Maddux Sports Blog

We don’t talk about swimming here much for obvious reasons, but a story today caught my attention. Michael Phelps is currently swimming at a World Cup meet in Stockholm. He’s not at his peak fitness by his own admission, and he’s sporting a beard, so he clearly isn’t looking to set world records. He’s still Michael Phelps, though, so it is very significant that he failed to qualify for two of his first three finals at the meet. The most glaring explanation for this is the swim suit. Swimming is doing the right thing next year by banning the ridiculous high tech swimsuits that have so changed the sport over the last couple of years. In anticipation of that, Phelps is using a regular suit at this meet while his competition uses high tech ones. This is a clear example of just how much of an impact the suits have. It seems ridiculous that a sport would allow something that would change the sport so fundamentally. It would be like MLB suddenly deciding to allow aluminum bats, or using softballs instead of baseballs. Those changes would make a mockery of hitting records just like the new suits have destroyed the meaning of world records.

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Very surprising happenings in Copenhagen today. Chicago was the co-betting favorite to win the right to host the 2016 Olympics. There were four cities competing – also favored Rio, lightly regarded Madrid (Given little chance because 2012 are in nearby London), and Tokyo which was given little chance by anyone. There were to be as many as three ballots, with one city eliminated on each ballot. Despite the presence of the two most important people in the country – Obama and Oprah – Chicago was shockingly eliminated on the first ballot. You can suggest any one of a hundred different theories for why this happened, but it all just boils down to the ridiculous politics of the IOC. On the plus side, Rio might be a bit chaotic in the organizing, but it should be a heck of a party when it happens.

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For the first time in a long time, a UFC event is being overshadowed – in a very big way – by a good old boxing match. It’s not that surprising, really – UFC 103 is a lousy card full of less than captivating fights without headline names, while the boxing match features the return of one of the top fighters of this or any time after a two year break against a stellar pound-for-pound star.

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I just finished watching that crazy New England game. There is a lot to digest there, and it will take a few days, and probably a second viewing, to digest it all. Tom Brady mostly looked pretty good, though he was tentative in the first half. It was amazing how many passes he threw, and how well he connected with Randy Moss again after a year apart. He still has a lot of work to do, though. The biggest first impression from that game, though, is that the Bills didn’t deserve to lose that one. They were outplayed in most ways by the Patriots, but they were tough when it counted and they deserved better than that ending. Alex van Pelt may not have been much of a quarterback, but he did a remarkable job of getting a team ready after taking over the offensive coordinator gig just a week ago. Buffalo may not be nearly as bad as I thought they would be, and the Pats have a whole lot of work to do to prove they are still worthy of their reputation.

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- Sports betting was dealt a significant blow today. A federal court of appeal was supposed to rule on the sports leagues’ attempts to get an injunction to stop Delaware from starting sports betting on September 1. They decided not to stop there, though – they went all the way and ruled that the whole thing broke the law. Delaware can still appeal to the Supreme Court, or even ask the court of appeals to reconsider, but the chances of success seem bleak. The NFL has admitted that the state is allowed to take multi-game bets – parlays and the like – but they can’t do single game bets. It’s the single game bets that were going to be the most attractive, so the state may not even bother going forward with their plans now. Very disappointing.

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1. The Florida Gators have been voted as the most overwhelming preseason number one in college football history. I don’t see it. I could see the team going undefeated and adding a third title in four years, but I could just as easily see them lose a couple of games. They aren’t dominant enough to justify this kind of attention.

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Goodbye, Arena Football. It’s been fun. I guess. As I am sure you have probably heard, the AFL liked taking the last year off so much that they have made their absence permanent. They have ceased operations indefinitely, and are reportedly about to declare bankruptcy. It’s the end of a 22 year era.

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Wow, am I ever glad that people don’t bet on swimming. Or maybe people do, but only the real degenerates. What’s going on right now at the World Championships is that swimming has descended into being a total mockery of a sport, and they seem to have little interest in doing anything about it.

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I’ve mentioned it a few times over the last three weeks, so if you read this blog the you have probably guessed I am a big fan of the race. I haven’t always been. I watched the last three or four Armstrong victories pretty closely, lost much of the interest when he retired, and became far more obsessed by it than I would have guessed this year. I’m a huge Lance Armstrong fan for a lot of reasons. I think he’s the most ridiculously talented, freakish athletic there is. I am in awe of his competitive fire and his will. I’m also pretty loyal to his cause – my mom died of cancer last year when she was far too young, so I’m not a huge fan of the disease.

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The major sports leagues in the U.S. are not just going to sit back and let Delaware legalize sports betting. They obviously fear that it would establish a dangerous precedent. If you haven’t followed it, here’s a quick summary – the state of Delaware has decided to legalize sports betting as a way to raise more revenue for the state. There will be a lottery as well, but the controversial idea s that they will have Vegas-style sports books located in the existing race tracks in the state. Other states, especially New Jersey, are watching very closely because they would be interested in doing the same – in Atlantic City in New Jersey’s case. The state pushed through the legislation quickly and intends to have it up and running in time for the wildly lucrative football season. The leagues aren’t happy about it at all. They are outwardly opposed to gambling in any form, and their position is that they fear that widespread gambling will lead to corruption within the sport, or at least it will allow questions to be raised each time there is a close finish or a controversial call. In an attempt to stop progress in Delaware the four major sports and the NCAA have banded together and have sued the state.

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