Sports

Betting on the Come

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Something isn’t adding up.  At least it isn’t adding up just yet.  But, it will.

“Of those who watch sports on TV, about 11 percent said they now watch more as a result of political and social messaging,” a late March Yahoo! Sports survey concluded. “However, 34.5 percent, more than one-third, said they are watching less. The vast majority, roughly 56.3 percent, said they watch about the same amount regardless of political or social messaging.”

The NFL’s dominance of the sports and television landscape is not coming to an end anytime soon.  On Thursday, March 21st, the league announced a new 11-year, $110 billion deal with its television partners that will begin in 2023. That’s billion with a big capital B.  For perspective, the previous deal, which runs from 2014 through 2022,  was inked for a paltry $27.9 billion back in 2011.

The contrast of the two paragraphs above is obvious.

We offer two catchphrases.  One, time heals all wounds.  And two, the media moguls and the NFL execs must be betting on the come.

“Betting on the Come” is derived from a gambling expression and means you don’t have what you want or need, now at the moment.  But, you are betting or hoping you will have what you want or need when the time comes.

What you want or need are advertisers to sell airtime to so that you can offset the $110 billion you are spending for the broadcast rights.  What you want or need are fans to watch in record numbers so that said advertisers will want or need the airtime.

And every network that had a part of the last package dove in to maintain their position.  One newcomer is Amazon Prime.  “All the networks know that having NFL rights is an absolute must-have if they’re going to build those direct consumer streaming services,” says Rob Simmelkjaer, the former director of programming at ESPN.

So once America heals from Covid-19 pain and once it heals from the social discourse all things return to normal, eh?  Perhaps.  But the real reason why ESPN, ABC, NBC, and FOX bet on the come was they bet that bettors would come to the broadcasts.

Commissioner Roger Goodell made no secret of this upon the announcement of the NFL’s new television deal.  “We’re going to find ways we can engage fans with legalized sports betting,” said Goodell.

The league can now speak openly about betting and start to integrate betting content into the presentation of their games.  “It’s what allowed them to get such a big increase in this round of negotiations,” Simmelkjaer continued.

Placing a team in Vegas was a tell.  And, now the league that suspended players Paul Hornung and Alex Karras in 1963 for flirting with gamblers has come full circle.  Then Commissioner Pete Rozelle even referred to the unsavory types as “known hoodlums.”

Perhaps the known hoodlums are no longer known as hoodlums.

This brings us to the third and final catchphrase of the morning.

Follow the money.

Always.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The weekend is here.  Time to overindulge a bit.  Start with Ten Pieces of healthy Nuggets first.  They’re ready below.

  1.  The NBA trade deadline came and went yesterday.   Were there any blockbuster deals?  If you say so.  It’s early, feel free to yawn.
  2.  Dwight Howard flashed a wide smile across his face before the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, receiving his 2020 championship ring in Staples Center a bit later than his former teammates.  He celebrated by getting two technicals and getting tossed one quarter into the contest. .
  3. This is NBA year number 17 for the former first pick of Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2004 draft and team number eight that he has played for.   He’s earned 234.5 million on the court and counting.
  4.  There’s always one great betting story from the NCAA March Madness.  A dude last weekend bet an eight-team parlay with three dogs on the money line and five in all.  He hit the 3320 to one ticket on a $100 bet.  His take?  Why $33,200 of course.
  5.  Doesn’t Oral Roberts plus 11.5 v. Arkansas look tempting this weekend?  The Sweet Sixteen weekend never disappoints.
  6. Little known until a week ago, Grand Canyon basketball standout Oscar Frayer died in a car accident in northern California early Tuesday morning. He was 23 years old. Frayer, a 6-foot-6 senior guard/forward, started in Grand Canyon’s 86-74 loss to Iowa in the first round of the NCAA tournament last week.   It was his 107th start for the Antelopes.  Sometimes life is just not fair.
  7.  If you lost count, DeShaun Watson’s troubles now number 16 lawsuits and counting filed against him for various civil batteries and assaults.  More are on the way.  He wanted to be traded and there were several suitors a few weeks back.  Now?  Now, he’s virtually untradeable as criminal charges might be next.
  8. In the last year, the Houston sports scene has lost, cut, traded, or fired Bill O’Brien, A.J. Hinch, Mike D’Antoni, DeAndre Hopkins, JJ Watt, James Harden, Gerrit Cole, and George Springer.
  9. In the last year, the Astros were found guilty of a cheating scandal, the Rockets imploded when Harden forced a trade and are lottery-bound, and the Texans are a collective hot mess on (4-12) and off of the field (Watson), and in the front office (too much to mention).  They have no first nor second-round draft choice this April either.
  10.  The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play is well underway from Austin Country Club.  Rory McIlroy punctuated his early exit with a wayward shot that landed in a backyard swimming pool.  See ya.  Jordan Spieth, never to be outdone, hit a tee shot the next day onto the wrong green.  Spieth still moved on.  The last man standing Sunday pockets a crisp $1.8 million.

