Written by Mike Piper

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Yes folks, the Lead Man is heating up. He hasn't had a losing weekend in a month with his 3 winning weekends and one draw. He is zooming past the magical 52.4 number and if you indeed have been shadowing LP wire to wire you are a winning player for the season. If you have chased your money or strayed from the Lead Man's advice, there is a great chance you are not. In today's piece, the Lead Man talks about discipline, and hammers out some point spread winners for our readers.

Discipline, n., 1. training that develops self control 2. punishment 3. set or system of rules and regulations 4. Branch of learning 

Discipline is a word with multiple meanings, all of which apply to the Lead Man. 

1. Training that develops self control- It is clear the Lead Man has trained extensively, thoroughly and religiously and graduated at the head of the Tout class. He never bets the entire board. He never chases his losses. He makes his own decisions even if John Q. Public is telling him otherwise.
   
2. Punishment- The Lead Man brings out the whooping stick and uses it on his bookie practically each and every week of football season.
   
3. Set or system of rules and regulations- The 90% rule, The Kordellolary, Leadiquette...It is no mystery that the Lead Man lives by the rules he has developed over the years, and his great success can be credited to following them without fail. It is also a known fact that those players who follow the Lead Man's rules become winners in the gambling world and winners in life. Those that lack the discipline to emulate Lead and follow his teachings quickly fall by the wayside.
   
4. Branch of learning- When the Lead Man puts pencil to paper here at theclevelandfan.com he is teaching just one of his many mastered disciplines in the gambling world, that of course being sports betting. He is also an expert player at other gambling disciplines, always playing at an advantage and always ignoring negative expectation plays. Got a couple days? The Lead Man can teach you a thing or two about Video Poker, Pai Gow, Hold ‘em or whatever your gaming pleasure may be.

"Why bring this up now Lead Man?" you might ask. "Is it because the players that stuck with you after a mediocre start to the football season by Lead Man standards start are now beginning to be rewarded?" 

Well players, yes and no.  

Yes, the Lead Man has been heating up. He hasn't had a losing weekend in a month with his 3 winning weekends and one draw. He is zooming past the magical 52.4 number and if you indeed have been shadowing LP wire to wire you are a winning player for the season. If you have chased your money or strayed from the Lead Man's advice, there is a great chance you are not.  

So, yes, discipline in following the Lead Man has made you a winner. However, this is not the reason Lead is bringing this topic up right now. The reason is far more important. The Lead Man is adding a brand new rule to his "set or system of rules and regulations", based on a game he recommended last weekend. The new rule to add players is; 

Never wager a game in which BOTH coaches are absolute-stone-cold- morons. 

Last week the Lead Man recommended a wager in the Charger vs. Chiefs tilt. He would like to publicly apologize for that play. And no players, it's not for the reason many of you assume - San Diego failing to cover. The main reason it was a huge mistake is that Lead Man indirectly forced you to watch such horrible football, exposed you to midgets of the NFL coaching profession and wasted hours of your life. It was so bad it could quite possibly have thrown off your analytical skills for weeks to come. 

Watching Herman Edwards take a talent-laden team and force it to play "Herman Edwards Football",  regardless of what skills the players on the team had at the time, has been painful to watch to say the least.  

Watching Norv Turner take the most talented team in the league today and slap his unique brand of incompetence of them is equally as painful.  

When these two forces of ineptitude collide? God help humanity.  

The Superchargers, loaded with approximately 95 Pro Bowlers, playing at home, struggled against the incompetent, lowly Chefs? You've got to be kidding Lead. And let Lead get this straight; Edwards goes for two to avoid overtime and then plays the part of the maverick riverboat gambler with nothing to lose in the post game presser, all while conveniently ignoring the fact that he displayed the ultimate in conservatism on a 4^th and 10 inches JUST  7 MINUTES EARLIER. 

Manhattan for a couple beads was a bad deal for Indians. Herman Edwards for a 1^st round selection was worse for their Chiefs. Christ. And, if the situation was reversed the Lead Man could see Norv Turner ordering his kicker to "take a knee" on that extra point attempt, just to seal the loss. 

Now, don't get Lead wrong, he is all about value. There's nothing that relieves pain more than a trip to the window, but this rule carries weight from a gambling perspective as well. Reason being when two complete dunderheads match lack of wits it's awful hard to handicap with any certainty what may happen. A normal game may have one or two seemingly illogical play or calls. With two morons matching up, the majority of the decisions don't make sense.  

Last season Lead Man wrote about how he erred in recommending a Pitt/Syracuse play. Simply because it was a mano y mano battle of the two worst coaches in college football.  

You remember what happened. Pitt has 1^st down at the 1, needing to score to cover. Wannestedt runs 4 consecutive slow developing trap plays, (yes, Lead said 4 consecutive slow developing trap plays) from the same formation, right into the strength of the Syracuse defense. LP, from his Ohio based Leadquarters could have gotten out of the recliner, driven to the Pitt campus, and made a couple of the stops himself. Any coach with a pulse gets his team into the end zone in that situation, but when you are dealing with cats like this, you never know. 

So players, save yourself the time, aggravation and most importantly, the money, and add the old "Double Moron" rule to your list. 

On to some games we can stomach this weekend; 

What young man in college doesn't like to catch a glimpse of some beaver? Well, the boys from Cal are going to get an eyeful Saturday afternoon as they travel to Reser Stadium to take on the Beavers of Oregon State. Oregon State has momentum and they are only three victories away from claiming their first Rose Bowl birth in almost 40 years. The other OSU has been riding the back of freshman sensation Jacquizz Rodgers, now the all-time Pac 10 freshman single season rushing leader. Cal on the other hand still can't find a starting quarterback. Nate Longshore struggled last week against USC and was pulled for Kevin Riley, who promptly hung a 4 of 16 passing day on the board. This should allow Oregon State to concentrate on stopping Jahvid Best and make it a long day for Cal. Also the Beavers D-line is stout, they should be able to bottle up Best and disrupt whomever is tossing it for the Bears. Look for the Beavers to win the dam game, and cover the dam spread. 

Oregon State -3. 

The Ravens travel to Giants Stadium Sunday to tussle with the Giants. This is a match-up problem for the Ravens, especially in regard to Giant receivers vs. the Raven secondary. Sure, the Ravens are excellent against the run. However, the top rushing offense in the league should be able to pound out enough yards and soften up a battered Raven secondary. You've also got a rookie QB on the road and, to make matters worse, he's on the road against perhaps the best pass rushing team in the league. Lead Man likes the progress Flacco has made so far, but Sunday afternoon is going to be no picnic for the youngster. Edgar Allan Poe liked to quote the Raven, but he died a penniless alcoholic laying in a gutter. You players are better off quoting the Lead Man, and flying to the window. 

Giants -6.5 

Don't forget tonight players, the Pipeline airs at 10:30. The show has been so jam packed the last few weeks it's been hard to get all the information out in just one hour. Thankfully, Romeo Crennel isn't controlling the show clock. Brian McPeek and Lead will discuss many of the games on the board and, of course, will provide the free internet bonus picks. Good luck players!