Written by Mike Piper

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Players, usually the Lead ManTM opens his column waxing poetic about past triumphs and exuding confidence in regard to future plays.   And rightfully so.  This week, however, is no time for him to be verbose because the Lead Man is hitting his stride and he absolutely loves the board this weekend.  Read, bet, collect.  It's The Lead Man.

Players, usually the Lead Man^TM opens his column waxing poetic about past triumphs and exuding confidence in regard to future plays.  

And rightfully so.  

This week, however, is no time for him to be verbose because the Lead Man^TM is hitting his stride and he absolutely loves the board this weekend. 

Incidentally, last week Lead Man^TM was asked on more than one occasion about NFL selections. Remember players, Lead is in the winning business, not the gambling business. The reason he offered no NFL selections last week is he felt there wasn't anything worth playing. Allow the other players to participate in a game of Russian roulette, blindly throwing money on picks just for action's sake. True Lead disciples exhibit the discipline to only wager the games in which their research has turned up a significant edge.  

The Lead Man^TM will now serve you up 4 such games: 

"Waitress, bring a round of Boilermakers for Lead Man^TM and the fellas."

Yes players, even one as dumb as Lloyd Christmas knows what to order up in this match-up between Notre Dame and Purdue. Some luck o' the Irish has given some people a thought that the opportunistic Notre Dame offense is better than it really is. The fact of the matter is that they are 107^th in the nation in yards from scrimmage, they are still having problems up front, the extremely unlikable Jimmy Clausen is still learning the ropes and they can't run the ball a lick. And while the Irish have improved on D, Montana Joe Tiller's squad has the talented Curtis Painter behind the wheel and he's getting acclimated quickly with his young receiving corps. Purdue should be giving points against a one-dimensional Irish squad; instead, they are getting one. Take it.

Purdue +1. 

Full sets of teeth and bars of soap will be at a premium at The University of Kentucky's Commonwealth Stadium as the Wildcats host their interstate rival, The Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky. Kentucky looks to extend the nation's third longest non-conference winning streak at the expense of WKU, as well as prime themselves for the upcoming SEC schedule. Rich Brooks stepped up practices during this past week's bye for these very reasons. WKU is stout against the run, but they will struggle against UK's passing attack. They are also getting some key players back from injury, including starting left tackle Garry Williams. This game is a bargain under three touchdowns, hop on it before the Lead Man's steam makes it an Abe Lincoln and takes it to four scores.

Kentucky -20. 

The eyes of Texas will be upon Arkansas as they travel to Darrell K. Royal Stadium to hook up with the Longhorns. Bobby Petrino's squad was lambasted by the Tide last week but it looks like he's going to stick around for at least another week or two or at least until another job opens up. This is good news because the Lead Man^TM feels Petrino's squad is getting too many points, partly as a result of last week's disaster. Arkansas is not as bad offensively as they showed against Alabama and Texas' secondary can be exploited. On any given weekend in college many Dicks become big. It would behoove the Razorbacks QB Casey Dick to do the same. Lead Man looks for Arkansas to score enough points to cover a 4 touchdown spread.

Arkansas +28. 

Off to the professional ranks where the Lead Man^TM has spotted a mismatch. The San Diego Chargers travel to the black hole to take on the Raiders. Just as sure as the Lead Man^TM wagered his life on Brett Favre throwing an interception for a touchdown Monday night, he looks for a fantastic Charger secondary to wreak havoc on young JaMarcus Russell. On the flip side, the Charger offense is clicking. Philip Rivers is playing well, LT is LT and Antonio Gates is getting healthier. The Raiders are not going to contain the Chargers all day long, and Lead doesn't see Oakland scoring too many points. This could be the swan song for lame duck coach Monte Kiffin as Elvis might bring down the hammer after a convincing Charger win.

San Diego -7.5 

Don't forget players, Lead Man^TM goes live tonight at 10:30 on his white-hot new radio show ‘The Pipeline' with host Brian McPeek. As stated in the opening, the Lead Man^TM loves the board this week, and he's got more winners in store. He'll also be taking your calls concerning any game on the board. So tune in and make your walk to the window that much more likely and sweet.