OneSeason Is Taking Off
January 22, 2009 by Mike · Leave a Comment
From Techcrunch:
OneSeason, the stock market for sports that lets users invest real money into their favorite athletes, has closed a $3.5 million Series A funding round led by Charles River Ventures. To coincide with the funding, OneSeason has also announced that CRV’s George Zachary will join the company’s Board of Directors. Hot or Not founder James Hong and 49er superstar Ronnie Lott will also be joining the company’s Advisory Board.
The site mimics traditional stock markets, substituting famous athletes in place of large companies (they even have their own ticker symbols; KING, currently the top-trading stock, stands for LeBron James). Users can purchase ‘Synthetic Ownership Interests’ in each player, which rise in value depending on their demand. Since launching in October the site has traded over one million of these SOIs.
The site could be very appealing to sports fanatics looking to convert their fantasy sports skills into real cash, but as we wrote when the site launched, it’s a system that seems ripe for abuse. Because you aren’t actually buying any real asset and there isn’t any official regulation, users could potentially team up with friends to ‘pump and dump’ a stock. To combat this OneSeason has a dedicated team of staffers looking to curb abuse and an automated fraud detection engine, but I’d still be wary of investing large sums of cash in this still-nascent market. That said, if the site can prove the legitimacy of the market it could gain a massive following – predictions are always more fun when there’s some risk involved.
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Wildcard Weekend – Sunday’s Picks
January 4, 2009 by Mike · Leave a Comment
The Ravens are favored in Miami by 3.5 points and the O/U is 38. Both teams are hot, but the Ravens are starting a Rookie QB and are on the road. Even though the Ravens easily won in Miami in Week 7, we like the Dolphins getting 3.5 and the Under.
Dolphins 20 Ravens 16
Philadelphia is a 3.5 point road favorite against the Vikings, which is surprising because the Eagles didn’t play all that well down the stretch. The O/U is 41. The Vikings cannot even sell this one out and they have Tavaris Jackson starting at QB. Since everyone in the world is all over the Eagles, we like the Vikings and the Over in this one.
Vikings 24 Eagles 21
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Wildcard Weekend – Saturday’s Picks
January 3, 2009 by Mike · Leave a Comment
The Colts are favored in San Diego by 1 point and the O/U is 49.5. Both teams are hot, but the Chargers are banged up and have Norv Turner as their coach. Even though they are at home, we like the Colts giving 1 and the Under.
Colts 21 Chargers 16
Atlanta is a 1.5 point road favorite against the Cardinals, the way the two teams have been playing you would expect that. The O/U is 51. The Cardinals are tough at home and look to be healthy, the Falcons have a rookie QB on the road, so we like the Cardinals and the Over in this one.
Cardinals 38 Falcons 21
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Top 8 BCS Teams In Order: See Who Would Be Favored
December 5, 2008 by Mike · Leave a Comment
From RJ Bell at Pregame.com:
Las Vegas, Nevada (December 5, 2008) – Heading into the last week of the regular season, there’s tons of watercolor conversation about college football. People are especially curious about the opinion of Las Vegas, since sportsbooks back their opinions with big money.
RJ Bell of Pregame.com has polled numerous Las Vegas and offshore sports betting professionals. Listed below are the top 8 BCS teams, ranked from a betting perspective. The number beside each is the estimated number of points that team would be underdogs to Florida (the most highly regarded team) on a neutral field.
Florida . . . (BSC #4)
Oklahoma +1 . . . (BCS #2)
USC +5 . . . (BCS #5)
Texas +6 . . . (BCS #3)
Alabama +8 . . . (BCS #1)
Penn St +11 . . . (BCS #8)
Texas Tech +11 . . . (BCS #7)
Utah +17 . . . (BCS #6)For example, Florida would be approximately a 1 point favorite over Oklahoma, and a 17 point favorite over Utah. You can compare any two teams with these rankings: the team with the higher number would be the underdog by the difference between its number and its opponent’s number. For example, Oklahoma would be -4 over USC, and Penn St and Texas Tech would be “even” (also called “pick’em”). Texas Tech would be -6 over Utah.
A little known fact is that Las Vegas is no longer the center of the sports betting world. Many of the sharpest professionals bet offshore. Las Vegas oddsmakers follow this action closely, but for political reasons they are often uncomfortable disclosing this fact. Pregame.com takes into account experts worldwide, providing the clearest estimate of the true sports betting market.
Lastly, keep in mind that these rankings are unable to account for the nuances of individual team match-ups. Such nuances can affect a point spread, but rarely by more than 1-point.
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Thank God!
