Sports
Wetzel: NCAA announcement shows athletes can’t win at the sports betting game
Fresno State men’s basketball was a team going nowhere, smack-dab in the middle of a dreadful 6-26 season in 2024-25. They were set to host New Mexico on New Year’s Eve as heavy underdogs, up to 17.5 points.
The hopeless nature of a forgettable game might have factored into Bulldogs guard Jalen Weaver’s apparent belief that no one would notice when he placed a $50 daily fantasy bet on himself.
He thought he’d score more than 11 points that night, and he did, notching 13 in the 103-89 loss to the Lobos.
Yet from the obscure and seemingly unremarkable stat line in an otherwise obscure and unremarkable game- – this ain’t the Final Four — the NCAA was able to nail Weaver for his actions.
The $260 Weaver won that night wound up costing him his collegiate eligibility, the NCAA said Wednesday, while also announcing the banishment of two other players who competed at Fresno and San Jose State last season.
“I just made a bad decision, and I shouldn’t even have gotten involved with that,” Weaver previously told ESPN’s David Purdum.
Let Weaver — not to mention the 13 additional players at six additional schools the NCAA announced investigations into on Thursday — be a lesson to everyone involved or tempted to be involved in manipulating so-called individual prop bets.
To quote Nike (sort of): Just don’t do it.
Certainly not the players; no matter how easy it might seem to just punch a bet into your phone or tell a friend to take the under on, say, first-half rebounding totals so the two of you can share in some winnings. If you get caught, and you very well might, the NCAA is the least of your worries.
And certainly not the sports gamblers who are inclined to bet on such oddball things, especially involving low- and mid-major games. Unless you are in on the scam, you very well might be getting scammed. These kinds of bets are just too easy to manipulate. Why would anyone risk it?
“I bet on a game I played in, but I never tried to sabotage the season,” Weaver said to ESPN last February. “I never bet on us to lose; never bet my unders.”
It’s not hard to see the temptation. Sports wagering and the requisite “fixing” that goes along with it have been present for generations, but sports betting has never been more in the face of athletes and would-be gamblers.
Advertisements. Partnerships. Betting apps.
It’s everywhere, and thus tempting to everyone.
Easy money, just for scoring two more points than the line in some fantasy game? All while playing for a losing team?
Yet it possibly, or even probably, isn’t going to work out. That’s the lesson of all these NCAA cases that continue to pop up. Many don’t involve the games and players that the public are focused on, but rather ones in the most distant corners of the sport.
A day after announcing the cases at Fresno and San Jose, the NCAA revealed 13 more athletes are suspected of “betting on and against their own teams, sharing information with third parties for purposes of sports betting, knowingly manipulating scoring or game outcomes and/or refusing to participate in the enforcement staff’s investigation.”
They formerly competed for six schools: Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley. This isn’t exactly Duke, Kansas and UConn.
The NCAA’s history of enforcing its own voluminous rulebook is sketchy at best, but this is an entirely different deal. It has partnered with cutting-edge integrity watchdog groups that can analyze data and betting trends wholesale. The NCAA is also only one of several entities focused on this problem, from casinos and state regulators to the FBI.
It’s impossible to know how many athletes aren’t getting caught in the dragnet, but many clearly are.
“The NCAA monitors over 22,000 contests every year and will continue to aggressively pursue competition integrity risks such as these,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said.
The NCAA is diligent in its education efforts, trying to reach all 500,000 student-athletes — repeatedly — with a message about the dangers, including that this isn’t just about big-time players on big-time teams. It’s everyone, even down to Division III.
“In terms of educating athletes, we [constantly repeat that] you don’t have to be the star player in order to be at risk,” Mark Hicks, who spearheads the NCAA’s anti-gambling and anti-gambling education efforts, told ESPN. “That is something that is a key message point in every delivery session on campus.”
If information sessions and workshops and posters in the locker room haven’t been enough to reach everyone, then maybe more of these high-profile cases at low-profile schools in low-profile games will.
Because while technology has made this stuff so easy and tempting, it also has made getting caught easier, if not inevitable.
Sports
Pakistan Shaheens announce squad for T20’s, ODI’s – SUCH TV
Pakistan Shaheens have announced their squad for the upcoming T20 and ODI series against England Lions to be played in the United Arab Emirates, with Shamil Hussain named captain for both formats.
All matches of the series will be held at the Oval Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The three-match T20 series will begin on February 20, followed by a five-match ODI series from February 27 to March 9.
Abdul Samad, Hassan Nawaz, Moaz Sadaqat and Saad Khan have been included in the squad, along with Sameer Minhas and Arafat Minhas.
Rohail Nazir and Saad Baig will share wicketkeeping duties.
Spin bowlers Saad Masood and Sufyan Muqim are also part of the team, while the fast bowling unit includes Ali Raza, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Muhammad Salman and Shahid Aziz.
Pakistan Shaheens will hold a seven-day training camp in Karachi from February 11 to February 17.
Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been appointed mentor and manager of the Shaheens.
Ijaz Ahmed will serve as head coach, with Mansoor Amjad named fielding coach and Aizaz Cheema as bowling coach.
