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Sports still waiting for active gay playerBasketball Betting Lines02/08/2007 - A pro athlete who waits until his career is over to declare he's gay, the way John Amaechi just did in a new book, is yesterday's news. He has something to sell, little to lose and does less to advance the cause he's fighting for - helping sports get over its homophobia - than he might have. There's no dishonor in that. It's what happens when you work within the system: you spark debate, maybe change some minds over the long haul and pick up a few bucks for baring your pain. So no disrespect to John Amaechi. But it's been done before. Homosexuality has been one of sports' little morality plays since the ancient Greeks made contests of running, jumping and boxing, then gossiped about them afterward. Long and loud as the discussion has been at times, nobody from any of the big team sports has gone on the record while still playing the game. Not much will change until he does. But you better find a seat. Something tells me the final act of ``Waiting for Gaydot,'' could start any minute. ``It's a shame all gay people can't turn green for just one day, so everybody's jaw would drop, and then maybe we could move past a lot of this stuff,'' said Jim Buzinski, co-founder of Outsports.com. ``Until then, we'll take another small step forward. It's always a positive, and I applaud John for what he did. In terms of encouraging others, everybody knows their own circumstances and deals with it. ... ``I think the fears are overblown,'' he added, ``but until the first person comes out, we won't really know.'' No. Even so, it's getting easier to make an educated guess. It's difficult to imagine too many owners balking at the idea of an openly gay athlete on their team, unlike Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier, back in the day. Most, in fact, would line up with their wallets out for the opportunity to market him. Though his players weren't uniformly enthusiastic, commissioner David Stern said about Amaechi's book: ``We have a very diverse league. The question at the NBA is always 'Have you got game?' That's it, end of inquiry.'' A call to NFL headquarters produced a similar response. ``Society is more open and tolerant than it's ever been. I don't think anybody would care,'' spokesman Greg Aiello said, ``other than how he was performing.'' Last June, the NFL flew in former defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo - who like Amaechi came out after retiring - to speak to the incoming rookie class about sexual orientation. That was after Tuaolo talked to the league staff about the same topic in New York a few months earlier. Considering how little the NFL likes being surprised, Aiello was asked whether he could imagine a football player coming out any time soon. ``I'm sure it will happen someday,'' he said. ``I don't see why not.'' You could have come up with a thousand reasons why as recently as four years ago, when an online and print rumor campaign prompted Mike Piazza, who was playing for the Mets at the time, to deny he was gay. Almost everybody still was fleeing the stigma attached, convinced it could spell the end of a career. Even former major leaguer Billy Bean - who, like Amaechi, waited until he retired to come out - was convinced it would take a player as special as Jackie Robinson in every way to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality. The bar is considerably lower now. There are more teammates, coaches, sponsors, lawyers, security guards and even fans willing to stand alongside him than Robinson dared dream of. To be sure, as Amaechi's book will make clear, there's still some resistance at every level. A player as special as LeBron James said there's issues of trust to be resolved, and he still doubted an openly gay person could survive in the league. ``I don't think so,'' James said. But he's in the minority. Thousands of ball players have worked, traveled, showered and dressed in the same locker room together for more than a century. Most understand now it's a numbers game, although something then-Phillies manager Larry Bowa said about numbers during the Piazza episode still applies. ``All I know,'' Bowa said, ``is that if he hits .340, it probably would be easier than if he hits .220.'' --- Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitkeap.org Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance. Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it? If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.) Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa). In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech. Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down. (Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28) If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you. Atlantic Coast Conference Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
Work left to do: Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's. Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win). Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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