Alright, fellas, gather 'round the barber shop chair 'cause ol' i4football got somethin' to say about our resident wizard, The LAZ Index.First off, LAZ went 9-7 last week. That's .563 for you non-math majors. Now, in the real world that's a solid B-minus, maybe even a gentleman's C+ if the professor's feelin' generous. But in the gambling world? That's like showin' up to the OTB with a fresh haircut, a pocket full of twenties, and leavin' with enough to buy a round for the fellas... and still tip the bartender. Respectable. Hell, back in '89 I once went 8-8 on a Saturday, celebrated like I'd hit the lottery, took this fine young thing named LaWanda to the red lobster, woke up Sunday morning down $400 with a hangover that felt like Nick Saban was usin' my skull for kickin' practice. 9-7? LAZ is sittin' pretty. Man's playin' with house money and good sense.Now let's get to this week's card, 'cause LAZ done flipped the script and gone full degenerate underdog mode. This ain't your daddy's "take the favorites and the points" sheet—this is straight contrarian, "I dare you to bet against my computer" energy. And know this: the man ain't just punchin' buttons on a Commodore 64. Word is he used to feed numbers into them old BCS computers back when they were tryin' to figure out who deserved to play for crystal football. National respect. Good people. Doesn't charge a dime. We don't deserve him.Game by game, let's ride: BYU over Georgia Tech +7 LAZ takin' the Yellow Jackets gettin' a full touchdown at home? BYU's mad about gettin' snubbed again, but Georgia Tech's got that ACC chaos juice. This feels like the game where BYU jumps out 17-0 and then remembers it's a bowl game and takes the foot off the gas. +7 feels like free money. I'm in. UConn over Army +1 Army +1? At home? LAZ, you beautiful madman. Army's run that triple option like a Swiss watch all year, but UConn's got nothin' to lose and a chip the size of Storrs on their shoulder. This one smells like 13-10 written all over it. Gimme the points and the Black Knights. Fresno State over Miami OH +1 Miami OH comin' off that MAC championship, feelin' themselves. Fresno's been quietly solid out west. +1 feels like LAZ's computer sayin' "y'all sleepin' on the Red Wave." I ain't arguin'. Hawai'i over Cal +1 Rainbow Warriors gettin' points at home? In December? When Cal's half the team is already in the transfer portal or dreamin' of In-N-Out? This is the kind of pick that makes Vegas nervous. Aloha means both hello and goodbye—goodbye to Cal's season. Louisville over Toledo +3 Toledo's been frisky all year. Louisville's got talent but that "we should've been in the playoff talk" hangover. +3 feels right. Rockets cover, maybe even pull the upset if the Cards are lookin' ahead to basketball season. LSU over Houston +4 Houston gettin' four against LSU? In Texas? With LSU possibly missin' half their defense to the portal and draft? This smells like one of them 34-31 games where the Cougars cover in garbage time. LAZ knows. Minnesota over New Mexico +1 New Mexico's got that Rocky Mountain air advantage or somethin'? Minnesota's defense travels. +1 feels like LAZ's computer spittin' out "trap game alert." Missouri over Virginia +2 Mizzou comin' off that near-miss season, Virginia quietly competent. +2? That's free. Feels like one of them games ends 24-23. North Texas over San Diego State +5 Mean Green gettin' five? Against SDSU's defense? This one might be LAZ's biggest stones play of the week. Northwestern over Central Michigan +11 Eleven points? ELEVEN? CMU must've really pissed off the computer. Northwestern's defense is nasty, but +11 feels like the kind of number that gets covered on a late backdoor TD when everybody's already at the bowl tailgate. Penn State over Clemson +6 Pinstripe Bowl with Clemson gettin' six? Dabo's boys been written off all year and keep winnin'. This feels like classic "disrespected veteran vs. overrated blueblood" energy. Pitt over East Carolina +4 Pirates gettin' four at home? Pitt's season went off the rails late. This smells upset. UNLV over Ohio +3 Rebel nation's still buzzin'. Ohio's solid but +3 feels generous. UTSA over FIU +5 Roadrunners layin' only five against their little brother? Trap city. Washington State over Utah State +6 Wazzu gettin' six after the year they had? Cam Ward gone, but still... +6 feels like money. Western Kentucky over Southern Miss +2 Hilltoppers only layin' two? That's the most suspicious line on the board. LAZ knows somethin'. Bottom line: LAZ done went full "bet the house on the dogs" this week, and if half these hit? Man's gonna be buyin' rounds for the whole message board. If they don't? Well, at least it'll be entertaining.Y'all ride with the Index at your own risk. Me? I'm tailin' a few of these quietly. Just don't tell my bookie.Good luck, degenerates. And LAZ—respect, brother. Keep feedin' that computer them good numbers.

The index took a beating last week. Bowl season gets tougher every year. Last Week 9-7 .563; College Season: 3278-1000 .766   Brigham Young over Georgia Tech +7 Connecticut over Army +1 Fresno St over Miami OH +1 Hawaii over California +1 Louisville over Toledo +3 LSU over Houston +4 Minnesota over New Mexico +1 Missouri over Virginia +2 North Texas over San Diego St  +5 Northwestern over Central Michigan +11 Penn St over Clemson +6 Pittsburgh over East Carolina +4 UNLV over Ohio U. +3 UTSA over Florida International +5 Washington St over Utah St +6 Western Kentucky over Southern Mississippi +2  

Lely (Naples) Ben Hammer is out

People who know me know I have very inside close family members and friends within Charlotte High.  Also have close family members and friends in the youth football programs in Charlotte, Sarasota and Lee Counties.  I’m certainly not saying Justin Midgett isn’t a candidate for either the Ft Myers or Charlotte head coaching jobs.  I’m not going to say anything about the Ft Myers job but I have heard some pretty valid inside info.   As far as the Charlotte job it was determined not enough progress was being made.  Many in the program including players were ready to move on. One of the issues was Coach Mentzer failed to establish and attend youth football programs.  Developing important relationships within the area was not something he made a priority.  Charlotte has and expects a lot of interest in the job.  A local head coach has actually shown up at the Charlotte offices on their own volition.  

They are afraid of the Governor, state legislature, and the Department of Education.