Sports
NHL outdoor game sees its 1st goalie fight between Vasilevskiy, Swayman
TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning credited the first goalie fight in an NHL outdoor game for helping to spark their historic Stadium Series comeback win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
With 8:59 left in the second period and the Bruins leading 5-2, Lightning forward Brandon Hagel tried to poke the puck from under Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman after a save. Swayman then jumped on top of Hagel next to his crease, leading to a melee between the teams while the Lightning were on a power play. Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy skated from his crease to the opposite blue line during the chaos.
“I just saw Sway was swinging the blocker on [Hagel] a bit, so it was just a reflex to go to the red line and challenge him. He accepted,” Vasilevskiy said.
Swayman spotted the Tampa Bay goalie, dropped his stick and skated out to meet Vasilevskiy as the two engaged near center ice. Swayman took off his gloves and mask and signaled to Vasilevskiy to remember to remove his mask before the fists flew.
“I don’t want to hit his helmet, so I’m glad we didn’t do that,” Swayman said.
The Lightning goalie nicknamed “The Big Cat” grabbed Swayman’s collar and started throwing left hands. The Boston goalie wasn’t able to get much offense in before Vasilevskiy wrestled him to the ice.
Did Swayman know that Vasilevskiy was a lefty before their fight?
“No,” the Bruins goalie said curtly, with a laugh. “Glad we both had our first gig against each other. Really worthy opponent.”
Vasilevskiy gave him a tap on the back and then tapped the back of Swayman’s head in appreciation of the moment, grinning widely as the fans roared inside Raymond James Stadium.
“When we both fell, we just kind of said to each other nice words. It was super nice. It’s one of the biggest moments for me, because I never fought in the NHL,” Vasilevskiy said. “Big thanks to him. He was great in the net all game and great in the fight as well.”
Swayman was also appreciative.
“He wanted to win, which is good. So did I. So that’s game respecting game,” he said. “I’m fighting the biggest, toughest goalie in the league. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but glad we got the first one out of the way. Probably retire after that.”
The crowd of nearly 65,000 fans stood and cheered during the confrontation, and then again when the referee announced the goalies had both received five-minute majors for fighting. Players on both benches were on their feet, too, slapping their sticks against the boards in appreciation and respect for their netminders.
“He was throwing lefts. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I didn’t want to be the other guy,” Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov said. “I was so happy. I was so fired up. I think the bench felt it. Everyone in the building felt it. Ever since that fight, the game was turned. Vasy had to do it, I guess. He had to wake us up.”
The Lightning would score twice on 5-on-3 power plays over the next 5:12, cutting the Bruins’ lead to 5-4 heading into the third period. Kucherov tied the score in the third period, and the Lightning eventually won 6-5 in a shootout.
Tampa Bay’s rally from a four-goal deficit to win marked the largest comeback victory in franchise history and the largest in an NHL outdoor game.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he could feel the momentum starting to swing before the fight, but the goalie throwdown was an emotional high the Lightning needed at that moment.
“I was like, ‘Thank goodness something positive was going to happen to our game,'” he said. “I give Boston a lot of credit. They took it to us and we weren’t prepared for it. Vasy was pissed.”
Hagel said he felt the fight was “a big turning point in the game.”
So did Kucherov, who was also convinced that his goalie would win the fight.
“I knew he was going to beat the wheels off of Swayman right away,” Kucherov said. “We call him ‘White Tyson’ now.”
Sports
Inter Milan extend Serie A lead | The Express Tribune
MILAN:
Inter Milan moved eight points clear at the top of Serie A after a comfortable 2-0 victory over hosts Cremonese on Sunday, but the victory was marred by a flare thrown on to the pitch from the away end that narrowly missed home goalkeeper Emil Audero.
The win takes Inter to 55 points from 23 games, eight ahead of city rivals AC Milan, who have a game in hand. Cremonese lie in 16th with 23 points from the same number of games.
Lautaro Martinez and Piotr Zielinski scored first-half goals as the visitors took control of the contest and despite not finding the back of the net again, they never looked unduly troubled by their hosts.
“There’s a long way to go,” Martinez told DAZN. “We made mistakes, especially in the first half, but there’s also a lot to enjoy because the championship is very balanced.”
Early in the second half a flare was thrown from the stands and landed near Audero, who dropped to the floor but did not appear to be injured. The match continued following a short delay.
“These things must not happen, there’s a risk to a person,” Martinez said. “We’re putting on a show that can be seen all over the world. I apologise to Audero and all the Cremonese fans.”
Inter have won 10 of their last 11 Serie A games since losing to AC Milan in November, their only blemish in that run a 2-2 home draw with Napoli.
By contrast, Cremonese are winless in eight, with five defeats in that sequence, which leaves them six points above the relegation zone.
The visitors might have won by a greater margin given their dominance of possession and chances, but did more than enough to secure another three points.
Inter hit the front on 16 minutes thanks to a header from Martinez, who steered Federico Dimarco’s corner into the net. It was just reward for a bright start.
Cremonese had an excellent chance to equalise when Jamie Vardy was sent through on goal. However, a heavy touch allowed Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer to get to the ball ahead of him.
The ball swerved past Audero, who will feel he should have made the save, but the power and the movement through the air left him floundering.
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