Skip navigation
MOST POPULAR RELATED TAGS
  • TOPICS
  • SECTORS
  • COMPANIES
Sports Biz Video Gallery
TV pitchman Billy Mays was found dead in his Florida home on Sunday. CNBC's Darren Rovell has the details.
The athletic company faces an uphill battle after its earnings fall 30%, reports CNBC's Darren Rovell.
darren rovell's sports index
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

RSS FEED

» Help

Current DateTime: 10:03:24 04 Jul 2009
LinksList Documentid: 30212900

SPORTS BIZ VIDEO GALLERY

» More

Current DateTime: 10:03:24 04 Jul 2009
LinksList Documentid: 30231077
    • TV Pitchman Billy Mays Dead at 50  29 Jun 2009

        TV pitchman Billy Mays was found dead in his Florida home on Sunday. CNBC's Darren Rovell has the details.

    • Nike: Not Doing It  25 Jun 2009

        The athletic company faces an uphill battle after its earnings fall 30%, reports CNBC's Darren Rovell.

    • Likely #1 Draft Pick  25 Jun 2009

        Blake Griffin, the likely number one pick in Thursday's NBA draft, talks to CNBC's Darren Rovell.

    • Kyle Busch  24 Jun 2009

        One of the key selling points of a NASCAR sponsorship is driver access. Kyle Busch spent the day at sponsor M&M, getting a tour of the plant and signing autographs for employees, with CNBC's Darren Rovell.

    • Tony Stewart  24 Jun 2009

        Tony Stewart is a winner both on and off the track. The two-time Sprint Cup Champion also runs a dozen other businesses, including racetracks and a public relations firm, with CNBC's Darren Rovell.

    • Brian France  24 Jun 2009

        The France family has run NASCAR since its inception. Brian France is the third generation of the family to oversee the sport, with CNBC's Darren Rovell.

Sports Biz Blog
Text Size
Nov.26
4:12 AM ET
Monday, 26 Nov 2007
Season-Long Betting Favorites Blow It

Both the "can't miss" betting favorites went down this weekend.

First, Kansas -- which closed as a one-point favorite against Missouri -- lost by eight points.  Up until Saturday night's loss, Kansas had covered 10 straight games (their Sept. 8 game against SE Louisiana did not have a spread). According to R.J. Bell of Pregame.com, the odds of a team doing that were 1,024-to-1.

Then came the big bad Patriots, who had covered every game this season except in their game in Week 9 against the Colts. By the time the game against the Eagles started, the Patriots were 24-point favorites, which Bell says is the biggest favorite in an NFL game in at least 27 years. (By the way, Al Michaels acknowledge the betting story line leading into the break after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter: "On a night when there hadn't been a spread like this in decades," Michaels said.)

The Patriots of course won by three, which will make it interesting to see what number oddsmakers now throw out there for the team's games against the Jets and the Dolphins.

As Bodog sportsbook manager Richard Gardner said last week: "The lines for the Pats keep getting higher and higher, it's not so much that the bookmakers don't think the Pats can cover lines over 20 as they've proven all season that they can, the bookmakers are trying to set the line so high that it will scare off a lot of bettors. Unfortunately, the bettors keep betting on the Patriots regardless of the line."

A Loss That Really Hurts

If the Red Sox didn't win the World Series, it would hurt local sporting goods stores in Boston. But there's quite a story developing in England, where the failure of England's national soccer team to qualify for the European Championships last week not only will cripple sales of sporting goods in the entire country, but will also hurt revenue for Umbro, which is on track to be acquired by Nike [NKE  Loading...      ()   ] by early March.

In fact, due to the disappointment, Umbro will reportedly slash production of its 2008 replica jerseys by 66 percent, representing an amount on the shelves that will be the fewest since 2001.

The reason for this unique situation -- and why this country's market isn't so exposed -- is two-fold. First of all, our country doesn't have a merchandise equivalent of a national soccer team. Secondly, the jerseys of the teams here don't change every year in this country. If they did, then you'd likely see fewer sales in years when the team wasn't playing well.

What's At Steak?

The New York Post reported Friday that Mariano Rivera and his agent celebrated his new $45 million contract at Morton's Steakhouse [MRT  Loading...      ()   ] in White Plains. Good for Mariano, but he shouldn't be doing that. Rivera owns a piece of Mo's New York Grill, a steakhouse in New Rochelle that bears his name.

If Rivera wants a good piece of steak, you'd think he could get it any way he wanted it. By showing up at Morton's, he's compromising his belief in his own restaurant. If Mariano loves the way Morton's prepares steak, he should have someone bring a Morton's steak to Mo's and he should celebrate there. The guy eating dinner with him should have been smart enough to understand the importance of doing that.

Questions?  Comments? 

© 2009 CNBC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Tools:
PrintEmailAdd This share icon
Next Post


Current DateTime: 01:01:47 04 Jul 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:04:09 04 Jul 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 01:01:47 04 Jul 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:04:10 04 Jul 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
CNBCCNBC
About CNBC  |  Site Map  |  Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Service  |  Video Reprints  |  Advertise  |  Help  |  Contact
Partners: AOL Money  |  BloggingStocks.com
CNBC is a Division of NBC Universal
  Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters