This piece will be mostly self-serving, because it’s gone from amusing to irritating. Therefore, I’ve now reached the point where politeness is not just leaving the premises, it’s sprinting out the door.
I am one half of the Las Vegas Sportsline team, along with Matt Youmans, the outstanding sportswriter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Our show airs weekdays from 2-3 PM PDT on ESPN 1100/ 98.9 FM and we’re fortunate to have a good sized audience. Therefore, it’s a potentially strong vehicle for those in the sports analysis game, particularly if they’re in the business of selling their advice. Good exposure and thus an opportunity to attract website hits and/or sales.
I get approached constantly about availability for guest spots, and this is not a problem. What is a problem is that recent inquiries have been coming from people who must think I’m a complete moron, or at the very least a rube. Stop telling me you’re winning at rates of 70-80% long term. No, you’re not.
I expect to hear this nonsense from the dad who wants to tell me how incredibly sharp his nine-year old kid is at picking football games. Hey, it’s a dad, he loves his kid, and he’s maybe a little guilty of some embellishment. No big deal. Ditto for the guy with the elderly mom who can’t name a single player, but is somehow winning seven out of eight every week on her $5 parlay card. I actually really like hearing these stories, even with the understanding there might be a touch of inaccuracy involved.
But for cryin’ out loud, if you’re trying to impress the hosts of a gambling-oriented show that combined have been around this stuff for like 70 years (mostly on my end, Matt isn’t as grizzled as I am), ya might want to fathom that we’re savvy enough to know the score. Seriously, it’s insulting when you tell me you’re 70% long term in football, 80% in baseball, etc. My only conclusion is that you must think I’m an idiot, and you can take a wild guess as to what my reaction to that will be. In a non-word, GTFOOH. I’ll assume most of you can decode that.
In conclusion, cut it out.