Thank You

Due to time constraints I won't be writing as frequently on this blog so I can focus on other projects but I may be on here from time to time so feel free to continue commenting and sharing. Of course I will continue to watch countless hours of sports and spot those weird drops, missed shots and penalties we all see manipulating our beloved sports games. Thank you all for your continued support and talk to everyone soon.

Are Sports Outcomes Manipulated When Running Short on Television Broadcasting Time?

One of the major topics author Brian Tuohy touches on in his book 'The Fix Is In' is that sports leagues create story lines and manipulate outcomes to bring in higher television ratings to make those multi-billion dollar television rights deals worthwhile.

Similarly I have to wonder if some sporting events are manipulated when time is short on a regular TV channel broadcast. Obviously fans want to see the end of a game or fight but either the broadcast cuts it off short or the outcome dramatically finishes within minutes so they don't go over their expensive schedules. I see this time and time again with fights. Take last Saturday's Fox broadcast of UFC on Fox 9: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2. I was looking at the time before this fight started and noticed the broadcast was about to go way over the scheduled time especially if this fight went the full five rounds which was expected since neither Demetrious Johnson nor Joseph Benavidez had ever been finished and only lost via decisions. Although the TV broadcast still went over it wasn't nearly as bad as it potentially could have been because the unthinkable happened again, Johnson knocked out Benavidez two minutes into the very first round. It looked legit but how do these types of occurrences happen over and over again when broadcasts look like they will go over there allotted times? It would be much easier to pay off a player or fighter to make an error or take a dive to finish things early than to have to pay the almighty television companies hefty fines for going over broadcast times. Just my thoughts for the week.

Final BCS Goes Out with a Bang

With the College Football Playoff set to replace the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) next year they certainly went out with a bang. How many years have we begged to see the two best college football teams play each other for the national championship only to see other teams squeak into the championship game because of the ridiculous BCS computer rankings?

I think the fans, the big television execs and Vegas scored the biggest victories with this final season of the BCS. I believe games are played out for the most part and even more so in college but when things don't go the way of the fixers people step in.

I believe Bowling Green State University and their defense did out play Northern Illinois University but before this game even kicked off I had a strong sense that NIU would most likely lose. NIU was installed as a three point favorite which brought in an astronomical 80-85% on the spread and around 90% on the moneyline for NIU. The line did budge temporarily to 4-4.5 but was bumped back down by the sharps. Sharps or not that is ridiculous that this line was not adjusted accordingly based on percentages. If this game was mixed in with a hundred others on a Saturday and not for a potential BCS spot then it might not have been moved as the action might have been more limited being small schools but being the only game that night on national television with possible BCS considerations I sensed it would not end in a NIU victory let alone a cover. First, a lopsided betting pattern and more important in my mind, the BCS did not want NIU in a BCS game back to back years. NIU had their big shot last year but they are not a nationally known school and won't bring in TV ratings which are the big factors here in sports and the money being generated for the big business of TV, the BCS and conference money sharing.

Although I did not see this game I also had a strong feeling Michigan State would beat Ohio State. This one was for the TV ratings and finally one for the fans. After Auburn pulled off the huge upset of number one Alabama the BCS standings ended up being Florida State (1), Ohio State (2) and Auburn (3) going into the final weekend. People including myself believe and want to see the two best, Florida State and Auburn battle for the national championship. And that is exactly what will happen on January 6, 2014 thanks to Michigan State beating Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship last weekend moving Auburn up to the number two spot in the final BCS rankings. This couldn't have been scripted better.

Sports are manipulated more than people would like to think and it comes right from the top dogs so they can make more money.

Coach Mike Tomlin Becomes Part of the Special Teams Unit

As Charlie Harper once said, "it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's whether or not you beat the spread." Last week on Turkey day, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin tried helping this cause. With his team down 13-7 in the third quarter Tomlin decided to step in, literally. Baltimore Ravens return man Jacoby Jones was about to run back a touchdown until he had to cut back to avoid Tomlin who was standing on the edge of the field clearly impeding Jones path down the sideline which allowed the Steelers to catch him and bring him down before taking one to the house. Watch the video above and click here for another view. Tomlin has profusely apologized and maintains his innocence for his blunder but others like Ravens Quarterback Joe Flacco believe the incident was intentional. Currently the NFL is investigating the actions of this play before handing down possible punishment towards Tomlin and the Steelers.

Some might say who cares, it didn't have an impact on the game as the Ravens still won 22-20. But in Vegas is had a huge impact on the betting outcome as the Ravens were three point favorites. The Ravens were limited to a field goal on that drive that should have been a touchdown. This would have made the final score 26-20 with the Ravens covering but because of this gaffe the Steelers back doored the three point spread and covered by one point.