeningly inconsistent college football card. After stringing together consecutive winning weeks and thinking that we finally turned the corner at the end of the season, it's back to the drawing board yet again after the Badgers were the only team to cover for us Saturday (and barely did so at that).

Our three losses were infuriatingly off, giving us a losing week and knocking us down to 55% on the season in college football.

Once again, we'll study even harder this upcoming week and try to ace our Free NCAA Football Picks next week, but there was nothing good to draw from this past Saturday.

The breakdown:

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Week 10: 5-3
Week 11: 1-3
Total: 34-28-2... 55%

Monday Night Free NFL Pick Reminder

After a disappointing 2-2 day that included two more completely off-base picks, we're looking to come out on top by picking the Super Bowl champs to cover a big Monday Night spread.

If you've been following us this season, you know that we rarely feel comfortable with double-digit NFL favorites. And since we enjoy humiliating ourselves, we bet on two such spreads this week.

The other, Philly -14 over the Cardinals, resulted in a straight up loss for the Eagles in a play that we added to our card late. Per usual, it was between that and the Cowboys at -5 1/2, who went on to pound the Bills.

Our ability to narrow a card down has been a source of frustration all season, but we still hold to our theory that less is usually more. We just need to make sure to pick the right games.

A loss here would give us our third consecutive NON-winning week, fresh off our streak of six consecutive non-losing streak.

So consider this a reminder, and an excuse to post another of Jaime Edmondson's NFL photos, that we're capping off the week with the Packers at home tonight against the Vikings.

Packers -13 over the Vikings

We've had just one other Monday Night Football Pick this season, earning a win in Week 6--the last time we had a five-play card. How about that symmetry!

Anyway, good luck!

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Week 10: 2-2 (Monday Night pending)
Total: 25-16-1... 61%

Free NHL Picks Start the Season With a Win! (100% YTD)

On a frustrating day for our Free NFL Picks (more on that later), we found salvation in the first of our 2011-12 Free NHL Picks, watching the Blackhawks defeat the Oilers 6-3 to easily cover the -1 1/2 puck line and net us 1.55 units.

If our first pick of the season is any indication (it probably isn't), we're going to enjoy this hockey betting thing quite a bit.

More plays will be coming throughout this week, and the next, and the next, etc. You know where to find us, hockey fans. EDITOR'S NOTE: Actually, most hockey fans probably don't know where to find us, so be sure to pass our site along to your puck-happy friends out there.

2011-12 Free NHL Picks
Record: 1-0
Units: +1.55

Our First Free NHL Pick of the 2011-12 Season!

We promised that we'd actually bet on hockey with some consistency this season, and to show our dedication, we're starting with a play on a day we normally reserve for one sport and one sport only.

That's right, our first Free NHL Pick of the season is today, on football Sunday of all days.

Chicago Blackhawks -1 1/2 over Edmonton Oilers (+155)

Since hockey bets are either a puck line (like above) or a straight money line, we'll be keeping track of our record as well as our total units. This doesn't make as big a difference in football, since we normally bet the spread and not money lines, but in hockey it does indeed. So above, we're wagering one unit to win 1.55 units.

And in case we fail to live up to our hockey betting promise (again), you can find some more consistent hockey coverage from our friends over at The Program.

But we promise you can find it here, too! We think.

Introducing the Mami Marlins!

We like to consider ourselves fairly up to speed with uniform related matters in the world of sports, and are always interested when a team rolls out a new uniform, jersey, and in this case, name. With the Florida Marlins becoming the Miami Marlins, alterations needed to be made to the jerseys to reflect the change.

The Marlins showed off their new duds yesterday, and already a potential problem has arisen. The 'I' in Miami is too close to the seam of the jersey, causing it to disappear at the slightest overlap of the buttons and creating a uniform that says 'Mami' rather than Miami.

While not at all relevant to our usual content, we found this pretty funny, and were reminded of this classic:

Adding a Fifth Week 10 Free NFL Pick

The line is up on the Eagles/Cardinals game, and it is high. And we are still riding with Philly.

