As we come off the high of one of the most thrilling and heart-stopping College football Saturdays in recent memory, it propels me to speak of things I shouldn't even know about. Sports betting. No, really. Do you know that betting on sports is illegal? The only legal sports betting is inside Las Vegas casinos and at the horse racing tracks. Did you know that? How could you? Sports lines are spoken about on every single news show and sports segments. In newspapers across the country, a full page is devoted to the gambling line. How is that possible? How is it completely socially acceptable and blatantly flaunted and yet still illegal?
Another one of the great American hypocrisies. I don't know what the moral and ethical hang up is and who is holding the keys, but it is without doubt the most astonishingly short-sighted view. Can you imagine if sports betting was legal? In London, there are beautiful, elegant betting parlors. If we had that here, even without the real estate, we could be a completely flush country. We could collect on all winning bets. Just like the stock market which is legalized and acceptable gambling. We would be out of debt. We could stop hearing from all the Pols about how we have to cut this and that.
Seriously, people, do you realize how ridiculous it is? Do you look through your sports pages? Do you see how much space is devoted to the betting lines? Do you watch the sports shows? It may have begun by the one and only Jimmy the Greek on CBS. When he started openly picking winners for the bettors and sports pool players at home, it became second nature to all sports lovers. The health and wealth of sports television grew because of all the gambling, albeit illegal. If you could bet on it, it became a huge moneymaker. So why is it still illegal? Seriously. What's wrong with this hypocrisy? I don't get it. It's everywhere. Why shouldn't the government be collecting taxes? They do at the race track. If you win big, the first thing the government does is take their cut. Why not for all the football bets? Basketball bets? Baseball bets? (Betting on baseball is a huge losing proposition and if your loved one is, get a separate bank account).
I think that you are getting my drift, but who is listening to me? I just don't get it. Who is standing on the mountain and keeps voting it down? It's bull and shortsighted. People gamble on sports. Television stations, executives, teams, owners, are all getting more rich. Why shouldn't the government? Why shouldn't it come out of the shadows legally? Come on, people. This is an easy one. Stop being so holier than thou. It's happening all the time, legal or not.
Sidebars: The Good Wife is inconsistent in its writing for moment to moment. The Mentalist has jumped the shark. Homeland is difficult to watch because of its intensity. The Blacklist is finished until January and so bloody and violent. James Spader is that show. The Voice is winding down. Tonight we will see who gets knocked off. I predict Cole and Matthew. Okay, here's a piece by a writer for The Daily Beast that I think everyone should read, especially anyone that is a coach or runs an athletic program. Take the time to copy and paste on the link and read it:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/02/alabama-coach-nick-saban-s-folly-great-coaches-protect-their-players.html .
Off to see Philomena. Happy Tuesday!
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