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“BETTING ON SPORTS-IN SPORTS”
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It is a story in the shadows.
it is the Elephant in the Room conversation.
it is the scariest thing that sports has to deal with.

Betting on sports, betting on games, betting by players.

The Shohei Ohtani story.  The Dodgers star victimized by his Personal Aid, who stole 17M to fund a gambling addiction.

The suspension of at least 9-NFL players in recent years for gambling habits.

The lifetime expulsion of a Toronto Raptors young player.
Investigations into the gambling habits of an Edmonton Oilers star about bets.
The expulsion of NBA referee Tim Donaghy.

Notre Dame suspended it’s swimming program for a full year just last week because of an on-campus gambling ring.

It goes on and on.

Baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL walk down the hypocritical highway.  They take in millions of dollars in corporate sponsorship money from gambling websites, casinos, and vacation resorts.  That’s business as usual, as seedy as gambling addictions are.

No one wants to revisit the Black Sox baseball scandal of 1919 and the stain it left on the game.

It’s out there, it’s tough to police, it’s tough to control but each of the sports are trying to put their arms around their business relationships with the big money casinos and those sites like Fan Duel-Draft Kings.

Here’s the latest development from Front Office sports.

The leagues will continue to take in sponsorship dollars as a revenue source.  They are terrified of being ‘taken down’ by a scandal involving a player, a staff member, even an owner.  And don’t say it cannot happen:
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“Front Office Sports”

While building hype for the NFL season, which begins in two weeks, the league is also taking precautions against sports betting among its players, especially as the NBA and MLB have faced significant controversies this year.

The NFL will have investigators on-site during game days to scout for “suspicious activity,” according to ESPN. What constitutes suspicious activity is unclear, though SVP of NFL security Cathy Lanier told ESPN that the investigators, which consist of retired FBI agents or executive-level police officers, are searching for behavior that could be an “anomaly.”

The NFL’s security team also monitors betting markets in search of suspicious activity, such as large swings in the odds of player props. This is what triggered the NBA incident involving the Raptors’ Jontay Porter after DraftKings Sportsbook reported that his player props were the day’s top moneymaker on two separate occasions.

A similar report was received by MLB in the case that turned into a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucipita Marcano.

NFL’s Betting Guidelines
The NFL already has the strictest rules for sports betting among the major sports leagues. Players are banned from betting on any games or related events, such as the draft or combine. Players are allowed to bet only on other sports, and staff members cannot bet on sports at all.

The NFL last suspended players for sports betting in June 2023, with three receiving one-year bans. The most high-profile suspension the league handed out since the 2018 Supreme Court rule change on sports betting was in March 2022, when receiver Calvin Ridley (above) was given a one-year suspension for betting on NFL games, including those of the Falcons—the team he played for at the time—while he was away from the team for personal reasons.

But the country’s richest sports league has yet to institute a lifetime ban due to sports betting, and it’s clearly trying to do all it can to stop it from happening even if most think it’s inevitable.

“It’s only a matter of time,” one league executive told Front Office Sports last month.

The Flip Side
Players have also faced pressure because they are the ones fans’ money is riding on.

Commanders running back Austin Ekeler told Bloomberg that he sees how sports betting, or even fantasy football, can help enhance fan engagement and knowledge of the sport, but on the flip side, he also feels like it can turn “athletes into widgets.”

In the NBA, stars like Tyrese Haliburton have already complained about how dehumanizing it is to be bet on. “To half the world, I’m just helping them make money on DraftKings or whatever. I’m a prop,” Haliburton said in March.

The NCAA is also pushing to stop prop betting at the collegiate level, with president Charlie Baker saying that college athletes have faced “harassment” on top of how it poses a threat to the “integrity of competition.”

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“PENNANT RACE-PENNANT CHASE”
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We live in Southern California.

Baseball fans are gripped by a fun pennant race in the National League West.  Sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to what is happening on the out of town scoreboard.

