interesting perspective from the Pitt/San Diego game

Search

Cui servire est regnare
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
11,033
Tokens
By Nick Bigdonovich

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]IT WAS THE WORST CALL I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There's been a lot of talk in the media the past few days about that crazy ending to the San Diego/Pittsburgh game this past Sunday. I can tell you it was a madhouse at the sportsbooks because nobody knew for sure who won. Pittsburgh bettors wanted to cash their tickets. San Diego bettors were hoping the officials would bail them out. It took a long time for the game to go official.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When it finally did, more bedlam![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What's been lost in the national media coverage has been the simplest point. The officials blew the call. I knew the TD should have counted when I was watching it live. The replays confirmed it. I don't know how the refs could go under the hood and come out with a different answer. It was impossible to overrule that play![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Maybe the media is too close to the NFL to want to focus on poor officiating. This has been a horrible year for the pro refs. They instituted instant replay many years ago to eliminate situations like this. But, they still keep finding a way to screw everything up.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The media focused on variations of "63 million dollars changing hands" or whatever. I'm not sure how they came up with that number. I can tell you that the books in general needed San Diego there. Not every single one did. My employers actually needed Pittsburgh in that game. Most places though were rooting for the dog because of parlay cards. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Remember the late games Sunday?[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Favored San Francisco covered against St. Louis[/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Favored Arizona covered against Seattle[/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Favored Tennessee covered against Jacksonville in the time change game[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If Pittsburgh had covered, that would have been four for four on the favorites. The public was all over Dallas in the night game, and that ended up winning too. It was almost a barbecue for sportsbooks in the late action. The ruling in favor of San Diego helped reduce the carnage. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]But, nobody should get the idea that any conspiracies were involved. It was plain old incompetence. Refs keep getting the calls wrong. I can tell you, if I had placed a big bet on Pittsburgh I would have wanted to take poison after that blown call. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I also heard some Fantasy Football guys complaining about the call because some leagues reward defensive points. Guys rooting for the Pittsburgh defense got hosed there. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The big story should have been "Refs screw up again" instead of anything suggesting conspiracies. For one thing, anyone involved in an actual conspiracy wouldn't be that obvious about it! Some sportsbooks were rooting for Pittsburgh. Others were rooting for San Diego. I'm not sure who the island places were rooting for. They don't have parlay cards to sweat. This was just like any other game. Last second plays determine who cashes their tickets all the time. What was special here was that it was a horrible officiating call. The fact that "money changed hands" is irrelevant.[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You could argue a coin flip determined who covered the Thursday night overtime game between the Jets and the Patriots last week. If the Patriots win the flip, maybe they push with a field goal or cover with a touchdown. There weren't any stories about "coin flip" conspiracies coming out of Nevada. [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Money changed hands in the final seconds of Stanford/USC. The Cardinal scored a TD on their last play of the game to sneak in the back door. There weren't any news stories about that. [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Moneyline bets would have gone to Buffalo if they had made a last second field goal Monday night. Instead, those who bet on underdog Cleveland to win outright cashed their bets when the kick went wide right. Did you read any stories about the Nevada angle of that? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Late plays changing who gets to cash their tickets happen all the time! That's not a story. Three pointers at the buzzer in basketball determining who covers. Empty net goals in hockey turning an Under into an Over. Two run homers with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning changing a side or total winner. Have you ever read mainstream media stories about the Nevada angle on any of that stuff? This happens in Pittsburgh and suddenly "millions of dollars change hands in Nevada" is the big story? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Maybe the press should use some instant replay on their own coverage so they can get some perspective![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Things could get crazy again this weekend in Las Vegas and Reno because of Rivalry Saturday in college football. The public loves betting those rivalry games because they have such great histories. It's also the last full Saturday of college action. Bettors really send it when they know a season is about to end. [/FONT]​
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,898
Messages
13,439,292
Members
99,339
Latest member
billcunninghamhomeloans
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com