Shocked ... at 'gambling' in Sports

"This story is not intended as a tip sheet, but is an account of significant betting taking place in the sports world."

The disclaimer, which started running at the end of each Behind the Lines column weeks ago after yet another reader had blamed it for his losing bet, is a sign that some readers don't see much difference between reporting on betting and endorsing it. Let 'em call their bookies, at least one reader has said of those who follow the column.

That's missing the point, says Sports Editor Randy Harvey: The spread on games means a lot to fans who don't gamble. "There’s hardly a conversation among sports fans about an upcoming game or event that doesn’t begin with the words, 'What’s the spread?' A consistent point of contention is why a team is favored and by how much. I’m guessing most people who have these conversations wouldn’t know how to place a bet even if they wanted to, at least not through an illegal bookmaker."

Still, there are plenty who follow teams purely for the lines, and that’s the focus of the feature, which runs several times a week. The May 31 column of the Lakers’ 100-92 win over San Antonio, for example, reported that the Lakers were 7 1/2 -point favorites, and the game-ending three-point basket at the buzzer “stressed out gamblers.”

Reporter Lonnie White says he's learned a lot about betting since he started writing the column. "I'm a sportswriter with a background in sports, not a gambler with a background in gambling," he says, and he's startled at the "incredible amount" of response he gets. Most appreciate the information, he says, and most of the time when readers contact him it is to discuss the spread.

That touches on another reason Harvey says the column belongs in Sports: “We had hoped that by assigning a reporter to pay attention to spreads that we could more clearly track the trends in the lines. If a team is favored by 7 when the week begins and by only 2 when the week ends, then something has occurred—an injury, a suspension, etc.—that we should probably know about.”

Few readers bring up the morality of what he covers, says White; he hears more often from expert gamblers who point out mistakes. He marvels at how right the gamblers get it, starting with the Vegas oddsmakers who first set the odds, then the others who set the spreads.  White says it’s a “huge mystery” to him how they are able to be “so right, 95% of the time." He expects to learn more as he continues writing the column.

But Harvey emphasizes: "Lonnie doesn’t give betting advice. It’s not a tout sheet. It’s simply looking behind the betting lines and explaining why a team is favored and why the point spread is what it is. We could bury our heads in the sand and deny that this is part of sports, but that would be incredibly stupid."