how shady or legit is the NFL ?

[Crying Ramtard]

http://spaces.covers.com/blog/Maximu...or-Profit.html

http://thefixisin.net/nfl.html

I'm not betting my farm on how true this is but it makes a lot of sense to me. The NFL is an entertainment business and can bend a games outcome when they so choose.

So during a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Diego Chargers the Steelers were favored by 3. Nearly 70 percent of the betting public was on Pittsburgh, with a reported $100 million in potential earnings. The score with less than a minute to go, 11-10 Pittsburgh and SD with the ball. After an errant lateral gets knocked away by Troy Polamalu, he scoops it and scores. The score is now 17-10, there is no time left, all teams head to the locker room, fans go to cash their tickets.

After several minutes of debate, the refs overturn the call, restoring a meaningless TD off the board making the final score 11-10, the Steelers win, the public loses. What I found to be most odd about it is the league's explanation of a "forward pass". The pass was ruled forward although it is obvious it was a backwards lateral. When I got home, I starting thinking that things were just to good to be true.

Sportscenter reported the money lost in Vegas and almost joked about it. They were literally laughing. So after this bad beat, I held around some serious thoughts about the legitimacy of pro football.

An opportunity came up in my graduate school where I was to write my project on any topic I was to choose. So I chose researching the "Showbiz manipulations of the NFL". I picked up several books including Dan Moldea's "Interference: How Organized Crimes Influence Professional Football", Brian Touhy's "The Fix Is In" , Roger L. Martins "Fixing the Game". I checked out several TV Marketing books from the college library and also several TV Business books.

I utilized my rights under the Freedom of Information Act passed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 to access over 40 years of FBI files on the NFL although some information was redacted. Here's what I found:

.

Contrary to popular belief and to what he NFL wants you to think, there have been fixed games in league history. On page 308 of Dan Moldea's book "Interference" he lists over 70 NFL games that have been fixed and includes the names of the 2 referees involved in fixing those games. He also lists interviews with NFL HOF players most notably KC Chiefs QB Len Dawson. He, in detail with documented facts supported by FBI documents, has interviews with NFL players and known gambling associates to uncover massive game fixing in the league. He also notes, with evidence, throughout the book that no fewer than 26 NFL team owners have or have had continuous and developing relationships with the gambling world, most notably the Rooney, Bidwill, and Mara families all getting their starts as Bookmakers for established mid-west crime families and buying their NFL franchises with moneys earned from gambling. So that in and of itself is a hypocrisy number 1 on the NFL's "lilly white" reputation.

NFL Referees are part-time employees of the NFL. They are not employees of any team nor do they get paid anywhere close to the sums of NBA refs. NFL refs make between $25K to $70K per season. They work for the league and do what the league tells them to do. They are not there for "the integrity of the game". Referees, unlike other sports, are bound by NFL mandated gag orders which prevent them from talking to the media.

2. The NFL possesses an Anti-Trust Exemption to the law granted to it by President John F. Kennedy, which ultimately allows the NFL to classify itself as "entertainment" rather than sport, as well as incorporate itself as a single entity instead of the 32 separate "franchises" they would want you to believe. Contrary to the perception of the NFL being 32 separate franchises battling it out for gridiron supremacy. In a franchised environment, such as McDonalds (Business 101), each franchise is individually owned and operated and can participate in national promotions, have its own local promotions, or abstain from participating (hence the fine print in commercials saying "at participating locations".

This keeps the regionality of competition in tact without having to compete on a national level. MLB has this status, the NFL does not. Instead, since the NFL has this Anti-Trust exemption, it is able to package its teams in order to sell to national television companies, which today totals $6 Billion in revenue for the league. That is 75% of the leagues total annual revenue. In a 2004 lawsuit vs the NFL, the NFL attorney Gregg H. Levy argued that "the NFL is not a collection of 32 individual teams, but rather a single entity. And as long as the NFL teams are a unit, and they compete as a unit in the entertainment marketplace, then they should be deemed a single unit and not subject to any Anti-Trust laws."

There is only another "sports" organization that I can think of that follows this, the WWE. Levy also argued that the league markets its products and merchandise as a whole to promote the NFL as a whole. These arguments led all the way to lockout during the 2011 offseason. The league would still earn $5 Billion in revenue, even without a single game being played.

