I recently watched a pretty interesting show about illegal gambling and sports betting. It seems that there's always a lot of money at stake when it comes to pro games and it makes me wonder if games are fixed in order to have a favorable outcome for sports bettors. What do you guys think? Are games rigged?

Not in America. But lower-level soccer has a big match-fixing problem overseas.

Steroids............ don't forget steroids.

Yes I do believe they are to some degree. Whenever lots of money is involved, there will be athletes and team officials who will cave to the temptation of making an easy fortune. You can go as far back as the Black Sox Scandal or Pete Rose putting money on his Reds team to win or more recently Tim Donaghy betting on NBA games he officiated. For every time someone is caught, there's probably at least 10 more instances where somebody gets away with it.

And sometimes the rigging is done with good intentions. Last year a Cardinals pitcher admitted on live television that he threw meatball pitches for Jeter to hit in the All-Star Game, and it's highly likely the circumstances surrounding Jeter's last game in pinstripes was at least partially scripted. But the game was meaningless for both teams, and everyone wanted Jeter to go out with a game winning hit, so why not?

Well there was the The Black Sox Scandal took place during the play of the 1919 World Series. The Chicago White Sox lost the series to the Cincinnati Reds, and eight White Sox players were later accused of intentionally losing games in exchange for money from gamblers. The players were acquitted in court, but nevertheless, they were all banned for life from baseball.

I'm sure players have cheated (I'm sure the whole team knew about it and times when only a few people knew about it.)

[Edited 2/4/15 14:15pm]

SeventeenDayze said:

I recently watched a pretty interesting show about illegal gambling and sports betting. It seems that there's always a lot of money at stake when it comes to pro games and it makes me wonder if games are fixed in order to have a favorable outcome for sports bettors. What do you guys think? Are games rigged?

Some games are rigged. You don't think screwjobs only happens in pro wrestling, do you?!?

Do a research on that infamous 2001 NFL playoff game between the New England Patriots & Oakland Raiders (AKA The Boston Screwjob, as I like to call it!). It's the same game that the NFL's controversial Tuck Rule is mention.

TonyVanDam said:

SeventeenDayze said:

I recently watched a pretty interesting show about illegal gambling and sports betting. It seems that there's always a lot of money at stake when it comes to pro games and it makes me wonder if games are fixed in order to have a favorable outcome for sports bettors. What do you guys think? Are games rigged?

Some games are rigged. You don't think screwjobs only happens in pro wrestling, do you?!?

Do a research on that infamous 2001 NFL playoff game between the New England Patriots & Oakland Raiders (AKA The Boston Screwjob, as I like to call it!). It's the same game that the NFL's controversial Tuck Rule is mention.

For some reason, I always thought the NBA was more corrupt than the NFL but perhaps they are both equally corrupt. I guess we can also come to the conclusion that the Patriots cheat at every chance that they get.

SeventeenDayze said:

TonyVanDam said:

Some games are rigged. You don't think screwjobs only happens in pro wrestling, do you?!?

Do a research on that infamous 2001 NFL playoff game between the New England Patriots & Oakland Raiders (AKA The Boston Screwjob, as I like to call it!). It's the same game that the NFL's controversial Tuck Rule is mention.

For some reason, I always thought the NBA was more corrupt than the NFL but perhaps they are both equally corrupt. I guess we can also come to the conclusion that the Patriots cheat at every chance that they get.

From the NBA I hear that the bad teams will tank their season so that they have a better draft pick the next year.

kpowers said:

SeventeenDayze said:

For some reason, I always thought the NBA was more corrupt than the NFL but perhaps they are both equally corrupt. I guess we can also come to the conclusion that the Patriots cheat at every chance that they get.

From the NBA I hear that the bad teams will tank their season so that they have a better draft pick the next year.

Yeah that doesn't really surprise me. I think the NBA also had a scandal a few years back with refs betting on games they were officiating, right?

SeventeenDayze said:

kpowers said:

From the NBA I hear that the bad teams will tank their season so that they have a better draft pick the next year.

Yeah that doesn't really surprise me. I think the NBA also had a scandal a few years back with refs betting on games they were officiating, right?

Yeah I kinda remember something about that

SeventeenDayze said:

daingermouz2020 said:

SeventeenDayze said:

Yeah that doesn't really surprise me. I think the NBA also had a scandal a few years back with refs betting on games they were officiating, right?

yep I remember that with the refs. What ever happen with that ref..... probably paid to keep his mouth shut about what's really going on.

Of course they're rigged. Just look at Tom Brady's bookend Super Bowl wins. He doesn't get to his first without cheating the Raiders (my favorite team admittedly). You don't think that after 9/11 they didn't want that red, white, and blue confetti coming down to celebrate the Patriots (the name and colors say it all) This year was to cement Brady's legacy.

