The major sports leagues in the U.S. are not just going to sit back and let Delaware legalize sports betting. They obviously fear that it would establish a dangerous precedent. If you haven’t followed it, here’s a quick summary – the state of Delaware has decided to legalize sports betting as a way to raise more revenue for the state. There will be a lottery as well, but the controversial idea s that they will have Vegas-style sports books located in the existing race tracks in the state. Other states, especially New Jersey, are watching very closely because they would be interested in doing the same – in Atlantic City in New Jersey’s case. The state pushed through the legislation quickly and intends to have it up and running in time for the wildly lucrative football season. The leagues aren’t happy about it at all. They are outwardly opposed to gambling in any form, and their position is that they fear that widespread gambling will lead to corruption within the sport, or at least it will allow questions to be raised each time there is a close finish or a controversial call. In an attempt to stop progress in Delaware the four major sports and the NCAA have banded together and have sued the state.
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Author: T.O. Whentam
I really, really don’t understand what the Vikings are thinking. This has been the case for the whole offseason, but it was reinforced now that I just read the latest story out of the endless Favre saga. A source has come out and said that Favre is conflicted about his choice, which he has said he will make by the end of this month. The source indicated that Favre would perhaps favor retirement, but he feels an obligation to the Vikings coaching staff and to the players who have been lobbying him to join them. I still think that Favre will decide to join the team. What I don’t understand is why they would want him.
Continue reading “The Vikings – A Train Wreck In The Making”
I really don’t get this whole David Beckham situation. (if you missed it, Beckham was booed throughout his first home game since returning from Milan yesterday) Or rather, I don’t get why people are so upset about the guy. It all comes down to expectations, I guess. What has happened hasn’t been great, but absolutely none of it is even the least bit surprising or unpredictable. In fact, if you didn’t see most of what has happened coming then you just didn’t spend the effort to understand the situation.
The third funniest thing I heard yesterday was that Richard Gasquet, the tennis pro suspended for testing positive for cocaine, decided to use the kissing defense. He claims that he was out partying one night when he kissed a random girl who had just happened to have recently snorted cocaine. Remnants of that cocaine were, he claims, still on her lips, so it was transferred to him when he went for the lip-lock. The next day he was drug tested and that’s why he says that test was positive. That sounds like the kind of theory that only a coke addict could come up with.
Just a few quick notes from today. I haven’t been watching any traditional sports all day. Instead, I spent the day at the Calgary Stampede, the self-proclaimed ‘Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth’. There I was watching the rodeo and the chuckwagon races – like I did several times throughout the last 10 days. Today was the final day, and that meant that championships were given out in earnest. The rodeo gives away $900,000 in the six traditional events (calf roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, barrel racing, and bull riding for you city slickers) in less than an hour – exciting stuff. The chuckwagon races are a true and bizarre spectacle – one of those things that everyone should see at some point in their life. There is also a betting aspect, albeit a very informal one. There is no legal betting on the chuckwagon races, but virtually everyone there does betting of some time with those with them, and there are a few different ways to set up a very pleasing an potentially lucrative bit of action – friendly, but hopefully not too friendly. Calgary is sometimes a good place to live and sometimes not so much, but during the 10 days of the Stampede every July it shines.
I don’t understand where Manny’s head is at right now. He threw a tantrum yesterday after getting struck out and got himself chucked out of the game. He was in a bad mood all day and didn’t seem to understand why the New York crowd was booing his every move. What does he expect? It’s like the guy has no sense at all of what he did – he seems like he just got a free 50 day vacation. Idiot.
2010 is supposed to be the NBA offseason to watch because of all of the top notch free agents, but this year has been one of the most exciting and action-packed we have seen in a long, long time. 2010 will be hard-pressed to live up to this drama. The major contenders all see their time as now, and that has unleashed a major arms race at the top. Great stuff. Here are six collected thoughts and questions about what has transpired:
I just came back from being out and out of touch with the news all day to hear about what happened to Steve McNair. Needless to say I was shocked and more than a little saddened by it all. I became a fan of McNair very early in his career and in strange circumstances. For some strange reason, a game between Grambling and Alcorn State was shown on TV in 1992 – an odd occurrence, though one slightly more common when Eddie Robinson was around. The game was a thrill ride shootout and I couldn’t help but watch it despite knowing nothing about either team. On the final play of the game, the hobbling sophomore QB forAlcorn State, who was coming back from a leg injury, made a heroic dash for the end zone to score the winning TD. That was McNair, and I was hooked. The guy was incredible.
There’s a lot going on in the world today, so let’s touch on a bunch of it briefly:
Aroldis Chapman – This is the Cuban left handed pitching savant who defected from the Cuban national team while at a tournament in the Netherlands this week. The hype is huge on this guy – they are calling him the left-handed Stephen Strasburg. He seems to intend to come to the majors, and there will surely be a Dice-K-esque bidding war for his services. There are some strange elements to the story. First, he is being reported as being 21, yet when he pitched at the World Baseball Classic he was listed as 26. He also wasn’t particularly good against major league talent at the WBC – 5.68 ERA in almost seven innings. That’s obviously a small sample size and all, but it gives you reason to at least pause in the face of the hysteria.
I really don’t understand the Bucks. They traded away Richard Jefferson, so they have a lack of scoring to make up. They drafted a point guard, so they have some depth there. So what did they do? Offered a contract to their free agent point guard and not the solid scoring threat. Ramon Sessions will likely be back with the team, but Charlie Villanueva has been cut loose. Very bizarre. I was certain that it was going to go the other way. It looks like things could end up very well for Villanueva – he looks like he will take he mid-level exception in Cleveland.
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