Tonight At Mandarin: The Ladies of Lumiere October 2009 Girls Next Door Party

Tonight's the night for our special Ladies of Lumiere Girl Next Door Month. All of our October Girls Next Door will be on hand at Mandarin in the Central West End for the festivities. You still have a few hours to vote for the insideSTL.com October 2009 Girl Next Door by CLICKING HERE.

Here's a look at our four contestants for the month of October:

Brittini R.


Crystal F.


Renee G.


La Donna W.

Me vs. Producer Joe: Week 9

Baylor @ Missouri -14

Producer Joe: I am healthy once again and went 5-0 last week with my picks, but now I feel pressure to perform back to back weeks so that I can prove that it wasn't a fluke accident. But in all honesty, the games last week kind of jumped out at me and I don't feel the same this week. Mizzou looked great in the first half and I am going to assume that they just lost interest in playing the second half, kind of like the viewers when they realized they had to watch another 30 minutes of football. I do like the fact that Blaine Gabbert looked much better and I love the fact that the Pinkel Patrol said he looked as good as he has in a month in practice on Tuesday, so with that alone I am going to saddle up on the Tigers once again this week, and there are no favorable numbers to support this bet, but I feel pretty comfortable laying a couple of TD's at Faurot.
Missouri -14

McKernan: I'll believe Gabbert is healthy. I am confident in Baylor's suckitude. Missouri -14


Oklahoma -5.5 @ Nebraska

Producer Joe: The Big 12 North sucks. Nebraska resides in the Big 12 North. Oklahoma is a pretty good team that has been hit by the injury bug really hard this season and will still destroy Nebraska at home. I have zero faith in a team that has lost their previous two home games to Texas Tech (rebuilding year) & Iowa State (always terrible). Even if the Oklahoma offense struggles, I think their defense is enough to handle a freshman quarterback playing against real competition (last week he started against Baylor---they do not count as an actual team). Its a season full of what should've and could've been for the Sooners, but it is still a rivalry game and they will handle the Huskers in Lincoln on Saturday. If you need to feel better about it: the Sooners are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 in November & 7-1 ATS in their last 8 as a road favorite, while the Huskers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 conference games. Oklahoma -5.5

McKernan: Nebraska sucks. If they lost to Iowa State and Texas Tech at home, the Sooner Schooner will be plowing them in Lincoln. Oklahoma -5.5


Cowboys @ Eagles -3

Producer Joe: I loved the Eagles last week, I love the Eagles this week, and I just may love the Eagles for a while this year. Now, maybe just maybe the Giants were exposed for the third consecutive week as being pretenders in the NFC, but I am betting that the fact that the Eagles are a good football team had something to do with it. Donovan and the offense are filled with dynamic playmakers and Maclin is making strides each and every week against NFL defenses. The Cowboys have won 3 in a row but they haven't been beating the elite in this league and for that reason I

have to climb upon the back of Andy Reid to bring home another winner this week. Eagles-3

McKernan: I'm loving seeing Jeremy Maclin have success in Philadelphia. But, I haven't bet against Producer Joe yet...so for the hell of it...Cowboys +3


Ravens @ Cincy +3

Producer Joe: I am not sure why I have been rooting for the Bengals this season but I have been. Maybe its the fact that America was given a chance to watch Hard Knocks on HBO and get a feel for the 2009 Bengals and see some of the personalities on this team. In all honesty, the NFL as a whole hides the personality of its players more so than any league in this country, so getting a handful of episodes during the summer to see a team coming together kind of helps you root for them. The best part of it....the team is filled with players that "pure" sports fans would hate: Chad Ochocinco, Tank Johnson, Chris Henry, Cedric Benson, etc. It's a tough task for the Bengals to beat the Ravens twice in one season, but I like the fact that a team is 5-2, coming off a bye week, & is getting points at home. Place your faith in the right arm of Carson Palmer. Bengals +3

McKernan: I think the Ravens are a good football team. I enjoy rolling with them. And, as Producer Joe points out, logic would dictate betting on the Bengals. Easy enough. Ravens -3


Lock of The Week

Producer Joe: Kansas -2 @ Kansas State

I looked up and down for a game that I really, really, really liked for my Lock of the Week and this is what I came up with....and both teams suck. Sure K-State is leading the Big 12 North right now with an overall record of 5-4, but two of those wins were over 1-AA (damn you NCAA, they are called 1-AA schools for everyone over the age of 8) teams and they have managed to lose to Louisiana-Lafayette this season as well. I hate to feel good about a pick this week especially after catching lightning in a bottle last week, but of all the picks I have made this week, I feel the absolute best about this one. Happy gambling. Kansas -2

McKernan: Green Bay @ Tampa Bay +10

My locks have been so fucking dreadful, at this point you should bet the opposite. I've had a strange feeling about Tampa Bay at home this week against Green Bay getting 10. So, I'll stick with my intuition...even though it's been awful as of late. Bucs +10


Log-in to post your comments, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.