Althouse: "What if all of sports is ruined by this gambling thing?"

October 24, 2025

"What if all of sports is ruined by this gambling thing?"

I said, revealing my level of engagement in sports, gambling, and the attendant legal issues.

95 comments:

rehajm said...: ‘twas already ruined by politics…and the lawyers; 10/24/25, 8:17 AM
Jake said...: Sports have been ruined for some time.; 10/24/25, 8:18 AM
Dogma and Pony Show said...: What if gravity made things fall up instead of down? It would be bad, but it's not going to happen.; 10/24/25, 8:18 AM
Money Manger said...: Matt Levine of Bloomberg did a great column (ungated if you look for it) comparing this illegal sports gambling to insider trading in the stock market. Yes, it does feel a bit like freewheeling Wall Street before the creation of the SEC.; 10/24/25, 8:20 AM
Kai Akker said...: From abundance to scarcity. First steps here come with the corrective: serious limitations applied. Assuming there are any grown-ups left in the league office. If they kowtow to TV and betting sponsors, it will take longer and be worse by the end.; 10/24/25, 8:21 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Didn't really need much help...; 10/24/25, 8:21 AM
tim maguire said...: I would love to see major league sports ruined. The fan experience in minor league baseball is far superior to that of the major leagues and, in football, even college sports are being ruined by the chasing of too much money such that average fans are priced out.

If the entire top-level of sports collapse, there will not be fewer opportunities for regular people to enjoy spectator sports.; 10/24/25, 8:23 AM
Howard said...: These are just little minnows and guppies. The great whales who are ruining sports with gambling are the owners of all of the major franchises in the US who are now tied at the hip with every single gambling syndicate in the country. Every single sports talk show every single broadcast event is sponsored by a sports gambling business promoted by all of the top athletes and celebrities.; 10/24/25, 8:24 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Gambling on sports is like all the stuff that goes on top of ice cream, explains Homer Simpson.; 10/24/25, 8:28 AM
Cappy said...: Just another technological advancement.; 10/24/25, 8:29 AM
Dave Begley said...: Former NE football coach, legend, athletic director and Congressman Tom Osborne is very much against legalized gambling in all forms; especially sports betting.

Tom was a great HS and college athlete before he got into coaching. He knows that gambling will wreck the essence of athletic competition.

Here in NE, a Harvard lawyer who happens to be an Indian, got a sports betting law passed via a ballot initiative. One of his casinos (War Horse) is about three miles from my office. I think of it as the Red Man's Revenge on stupid White people who are innumerate.

Those casinos are built on the money of the losers.; 10/24/25, 8:37 AM
Curious George said...: "tim maguire said...
I would love to see major league sports ruined. The fan experience in minor league baseball is far superior to that of the major leagues..."

Dude, without MLB there is no minor league baseball.; 10/24/25, 8:39 AM
Curious George said...: I don't like the embrace of gambling in organized sports, but there has been gambling (and scandals) forever, long before FanDuel.; 10/24/25, 8:47 AM
Craig Howard said...: Chesterton’s fence against gambling on sports was ripped down without so much as a thought.; 10/24/25, 8:47 AM
Joe Bar said...: People have been gambling on sports since the original Olympics. What changed? Have I missed something?; 10/24/25, 8:48 AM
Derve said...: go brewers... lol; 10/24/25, 8:53 AM
Derve said...: If the entire top-level of sports collapse...
--------
You mean, like that baseball team with the best regular-season record? lolol; 10/24/25, 8:54 AM
Wince said...: Althouse said...
"What if all of sports is ruined by this gambling thing?"

The sin of wagering is death?; 10/24/25, 8:54 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "People have been gambling on sports since the original Olympics. What changed? Have I missed something?"

Well, yeah. There's a huge scandal, and now it seems every time a player left a game early it might have been part of a big web of crime.; 10/24/25, 8:55 AM
Whiskeybum said...: “Did I miss something?”

