Good news for NFL fans: Barring coronavirus postponements, Week 13 will be the last this regular season where every team is not in action. Tampa Bay and Carolina are on the bye and then off weeks are finished … we hope.
There doesn’t appear to be one matchup Sunday that screams must-see TV. Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans with a 1 p.m. ET kickoff is very important in the AFC playoff race and in theory could be a postseason preview if the Titans win the AFC South and the Browns slot into the right Wild-Card slot (both would be the case right now). A lot has changed for both clubs from Week 1 of the 2019 season when Marcus Mariota and the Titans blew out the Browns 43-13. Baker Mayfield was picked off three times. This time, the Titans are -6 and Cleveland is 1-10 ATS in its past 11 road games.
Famer, the sports coaching and mentorship mobile platform, announced today that it is expanding its landmark partnership with the NBPA with the launch of NBPA Training Ground One. Through the NBPA’s Training Ground channel on Famer, youth athletes will now have the opportunity to participate in one-on-one personal training sessions and receive feedback from some of the best basketball coaches and trainers in the world.
Aspiring basketball players who subscribe to NBPA Training Ground One will receive video workoutsthat focus on basketball training drills, as well as fitness and mental health content from top NBA players and skill trainers. This groundbreaking launch marks the first-time youth basketball players will be able to digitally connect globally and personally train with world-class NBPA grassroots trainers and develop a relationship through skill development and interactive feedback utilizing Famer’s suite of tools like telestration, voiceover and slow-motion capture.
The NBPA and Famer continue to add one-of-a-kind training content from top pros and coaches, all of which can be accessed on the NBPA Training Ground One channel. New training content is being released from current and future NBPA members Bam Adebayo, Cole Anthony, Pat Connaughton, Langston Galloway, Joe Harris and RJ Hampton, top WNBA players and icons Lisa Leslie, and Chiney Ogumike, sports yoga expert Savannah Stevens and grassroots influencers Bobbito Garcia and Remy Workouts.
Since the launch of the partnership in May, the channel has featured training videos with NBPA members such as Aaron Gordon and Andre Drummond as well as NBA-level trainers Chris Matthews and Tim and Ross Burns. Since launching in June, over one thousand athletes from 66 countries and six continents have subscribed to the NBPA Training Ground on Famer with nearly ten thousand total drill video views.
The channel will continue to expand its global reach while driving unique engagement between youth players and professional athletes and trainers.
“At Famer our mission is to empower coaches to positively impact the lives of aspiring young athletes and to democratize personal sports training” said Famer CEO Rich Abend. “This partnership brings pro level training to the masses, and gives NBPA grassroots coaches and trainers the tools they need to work directly with kids anywhere in the world. We’ve combined powerful features like interactive multimedia chat and on-screen video telestration with the world’s best library of NBPA videos covering all aspects of basketball player development, from skills and drills to fitness and the mental aspects of the game. With all the uncertainties families face with the upcoming youth basketball season because of COVID-19, we are proud to be able to provide an affordable solution for player development – whether you are on the court with your team, training at home, or any combination.”
“This next phase of our collaboration with Famer and Spalding allows us and our members to continue to digitally connect with the larger grassroots basketball community throughout this pandemic with new enhanced technology and training content. We look forward to having participants of all ages and skill levels continue to train with us anywhere and to finding ways to continue to innovate with our players and brand partners,” said Chris Jean, Senior Director of Grassroots Basketball & Business Development for THINK450, the for-profit arm of the NBPA.
As a kid I always valued the importance of hard work and the fundamentals I learned from my coaches,” said Bam Adebayo, whose instructional videos will be available on the NBPA Training Ground One. “With youth basketball facing challenges right now, I’m excited that I can help kids train and work on those same fundamentals from anywhere.