November 19, 2008 by Mike · Leave a Comment
College Basketball is back which means a whole lot more of Sons of Bill Simmons favorite girl, Erin Andrews. There have been rumors over the past few months that Andrews might jump ship and enter the all to boring world of celebrity gossip. But, in a recent interview, Andrews cemented the fact that she loves sports wants to nail Tim Tebow, and wants nothing to do with celebrities. From Deadspin:
I don’t want to switch. The one part of that article that they didn’t put in there was I said I want to read TMZ and People when I want to get away from sports because I read about sports 24/7. So then it was this whole thing on the internet. “Oh my god, Erin Andrews going to Hollywood!” And it was like, “No, that’s not what I said.” I’m honestly one of the biggest tomboys there is and I love sports.
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Update On Chargers/Steelers Gambling Fiasco
November 19, 2008 by Mike · Leave a Comment
From RJ Bell at Pregame.com:
Amount Bet on Game At Least $100 Million!
Las Vegas , Nevada (November 18, 2008) – Numbers released by RJ Bell of Pregame.com in connection with betting action on the Steelers/Chargers were widely reported in the media. In response, some questioned the large size of the gambling numbers. Two legal sportsbook professionals have now spoken out.
RJ Bell of Pregame.com estimated $100 million was wagered worldwide on the Pittsburgh/San Diego game.
John Avello, director of the race and sports book at the Wynn resort, speculated to Newsday that the worldwide betting total on the game ranged from $100 million to possibly as high as $500 million!
RJ Bell of Pregame.com estimated that 66% of the money wagered backed the Steelers, with 34% backing the Chargers.
Bob Scucci, race and sports book manager for Boyd Gaming, told ESPN that 80% of the public bet the Steelers through his property, with only 20% backing the Chargers.
Since sports betting is not fully regulated, worldwide numbers cannot be exact. RJ Bell of Pregame.com said: “When estimating numbers, I go to great lengths to gather all available information. If my numbers must miss, it’s better for them to miss conservatively.”
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A $64 Million Dollar Swing On This Play
November 17, 2008 by Mike · Leave a Comment
From Pregame.com:
An estimated 100 million dollars was wagered worldwide on the Pittsburgh/San Diego game, according to RJ Bell of Pregame.com. Approximately 66% of that money was on the Steelers; with only 34% on the Chargers.
“If the touchdown was properly upheld, Steelers bettors would have won about 32 million dollars instead of losing big. This admittedly incorrect call resulted in a 64 million dollar swing in favor of the bookies,” said RJ Bell of Pregame.com.The Pittsburgh Steelers were 5 point favorites over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. As time expired, the Steelers scored a touchdown to put them up by 7, with the extra point pending. Then came a video review. The official initially announced the ruling on the field was upheld and the touchdown counted. But the officiating crew huddled again and changed the call – taking the points off the board without explanation. The game was ended with Pittsburgh the 11 to 10 winner. Pittsburgh bettors lost. After the game, the official admitted that a mistake was made, and the touchdown should have counted
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NFL Picks
November 9, 2008 by Mike · Leave a Comment
Saints(PK) at Falcons
I like the Saints here. Their offense is just to good to stop and Shockey and Colston back healthy it’s gonna be tough to stop. The Saints are coming off a big win against the Chargers in England and a bye week. The Falcons have been playing well and especially at home but I like Drew Brees to have another big game this week against a divisional opponent.
I like the Saints (PK)
Colts at Steelers (-3)
I like the Steelers here. They have one of the best defenses in the league and they will stop Manning and the Colts offense today. The Colts have not been good this year, Manning has not been himself this year. Willie Parker will run all over the Colts defense today.
I like the Steelers (-3)
Jon Anthony (20-7)
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College Picks
November 8, 2008 by Mike · Leave a Comment
Penn St (-7) at Iowa
I like Penn St. here. You got to go with the hot team Penn St. is clearly the best team in the Big Ten and should win big today. They had 2 weeks to prepare for an average Iowa team who is coming off a bad loss last week to Illinois. Also Penn St. has the potential of being in the National Title game this year so they are not gonna take Iowa lightly. Also they have to be pissed for not moving up in the rankings after Texas lost to Texas Tech. Penn St. has to win big to get some style points for the BCS rankings.
I like Penn St. (-7)
Oklahoma State at Texas Tech (o/u 71)
I like the over here. Its gonna be another Big 12 shootout.
I like the over 71.
Jon Anthony (17-6-1)
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MNF Pick
November 3, 2008 by Mike · Leave a Comment
Steelers (+1.5) at Redskins
I like theSteelers here. They have a great defense and are getting Willie Parker and Santonio Holmes back tonight. Its gonna be tough for the Redskins to mount a solid offensive attack tonight. Santana Moss is nursing a hamstring injury and is a game time decision. Also the Steelers are always tough to run on, so Clinton Portis could have a tough time tonight. This is a good match up for the Steelers since the Redskins defense is not aggressive so it should give Big Ben time to throw the ball tonight.
I like the Steelers (+1.5)
Jon Anthony (19-7)
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