Sports Betting - Is It Fixed?

Thanks to the guys at The Fix Is In we stumbled upon this video of the guys from Pregame.com discussing if sports are fixed.  Not too in depth with evidence but a good listen. In agreement with what they are saying that not every game is fixed and most of the time you will not know when they are but they make a point that is does happen whether you believe it or not.

Saints Whistle Blowing to Victory

The Tennessee Titans accused the New Orleans Saints of blowing a whistle on the sideline during a critical drive in the game between the two teams on December 11th according to Yardbarker.  The Titans claim to have video evidence along with multiple offensive lineman who can attest to the whistle blowing.  Titans players were confused by the distraction upon hearing the whistle as Saints players did not stop.  This was believed to have occurred during the second to last drive in which the Titans were trying to rally from behind but ultimately lost 22-17.  A field goal would have change the outcome for bettors on the spread which had the Saints favored by 3.5 and a touchdown would have change the spread and moneyline outcomes.

2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun Fails Drug Test

Yes, you read the title correctly. 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and faces a 50-game suspension if upheld. The result is currently being disputed by Braun through arbitration. Braun helped lead the Milwaukee Brewers to its first division title in almost three decades. At this level it seems everyone is suspect these days.

UFC Star Chris Leben Suspended for One Year

Performance enhancing drugs and pain killers are a major problem in mixed martial arts according to many fighters and others behind the scenes.  Two weeks ago the Ultimate Fighting Championships announced that long time fighter Chris Leben had been suspended for one year following a failed drug test after UFC 138 in which he was defeated by Mark Munoz.  Leben has had issues in the past with a suspension in 2008 after his failed drug test for stanozolol and this time for oxycodone and oxymorphone.  He could have been using these to mask the eftects of injury or to take the grind of training and fighting.  Will the UFC bring him back, only time will tell.

Hawaii Point-Shaving Scheme?

A little over a week ago Sports Illustrated reported allegations that a point-shaving scheme involving University of Hawaii football players was being questioned.  On November 3rd the admissions office received an anonymous letter stating that players were intentionally playing bad to affect the outcome of games and scores.  Police investigators do not currently have enough information to open an investigation and campus officials couldn't comment if they would continue with their own.  Hawaii is a pretty bad 3-7-1 against the spread this year.

Was the MLS Soccer Finale Fixed for Ratings?

Not stating that the MLS soccer finale was fixed but certainly seemed like a calculated game for television ratings. Last Sunday the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo squared off for the MLS Championship which resulted in a riveting 1-0 Galaxy win. This is international star David Beckham's last year on his contract with the Galaxy and may very well have been Landon Donovan's last game as well so how fitting that both superstars were involved in the winning and only goal in the championship game for a sport generally low on ratings in the United States. It was a great season for the Galaxy capped off by a championship but just seemed too good to be true in the finale.

Pacquiao vs. Marquez Decision Fueled by Money?

So what did everyone think, who won the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Marquez last Saturday?  Judges Glenn Trowbridge (116-112) and Dave Moretti (115-113) favored Pacquiao.  Robert Hoyle called it a 114-114 draw.  The crowd booed when Pacquiao was announced the winner and Marquez was cheered as he left the ring.  Talk of a forth fight has already begun and the long awaited Pacquiao versus Mayweather bout has been in the news again as well.  If Pacquiao lost would the Pacquiao versus Mayweather bout draw as much interest?  Sounds like the decision was fueled by money so the Pacquiao versus Mayweather fight can draw the largest possible gate and PPV buys.

Tennis Player David Savic Banned for Life

The 659th ranked player on the ATP tour has been banned for life for fixing tennis matches and also fined $100,000.  The Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program found David Savic guilty of three violations including contriving or attempting to contrive the outcome of matches.

Horse Trainer Rick Dutrow's License Revoked

Well known horse trainer Rick Dutrow's New York trainer's license was recently revoked by the New York Racing and Wagering Board for ten years and fined $50,000 for a pattern of rules violations that have not been disclosed yet.  Dutrow is famously known for training 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown.

Wayne Rooney's Father Arrested in Betting Scam

Famous Manchester United player Wayne Rooney's father, uncle and seven other people were recently arrested over allegations of a soccer betting scam.  Allegations stem from an irregular betting pattern being bet on a red card being given during a game between Motherwell and Hearts of the Scottish Premier League last December which paid 10/1.  The arrested player for Motherwell, Steve Jennings allegedly got himself sent off deliberately during the match.  Bookmakers noticed the irregular pattern after multiple people bet on this prop which triggered a nine-month investigation.