Eagles -14 over the Cardinals

Coming off a tough home loss on Monday Night, we think the Eagles feast on one of the worst teams in the league. Add this to a card that already includes the following:

Steelers -3 over Bengals

Buccaneers +3 1/2 over Texans

49ers -3 over Giants

Packers -13 over Vikings

That gives us our first five-play card since Week 6. It also means that for the second time this season, we're riding both Pennsylvania clubs. We have the tendency to get comfortable with certain teams and bet them more frequently than others, and if that's not been the case with the Eagles, it certainly has with the Steelers. Don't let us down, Quaker Nation!

Our Free NFL Picks are 62% on the season, and this week will go a long way in determining which direction we take down the stretch.

Time For Free NFL Picks to Fight Back! (62% YTD)

We've had consecutive mediocre weeks with our Free NFL Picks, which had been on a nice little roll earlier this season. Now, we're hoping our Week 10 card packs a punch and keeps us from going down for the count in 2011.

Steelers -3 over Bengals

Buccaneers +3 1/2 over Texans

49ers -3 over Giants

Packers -13 over Vikings

We are keeping an eye on the Eagles/Cardinals line (yet to be released) and may have a play on the Eagles there, depending on what number we get. As always, stay tuned.

Our weekly report card:

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Total: 23-14-1... 62%

Free NCAA Football Picks Look To Stay Hot (57% YTD)

Our Free NCAA Football Picks look like they are finally getting hot, with consecutive winning weeks and a 9-5 record to show for our last two Saturdays. Another winning week, and our picks might be in the same category as your Clemson model above, Paige Duke, who some of you might recall got a little too hot to wear clothing back when she worked with Sprint's NASCAR team.

This week, we're looking at a little bit smaller card in Week 11.

Clemson -16 1/2 over Wake Forest

Stanford -3 1/2 over Oregon

Wisconsin -27 over Minnesota

Texas Tech +17 over Oklahoma State

And our weekly records:

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Week 10: 5-3
Total: 33-25-2... 57%

2011-12 Will Soon be the Year of the Free NHL Pick

We bet on hockey very rarely. Very, very rarely. While we love the NHL, our bread and butter lies in the NFL and NCAA Football, so we kind of drop the ball (or puck) come NHL season.

While we're once again a little late to the party, we plan on diving into our Free NHL Picks system in 2011-12 like never before.

If only to provide a good chuckle as to the sporadic nature of these picks, we've dug through the archives to uncover our all-time hockey betting record.

Free NHL Picks
2007-08: 4-2... 67%
2008-09: 1-2... 33%
2009-10: 0-0... N/A
2010-11: 4-3... 57%
Total: 9-7... 56%

That's right. By our count, we've actually posted a grand total of 16 Free NHL Picks in our site's history, which dates back to December of the 2007-08 season. And mostly only because we were bored.

Pathetic. But don't worry, hockey fans. No longer will you have to suffer through our half-assed hockey picks once in a while. We're going to go all in this season and we're going to do it right.

We never said we'd have much success, and there is far from a big enough sample size to predict our hockey betting skills (56% through 16 games!), but it's worth a shot. And we'll start taking them as early as this week.

Free NFL Picks Hit a Rough Patch (62% YTD)

Our Free NFL Picks feel a lot like Tara Reid. Hot at first before hitting a slow decline. We can only hope we don't fall quite as hard.

After five straight weeks without a losing record, we went through one in Week 8, albeit with a small card. Then, when we though the Steelers would get us back on track Sunday Night with a 3-1 day, Torrey Smith and the Ravens stole the cover (and win) with under 10 seconds to play.

But one bad beat isn't going to get in our way. We're determined to fight through this rough patch with all the Botox and boob lifts it takes.

The weekly breakdown follows:

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-2
Total: 23-14-1... 62%

Despite our 3-4 record in the last two weeks, we remain confident in what has been a pretty consistent system throughout the years. We hope to have you along for the ride.

Back-to-Back Winning Weeks for Free NCAA Football Picks (57% YTD)

But it could have been so much sweeter.

Aside from losing our Alabama pick in the game of the decade century millennium, we lost two others by a half point. Conversely, we did cover on the Baylor game by a half point as well, but we can't help but dwell on the losers that were a combined point away from giving us a much-needed 7-1 week in college football.

Instead, our Free NCAA Football Picks settle for a 5-3 Saturday, giving them their first consecutive winning weeks since the first two of the season. Yeesh.

Remarkably, the season is already winding down. We hope our records, though, continue their recent upward mobility.

