NFL News:

• Just the worst news: Nick Foles’ wife had a miscarriage, so that’s why he left OTAs.
  • She developed pneumonia during her 15th week, and complications induced labour.
    • It was too early to be viable.

• More CBA news: the owners will be pushing for an 18-game season.
  • More games = more legalized gambling = more team revenue.
  • In return, according to the Washington Post, many owners are willing to offer players concessions to the commissioner’s disciplinary authority and to the marijuana policy.
  • Reminder: the current CFL model is an 18-game regular season, with two bye weeks, and a two-game preseason.

RANT!:  

I know I’ve gone off on this before, but I have had it up to fucking here with the Toronto-centric sports media in this country and their desire to ram the Raptors down my throat. The closest would be having all the US sports channels advocating for the Yankees, or English channels advocating for Man U. It leads every broadcast, and the centralization of all media means that it’s the lead story pretty much everywhere. I can only escape by not watching TV, which is hard because it did more to raise me than my own family.

Now, I’m not an idiot. (source?) I get that it’s a big deal that a Canadian team is challenging for a US title for the first time. I remember in 1992 when the Blue Jays made their first World Series. As an Expos fan, I equally hated the “ramming down the throat” of the coverage, especially since you could rarely find Expos games on English TV. And as a Best Coast Canadian, I have more of an affinity for the Mariners than the Blue Jays.

^{And I’ve been hurt before.}

But I understood the concept of embiggening the deal because of the whole first-time aspect.

But this is different, and it’s mostly because the national (sports) media don’t have the Maple Leafs to talk about during Stanley Cup season, and they seem lost having to talk about other teams pursuing a trophy they haven’t competed for since 1967. They were dismissive fucksticks the last time a Canadian team challenged for the Cup, and seem to write-off any other Canadian franchise that dares compete.

The Blue Jays suck so hard right now they make the Orioles look competitive. CFL season is right around the corner, but you’d never know it watching Canadian sports television; [DFO] has consistently better analysis & coverage of the CFL than Sportsnet, the second-biggest sports network in Canada.

There are so many other sports on right now – French Open; Women’s World Cup; U-20 World Cup; Cricket World Cup; AFL – that they don’t need to build this thing up as a life-changing event, like popping one’s cherry. It’s gotten to the point where Vancouver’s city council was even talking about having outdoor viewing parties for Raptors games, under the very asinine name of “Jurassic Park West”. Thankfully, less-idiotic brains put a stop to that idea before typical things happened.

^{Fuck all of these people.}

Also, where were all these fucking people when we were trying to save the Grizzlies? Double fuck these poseurs. I hope the Raptors lose in four straight, and Kawhi Leonard leaves them hanging for – oh, I don’t know – the Clippers.

I will hate-watch the fourth quarter when I get home from work. I hope they’re down 30, Drake’s crying over Rob Ford’s cardiac arrest, and their fair-weather fans boo them off the court.

Tonight’s sports:  

• NBA:
  • Warriors at Raptors – 9:00PM | ABC / Sportsnet
• MLB:
  • Yankees at Red Sox – 7:00PM | Sportsnet360 / MLBN
•  Spelling!
  • 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee – 8:30PM | ESPN / TSN2
•  Herpes!
  • Paradise Hotel – 8:00PM | FOX / City

Here are your prop bets for the Spelling Bee, courtesy betsonline.ag:

Prop:                                                                            Odds:

Number of letters in the winning word               Over 9.5 (+100) / Under 9.5 (-140)
Will the winner have braces?                                 Yes (+200) / No (-300)
Will the winner be wearing glasses?                     Yes (-149) / No (+100)
Will there be co-champions?                                  Yes (+250) / No (-400)
Will the winner be male or female?                      Male (-130) / Female (-110)

None of the eight states that currently have legalized gambling in operation permit betting on the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which takes place this week in Washington D.C. While the legal states vary in their rules, the ones that do permit betting on amateur sports only allow it to be on college sports or the Olympics. So good luck collecting your money from Antigua and Barbuda.