South Carolina Point Shaving Rumors

Last week rumors that South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia was involved with point shaving surfaced.  The same sports books that correctly suspected Toledo a few years ago have dismissed these rumors and state they have not seen any unusual betting patters.  Still seems like a very strange coincidence that this very same quarterback was recently dismissed from the program the day before the rumors surfaced but for failing an alcohol test.  If the cat was not out of the bag I'd say keep your eye on this program if anyone else may be involved which is usually the case but now it's probably too late.

Olympic Boxing Fixed

The BBC reported two weeks ago that the International Amateur Boxing Association is investigating corruption in Olympic boxing.  Allegations have surfaced that Azerbaijan was to be guaranteed two gold medals in boxing at next year's Olympics after millions of dollars were paid for the fix.  Click here to read more.

More Evidence Against Lance Armstrong

Cyclist Lance Armstrong reportedly made payments through a front company in Switzerland to a physician who was banned for doping.  Armstrong's former training advisor Michele Ferrari was also behind the anonymous company mentioned.  Swiss and Italian investigators reported this information recently to worldwide news outlets.

Phantom Call

Alright this one angered me because I got the short end of the stick this time.  Did anyone else see the Chicago Bears 89-yard TD trick return nullified by a phantom call last weekend?  The Bears were a 4 point home dog to the Packers and the total was set at 45.5. With about a minute left and the Bears trailing 27-17 the Bears pulled off a sweet fake from Devin Hester but was actually fielded on the other side of the field and ran back for a TD by Johnny Knox. Regardless of the extra point it would have pushed the total over and with the extra point the spread in favor of the Bears.  The trick play the Bears had been practicing worked like a charm but of course it was too good to be true for Vegas and the National Fix League (NFL).  Don't get me wrong I love the NFL, it's my gambling specialty so I don't go calling fix every time I lose but this one was obvious.  The referee initially called holding on number 29.  Well that's weird, the Bears don't even have a player with number 29.  To cover his tracks he then calls it on number 21 Corey Graham who was about 35 yards away from the play and had no direct impact on the run back, nor was it a hold.  Not only did Bears and over bettors suffer, the fans did too in what was once of the best trick plays in a long time even mentioned by opposing quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Vegas Sportsbooks Making Their Own Rules

Two weeks ago we read about an odd scenario in college football between USC and Utah.  USC was a 7.5 favorite for this game.  On the final play of the game with USC leading 17-14 they blocked a Utah field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown.  A miscommunication between the scorer and officials initially waived off the touchdown due to an excessive celebration penalty leaving Utah with the cover.  Pac-12 officials changed the score over two hours later to include the game ending touchdown making the final score 23-14 effectively changing the outcome of the betting side.  This erupted in a barrage of calls from gamblers and casinos to the Nevada Gaming Control Board but still resulted in some casinos honoring one side while others honored the opposite side.  What was the gaming board doing?  If not consistent across the board then each sports book is making it's own rules and not being regulated.  Sounds like another case of Vegas never loses.  The fix in is!

Odd Ending to Michigan - Western Michigan Game Last Week

Last week was the very first time in Michigan University history that a football game was canceled.  Well it was canceled after three quarters.  Keep in mind Michigan was a 14.5 point favorite over Western Michigan with a 57.5 over/under.  One source showed over 70% of the public on Michigan and a slight majority on the over as well.  Already handily covering the 14.5 spread and nearing the over did someone pull the plug on this game early?  Alright so severe weather was in the area and did delay the game but games in close proximity were all completed as normal so what gives?  Although Michigan was credited with the win it was not a complete game therefore bettors of Michigan were not paid out and once again Vegas doesn't lose a penny.  Just something to think about when you see weird occurrences in sports.

Corruption Charges by FIFA

The governing body of soccer FIFA has had numerous claims of corruption over the last few years and finally taking a step forward to clean things up.  Three match officials from Bosnia-Herzegovina and three from Hungary have been banned for life from any soccer related activities at the national and international levels.  They were found guilty of unlawfully influencing match results and passive corruption.  This is a start but soccer has a long way to go at all levels of play.