“Spalding’s mission is to ignite the soul of the game in everyone, no matter who you are or where you are in the sport of basketball”, said Matt Day, Head of Brand Communications for Spalding. “Now more than ever, athletes need a way to safely work on their game. Spalding is excited to partner with Famer and the NBPA to make professional-level training accessible to every player.”
Jock MKT (Jock Market), the platform that is turning sports into a stock exchange, announced they are adding the National Basketball Association’s 72-game regular season starting Dec. 22 to allow fans to invest in shares of NBA players across all 30 teams. The announcement marks the third league within Jock MKT’s proprietary algorithm that allows investors to buy and sell shares of NFL, NBA and PGA Tour athletes in real time for real money.
Jock MKT also announced they launched on Android for the first time on Nov. 24. Jock MKT continues to be available on iOS, which launched in Apple’s App Store when the PGA Tour returned during the pandemic. The platform is approved in 34 U.S. states.
“We have seen exponential growth in Jock MKT users and investments throughout the NFL and PGA Tour schedule over the last six weeks,” said Tyler Carlin, Co-Founder of Jock MKT. “We are thrilled to be adding the NBA’s 72 game schedule at a time that will overlap with the NFL’s playoffs and more PGA Tour dates.”
As an example of Jock MKT’s investing power, if a user invested $10 in shares of Dustin Johnson at the WGC–FedEx St. Jude tournament in August and reinvested the compounded winnings at his next eight tournaments, he or she would have netted over $13,000 after his Masters’ victory.
Jock MKT’s main differentiator is their cash market format. Users can join at any time and for any dollar amount. They can buy and sell shares of NFL, NBA and PGA Tour athletes in real time, cash out early by selling to another user in-game or hold to the end and receive fixed Jock MKT payouts tied to final player rankings and overall fantasy scoring. As of Dec. 1, Jock MKT has processed nearly $2 million dollars in orders of shares.
Jock MKT was co-founded by Tyler Carlin, a 2013 graduate of MIT’s Sloan School of Management. The platform raised its first round of funding led by Will Ventures. Will Ventures’ Founding Partner and Managing Director is Isaiah Kacyvenski, a retired eight-year NFL veteran with a Harvard MBA. Accomplice founding partner Ryan Moore, an early investor and current board member of DraftKings, is also a stakeholder in Jock MKT.
If the number-crunchers and the oddsmakers are correct, the National Hockey League (NHL) could get a new division as early as next season. Currently slated to start on January 1, there could be an all-Canadian group of teams taking to the ice, although the final decision still hasn’t been made. Bodog is giving sports gamblers a chance to take a shot at whether or not the new division might happen and has put up a couple of lines for gamblers to get the hockey gambling started ahead of the new year.
Should the all-Canada division be introduced, it would pull in the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Flames and others, and possibly lead to the creation of new teams as it gains strength. Currently, Bodog’s gambling forecasters are giving the introduction of the new group odds of -220, while the rejection of the idea of a new division sits on +155. Clearly, there is a very good chance the NHL will have a division comprised of nothing but Canadian teams.
Hockey has always been Canada’s go-to sport, and the talk of a pure Canadian division coincides with a recent push by lawmakers to seek approval for single-event sports gambling. Canada has been stuck in parlay-only mode for years, but there is growing support for the expansion of gambling options in the country and, if approved, Canadians might soon be able to enjoy a wider range of action to aim for. The country’s ruling Liberal party accepted a single-event sports gambling bill at the end of last month that is currently being reviewed and which would rewrite the language regarding sports gambling in the country’s Criminal Code.
Should the all-Canada division be accepted, Bodog has also put together various odds on who might win the division title. The Maple Leafs are getting the most support, at +170, followed by the Oilers at +250. The Flames are a long-distant third at +600, while the Winnipeg Jets are looking at +650. The Vancouver Canucks and the Montreal Canadiens have been given +750 odds each, while the Ottawa Senators aren’t getting any love from oddsmakers. The team’s odds for winning the division are listed at +2500.