The Seahawks had 2 choices that made sense on that last play: pound the ball with Marshawn Lynch or run play action and have a guy leak out. They chose option 3: Drop short-ass Russell Wilson straight back and throw it into the middle of a congested field on the goal line. That DB was told what play was coming and what to do. Film study my ass. I might've bought it (though I doubt it) if Belichik would've played his part correctly. He acted like the game was in hand. He wasn't even trying to stop the clock and preserve time. There's a difference between having confidence in your defense-- which he had no cause to at that time-- and knowing what was going to happen. There's also, of course, having to give Marshawn Lynch of all people, the MVP trophy. Neither the NFL nor the Seahawks for that matter wanted that. The NFL wants Tom Brady to remain the face of the league and so there you have it. It doesn't hurt that he plays in Boston where championships are mysteriously so easy to come by. I'm not buying it's by coincidence.

Anyway, all major sports show signs of being rigged so I watch them all like I used to watch the WWF in it's heyday-- strictly for entertainment with very little investment in the outcome.

whodknee said:

The NFL wants Tom Brady to remain the face of the league and so there you have it. It doesn't hurt that he plays in Boston where championships are mysteriously so easy to come by. I'm not buying it's by coincidence.

So true.

RodeoSchro said:

Not in America.

whodknee said:

Of course they're rigged. Just look at Tom Brady's bookend Super Bowl wins. He doesn't get to his first without cheating the Raiders (my favorite team admittedly). You don't think that after 9/11 they didn't want that red, white, and blue confetti coming down to celebrate the Patriots (the name and colors say it all) This year was to cement Brady's legacy.

The Seahawks had 2 choices that made sense on that last play: pound the ball with Marshawn Lynch or run play action and have a guy leak out. They chose option 3: Drop short-ass Russell Wilson straight back and throw it into the middle of a congested field on the goal line. That DB was told what play was coming and what to do. Film study my ass. I might've bought it (though I doubt it) if Belichik would've played his part correctly. He acted like the game was in hand. He wasn't even trying to stop the clock and preserve time. There's a difference between having confidence in your defense-- which he had no cause to at that time-- and knowing what was going to happen. There's also, of course, having to give Marshawn Lynch of all people, the MVP trophy. Neither the NFL nor the Seahawks for that matter wanted that. The NFL wants Tom Brady to remain the face of the league and so there you have it. It doesn't hurt that he plays in Boston where championships are mysteriously so easy to come by. I'm not buying it's by coincidence.

Anyway, all major sports show signs of being rigged so I watch them all like I used to watch the WWF in it's heyday-- strictly for entertainment with very little investment in the outcome.

I bet it would be interesting to get an up close look at corruption in professional sports. I guess some sports are more corrupt than others. Boxing comes to mind as being corrupt but perhaps not all of the matches are rigged. It's hard not to wonder how many games or matches are fixed in any sport for that matter...

sexton said:

whodknee said:

The NFL wants Tom Brady to remain the face of the league and so there you have it. It doesn't hurt that he plays in Boston where championships are mysteriously so easy to come by. I'm not buying it's by coincidence.

So true.

But all those Yankee championships are legit, right?

SeventeenDayze said:

daingermouz2020 said:

yep I remember that with the refs. What ever happen with that ref..... probably paid to keep his mouth shut about what's really going on.

I don't know what happened with that ref. Wasn't there jail time involved somehow? I wouldn't be surprised if he were paid to keep his mouth shut. I doubt he's the only one who did that but he's the one who got caught.

Tim Donaghee went to jail.

Pokeno4Money said:

sexton said:

So true.

But all those Yankee championships are legit, right?

Heck yeah! Except for maybe that one time that kid caught the ball that was going to hit the wall. That wasn't cheating or rigging but it was fan interference.

RodeoSchro said:

Pokeno4Money said:

But all those Yankee championships are legit, right?

Heck yeah! Except for maybe that one time that kid caught the ball that was going to hit the wall. That wasn't cheating or rigging but it was fan interference.

You don't think those "magical comebacks" in Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series had anything to do with 9/11? I know Arizona won the series, but still ...

Pokeno4Money said:

RodeoSchro said:

Heck yeah! Except for maybe that one time that kid caught the ball that was going to hit the wall. That wasn't cheating or rigging but it was fan interference.

You don't think those "magical comebacks" in Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series had anything to do with 9/11? I know Arizona won the series, but still ...

Pokeno4Money said:

sexton said:

So true.

But all those Yankee championships are legit, right?

Interesting that you chose to reply to me and not the person who actually said Boston's championships were questionable.

