Place your bets on the iPhone

That chill in the air means two things: the holidays are approaching, and the height of sports gambling season is upon us. The upcoming slate of college bowl games, the Super Bowl and March Madness always warms the heart of even the casual gambler.

But this year, techies can get in on the fun. A sports betting site called Bodog.com is taking bets on the launch date for Apple Computer's long-rumored iPhone. Bodog's using the money line system to gauge whether Apple will introduce the iPhone by the end of April 2007, or whether it will introduce the product at January's MacWorld conference.

For example, if you think Apple's going to launch the iPhone by April 30, 2007, you need to wager $150 to win $100. That means Bodog considers that likelihood as the favorite, while a launch after that date (or no launch) would win $110 on a $100 bet. Based on the odds quoted by Bodog, it's even more likely that Apple will annouce the "impending release" of the iPhone at January's MacWorld. A wager of $280 on that possibility is required in order to take home $100.

We think Bodog should consider additional wagers, such as: Will Steve Jobs come out at MacWorld wearing his traditional black mock turtleneck or something different, like the button-down shirt he sported at Apple's Showtime event earlier this year? But, as usual, nobody asked. Since nobody's asking for our sports picks either, we like Ohio State over USC in the Fiesta Bowl, San Diego's high-powered offense exposing Rex Grossman and the Bears in the Super Bowl, and North Carolina to bring the hardware back to Chapel Hill.