No, Not Tennis!!!!

When reports came out about NBA games possibly being fixed by referees, most of us were upset but knew that a betting scandal is always a possibility in the major sports. Gamblers and organized crime will obviously do whatever they can to get an edge when it comes to betting on sports, but this is getting ridiculous. Bob Bryan, one of the world's top doubles players, told the Los Angeles Times that he knew for a fact that men's tennis players have been the targets of anonymous phone requests to fix matches. Bob and his twin brother Mike are currently the top doubles team in the world, and he is also a member of the ATP Players Council. Here's his quote about the situation: "I don't know of any players that have ever gambled on tennis. But there have been some anonymous calls to players' rooms with some monetary offerings. I know that. And I know every player I've talked to has turned it down." This all came up because the ATP is looking into suspicious betting on a match last week between Russian Nikolay Davydenko and Argentina's Vassallo Arguello. Betfair, a British-based online gambling site, voided all bets on the match because of suspicious circumstances. Over $7 million in wagers were placed in favor of Arguello, most of which were placed after Davydenko won the first set. Arguello ended up winning the match when Davydenko retired due to a foot injury. Davydenko's agent claims that neither the player nor his entourage were involved. Davydenko is currently ranked fifth in the world. We can't believe it. Our beloved tennis may have fallen victim to the world of organized crime. OK, I can't pull this off, I haven't watched an entire men's tennis match in like four years, if that. But I think this story is hilarious. Who bets on tennis? I didn't even know you could. And you think that might look a little suspicious if a ton of money comes in on the lower ranked dude after he's already down a set? Seriously, I thought organized crime was supposed to be, oh I don't know, organized. Well on the bright side, when he blows his next match he should have won, Andy Roddick will have another excuse in his back pocket. As I've said before, anything is better than the Big Mac defense.