Athletes First (“A1”), the world’s largest and most powerful NFL agency, announced a strategic partnership with EVERFI Inc., the leading social impact education provider, to deliver one of the most comprehensive African American History learning opportunities to thousands of students across America. The program will launch in 30 schools across the greater Los Angeles and New York City areas in the coming weeks, with Athletes First Partners (A1’s sister agency), rolling out the New York initiative. The goal is to present the program to thousands of young students, many mentored by Athletes First athletes and coaches, in the next year.
EVERFI’s interactive 306 – African American History™ course will introduce students to important historical events and leaders and will be inspired by the leadership, strength, intellect, and creativity of the women and men that shaped African American History. The goal of the initiative is for students to use these learnings and inspirations in striving to discover their own personal motivations and work toward their own individual successes.
“Discrimination and systemic racism have for far too long sown division in our communities and created social and economic inequities that are unjust and simply unacceptable,” said Brian Murphy, Athletes First CEO. “Our Athletes First family – including our players and coaches – cannot simply stand on the sidelines, but instead must act now. To do so, we decided to start with our country’s younger generation who have little to no bias as they begin their education process. 306 – African American History will enhance and augment the student’s current curriculum, and members of the A1 family will also interact with the students to bring this education to life.”
306 – African American History offers five interactive lessons framed to teach the importance of civic engagement so that students may develop into future community leaders. This digital course is designed to address the skills and proficiencies outlined in the Common Core State Standards for writing and literacy in History and Social Studies, as well as individual states’ standards for US History.
“African American influence can be found at the core of American life and communicating these stories is foundational to building shared values and inspiring today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders,” said EVERFI Co-Founder and President, Jon Chapman. “Together with Athletes First, we have the opportunity to advance and expand upon African American history education across the country and provide students with more accurate, balanced, and comprehensive accounts of Black experiences.”
At launch, players involved in the program will include: David Long (L.A. Rams), Anthony Barr (Minnesota Vikings), Matthias Farley (N.Y. Jets), Derwin James (L.A. Chargers), and Casey Hayward (L.A. Chargers), with the plan to expand names and engagement into 2021 and beyond. They will be able to include commentary in the digital course, and also through virtual and in-person student engagement events.
“I am excited to support this project and am hopeful that it will create positive changes in the education system of our youth,” said Derwin James, All Pro safety who was a Chargers first round pick from Florida State University in 2018. “I’m proud to be a part of Athletes First, an agency that sees the value and importance of educating our next generation in this way.”
The gambling industry has been a driven fan engagement in new markets for global brands, and the NFL is no exception. Betcris CEO JD Duarte is excited by the future of the NFL in the Latin American market, and he sat down with our very own Becky Liggero Fontana to share his excitement of giving America’s favourite past time exposure into South America.
While Latin America is still considered to be an emerging market by most major sports brands and gambling operators, it continues to show massive potential for engagement. Duarte believes that sports betting has yet to fully explode in the region as people consider sports betting still to be a novelty for entertainment in the region.
Duarte believes that the NFL is the perfect product to change people’s perceptions of sports betting. “The NFL is probably one of the most entertaining sports to watch on TV,” he said. “The whole situational aspect of what’s going to happen next makes it a really great sport for live betting.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IetJvfX1cVc&feature=youtu.beVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: JD Duarte sees a big future for NFL in Latin America (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IetJvfX1cVc&feature=youtu.be)
There were several takeaways from the Monday Night Football (MNF) game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles last night, but one will stand out among the rest for the next several seasons. Don’t make DK Metcalf angry – you won’t like him when he’s angry. The Seahawks wide receiver had the best night of his career last night and was a definite factor in his team’s win over the Eagles. His personal best performance came off of a single comment he received before the game, which apparently was enough to get him fired up.