Yes - organized crime, insider rigging, etc.; 10/24/25, 8:57 AM
Howard said...: What is different now is that the sports franchise ownership is profiting directly from gambling. It pretty much guarantees that the fix is always in.; 10/24/25, 8:57 AM
Beasts of England said...: The SEC just permanently suspended one of their senior officials for a series of incorrect calls during the Georgia-[redacted] game. Fans of that other SEC school in my state are certain said ref was paid off by the bookies. Of course, they blame the refs for every loss, but they may finally have a legitimate gripe.; 10/24/25, 8:57 AM
narciso said...: Interference by dan moldea illustrated this with football (curios ly ken starr who made it possible to publish, he turned on); 10/24/25, 8:59 AM
Beasts of England said...: ’…stupid White people who are innumerate.’

And now impecunious. :); 10/24/25, 9:02 AM
Wince said...: They should put that "most secure election in American history" guy on the case.; 10/24/25, 9:04 AM
Another old lawyer said...: Sports are fundamentally entertainment – games are events staged by owners and their employees to generate revenue by selling tickets, concessions, merch, now media rights, etc. Why should anyone care about the outcomes of the games being alternated by players, referees, etc. so long as the on-field/court product remains entertaining? Really, seems only to matter that the games are on strictly on up-and-up if you’re making book or gambling on the events - in other words, trying to profit from the owners' product.

Since sports is not going back to the days when sports bookmaking and gambling are even frowned upon, much less illegal, I think that NBA and other sports leagues should go in the other direction - study the WWE/pro wrestling and lean into acknowledged pre-determined outcomes, over/unders, stat lines, etc. Maybe they could use the WWE nomenclature, e.g., 'basketball entertainment.’; 10/24/25, 9:09 AM
bagoh20 said...: They think the trans demo can pick up the slack, and who embraces cheating more than them?; 10/24/25, 9:11 AM
hawkeyedjb said...: I remember when the Big Ten was a midwestern amateur athletic conference that supported extra-curricular sports activities. Now it is the Big Eighteen, a coast to coast operation that employs professional athletes and has almost nothing to do with students. Draft Kings and FanDuel ought to have their names on the stadiums.; 10/24/25, 9:17 AM
Temujin said...: Sports in the US have been either running toward ruin or in a questionable state for some time. College football is a wreck. The 'leaders' of that game don't even yet realize how much they've ruined a great thing. Some are starting to get it.
The NFL is in its prime. But already the fray is starting to show. They are overdoing it. It will come to a slowdown in fans/viewership. Not today, but in about 5 years they will have to refocus on the game itself.

The NBA is a mess. Has been hemorrhaging viewers for some time. Gambling issues have always surrounded the game of basketball, both at the college and pro levels. Now that it's back, nothing is safe. How can anyone watch any of these games and not wonder, if a player misses a shot he always makes, or tosses the ball out of bounds at a bad time, or...if the ref seems to be changing the direction of the game. There will be a lingering doubt for a long time.

Best learn to love hockey.; 10/24/25, 9:17 AM
robother said...: When you sit down at the poker table with Chauncey Billups and he's wearing a lead apron, you might want to find action elsewhere. (If he wasn't, Chauncey may want to schedule some annual proctology exams.); 10/24/25, 9:17 AM
rhhardin said...: The only decent sports that I remember was football games played in horribly muddy fields, or in sub-zero blowing snow. Every play a disaster.; 10/24/25, 9:19 AM
Joe Bar said...: So, to answer my own question. No, nothing has changed.; 10/24/25, 9:21 AM
narciso said...: https://www.amazon.com/Interference-Organized-Influences-Professional-Football/dp/068808303X; 10/24/25, 9:22 AM
Beasts of England said...: My paternal grandfather said to never bet on anything that talks. Sage advice.; 10/24/25, 9:23 AM
Known Unknown said...: "I would love to see major league sports ruined. The fan experience in minor league baseball is far superior to that of the major leagues and, in football, even college sports are being ruined by the chasing of too much money such that average fans are priced out."

