Definitely agree about sports gambling. Even with the massive potential for scandals like Ohtani's, or the harassment of Bickerstaff, there's just so goddamned much money in it for the leagues that they're willing to sacrifice the integrity of the games, and the safety of its players and coaches. The leagues have embraced the gambling companies, all the while knowing that they have partnered with organizations that have business models entirely dependent on human misery and addiction.
And the thing is, we've barely scratched the surface when it comes to the kind of damage the leagues will face from future incidents. The NBA in particular, whose referees seem to have gotten noticeably more incompetent over the past five years, are fucking around with a live grenade. The fact is, the best possible scenario for the NBA is that it actually *is* incompetence, because if it's anything else, they've got a liability problem big enough to wipe out their own existence.
Upton Sinclair said it many decades ago: “it is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
I don't see a course correction by the leagues, so for the fan, most of what's left is to sit back and watch how truly terrible things get. It won't be boring.
I think that 3 Kings guards are plus defenders -- D'Aaron has come a long way, Davion is really hard-working on defense, and now Keon. Too bad the interior defense is so squishy.
Hell yeah man. This should be shouted from the rooftops: sports and gambling should never mix! Sad state of affairs.
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Definitely agree about sports gambling. Even with the massive potential for scandals like Ohtani's, or the harassment of Bickerstaff, there's just so goddamned much money in it for the leagues that they're willing to sacrifice the integrity of the games, and the safety of its players and coaches. The leagues have embraced the gambling companies, all the while knowing that they have partnered with organizations that have business models entirely dependent on human misery and addiction.
And the thing is, we've barely scratched the surface when it comes to the kind of damage the leagues will face from future incidents. The NBA in particular, whose referees seem to have gotten noticeably more incompetent over the past five years, are fucking around with a live grenade. The fact is, the best possible scenario for the NBA is that it actually *is* incompetence, because if it's anything else, they've got a liability problem big enough to wipe out their own existence.
Upton Sinclair said it many decades ago: “it is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
I don't see a course correction by the leagues, so for the fan, most of what's left is to sit back and watch how truly terrible things get. It won't be boring.
Haliburton also touched on sports gambling recently as something that's impacting the game in a negative way - https://www.si.com/nba/2024/03/20/pacers-tyrese-haliburton-sports-betting-wave-comments. Might just be a small throwaway comment during a slump, but it's relevant that he even mentions it.
"A few sharks with sophisticated models or sophisticated arbitrage engines or inside information will make the money."
Yep! That about sums it up.
re: Keon Ellis
I think that 3 Kings guards are plus defenders -- D'Aaron has come a long way, Davion is really hard-working on defense, and now Keon. Too bad the interior defense is so squishy.