Sez Me …
I am not good at many things. Gambling is one of them. I stink at wagering, from the four-legged ponies to the two-legged humans to the one-armed bandits, from when we were kids flipping baseball cards that eventually would be worth money for those better informed.
My learning curve looks like a Pacific horizon. And I grew up with guys, hanging in the Tower Bowl pool hall, who would bet on the bowel movement frequency of total strangers.
But that doesn’t mean I’m against it. As far as I’m concerned, if you go to a steakhouse and order a $150 tomahawk ribeye, why should I care if you put that $150 on Eagles-Chiefs?
Your business. Your money.
I’ve also been an advocate for sports betting in California, where multiple millions in taxes on legitimate gambling (instead of nothing on illegal wagering) would bring untold revenue to a state which fiscally can’t get out of its own way.
Why shouldn’t we benefit from the billions spent gaming on the NFL every year in states such as New York, which was reluctant to allow it. In 2024, that state, which has nowhere near the population of ours, reaped more than $1 billion from legalized gambling without doing a damn thing.
But there are problems with sports gaming in 2025, as there are problems within our country. We are a nation of idiots, which means idiots are gambling. Idiots who don’t know how to gamble. People who get too emotional gambling.
There are those who gamble for the fun, such as the fantasy players, and rooting interest, which is why the NFL, driven by betting money, dominates television. Nothing wrong with that. If bettors can’t control themselves, there are people to help.
But there are the amateurs, the idiots, who lose and find others to blame. I wonder what would have happened to Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca if he had allowed that 1951 home run to the Giants’ Bobby Thomson in 2024.
Because things are getting dicey.
Three-time gold medal sprinter Gabby Thomas was verbally abused at a track meet in Philadelphia, not the first harassment this year. Somebody called her a “choke artist” at the starting line of a race and posted online:
“I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.”
Tennis players are reporting “unhealthy betting.” I’m sure others are. I’m sure others will.
Certainly, there are those who believe the NFL is rigged. Not even awful officiating can make me believe that — even in baseball and basketball — but this is how sports is being perceived now, and it’s only going to get worse.
Studies show young people are gambling more than ever before. No shock. It’s easy, and of course kids know it all, anyway.
My only concern is with the loonies out there, and we’ve never had more of them in our midst. Athletes lose a race, drop a , miss a jumper, allow a goal. Men or women. Should they look over their shoulders?
Problem is, how can it be policed? Millions of people don’t have a clue, but when their wallets get messed with — even by their own incompetence — they lash out, some verbally, some physically.
Gambling is out of control in our little rodeo. And this is not a bull easily ridden. …
The NFL Team That Used To Be Here will hold two camp practices at USD, July 22 and 23. Bet they don’t leave money in the church basket after the workouts. …
UCSD’s Earl Edwards is retiring. The most effective athletic director in our history. …
Baseball teams lose, I tell my sons when the Padres stink one out. There is no such thing as a good loss, but some are worse than others. I think the Pads will blowing that 5-0 lead to the Giants in June come October. …
Not doing enough at the trade deadline will not be good enough for the Padres. …
Ratings: Game 1 of the NBA Finals drew stick figures. …
If USC stops playing Notre Dame in football, Saint Peter is going to do more double-checking than he planned. …
The college amateur is gone. Now there’s a revelation. …
Shrink wrap has been applied to Bill Belichick’s $10-million buyout at North Carolina, squeezing it to $1 million. Doesn’t mean a damn thing. But Bill has no chance to win a title there. …
Besides, Tom Brady wasn’t a Tar Heel. Just ran like one. …
Would you rather have Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins? Depends on how expensive the stuff is you’re smoking. …
Saquon Barkley is hinting he may go Jim Brown or Barry Sanders and retire in his prime. His body. His life. But he will be criticized by the morons. …
From Dov Kleiman: The average NFL fan will spend more than $1,500 this season watching all games on TV. Thanks to new laws being put down by Bicycle Mayor and His Ham & Eggers, you also may pay $25 a week to park in your own garage. …
San Diegans should scream, holler, scratch, claw and run through the streets with torches to keep the City Hall-ians from charging to park at the beaches and parks. How much longer must we pay for their screwups? …
Ohio State’s Ryan Day says four Big Ten schools should get automatic bids in the expanded 16-team College Football Playoff. Five, if the Buckeyes are fifth. …
Derek Carr, who would have been sidelined this year with shoulder surgery, got out of football, refusing to take a $30 million salary because he didn’t want to screw the Saints out of money? I don’t even consider this nice of him. I think it’s nuts. …
He did, however, take the $10 million bonus, which will keep him in beignets for a while. …
The Steelers sign Rodgers after relieving themselves of their best -catcher. But g Lynn Swann and John Stallworth will help. …
Tom Thibodeau is one of the finest basketball coaches in the world. So we wonder why the Knicks haven’t had an open man since Frazier, Reed, Barnett, Bradley, DeBusschere, Pearl, Cazzie, Stallworth and Jackson. No team, before or since, played the game of basketball better. …
Phil Mickelson never has won a U.S. Open, but six second-place Open finishes certainly are enough to qualify as a lifetime exemption over some weekend hack’s sectional qualifier. No offense, but come on. …
Oakmont will host the Open this week, and the rough is said to be like kelp beds. It’s nice to see golfers struggle every so often. …
Derrick Henry says Adam Sandler is his favorite actor. So his favorite running back is Lawrence Phillips? …
I gave the President-Musk ego-pull six months. Once again, too optimistic. Why I don’t gamble. …
D-Day. To think less than a month ago I was standing on Normandy where so many men fought and died. I remain sobered. …
In a direct challenge to Wilt, Magic claims he once had sex with six women at once. As a basketball player, Earvin was much more unselfish.