Springtime is here for most.   Enjoy.

 

It Never Ends

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any tougher for the NFL Houston Texans in their offseason of upheaval and discontent it did.  One week you’re releasing the greatest player in the team’s history on the field and best representative (think choir boy) off of it, J.J. Watt.

The next week?  Oh boy.  Yesterday news broke that the franchise’s star quarterback DeShaun Watson has been accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a masseuse.  She claims that during a massage that “Watson went too far.”

Watson, who had his best season on the field in 2020 had already asked repeatedly to be traded in 2021.  He doesn’t like the direction the franchise has taken or not taken to produce a winning culture.   And, now, the Texans will not like the direction Watson has taken.

The Texans are a rare entity in the NFL truth be known.  The founder and owner passed away a year ago and left the future of the franchise to his “in over his head” son Cam McNair.  They place player comportment equal to, if not ahead of, winning.

“This case we just filed against Watson isn’t about money — it’s about dignity and stopping the behavior that should be stopped, NOW!” plaintiff attorney Tony Buzbee said.  Old Tony smells money inside of a nationwide trend, doesn’t he?

Watson uncorked a spiral on Twitter.  “The plaintiff’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing the suit he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected.”

Of course, everyone is innocent until proven guilty in the good old USA, right?  Well, in today’s #metoo and cancel culture environment that old “innocent until proven guilty” right might be true in a court case, but in the court of public opinion that isn’t always the case.

Shouldn’t this be a criminal investigation?  Is it?  Will it be?  At this time, details, if any exist to that end, are not known.

Sex, fame, money, and power.  They all sleep in the same bed.  It’s just how they all get played or paid out that determines the eventual outcome.  False claims can pay as well.

Ask Judge Kavanaugh, Donald Trump,  Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffery Epstein, or Andrew Cuomo.  While the seriousness of the charges varies, so do the answers.  Seemingly innocent, hush money talks, guilty, very guilty, suicide, and wait and see come to mind.

Or, ask Robert Kraft, New England Patriots owner.  His videoed massage(or massages) and subsequent charges of soliciting prostitution were so tied up in court with his lawyers blocking the prosecution that they dropped the charges.

As an aside, if the Texans were serious about trading Watson, the return that they can expect just took a nosedive.  If Watson is really serious about getting traded he actually helped his cause.

It’s a sordid world that we live in.

The “breaking” stories are never-ending.

But, we suspect many have a happy ending.

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you have a busy Monday and need to go, we’ve got Ten healthy Nuggets to put you in the know.  It’s been a while.

