Last night I was doing what good ol’ degenerate gamblers like myself do — obsessing over the spreads while kicking back some damn good bourbon. That’s when I saw that many sportsbooks had taken the Patriots-Dolphins game off the books. I loved the game for the Pats, so I was a little ticked off. Here you had one of the best teams in football in a must-win scenario taking on a team whose season was ended by the Bills. The Bills! That’s a five-star bet, gentleman I reckon you bet your truck on that one. Hell, your old lady, too. I feared I had missed the last money train to Miami.

This morning, however, I’m actually relieved I didn’t have any dough on the Pats. Why? Because rumors are circulating that both the game being taken off the books and the game’s spread moving towards Miami are due to an injury. Not just any injury either, folks. Rumor has it that none other than Tom Brady is a little worse for the wear. And by that I don’t mean drunk — I mean injured. OK, well, if he’s injured, in pain and not playing, then maybe he is drunk, but you get my point. Here’s the lowdown from our friends over at PFT:

Apparently, the thing was moving in the direction of the Dolphins, prompting speculation that Tom Brady possibly wasn’t removed from Monday night’s loss to the Saints because coach Bill Belichick opted not to take a shot at a comeback for the ages, but because he’s hurt.

We didn’t mention it at the time, in large part because Danny Sheridan’s line at USA Today had moved only on one-half point, from the Pats being favored by 6.5 to 6.

But now, one of our most loyal and astute readers, who has done more than enough to secure a free PFT subscription for himself and his heirs, points out that BetUS.com has now taken the game off the board.

We’ve done some more sleuthing.  At BetED.com, one of the lines listed in the Las Vegas Review Journal, the Pats-Dolphins game also can’t be found.  Ditto for Logans.com.

At SportsBetting.com, Miami is now only getting 3 points.

And Sheridan’s line has moved to 4…

In this case, only the health — or lack thereof — of quarterback Tom Brady would move the line so dramatically that multiple services would drop the game completely.  So we’ll be watching this game more closely than we otherwise would have been following it today.

I hope Mr. Bundchen ain’t too banged up, because if he is then a lot of bank accounts and fantasy teams are gonna be hurtin’, too. Keep an eye on this story as the sun comes up and the talking heads start flapping their veneers. Could be the biggest injury of the year, never know the way Bill Belichick plays games with his injury reports, but something just doesn’t fit here. I strongly suggest avoiding any action on this puppy on either side until the dust settles and an announcement is made.

Related posts:

1. NBA Injury Update: Blake Griffin to Miss Six Weeks with Knee Injury
2. NFL Injuries Week 16: Brady Quinn Done of the Season
3. NFL Injuries Week 14: Tom Brady Questionable against Panthers
4. Saint’s Superbowl Injury Update
5. No More Tom Brady