Worth a gamble
posted by LW, Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Funny story: A few years ago, late in a Clemson football game (I think it was Louisiana-Monroe in 2007), the visiting tomato can, er, team scored two meaningless touchdowns near the end.
Meaningless, that is, to everyone who didn't have money on the game.
With less than 10 minutes left, the Tigers were up 49-13 and comfortably covering the spread. Then came the two touchdowns.
Ah, the dreaded back-door cover.
The second touchdown was scored with about two minutes left in the game. Most of the writers had already filed out of the press box and headed to the field, so the joint was virtually empty.
That's when a sports writer starts yelling obscenities.
"Those ?&%$* cost me fifty bucks!"
Even having gone through that experience, I was surprised to see the statistics unearthed in a recent study that revealed over 40 percent of sports writers gamble. And -- get this -- nearly 70 percent of them admit said gambling clouds their objectivity.
My gambling days were short-lived when, as a college student, I thought my status as an aspiring sports writer gave me some rare ability to pick games successfully.
That belief was steeled when I won big on my first try, collecting something like $150 bucks after wagering on a few NFL games.
That belief was shredded the next week, when I lost big.
And that was it.
I've always enjoyed following the lines, though. The biggest story leading up to last week's Tennessee-Florida game wasn't Lane Kiffin's offseason rabble-rousing, but whether the Gators would cover the 29-point spread.
And judging from the reactions by Tennessee's players after the 10-point loss, you had to wonder how many folks in that locker room bet on the Vols to cover.
But the gambling story was quite interesting. Guess deadlines aren't the only reason sports writers are so stressed out near the end of games.
Speaking of gambling, I'm guessing the guy on the left in this video has bet on a game or two.
Seriously, he might be the most freewheeling, entertaining person in this business. He's held court in the wee hours of many ACC media gatherings.
Just don't take any of his advice on games...
Always get a kick out of reading T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times.
In his latest column, he takes aim at Pete Carroll.
I've said this before, but if you think the media is remotely antagonistic in these parts, read one or two of Simers' columns and you'll realize it's not so bad after all.
Speaking of Carroll, Mistuh College Football wonders whether the Trojans have underachieved under him.
Not sure what all the fuss is about after the loss at Washington. Things like that happen in college football. And they're much more prone to happening when a team loses its starting QB and nine starters on defense.
Good column here on Greg Schiano and his Rutgers program being stuck in neutral.
Remember when he was the hottest name in college football? Now, not so much.
I asked Schiano before the 2006 season what was easier, taking a doormat and making it respectable or taking a respectable program and building a national power. He didn’t hesitate.
"It’s harder to make the next step," he said. "The next step, you’re competing with the elite, with teams 40 through 1. And that’s tough."
Gary Patterson has done a heck of a job of taking that next step at TCU.
The Horned Frogs are the Mountain West's best hope to crash the BCS after losses by BYU and Utah. Patterson says he doesn't give a rip.
Patterson also had this to say about Clemson:
"That may be as talented as the Oklahoma team we'd seen a year ago."
Here's a piece on Jerry Hughes, who never even played defense in high school.
He is the latest running back-turned-defensive standout in Patterson's 4-2-5 defense that has stymied many a spread offense and been ranked No. 1 nationally three times in the last nine seasons. This season Hughes has 4 ½ sacks for the No. 14 Horned Frogs (2-0), who play Saturday at Clemson (2-1) and all-purpose threat C.J. Spiller, expected to play despite a toe injury.
It wasn't a tough sell for Hughes to move to defensive end. "Coach Patterson is a great coach, a defensive mastermind," Hughes says. "He does a great job of putting athletes where they can be successful. I figured I'd just roll with this guy who knew what he was doing."
Patterson pointed out pros such as Aaron Schobel, Bo Schobel, Bobby Pollard, Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz made similar conversions.
"Jerry's turned out to be more than we thought," Patterson says. "He's been spectacular."
Looks like Georgia Tech is junking the defense that has been absolutely torched over the last six quarters.
“We had too much in, yeah,” Johnson said. “Anytime you can’t do what you are doing you’ve got too much in. It’s better to get good at something than not be good and do a lot. There’s two philosophies you can have: You can do all kinds of stuff and not be good at anything, or you can do limited stuff and try to be good and whatever you do.
“On both sides of the ball we’re not really good at anything right now.”
The guy might seem arrogant at times, but you have to love his candor.
Here's more on Hughes in The Post and Courier.
In The State, a piece on Clemson's red-zone blues. And C.J. Spiller talks about his nagging toe injury.
