I used to naively think that pro sports were decided by who was the most skilled, motivated, trained hardest, executed the best game plan etc etc but since I spent 3 years living in the USA and got really into NFL and NCAA I now know that's not the case.
It was no secret how much money there was in peoples teasers which finished with Balt -1.5 @ the Jags the other monday. I didn't have one but I did make the mistake of taking the Jags ML in game when it was + money. It was beyond obvious that the refs didn't want the Ravens to win or cover and the extent they went to to keep the Jags second half clock eating drive going was disgusting.
Anyhow.. Channel 4 in the UK shows the late sunday game in each week. They have an English anchor and then some middle aged American guy as the color commentator. The American has made plenty of gambling references over the weeks and talks about how he likes a bet here and there. We get the US play by play callers but when the coverage goes to breaks in the US it goes back to the studio for us and the two guys I mentioned, plus pre game, half time etc.
Last night he said "This game will turn on a Joe Flacco mistake" at halftime. Then Flacco was was strip sacked not long after. I put that down to a good guess. BUT THEN...
With 2 mins to go Pitt gets screwed with the delay of game call and punts back to the Ravens. It cuts to the studio and they have a little back and forth about how Pitt could have ran the clock out better. Then he says "Pitt will really regret that when Baltimore scores a TD here" and very quickly corrected himself by saying "If they score...IF they score" and had the most guilty look plastered all over his face.
Low and behold Baltimore drives up the field and manages to score with about the last play of the game. Add to that the one sided PI calls on Pitt all night. They even showed us coverage of a Ravens defender shoving Cotchery (sp?) out the back of the end zone when Big Ben was trying to throw to him, and they were laughing showing a video of the Ravens O Line dancing round on the line of scrimmage yet no false starts being called.
F*cking disgrace.
It was no secret how much money there was in peoples teasers which finished with Balt -1.5 @ the Jags the other monday. I didn't have one but I did make the mistake of taking the Jags ML in game when it was + money. It was beyond obvious that the refs didn't want the Ravens to win or cover and the extent they went to to keep the Jags second half clock eating drive going was disgusting.
Anyhow.. Channel 4 in the UK shows the late sunday game in each week. They have an English anchor and then some middle aged American guy as the color commentator. The American has made plenty of gambling references over the weeks and talks about how he likes a bet here and there. We get the US play by play callers but when the coverage goes to breaks in the US it goes back to the studio for us and the two guys I mentioned, plus pre game, half time etc.
Last night he said "This game will turn on a Joe Flacco mistake" at halftime. Then Flacco was was strip sacked not long after. I put that down to a good guess. BUT THEN...
With 2 mins to go Pitt gets screwed with the delay of game call and punts back to the Ravens. It cuts to the studio and they have a little back and forth about how Pitt could have ran the clock out better. Then he says "Pitt will really regret that when Baltimore scores a TD here" and very quickly corrected himself by saying "If they score...IF they score" and had the most guilty look plastered all over his face.
Low and behold Baltimore drives up the field and manages to score with about the last play of the game. Add to that the one sided PI calls on Pitt all night. They even showed us coverage of a Ravens defender shoving Cotchery (sp?) out the back of the end zone when Big Ben was trying to throw to him, and they were laughing showing a video of the Ravens O Line dancing round on the line of scrimmage yet no false starts being called.
F*cking disgrace.