Metcalf, in his second year in the NFL, recorded ten passes for 177 yards, beating his previous 160-yard game last January. That was an NFL rookie record, and everyone’s eyes are now clearly focused on the 6’4” big man. Prior to the game, he reportedly had a little pow-wow with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz that didn’t please Metcalf, prompting his outstanding performance. The receiver explained after the game, “[Schwartz] came up to me and made me mad that he was like, ‘I was in Detroit with Megatron [receiver Calvin Johnson], but you aren’t there yet.’ In my mind, I am not trying to be Megatron. I am trying to be me. I had a little chip on my shoulder the whole game.”
Partly because of that chip, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson ended the night with 230 yards in the air, connecting with, in addition to Metcalf, Tyler Locket, Chris Carson, Jaco Hollister and Carlos Hyde for positive yardage. On the ground, Carson and Hyde helped push the chains down the field, with Carson adding a touchdown to his credits. Wilson is now 29-8-1 in primetime games and 10-2 on MNF. According to ESPN, that’s the best record for any starting QB with at least 20 starts since 1950.
The Seahawks defense was on fire, as well. It took out the Eagles series after series, sacked QB Carson Wentz six times and wouldn’t allow Philly to put more than nine points on the board until the team finally went for, and completed, a Hail Mary to add another score. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Eagles fell 23-17. With that, the Seahawks are in great shape in the NFC West, taking a one-game lead over the LA Rams, who just lost to the then-4-6 San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday. The NFC postseason race is heating up as Week 13 begins, and the playoff picture is going to prove to be hot.
Because the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of slowing in the United States anytime soon, the NCAA announced recently that the entire 2021 NCAA Tournament will be held in one location – from the First Four through the Final Four. That site is expected to be the greater Indianapolis area as that city was set to host the Final Four in early April as it was, and it’s a very centralized location in the country.
A final decision should be made fairly soon and means that 13 sites across the country will no longer host a preliminary round of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA has to ensure the 2021 Big Dance goes off because the organization (and schools) lost hundreds of millions of dollars last year when it was canceled. The NCAA makes most of its money off the Big Dance as it has no part of the College Football Playoff.
So which team will be cutting down the nets on the night of Monday, April 5 (again, assuming the date and location stay the same)? Oddsmakers favor Gonzaga (+650), which is the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25. This could easily be the best team Coach Mark Few has had in Spokane and he landed the school’s highest-ever ranked recruit in freshman Jalen Suggs.
The Detroit Pistons today announced multi-year partnerships with premier sports gaming companies FanDuel Group and DraftKings, Inc., making FanDuel and DraftKings official sports betting partners of the Pistons.
In addition to the use of official Pistons marks and logos, each partnership will include a mix of robust marketing assets, including in-arena signage and activations, television and digital advertising, and TV and radio presence to drive passionate Pistons enthusiasts to each entity’s sports betting offerings.
Detroit Pistons Chief Business Officer Mike Zavodsky praised the agreement with both companies and noted the commitment to building asset packages that provide engagement strategies unique to each business.
“We appreciate the partnership-minded and collaborative approach that both FanDuel and DraftKings brought to the table,” said Zavodsky. “We look forward to utilizing our platform to help each grow their presence within and connectivity to the Pistons and greater Detroit Metro communities.”
In addition to its partnership with FanDuel, the Pistons will also partner with MotorCity Casino Hotel. FanDuel and MotorCity Casino Hotel will offer exciting game day experiences at the newly designed FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity Casino in downtown Detroit. On game days, MotorCity Casino will provide fans with giveaways, exclusive viewing parties and other innovative experiences to enhance sports betting experience before, during and after the games.
“The Pistons are a progressive and forward-thinking franchise committed to its fans, and we see an incredibly valuable partnership opportunity as we connect our retail Sportsbook experience with Pistons game action in the arena,” said Mike Raffensperger, CMO of FanDuel. “This new relationship will create unique approaches for us to reach Pistons fans. With the FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity Casino and mobile gaming offerings on the FanDuel Sportsbook app, we will together offer engaging experiences both inside and outside the arena while giving fans access to unique betting promotions and content.”
