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Iowa athletes and betting
I guess my question is whether anyone is surprised by the growing number of betting scandals around college athletics lately.
Because if we are being honest, the details are clear and omnipresent.
This story tells us close a quarter of a trillion dollars (yes, trillion with a 'T') has been legally bet on sports in the U.S. in the mere five years that the Supreme Court ruled states could make it legal if they so choosed.
Now, watch a sporting event and every third commercial is a betting site. Heck, Chuck Barkley is offering same-game parlay options and in-game betting tips from the TNT studio set.
The marriage has been quick, pricey and all-consuming.
And the forever fear of sports leagues about that marriage with gambling is becoming an issue in college sports.
The money is too great for the main actors in the NFL, NBA and MLB to truly be tempted by fixing games or shaving points, but the college kids — especially the non-revenue sports — assuredly could see the appeal of some extra moola.
That scent of scandal was in Tuscaloosa last week and it cost the Alabama baseball coach his gig.
That similar smell is in Iowa now, where 41 combined athletes at Iowa and Iowa State are being investigated.
This is not anything close to a pass for those who are involved. Far from it. Because there is nothing that could wreck an entire program and even an entire sport more quickly than fans thinking the games are rigged and we're watching pro wrestling.
But I am not surprised by this in the least to be honest, and if I had to guess, this is just the beginning.
It would not surprise me to see states ban betting on in-state college sports sooner rather than latter to be honest, which is going to really make some folks ticked come fall in the South.
Huggins said what?
I hope Bob Huggins doesn't get fired, because college basketball is more entertaining with him in it.
Plus, there are all the grand sweatsuits.
But if Huggins gets got, he has no one to blame but himself.
On a Cincinnati radio show earlier this week, Huggins used an anti-gay slur twice.
We're in a strange spot in what is acceptable to be said publicly because in the same interview, he said ""Any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn't do it, my god they can get away with anything."
And that didn't cause anyone to flinch.
But he expounded on the take of Xavier, the in-Cincy rival of Cincinnati, Huggins' old school, after one of the radio hosts wondered if it was "transgender night."
"What it was was all those f**s, those Catholic f**s, I think," Huggins said. "They were envious they didn't have one."
Yep. Whether Huggins' Hall of Fame career will be undone by the sentence or not is in the hands of the West Virginia leadership.
To his credit, though, Huggins penned and published a sincere and forthright apology for his verbal violation. You can read it here.
Lakers' secret weapon
So in a series filled with stars and future Hall of Famers, pivotal Game 4 belonged to...
Lonnie Walker IV?
Naturally.
A Golden State-Los Angeles series had impossible to meet expectations.
Is this the last run of a Warriors dynasty with the core of Step, Klay and Draymond?
Is this the last best chance for 38-year-old LeBron James to add a fifth title to the resumé?
Is the moment when Anthony Davis becomes the 7-foot unicorn he should be and demands the reckoning as one of the game's elite players?
Don't know. Likely? Still TBA.
But Monday we did get that annual and forever familiar playoff lesson that one hot role player can swing everything.
Enter Walker, who did not score in the first three quarters before dropping 15 fourth-quarter points on a stunned Warriors bunch in a 104-101 Lakers win that put L.A. up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Walker is the first Lakers player to score 15 or more points in the final quarter since some cat named Kobe did it in 1997.
Moreover, Walker was 6-of-9 from the field; the Warriors as a team in the fourth quarter were 6-of-17.
Yep, Lonnie Walker IV.
This and that
— Speaking of the NBA, Jimmy Butler is a knife-fighter, and anyone betting on the NBA playoffs best heed Butler's presence. Miami is up 3-1 on the Knicks, and the Heat are now 7-1 against the number (and 7-2 overall) in their eight postseason games.
— Hit both our NBA picks on Monday but missed a player prop. So it goes, but 2-1 is better than the inverse and a lot better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
— Looks like reparations to Black citizens could be coming soon to California, with scaled payments reaching as much as $1.2 million depending on age and how long said person has lived in California.
— Bud Light sales dropped more than 21% in April.
— Tommy Kuhl shot a course 62 to advance through the U.S. Open qualifying in Illinois, but had DQ himself when he told the rules official that he improperly (and unknowingly) fixed spots on multiple greens before putting. The new rule is you can fix ball marks or rough spot on the putting surface, but not imprints or leftover marks from routine green maintenance. The greens had been recently aerated so fixing the spots was a no-no and Kuhl fessed up to his miscue.
— Braves activated Travis d'Arnaud from the injured list. Yep, the second-best record in baseball welcoming back injured players has to scare the NL East to death.
Today's questions
True or false, it's Tuesday. Have a great day Ernie.
True or false, Huggins will get axed for his slurs. True or false, Huggins should get axed for his slurs.
True or false, if you were a pro athlete, you would put the 'Jr.' or the 'IV' after your name on the back.
True or false, if you shot a 62 to get into the U.S. Open, you are keeping mum about the green fix up mix up.
True or false, states will ban betting on in-state colleges.
True or false, you know a Taylor Swift song.
As for today, May 9, let's review.
"Vertigo" was released on this day in 1958. Nick Esasky was not impressed.
Billy Joel is 74 today. Wowser, talk about outkicking your coverage Billy Joel getting hitched to Christie Brinkley at the height of her powers is a textbook example.
Also, Woodrow Wilson officially made Mother's Day a think on this day in 1914.
Rushmore of TV moms. Go.