Gambling News by House of Odds

Before making his picks for the divisional playoffs, Bill Simmons hands out some hardware for Round 1's best performances.

This was Christmas night. In the basement of a church off an icy street in downtown Detroit, four dozen homeless men and women sat at tables. The smell of cooked ham wafted from the kitchen. The pastor, Henry Covington, a man the size of two middle linebackers, exhorted the people with a familiar chant.