An exciting element of the DraftKings partnership includes a “Piston For A Day” VIP fan experience giving users the opportunity to enter a contest where winners receive exclusive access to the team. Winners will sign a “Pistons Contract” for a day, pose for a photo with a member of the front office staff, receive a personalized Pistons jersey and warm-up clothing to wear to a Pistons game, receive a locker room tour and postgame shot on the Little Caesars Arena floor and private access for a one-hour shootaround on the Pistons Practice Court at the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center.
“As our first professional team activation in the state of Michigan, we are thrilled to join forces with the Detroit Pistons ahead of our pending market introduction,” said Ezra Kucharz, Chief Business Officer, DraftKings. “This deal deepens our relationship with a prominent local team to facilitate more immersive fan experiences, both for Michiganders familiar with regulated gaming products as well as newcomers to the space.”
The NFL made it through 11 weeks of football with only minor problems from COVID-19. The Tennessee Titans suffered an outbreak earlier in the season that forced a few changes to the schedule, but everything was relatively smooth since then – until last week. The Baltimore Ravens have seen a major outbreak that led to their Thanksgiving game against the Pittsburgh Steelers to be postponed until tomorrow, but that is now in jeopardy, as well. While this important game will have to sit on the back burner, the rest of the Week 12 action found a few surprise outcomes that are making sports fans, and gamblers, question their predictions on who will land where in the newly-expanded playoffs.
It looked like the New England Patriots were going to go down once again. They got off to a very slow start against the Arizona Cardinals, with quarterback Cam Newton held to less than 40 yards passing in the first half. He didn’t get much better in the second half and ended the day with no touchdowns and two interceptions, connecting with receivers for only 84 yards. The Cardinals had the better stats throughout the game, but the Pats still managed to pull off the win. It took a 50-yard field goal by Nick Folk with four seconds on the clock to break the 17-17 tie, but it was enough to keep the Pats alive for the postseason. Gamblers who backed the Pats scored, as well, as the +100 moneyline at BetRivers.com gave them some extra holiday spending money.
The Carolina Panthers were able to get QB Teddy Bridgewater back in the game following an injury that kept him out for a couple of weeks and he gave everything he had to try to beat the Minnesota Vikings. He had a lot of help, too, as safety Jeremy Chinn picked up two fumbles on two consecutive series, running them both back for touchdowns. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Panthers lost 28-27 after the Vikings came from behind with less than a minute on the clock to move ahead. For Vikings backers, they did well, with their team sitting on a moneyline of -157 ahead of the game.
Someone forgot to tell the Las Vegas Raiders they had a football game yesterday. That’s about the only explanation for the horrible performance they gave against what, by all accounts, is a massively inferior team. However, the Atlanta Falcons found their stride and dominated in almost every stat. The Raiders recorded four lost fumbles and one interception and allowed their QB to be sacked five times as the Falcons walked away with a 43-6 win. The Raiders were getting -175 ahead of the game and most of the money was put on them to win, but the few diehard Falcons fans who took their team at +150 picked up a nice payday.
This past May, pro golfer Phil Mickelson took on former pro football player, and two-time Super Bowl winner, Payton Manning in a charity golf tournament. For that event, Mickelson partnered up with another NFL great, six-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, while Manning connected with Tiger Woods. The competition, The Match: Champions for Charity, ultimately found Manning and Woods emerging victorious, but Mickelson now has a chance to exact a little revenge. He’s going to face off in yet another The Match: Champions for Charity event coming up today; however, oddsmakers aren’t convinced he can get the victory.
This next installment, which gets underway at 2 PM Eastern Time, finds Mickelson partnering with NBA legend and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and opposite them will be Manning and another NBA superstar, Steph Curry. The competition is described as a method of “[highlighting] diversity, equality, and inclusion through donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) while raising awareness and spotlighting opportunities for diversity and equality in sports.”
