NASCAR's Answer to Ratings Drop

How do you fix the lowest TV ratings in five years for NASCAR? Have one of it's most popular and only current female driver Danica Patrick win the pole for tomorrow's Daytona 500. Not saying this is outright fixed but has to be suspicious. Fox Sports, NASCAR, all the sponsors and everyone else involved just hit it big. That is a monumental amount of extra income that will be generated from this one event. Suspicious because Patrick has yet to win a race in NASCAR, it's her first full season in Sprint Cup and she is still adjusting to this type of car and now she wins the pole of the most coveted race of the year to kick off the season. Of note to futures bettors, the line on Patrick to win the Daytona 500 has now dropped from 125-1 to 22-1.

Widespread Match Fixing in Soccer

Europol recently announced their findings in a global betting scam run from Singapore that fixed hundreds of soccer matches back to 2008. Approximately 680 suspicious matches including World Cup and European championships qualifying games and the Champions League games were found to have turned up close to the equivalent of $11 million in profits and $2.7 million in bribes. Investigators found 425 participants from 15 countries including players, match officials, club officials and criminals were involved.

Did Bill Callahan Throw Super Bowl XXXVII?

Former Oakland Raiders players Tim Brown and Jerry Rice say coach Bill Callahan threw the Super Bowl game in 2003 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which they lost 48-21. They claim Callahan disliked his team and players and was content to let his old boss, then-Bucs coach John Gruden, beat him. Callahan surprised players by changing the offensive game plan just three days before the Super Bowl which is just unheard of at this level. In previous seasons players did not support or trust Callahan. Callahan has since denied these allegations and outraged by them. Not very often you hear players accuse coaches of sabotage so hopefully this is further investigated and exposed if true.

They Call it the Super Bowl for a Reason

My yearly rant about this game is back. They call it the Super Bowl because Vegas and online sports books along with the bookies make a SUPER killing. Vegas sports books have profited off this game 20 out of the last 22 years with losses of $2.57M and $397K in those two losing years. Sure, all those ridiculous prop bets add to the take but how can anyone profit that many years without some sort of fixed result to ensure profitability? Maybe the sports books should be the one's raising the Lombardi trophy each year. Happy betting and enjoy the Super Bowl.

Lance Armstong Finally Confesses

Cyclist Lance Armstong finally confessed to blood doping and his use of performance enhancing drugs last week on the Oprah Winfrew show. If you missed the exclusive interview click here to see his confessions of guilt. From hero to zero, what a shame.

Hall of Shame

Not one Major League Baseball player received enough votes on the 2013 MLB Hall of Fame ballot to be inducted. Steroid linked players Roger Clemens (37.6%), Barry Bonds (36.2%), Mark McGwire (16.9%), Sammy Sosa (12.5%) and Rafael Palmeiro (8.8%) were all well short of the 75% of votes needed to be enshrined. Did MLB voters make the right decision or risk being called the Hall of Shame? I see both sides of the argument and will leave that up to the public. I am still waiting for Pete Rose to be reinstated for eligibility but that doesn't look like it will ever happen.

Lance Armstrong Might Admit to Doping

Cyclist Lance Armstrong is reportedly going to make a public admission that he used performance enhancing drugs and blood transfusions during his career. The New York Times reported Armstrong had been in contact with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. If Armstrong does come forward with this confession he is doing this to restore his eligibility for his sporting pursuits. To me it sounds like he could care less that he cheated or disappointed fans and just cares about himself.

Leonard Garcia Robbed of Victory at UFC 155

Did the Nevada State Athletic Commission institute its own form of karma for past ridiculous decisions for MMA fighter Leonard Garcia? Garcia has seen some crazy decisions in recent years fall his way but this past Saturday he clearly was the victor against Max Holloway at UFC 155 but ended up losing on the judges score cards via a split decision. Fixed karma?

Also on the card was a horrible score from judge Adelaide Byrd who scored the fight between Jamie Varner and Melvin Guillard as 30-27 in favor of Guillard. Varner clearly won this fight and did get the split decision nod but this score in particular lit a fire under UFC president Dana White when he went off at the post fight presser saying, "It's unbelievable. 30-27 for Guillard? Crazy, right? You could never watch a fight in you f---in' life and not score that 30-27." If you're sick of seeing these clowns from the Nevada State Athletic Commission ruining MMA judging please contact them via the contact information at the bottom of their website.

Italy's Latest Match-Fixing Scandal

Europe's latest soccer match-fixing scandal comes from Napoli of the Italian Serie A League. According to the Italian Football Federation Napoli was handed a two-point deduction, fined €70,000 and had three players banned over bets placed in 2010 on a match with Sampdoria which they lost 1-0. Defenders Gianluca Grava and Paola Cannavaro were banned from play for six months for their knowledge of the activity without reporting it while former goaltender Matteo Gianello was banned for 39 months after confessing to prosecutors that he attempted to fix the match.

FIFA Executive Mohamed bin Hammam Receives Second Lifetime Ban

Already fighting a separate lifetime ban, FIFA executive committee member Mohmad bin Hammam of Qatar was handed another lifetime ban from all organized soccer events and activities earlier this week. Facing corruption charges, allegations he offered bribes and tampering with bank accounts during his presidency of the Asian Football Confederation all of which are violations of the FIFA Code of Ethics led to his lifetime bans. These allegations prompted Hammam's resignation from all his positions in soccer effective immediately. Not too often will you see executive members being caught but this is a step in the right direction for soccer which has been embroiled in corruption over the past few years.

Four 2004 Olympians Stripped of Medals for Steroids

Last week the International Olympic Committee officially stripped medals from four 2004 Olympians after new analysis confirmed traces of steroids. Yuri Belonog of Ukraine was stripped of the shot put gold medal, Ivan Tikhon of Belarus was stripped of the hammer silver medal, Svetlana Krivelyova of Russia stripped of the shot put bronze medal and Irina Yatchenko of Belarus was stripped of her discus bronze medal. The IOC recently had a laboratory reanalyze 105 tests from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games which has the most failed dope tests in Olympic history.

Luck of the Irish?

Love them or hate them, the Fighting Irish are headed to the BCS National Championship football game on January 7, 2013. For those who watched most of their games this year you might recall a close game against Stanford and a mythical comeback against Pitt. I recall watching some ridiculous calls by the officials at these two games but the guys at "The Fix Is In" lay it out perfectly. Click here to see the luck of the Irish or the fix. What do you think?

Speed Skater Sergei Lisin Failed Test for Blood Doping

Russian speed skater Sergei Lisin recently failed a drug test for blood doping with the use of the blood booster EPO. Lisin is currently facing a two-year ban if found guilty but has the option for a B sample or appeal. Seems like every sport has someone using the juice or messing with their blood.

World Discus Champion Darya Pishchalnikova Tests Positive for Steroids

2011 world discus champion and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Darya Pishchalnikova recently tested positive for an anabolic steroid and now faces a lifetime ban if found guilty. Already suspended once before for almost three years after Pishchalnikova and six other female Russian athletes manipulated drug samples prior to the 2008 Olympics. Currently Darya has the right to have her B sample tested and appeal the findings. The list of Olympic athletes using steroids and other banned substances continues to grow. Who will be next?