Boxing Sham - Mares vs. Agbeko

Last Saturday Showtime boxing put up a horrible display of refereeing.  I just got home to see my twitter timeline blowing up with people screaming fixed.  New IBF bantamweight champion Abner Mares was for the most part handed the title by referee Russell Mora.  Abner landed low blow after low blow on his opponent Joseph Agbeko throughout the fight with barely any warnings and no penalties from referee Mora who was consistently out of place.  Even more surprising is the commission who sat cage side and did nothing.  This fight is being called one of the worst in boxing corruption history and I don't blame people for what we saw in this ridiculous refereed match.  Mora had to be in on the fix, completely biased or totally incompetent as a boxing referee.  Check out this article too for more on the fight.

World Cup Suspicions

Everyone loves the underdog and Cinderella stories but something just didn't seem right about the Women's World Cup final between U.S.A. and Japan.  In the weeks after the final many have expressed these same doubts.  No team from the continent of Asia has won the cup and in 25 matches between them Japan has never defeated the U.S.  The shoot out at the end brought up even more suspicion when the first three shots by the U.S. were very uncharacteristic of the team even being mentioned on the live broadcast.  The U.S. had not missed a shoot out shot yet and very good at hiding direction.  Two of the first three in this game were very easy reads and pretty much shot to the goalie while the other was booted well over the goal.  This just seems too easily given away to Japan.  Then we have the storyline of Japan riding emotions for their country in the aftermath of the horrible earthquakes and tsunami's that ravaged the country.  Add it all up and it just seems too good to be true like it was fixed for Japan.  I do think the parity between countries has definitely decreased and will continue to see more competitive games between most countries.  What do you think?

Another Toledo Football Player Convicted in Point Shaving Scheme

Former Toledo running back Harvey McDougle Jr. recently plead guilty to working with a Detroit gambler involved with point shaving at Toledo University.  McDougle was the third Toledo athlete to be convicted in the point shaving scheme and most likely worked in recruiting other players for the scheme.

Match Fixing Probe Postpones Turkish Super Cup

Turkish football teams Besiktas and Fenerbahce have been implicated in a match-fixing case.  This probe has led to the postponement of the Turkish Super Cup final between the two teams which was to take place tomorrow with no new date set.  Approximately 30 people have been charged including the deputy chairman and coach of Besiktas and the president of league champ Fenerbahce.  The probe alleges 19 games were fixed.

Women Soccer Players on the Juice Too

Women take steroids to cheat too.  At the soccer Women's World Cup five North Korean players tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid.  The cases will be reviewed by FIFA and each player could face a ban of up to two years.  As usual there is some far fetched story of why they were taking this.  After a lighting strike the players accidentally took the steroids with traditional Chinese medicines which they claim can be confused with each other.  Doesn't make sense and how was it an accident?  You cheated and you got caught.

Tour de France Rider Fails Doping Test

The Tour de France kicked off July 2nd and now has its first rider to fail a doping test.  Russian rider Alexandr Kolobnev of the Katusha team failed a doping test from July 6th that contained traces of Hydrochlorothiazide.  Kolobnev had four days to submit a B sample and contest the positive result but his team decided to end his ride for the Tour.  Kolobnev was 69th at the time of his departure.

Corruption in Soccer

We have been hearing it for awhile now and only time will bring out more evidence of corruption in Soccer.  When it reaches to the highest level you know the sport has some issues.  FIFA, the international governing body of football is deep in conflict over recent corruption claims over the World Cup selection process.  The latest allegations came from the U.K. after an inquiry into their failed bid for the 2018 World Cup.  Lord Triesman, former FA head has accused four member of the FIFA executive committee who votes for World Cup hosts of unethical and improper behavior.  These accusations include demands for money and honorary knighthoods.  Last fall two FIFA voters were suspended for similar actions when they tried to sell their World Cup votes.  The World Cup is big business and can potentially generate great sums of money for a host country.  Anything for the almighty dollar.  Not just the players and games but now the governing body is embroiled in sports corruption.

Mexico Soccer Players Test Positive for Banned Substance

At the beginning of the CONCACAF Gold Gup five players from Mexico's soccer team tested positive for a banned substance and were temporarily removed from the tournament.  The illegal substance was clenbuterol which the secretary general of Mexican soccer federation believes came from the players eating contaminated beef.  Regardless of the five players missing time the team still went on to win the Gold Cup.

