Which sports do you believe have the greater chance of being fixed?

[Dr. Jack]

Vote or discuss

[rjb1816]

nba...is by far the biggest. the calls are so close that like donaghy was doing, they could just blow the whistle whenever they want. since there are fouls/no fouls on every play depending on how you look at it

[Bobtheicon]

Seems to me that Boxing has been & will always be the easiest to fix. Only one person needs to be in on the fix to make it happen; and the payoff can be enormous.

Same philosophy, Tennis would also be pretty easy to fix. Hell, any one-on-one type sport would be.

[revnecro1273]

tennis and football (soccer to usa people) are by far the easiest to fix

[Snowman]

horse racing has to be the easiest imo...pretty easy to get to a couple jockeys

[dave nz]

Individual sports in a landslide being the easiest. Or sports where an Individual can single handedly determine what is being bet on eg. cricket.

[skippy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jack

Vote or discuss

Just tricks of the trade, or cheating to win?

By Rob Hughes Published: May 11, 2008

In Romania, not one of Europe's major leagues, five suspects were arrested last week after the police were directed to a suitcase containing €1.7 million, allegedly intended as an incentive to a smaller club to help Steaua Bucharest regain the league title.

Four of the suspects were arrested at a restaurant in possession of the suitcase during the game between Universitatea Cluj and CFR Cluj.

This followed the reported boast of another suspect that he was sending a sum "with lots of zeros" to Cluj. "If you don't lose the match, the money is yours," he reportedly said to Universitatea. "If on the other hand you don't succeed in stopping CFR, the money returns to me."

Universitatea lost, 1-0, and Steaua lost the title.

Romania's anti-corruption officials are investigating to determine whether a crime was committed. Under the country's soccer federation rules, it is illegal to offer bonuses to rival clubs. But in many countries, including Spain, it is not unusual to offer "motivation payments" to encourage teams to try harder than their professional pride might otherwise inspire them to do.

One of the Romanian suspects, Gigi Becali, mocked the investigation.

"They had €1.7 million," he told Sport.ro TV, referring to the carriers of the suitcase. "I sent them to buy chocolate and candies. I buy what I want. The money is mine and I send them anywhere I want."

His broadcast put a new interpretation on the word "sweetener," a term that generally refers to offering teams inducements to win, as opposed to throw, matches.

"To find me guilty, the DNA must prove that the money was destined for Universitatea players and staff," Becali said, referring to the Romanian investigating body. "Anyway, big incentives mean proper soccer.

Otherwise you would get fixed matches."

Whoever would have thought it.

[mark12]

College basketball. So many teams and so many players who will never be anything other than a college player and they know it. An easy fix and no one would ever know.

[dave nz]

In sports that offer totals as well.....much easier, less meaning and less conspicuous players / officials influencing totals.

[cuse_man]

NBA an obvious #1...

NFL a somewhat close second... Doesn't happen as frequent, but in the NFL all you need to do is blow 1-2 major calls to extend or stop a drive and you have successfully changed the outcome of the game.

Boxing... judges always controversial here and there... Ill stick with the 2 team sports above and let that play out.

[cuse_man]

Originally Posted by Snowman

horse racing has to be the easiest imo...pretty easy to get to a couple jockeys

true... the ponies are definitely #1, but was not on the list. My family has owned a few horses including a couple that have been in the derby in the past and I have heard some interesting stories.

[skippy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jack

Vote or discuss

NBA.....

.....not only does it have the best chance of being fixed.....it has successfully fixed games over the years.

[skippy]

I am starting to think its SOCCER.

How much extra time are Netherlands and Russia playing ???

[Murphdawg]

The one with less points or goals, like soccer

[BigdaddyQH]

The answer is college hoops. That is a fact, not a guess. The vast majority of provable cases have been found in college hoops, and it is so easy to do. Like some have said in here, any game with a "total" as well as a "side" is easier to fix. You must also determine if you are talking about "fixing" a W-L result, or simply shaving enough points to cover a spread. In a sport where many points are scored, but points are scored in 1-3 point incriments, it is almost impossible to detect a shaved game. If team A is a 22 point favorite and wins by 21, who cares? Certaily not the vast majority of the college hoops public, including the poll voters. Also realize that there are 4 times as many college teams (if not more) than pro teams,making it 4 times more difficult for a college player or team to get caught.

NBA Hoops will be watched like a hawk now, because of the recent history with one of their ref's, and everything else that is going on that we do not know about. The problem with the argument that it is the NBA is the fact that players are never accused, only ref's. If that is the case, it is very easy to police. In college, it is players AND ref's, making it nearly impossible to police. You can let your imagination run away with you and accuse any sport of having games "fixed" when a call does not go your way, but the thing to remember is that the successful person who fixes games does not have the Won-Loss outcome affected by the fix. Only the point spread. The quiter things are done, the less chance you have of getting caught. It is as simple as that.