Manning and Curry are getting odds of -175, while Mickelson and Barkley are facing +138 odds. Apparently, bookmakers don’t believe the format of the contest favors the underdogs, with players first teeing off before deciding which ball to play. From there, the team takes alternating shots until getting the ball in the cup. In addition, even though he has spent a lot of time on the links, Barkley is a self-proclaimed amateur aficionado, having once stated, “I don’t like talking about golf. Golf is not my favorite. The only thing good about golf is drinking and smoking.”
However, Manning, who has a 4.8 handicap, and Curry are both almost as good at golf as they are the sports that made them household names. Besides Manning’s win earlier this year, Curry shoots with a 2.1 handicap and regularly plays at the California Golf Club of San Francisco. According to the United States Golf Association, Barkley doesn’t record a handicap.
It could be said that the NFL games featured on Thanksgiving Day yesterday were not among the most popular ones that could have been selected, but they both still proved to keep football entertained. With COVID-19 keeping holiday plans to a minimum, at least there was a great way to spend several hours watching four teams tear it up on the gridiron. If it hadn’t been for the Baltimore Ravens, there would have been six teams.
The Detroit Lions, featuring Matthew Stafford and his record for most Thanksgiving Day yardage, and the Houston Texans met up yesterday, and the game started with the Lions jumping out to a 7-0 lead a little more than halfway through the first quarter. The Texans responded almost immediately, thanks to their big defensive man J.J. Watt, who snagged a Stafford pass out of the air and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. As the Lions got the ball back following that embarrassment, they fumbled on the series and the Texans scored another TD – two in about a minute and a half. Before heading to the lockers for the mid-game break, the Lions would rack three consecutive turnovers.
After that, it was a Texans ball game for the rest of the afternoon. Starting in his first Thanksgiving Day game as quarterback for Houston, Deshaun Watson ended his day with four touchdown passes and a passer rating of 150.4, the fourth-highest for Thanksgiving NFL football. Detroit continued to become unglued in the second half, and all the team could do was try to hold on until the clock ran out. By the time it did, they were looking at a 41-25 loss.
The Washington Football Team continues to fight in order to show its appreciation for head coach Ron Rivera, who has been battling cancer. As they took the field against the Dallas Cowboys yesterday, they showed no mercy. The defense sacked Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton three times, intercepted him once for a touchdown and otherwise just had one of the best games it has had all year. The offense did an excellent job, as well, with rookie running back Antonio Gibson recording 20 carries for 115 yards and three touchdowns.
Even in his passing, the signature of Maradona remains one the most expensive in football. According to gamblingdeals.com, a signature from the ‘Hand of God’ is more valuable than an autograph from Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Soccer fans globally will go the extra mile to grab their piece of sporting memorabilia. Maradona’s signature is valued at £582.07, ahead of Lionel Messi (£511.91) and Cristiano Ronaldo (£464.93).
Surprisingly, it’s another modern-day Argentinean striker, with a Maradona connection that has the most expensive signature in football. Former son-in-law, and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero. A piece of memorabilia signed by the Manchester City forward is valued at an eye-watering £1,363.71.
Coming in at second place is English football icon, David Beckham. The former Manchester United icon’s signature remains a prized commodity amongst fans, willing to pay £999.99 to get his signature on a Manchester United shirt.
As sports partnerships go, it’s a touchdown, a slam dunk and a top corner piledriver all in one. BetMGM, the market leading sports betting and digital gaming entertainment company, have partnered with the runaway leaders of the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Having come together from GVC Holdings, the company associated with partypoker and World Poker Tour among others in a stellar business history, and MGM Resorts, BetMGM is the one-stop shop for land-based and online sports betting, as well as tournament poker and online gaming.