Professional sports is the only industry without ANY federal oversight. Therefore the league can do and go as they see fit, this is something the players were concerned about going into the lockout, the NFL players themselves sought help from US Congress asking for oversight of the NFL. And NFL players wanted an explanation as to why the NFL owners were granted an Anti-Trust exemption in the first place. They didn't get it.

The NFL proved in this lawsuit that they see themselves as a single unit in the "entertainment" industry and the unique league revenue sharing strategy is not common amongst professional sports leagues.

Robert Kraft and John Mara are two of the most business savvy and highly respected NFL owners. Kraft is in charge of the NFL TV broadcast committee and also leads all television negotiations for the NFL. Kraft also is on the board of directors for Viacom, the parent company of CBS, one of NFL's broadcasters. This past Spring, Robert Kraft negotiated a record TV deal for the NFL which will result in $24 Billion in revenue with CBS, FOX, ESPN and NBC. Kraft and Mara also brought both parties to the table and led all negotiations in ending the lockout.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank was interviewed saying "It is predetermined that these two teams would be here, I wish my team was selected to be in the Super Bowl one day, but these two gentlemen deserve it". And the Giants posted themselves as victors before the game, the NFL claimed it was "an overzealous employee".

The 49ers need a new stadium, with the same players as Mike Singletary, and a Alex Smith in a contract year, the 49ers post a 13-3 record and make it to the NFC Championship. But what they don't tell you is how the stadium deal is structured. 80% of the funding comes from Bank of America and US Bank. 20% financed by the State of California using tax dollars.

The 49ers have pledged to pay back the State in 5 seasons with help from revenue sharing from NFL owners. What better way to pay someone back quickly than with packed stadiums and extra playoff game revenue.

On MNF they found themselves in a blackout. Steelers safety Ryan Clark said "it was to show the league they need a new stadium and the 49ers caused the blackout". Why would he say this if shadiness wasn't common practice? You can view his opinions here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/9...off-his-rocker.

Ravens players complained that the 2007 Patriots were " being handed games by refs" in their quest for perfection. And I have over 40 years of information on NFL business dealings and how these owners "miraculously" found themselves holding the Lombardi Trophy.

Let's look at the 2011 season and see how television ratings connected with some of the league's most important games, and quickly view how the referees controlled games.

Week 1: NFL Announces ESPN will pay $1billion per game of MNF through the 2021 season. In a tribute to 9/11 20 million + viewers tuned in as the Jets mounted a magic 14 point comeback over the Cowboys. Number of penalties called the Jets = 0

Week 2: The NFL's rule changes make for a more exciting game as scoring is way up. Much like the AFL days of the 60's, 72% of the games went over the total and TV ratings are now through the roof. The league emphasises "the year of the QB".

Week 3: Packers vs Bears: The Bears return a punt return for a TD which would've ultimately allowed them to cover the spread. Instead a fantom holding call overturned the TD. It was the 10th penalty of the game for the Bears vs. 1 penalty for the Packers. You can see the play here: http://youtu.be/_w-pXfjbYHk

Week 6: The Beginning of the Tim Tebow Era. Tim Tebow has a HUGE, and I mean HUGE Christian following. The guy can't hit a barn, but a decent athlete. Yet as the third string QB he is thrust into the starting role and the team magically "changes the entire offense" in a matter of weeks to suit him? Tebow was the number 1 jersey seller for the league without even stepping foot on the field. It was time to make him a star and they did ripping off several "magical" victories with poultry statistics. These teams were handing them games. If you didn't notice this, all I need to say it two words : Marion Barber. All the while the NFL is forcing religion down our throats with God's quarterback.

Week 7: The Jags are close to a sale, the possible new owners just need one more hint of encouragement to prevent buyers remorse. In come the Ravens. After the Saints destruction of the Colts on SNF. Vegas was in trouble. ESPN was in trouble because no one was going to watch this snore fest. The Ravens didn't get a first down until late in the fourth quarter and the Jags win with 4 FG's. Sale complete, Vegas wins. You lose.

[rabblerouser]

All kinds of PROOF on this page...

And Hoosier2.0 has nothing but jokes about his dick.

Perpetually Jr. High.


'Santa Claus is real!! I've believed in Santa ALL MY LIFE - he HAS to be real!!!


Waaaaaaah!! Waaaaaaah!!!'

