For a guy who loves the NBA like I do, the events of last week were very troubling. After watching two terrific games on opening night I woke up Thursday morning to learn about this betting scandal involving Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and a bunch of mafia guys. And before you read any farther, if you’re in the mafia this column isn’t an indictment of you and I don’t own any horses.
For people like myself, and I assume most of our readers, we find it very difficult to understand why someone making millions of dollars to play a game would put that at risk. I played pick-up basketball two or three times a week, year round, until I was 53 years old and never got a dime for doing so. And I never did bet on the games, not even playing “Horse”(that’s a game and not an offer I chose to refuse).
So, how are people like Billups and Rozier, who are so lucky to have that lifestyle, willing to throw it all away to earn a pittance of what they make in their real job? Go figure.
And how stupid are they to think they can get away with it? Let’s make an example.
Most of you know what an “over/under” is, but if not, it’s a way to bet. For example, I had a friend who was quite the womanizer and we made an over/under line that his marriage would last two years. When he didn’t get divorced until the fourth year the “over” was a winner. Understand?
Okay, now let’s make an over/under on how many points Terry Rozier would score in an NBA basketball game. Put the number at 11. Then, when Rozier goes out of the game with a mysterious ankle injury after having scored 10 points the “under” is a winner. Only thing is, upon closer examination it’s discovered a lot of money went down on the “under” for that prop bet. My point is, why would the biggest bet of the night be on an over-under for a reserve guard on the Hornets? Bright red flag!!
Obviously there’s something fishy going on there(and again, that’s not a mafia reference about “Big Pussy Bonpensiero” from the Sopranos). This bet was obviously rigged. As former NFL coach Buddy Ryan once said, “Ray Charles could see that.”
As for the rigged poker games, if you play poker with the mafia you take what you get. Not feeling sorry for those folks at all.
And here’s something really interesting. I’m constantly getting e-mails from a few different betting services. They send me odds on things like which manager or coach is next to be fired, who is going to win MVP or Rookie of the Year Awards and anything you can think of that you could bet on. I’ve written before about all the different bets you can make involving the Super Bowl.
Well, on Friday morning I come into the office and there’s an e-mail from Josh Barton of “The Odds PR,” who regularly sends me interesting stuff to bet on. This e-mail started out with odds on who would receive the longer sentence, Billups or Rozier. Billups was 1 to 2, meaning if you bet $100 on him you lose $200 if Rozier gets the longer sentence. Rozier is 3 to 2. If you bet $100 on Terry and he gets the longer sentence, you win $150.
I thought that was pretty funny that you can bet on who gets the longer sentence for betting. Then, to my total surprise, there’s a list of odds on which player or coach will be the next one arrested for illegal gambling!! The one with the best odds is Malik Beasley, which isn’t a big surprise as I heard his name mentioned as being investigated in the past. He’s 5 to 1, meaning if you bet $100 on Beasley you’ll win $500 or lose $100. Michael Porter, Jr. is next at 6 to 1 and then, believe it or not, is LeBron “out with sciatica problems” James at 7 to 1!!
Our own JJ Redick is ninth on the list at 20 to 1, and if you know JJ you might want to give him a call to see if something’s up. If you get the word that he’s getting cuffed you can put down $1,000 and pick up a cool $20,000 when the mug shot is taken.
Barton also gives odds on the next “Hall of Famer” to be arrested. The top five are Kevin Garnett(2 to 1), Allen Iverson(4 to 1), Paul Pierce(5 to 1), Michael Jordan(6 to 1) and Charles Barkley(7 to 1).
We all know Jordan and Barkley like to gamble, but I’d be really surprised to see Barkley’s name come up after watching his take on “Inside the NBA” Thursday night. He railed on about how stupid these players were to put their jobs and reputations in jeopardy. Of course, Barkley is well known to drop lots of money in Casinos and on the golf course, but that’s okay.
This really makes the NBA look bad at a time when young stars like Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cooper Flagg are creating great interest in the game. Hopefully this is a case of a couple bad apples that won’t spoil the whole basket, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Bishop Was SSF Lifer
I was sad to learn of the recent death of Salem’s Don Biship, who passed away on October 10. Don was remembered prior to the Salem High football game he loved so much last Friday evening.
Bishop was a member of the Salem Sports Foundation since 1978 and was the longest tenured active member. He was also the longest tenured Treasurer of the SSF in the history of the organization.
Don served not only on the board for many years but was a committee chairman for almost all the committees at one time or another, including the football camps of the 70s, raffle sales, Christmas tree sales, the student scholarship committee and his favorite, the 50-50 raffle sales at the ballgames. He started with the raffle sales in 1988 and continued up to the time of his death.
“Don put on his apron and headed for the parking lot and sold tickets to tailgaters and fans making their way to the stadium,” said Van Gresham, another long time Sports Foundation member and close friend of Don’s. “That’s 37 years on most all Salem High Friday night football games and any playoff games the Spartans were in.”
Bishop also chaired the concession committee for the Salem Fair and at Friday’s After Five. He was known as “Mr. Salem Sports Foundation” by his colleagues.
Folks like Don Bishop are what makes Salem a great place for kids to grow up. He’ll be greatly missed and long remembered for his service to Salem athletes and the City of Salem.
Sox to Reveal New Name Nov. 8th
Our Salem Carolina League baseball team, still known as the Salem Red Sox for the next 10 days, will announce a new moniker on Saturday, November 8th, at 4 pm at Salem Memorial Ballpark.
During this time the official rebranding will take place and the souvenir stand will be open for the sale of merchandise with the new team identity. The team will remain the affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, only the name will be changed.
This event is free to the public. An RSVP is encouraged but not required. You might want to RSVP at the Red Sox website as then you’ll be eligible for prizes that will be given away.
Look for more information on this event in next week’s Salem Times-Register sports section.
