NFL in London

National Football League in London

betting

Super Prop Bets

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The SuperBowl is only a few days away, which means it’s time to start thinking of some of the prop, or novelty bets on offer for this year. Sure, you can go the traditional route of betting on Gatorade colour, length of the anthem or whether Tony Romo is going to mention Robert Kraft’s favourite massage oil.

With so many oddities to bet on in this Super Bowl, why not contact your bookie and go hard? Why bet on the basic bitch package, when you can amp it up for Super Bowl 55.
These are some of our Super Prop Bets.

Trump Blows up Florida +165

Trump lost the election, the presidency and some would say the plot as he returned to his Florida retirement home to have Melania soak his boo-boos. Those who know Trump reckon he is seeking some sweet justice, and a public event like the Super Bowl is all he needs. Previous villains have tried to blow up the Super Bowl, but of anyone-Trump probably can pull it off.
If Trump blows it up before halftime, at least we will miss the Weeknd.

Tiffany Rivers Gives Birth +225

Phillip Rivers retired this year to focus on family, so it figures that his wife Tiffany is due to give birth again soon. Look for Tiffany to shoot baby number 23 across the field at halftime, with the umbilical cord firing over midfield as Phillip tosses a pass that snaps the cord, bringing baby and mama softly down on the field. Knowing PR though, he’ll throw the ball short and probably knock out the midwife.

Number of Covid Mentions +/- 300

Look for 300 to be the magic number threshold for mentions of Covid during the SuperBowl. 300 mentions in a 4 hour broadcast is actually reasonable, considering Covid was the star of the 2020 NFL season. Look for other parlays to add to Covid by adding words like ‘virus’, ‘lockdown’, or ‘Wuhan Flu.’
You could be in for even bigger bucks if a new variant emerges during the game itself.

Lamar Jackson takes a Halftime Dump +220

Look for doody-dropper Lamar Jackson to break up halftime by dropping the kids off at the pool, then mentioning it in social media. It could be something obscure, like calling someone a ‘wet-wipe’, or following ‘Charmin’. Everyone plays better when Lamar takes a dump, so look for shout-outs from his colleagues and friends encouraging Lamar to ‘go deep.’

Corona Admits it Caused the Virus  +340

After one of the nastiest trading years on record, Corona bravely fought off the initial link with their beer and a watery death. As the world transitioned from ‘Corona’ to ‘Covid’, the brewer deftly hired Snoop Dogg to help them ‘coolify’ their brand. Look for Corona to go all out on this one, not only boldly claiming that they started the virus, but they now have the only vaccine. This could be a bold brand move.

How many crappy new CBS sitcoms will be promoted? +225

+/- 4 . It’s been a tough year for TV, and CBS so look for them to throw down the gauntlet of fun (or faunt-let) as they go ‘all in’ on wacky sitcoms, promoting 4 new losers on Sunday. Fortunately all of the sitcoms will star Mayim Bialik and have something to do with cats, loneliness and an underlying current of sadness through the canned laughter. ‘What happens when a talking cat saves a suicidal middle-aged woman? It’s ‘Cat Got Your Back’, Tuesdays on CBS!’ The best bet is to wager on how long some of these shows last.
If we’re lucky, one of the sitcoms will be cancelled before the game is done.

Dwayne Haskins watches from a strip club +175

Dwayne Haskins loves his mama, and morally bereft strippers equally. While teammates in Washington bemoaned his lack of professionalism and misogyny, he always made sure to visit the ladies after every game he left early. Look for Haskins on social media to post something cryptic about ‘making it rain’, ‘love in the club’, or even using a weave as a mask. Don’t let us down Dwayne.

The Rock will be seen -250

Dwayne the Rock Johnson is the biggest movie star in the world, so it goes to reckon that he will be seen somehow during the Superbowl. The most obvious would be to show a trailer for one of his movies, but look for the Rock to do bigger.  Maybe an XFL ad, pulling Kevin Hart out of his pockets, or something to do with his eyebrows. Most likely? The Rock will actually be shooting a movie anyhow that somehow crosses over to the Super Bowl. Classic Johnson.

A Karen will be Shown -200

2020 was a hell of a year to be named ‘Karen’. You could have spent 50 years dedicating yourself to helping others, but if you’re named ‘Karen’, it doesn’t matter. 2020 owns you now.
Since the identification of the Karen, we have been all made painfully aware of how to spot the obnoxiousness. There might be only 20000 fans attending the game, but chances are there are a few Karen’s down there in FLA. Get your money ready.

Something Florida will Happen -300

The further you go into Florida, the more of a spiral of humanity you encounter. Laws of natural selection and decorum quickly go out the door. Florida Man Marries a Manatee. Florida woman Swallows 4lbs of Meth and Lives. Perhaps it is the proximity to the famed Bermuda Triangle that brings out the chaos, or maybe it’s inbreeding. Whatever it is, bet on Florida first.

What do you have as some of your prop bets? What kind of madness do you see playing out.
If you didn’t already know, we made these up. But if you can find a bookmaker willing to take this action, please do it!

 

Ekeler’s Millions

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Oh to be an NFL player! You’re a physically fit, young man, earning millions….and 2 years after you retire there is a high chance you will be BROKE! Not unless you make the right decisions.
LA Chargers running back Austin Ekeler details what he spent his first million dollars on in this Ekeler’s Millions segment.

