[Cactus Jack]

@Van Hagar had a great post & excellent points on this in another thread. 

"On a related note, one huge alarm bell for the NBA (and pro sports in general) was sounded yesterday when the league slapped a lifetime ban on a Raptors player for gambling. Now that pro sports have totally embraced legalized gambling, I’m afraid there are gonna be a lot more stories like this, mainly involving fringe players making minimum salaries that see a golden opportunity to make some big bucks on the side. This cat had given info to a big gambler then faked illness so he would be assured to go under on one of those player prop bets. That’s got to be scary for the pro sports leagues."

[Van Hagar]

Thanks CJ, and I should probably have said terrifying instead of scary for the pro leagues. And for that matter for college sports as well. Nothing would sound a quicker death knell for the golden goose that sports has become than to have an outcome proven to be fixed. And I’m not sure that this is gonna be very easy to police. Very interesting days ahead I feel.

[Cactus Jack]

So many good first round series, the most I can ever remember where there is a legit chance for the lower seeded teams to advance. Even if Boston winds up with Miami, the Celtics will win, but the Heat with Jimmy Butler and Eric Spoelstra won’t make anything easy for them. Hoping the Kings beat the Pelicans tonight, and with Zion out they surely might, love Fox and Monk together.

On a related note, one huge alarm bell for the NBA (and pro sports in general) was sounded yesterday when the league slapped a lifetime ban on a Raptors player for gambling. Now that pro sports have totally embraced legalized gambling, I’m afraid there are gonna be a lot more stories like this, mainly involving fringe players making minimum salaries that see a golden opportunity to make some big bucks on the side. This cat had given info to a big gambler then faked illness so he would be assured to go under on one of those player prop bets. That’s got to be scary for the pro sports leagues.

Thanks CJ, and I should probably have said terrifying instead of scary for the pro leagues. And for that matter for college sports as well. Nothing would sound a quicker death knell for the golden goose that sports has become than to have an outcome proven to be fixed. And I’m not sure that this is gonna be very easy to police. Very interesting days ahead I feel.

It has the potential to be an even larger problem for colleges.

More players, at a younger age, making less money, living in an atmosphere where outside influences and temptations could be more prevalent and fewer controls are in place.

That's a recipe for disaster.

[Spud6]

This is an insane story. Guy was betting the unders and finishing his career in the process by playing bad but then cashing bets on himself to suck and taking himself out of games.