Good morning, all! I hope your Tuesday is off to a terrific start!
The sports world, especially the NBA and MLB, is being rocked by betting scandals. The root cause, we are told, is not wagering on game results but prop bets within a game. As I explain in the video, prop bets are not going away.
Here are some other thoughts, as I contemplate the end of the Chiefs dynasty:
There are reports that the Dec. 1 deadline on the expansion of the college football D1 playoffs is flexible. A committee has until that date, to submit a proposal to ESPN on whether the field should be expanded from 12 to 16 teams. There are millions more to be made if the field expands. Of course ESPN is going to be flexible. If there are millions to be made, there are no hard-and-fast deadlines.
Latest CFB rankings are in and Georgia has stormed into the top 5.
Justin Fields is being replaced by Tyrod Taylor as Jets starting QB. What took so long?
Good column by Jay Busbee on Yahoo Sports, entitled “What is pass interference?” It is to the point on every pass play - college or pro - you hold your breath waiting for the yellow flag. And then the football gods wonder why the public is skeptical over legal betting being part of the landscape.
Looks as if Virginia Tech has its coach. James Franklin, fired by Penn St., is about to lead the Hokies.
Gotta love the clickbait headlines, involving MLB. These websites are looking for traffic so they manufacture stories such as, “Red Sox interested,” “Mets could be,” blah, blah, blah. The classic is when they take someone who was a player for two seconds with a legacy franchise, i.e. Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, etc. and headline it with “Former Yankee signs with…” In today’s world it is all about the clicks. Credibility need not be part of the discussion.
Are the Mets prepared to go big on free agent signings? Reports are billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen sold 85% of his interest in James Dolan’s Vegas Sphere, as the stock skyrocketed. Did somebody say Tarik Skubal, New York Mets pitching ace?
Make that $60M for the University of Arizona. The Arizona Wildcats have sold the naming rights to their stadium. It is a 20-year deal with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe casino. The stadium will now be known as Casino Del Sol Stadium. The deal is the largest in Big 12 history and not-so-coincidentally $10M more than the deal Arizona State signed. Sure, prop bets are going away.
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers, with an injured left wrist, is reportedly 50-50 for Pittsburgh’s game against the Bears on Sunday.
This is getting to be all too common. Reports are Shedeur Sanders’ home was broken into, while he made his NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
MLB clubs have until 6 p.m. EST today to set their 40-man roster. Players left unprotected will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 10 at the baseball winter meetings in Orlando.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for subscribing and have a terrific Tuesday!
DAN