Pokeno4Money said:

RodeoSchro said:

Heck yeah! Except for maybe that one time that kid caught the ball that was going to hit the wall. That wasn't cheating or rigging but it was fan interference.

You don't think those "magical comebacks" in Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series had anything to do with 9/11? I know Arizona won the series, but still ...

This is rich coming from a Red Sox fan. The 2001 World Series is fishy, a series which the Yankees lost, but there is no mention of the Red Sox winning the World Series the year of the Boston Marathon bombings even though the Red Sox finished last the year before and the year after. Nothing strange about that at all.

Pokeno4Money said:

RodeoSchro said:

Heck yeah! Except for maybe that one time that kid caught the ball that was going to hit the wall. That wasn't cheating or rigging but it was fan interference.

You don't think those "magical comebacks" in Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series had anything to do with 9/11? I know Arizona won the series, but still ...

You don't make any good points. Arizona won the world series so what exactly is your "but,still" point??????? Was the women's socer match rigged to give it to Japan the title so they could feel good about them selfs after that earthquake/sunami/Fukashima nuclear melt down???????

sexton said:

Pokeno4Money said:

But all those Yankee championships are legit, right?

Interesting that you chose to reply to me and not the person who actually said Boston's championships were questionable.

Are you still holding a grudge about 2013? C'mon, we're all baseball fans first and foremost - right?

FYI - I quoted/replied to both of you since you both believe the same thing.

sexton said:

Pokeno4Money said:

You don't think those "magical comebacks" in Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series had anything to do with 9/11? I know Arizona won the series, but still ...

This is rich coming from a Red Sox fan. The 2001 World Series is fishy, a series which the Yankees lost, but there is no mention of the Red Sox winning the World Series the year of the Boston Marathon bombings even though the Red Sox finished last the year before and the year after. Nothing strange about that at all.

Regarding the 2001 World Series, I don't have a problem with Games 4 & 5 at all because I know how much it meant to New Yorkers at the time. But if you'd like to go into details about those two games, particularly the inconceivable way they were blown, I'd be happy to discuss them.

As for 2013, the Red Sox finished with the best record in baseball ... so why would anyone be surprised about their postseason success that year? That team was also comprised of many players who had great career postseason success. They were led by one of the best managers in baseball, who had just replaced one of the worst. And most importantly they stayed mostly healthy, whereby the 2012 team was decimated with injuries. David Ortiz & Lester tearing it up in the postseason was expected, just as Panda will be when he plays in his next postseason.

Pokeno4Money said:

RodeoSchro said:

Heck yeah! Except for maybe that one time that kid caught the ball that was going to hit the wall. That wasn't cheating or rigging but it was fan interference.

You don't think those "magical comebacks" in Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series had anything to do with 9/11? I know Arizona won the series, but still ...

That was all the doing of the Illuminati - New York Chapter. But John McCain of the Illuminati - Arizona Chapter pulled rank, so the D-Backs ended up winning.

The first Superbowl for he Seahawks seemed rigged. Those referee calls against the Hawks were dead wrong (At least 3 major calls.).

Pokeno4Money said:

sexton said:

Interesting that you chose to reply to me and not the person who actually said Boston's championships were questionable.

Are you still holding a grudge about 2013? C'mon, we're all baseball fans first and foremost - right?

FYI - I quoted/replied to both of you since you both believe the same thing.

Pointing out your selective criticism doesn't mean I'm holding a grudge.

Nice try, but your post was clearly directed at me since as far as I know, whodknee doesn't like the Yankees.

Pokeno4Money said:

sexton said:

This is rich coming from a Red Sox fan. The 2001 World Series is fishy, a series which the Yankees lost, but there is no mention of the Red Sox winning the World Series the year of the Boston Marathon bombings even though the Red Sox finished last the year before and the year after. Nothing strange about that at all.

Regarding the 2001 World Series, I don't have a problem with Games 4 & 5 at all because I know how much it meant to New Yorkers at the time. But if you'd like to go into details about those two games, particularly the inconceivable way they were blown, I'd be happy to discuss them.

As for 2013, the Red Sox finished with the best record in baseball ... so why would anyone be surprised about their postseason success that year? That team was also comprised of many players who had great career postseason success. They were led by one of the best managers in baseball, who had just replaced one of the worst. And most importantly they stayed mostly healthy, whereby the 2012 team was decimated with injuries. David Ortiz & Lester tearing it up in the postseason was expected, just as Panda will be when he plays in his next postseason.

There's nothing inconceivable about a rookie closer choking when facing a veteran team.

I don't see any difference really between the 2001 and 2013 seasons where a baseball team had a special drive because of a terrorist attack earlier in the year in its home town, except for the fact that one lost in the end and the other didn't.