  1.  The NBA All-Star game was yesterday. Did you watch it?  If you didn’t here is what you missed.  320 points.  Yep, 320.  That’s about 6 and 1/2 points a minute.   If you didn’t, here is what you didn’t miss.  Defense.  Team Lebron beat Team Durant 170-150.  Are you underwhelmed?  Understandable.
  2. That said, thanks to a perfect 16-for-16 performance from the field, including banking in multiple jump shots, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo won his first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, as he and his Team LeBron cruised.  Even with defense being optional, 16 for16 is16 for 16.
  3.  The virus was on offense as well, as contact tracing forced the league to pull Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons out of the game.  It potentially will keep them away from the Sixers when the second half of the season begins Thursday.
  4. Lebron knew better than to play this meaningless exhibition.  James, who said early last month that the NBA’s choosing to hold an All-Star Game amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was a “slap in the face,” lived up to the other quote he had about the game that day.  “I’ll be there if I’m selected,” James said. “But I’ll be there physically, but not mentally.”  Could the same be said about the King numerous other times that he’s flapped his jaws?  He’s also keeping his decision about whether to get vaccinated or not private.  Maybe he’ll get it and be there physically but not mentally?
  5. With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc, the expectation has been that the NFL salary cap would fall significantly from 2020’s $198 million budget. After years of increasing by tens of millions of dollars, the fall was expected to be precipitous. The new floor of $180 million isn’t the exact final cap number but with the NFL and the NFL Players Association agreeing to it, it mitigates some of that decrease.
  6. Who has the most money to spend?  The Jacksonville Jaguars do.  They have $84 million free and clear.  They also own the first pick in the draft.  What team is the most underwater?  The New Orleans Saints went all in to try to get to another Super Bowl before Drew Brees’ arm turned into total mush.  They’re still about $48 million over the cap even after some off-season moves.  Three other teams (Rams, Packers, and Chiefs) that had playoff appearances or runs are also currently significantly over budget.
  7.  When was the last time Phil Mickelson wasn’t ranked inside of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking?  It was 1993.  Or, 1425 weeks ago if you prefer.  It’s a record run.  Mickelson turned the big 50 last June.  He has won 44 times on tour.  If or when he is willing to put his mind to the PGA Champions Tour (aka the Senior Tour) he will pile up many more trophies.
  8.  Is Bryson DeChambeau unconventional in his approach to golf?  Is the Pope Catholic?  DeChambeau cut the corner, make that cut straight across the lake both Saturday and Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Classic with tape measure drives of about 342 yards.  Is his swing different than anything golf has seen since, well, ever?  Does a bear, nevermind.  DeChambeau won the Bay Hill and collected the top prize of $1,674,000.  That brings him to $23,229,908 for his career. He’s but 27 years young.   It pays to zig when others zag it seems.
  9. Kyle Larson wasn’t sure he’d ever race again in NASCAR.  And if he could, he didn’t know who would hire him.  Larson’s use of a racial slur while participating in an online call last April cost him his job, his reputation, and his ability to attract the corporations that fund a race team. On Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension.  Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only black full-time driver, was one of the first competitors to congratulate Larson.  Good stuff.  Cancel culture gave a rare second chance.  Things are already improving under Biden, but we digress.
  10. So, who has already punched their dance card for the big NCAA Basketball Tourney?  If you guessed the Liberty Flames, the Morehead State Eagles, the Winthrop Eagles, and the Loyola Chicago Ramblers you should reconsider your priorities.  “It’s small conference champ city, baby,” screeched Dick Vitale.  Selection Sunday is but six days away.

You’re fed.  Get to work.

Party With the Lombardi

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If everybody every day got offended by everything would that actually enable cancel culture to cancel cancel culture?  Just asking as 1) we cannot be that far from it, and 2) it would be a merciful end to the maniacal madness.

Can we just make it stop?  We are asking for a friend.

Actually, we are asking for Tom Brady.  He’s in hot water(not really) after tossing the Lombardi Trophy over Tampa Bay water from one boat to another as all of Tampa celebrated the Bucs Super Bowl victory with a boozy Super Bowl boat parade.

He completed the pass just like he has so many before with a real football that isn’t attached to the stem of the trophy. So, no big deal right?  Wrong.

“It just upset me that this trophy was disgraced and disrespected by being thrown as if it was a real football,” the daughter of the man who designed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Lorraine Grohs told Tampa’s Fox 4.

“I personally would like an apology, not just to me and my family and the other silversmiths but to the fans, all the football fans, the other team players,” she insisted.

Did she miss anybody?