Lol

[Crying Ramtard]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

you're so dumb

so before a player signs an NFL contract they are told they will be fixing games and they can never tell anyone, ever!!!!!

and so no one ever does

not a single one has ever Jose Canseco'd the league

YEAH MAN

I BELIEVE THAT

80% of NFL players go broke 3 years after leaving the league

AND YOU WANT ME TO BELIEVE THESE GUYS, THESE BROKE DESPERATE FORMER PLAYERS WHO FIXED NFL GAMES, ARE STILL GOING TO ABIDE BY THIS GENTLEMAN AGREEMENT TO NOT TELL EVERYONE "HEY, THEY MADE US FIX GAMES!"

you

are

dumb

that's why they go broke. they weren't bright to begin with

[Hootie]

my uncle who works at arrowhead told me santa is real

didn't want to believe it

I love santa

but it's true

he's real

uncle jimmy from arrowhead who delivers the mail told me

he works at arrowhead

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by ram29jackson

that's why they go broke. they weren't bright to begin with

as soon as you can explain to me how players have never Jose Canseco'd before


and we're talking about tens of thousands of players

maybe I'd take you seriously (I won't)

you're

so

dumb

so

so

so

so

dumb

[Hootie]

and if everyone is in on the fix why did the Jets rat out the Pats for Spygate?

you really think the NFL wanted to deal with that?

why was that part of the plan? that was for entertainment? make everyone think a successful team is cheating so that they can profit?

yeah!

[BlackOp]

I think some are projecting a sense of "right and wrong" on an industry mired in corruption...like the men who run a gambling racket care about morality/integrity. This happens a lot..happens in politics too. They have professional speech writers manipulate the public..to cover the malfeasance..like a smiley face on a Wal-Mart bag.

To assume everything is legitimate is ignorant...it hasn't worked that way..ever..throughout history.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

as soon as you can explain to me how players have never Jose Canseco'd before


and we're talking about tens of thousands of players

maybe I'd take you seriously (I won't)

you're

so

dumb

so

so

so

so

dumb

Paul Hourning was going to...until Pete Rozelle let him back in the league.

Len Dawson told the FBI that Super Bowl IV was rigged

Bubba smith said Super bowl I I I was rigged

It's happened. You just never paid attention.

Because

You

Don't

Know

As

Much

As

You

Think

You

Do

[Hootie]

you're talking about the NFL before it was really the NFL

I'm talking about the 2014 NFL

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

I think some are projecting a sense of "right and wrong" on an industry mired in corruption...like the men who run a gambling racket care about morality. This happens a lot..happens in politics too. They have professional speech writers manipulate the public..to cover the malfeasance..like a smiley face on a Wal-Mart bag.

To assume everything is legitimate is ignorant...it doesn't work that way..ever..throughout history.

Exactly.

The thought that his beloved NFL not being pure is causing cognitive dissonance in Hoosier2.0's little bitty brain. Probably makes his head hurt. I'm laughing....and he's getting mad lol

And I'M the 'dumb one' lol

Either that, or he works for the League or the Chiefs and is a troll.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

you're talking about the NFL before it was really the NFL

I'm talking about the 2014 NFL

So, you admit that the NFL has fixed games??

Good.

And...those players played in the NFL when it was the NFL.

Those games were fixed to force the merger.

I'm not as dumb as you think.

[Crying Ramtard]

Originally Posted by rabblerouser

All kinds of PROOF on this page...

And Hoosier2.0 has nothing but jokes about his dick.

Perpetually Jr. High.


'Santa Claus is real!! I've believed in Santa ALL MY LIFE - he HAS to be real!!!


Waaaaaaah!! Waaaaaaah!!!'

Lol

that's the beauty of my upbringing. I was made to know from the start Santa was fake. I learned logic and reality way sooner then most youth to begin with. That must be a factor in this somehow

[Crying Ramtard]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

you're talking about the NFL before it was really the NFL

I'm talking about the 2014 NFL

its been going on since the mid 60s and they've gotten better..and worse in some cases..at presentation.

in the 50s they just straight threw the games. in the 60s they learned how to make it business model

[rabblerouser]

Next time your friend(s) argue with you over the notion of the NFL fixing their own games for "entertainment purposes," higher ratings, more profit, etc. drop this little nugget on them: The NFL earns approximately $6 billion a year (more than 60% of its revenue which is enough to pay every players' and coaches' salary in the league) from its TV broadcast partners - ABC/ESPN/Disney, NBC, CBS/DirectTV, and FOX. Only Time Warner isn't directly involved with the NFL, though they do own*Sports Illustrated*and HBO - which aired*Inside the NFL*for 31 years.*NO OTHER*BUSINESS*IN THE UNITED STATES IS DIRECTLY AFFILIATED WITH OR FUNDED BY THESE MAJOR MEDIA CONGLOMERATES EXCEPT THE NFL. Think about the implications of that.

