Tag: gambling

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All Other Sports

Odds and Ends: Sometimes the internet sucks


The internet is a wonderful place — news, information, hot chicks, Borat clips… But sometimes it absolutely sucks. Like when a sportsbook decides to shut down their operations and keep everyone’s money. (Sports Business News) Betonsports.com is “moving their operations” but what that really means is that they’re kaput. We’d be seriously surprised if they came back online. Remember folks, online sports betting is not without its risks.

In other news…

[Bolt Talk]: Junior Seau to retire a Charger

[MSNBC]: Someone tell Randy Moss it’s just a preseason game

[AP]: Kevin Costner returns to Field of Dreams

[Fringe Sports Central]: Wait… Yakov Smirnoff is still alive?

[Kentucky.com]: Ryan Freel hears voices in his head but won’t go Clarett anytime soon

[Miami Herald]: US Basketball blows out Lithuania

[Scotsman.com]: Billion dollar baby passes buck again

Categories
New York Mets

Hey, at least she didn’t say he was gay


It’s not easy being Paul Lo Duca right now. He’s going through a divorce and his wife claims he was unfaithful during their marriage. Of course, as a professional athlete, most people don’t even blink at the suggestion of infidelity. However, there is growing rumor that Lo Duca has a gambling problem.


The sources said Lo Duca also had gambling debts, accumulating a big enough tab that Mets management was aware of it. The morals clause within Major League Baseball doesn’t prohibit a player from gambling at casinos or race tracks, but the league becomes concerned when one of its players runs up unmanageable gambling debts.

That’s because unmanageable debts lead to some guy saying “hey, throw this game and we’ll wipe out 10% of it…” and then all hell breaks loose. Lo Duca insists that he only gambles on horses and that all his wagers were legal.

His estranged wife said, “I just want my privacy. I want what’s best for my daughter.” This is a little odd consider she and Paul are expected to go on WFAN today to discuss their divorce. Perhaps someone has changed the definition of privacy and didn’t notify us.

Links:
[NY Daily News]: Mets star: You bet it’s legal!

Categories
NHL General

Odds and Ends: Rick Tocchet gambling ring update


The former New Jersey state trooper that was linked to Rick Tocchet in the sports gambling ring has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, promoting gambling and official misconduct. By offering to help the authorities, he has reduced the maximum sentence from 25 years to 7 years. For anyone who has watched a crime drama in the past twenty years, this doesn’t bode well for Rick Tocchet as now he’s got no one to pass the buck to unless some shadowy kingpin emerges. It’s hard to believe but Rick Tocchet was the “brains” behind an operation.

In other news…

[Wicked Chops Poker]: Anna Benson is a Bitch

[MSNBC]: USOC bans Gatlin’s coach

[Sportsline]: Landis is now claiming dehydration caused high testosterone… even though he was hydrated enough to win the stage

[Kuklas Korner]: The St. Louis Blue’s shady marketing website

[Alligator Sports]: Stupid athletes on Facebook and MySpace

[Sheboygan Press]: ESPN continues its fine tradition of sports coverage

Categories
Soccer

Odds and Ends (06.28.06) – Betting on the World Cup is better than sex



Not better than gambling

England’s Loughborough University is studying the effects of placing a bet on a soccer match on fans’ heart rates.


The heart rates that we have recorded throughout the first stage of the study are in line with those experienced by an individual reaching sexual climax, and in some cases greater than that. When you combine supporting your team with backing them financially, the level of excitement gets even greater.

We learned a long time ago never to place a bet on our team. Maybe that’s why we still prefer sex… although betting on football is a close second.

In other news…

[NBA.com]: NBA introduces new game ball that provides better grip.

[CBS News]: Budweiser paid $40M for the beer rights to the WC. Germans refuse to drink the piss.

[EurWeb]: Michael Strahan isn’t gay… or has a great beard.

[SignOnSanDiego]: An actual uplifting baseball story. (via Rangersfans.com)

[MetsBlog]: Sox Fans Forgive Buckner

Categories
All Other Sports

Was a Wimbledon match fixed?



Choker or cheater?

Carlos Berlocq of Argentina is ranked 89th in the world. Richard Bloomfield is ranked #249 and only got in as a wild card. So when bettors put more than half a million dollars on Richard Bloomfield to win and he did, more red flags went up than at a communist parade.

Betfair, a british online gambling site, said that the bets on the match were 30x more than normal on similar matches and that the odds went from 2-1 against to 10-1 against. Because of the unusual betting pattern, they alerted the International Tennis Federation and Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association who are investigating it.