The rub is that MLB supports MiLB so for MLB to be diminished the minors would go as well. Over time more independent teams may pop up but the in-between would be a dark time in baseball.; 10/24/25, 9:24 AM
Known Unknown said...: Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were not available for comment.; 10/24/25, 9:29 AM
gspencer said...: Paul Hornung said, "I'd bet my reputation is still intact."; 10/24/25, 9:31 AM
gspencer said...: WS tonight. Dodgers in four.; 10/24/25, 9:32 AM
peachy said...: I love getting a nice democratic-Soviet-Woke lecture in the end-zone of the football field.

"Stop racism!"

You first - leftists.; 10/24/25, 9:36 AM
Aggie said...: It takes real talent to win a NBA basketball game single-handedly, but it also takes talent to throw one without anybody noticing. But as the old saying goes, 'You can sh*t the fans, but you can't sh*t the players'.

The fans will be greatly offended - and the offending players will be the ones prosecuted and made ignominious. The wicked, as always, will walk. There's a Rule of Thumb: If there's money to be made, there's more money to be made, illegally.; 10/24/25, 9:40 AM
bagoh20 said...: Now all the non-sports political bullshit they've been going on with makes sense purely as a distraction.; 10/24/25, 9:40 AM
narciso said...: Much like corporate sweatshops and virtue signaling; 10/24/25, 9:42 AM
Kakistocracy said...: "Who could have seen this coming?"

I mean, other than like...EVERYONE?

Now that some doubt has been cast, every time a good player has a bad game the question will be asked "did they throw the game?"

And just wait until it involves referees, umpires, etc.

Imagine the amount of money a team physical or massage therapist can make with the inside information they have on injuries and playing status?

If the NBA isn't explaining to players like Rozier how they will get caught then I put some blame on the NBA. I know they tell the players to stay away from gambling but it wouldn't be hard to show them that they will get caught, usually sooner rather than later. The math doesn't lie, when seemingly arbitrary prop bets attract an outsize amount of attention, it's only a matter of time before the authorities figure out who is cheating. Reportedly, the gambling community had figured out Tim Donaghy (NBA ref) was cheating prior to the FBI investigation and the gambling market was already swinging based on the games he was refereeing.; 10/24/25, 9:43 AM
Curious George said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/24/25, 9:44 AM
MountainMan said...: MiLB has already been reduced significantly over the past few decades. At my home in TN I regularly went to Appalachian League home games of the Kingsport Mets. This was rookie league. We have a beautiful field and stadium that is near my home there. The city put a lot of money into it. Tickets were cheap, food was good, locally brewed beer, lots of fun. Mets had a big wall there with the name of all the guys who had made it to MLB who started their career there, like Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. I think one the last managers was Mookie Wilson. MiLB dropped the league 3-4 ago. It had been around since about1910. It was restructured into a summer league for college players, no team affiliation with MLB. I don't live there full-time now but I haven't been any when I am there and I hear it is just not the same. Great fun while it lasted.; 10/24/25, 9:51 AM
Iman said...: Not sports-related…

Poker scheme details involving Chauncey Billups
- Backed by multiple mafia crime families
- Altered card shuffling machines
- Hidden cameras in poker chip trays
- Special sunglasses/contact lenses that read premarked cards
- X-Ray tables that read face down cards; 10/24/25, 9:51 AM
peachy said...: this might hurt gambling more that sports.
"The poker scheme cheated at least $7 million out of unsuspecting gamblers who were lured into rigged games with the chance to compete against former professional basketball players like Billups and Jones. The games were rigged using sophisticated cheating technology, such as altered card-shuffling machines, hidden cameras in poker chip trays, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table to read the cards of unsuspecting players."

what?

Link; 10/24/25, 9:58 AM
baghdadbob said...: There has been quite a bit of talk recently about College Football coaches kicking late field goals or otherwise piling it on late in blowouts to ensure their team "covers" the point spread, as major $$$ boosters often wager on their team to "cover." While not illegal, it suggests that coaches are well aware of the spread, and well aware of boosters' proclivities.; 10/24/25, 10:00 AM
Ambrose said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/24/25, 10:05 AM
Mason G said...: Wince said...