“Hi, Tom Brady here.  I’d like to personally apologize to all silversmiths near and far for my outrageous behavior late last week.  Hic.  Apparently, having fun and silver trophies don’t mix well.”

Would that tongue-tied in cheek BS apology be sufficient?  We can hope.

The woman went on to claim that she has experienced “sleepless nights” over what she feels is the “disrespect” her father’s handiwork received.  Sleepless nights?  Sure.

The only thing worse than that claim is that this nonsensical “news” story even got air time.  And, maybe that, unto itself, is the problem.

Everyone wants to be famous for 15 minutes even when it’s achieved by taking a shot at a guy who took a few shots on the field then a few more off of the field.

“I only watch the game to watch the trophy come out. I like to see all the owners and the football players just hold it up with such pride and hold it up and show everybody and I get goosebumps…. like right now I’m getting goosebumps,” she admitted.

Goosebumps!  It’s not winning the trophy that’s the thing, it’s seeing the trophy.  Who knew?

Tom tweeted, “nothing to see here, just a little avocado tequila.”

Nothing to see here, indeed.

Pass the Alka Seltzer

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The Super Bowl and the Super Bowl party (not in that order) took its toll on the BBR staff.  Here’s ten observations from afar.

  1.   You have to be sick of watching Brady and his pearly whites accept the MVP Trophy by now don’t you?
  2.   Tampa Bay won with Brady, but they won because of their defense.  That side of the ball has been ferocious for two months now.
  3.   The commercials used to help during a boring game.  Used to…..
  4.   Twenty five thousand fans and thirty thousand cut outs watched the game live.  What do the cutouts do really?  Weird times.
  5.   Did you bet the prop that KC would score no touchdowns in the game?  If you did, a one buck wager paid you back 500 of them.
  6.   There was a lot of maskless celebration going on post game.  The New Orleans Saints will get fined for it.  They always do.  It’s like Jerry Tarkanian once     said, “every time North Carolina recruits illegally Cleveland St gets put on probation.”
  7.   Maybe a great defense can still beat a great offense.  If so, look out for the LA Rams next year.  Stafford just needs throw some game management passes    and an occasional zinger or two.
  8.   The Waste Management Phoenix Open never disappoints the day of the SB.  The blue sky and green grass contrasted againsted the desert tan sand        makes most of the rest of the U.S. yearn for warmer days.
  9.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar become the first female assistant coaches to win a Super Bowl.  While referee Sarah Thomas became the first female official to work a Super Bowl.   One of our overserved guests remarked upon learning this, and we quote, “whoop tee do.”  Our government is likely using facial recognition to out him(or her) as we speak.
  10.  Who’s going to win the SB next year?  The Chiefs, listed at +550 at Caesars Sportsbook, are the favorite to win Super Bowl LVI. The Green Bay Packers are next at +900, followed by the champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers at +1100.  But, before you drop too much coin on one of them realize that Tampa Bay was +5000 this time last year.

Plop, plop.  Fizz, fizz.

When It Was a Game

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s been a while since we served up some Ten Piece Nuggets for your consumption.  As sports and the “real world” continue to collide we decided to take you back to a simpler time when the games were about the games.  Take a trip down Super Bowl memory lane.