2013 NFL :

Week 1

Ah, nothing like an entire off-season to get all the kinks worked out of the NFL's rules, right? And nothing like witnessing two prominent games get outright altered by incorrect calls. First there was the*Packers-49ers*game as seen in the video here which it seems was messed up in several ways and led to*the harshest discipline the NFL can hand out to a referee, by downgrading*Bill Leavy. Then, in the second game of the Monday Night Football doubleheader, the referees*wrongly gave the Texans an extra set of downs*which led to a touchdown and helped propel them to a win over the*Chargers.

Two screw jobs, and yet*NFL ratings were through the freakin' roof. Oh yes, the Packers-49ers game was the highest rated TV since the*Academy Awardsback in February, and Monday night'sEagles-Redskins*game was the highest ever rated opener for ESPN. Apparently fans just don't care if games can be and/or are manipulated....they just want their football.

Oh, yeah. And somehow, someway theJets*won.


*Week 2

There's only one stat you need to know thus far into the 2013 NFL Season. Well, maybe two. The first, less important statistic is that Week 1 saw the most passing yards for a single week in all of NFL history...until this week. What do great passing games bring? High scores, exciting games, and superstar quarterbacks for the NFL to promote. The league used to mock the high flying' style of the 1960s AFL - now it's become what it once laughed at.

The more important stat is this:*32 games played thus far, and 22 ended with a margin of victory of 7 points or less. Close games keep people watching to the bitter end, something the NFL and its broadcasting/advertising partners love.*

But it's all just a coincidence, right?


*Week 3

Who was paying any attention to the*Browns vs. Vikingsgame this week? My guess? Hardly anyone, but that's the best time to sneak one by NFL fans.

Both teams stink, but the Browns were in an arguably bigger tailspin. Sure, Vikings owner*Zygi Wilf*just*lost a $84.5 million dollar judgement against him*(where he was accused of acting "mob-like"), but the team's stadium deal is in place.

However the Browns had some 'splainin' to do to their fans after trading away the former #3 overall draft pick and "building block"*Trent Richardson*to the Colts. On top of that seemingly strange move, the team benched starting QB*Brandon Weeden*in favor of*Brian Hoyer.*All of this caused bettors to pile on the home favored Vikings in the game. But guess what happened?

The Browns won.

Why? Besides the betting aspect of it all, perhaps they won because the Browns have three straight home games, one of which is a prime time Thursday night game against Buffalo. This win, this glimmer of hope will fill seats and make both fans and*the still-under-investigation-by-the-FBI owner Jimmy Haslamhappy...for a while, at least. And best of all, no one seemed to notice.
*

*Week 4

It's a tale of two*Mannings. To begin with, the first family of football was officially sainted with the broadcast premiere of ESPN's*The Book of Manning. Ick.

But on the field, the brothers' paths have officially diverged.*Peyton*is doing his part to set the NFL record books on fire while football pundits everywhere are drooling over the*Broncos, already setting their places at the Super Bowl table (to rematch*Drew Brees*and the Saints, perhaps?).

Meanwhile,*Eli*and the*Giants*are falling off the proverbial cliff. Their 0-4 start, though, shouldn't be a surprise to anyone due to the*"curse"*which has prevented any host city from seeing their team play in the Super Bowl. The NFL has been an amazing 0-47 when it comes to seeing a team play a "home" Super Bowl. With the Giants tanking while the anemic*Jetssomehow sit at 2-2, it doesn't appear as if this bizarre streak is going to end this year.

*Week 5

How 'bout them*Cowboys, huh? More like, how about that 4th highest scoring game in NFL history between the*Broncos*and Cowboys? You like that game, NFL purists? Because let me tell you right now, this game is a vision of the future of the NFL.

