MLB IS NOW LIVING IN A FANTASY WORLD.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Nobody ever went broke betting on the hypocrisy of the sports industry when it comes to gambling. The best example yet - the jackpot - is Major League Baseball's push to become the major promoter of so-called fantasy games by taking control of licensing and dictating the types of contests offered online. The gripes gripe v. griped, grip·ing, gripes v.intr. 1. Informal To complain naggingly or petulantly; grumble. 2. To have sharp pains in the bowels. v.tr. 1. of fantasy-gamer operators are crowding out a bigger question. Since when is baseball in the business of sanctioning gambling? Whether or not you think of it this way - and baseball has calculated the profit in choosing ``not'' - fantasy leagues are gambling. People try to predict how athletes will perform. They risk money to try to win money. Most of them end up losers. Do you know a better definition of gambling? A Major League Baseball "MLB" and "Major Leagues" redirect here. For other uses, see MLB (disambiguation) and Major Leagues (disambiguation). Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. spokesman said Monday the commissioner's office is unconcerned that the sports leaders send a mixed message by publicly decrying the evils of gambling while endorsing a brand of it. ``I know, in fantasy leagues, money does change hands,'' Rich Levin, baseball's senior vice president for public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most , said on the phone from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . ``But it is not traditional gambling, where money changes hands on a daily basis on the outcome of games. I don't think we'll be perceived as condoning gambling.'' Levin noted that ``all the other sports do it'' and that fantasy leagues have ``become a sports phenomenon.'' ``It was debated (in the baseball offices), 'Are we participating in gambling?' '' Levin said. ``It was decided this is something (fans) wanted, and something that is not traditional gambling. If we felt it was undermining our basic opposition to gambling, it would be different. I don't think people see it that way. I think they see it as entertainment.'' Levin did concede that ``there are similarities'' between fantasy leagues and ``traditional'' gambling. Well, yeah, to put it mildly. ``For me, that (fantasy baseball Fantasy baseball is a game whereby players manage imaginary baseball teams based on the real-life performance of baseball players, and compete against one another using those players' statistics to score points. ) definitely would be gambling,'' said Karen H. (she declined to give her full name), a former problem gambler who is the international executive secretary of Gamblers Anonymous Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is Twelve Step program for problem gamblers. GA began in Los Angeles on September 13, 1957. As of 2005 there were over 1000 GA meetings in the United States and meetings established in the United Kingdom, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Israel, . ``It's a black-and-white thing for me.'' Fantasy Sports Trade Association The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. president Greg Ambrosius, operator of a national fantasy-baseball contest that charges a $1,250 entry fee and offers payoffs of $5,000 to $100,000, claimed it's different from gambling because it's ``a game of skill, not a game of luck.'' How exactly is it different, again? A fantasy-baseball participant studies the past performances of major- league players, decides which ones to select in a draft or auction, then sees how the combined statistics of his make-believe team compare to others in his league. He antes up money, and he wins big if he was skillful skill·ful adj. 1. Possessing or exercising skill; expert. See Synonyms at proficient. 2. Characterized by, exhibiting, or requiring skill. enough to pick a winning team. He is commonly pictured as a freckle-faced lad who just loves his hardball. A ``traditional'' gambler studies the past performances of baseball teams, or football teams or racehorses, decides which ones to back with wagers, then roots like heck as the competition plays out. He plops down his money, and cashes in if he was skillful enough to back winners. He is commonly pictured as a mustard-stained scrounge scrounge v. scrounged, scroung·ing, scroung·es Slang v.tr. 1. To obtain (something) by begging or borrowing with no intention of reparation: , a point-shaving scandal waiting to happen. Ambrosius says it's different because good and bad luck even out over a six-month baseball season. But the same might be true if you bet today on who'll win the next World Series, or the next Super Bowl or the next Kentucky Derby. Gamblers Anonymous instructs compulsive gamblers to avoid risking money, in any amount, on any game ``that depends upon chance or skill.'' I come to this issue not from the standpoint of an anti-gambling crusader. Quite the opposite. After writing about horse racing for 15 years, and enjoying the challenge of picking winners, I'm sensitive to the double standard that baseball is helping to promote. With Fantasy Baseball Guide under your arm, you're as American as apple pie. With the Daily Racing Form The Daily Racing Form, LLC (DRF) is a broadsheet newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race horses as a statistical service for bettors on horse racing in the United States. in your back pocket, you're a degenerate. You have been astonished a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. by the inconsistency no matter how you feel about gambling, whether you'd like to see it outlawed in all 50 states or resent the existing prohibitions on adults backing their sports opinions with cash. On one hand, pro and college sports organizations moralize mor·al·ize v. mor·al·ized, mor·al·iz·ing, mor·al·iz·es v.intr. To think about or express moral judgments or reflections. v.tr. 1. To interpret or explain the moral meaning of. about the evils of gambling. On the other hand, they rationalize stamping NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= logos on poker chips, allowing the Sacramento Kings' owners to operate casinos, and accepting Massachusetts Lottery sponsorship for the Boston Red Sox's World Series trophy The Commissioner's Trophy is awarded each year by Major League Baseball to the team winning the World Series. Recent trophy designs consist of 30 flags representing the 30 teams in North America's two top leagues, the National League and the American League. tour. And now baseball is paying $50 million over five years to the major league players' association to take control of licensing the online outlets that service fantasy leagues. It used to be said that major-league baseball was a business, and everybody accepted that necessary evil. Now Major League Baseball (note the capital letters) is a corporation with bottom-line ethics, determined to slap its brand on every aspect of the sport if there's a dollar to be extracted. Maybe Pete Rose's mistake wasn't gambling on baseball. It was gambling on baseball in a way that didn't give Bud Selig a cut. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion