NFL games fixed?

[naomi 343]

I watched the latter part of the Niners game a couple weeks back and had this weird sense that it might be fixed. (Not a sour grapes thing as I'm from Nor Cal). The thing is I know almost zero about football and rarely watch it. So I'd be a very poor person to discern fixed play from organic.

I'm curious if older geeks (55+) who've watched the NFL for eons have ever had that thought re: the current NFL.

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

I was say a sure yes but % I don't know. To me it's more of the Prime Time games when more $ is involved.

[Thornton Melon 544]

No

[Bert 1,091]

No.  I’d they were the Jets and Giants or Cowboys would be in the Super Bowl. 

[edjr 5,567]

8 minutes ago, Bert said:

No.  I’d they were the Jets and Giants or Cowboys would be in the Super Bowl. 

nothing to do with ratings, has to do with the mob/vegas

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

Just now, edjr said:

nothing to do with ratings, has to do with the mob/vegas

Yep.

[Bert 1,091]

2 minutes ago, edjr said:

nothing to do with ratings, has to do with the mob/vegas

That’s fair. 

[thegeneral 1,414]

The number one seed and the team with the best QB in the league by a mile both win.

NO WAY!

[nobody 2,043]

Refs definitely fix games.  

Watch the ending of Pittsburgh/Chargers in 2008.

The refs were making bad calls against the steelers all game, but the chargers kept shooting themselves in the foot.  On the final play, the chargers tried to lateral, and the Steelers picked it up and ran it in for a TD that was meaningless to the game, but covered the spread.

Ref calls for a review, and says the chargers had an illegal forward pass on lateral which obviously wasn't and overturned the TD.  Everyone was completely confused... Coaches, announcers, everyone.  

The fix couldn't have been more obvious.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/fans-think-fix-was-in-for-chargers-steelers

Let me be clear.  I watched this game and was speculating it was fixed halfway through the second quarter.  The calls all the way through were BS.

Keep in mind too, the nba had a ref convicted of fixing games.  I don't know why people think it couldn't happen in the NFL.

[nobody 2,043]

It's actually pretty easy to fix a game if you're a ref.  

People love to say, "you could call holding on every play"

All a ref needs to do is call holding more against one team and less against another.

[nobody 2,043]

And not only did the refs get the call wrong on the lateral.  They said Pittsburgh couldn't decline the penalty which is obviously false.  

So they had to make a bad call after review.  Then they had to make up a rule saying Pittsburgh couldn't decline it.  Guaranteed that was fixed.

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

14 minutes ago, nobody said:

Refs definitely fix games.  

Watch the ending of Pittsburgh/Chargers in 2008.

The refs were making bad calls against the steelers all game, but the chargers kept shooting themselves in the foot.  On the final play, the chargers tried to lateral, and the Steelers picked it up and ran it in for a TD that was meaningless to the game, but covered the spread.

Ref calls for a review, and says the chargers had an illegal forward pass on lateral which obviously wasn't and overturned the TD.  Everyone was completely confused... Coaches, announcers, everyone.  

The fix couldn't have been more obvious.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/fans-think-fix-was-in-for-chargers-steelers

Let me be clear.  I watched this game and was speculating it was fixed halfway through the second quarter.  The calls all the way through were BS.

Keep in mind too, the nba had a ref convicted of fixing games.  I don't know why people think it couldn't happen in the NFL.

Yep that is always the one I tell people to watch when they think no. I was surpised it was still on YT this season and thought the NFL would have got them to take it down. Some people still want to believe in Santa though and will still deny it when you show them proof.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,653]

Hanlons Razor- never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. 

[WhiteWonder 2,172]

I knew as soon as Taylor swift started dating Kelce that the chiefs chances of making the Super Bowl went WAY up despite trash receiver play almost all year. 
 

as far as fixing, it has to be a close game. Then you can start calling or not calling holds and PIs. 

[Bert 1,091]

1 minute ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Hanlons Razor- never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. 

This!  I use a similar version with auditors at work. Don't mistake incompetence with fraud.  

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

5 minutes ago, Bert said:

This!  I use a similar version with auditors at work. Don't mistake incompetence with fraud.  

 

8 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Hanlons Razor- never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. 

I thought it was Occam's Razor ? Now do we have some Spanish guy named Hanlons running around with a razor ? That can't be good for anyone.