Did you catch the*PBS Frontline documentary*League of Denial*about brain injuries in the NFL? If not,*watch it here. Then realize because of this, and the resultant class-action lawsuit filed by affected players, the NFL you know and love is going to cease to exist in the matter of a decade. What it will be replaced by will resemble Sunday's duel between*Manning*and*Romo. Wide open, high scoring, and not a lot of punishment (plus, close games to the bitter end). If you don't like it, get out now because it won't get better.

Also, how many chances were the refs going to give the falling*Falcons*on Monday Night? Sheesh. Two fourth-and-goal fails saved by penalties on the*Jets? And the Jets still won. Figure that out.
*

**Week 6

Boston Strong, anyone?

Talk about a boon for*Fox Sports. The network first broadcasts the featured 4 pm NFL game -*Saints vs. Patriots. So what happens? Led byall-everything-that's-not-Peyton-Manning,*Tom Brady, the Patsies are gifted not one, but two, late 4th quarter chances to win the game. The Saints could've put away the game twice, but instead settled for a field goal to go up 4 points, then have to punt to the Patriots. Brady takes this second chance, marches 70 yards in less than 90 seconds without a time-out at his disposal, and wins the game with a touchdown pass on which no one on the Saints plays defense.*In other words - the Saints handed them a win.

This is immediately followed by Game 2 of the*Red Sox vs. TigersALCS. The Tigers led 5-1 going into the bottom of the 8th, then began another inexplicable Boston comeback. With two outs in the inning and two men on, Boston loads the bases and*David Oritz*hits a game-tying grand slam. Ok, fine. Then comes the bottom of the 9th.Johnny Gomes*singles, reaches second on a wild throw, gets to third on a wild pitch, and scores the winning run on a single.

Suspect? One comeback, maybe not. Two, involving the same city on the same network in the same night...?


*Week 7

From*Boston Strong*to*Boston Weak. This time around, the*Red Soxlose Game 3 of the World Series on the "walkoff obstruction" call, and a few days earlier, the*Patriots*lose on the new rule instituted this season against pushing lineman into the offensive formation during a kick. There was much confusion -*some called conspiracy because of a late change to the NFL's website regarding the rule*- but apparently this was correctly enforced. Well, this time.*Thanks to the Jets alerting the officials prior to the game.*(it's Spygate all over again). There are other examples of this infraction not being called at all...which is why the NFL is so open to manipulation. Subjective calls like this are not made on a consistent basis. Sometimes a team lives by the sword, and sometimes they die by it.

Meanwhile, in the*Peyton Manninghomecoming event, it was*Andrew Luck*rising to the top. All those pundits claiming Peyton was going to make Colts owner*Jim Irsay pay for his negative comments (albeit true comments)*were wrong.*Of course, the Manning on display Sunday night looked nothing like the Manning we've seen in the first six weeks of the season. Was he tanking it to satisfy the fans in the "Dome Manning Built?"
*
he ending of the*Patriots vs. Dolphins*game was a bit suspect. The odd "illegal swatting of the ball" penalty on a fumble recovery cost the Dolphins a late TD and allowed the Patriots to cover the spread. The*Packers*allowed the*Vikings*to stick around a little too long in their Sunday Night game, perhaps to battle the World Series in ratings. Other than that...who knows? Who cares?

I didn't.

http://thefixisin.net/nfl2013.html

[BlackOp]

Originally Posted by rabblerouser

Exactly.

The thought that his beloved NFL not being pure is causing cognitive dissonance

The NFL spends a lot of money to protect that image...the cognitive dissonance is by design. Breast cancer awareness...have players wear pink shoes. This MUST mean they care...right..right? Then you find out they deliberately buried concussions...or tried to cover the Rice situation. They are swindlers..tell you what ever they think you want to hear..

This whole player protection thing is only happening for one reason..the lawsuits. They didn't care before it looked like it would bite into the profits. They care about the community..but unleash 80,000 drunks on the streets after a game...have giant Budweiser billboards for the kids to recognize. Why..major $ponsor...this is just business..with a smile.

[Crying Ramtard]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

and if everyone is in on the fix why did the Jets rat out the Pats for Spygate?

you really think the NFL wanted to deal with that?

why was that part of the plan? that was for entertainment? make everyone think a successful team is cheating so that they can profit?

yeah!

the NFL manipulated the story to make you think a team was rogue and it was an isolated incident.
the public thinks "hey, a team got caught, theres no way a whole league could do this or something like it"