  1.  With Super Bowl LV upon us, we thought we’d visit an old adage.  In order to be effective in this league you have to be able to run the ball and stop the run.  Can you name the last Super Bowl winner to lead the league in regular-season rushing yards?  It’s been a while actually.  It’s the 1985 Chicago Bears.  On their Super Bowl Shuffle way, they amassed a league-leading 2761 yards.
  2. And, they could stop the run as well. In their three post-season games that year they gave up a total of 125 yards rushing.  In the 85′ Super Bowl beatdown of NE, the Patriots gained exactly 7 net rushing yards.
  3. Guess who completed the longest pass play in Super Bowl history.  Montana? Nope.  Marino?  Nope.  Elway? Nope.  Give up?  You should.  It’s Jake “The Cajun Snake” Delhomme.  The Carolina Panther’s QB completed an 85-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
  4. Guess who is the only running back to gain over 200 yards in any Super Bowl.  Payton? Nope.  Riggins?  Nope.  Faulk? Nope.  It’s Redskin Timmy Smith who went off for an all-time Super Bowl record with 204 rushing yards in Super Bowl XXII as his Washington Redskins ran roughshod over the Denver Broncos.  Who?
  5. Hello Friends!  Jim Nantz might catch him one day, but for now, Pat Summerall has provided the play by play on TV for more Super Bowls (11) than any of his contemporaries.
  6. Eleven seems to be the lucky number for Summerall and for Miami.  The Magic City as it’s known has hosted the most Super Bowls with 11.
  7. The 2011 (there’s that number again) New York Football Giants own the distinction of having the worst regular-season record at 9-7 of any SB winner.  It’s important to get hot at the right time they(whoever they are) say.  Super Bowl XLII(42) was the one that had the greatest and most important catch as well.  It’s considered the greatest catch in SB history.  It’s important to get lucky at the right time as well.
  8. Pennsylvania is known as the hotbed of QBs.  It’s produced Namath, Marino, Montana, Kelly, and many more.  But, California has produced the most Super Bowl winners with five: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Trent Dilfer, Troy Aikman and Jim Plunkett.
  9. It is one thing to get to the biggest of them all.  It’s yet another to win it.  It’s yet another to get there multiple times and never lose.  But, that accomplishment is rare.  Only the Baltimore Ravens have won more than one and not lost any.  And, they are only 2-0.
  10. And finally, Dallas and Pittsburgh have met the most times(3) for the Lombardi Trophy in NFL history.  But, it has been a while since they have.  The contests ended the 1975, 1978, and 1995 seasons.

Tampa Bay becomes the first team to host a Super Bowl this coming Sunday.

Friday the winners of the prop bets and the game will be available for you right here on BBR on Al Gore’s Internet.

 

Big Stakes and Cultural Shakes

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Twelve NFL seasons ago Matthew Stafford roared in like the Lion he was.

And, now after 162 starts, 45,109 yards passing, and 282 TD’s the Rams hope he hasn’t turned into a lamb from all of the QB hits he’s taken as Lion with all of the misfits that did or did not block for him.

The Rams, as we are certain that you heard, shipped starting QB Jared Goff, two first-round picks, and one third-round pick to Detroit in a mega-deal for Stafford.

It’s a massive price for the Rams to pay.  The trade comes less than two years after Goff signed a massive four-year, $134 million contract with the Rams, which runs through 2024.

It’s noteworthy that Goff struggled in 2019 and 2020 after his first three seasons in the league that saw his star ascending.  In LA you’re only as good as your last act or two.  And director Sean McVay has seen enough.

It’s also noteworthy that Goff’s stats after five years in the league are so similar to Stafford’s that you’d swear you were watching one of those old Hollywood reruns.

For LA it’s the Super Bowl or bust.  And they’re betting big that Stafford has plenty of skill left in his 33-year-old body to give a command performance or two before the curtain comes down on their elite defense.  If they win one big one, maybe you could say the price was worth it.

Maybe.

Rarely in the NFL do you give up more people and picks to get fewer people and picks and get the better of the deal.  Rarely.

In Detroit, new Head Coach Dan Campbell roared in like the Lion that he now is at his very first press conference.  In LA they call it must-see TV.  The sound bites even include knee cap bites.

Campbell knows that Motor City is starved for a winner.  He also knows that he needs a lot more individual winners on his team than he has.

To create a winning culture out of a perennial losing one massive change is needed.  Ironically Stafford joined Detroit the same year, and played his first game ever, against a new head coach named Sean Payton in New Orleans in 2009.  Payton did just that, changing a perennially losing franchise into a winning one.

Head Coach Campbell just spent the last three seasons under Sean’s (Payton that is) wing.

We suspect that Campbell will be more than willing to change more spare parts out of Detroit for more new shiny ones.  It might almost look like an assembly line by the start of the 2021 season.