MMA Judges Control Outcomes

With another UFC event upon us tomorrow let's first revisit the last event, UFC 131.  Yes, you guessed it the judges completely bombed on another decision.  Darren Elkins was awarded a unanimous decision over Michihiro Omigawa.  Not only was this baffling but one judge called it 30-27, all three rounds in favor of Elkins when clearly this was not the case.  So lopsided that UFC president Dana White said, "I don't know what the fuck in the world that guy was seeing.  He should never judge a fight again, ever."  More baffling is the fact that the judges for the first time had cageside monitors to get closer views of the action.  Guess Dana White is right when he says to his fighters don't leave it in the hands of the judges.  Maybe Dana realizes this fixing by the judges is making a mockery of this truly awesome sport.

Kyle Busch's Team Penalized

The team of number 18 Kyle Busch were penalized by NASCAR last week after his car failed post race inspection because the car was too low.  Busch was docked six points in the standing and crew chief Dave Rogers fined $25,000 after the race at Pocono Raceway.  Kyle finished the race third so it just goes to show every inch in NASCAR counts, in this case lowering the car.

Is The NBA Milking It?

Just some thoughts on the current NBA finals.  With the possible lockout looming I can just see it now, the finals will go to seven games to milk every possible amount of exposure possible from television, to tickets and stadium sales and everything in between.  As the years go by I get less interested in this sport as it is so easily manipulated.  Don't be fooled by another brick shot in the NBA.

Tennis Player Banner for Life

385th ranked tennis player Daniel Koellerer has been banned for life from the sport for match-fixing.  The Tennis Integrity Unit confirmed this information earlier this week making Koellerer the first player ever banned for life.  As I always say it's all about the money.  Everyone has a price but Daniel paid a big one here.

Lance Armstrong Teammate Details Team Doping

Former Lance Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton details on a recent 60 Minutes how he, Lance and other members of the U.S. Postal Service team used banned substances.  Hamilton was a gold medal cyclist who served a two-year suspension for doping and stated that Armstrong took what everyone else took.

Cavs Get First Pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Lebron James and fall into the abyss this year and now they get the first pick in the 2011 NBA draft.  Something sounds fishy here.  The Cavs had a 2.8% chance of winning the top pick in the draft but it sounds more like they got the fix as compensation for losing Lebron.  Is the NBA trying to equal out revenues since the Cavs hit the skids?

Lance Armstrong Drug Case Moves Forward

It has been recently reported that U.S. investigators are moving forward with an investigation for a drug related case on cyclist Lance Armstrong.  Officials in France have received requests from U.S. authorities requesting evidence on Lance and other members of his former U.S. Postal team.

Barry Bonds - Who Cares?

So the Barry Bonds hearing is over as of a couple of weeks ago and we all know he was found guilty of obstruction of justice.  A mistrial was declared on the three perjury counts.  Case closed, we all know he cheated with steroids and hope we don't hear more.  I do think that all 105 or whatever the number of players named in the Balco report should be publicly named.  If we know some of the names why not all of them?  They should all be treated the same, as cheaters!  Release the list and let's finally move on.

MMA Judges Blow it Again

On Saturday April 16th at Bellator 41 we witnessed another controversial MMA decision.  The controversial decision went to Joe Warren who defeated Marcos Galvao.  Not only was it questionable but one judge ruled 30-27 for Warren which was clearly wrong.  MMA fans took to forums to express the displeasure of continued bad judging which many are calling fixed.  Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney refutes the notion that this match was fixed and agrees MMA judges need to be better educated on the sport and judging.  MMA judging just seems so off at times how can it not be fixed?

Another Steroid Bum

Last week baseball player Manny Ramirez retired rather than face a 100-game suspension for failing another drug test during spring training in which he tested positive for a banned substance.  Just another disgraced athlete on the juice trying to cheat his way to the top.

What Can't You Bet On?

Seem like you can bet on pretty much anything these days.  How about some WWE wrestling?  Yes you read that correctly.  Bodog online sportsbook is offering moneyline action on tonight's WrestleMania 27 matches.  This form of entertainment is coordinated and not a true sport so how could this even be offered?  Obviously the people at WWE already know the outcome of these matches so why even bother with the fix?  I guess this is for the true betting junkies.  I will pass but enjoy.

