 |
Chargers QB
Doug Flutie
|
In a fine spring rain, I had unfurled my umbrella, a red and white one sent to me by
the father of a scout I had interviewed. It bears the words, "Atlanta Falcons."
"Ah," said a man brushing by me, "that’s where Michael Vick is
going."
In his English accent, he pronounced it "Veek," rhyming with
"week." I was at Wimbledon.
There is no escaping the NFL, even at an overseas site I consider as close to an object
of art as a sporting venue can be. I am, you should know, enthusiastic about tennis. Well,
"la-dee-da," you’re saying, being a hearty soul who views anybody who walks
into a bar and orders anything other than a shot and a beer as a wuss, and who also
dismisses tennis as a pastime of the privileged.
Football is your game, right? The sort that is played for money? Mine, too. The game of
our times, pal. You will forgive me that I chose to spend my summer vacation looking in on
another form of sporting endeavor. How did you spend yours? Puzzling over which NFL teams
are going to put the boff on which others, I would guess, in order to deal with "the
line," which, wondrously, in some degree already is available.
I’m talking about the over/under lines relating to how the 31 NFL teams will
finish that have been posted by the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. Not content with that,
this shop has selected four of the most interesting games during each week of the season
and put up lines on those. In all, the sportsbook already has lines on 79 games.
Wondering about Vikings-Ravens game in Week Two? It’s Ravens by 7½.
Redskins-Cowboys in Week Six? Try Redskins by 6. Packers-Bears in Week 10? They’ve
got the Pack by 1½.
If I am mindful of gaming, it might be because I have just returned from London, where
they have legal wagering shops on every street corner. One confidante of mine got Goran
Ivanisevic to win Wimbledon at 50-1. Put up 20 pounds, or $28.51, and came home with a gob
of bob. Would that we had similar freedom in this country, where sports gaming is legal
only in Nevada. I long have argued that if sports gaming was made legal in all the states,
the NFL’s grip on the populace would spiral to a level we cannot imagine.
I was taken particularly with the opening over/under number the folks at the Imperial
Palace placed on the Chargers, a 1-15 team last season: a seven. Translation: One
anticipating that the Chargers will win more than seven games could play the
"over." One with a less optimistic opinion could support the "under."
There is, however, this difference: Persons wishing to wager on the "over"
concerning the team need bet only $1.05 to win $1. On the "under," it would be
necessary to put up $1.25 to win $1.
The "7" on the San Diego club represents the largest upswing from last
season’s victory totals concerning any of the NFL combatants. For some comparisons,
St. Louis, Baltimore and Tennessee each received an 11, Denver is a 10½, Oakland a 10,
Dallas a 5½, Cincinnati and Arizona are each a five and Cleveland is a lowly (and last)
4½.
The people behind the counter at the Imperial Palace would seem to have a lot of gamble
in them. They also have posted lines on Week One NFL games, including making Denver a
6½-point favorite over the Giants and Tennessee a six-point choice over Miami.
No way can the book know how strong NFL teams are going to be in December. No matter,
according to a shift manager at the Imperial Palace who identified himself only as
Jackson, his first name.
"We like to do things like this," Jackson said of a book that put up 23
proposition bets on the first game of the Lakers-76ers series. "It’s just a
matter of keeping up with it."
Adjusting the numbers, that is. To make this point, the book began with an over/under
line on Green Bay, a "public" team — one with a large following — of
nine. The "over" was minus $1.50 (wager $1.50 to win $1), the "under"
plus $1.20 (wager $1 to win $1.20). The public got down so heavily on the
"under" that on a recent accounting, the numbers on the Packers now were minus
$1.10 on the "over," minus $1.20 on the "under."
The book also limits its liability by limiting how much it will take on one of these
over/unders. The most one can wager is a "nickel," or $500.
If the advice of Dave Tuley of The Daily Racing Form is followed, there will be more
than a few "nickels" invested on the Chargers going "under." Writes
Tuley:
"This might seem contradictory, but I don’t think Doug Flutie will make this
much of a difference for a team that won one game last year. In another strong division, I
can’t see the Bolts getting anywhere near eight victories."
Should the Chargers win seven games, anybody supporting either side of the team’s
over/under would have their wagers refunded. Bet on the "under," and the
Chargers would have to win eight games for a player to lose.
Did I hear somebody saying, "Which way to the Imperial Palace?"
Jerry Magee has covered pro football for the San Diego Union-Tribune since 1961 and
for PFW since its inception in 1967 |