Check back next week as we go for three winning weeks in a row--unheard of in this wacky year of college ball.

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Week 10: 5-3
Total: 33-25-2... 57%

Free NFL Picks Sunday Night Reminder

Just a reminder, the last of our four-play Free NFL Picks card is the Sunday Night rematch between the Steelers and Ravens, and we have the home Steelers by -3 as we look for Pittsburgh to net us another winning week of NFL action.

Steelers -3 over Ravens

We hit a pair of games quite easily this afternoon (49ers and Jets), while whiffing completely on the Chiefs, who were beat down by the winless Dolphins.

And so we enter Sunday Night at 2-1 for the day.

Heroes in a halfshell. Turtle Power.

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Week 9: 2-1 (Sunday Night pending)
Total: 23-13-1... 64%

Trying Not to Look Like a Huge Boob With Our Week 9 Free NFL Picks (64% YTD)

The problem with bragging about not having a losing week for a long time is that, yes, eventually you're bound to have a losing week.

We did just that last week, though with a small three-play card, the damage was minimal at 1-2 for the week.

Nevertheless, this losing thing is not a habit we'd like to start with our Free NFL Picks, which have been consistently winning all season.

Let's keep the huge boobs where they belong by getting back on track this week.

Steelers -3 over the Ravens

49ers -3 1/2 over the Redskins

Jets +1 over the Bills

Chiefs -4 over the Dolphins

We foolishly bet the Steelers in the first matchup of the year against the Ravens. Clearly, we don't easily learn lessons. We're staying within our comfort zone this week, with a 3-1 favorite ratio and small spreads across the board. It's a formula that has worked well for us so far this season, and its packaged in a familiar four-play card.

In the interest of full disclosure, one final lean that we are not playing (as of now) is the Titans -3 at home against the Bengals. People are finally starting to believe in the Bengals, but perhaps too much so. Still, we don't feel confident enough in the Titans to pull the trigger. Yet.

As always, our weekly breakdown:

2011 Free NFL Picks
Week 1: 2-4
Week 2: 4-1-1
Week 3: 4-0
Week 4: 1-1
Week 5: 3-1
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 3-1
Week 8: 1-2
Total: 21-12-1... 64%

Best of luck!

Can Free NCAA Football Picks (56% YTD) Turn In Back-to-Back Winning Weeks?

The moment of truth is here. Again.

We are once again trying to string together consecutive winning weeks in college football for the first time since opening the season with back-to-back successes. Let's hope our Free NCAA Football Pick glory can last longer than a Kim Kardashian marriage.

We think we've got just the card to do it this week. In our biggest card of the season (eight plays), we feel like this is a make or break week for these Free NCAA Football Picks. Bold to make such a move in an even numbered week, where we've done little right, but as they say, fortune favors the bold.

Alabama -4 1/2 over LSU

Washington +16 1/2 over Oregon

Arkansas -5 1/2 over South Carolina

Stanford -21 over Oregon State

UCLA +8 1/2 over Arizona State

Cincinnati -3 1/2 over Pittsburgh

Wisconsin -25 over Purdue

Baylor -2 1/2 over Missouri

Our weekly records follow, if only to prove that, yes, we really have sucked in even-numbered weeks this year.

2011 Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-1
Week 2: 4-2-1
Week 3: 3-3
Week 4: 2-4
Week 5: 2-1-1
Week 6: 3-4
Week 7: 4-2
Week 8: 1-3
Week 9: 4-2
Total: 28-22-2... 56%

Stock Lemon (Blog) Gets Some New Head

There comes a time in a blog's life when it's just time for some quality head. That time is now for Stock Lemon, as we show off our new and improved blog header.

Gone is our iconic Lemmy the lemon image, though we'll still make use of our mascot from time to time and in other various spots around the net (pardon the use of a different fruit in the image above). Added is the word "blog" following "Stock Lemon," as we finally begin to streamline ourselves under the full title of our new URL, Stock Lemon Blog.

Also included: cooler fonts.

We hope you enjoy the aesthetic portion of the blog, but our main concern is that you enjoy the free football picks we've been handing out, which are hitting at 64% in the NFL and 56% in college football. We'll be back with more of both our Free NFL Picks and our Free NCAA Football Picks later this week.

Until then, enjoy the head.