Eagles and Steelers With Charitable Food Bet

There are many steadfast rules related to gambling on sports. One of them is to never bet against yourself. Another is to not bet on the outcome of a game the matchup of which hasn't even been created yet. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell recently violated both when he announced that if there's an Eagles-Steelers matchup, he'll buy food for the homeless and the elderly.

"He will bet cheesesteaks to go to a Pittsburgh-area senior center as well as a Pittsburgh-area homeless shelter if the Steelers win and Primanti (Bros.) sandwiches to go to a Philadelphia homeless shelter and senior center if the Eagles win," Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said.

That's fantastic news and all, but, um, Ed, both teams still have to win one more game. And, yes, I understand that all of this hubbub is being generated because Ole Ed wants to make his state look super awesome and because he probably wants his constituents to forget about the economy and just focus on football.

But -- and this might be the most overlooked aspect of the whole business -- wouldn't it just be easier to donate a bunch of money to the homeless. So maybe they could, I don't know, one day purchase homes?