Ives Galarcep just threw it right out there ... http://njmg.typepad.com/sbi/2007/09/altidore-is-hur.html#more .... What is the purpose of injury reports? Aside from informing the public of the status of players, it is also intended to provide full disclosure in order to prevent people from having injury information that isn't available to the public. The NFL provides an injury report to prevent inside information from being used to make wagers. I know people aren't lining up to bet on MLS matches but there is still a question of integrity when teams are being intentionally misleading with injury reports. .... I suppose you can't blame some MLS teams for trying to get away with this type of stuff since many of them don't really get day to day media coverage that would make such shenanigans tougher to pull off. At some point though the league will need to address this. MLS betting may not be rampant but it does exist online and MLS should be concerned about the possibility that teams could be withholding significant injury information about key players, or providing false information. I'm sure the league won't do anything about this, lord knows they have enough other issues they struggle to deal with and I'll admit this isn't a major priority, but it is something to consider as the league moves toward trying to be considered a legitimate professional league in this country. .... ********** That last line was a stinger. Comments from Ives' readers suggest that they think his concern is unwarranted, and that 'everybody does it,' i.e. fudges injury reports. Any reason for concern here? If not, what is Ives trying to accomplish?
Any sites/sports books that take MLS wagers? And how crazy do you have to be to bet on MLS with the parity this league has displayed?
People who gamble on MLS matches deserve what's coming to them. Some MLS seasons have been indistinguishable from what you'd expect from random chance, how the hell do you plan to make money on such an endeavor?
I was just in vegas and there was some MLS betting stuff on their sportsbook computers, as well as EPL and international soccer.
They pretty much all do. You can even find USL wagers if you look hard enough. There's even a wagering forum on Bigsoccer. I've often wondered why so many people are surprised that MLS betting exists. You can bet online on leagues far far more obscure than MLS. Click on the this link and scroll down reading the leagues available on the left hand side.
I haven't so much lately. I used to quite a bit, and no, the injury thing didn't bother me. That's not to say it shouldn't have bothered me, however.
Is there an injury list for foreign teams? I've seen the scroll on SSN say that player X was out for a Premiership game only to see said player start. And gambling is much more prevalent and accessible in England than in the US. The only reason I care about the injury list is for my fantasy team. Thx, Jay!
I don't bet terribly often, maybe a couple games a month, but the people on Bodog really don't know MLS well and the lines are very good if you pick carefully. For instance, a few weeks ago when Chivas beat LA on the Thursday night, they were actually 2/1 underdogs in that game...I made a killing.
I doubt Bodog generates their own odds for MLS matches. I don't think MLS gets enough action to justify the resources for coming up with their own prices. They probably just post the prices already circulating on the Internet, which are probably just spit out of someone's computer. A few years ago I noticed an obvious error in MLS playoff prices, and sure enough the exact same error was posted by numerous online bookmakers, who had all obviously gotten their original odds from the same source.
Just because the results are random, it does not necesarily follow that it is stupid to bet on MLS. Rolling dice is completely random, but if I give you 10 throws and offer you 12-1 odds on each roll to roll a six, you'd be foolish to turn down that bet. I use that example because a few years ago I did my own little study on MLS betting. I forget which season it was, but if you would have picked every underdog thoughout the course of the season who had 4-1 or higher odds (10-15 matches), you would have made a significant profit by the end of the season. Betting on something random is not stupid if the odds don't reflect that randomness.
Ives won't let go ... http://njmg.typepad.com/sbi/2007/09/mendes-has-ankl.html#more Wondering where Carlos Mendes was on Saturday? It turns out he picked up an ankle injury late last week in training. Of course the Red Bulls chose to keep that fact a secret leading up to Saturday's match. Mendes hasn't been starting lately but his absence on Saturday was still a bit surprising. Now that we know he's hurt it makes a little more sense. There is no word yet on the extent of Mendes' injury. Hopefully the Red Bulls will let us know how serious it is. (Yeah right, I'm sure the injury report will say something like "body discomfort"). Hey MLS, are you listening? When are you going to make teams fully disclose injuries? .... ********** Gambling, er, sorry, gaming habit - or just good old-fashioned pound-the-pavement, keep-asking-the-tough-questions-until-you-get-answers journalism?
I have a feeling Ives has never paid attention to the injury reports during the NHL playoffs. Or does he really believe that so many players come down with the flu?
Or looked at that model system in the NFL more closely. That pillar of the community in New England has a stellar record on this front.