Friday Four-Pack 2.3.23
Friday Four-Pack 2.3.23
Brady, green check marks and more
Admittedly when I sat down to write about the launch of legal sports betting here in Massachusetts, that’s all I was really focused on. Not my next job. Not my next bet. And sure as hell not the future of this newsletter/blog.
But no matter what I end up doing professionally - before obviously retiring early thanks to massive sports betting success - I want to have something of my own. Try some things, make some mistakes. Write about things I’m interested in. And so here we are.
Alliteration rules so that leads us to The Friday Four-Pack.
The plan calls for The Four-Pack to be posted here and sent to your inbox every Friday. This is a newsletter platform but will it be newsletter every week? I don’t think so. I’d like to do some video. There’s podcast functionality here. In the end if its something you the subscriber looks forward to, checks out and maybe shares with friends - that’s a good thing.
Maybe it will stink and end in like a month. Or in three months. We’ll find out together.
I don’t envision a scenario at this point where it becomes something you pay for. Which is a way to say HEY IT’S FREE WHY NOT SUBSCRIBE? LIKE RIGHT NOW? JUST HIT THE PRETTY BLUE BUTTON!
And with that rambling intro out of way - on with the maiden voyage of The Friday Four-Pack
On Tom Brady…
I did not appreciate the loud mocking of this masterpiece of a tweet from Minihane on KMS this week. Because I’m right. That drive vs. Kansas City and the throws and plays Brady made on that drive are both wildly underappreciated.
Having listened to both WEEI and The Sports Hub react to the Brady Retirement 2.0 news I can tell you - this drive and those throws do not get the credit they deserve from hosts and fans alike.
Underappreciated not just for the plays Brady made but for the impact it had. That was Year One of the Mahomes Era. Chiefs win that game they probably beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. At worst we’re talking the first of FOUR Superbowl appearances for Mahomes in five full seasons as a starter.
Lot of plays/moments don’t get properly appreciated - like the Matt Ryan-Julio Jones hook up in the Falcons 28-3 meltdown loss to the Pats.
On the laundry list of Brady’s top moments, the OT drive against the Chiefs should be higher than most people have it.
As far as Brady retiring…if it really was the Bucs or nothing…great call. That would have been waste of everyone’s time. Would have loved seeing him on the Raiders with Josh and those weapons. He was never going to the 49ers with ALL the capital that team spent on moving up to get Trey Lance. Lance might be a bust but they have to find out.
I think Brady will be good in the booth but I also said for years Gronk would be Howie Long 2.0 of action movies.
He’s not.
On Day 1 of Massachusetts sports betting…
Not surprising to hear from people that were at Encore Boston Harbor on Tuesday night that there were some hiccups - including waiting an hour to cash winning tickets on college basketball games because ‘something wasn’t working.’ This is to be expected. It will take months for things to be ironed out. If you are going to Encore, Plainridge or MGM - don’t expect the process to be perfect for a while.
It was surprising that there was not more promotion/event buzz for Barstool/Plainridge and their 1PM kickoff Tuesday. Barstool has done big things in places like Illinois and Michigan for the launch of sports betting in those States.
Maybe the plan is to wait for the launch of mobile betting and the Barstool Sportsbook app in March? A bigger rebrand of the current set up at Plainridge coming? Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner Eileen O’Brien was very critical (unfairly in my opinion) of Barstool during the licensing process. Maybe they’re laying low because of that?
I’m sure something big is planned for the mobile launch but this seemed pretty quiet.
Based on the brand and popularity in New England, they’re set to grab a huge portion of the market.
On sports betting social media and traps…
I’ve mocked and ridiculed the "green checkmark virus” that has infected sports betting social media both with Jack Fritz on BetQL Weekend and Chris Scheim on BetQL Boston. So this is not a new take from me.
I get why people feel like they have to tell you when they had a winner - and look some of the people doing it might be being told they HAVE to do it by their bosses.
Full disclosure - I’m guilty of this! I must have tweeted and retweeted 100 times when the winning trifecta we touted for Preakness hit last year. It’s good to have winners and its feels even better to tell people about it.
But enough is enough. It can’t be all you’re doing.
Some of the best commentary I heard on this came from the smartest show doing sports betting content right now in longform - You Better You Bet with Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley.
I included the segment here. It also got into some stuff that seems much worse than the green checkmarks happening around sports betting. Stuff that you should be aware of especially if you’re new at this.
If you are remotely interested in this you should listen to the segment.
On my future professionally…
Yay, more about me!!!!
I don’t know what’s next. For 17 years I did one thing. Or a few slightly different versions of one thing.
I’ve talked to big companies. Start ups. Non-sports operations. I’ve done some demos. People in the industry have been great.
I have a vision of what I want to do next but it’s not fully assembled in my mind yet.
And that leads us here. Thanks for reading.