"They should put that "most secure election in American history" guy on the case."

Exactly. Politics is where there's real money to be made. Pro sports? That's the kiddie table at Thanksgiving.; 10/24/25, 10:07 AM
Ambrose said...: Organized sports have in recent years sold their souls to gambling. Yes. it was always there in the background - but now it is more a part of everything, including awareness of spreads and other betting terms. I think of it similar to television. First the games were played and happened to be televised; eventually they became staged primarily for broadcast. There is a risk that sports will become events that are staged primarily for the benefit of gamblers.; 10/24/25, 10:08 AM
Jupiter said...: "Well, yeah. There's a huge scandal, and now it seems every time a player left a game early it might have been part of a big web of crime."
That sounds like "Look! Squirrel!" to me.; 10/24/25, 10:12 AM
Jupiter said...: It turns out that there are gigantic organized criminal gangs, making billions of dollars every year through fraud, extortion, human trafficking, drug dealing and theft. They've been active ever since we started importing a bunch of Jews and Italians about 150 years ago. They corrupt policemen, judges and politicians, take over unions and legitimate businesses and loot them, and murder anyone who gets too nosy. Meh.

Oh, and they are somehow involved with a bunch of grown men who make a living playing with balls. Now you're upset!; 10/24/25, 10:18 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: I remember as a child reading in amazement about the contaminants that were legally allowed in a Hershey bar.

So I just refreshed my memory via the internet:

“The US FDA allows an average of 60 insect fragments per 100 grams of chocolate… It also means that you could be mistaken if you think that you’re having an allergic reaction to chocolate. Allergist Morton Teich at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said that instead, most people who experience hives, migraines, cramps, or itching after consuming chocolate are probably triggered by cockroach parts and droppings on cocoa beans…”

Yep; cockroach droppings. And that’s before we get into the allowable “rat filth”.

Food, sports, politics — there is shit in EVERYTHING we consume, literally and metaphorically; we just like to pretend that the amounts are small enough that it doesn’t seem so disgusting.

But then you take a bite out of a NFL Super Bowl Bar, and there is a big wet chunk of Bad Bunny right there. To be followed by a favorable on-field call regarding a critical play involving Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. And they are daring you to eat it.

Hell: they KNOW you will eat it.

And in NYC, Mamdani smiles and offers the people the candy bar for free.

I am Laslo.; 10/24/25, 10:19 AM
Humperdink said...: I recall a professional gambler back in the 70’s stating he would not bet on anything that could read and write. He added that left only dog racing and Oklahoma football.; 10/24/25, 10:22 AM
Lazarus said...: College hoops scandals in the Fifties didn't hold the NBA back. What was considered baseball's "Golden Age" followed the Black Sox gambling scandal.

Still we may have reached and passed "peak sports." Oversaturation and a age when videogame players can get college scholarships. Certainly, "peak baseball" has come and gone, just like "peak boxing" or "peak horseracing."

Will the AI era bring us back to sports because at least they're "real"? After testosterone, Lance Armstrong, and Tom Brady's deflated balls, are they really that "real"?; 10/24/25, 10:29 AM
Steven Wilson said...: What is coming down the road is a huge scandal in college basketball. Point shaving scandals there have been occurring since the late 1940s and early 1950s. Now with many players being essentially mercenaries who can move from year to year, there will be no loyalty whatsoever to the school, the coaches or even the teammates. Some of these mercenaries will recognize that their talent level will no enable them to play at the next level but they will be able to maximize their income by manipulating the results of the games they play in.

Dave Begley: Tom Osbourne was right. I'd like to say it was farsighted on his part, but in fact it was as plain as the nose on anyone's face. And it's not really the fault of the NCAA except that they tried to keep the lid on reasonable compensation for too long. It was court decisions that removed all the restraints on the amount of money flowing into "amateur" athletics.