[Bert 1,091]

2 minutes ago, BeenHereBefore said:

 

I thought it was Occam's Razor ? Now do we have some Spanish guy named Hanlons running around with a razor ? That can't be good for anyone.

They are different adages. 

[Engorgeous George 1,176]

6 minutes ago, BeenHereBefore said:

 

I thought it was Occam's Razor ? Now do we have some Spanish guy named Hanlons running around with a razor ? That can't be good for anyone.

The razor I worry about is Cornpop's.

[nobody 2,043]

39 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Hanlons Razor- never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. 

That game would have been like 4 sigmas of stupid. 

[cmh6476 755]

I hope not. 

[BunnysBastatrds 1,920]

This is 100% proved here…

 

 

 

 

[IGotWorms 3,315]

2 hours ago, nobody said:

Keep in mind too, the nba had a ref convicted of fixing games.  I don't know why people think it couldn't happen in the NFL.

True

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

2 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

True

The movie about it was decent for being a B rate type. Yep and it's in all sports that gambling is involved most likely.

[Baker Boy 1,485]

I made a Kelce/Swift bet, ML KC to win. I knew the NFL couldn’t resist the PR that Taylor Swift brings to a whole new group of fans. $$$$

 

Edit:

Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift share celebratory kiss as fans wonder if she'll show up to Super Bowl LVIII

Swift ends her visit to Japan before Super Bowl LVIII kicks off

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/travis-kelce-taylor-swift-share-celebratory-kiss-fans-wonder-shell-show-up-to-super-bowl-lviii

[Fireballer 2,383]

I wouldn’t doubt some shady stuff in some situations.  The KC game, I thought was clean, sans a few calls.  I don’t think there’s a way Vegas lets the “scripted” winning team close at +5 from +3.  They could have just kept taking on Balt money.  

[lod001 1,237]

I hope there is a Taylor Cam during the game. Put it down in the corner so its on the screen for the whole game. When she opens her mouth. flip to the big picture and put the game down in the corner.

That's big ratings right there. 

[GobbleDog 816]

The chances of a fix happening in the four major sports is so close to zero it's not worth discussing.

Most sports fixing occurs in low-level tennis, where players don't make squat, but have enormous expenses - travel, coach, fees, etc. They don't even have to bet against themselves - just who wins the first set, or breaks first serve. They've caught enough of them to document it's the problem.

Low-level soccer has also caught a few over the years, usually with 3rd world players.

[nobody 2,043]

I don't know about close to 0.

An NBA ref was doing it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_betting_scandal

[Hardcore troubadour 12,653]

What would you rather address, the fixing of games or the horrible officiating? 

[GobbleDog 816]

10 minutes ago, nobody said:

I don't know about close to 0.

An NBA ref was doing it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_betting_scandal

Donaghy didn't make calls that changed the outcome, and that's per FBI and NBA investigations. He used insider knowledge about officials and league policies to make bets.

The one thing that did come out was the NBA themselves may have indirectly rigged games: Donaghy alleged that several series in the NBA Playoffs had been improperly refereed according to the NBA's instructions. He alluded specifically to a playoff game where "personal fouls were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees because it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series." However, the FBI investigated that and found no evidence to support it.

[nobody 2,043]

He actually said he influenced games by up to 6 points.  The whole insider knowledge thing doesn't get you arrested.

 

[tubby_mcgee 686]

Remember, if a player fumbles, drops a ball, throws a bad INT,  misses a block or misses a sack, or if a ref misses calling a penalty, the game is scripted.    Humans are infallible, so if there are mistakes, It's all part of the script that they rehearse during the week.

They don't practice the game of football. They just practice the script.  And their opponent practices the same script.  And then when they play, since they practiced the script so hard, it just all comes together. 

Figure a movie with a handful of characters takes a year to make start to finish. But an NFL game, with 22 players on the field at once, they can get that script completed 3 days. 

Very few people are willing to face reality.  If things don't go their way, well..."scripted".  It can't be that the other team was better. No way no how. 

I did some math.  Every NFL team would be undefeated if not screwed over by the refs or if the game wasn't scripted.  Crazy.  32 teams all 17-0! 