But what is happening in all these other divisions is spectacular, and we still have 5-plus weeks of pulsating baseball to be played with huge implications everywhere.

A quick look at how we have gotten there:

NL WEST:  Here at home the Dodgers ability to hold onto first place despite devastating injuries is astounding.  16-pitchers on the DL this year.  The loss of Mookie Betts and Max Muncy for the middle part of the schedule.  Now the return of some starters and their bats has put LA in position to hold off the challenges from the Padres and Diamondbacks.  LA’s experience is helping them win all these close games.

The Padres have won (22-of-27), and are hammering the ball virtually every night, in beating everyone, and they are doing this with no Fernando Tatis.  Arizona is holding on for dear life now with the loss of Ketel Marte-Christian Walker and Gabe Moreno.  Don’t know if they can hold on.

San Diego and Arizona have come from 10-games back and have gotten as close as 2-games, with both still having a strong chance of finishing first.  The Friars are more dangerous than anyone realizes across the nation.

NL CENTRAL:  Milwaukee is destroying everyone and that is stunning considering the loss of Christian Yelich for the year, plus the pitching injuries.  They have an amazing 11-and-a half lead over the skidding Cubs.

NL EAST:  The Phillies look tired, the Braves are devastated by injuries.  Philadelphia is just (8-17) in a month and look fatigued every night.  But the Braves are 6-back and I see no way Atlanta can overcome the loss of 7-key players, led by Ron Acuna, Ozzie Albers and Austin Riley.

AL EAST…The Orioles and Yankees have been swapping out first and second place the last month.  New York has the big hitters, Soto-Judge, but New York’s pitching seems to have flamed out and the bullpen is burned out.  The Orioles kids keep winning and don’t seem intimidated by the pressure.

AL CENTRAL…Cleveland and Minnesota are playing hammer and tong week by week.  Jose Ramirez leads a very good hitting team.  The Twins no name batting order can hurt you too.  This thing is far from over.

AL WEST…Houston’s amazing rebound from crushing injuries has been special,considering six starting pitchers were hurt for the first third of the season.  Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve are hitting hot again.    Seattle is wasting solid pitching by not hitting, and despite the trading deadline deals, they are still not hitting.

It’s going to be wild between now and October 1st means lots of scoreboard watching coming.  What a pennant race we have.

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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast
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“COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK”
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So how does it feel to not have college big time football in your backyard for 2024, as the season begins a week from now.

USC-UCLA are now in the Big 10, along with Oregon and Washington.

The Pac 12 no longer exists as we have known it since 1915.

The rivalries are gone, replaced by defections, long airline trips, and the loss of the heritage, legacy, history that made it the Conference of Champions.

You know, the Big 10, owned by Michigan and Ohio State. The re-emergence of Penn State and coach James Franklin.  The history of Iowa’s defense, Michigan State’s toughness, Wisconsin’s running game and so much more.

USC said goodbye to QB-Caleb Williams, its run game and a large group of wide receivers, gone to the transfer portal or to the NFL.  Welcome to a 6th year QB and a load of transfers, and a new Defensive Coordinator in D’Anton Lynn.

UCLA  is excited about new head coach Deshaun Foster, the arrival of Eric Bienemy.  The Bruins return a bunch on offense, three running backs, but have to rely on seldom played Ethan Garbers at quarterback

OREGON..Dan Lanning has taken the Ducks to another level.  Yes Bo Nix, his running backs and wide outs are gone, but replaced by record setting QB-Dillon Gabriel, a ton of transfer talent and returning talent on defense.  They are ranked 3rd in the nation to start the season.

WASHINGTON..This will be a hard year ahead.  There is no DeBoer as a leader, who went to the SEC.  There is no Michael Penix at quarterback and a ton of the offense departed.  Jedd Fisch, who rebuilt Arizona, is in Seattle but this will take time.

The travel schedule will be rugged for the Trojans (21,000 miles) and Bruins (22,000) on their 6-road trips.

The on-field schedule will be staggering.

