HeadtoHeadFootball -
NFL

Super Bowl LI makes history in Nevada, too

More money was bet on Super Bowl LI at Nevada sportsbooks than any other Super Bowl in history.

Nevada books won $10.93 million off of a record $138.48 million wagered on Super Bowl LI, the state’s gaming control board announced Monday.

The $138.48 million wagered beats last year’s record mark of $132.54 million. The books held 7.9 percent of the amount wagered and recorded their seventh-most lucrative Super Bowl ever, when the New England Patriots erased a 25-point deficit and beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.

Since the Nevada Gaming Control Board began tracking wagering on the Super Bowl in 1991, the state’s regulated sportsbooks have come out ahead in 25 of 27 games. The books are up a net $173.6 million on the Super Bowl during that span, capped by this year’s big win.

The Patriots covered as 3-point favorites, and the game went over the consensus closing total of 57. The favorite and over is normally a bad combination for the books, but that was not the case this year.

The MGM sportsbook reported winning multiple seven figures on the game off of extremely balanced action. Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports, said he ended up with 51 percent of the straight-bet money on the Patriots and approximately 1,000 more bets on New England.

“We did well,” Rood said. “It dug us out of the hole. We needed this to make up for such a really bad end to the season.”

The action was so evenly distributed on the point spread, total and props that most sportsbooks entered the game in a no-lose situation.

“It would have been difficult not to win money on a day like this,” Ed Salmons, Westgate SuperBook assistant manager, said.

The SuperBook saw a 20 percent increase in handle over last year’s Super Bowl. The South Point casino also reported record handle at its shop. Sportsbook operator CG Technology, Station Casinos, Caesars, South Point and the Wynn also reported coming out ahead on the game. But the books did have a late sweat.

With the point spread never moving off New England -3 and the over/under total sitting at 59 for the majority of the days leading up to the Super Bowl, a 31-28 Patriots win would have resulted in a push on the side and the total. The game went into overtime tied 28-28. New England running back James White’s winning touchdown in overtime helped the books avoid what would have been a lengthy process of refunding millions of dollars in bets.

“I’m sure that almost gave everyone a heart attack,” Jason Simbal, vice president of risk for CG Technology, said.

While betting interest surged, television viewership declined. According ESPN senior writer Darren Rovell, 111.3 million viewers tuned in Sunday night, the lowest since 2014.

“Usually, television ratings equate to betting handle,” said Station Casinos vice president of race and sports Art Manteris. “But that wasn’t the case this year, as betting handle in Nevada continues to soar to all-time heights. The live, in-game betting, I think, played a role in that. In-game betting really came of age yesterday during the Super Bowl.”

William Hill’s sportsbook was the only Las Vegas shop that reported coming out on the short end. A flurry of in-game bets on the Patriots at odds of 10-1 or greater perpetrated a six-figure loss for William Hill. In the fourth quarter, New England was listed as high as a 16-1 under to win the game. William Hill took only a couple of small bets at that price.

There were some disappointed Falcons bettors, who were willing to lay a heavy price on what seemed like a guaranteed Atlanta win. One bettor at William Hill risked $3,000 on the Falcons at -2,000 odds. The bet would have paid $150.

NFL

49ers must continue to practice patience with Kyle Shanahan

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Patience finally paid off for the San Francisco 49ers as they hired Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan as head coach Monday.

History and hindsight might one day offer a different view, but in the here and now, the Niners’ willingness to wait appears to have landed them one of the best and most qualified coaches in this hiring cycle.

At least that’s the view of general manager John Lynch, the man who will work with Shanahan to rebuild the Niners.

“He was the catch of this head coaching cycle,” Lynch said. “It’s one of the best years I’ve seen a coordinator have. But, when I talked to [Falcons quarterback] Matt Ryan and the players on this team, they spoke of the leadership and the presence that Kyle had in front of that room. I think that in this league, again, I get to see a very global outlook of the league and there’s a lot of really good coordinators, but there’s some that really separate themselves. I just thought Kyle, he really did that this year. He has impressed me for a long time. This year he put it all together. And it wasn’t just calling plays. It was setting up plays and he was doing things and as soon as I got in front of him and saw the other part, his philosophies and how they marry with mine and all those things it just got me really excited.”