 

 

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

I remember when I was 10 or 11 and my dad had a bookie and he would let me bet on games. I would bet on MNF and would take a team and the over and under.This one MNF game I need a garbage TD with around 2 minutes left, the team I needed the td from runs the football and the rb is 10 yards out of bounds and not tackled.

Clock keeps going and announcers don't mention why the clock is still running and needless to say I didn't get the garbage td at the end. Ever since then I knew there was shady stuff going on that had to do with the spreads.

[WhiteWonder 2,172]

3 hours ago, GobbleDog said:

The chances of a fix happening in the four major sports is so close to zero it's not worth discussing.

Most sports fixing occurs in low-level tennis, where players don't make squat, but have enormous expenses - travel, coach, fees, etc. They don't even have to bet against themselves - just who wins the first set, or breaks first serve. They've caught enough of them to document it's the problem.

Low-level soccer has also caught a few over the years, usually with 3rd world players.

so based on this, you really don't think there might be players in the NBA that purposely stay under their point or rebound total while still trying to win?, or NFL reception total or yards total? MLB pitcher strikeout totals  etc etc etc? I mean it's less of a chance than at lower level athletics but it would be fairly easy to do. 

I don't think most games are fixed or scripted but it wouldn't surprise me at all if the machine that is the NFL has influence over close games to get certain teams the win if it improves ratings. NFL greed knows no end. 

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

8 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

so based on this, you really don't think there might be players in the NBA that purposely stay under their point or rebound total while still trying to win?, or NFL reception total or yards total? MLB pitcher strikeout totals  etc etc etc? I mean it's less of a chance than at lower level athletics but it would be fairly easy to do. 

I don't think most games are fixed or scripted but it wouldn't surprise me at all if the machine that is the NFL has influence over close games to get certain teams the win if it improves ratings. NFL greed knows no end. 

Heck since I been doing NBA props you see a player needing 26.5 points for the over and coach pulls him at 26 points with 8 minutes to go and they never get back in the game. Happens in the NFl to with player props. Like yesterday I had Watson from KC that need 16.5 total for over. He gets 1 catch early and of course it is 16 yards and he doesn't get that extra yard the rest of the game. Just a little odd.

[GobbleDog 816]

1 hour ago, WhiteWonder said:

it wouldn't surprise me at all if the machine that is the NFL has influence over close games to get certain teams the win if it improves ratings. NFL greed knows no end. 

I'd be totally shocked. Considering how much they profit doing it legit, and risking losing it all for what amounts to pennies, not to mention prison. Same for the players.  The biggest sports gambling expert in the world is Billy Walters and if he says it ain't fixed, it ain't fixed.

Low-level tennis, definitely. Low-level college ball, maybe. The four major sports, no way.

[WhiteWonder 2,172]

1 hour ago, GobbleDog said:

I'd be totally shocked. Considering how much they profit doing it legit, and risking losing it all for what amounts to pennies, not to mention prison. Same for the players.  The biggest sports gambling expert in the world is Billy Walters and if he says it ain't fixed, it ain't fixed.

Low-level tennis, definitely. Low-level college ball, maybe. The four major sports, no way.

some examples you gave for low level tennis don't really amount to something more than an NBA player making sure he doesn't go over 30 points in a game. I kind of think you have to be naive to think NBA players, for example, are not having others bet on their behalf on an outcome they can decide themselves and it doesn't even need to impact the game.

 

NFL greed is everywhere. From who get to air the games, the sponsorship rights, to their push overseas. I'm not saying I think the NFL is fixed or truly scripted but there are certain close games where It would not shock me one bit if there was outside influence to push a certain matchup or storyline. 

[BunnysBastatrds 1,920]

 I don’t believe they fix it for the money or for them. They do what the the higher ups tell them to for them and their owners.  Ive seen numerous calls or no calls that make me believe the shield tells them what to do. 

[nobody 2,043]

This is a bizarre conversation.  An NBA ref went to jail for fixing games, and people are saying there is no way games are fixed.

[BeenHereBefore 1,333]

50 minutes ago, nobody said:

This is a bizarre conversation.  An NBA ref went to jail for fixing games, and people are saying there is no way games are fixed.

I said people still want to believe in Santa no matter if proof proves other wise  Some of the teams like the Giants and Steelers was founded on shady horse racing gambling. The Giants owner gave Art Rooney a tip on a horse race where Art won a ton and enough to buy the Steelers. Probably some huge trifecta long shot.