Reducing the portal window will help to stabilize football, but unless some provisions are made for contracts that extend for multiple years are made then men's basketball and football are going to be in a state of flux that is near chaos.

I keep thinking that it's a bubble, but the introduction of gambling and the odious nature of prop bets is going to ensure an enormous amount of money is flowing into the vicinity of the games. I don't know if the TV networks can continue to pour the money into sports if this scandal if that far reaching.

I recognize the collapse of the major leagues would have disastrous effects on minor league baseball (there is no minor league football or basketball save for the college games) but I would love to see college sports collapse back into the model we knew when I was young in the 1950s and 60s.

The best hope for that may be if the Big Ten and SEC expand to forty or fifty teams and the remainder of the colleges return to a sustainable level of competition. I wonder about the long term viability of a super league. If those teams are essentially NFL Lite how are fans who are accustomed to 9. 10, and 11 win season going to react to the inevitable downturns.

I know Nebraska has managed to fill their stadium even after their fall from glory, but there's a part of me that sees that as them doing a disservice for allowing the university to have followed the dollars to the detriment of the program that made it all possible. Nebraska was a dominant force in college football for over thirty years, now they are an also ran but their past glory created the brand that enabled them to be sold out for a few dollars more. Well, in truth not a few dollars more, a lot of dollars. But, if you are a Nebraska football fan with memories of a dynasty, were those dollars worth it.

I'm 78 and have been a passionate follower of my alma mater WVU, also the flagship institution of West Virginia, and I feel like I've lived through our glory years. For as long as I can remember we have consistently punched above our weight. But in the future, I don't know how we will be able to compete.

Gambling has a lot to do with the money in sports today. If the scandal is as far reaching as it seems there will be long term effects, but I don't think they will be fatal. Baseball reacted to the Black Sox Scandal of 1919 by juicing the ball. Then after the strike by players cancelled the World Series in 93(?) they allowed the players to juice themselves. That's why when someone asked me the other night who the all time home run hitter was I said "Hank Aaron."

End of rant.; 10/24/25, 10:38 AM
PM said...: "The first real challenge to 1992s The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act originated from a New Jersey effort to legalize sports betting." New Jersey. Huh, go figure.; 10/24/25, 10:39 AM
Meade said...: gspencer said...
WS tonight. Dodgers in four.

Blue Jays in 7.; 10/24/25, 10:58 AM
Original Mike said...: "Now with many players being essentially mercenaries who can move from year to year, there will be no loyalty whatsoever to the school, the coaches or even the teammates."

"The portal" is a death knell for college sports, IMO. How can they expect the fans to be loyal to a team when the players aren't?; 10/24/25, 11:06 AM
KellyM said...: Shoeless Joe, please pick up the red courtesy phone.; 10/24/25, 11:17 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: They used to excuse Gangland violence with: "They only kill their own".

Well, that's how I feel about this. Let them fix the games. Or shave points. Who cares? The only people hurt are gamblers.

Besides, its idiotic to think people are going to "respect the game" when everyone from the owners on down is betting on games, see the whole thing as a way to make $$$. People are betting billion$, and some are going to cheat.; 10/24/25, 11:20 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: You could go back to the way things were, but you'd have way back, way, way back. Maybe back to the 20s when everyone thought college football was cool and played by college students (mostly) and wanted to "Win one for the gipper". And everyone was shocked when Rothstein tried to fix the world series.

But that was a different America. With a different power elite and Press. Once that America went, sports just became about $$$.; 10/24/25, 11:23 AM
baghdadbob said...: Original Mike said...
"Now with many players being essentially mercenaries who can move from year to year, there will be no loyalty whatsoever to the school, the coaches or even the teammates."

"The portal" is a death knell for college sports, IMO. How can they expect the fans to be loyal to a team when the players aren't?"

To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, team supporters are basically rooting for laundry.; 10/24/25, 11:29 AM
Derve said...: Meade said...
gspencer said...
WS tonight. Dodgers in four.

