In gambling parlance, “prop bets” are wagers that go outside the norm of standard peri-mutuel wagering. The Super Bowl is full of these “prop bets” – everything from “Will the National Anthem performance run over or under 90 seconds?” Or, “Will a field goal or extra point kick hit the uprights?” (Spoiler alert – that happened last year).
So naturally, with the news that Albany Empire owner Antonio Brown will once again put on the pads and take the field as his team plays Saturday against (checks notes) Fayetteville, I came up with a prop bet regarding this game.
“Who will score more points on Saturday night – Antonio Brown, or an individual member of the Albany Patroons?”
See, this Saturday the Patroons are hosting their regular season finale against the Syracuse Stallions. The Patroons are in second place in the Northeast division of the TBL, and have a chance to claim home-court advantage throughout the first few rounds of the playoffs. The Pats, at 18-4, are one game behind the Atlantic City Gambits (19-3), while the Reading Rebels (16-6) and Syracuse Stallions (15-7) round out the top 4. The Pats still have a chance to claim the #1 Northeast seed by winning both their games and Atlantic City losing at least one of their two final games.
And the Patroons are certainly looking at revenge on the Stallions, who DARED to take a victory against Albany on Opening Night in the Washington Avenue Armory. Nuh-uh. That ain’t happening. Not in our house. Not. In. Our House.
But back to the prop bet. As of the TBL statistics page, Trevis Wyche leads the Patroons in scoring with 20.7 ppg in 20 games. New signee Ed Dyson III has 19 points in 4 games, while Shadell Millinghaus has also put up some big numbers in games this season (including Albany’s only triple-double earlier this year).
And that game on Saturday will be against a top opponent. The Patroons aren’t facing the Washington Generals or the Friday Night All-Stars from the YMCA. So I expect lots of scoring.
Then again, down the street, there’s the arena football game. And Antonio Brown’s father, the legendary Albany Firebirds scoring machine “Touchdown” Eddie Brown, used to average six to eight touchdown receptions in the Arena Football League back in the day. It’s why the Firebirds – the true real Arena Fotball legacy team in Albany, and I’ll die on that hill – won ArenaBowl XIII way back in the day. And perhaps the Empire, with quarterback (fill in the blank here), might be able to score a win against (checking notes again) Fayetteville.
But yeah, I’m taking the prop bet. I’ll put Trevis Wyche up against Antonio Brown in the scoring category. Trevis was Albany’s representative at the TBL All-Star Classic this year, and he does not disappoint. So I’m taking Trevis Wyche straight-up over Antonio Brown in the prop bet of who will score more points Saturday night. Your mileage may vary – you may want to choose Shadell Millinghaus or James Currington or Philip Flory, that’s fine by you.
Now I just have to find out if Rivers Casino’s Sportsbook will take my action on this.
Or maybe they only limit prop bets for Super Bowl time. 😀
Chuck The Writer 