banyuls

Las Vegas - One more time in England, back in North London and looking at the Tottenham vs. Everton match.

As you know, I have a handful of jerseys from the soccer world, and Everton is one of my favs. Love the badge, and LOVE the nickname, The Toffees. So, Mrs. Ecks & Bacon buys me at least one jersey a year, either for my birthday, Father's Day or our anniversary. She will always ask if I want my name on it, and I ALWAYS say NO! Before she got the memo, maybe 10/12 years ago, she bought me the Everton jersey, and put Eck on the front. She got a great sale and could not return it, so had to figure out what to do. Started telling people that Eck was Johannes Eck, a great player from the Netherlands who played six years at Everton. Obviously, most people had no idea that I was LYING my you know what off! And since that day, Johannes Eck, who does not exist, has become part of the family fabric.

I know where Mrs. E & B got the idea. Back in the day, I took up skiing and bought myself a brand new pair of Head skis. Think it was around 1969/70. Jean-Claude Killy had just won three gold medals at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. So, I had the folks at the ski shop put Jean-Claude Eckstein on both of my skis. When people asked why, just told them it was to honor my French cousin from Banyuls-sur-Mer. No one ever asked any questions about my cousin, who also never existed, but apparently, Jean-Claude Eckstein made a yuge impression on my wife. Actually wound up staying a month in Banyuls looking out at the Mediterranean every day, but that's another story for another day.

Back to London, we're looking at what appears to be a pretty even matchup. Tottenham is sitting in the 10th slot on 45 points, with 12 wins, 11 losses and 9 draws. Everton is sitting in the 11th spot, just one point behind the Spurs at 44, with 12 wins, 12 losses and 8 draws. The only metric that looks lopsided is goal differential. The Hotspur have scored 51 and allowed 44 for a +7, while the Toffees have scored 40 and allowed 47 for a -7.

However, since Carlo Ancelotti took over Everton on Boxing Day, that's the day after Christmas, only Liverpool, and both Manchesters, United and City, have earned more Premier League points than the Toffees. When in doubt, grab the draw. Throwing a Benjamin to the middle of the table to win back $250.

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