Blue Jays in 7.
---------
Ruh roh.
meade's gonna be back begging for your tip dollars shortly...; 10/24/25, 11:39 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The belief that sports are fixed, at the highest levels, is common enough to be on a par with JFK assassination theories.
Bearing that in mind, I can see how some young men would talk themselves into doing something like what is alleged in this story. Definitely.; 10/24/25, 11:42 AM
Rabel said...: Sorry you folks aren't enjoying this fantastic college football season.

Makes sense if you're a Badger fan.; 10/24/25, 12:19 PM
Josephbleau said...: The message here is that organized crime is cool.; 10/24/25, 12:21 PM
Curious George said...: "Original Mike said...

"The portal" is a death knell for college sports, IMO. How can they expect the fans to be loyal to a team when the players aren't?""

Dumb take. Fan bases don't give a shit about loyalty. They care about success. Or for some, like Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, general competitiveness is enough because the only other fun thing to do in the state is leave.

Ohio State sells out The Shoe every home weekend. They also travel to see their Bucks play on the road. It's not because the players are loyal. It's because the team wins. Ohio State loses some players to the portal, but they typically are guys who can't get playing time. They lose much more to the NFL.; 10/24/25, 12:27 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I haven't watched a sporting event of any kind on television since the 2019 U.S. Open (golf). I catch the occasional video of a play on twitter or youtube but that is it. I will still bring up summary of an in-progress event on CBS or Yahoo Sports but even that I do very seldom these days. I haven't watched professional sportsball (baseball, basketball, and football) in several decades). I used to watch lots of college basketball and the occasional college football game but I lost interest in those about 10 years ago and haven't gone back and won't.; 10/24/25, 12:30 PM
Yancey Ward said...: The portal probably has less effect on college football than on college basketball. However, what has really hurt college basketball is one and done- that isn't college basketball's fault- the situation arises from the NBA's draft age limit. I wish the NBA would go back to the old rules that allowed a straight from high school career path.; 10/24/25, 12:35 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I would wager (pun intended) that sports betting has made game/stat fixing epidemic everywhere. The potential monetary rewards and incentives to use coercion are just too big.; 10/24/25, 12:38 PM
PB said...: Massive money has ruined sports, all around.; 10/24/25, 1:01 PM
mccullough said...: The only embarrassment is how the pro sports leagues make money directly from the sports books nowadays.

Cheating scandals abounded when sports gambling was illegal or only legal in Vegas.

The Last Boy Scout nailed the NFL for what it was in 1991. It’s even worse now.; 10/24/25, 1:05 PM
Maynard said...: Howard,

Owners of major league franchises have a license to make money, no matter how crappy their teams.

They don’t need gambling money.; 10/24/25, 1:15 PM
Beasts of England said...: ’Fan bases don't give a shit about loyalty.’

I do. And it’s really screwing with the sport. You can have NIL or unlimited transfers, but having both is an issue. Limit transfers to one occurrence, unless your coach leaves the program. And we’re at the point where these players need to be on contract, with buyouts if they leave the program, no different than the coaches.; 10/24/25, 1:39 PM
Beasts of England said...: p.s. Ohio State owes us money for Caleb Downs. lol; 10/24/25, 1:41 PM
Original Mike said...: ’Fan bases don't give a shit about loyalty.’

What a sad perspective.; 10/24/25, 2:13 PM
BG said...: I signed up to hopefully "win" seats to watch two Savannah Bananas teams play in Milwaukee next year. Baseball became boring for me after attending my first Packers game. Then I saw some clips of the Savannah Bananas baseball. Purists are scornful of them. But they are certainly entertaining! It is fun to watch some of the clips of their "trick" plays. Very athletic! Yes, they've altered some of the MLB rules. Who cares? Apparently they started with one team playing local teams in small cities. Now they have multiple teams that are starting to play in MLB venues besides smaller stadiums. And...they sell out. Fun for families. Sports gamblers - please leave them alone.
Savannah Bananas; 10/24/25, 2:16 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: Hey the rolled the dice for JESUS' clothes,
gambling aint going nowhere. Learn to play the fix, ,do your homework.Its just got more technical and bigger players/ Life is a gamble Only you know if you are being a "good steward of your $$$ (and your maker of course); 10/24/25, 3:10 PM
Jim at said...: Professional sports was ruined when they went all-in with their leftist bullshit.