Kyle Shanahan has spent the last nine seasons as an offensive coordinator with stops in Houston, Cleveland, Washington and Atlanta. Tim Warner/Getty Images

There were plenty of twists and turns in Shanahan’s pursuit and head-scratching moments along the way, but the process isn’t nearly as important as the 49ers pulling it off and what happens next.

In surveying the landscape of available head coaching candidates, this year’s group didn’t come with much sizzle. Before teams even began firing their previous coaches, Shanahan and New England’s Josh McDaniels were the two names that moved the needle most in league circles.

So, how did the Niners, without the benefit of a stacked roster, a franchise quarterback or any kind of recent stability at the position, find a way to get Shanahan? Simply put, they were willing to wait. In total, they waited 36 days between the firing of Chip Kelly and the hiring of Shanahan.

A lot happened in the meantime in a process that was far from perfect. Although Niners CEO Jed York said he had no preconceived plan for hiring a general manager or a coach first, the Niners ended up putting all of their eggs in the Shanahan basket after McDaniels backed out in mid-January. McDaniels, who was believed to be the team’s top choice, withdrew his name after the Niners failed to interview New England executive Nick Caserio for the open general manager job.

Despite the curveballs — three of their candidates took other head coaching jobs and two more pulled out of the running — the Niners finished with Shanahan. He was the only coach available who combined a longtime NFL pedigree with an extensive history of success as a coordinator at multiple stops with multiple quarterbacks and an element of exuberant youth that should allow him to relate to a young roster.

Of course, Shanahan has plenty to prove as a head coach. It’s a job he has never held and many great coordinators have gone on to flop as head coaches. The combination of a pay raise and paranoia has seen many a first-time coach get caught up in the minutiae instead of focusing on what matters. There will be growing pains along the way; one needs only to see the Falcons’ fourth-quarter playcalling in their devastating Super Bowl collapse for evidence.

But Shanahan looks like the type of first-time coach who can have success, provided he’s given time and resources to see through a plan for rebuilding the 49ers and doesn’t get caught up in internal power struggles.

Ryan, who struggled with Shanahan in 2015, turned into the league MVP in 2016 and sees the characteristics of a successful leader in him.

“Obviously, I’m a big proponent,” Ryan told Atlanta reporters last week. “Kyle will do a great job if he does get the opportunity. I think he’ll be an excellent head coach. … Whenever he does get his opportunity, he’ll do a great job.”

Shanahan has spent the past nine years as an offensive coordinator with stops in Houston, Cleveland, Washington and Atlanta. In six of those nine seasons, Shanahan has called the plays for an offense that finished in the top nine in the league in yards per game.

All of that coalesced this season when Atlanta led the league in points scored (540) and yards per play (6.7) and was second in yards per game (415.8). As the maestro of that offense, Shanahan was named the NFL’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

Shanahan has the added benefit of father Mike, who won two Super Bowls as Denver’s coach, as a sounding board when things get difficult. And things will get difficult at some point as Shanahan feels his way through his first head coaching job with a first-time general manager alongside.

In San Francisco, Shanahan won’t have access to a roster loaded with the likes of Ryan, receivers Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel or running backs like Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.

It’s going to take time to rebuild, something York has said he recognizes and a big reason why Shanahan and Lynch were reportedly given unprecedented six-year contracts. Of course, long-term contracts didn’t mean much for previous coaches Jim Tomsula and Kelly.

“We’re going to continue to do everything that we can to get better,” York said in early January. “They’re going to have a very, very long leash in terms of making decisions. There are no sacred cows here. Whether that’s in the personnel department, on the coaching staff, in the locker room. They need to be able to re-establish a championship culture.”

To have a chance to do that, Shanahan is going to need York & Co. to practice the same patience with him that it took to land him.

NFL

Super Bowl LI makes history in Las Vegas, too

More money was bet on Super Bowl LI at Nevada sportsbooks than any other Super Bowl in history.

Nevada books won $10.93 million off of a record $138.48 million wagered on Super Bowl LI, the state’s gaming control board announced Monday.

The $138.48 million wagered beats last year’s record mark of $132.54 million. The books held 7.9 percent of the amount wagered and recorded their seventh-most lucrative Super Bowl ever, when the New England Patriots erased a 25-point deficit and beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.