After reading this story, the only thought we have is, “crap! why didn’t someone tell us about the fix!” We don’t condone gambling or anything…

[AP]: Officials investigate Wimbledon betting

Categories
NHL General

Maggie the Monkey picks the Edmonton Oilers



2-0 in the conference finals

The NHL finals start tonight and Maggie the Monkey has picked the Oilers to win it all. Vegas (and most of the media) has the Hurricanes at -140 favorites but don’t let that fool you. Maggie was 2-0 in the conference finals and the only TSN expert to pick the Oilers. The TSN guys have learned their lesson and are going to Maggie’s pick as well.

Don’t doubt the monkey.

[TSN.ca]: Monkey Business 2006

Categories
All Other Sports

Bettings on the Scripps Spelling Bee

Proving that you can bet on anything, the folks over at some random gambling site have posted odds on the National Spelling Bee.  

Will the Winner be a Male or Female?
Male -140
Female +120

Will the Winner be Home Schooled?
Yes +200
No -250

Will the Winner be from California, New York, or Texas?
Yes +400
No -700

Will the Winner be from Indiana, Ohio, or Pennsylvania?
Yes +350
No -600

Will the Winner be from Canada?
Yes +2000
No -3000

Length of the winning word:
Over 9 ½ letters -145
Under 9 ½ letters +125

Will the winning word contain the letter `E’?
Yes -230
No +190

Will the winning word end with `E’, `S’, `T’, or `D’?
Yes -135
No +115

Last year, the winner was a 13 year old boy from California and the winning word was “appoggiatura”.  And if you think that will help you determine what to bet this year, you should probably call someone for help with your gambling problem.  

Categories
NHL General

Maggie the Monkey picks the conference championships



3-1 in second round

Maggie the Monkey went 3-1 in the 2nd round, only getting the Ottawa over Sabres pick wrong and leads all the TSN experts throughout the playoffs (7-5). For the conference championship round, Maggie takes Carolina and Edmonton. So far so good for Edmonton but the Carolina pick might be in trouble.

Good luck, Maggie. We got $5 on you.

Links:
[TSN.ca]: Monkey Business 2006

Categories
All Other Sports

Your surefire triple-word-score Kentucky Derby picks



Bob and John is our Derby pick

OK. So the “theory of scrabbletivity” didn’t work for the Super Bowl. (Or perhaps it would have if not for the Seahawks getting jobbed by Bill Leavy… not that we’re still bitter about that or anything.) We think the TOS has to work for something, so why not the Kentucky Derby? After all, all the experts end up being wrong about 1000% of the time.

Here you go folks. When you win the Superfecta, make sure you send us a tip.

Win: Bob and John (15-1)
Place: Sweetnorthernsaint (8-1)
Show: Steppenwolfer (35-1)
Um.. whatever comes after Show: Brother Derek (9-2)

Here’s the full list:

Horse Odds Scrabble Word score
Bob and John 15-1 25
Sweetnorthernsaint 8-1 24
Steppenwolfer 35-1 23
Brother Derek 9-2 22
Point Determined 15-1 21
Jazil 35-1 21
Keyed Entry 40-1 21
Cause to Believe 50-1 21
Private Vow 50-1 21
Deputy Glitters 100-1 21
Flashy Bull 125-1 21
Sharp Humor 40-1 20
Sinister Minister 18-1 18
Showing Up 30-1 18
Bluegrass Cat 40-1 17
Lawyer Ron 6-1 15
Storm Treasure 60-1 15
Seaside Retreat 200-1 15
A.P. Warrior 18-1 14
Barbaro 7-1 11

Categories
NBA General

Charles Barkley is a big black whale

In the wake of John Daly’s admission that he lost over $50 million gambling, Charles Barkley has come out and said that he’s lost about $10M in gambling.


Yeah, I do have a gambling problem. But I don’t consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble… It’s not a problem. If you’re a drug addict or an alcoholic, those are problems. I gamble for too much money. As long as I can continue to do it I don’t think it’s a problem. Do I think it’s a bad habit? Yes, I think it’s a bad habit. Am I going to continue to do it? Yes, I’m going to continue to do it.

When I gamble I should be playing $1,000 a hand instead of $20,000 a hand, because if I played for $1,000 a hand I probably could lose $50,000 to $100,000 instead of millions of dollars.

This sounds suspiciously like John Daly’s quote that he should be playing $25 slot machines instead of $5000 slot machines. Here are 20 questions for Mr. Daly and Mr. Barkley.

Can you imagine Barkley and Daly meeting at the all you can eat buffet in between gambling binges? Man we’d hate to be within food-flyin distance of that mess.

Links:
[Yahoo]: Barkley says he’s lost about $10 million gambling