Click.; 10/24/25, 3:28 PM
Fred Drinkwater said...: My brother in law said the NBA was rigged. I said that only matters if you care who wins.
I watch to see flashes of excellence. That's it.; 10/24/25, 5:17 PM
Curious George said...: "Original Mike said...
’Fan bases don't give a shit about loyalty.’

What a sad perspective."

If you say so. But it is a fack.; 10/24/25, 5:17 PM
Curious George said...: "Beasts of England said...
p.s. Ohio State owes us money for Caleb Downs. lol"

He didn't leave Alabama because of money.; 10/24/25, 5:19 PM
boatbuilder said...: We will always have sports, and we will always have gambling.
Also professional sports are the only thing keeping the major networks afloat.; 10/24/25, 6:01 PM
Narr said...: The only consistent sport-watching I've ever done was when visiting my mother and younger brothers on Saturday afternoons back when the football Vols were good, and the game would be on. My youngest bro is like me, just not very interested, but the other one was a big watcher--he died in 2010 and other than snippets and summaries I don't see anything anymore.

I did go to a Vols game at Neyland when my son was wasting his first semester in Knoxville (2004?), but Notre Dame beat them pretty bad that time.; 10/24/25, 6:25 PM
Narr said...: Being an ignoramus about almost all sports, I have never been tempted to gamble on them.

I didn't go to any games of any type in high school, and attended only one game in college (football); I have been to one minor league BB game, and one NHL game at MSG.

When my son was playing rugby his senior year of high school I was at most of his games, and even drove some of the boys to their one big out of town match, but I still have only the vaguest understanding of the game.; 10/24/25, 6:33 PM
Big Mike said...: The NBA is not the MLB, but part of the fallout from this may be Pete Rose continuing to not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. There’s a reason why professional baseball has had a zero tolerance policy towards gambling, and now the NBA has to learn the same lesson.; 10/24/25, 7:09 PM
Ampersand said...: The problem goes beyond sports. Prediction markets like Polymarket are accomplices to fraud when they set up bets on things like the identity of the Nobel Prize winner. Somebody leaked the winner and no doubt cleaned up in the process.; 10/24/25, 7:27 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: Some sports fans remind me of that guy we all know. Y'know the guys who tells everyone "By, God I'm not going to take it anymore. I'm going to (Pick one) quit my boss, divorce my wife, leave this goddamn town forever"

And then they don't. And when you suggest ways to solve the "problem" - they look at you with a blank face, because they just want to whine and complain. Sports ball fans used to complain about owners leaving their city and going somewhere else, just to make a few more $$. Did they do anything? Nope.

The owners know the fans can be ripped off because all they'll ever do is bitch and moan. They wont even stop watching and buying tickets.; 10/25/25, 4:22 AM
O'Beezy said...: The door was opened by the states in their apparent never-ending quest for the revenue with which to buy enough votes to keep their members in office.; 10/25/25, 5:03 AM
Jersey Fled said...: I stopped going to live sports when they started selling alcohol. Fewer real sports fans and more real drunks.; 10/25/25, 7:15 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Looking back, I think the high point for professional sports in the U.S. may have been the 1960’s. I’m throwing NASCAR into the mix too.; 10/25/25, 7:44 AM
gspencer said...: 11-4, Toronto. Out-the-door goes my prediction of a Dodgers' sweep.; 10/25/25, 8:29 AM
gspencer said...: Meade got it right with 7 games.

Sadly for the Blue Jays, LA won 4 of them.; 11/1/25, 11:21 PM