Since Nevada Gaming Control began tracking wagering on the Super Bowl in 1991, the state’s regulated sportsbooks have come out ahead in 25 of 27 games. The books are up a net $173.6 million on the Super Bowl during that span, capped by this year’s big win.

The Patriots covered as 3-point favorites, and the game went over the consensus closing total of 57. The favorite and over is normally a bad combination for the books, but that was not the case this year.

The MGM sportsbook reported winning multiple seven figures on the game off of extremely balanced action. Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports, said he ended up with 51 percent of the straight-bet money on the Patriots and approximately 1,000 more bets on New England.

“We did well,” Rood said. “It dug us out of the hole. We needed this to make up for such a really bad end to the season.”

The action was so evenly distributed on the point spread, total and props that most sportsbooks entered the game in a no-lose situation.

“It would have been difficult not to win money on a day like this,” Ed Salmons, Westgate SuperBook assistant manager, said.

The SuperBook saw a 20 percent increase in handle over last year’s Super Bowl. The South Point Casino also reported record handle at its shop. Sportsbook operator CG Technology, Station Casinos, Caesars, South Point and the Wynn also reported coming out ahead on the game. But the books did have a late sweat.

With the point spread never moving off New England -3 and the over/under total sitting at 59 for the majority of the days leading up to the Super Bowl, a 31-28 Patriots’ win would have resulted in a push on the side and the total. The game went into overtime tied 28-28. New England running back James White’s winning touchdown in overtime helped the books avoid what would have been a lengthy process of refunding millions of dollars in bets.

“I’m sure that almost gave everyone a heart attack,” Jason Simbal, vice president of risk for CG Technology, said.

While betting interest surged, television viewership declined. According ESPN senior writer Darren Rovell, 111.3 million viewers tuned in Sunday night, the lowest since 2014.

“Usually, television ratings equate to betting handle,” said Station Casinos vice president of race and sports Art Manteris. “But that wasn’t the case this year, as betting handle in Nevada continues to soar to all-time heights. The live, in-game betting, I think, played a role in that. In-game betting really came of age yesterday during the Super Bowl.”

William Hill’s Nevada sportsbook was the only Las Vegas shop that reported coming out on the short end. A flurry of in-game bets on the Patriots at odds of 10-1 or greater perpetrated a six-figure loss for William Hill. In the fourth quarter, New England was listed as high as a 16-1 under to win the game. William Hill took only a couple of small bets at that price.

There were some disappointed Falcons bettors, who were willing to lay a heavy price on what seemed to be like a guaranteed Atlanta win. One bettor at William Hill risked $3,000 on the Falcons at -2,000 odds. The bet would have paid $150.

NFL

Source: Jets claim twice-suspended DT Pennel

The New York Jets picked up a veteran nose tackle Monday, acquiring Mike Pennel on waivers, a source told ESPN’s Field Yates.

Pennel, 25, played the last three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, but he was released Jan. 9 after a tumultuous season. He was suspended twice for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, causing him to miss the first four games and the last four games. He didn’t appear in the postseason.

The third-year pro filed a lawsuit in an Ohio federal court in November, alleging that the NFL and the NFL Players Association failed to satisfy the rules of the collective bargaining agreement when it came to hearing the appeal of his second suspension.

Mike Pennel appeared in eight games for the Packers in 2016, a season which was bookended by four-game suspensions. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Pennel then agreed in December to accept the second suspension, one day after the NFLPA said Pennel’s appeal hearing had been postponed. A second suspension could have meant a 10-game ban, and it was not clear why Pennel received only another four-game ban.

In eight games last season, Pennel recorded seven tackles and played 101 defensive snaps. He has played in 37 career games, including five starts in 2015. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 332 pounds.

The Jets are deep at nose tackle, with Steve McLendon and Deon Simon. McLendon, 31, missed the last five games of 2016 with a significant hamstring injury. He has a $3.9 million cap charge for 2017, so he isn’t a lock to return. His injury created an opportunity for Simon, a 2015 seventh-round pick who earned praise from the coaching staff.

The waiver period opened Monday for the non-Super Bowl teams.

ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.

Page 341 of 367« First...102030340341342343350360...Last »