Current news
Not Gambling? Seriously.
The following piece was published at BaseballHQ.com back on April 17, 2015. That was before the Fanduel/DraftKings legal implosion the following fall. And it was before last week’s Supreme Court decision leaving the legalization of sports betting to the states. The gambling landscape is changing. This article might be one of my greatest forecasting achievements. Maybe.…
Read MoreOur overflowing disabled lists
This is my ESPN Insider column for the week. When we draft our teams each year, we count on the higher-ranked players to be more productive, more reliable and to spend more time on the field than on the disabled list. It’s a valiant expectation. But history shows that the level of attrition among baseball’s…
Read MoreMy Grievances Against Fan-Kings
I recently received an email from a respected colleague and industry leader. He asked me, “What are your grievances against Fanduel and DraftKings?” Several long-time industry friends have asked me similar questions over the past year. I am one of the few fantasy industry veterans who has not fallen into lockstep with a blindly pro-DFS…
Read MoreImportant Articles – Please Read
The following three articles are important updates on current DFS legislation. If you are about to click away because you don’t play DFS, stop. This directly affects season-long games. Fanduel and DraftKings have been pushing forward their own goals at the expense of the industry as a whole. That is why I have been advocating for…
Read MoreMy fandom has been contaminated
Once upon a time, I was a New York Mets fan. I never had to think too hard. I just root, root, rooted for the home team, and immersed myself in the social aspect of fandom. That meant beer, dogs and yelling a lot. This morning I woke up feeling sick. Yes, my Mets lost…
Read MoreDeconstructing DFS: Separating the Game from the Gambling
The fantasy sports industry has shifted into defense mode to combat the threat of coming regulation. Their case rests on a carve-out in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) that provides a definition for what constitutes a legal game. The core issue: is fantasy sports a game of chance or a game…
Read MoreThe Fuzzy Place Where Daily Fantasy Lives
When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006, daily fantasy sports (DFS) were not in existence. One could argue that the law might have been worded differently had DFS been around then – a fact corroborated by one of the law’s writers – but the current fantasy sports carve-out still has…
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