Partnering up with the Steelers is a good move, for both parties in the deal. The Pittsburgh Steelers are flying high in the AFC North, with ten wins from ten games so far in the regular season. Though incredibly successful this season, the Steelers have a rich history in the game. As the fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers have won six Super Bowl titles, tied for the most in the NFL, and have appeared in eight finals overall. With an incredible 31 former players, coaches or contributors inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ryan Huzjak, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, can’t wait for the partnership to begin.
“We are excited to introduce BetMGM to Steelers Nation,” he said. “Not only will BetMGM be elevating some of our existing platforms, but they will be introducing new and exciting opportunities to Steelers fans. We are looking forward to kicking off this partnership.”
To some, he was the enemy, a thorn in their side. To those he played for, he was God. Diego Armando Maradona, who won the World Cup in 1986 almost single-handedly, as well as transforming the fortunes of Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona, has died aged 60 of a suspected heart attack.
Born into Argentinian slums, Diego Maradona was the 5th of eight children. To him, football wasn’t just a way of life – it was his way of escaping it. The sport became an obsession to him, the reason for him being on the planet, and aged 15, he made his professional debut. He would go on to transform the country of his birth purely by way of the football he played in Argentina, but his outrageous skills would soon make it to Europe, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmyssDtOiLMVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Diego Maradona Top 50 Amazing Skill Moves Ever | Is this guy the best in history? D10S (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmyssDtOiLM)
There are fewer games than normal on Sunday in Week 12 because of the three Thanksgiving Day matchups around the NFL, although the league helped boost the Sunday slate by wiping out byes this week.
Let’s say the NFL ceased to exist in 15 years or so. At that point, it’s easy to see a scenario where historians say the two best quarterbacks ever were Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. They have met three times as professionals, with Brady holding a 2-1 edge including playoffs – all while he was with the New England Patriots.
By far the marquee matchup this Sunday is Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs at Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. It could easily be a preview of Super Bowl 55, which also will be held in Tampa. Or, it could be the final time they ever face off because the Chiefs and Bucs won’t be scheduled to play for another four years in the regular season, and we presume the 43-year-old Brady will have retired by then. Kansas City is a 3.5-point favorite and is a stellar 15-4 ATS in its past 19 games.
Titan Channel in Spain and Latin America, Sky New Zealand, and Digi Communications N.V. in Czech Republic to Distribute PFL’s Regular Season, Playoff and Finals, While also Featuring PFL’s Original Content and Archived Fight Library
Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative league in the world, today announced that key international broadcast partners will be expanding coverage of the league for the upcoming 2021 season. PFL is the first organization ever to present MMA through a Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship format, which combined with a global roster of fighters representing 25 countries, has resonated internationally. PFL is distributed to more than 160 countries worldwide via a global network of premier sports partners.
“MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world, with more than 450 million fans who want to consume more premium MMA content,” said Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL. “Expanded partnerships with Titan Channel, Sky New Zealand, Digi Communications N.V. and others are reflective of the incredible demand for MMA and the PFL, and will only continue to grow the sport. Our season format, international fighter roster of top talent from around the world, and differentiated product appeals to a global audience, and we look forward to going deeper with our storytelling in key markets outside the United States.”
As part of these partnership agreements, Titan Channel, Sky New Zealand, and Digi Communications N.V. will continue to broadcast live PFL Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship events. PFL programming will also feature classic fights from PFL’s vault, providing fans the opportunity to relive the championship journeys of PFL stars such as Kayla Harrison, Ray Cooper III, Emiliano Sordi, Magomed Magomedkerimov and Nathan Schulte. Original programming created by PFL Studios – a fully integrated global media division of the Professional Fighters League producing original MMA content for all platforms including television, digital and mobile – will also be included.
The trend that started when NFL and college football action got underway continues on Bodog, with the sportsbook seeing most of the action on football games this past weekend. However, soccer matches in both North America and Europe also proved to be enticing and made an impact on the final numbers. Although they didn’t capture nearly as much attention as football, they still accounted for five of the top ten spots on the sportsbook.