College Basketball Officiating at its Best

At a Big East second round game on March 9th three officials missed two crucial last second calls and basically didn't officiate until the end of the game between St. John's and Rutgers.  St. John's won the game 65-63 and did not cover the spread regardless but who knows maybe there was some kind of moneyline action being protected.  With 1.7 seconds left a St. John's player traveled and stepped out of bounds neither of which was called by the officials ending the game.  The NCAA men's basketball national coordinator even stated that Rutgers should have had one more possession.  The three officials did sit out the remainder of the tournament.

Cyclists Will Have to find Other Ways to Cheat

Alright so cycling is not one of my favorites but over the years quite a few cyclists have been caught using illegal growth hormones and blood doping to gain unfair advantages during there races and thought it had reason to be discussed here.  The Association of Professional Cyclists and Professional Cycling Council recently met and proposed an automatic four-year suspension for cyclists found doping, using growth hormones, use of EPO and blood transfusions.  It's a start but someone will always be ahead of the testing and finding new ways to cheat the system and this sport.  Cheating cyclists, is it really worth it?

More Crooked Soccer Officials

Disciplinary actions have begun against six soccer game officials per FIFA.  This latest action stems from a match-fixing probe into two exhibition games held in Turkey on February 9th.  Exhibition games too, where does it stop?

IOC to Combat Game Fixing

The International Olympic Committee recently held meetings to discuss match fixing and illegal gambling.  At least someone is finally admitting it happens but doubt anything will change.  Check out the article from Examiner for more on this sports news development.

O.J. Mayo Banned for Ten Games

Here is another laugher in the excuses athletes come up with when caught using illegal substances.  Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo recently tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) which is banned by the NBA.  His actions cost him a 10-game suspension.  His excuse was that he believes and energy drink he bought at a gas station contained the illegal substance.  Really O.J.?

Super Bowl Fix

Gamblers favorite game of the year is in two days!  Yes I am talking about the Super Bowl.  Why do I call it a fix?  Because Vegas wins out almost every year.  I featured this last year and have to update for this year.  Over the last 20 years Las Vegas sportsbooks have profited on the Super Bowl in 18 years and had minimal losses in two years.  How is that possible?  The fix is in!  Good luck with your bets and enjoy the bad penalty calls that will screw us all I'm sure.

Barry Bonds Trial Set to Begin March 21st

The infamous trial of former MLB player Barry Bonds is set to start March 21st.  He has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.  A San Francisco U.S. District Court judge has recently ruled that several former and current MLB players will be allowed to testify at this trial and be questioned in regards to their relationships with Greg Anderson, Bond's former trainer.  Innocent until proven guilty but I think the evidence against him and the dramatic size increase in his head and biceps says it all.

Scorecasting

I was just reading the latest issue of Sports Illustrated (January 17, 2011) and came across an article called, "What's Really Behind Home Field Advantage?"  An interesting article that debunks myths such as home crowds and rigors of travel.  Much of the argument behind home teams winning more often lies with umpire bias especially with large professional crowds in attendance per the article.  I personally think this bias is the fix but definitely worth exploring.  The article is written by authors Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim who also wrote the book Scorecasting.  The authors use statistics to back their claims and as they say the numbers speak for themselves.  Once I have time to read "The Fix is In", I will most likely pick this up next.

Playboy Explores the National Fix League (NFL)

Matthew Kredell of Playboy recently explored the world of gambling and the NFL or what some of us like to call the National Fix League. He explores both sides of the table, those who want NFL gambling legalized and those who don't (the NFL). The NFL claims they don't want their games legalized for betting because they maintain integrity and fear this would lead to corruption. They also claim in their history not one game has been fixed. Those are both complete laughers to me. They also mention something I have read quite a few times that they have contacts at the Vegas sports books so they can be notified of irregular betting patterns or possible corruption. I laugh at this too. I think these contacts feed them the information on where the money is so they can manipulate the outcomes of these games. NFL and casino owners have so much power and money they don't want to share it. Do you think these bigwigs would let that kind of money be left to chance? NFL teams and casinos should not have any communication what so ever if they want integrity. If NFL gambling were legalized they can't control all the winnings they rake in every year. Talk about greed! If it was legalized state deficits could be reduced, jobs would be created and the teams themselves could make more money than ever. Although this article is not too detailed it does bring up some good points. Check out this article and worse case scenario you have some Playboy bunnies to check out so you really can't go wrong.