USC: How about opening the schedule, at LSU and at Michigan.    But the Trojans will host Wisconsin, Penn State, Nebraska and Notre Dame all at home.

UCLA..This feels as if this will be unbearable, playing at LSU-Oregon and at Penn State in a 4-week span.  They get Indians, Minnesota and Iowa in Pasadena and host USC late in the season.

OREGON:  Road games early against UCLA and Oregon State.  Late season games at Michigan and at Wisconsin.  But home games with Ohio State and Michigan State early in the season.

WASHINGTON:  This will be so hard for the Huskies.  Michigan at home, with Iowa on the road early.  USC home then a turnaround trip to Penn State back to back.  And they finish off with a roadie at Oregon.

Shall be interested to see who survives year one, and if the bitterness towards the death of the legendary conference remains front and center.

No games here on the West Coast for us to get excited about because those favorite teams belong to a conference in the Midwest we used to dislike.

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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast..1pm
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“NFL Notes”
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CHARGERS….Sorry, not giving out a participating trophy in the aftermath of the Chargers loss to the Rams.  QB-Easton Stick played a bit better, but nothing to say you want him in a regular season game.  His new backup Luis Perez threw downfield, but looked overwhelmed with the pass rush, and then you realized this is not the XFL-UFL-AAF or other spring leagues he played in.

Stick continues to struggle in the pocket.  The limited success he had was when they moved him out of the pocket, let him run an option play.  He overthrew receivers, struggled with his progression reads.  He threw a pick, fumbled at the 2-yard line, and just did not look like someone who has been in the NFL for four season.

He is probably the best bet to remain as the backup to Justin Herbert as the season looms closer.  Here’s what the smart guys should do.  Design special packages on offense if he has to come in and play in place of Herbert.  Put some run-pass option plays that moves him off the spot in the pocket he is struggling with.  Design some roll outs that gives him space and see if he can become an emergency QB who can help, rather than a guy who creates an emergency if he has to play.

Oh by the way, setting aside what Jim Harbaugh platitudes comes out of his mouth, his Chargers offense has not scored an offensive TD in two games, in e-quarters, in 23-possesions.  His team is (8-28) on 3rd downs.  And a bunch of this was playing with his #1-offensive line on the field.

Quentin Johnston showed flashes, busting down the sidelines but Stick overthrew badly what could have been a TD pass.  Ladd McConkey caught one ball, was targeted one time-why?  He needs the reps vs NFL defenses.

Impressed with rookie RB-Kim Vidal, with (49Y) rushing, and 4-burst runs.  He looks like the stage is not too big for him to become RB3.

Young veteran safety Dean Leonard was everywhere.  An interception off a deflection and 3-passes deflected.  He stood up to every challenge.

Young WR-Semi Fehoko (2R-52Y) exhibited catch and run talent, to get open, and run away from peoplel.

Just signed wide body DT-Teair Tart had 2-tackles for losses and was physical at the point of attack.  He is a veteran and showed some dominance, but against guys who will probably be cut in a week from now.

They are (0-2), no offense yet, and Herbert has yet to practice with the team.  Alot of work to be done and now not much time to go get lots of answers they need to.
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RAMS…Sean McVay sitting virtually all his starters, continues to fine out alot about his young backups and draft picks.

QB-Stetson Bennett is wild.  You never know what you get with him at the line of scrimmage.  Yes he threw a 47Y-TD bomb.  Yes he threw for (213Y) coming off last weeks (244Y) outing.  But he puts the ball in places an experienced QB never should throw it too.  Bennett had a bad pick in the end zone.  He targeted 5-other passes at receivers who were blanketed, passes that could or should have been picked.  All this a week after he threw 4-interceptions.  Not ready for prime time, and he was doing all this against a Chargers defense of kids.

The Rams do have impressive skill guys.  Xavier Smith caught a couple of passes, JJ Laap outran the secondary for his 47Y-TD post pattern catch.  The Rams rumbled for (125Y) rushing.

