It’s tough to get a handle on who first said or wrote or sang or dreamt the phase: “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Some say it dates all the way back to Geoffrey Chaucer, although I find it hard to believe anybody of this earth could translate into proper English anything old Geoff wrote. He made Joyce’s “Ulysses” and Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury” read like “Peanuts.”
Unfortunately, we have come up with nothing better, hence the worn-out-but-still-appropriate “iceberg.”
I mention it now because of the latest scandal to shake the sporting world. The NBA is involved. And it’s a bad one. The words “mafia” and gambling are attached to it like a black mole found on your butt. When was the last time you really heard or paid attention to “mafia?” When you heard Clemenza order, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli?”
That the mafia remains — more quiet, perhaps, and below ground as it once was — doesn’t surprise or bother me a bit. Given the state of our political system, these guys are a gang of Captain Kangaroos who seem to affect only those who want to be affected.
And among those are the gamblers — big-time rollers, not the everyday/fantasy hash-slingers. And many are looking for an edge.
With this in mind, on Thursday, the FBI arrested and indicted Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, both widely respected in basketball, in connection with a plot to rig games — and, in Billups’ case, rigging poker games backed by major mob “famiglias.”
And what do I say? That’s where the tip of that damn iceberg comes into play.
This isn’t even the tip of it. This is maybe a few square millimeters of it. Gambling always has been here. It dates back to at least the Paleolithic period. Did the serpent not bet Adam that Eve would enjoy the apple?
The first Major (National) League game was played in April of 1876. The first major gambling scandal? It came in 1877 (Note: a year later), when the Louisville Grays had four players thrown out of baseball for good.
What I don’t get is why. The two men arrested make millions. How much money do they need?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he’s “deeply disturbed” by the indictments. His disturbance is eventually going to be much deeper than this.
But you’ve got to figure the G-men can take this as far as they want, as long as they want. Gambling is everywhere. The NFL, which once publicly (laughingly) thought wagering on games abhorrent, and Las Vegas Gomorrah, now is driven by gambling. It has a team in Vegas. Even has a gambling partner.
Yet it — and every other league — condemns gambling and warns players there isn’t a bigger no-no than betting on games. Stay tuned. I can’t begin to imagine how many people involved in sports at every level are gambling.
In fact, I’d bet a lot of money on it. …
The Raiders had three — 3 — first downs vs. the Chiefs. I’d say it’s impossible, but all I can come up with is a Smokey Gaines-ism: “Three more than a dead man.” …
USC’s Lincoln Riley may be the best among all collegiate football playcallers, but vs. Notre Dame he was an amateur. Really stunk. You want to remain head coach at USC, you beat Notre Dame. …
But the USC-Notre Dame game must survive. It is college football. Alums, with money, want this game. …
I didn’t need Jeremiyah Love’s performance against the Trojans to enlighten me. He’s the best back in the country. He was the most talented back in the country last year. He’ll still go No. 20 on draft day. …
All plays are trick plays, meant to deceive. But I’ll never understand football coaches running super-trick crap when their team has gotten into position in a conventional manner. It’s a sign of weakness, Lincoln. …
What is complementary football? In soft hands, it can be misconstrued as being nice. …
Being so stupid, it’s hard to rank prevent defenses. But the Giants dropped eight players at the end of that debacle at Denver. Blowing that game was a gigantic fireable offense. And I don’t call for firings, Brian Daboll. …
Does that comeback happen anywhere else where NFL games are played, other than Denver? I say, no chance. The altitude beats defenders to crap by the fourth quarter. It’s fact. It’s a bitch — an unsolved bitch. …
When the Broncos are capable, as they are now, it’s the greatest home-field advantage in sports. Stupidity doubles it. …
The NFL has opened a new crock of crap. Says a field goal hitting a wire in London was an “optical illusion.” Is Roger Goodell running for president? …
Why don’t NFL teams put athletic 7-footers on the roster to block these ridiculous field goals? …
Besides being the best in the world, one of the best ever, Al Michaels has what so many football play-by-play guys lack: Vertebrae. …
Tom Luginbill says he wouldn’t want the now-open Florida job. No worries. …
Do you drink Dr Pepper because Jerry Jones hawks it? Does he? …
Uncalled facemask violations should be reviewable. …
The NFL is sticking with Bad Bunny as its Super Bowl halftime headliner over the objections of White House event planners, who are threatening to put on an Up With People concert at the same time. …
Maybe they could hold it in the new ballroom, being built to hold thousands more liars. …
[The Holiday Bowl considered putting the game in Saudi Arabia](https://wpdash.medianewsgroup.com/2025/10/18/yes-the-holiday-bowl-considered-moving-januarys-game-to-saudi-arabia-heres-why/), but the ACC nixed it. A shame, really. Would have been the Grandaddy of “Em All over there — with payouts for teams at a billion dollars apiece. Plus, free gas for life and diamond tennis bracelets in bling bags. …
Amazing Stat O’ The Week: After 42 years in baseball, Don Mattingly, who should be a Hall of Famer, goes to the World Series. …
RIP, Bob Laurence, a superb writer, unafraid. And a good man. …
So we’re the richest country in the world again. Where have we been? We have an all-time-high $38-trillion national debt, but we’re getting trillions from tariffs. OK. Great. Where’s my check? …
On X/Twitter: The Dodgers have made a formal request to MLB to defer their John Wayne beatdown by the Blue Jays in the World Series opener. …
The best thing about the NBA season? Charles Barkley. Keeps you from having to watch games. …
Congratulations to the Bicycle Mayor and his Ham & Eggers on their Miracle Sky’s The Limit Midway project getting hammered down to a zero-feet height limit. …
Barry Alvarez: “If you’ve never played, if you’ve never coached, you don’t know anything.” I know one thing, Barry. You never won a national championship at Wisconsin. …
The SEC has permanently suspended football referee Ken Williamson after he and his crew were heavily criticized for controversial calls during the Georgia-Auburn game. Williamson was immediately hired by the NFL. …
Rodney Harrison finally was inducted into the Judases’ Hall of Fame. A.J. Smith’s biggest mistake was letting him go, but the greatest thing that happened to Rodney. …
Children have no past. They aren’t old enough. They have a future. But they aren’t old enough for that yet, either. So they have plenty of time to screw things up.