Tag Archives: Bet365

NFL to Outlaw Taunting in Crackdown on Near-the-Knuckle Play

When you spend your afternoon/evening running into people at full pace, attempting to put them on the deck, it kind of goes without saying that your blood will start to pump a little more aggressively. 

That can manifest itself in all manner of ways and, in the NFL, one of the most common is for steam to be let off as part of post-touchdown celebration and taunting. 

From the sublime to the ridiculous, taunting is part of the theater of football. From a tackler running their mouth when they have sacked a quarterback, to a TD scorer letting their opponents know how much they enjoyed crossing the line, this part celebration, part tribalism is an inherent part of the game. 

And so it has been met with much frustration that NFL officials, as part of their rule change and points of emphasis framework for the 2021-22 season, have decreed that they will be stamping out taunting in all its various forms. 

The NFL's annual rule change and points of emphasis video notes game officials have been instructed to strictly enforce taunting rules in 2021. Two violations results in automatic ejection, with fines and even suspensions (!!) in play, too.

https://twitter.com/TomPelissero/status/1425150371190788098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Going forward, a taunting offense will see the team in question hit with a 15-yard penalty, while two taunting violations in a game will be punishable with fines and/or automatic ejection.  

Officials are keen to instil a sense of ‘respect’ back into the game, with the competition committee chairman, Rich McKay, stating: “We saw an increase in actions that clearly are not within the spirit and intent of this rule, [and] is not representative of the respect to opponents and others on the field.” 

One of the prime examples of taunting last season came in the clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill gesticulated at the Bucs defenders as he crossed the line for a touchdown, leaving them rather incensed. As Tampa closed in on a revenge victory in the Super Bowl, their safety Antoine Winfield Jr flashed the same gesture right in the face of Hill. 

According to the NFL odds on bet365 for the Super Bowl, those two franchises are on a collision course to meet in the championship game next February once again, and so will Hill, Winfield, or anyone else for that matter, be tempted to taunt an opponent despite the punishments available? 

The Numbers Game 

Every year, there’s a raft of rule changes ahead of the new NFL season – some important and attention-grabbing, others less so. 

Whether you will care that the restrictions on some jersey numbers have been lifted may just depend on whether you plan on buying a replica shirt or not. 

Nothing riles up NFL fans more than seeing what jersey numbers their favorite players are donning each season. However, in the case of Mac Jones, his number may be met with some confusion.

https://twitter.com/sportingnews/status/1424925964660731910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

But a regulatory change will now see a wider pool of players being able allowed to wear single-digit numbers, as well as those between 80-89. That includes running backs, tight ends and wide receivers alongside the traditional quarterbacks and kickers. 

Defensive backs can now also choose any number between 1 and 49, while linebackers can opt for 1-59 or 90-99, but linesmen still have the slimmer pickings of 50-79 or 90-99 to select from. 

Whether that leads to a huge sea-change in the numbers that established NFL stars wear remains to be seen, but it could certainly give the new season a different look and feel.  For the Silo, Carlos Cruz.

In The United Kingdom, Toronto Blue Jays Makes Canada Tourist Target

In the era of social media, it only takes a few seconds for a picture to change the world. Photographs shared on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest can shape public opinion in seconds, which has huge implications for politics, marketing, and social campaigning.

Last week, amongst the many iconic images doing the rounds on people’s timelines and newsfeeds, one from the world of sport stood out: the shots of Jose Bautista tossing his bat after hitting a game-winning home run in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-3 win over Texas Rangers.

The image at the top of this article summed up the passion and emotion that are hallmarks of Bautista’s style of play, and drew attention to the fantastic entertainment that the Blue Jays’ campaign in the American League Championship Series has provided for millions of loyal fans.

Anyone who glimpsed the photos and dug a little deeper into the backstory would have learned of Bautista’s brilliant performance in a do-or-die game for the Jays. The contest was full of drama and controversy, disputed calls, crucial errors, and brilliant baseball.

In countries like the UK, where baseball barely registers on the radar of most sports fans, moments like this can be pivotal. All of a sudden, legions of sports fans sit up and take notice of what’s happening overseas, and some of them fall head over heels in love.

image: tsn.ca
image: tsn.ca

All it takes is a performance like Bautista’s to send sports fans into action. Some of them will be slow burners, taking note of the Blue Jays’ progress over the years before gradually developing into full-blown fans. Some will use their newfound interest in baseball as part of their sports betting strategy. Sports betting is huge in Europe, and many avid gamblers relish the opportunity to gain an advantage over bookmakers and place bets on the less-talked-about sports at online destinations like Bet365 and others.

Then, there are the sports fans who will take drastic action when they discover a new sport that they enjoy. These are the superfans who will go straight to the Blue Jays’ online store, immediately buy themselves a jersey, and then book themselves on the next available flight to Toronto in time to catch the very next game taking place at Rogers Centre.

Sports tourism is a huge industry, and was cited as the fastest growing sector in the global travel and tourism industry back in 2008, accounting for $600 billion – or 10 per cent – of the international travel tourism market.

Sports clubs and franchises have cottoned on to this, and are employing marketing managers who are wise to the power of social media to gain new fans overseas and bring them flocking to the stadiums and stores where they will spend their money and contribute to the club’s coffers.

Baseball is some way behind sports like football, which have been successfully exported to Europe through initiatives like the International Series, which sees a number of NFL games played in London each season.

Europe lacks the stadiums and infrastructure to support a similar export of baseball, but that certainly won’t stop clubs like the Blue Jays from reaping the benefits of the new fans who will support the club from afar if they continue to send powerful messages around the world via the web. For the Silo, Keith Allison