And, having more one’s and a three is a start to that start that few HCs get to tinker with.  And, what if, just what if, he can kick start Goff, too?

Rarely does the Lions organization come to mind when the word “savvy” is tossed about.

This time it should. And, maybe it’s LA like, but “bravo,” sounds about right, too.

 

 

Name Dropping

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As you know Hank Aaron passed away over the weekend.  His contribution to baseball and countless lives transcended the game.   He conducted himself on and off the field with great ease and aplomb.

His 755 home runs are surpassed by only one player in the game’s history.  And history will forever judge how that player got there.

He started his career in Milwaukee, continued the storied run in Atlanta, and finished his final two trips around the league again from Milwaukee.  Through it all, he amassed 3771 hits and was a career .305 hitter.  His place in the game is forever etched in its lore. And he did all of it with great grace in the racially charged ’60s and ’70s.

This brings us to today’s world.  Seemingly minutes after his passing social media got active.  Then it got hot like one of Arron’s hitting streaks.  The outcry was again renewed to rename the team that Aaron made famous-the Atlanta Braves.  It’s always a good time to stir the cancel culture pot.

“Braves” is insensitive they (whoever they is) say.

The organization has remained steadfast that it’s an honorable term for the Native Americans.  Though that same organization has eliminated the tomahawk chop from the battle cry for the offense to light up in the stadium.  The war beat of the drum has ceased banging as well.  Seems two-faced or at least red-faced to us, though we doubt that you could or should say red-faced anymore either.

Georgia Tech announced that they were going to retire the #44 in honor of Aaron.  What is the association of Tech with Aaron you ask?  Same city, but nothing.

The Atlanta Falcons also announced that they were retiring #44.  Really?  The town’s football team is retiring the town’s best-known baseball player’s number.  The Falcons should have quit while they were ahead.  Wait.  They already did against New England in a Super Bowl a few years back while leading 28-3.  Maybe they should retire numbers 28 and 3 as well?

While the “to be or not to be” Braves discussion plays out, maybe they should change their name temporarily a la the Washington Football Team?  How well does the “Atlanta Baseball Team” roll off of your lips?

Many have suggested that the Braves become the Hammers to honor Hammerin’ Hank Aaron.  Drop the tomahawk and add the hammer to the logo. Voila- that’s a cheap and quick fix if there ever was one.

This brings us to tomorrow’s world.  Shouldn’t we honor all of the minorities that broke through after Jakie Robinson broke through?

The San Francisco Giants could become the San Fran Say Hey Kids honoring Willie Mays.  The New York Mets could be named The New York Gooden Plenty seeing how Dwight Gooden brought the Big Apple’s little apple a championship.  And, the Pittsburgh Pirates should consider the Pittsburgh Pops for the revered Willie “Pops” Stargell.

While we’re at it the New Orleans Pelicans could retire #9 in honor of Drew Brees soon, too.  Wait.

Perhaps we’re getting a bit carried away?

Perhaps.

 

SB LV is the New SB I

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Six weeks ago BBR asked if we were headed to a rematch of Super Bowl One where Green Bay and Kansas City kicked of what has become the greatest championship in all of sports.

And then there were four.  And KC and GB are both favored to make it to Tampa for Super Bowl Roman numeral LV.

Abby sez:

Buffalo at Kansas City -3  –  The obvious is that Mahomes is going to miss.  What should also be obvious by now is that KC looks like a determined team to go back to back.   It won’t be easy.  And, remember,  “nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills, ” said Chris Berman 500 times in the past.  Buffalo has had a hell of a run.  Abby likes the politically incorrect.  And the nickname “Chiefs” is one of the few left standing.

Tampa Bay at Green Bay -3.5 – The battle of the Bays is what Berman used to call this twice a year meeting when these two teams were in the same division together years ago.  Back then one was bad and the other was worse.  No more.  Brady and Rodgers will be great theater.  The GOAT of them all v the GOAT of 2020.   Rodgers is on the same mission that KC is.

Picking chalk has a way of feeling like a dog bite at times.  We’ll see.

Woof!