Josh Karty has won the field goal kicking job.  WR-Jordan Whittington has 10-catches in two games and they need insurance policy help at wide receiver.

So the Rams are (2-0) with Stetson Bennett trying to learn on the job.

1 more week of preseason games, and the Rams have yet to have a full team even on the practice field, with 7-different injuries, including the hamstring to QB-Matthew Stafford.  McVay has questions too.  He just does not have all his players on the field.

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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast
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“CHARGERS-KAEPERNICK”

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Time changes things, how you look at people, what you observe, what a team needs.

We are a couple of weeks out from the start of the Chargers NFL season.

He is 7-years removed from what he did, and how society reacted.

Talking about the once famous 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, what he did on the field, what he did on the sidelines.

We’re talking about him kneeling on the sidelines during the National Anthem, that led to an outcry across America about his disrespect for the flag.

Now 7-years later, he reiterates how he still thinks he can play in the NFL, even at age 37.

The story comes front and center now with Jim Harbaugh confirming he spoke to Kaepernick about coming back to the NFL, as a possible coaching intern or an assistant coach on the Bolts staff.

But it’s also at this hour the Chargers may need a veteran QB-because of the poor play and the poor practices of Easton Stick and Luis Perez’s late arrival as a refugee from the XFL-UFL.

Justin Herbert is out with that sprained arch, and they may need an insurance policy QB, who can play.  Stick has not shown that.  Perez is an unknown at the next level.

Thus Kaepernick’s name may make sense as some sort of consultant.  Does it make sense as a potential backup quarterback after so many years away?

Harbaugh would have 3-weeks to get Kaepernick football ready-physically.  He knows some parts of the Harbaugh playbook from the 49ers era.  But it would take live fire action to get him into true game mode.  Where is that time going to come from?

Then of course there is the hidden story of how America reacted to him kneeling down back in the day.

I was aghast, his response to the flag-the anthem and what it stood for.  I remember thinking the America he was denouncing was the America that allowed him to make 14M-a year based on his talent.

The NFL could not intercede.  Then players sided with the Niners QB-kneeling with him in a show of support about racism and lack of equality.  Kneeling became universal.  Then standing arm in arm, players-coaches-even Jerry Jones became standard.

But the more and more I learned about Kaepernick, my feelings changed.  He is an intellect.  During his exile from the NFL, while he recovered from shoulder surgery, I learned about what he was doing in the inner cities in San Francisco, Oakland and even in Reno-where he played at Nevada-Reno.

The quarterback was financing after school lunch programs on his own out of his own pocket for young kids in all 3-cities.  Then I found he wrote a check for 1M-for the first pediatric hospital in Ghana-Africa.

This was more than TD passes, TV commercials, and being a star on a team.  It was a player doing alot as a person.

No one, aside from the Baltimore Ravens,would bring him in.  When it appeared he would sign with the Ravens, the deal fell apart, either over money, or interaction with a family member.

No one ever called again, though he continued to talk behind the scenes with NFL coaches and other players, and he continued doing things in all the special communities he cared about.

Now, this Chargers situation is front and center.

Can he play any longer?  I think it is a long shot.  Can he come in and work with young QBs, be a link to the Bolts new playbook, learn what it is like to be a coach?  Maybe.

NFL rosters are dotted with players who have been in real trouble, alcohol, guns, domestic issues, chemicals.  They served their penalty and are back in the league.  Kaepernick paid a different type of price with his public stance on racial inequality.

Time has passed, minds have been changed.  Maybe it’s time to give the QB an opportunity, to see where the road leads.

 

The Chargers-Kaepernick linkage seems possible because it’s a known coach with a former quarterback he believed in.

It’s also a time of concern because beyond Justin Herbert, the Bolts seem in trouble at the most important position in the NFL.

A most unique 2nd chance, not for someone who did anything wrong, something that might have been interpreted wrongly.

See what Kaepernick has to offer, as a player, former player, maybe a consultant.  What do the Chargers have to lose?

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