Dickie's Digest - Super Bowl Bets, Sign-Stealing Scandal, and Being Indistractable
Friends,
Today is a great day in that it is two of my favorite days at the same time - Super Bowl Sunday AND Palindrome Day (02/02/2020). If, like me, you are in way too many Super Bowl Square pools, this helpful guide by FiveThirtyEight breaks down your chances of winning. The best boxes to have are (7/4), (3/0), and (7/7), while the worst ones to have are (9/9), (2/2), and (5/5).
Here’s to a Super Bowl Sunday full of food, friends, and football. Enjoy this week’s edition of the Digest!
Lines I'm Hammering
First and foremost, the 49ers are going to win the Super Bowl by 14 points or more. Betting on them +1.5 is practically stealing– I honestly feel guilty for doing it. Seriously, I haven’t felt this strongly about a Super Bowl bet since I bet the Rams to beat the Patriots last year.
49ers +1.5 Full Game
49ers ML +105
49ers 1H ML +110
Aside from the game day food, the best part of the Super Bowl is the endless list of prop bets that keep every part of the game interesting. Each one of these is a sure-fire lock:
Demi Lovato National Anthem Length: Over 2 minutes -240. The over has hit every year for the last four years. Nothing is more electric than rooting for a longer National Anthem.
Will Demi Lovato’s Hair Color be Completely Black? Yes -190. Inside scoop on this one. Hammer it.
Gatorade Bath Color: Red +130. Given that the 49ers only drink red Gatorade and are a lock to win, this is an easy bet.
Who Will the Super Bowl MVP Mention First in His Speech: God +250. Another layup.
Will a kick hit the Upright or Crossbar on a kick: Yes +350. Rooting for a doink? I’m in.
Patrick Mahomes Passing Attempts: Over 35.5 -130. They’ll be playing from behind all game.
Who will throw the first interception in the game? Patrick Mahomes +125. He might even throw one on the first drive.
What Has My Attention
Sign Stealing Scandal
If you haven’t been keeping up the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, it’s truly a fascinating story. So far, the Astros’ GM and Manager have both been fired, with more punishments pending, including a possible stripping of their recent World Series titles.
Over the last three seasons, the Astros had an elaborate scheme of stealing the catcher’s pitch signs and relaying them to the batters by banging on a trash can one, two, or three times, depending on the pitch.
An Astros fan went back and recorded EVERY pitch where there was the trash can banging noise, mapped them to the pitch thrown, and was able to prove what was happening. All of this analysis can be found at this link, where you can hear the banging for every pitch thrown.
For example, in this game versus the Twins, there were 48 trash can bangs, one on each curveball and two on each slider. Crazy!
What I'm Listening To
#137 - James Altucher - How To Improve Every Day & Harness The Power Of Ideas - Modern Wisdom | Podcast on Spotify
This two-part interview (part one | part two) between @JamesAltucher and @ChrisWillx was one of the best podcasts I’ve listened to in a while.
When you hear the energy, excitement, and curiosity in James Altucher’s voice in this interview, you can’t help but feel more motivated to take action– something I call motivational enthusiasm.
This wide-ranging interview talks about building your creative muscle, running personal experiments, and much more.
What I'm Reading
Indistractable by Nir Eyal — Book Notes — Dickie Bush
I recently finished reading Indistractable by Nir Eyal, a book about harnessing our attention in the age of constant distraction.
Nir lays out a simple, four-part framework for focusing our attention on things that matter.
Being Indistractable means you consistently do the things you say you are going to do.
He goes on to explore the question: What could we accomplish if we did everything we said we would?
You can find my takeaways from the book here and on two related books, The War of Art and Atomic Habits, at this link.
End Note
If you’re enjoying the Digest so far, I’d love it if you shared it with a friend or two by forwarding it or sending them here to sign up. In a world full of noise, I’m trying to make this email the highest signal one you receive each week — I hope you’re enjoying it.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter or respond directly to this email to get in touch. And should you come across anything interesting this week, send it my way! I love finding new things to read through members of this newsletter.
Have an epic week,
Dickie