LW
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Funny story: A few years ago, late in a Clemson football game (I think it was Louisiana-Monroe in 2007), the visiting tomato can, er, team scored two meaningless touchdowns near the end.
Meaningless, that is, to everyone who didn't have money on the game.
With less than 10 minutes left, the Tigers were up 49-13 and comfortably covering the spread. Then came the two touchdowns.
Ah, the dreaded back-door cover.
The second touchdown was scored with about two minutes left in the game. Most of the writers had already filed out of the press box and headed to the field, so the joint was virtually empty.
That's when a sports writer starts yelling obscenities.
"Those ?&%$* cost me fifty bucks!"
Even having gone through that experience, I was surprised to see the statistics unearthed in a recent study that revealed over 40 percent of sports writers gamble. And -- get this -- nearly 70 percent of them admit said gambling clouds their objectivity.
My gambling days were short-lived when, as a college student, I thought my status as an aspiring sports writer gave me some rare ability to pick games successfully.
That belief was steeled when I won big on my first try, collecting something like $150 bucks after wagering on a few NFL games.
That belief was shredded the next week, when I lost big.
And that was it.
I've always enjoyed following the lines, though. The biggest story leading up to last week's Tennessee-Florida game wasn't Lane Kiffin's offseason rabble-rousing, but whether the Gators would cover the 29-point spread.
And judging from the reactions by Tennessee's players after the 10-point loss, you had to wonder how many folks in that locker room bet on the Vols to cover.
But the gambling story was quite interesting. Guess deadlines aren't the only reason sports writers are so stressed out near the end of games.
Speaking of gambling, I'm guessing the guy on the left in this video has bet on a game or two.
Seriously, he might be the most freewheeling, entertaining person in this business. He's held court in the wee hours of many ACC media gatherings.
Just don't take any of his advice on games...
Always get a kick out of reading T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times.
In his latest column, he takes aim at Pete Carroll.
I've said this before, but if you think the media is remotely antagonistic in these parts, read one or two of Simers' columns and you'll realize it's not so bad after all.
Speaking of Carroll, Mistuh College Football wonders whether the Trojans have underachieved under him.
Not sure what all the fuss is about after the loss at Washington. Things like that happen in college football. And they're much more prone to happening when a team loses its starting QB and nine starters on defense.
Good column here on Greg Schiano and his Rutgers program being stuck in neutral.
Remember when he was the hottest name in college football? Now, not so much.
I asked Schiano before the 2006 season what was easier, taking a doormat and making it respectable or taking a respectable program and building a national power. He didn’t hesitate.
"It’s harder to make the next step," he said. "The next step, you’re competing with the elite, with teams 40 through 1. And that’s tough."
Gary Patterson has done a heck of a job of taking that next step at TCU.
The Horned Frogs are the Mountain West's best hope to crash the BCS after losses by BYU and Utah. Patterson says he doesn't give a rip.
Patterson also had this to say about Clemson:
"That may be as talented as the Oklahoma team we'd seen a year ago."
Here's a piece on Jerry Hughes, who never even played defense in high school.
He is the latest running back-turned-defensive standout in Patterson's 4-2-5 defense that has stymied many a spread offense and been ranked No. 1 nationally three times in the last nine seasons. This season Hughes has 4 ½ sacks for the No. 14 Horned Frogs (2-0), who play Saturday at Clemson (2-1) and all-purpose threat C.J. Spiller, expected to play despite a toe injury.
It wasn't a tough sell for Hughes to move to defensive end. "Coach Patterson is a great coach, a defensive mastermind," Hughes says. "He does a great job of putting athletes where they can be successful. I figured I'd just roll with this guy who knew what he was doing."
Patterson pointed out pros such as Aaron Schobel, Bo Schobel, Bobby Pollard, Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz made similar conversions.
"Jerry's turned out to be more than we thought," Patterson says. "He's been spectacular."
Looks like Georgia Tech is junking the defense that has been absolutely torched over the last six quarters.
“We had too much in, yeah,” Johnson said. “Anytime you can’t do what you are doing you’ve got too much in. It’s better to get good at something than not be good and do a lot. There’s two philosophies you can have: You can do all kinds of stuff and not be good at anything, or you can do limited stuff and try to be good and whatever you do.
“On both sides of the ball we’re not really good at anything right now.”
The guy might seem arrogant at times, but you have to love his candor.
Here's more on Hughes in The Post and Courier.
In The State, a piece on Clemson's red-zone blues. And C.J. Spiller talks about his nagging toe injury.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.