I suppose I could wait until Friday to talk about this weekend’s NFL playoff betting matchups. But let’s get this straight, folks. I’m not Clean Harry. I’m Dirty Harry. And Dirty Harry makes the most of New Year’s Eve. Then he shakes off the cobwebs on New Year’s Day and enjoys the bowl games. He probably bet online on some of ‘em too.

That’s why now’s the time to break down these NFL playoff betting matchups…

FALCONS (-2) at CARDINALS

Cool storyline: Two turnaround franchises. I would’ve bet online on Charlie Weis revealing himself to be a living, breathing hamburger before I picked these fellas to make the playoffs.

Online betting choice: Falcons

Why? Because they do almost everything well, whereas ‘Zona can only throw it.

COLTS (-1.5) at CHARGERS

Cool storyline: The Chargers somehow got into the playoffs at 8-8. Here’s an idea: how about the NFL tries the English Premiership thing? The bottom teams of the AFC and NFC West get cut and the winners of the BCS Championship and the Grey Cup enter the NFL.

Online betting choice: Colts

Why? Because San Diego defends against the pass as well as Sarah Palin handles interview questions.

RAVENS (-3) at DOLPHINS

Cool storyline: Remember the Rodney Dangerfield soccer movie Ladybugs? When a boy dressed up like a girl and helped turn the team around? Well, it’s the reverse with the Dolphins. Some girl named “Chad” led Miami to the playoffs with her weak-yet-accurate arm.

Online betting choice: Ravens

Why? Their D is just so damn mean. Plus they beat Miami in Miami this year already.

EAGLES (-3) at VIKINGS

Cool storyline: How the hell did the Birds pull this one out of their asses? Maybe McNabb bought himself another season in Philly.

Online betting choice: Eagles

Why? Philly can throw, and Minny doesn’t defend against throwing too well. Plus the Eagles will pressure whichever poor sap Minny plugs in at QB.

*disclaimer* This is the only time roses will be featured in the backyard.

“The Granddaddy of Them All” kicks off on New Year’s Day at 4:30 PM ET, and USC are 10-point NCAA football betting favorites against Penn State, and both come into this game ranked in the top ten. The Trojans have the nation’s best defense, and their offense holds up their end of the bargain by coming in 13th. The Nittany Lions are just as good, ranking fifth in defense and 14th in offense. There is an assumption that the Pac-10 is far better than the Big Ten (see USC’s thumping of Ohio State earlier in the season), but top to bottom, there isn’t much difference. The Trojans have owned the Rose Bowl with 32 victories, including two straight, but don’t be surprised at all to see an NCAA football betting upset on New Year’s Day.

As a big MMA betting fan, it really grinds my gears when people try to compare UFC to the WWE. I’m not talking about Brock Lesnar, by the way. It doesn’t help that Sable is his wife (nice work, Brock) or that the Undertaker and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin showed up when he fought Frank Mir last year. But that’s not the problem at all, as Brock is a legitimate — freakishly legimitate - athlete and fighter.

I’m talking about trash talk. It’s fun when MMA fighters discuss bad blood and sling mud before a fight, as it pumps up both online sports betting fans and the fighters themselves. But when the same two guys hug, admit that they were just hyping the fight, or even say they’re going out for beers together after the fight — as Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra did after UFC 83 - the original trash-talk exercise looks cartoonish or commercial.

So, then…what to think about Wanderlei Silva’s war of words with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson heading into this weekend’s exciting UFC 92 betting matchup? My gut says it’s legit. Maybe it’s because he’s taken too many blows to the head, but something tells me Silva doesn’t due subtlety. If he’s sayin’ it, he probably means it.

Should be a goodie! Good luck to anyone who’s going to bet online on UFC 92. My money’s on Rampage to avenge his past defeats and beat the Jackson vs Silva odds.

‘Tis the season for a lot of things — to bet online on college bowl games, for example. Or maybe you’re stewing over your NFL Week 16 picks?

Well, time to take a break from online sports betting. Check out these sexy photos of cheerleaders dressed in Santa outfits. Beats lining up to sit on the fat man’s knee at the mall, don’t it? Yes, the girls’ interpretation of “Santa outfit” is a bit loose. Why are you complaining?

Normally, we’re not big fans of snowboarding in Dirty Harry’s Backyard. For starters, snowboarding implies cold weather and cold weather implies women are wearing more clothes than necessary. Secondly, snowboarding implies snow and sportsbook odds indicate that it hasn’t snowed in DH’s B in many years. Sportsbook odds do indicate that it is more likely to rain bikinis ’round here.

But these girls can snowboard here all they want:

Wow - she blows at that game. Maybe she just needs someone to show her the ropes. Any volunteers?

It’s Friday, and maybe you’re worn out. Boss leaning on you too hard? Maybe you’re bummed because you picked the Lakers to beat Sacramento on Tuesday’s NBA lines. Or maybe you bet online on that damn Saints-Bears game that ended up being a push. NFL spreads are evil sometimes.

Well, try not to fret. They day’s half over and you could be having a much tougher day at work. Just ask this poor bastard!

So this doesn’t have much to do with sportsbook odds, BCS National Championship Game odds or nude women, which means we are getting off topic here, but take a break from your day and watch this commercial for Jones Big Ass Truck Rental and Storage:

The highlight is the one-minute mark, where Jones claims to be drunk. That’s awesome. Jones, you have an open invitation to the Backyard whenever you like.

This is a guy’s blog. We talk about girls, sportsbook odds and girls. But it’s worth mentioning that in a nationally televised locker room press conference after the Vikings gigantic win over the winless Lions, Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe was seen full frontal nudity. Nice one.

No, we’re not posting that picture here but it is a funny story. And to avoid any instances where people think we enjoyed seeing that, we are going to post a sexy, hot chic below to make us feel more comfortable about ourselves.

I feel better.

If you don’t like a single Metallica song, then there is probably something wrong with you. The band that has sold nearly 50 million albums in the U.S. alone is going to be rocking on to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame next year and there are sportsbook odds, which you can bet and which I will bet, on them to make it in next year.

They are -280 and that’s great value. Summer Campinelli, who writes for a sportsbook, did a writeup about it here, or I guess it’s called Metallica exotic odds, explaining why they should make it in. I agree fully.

Alabama vs Florida betting might as well be the national title but thanks to the overly-complicated BCS system, this No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup is for nothing more than the SEC championship, and a possible trip to the  BCS Championship.

The Gators are favored heavily on the Alabama vs Florida line due to their tremendous momentum, and obscene number of style points that they have gathered throughout the past few weeks. It would seem that Alabama has been too consistent for its own good–people have forgotten about them. However, Alabama is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Florida–yet it is a 10.5 point underdog in this game.

Sometimes you can overthink when betting on a game like this, and in all honesty, the matchup looks great for Florida on paper. But any time you have some spare cash and see the No. 1 ranked team in the country listed as a 10.5 point underdog on NCAA betting lines, it’s not a bad idea to lay it down with them.