Heading the top-ten list on Bodog this weekend, the NFL maintained its usual spot with 42.64% of the wagers. Only slightly behind was college football, which captured 42.01% of the bets. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which featured Deiveson Figueiredo and Alex Perez in the flyweight main event (and even Beyonce’s “Halo”), was a distant third at 4.37%. The ATP World Tour Finals took 3.41% as Daniil Medvedev overcame Dominic Thiem on Sunday for the single’s title.
Soccer was then responsible for five of the remaining six spots, broken up only by table tennis, with 1.17%. Major League Soccer in North America grabbed 1.76% of the wagers, followed by the Premier League with 1.65%. Premier League Live wagers proved interesting, as well, getting 1.06% of the attention on Bodog. Germany and Spain made it on the list, as well, even if they only squeaked on. The German Bundesliga took 0.97% of the wagers, while Spain’s La Liga was responsible for 0.93%.
It’s possible that, one day, soccer or basketball could prove to be as strong with gamblers as football, but that won’t happen anytime soon. On Bodog, the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders saw the most action, grabbing 26.53% of the share. As expected, the Chiefs won, but only by a four-point margin. The matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts was also a hot one, taking 14.42% of the wagers. The Colts, favored to win at -125, pulled off an OT victory and now have their eyes firmly on a playoff spot.
No one can say that Tom Brady isn’t one of the best football players of all times. He has six Super Bowl rings, is a four-time Super Bowl MVP, four-time NFL passing touchdown leader, three-time passing yards leader (about to be four after this season) and plenty more accolades on his resumé. However, after 20 years in the league, some are beginning to wonder if his memory is starting to go. He may have shown a hint of that yesterday as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the LA Rams, or, maybe, he knew exactly what he was doing and thought he could get away with a little in-pocket trickery. Either way, Brady will always be the GOAT, even if the Bucs couldn’t fight back to defeat the Rams yesterday.
The first half of Monday Night Football’s game saw both teams waging offensive and defensive wars that kept the score equal on both sides. The second half, however, found them running a little more sluggish and making unforced errors that cost valuable position on the field. Interceptions on both sides, missed field goals, sacks and more were the norm as the game wore on. In the midst of all that, Brady managed to throw two forward passes on a single play – one failed, but the other connected. Unfortunately for him, that’s not how football is played and, even though he got the ball to wide receiver Mike Evans, the play was called dead.
That happened in the fourth quarter when the Bucs were desperately looking for ways to overcome a Rams defense that had kept them on their heels since the beginning of the second half. Brady threw the ball on a third-and-ten, but it was stopped by the Rams defense. However, that block returned the ball to Brady’s hands and he quickly threw a second pass to Evans. Whether he forgot the rules of football – no two forward passes allowed on a single play – or thought he could get away with it, we may never know. Several weeks ago, Brady allegedly forgot that it was fourth down on a crucial play against the Chicago Bears, and some began to question whether his mind is still as strong as his throwing arm.
Jared Goff was on fire for the Rams last night, completing 39 of 51 attempts for a total of 376 yards. However, his two interceptions thrown were a huge blight on an otherwise awesome game. He routinely connected with receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, who picked up a combined 175 yards across 23 receptions. Big offensive plays throughout the game, coupled with the second-best defense in the league, are what kept the Rams going as they took a 27-24 lead with only minutes left in the game.
One could argue that the popularity of boxing in the United States and Canada started going downhill fast one Mike Tyson’s reign atop the heavyweight division ended. When Tyson was in his prime, there was nothing like one of his fights as he was the biggest and baddest athlete on the planet.
“Iron Mike” returns to the ring, somewhat, on Saturday night from Staples Center in Los Angeles against fellow boxing legend and former four division champion Roy Jones Jr. for an eight-round exhibition available via pay-per-view. There will be judges but no fans in attendance. Yes, this is what boxing has come to as it now lags far behind the UFC in terms of popularity. The two were originally set to meet on September 12, but the fight was postponed.