One of the first things that comes across when you watch Austin Ekeler is how humble and grounded the guy is. This probably has something to do with growing up in rural Colorado, and not really focusing on the NFL as a career.  Often the biggest financial busts in the NFL are the players who focus on status and prestige, as opposed to building the structure for financial stability in the future.  There is nothing more frustrating as a fan watching a talented young athlete blow their wad on ‘bling’, when their career could essentially be over within 5 years.
Sure Drew Brees can spend millions on trinkets and baubles, but look where that got him.

Among some of the purchases that Ekeler bought with his first million includes:

Chrysler 300

The essential vehicle for soccer moms, single dads with weekend duties, and of course NFL rookies. Austin smartly mentions that he bought a used car, as he wanted something reliable and affordable to get him to work, while many of his other teammates were focused on the flashy, European models.
It’s better to be frugal than a fool in a league where a sudden injury can change the trajectory of your future immediately.
Cost $30,000

Gaming System

Boys love their toys, and a single man in his 20s is going to spend a lot of money on gaming. Gaming is surprisingly popular and competitive amongst NFL players themselves, so many of the rookies are going to want to update their speed and graphics in order to compete with some of their elders on the team and league. Gaming is a massively popular industry, and many NFL players are eyeing it up as not only an investment post career, but also as a potential job. Hey, it works in ‘Ballers.’
Cost $10,000

Mommy Car

Every good boy wants to thank their mom for driving their ass to and from practice and games for almost 2 decades. Ekeler thanked his mama by replacing here ugly old van, with something more fitting of a matriarch. Austin’s mom is also a Colorado real estate agent, so she has actually been working for him to upgrade his portfolio. Investing in mom is always a good investment.
Cost $40,000

Corvette

The Corvette is a classic staple of Americana muscle car, this fibre glass beast is one of the biggest killers of drivers in accidents. But…Austin Ekeler loves the ‘Vette, so he bought a shiny one. It’s got to be hard to compete with teammates (and celebrities) in LA, so players do need a car that displays the fact that they ‘made it.’ When you’re a kid you dream of owning your ‘dream car’, and luckily Ekeler was able to do just that.
Cost $80,000

Wardrobe

Some NFL players go full peacock in their post game wardrobe (talking to you Cam Newton), so it’s always refreshing to hear from a normal guy that doesn’t spend his weekly budget on hats. Again, the competitive nature of other NFL players must set the bar high, but given what Ekeler spent updating his wardrobe, many women spend that easily making way less.
Cost $5000

Home

Home is where the honey’s are, and if you want lots of honies, you need a sweet home. Read that on a washroom stall once. Everyone in their 20s’ wants to get out of the rent-trap, and Austin wisely invested a large chunk of his cash into his first house. Listening to him speak about it, you get the impression this will be the first of many home he will turn over for a profit.
Cost $240,000

Australia

Austin Ekeler bought Australia for only $15k! Kidding, but the young man invested the sum into visiting his buddy there that was setting up a gym. Sure that this good looking, rich young American man had a great time down under for that amount.
Cost $15,000

Investment Property

OK, this is when you know that Ekeler is one of the smarty ones. Ekeler’s aforementioned mom helped him pick out 17 properties in Colorado to add to his investment portfolio. 17 properties? Wowza, even local boy John Elway must be impressed enough to give him a Papa John’s franchise.
Newby athletes need to learn from Austin Ekeler so that they don’t make silly mistakes with their money. After all, who wants to go from the NFL in your 20s’, to working at Sonic in your 30s’?
Cost $800,000

What would you do if someone handed you that kind of contract? Would you invest that same way as Ekeler’s Millions, or blow it all in a blaze of glory?

Things to think about. Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Kevin Cadle

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It’s been 3 years since we lost ‘Ma Man’ Kevin Cadle, and the UK sports broadcasting scene still has a gaping hole in talent from his passing. We really miss you dude.

I first saw Kev hosting sports on Sky, and I thought ‘wow, this guy is actually really good.’
Having moved to London from North America, I was struck at generally how bereft the UK scene was for quality sportscasters. Flipping through Channel 5, BBC and Sky Sports the presenters not only seemed like that they had no experience or personality or presence, but they also seemed to be responsible for their own wardrobe.
One pundit on C5 was so bad, my friends and I would tune in just to watch the train wreck unfold. He was a pretty obese guy with a penchant for wearing tight purple sweaters, we nicknamed ‘Grimace’.
Kevin Cadle stood head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd. Literally.
Kevin was always well dressed, dapper, and could helm a show as a proper presenter.

The more I got to know Kev, the more I was drawn into his aura. He epitomised cool, and his relaxed demeanour on screen was just as chill when you were having a drink with him.
This made him a ‘star’ in the UK, as fans genuinely gravitated towards him, because he was the man who helped them not only learn about North American sports, but love them.

One would think that this ‘fame’ would feed his ego as it did to several Sky Sports presenters, but it did quite the opposite. It made him appreciate the love from the UK, and he would spend hours talking to everyone who approached them, giving them his full attention and flashing that wonderful smile that charmed us all.
His laugh was something that could rip across a room, and as a comedian it gave me great pleasure in unleashing it in public. When he laughed, people looked (and usually laughed as well).

Few Sky Sports viewers knew just how famous Kevin Cadle was. Not only was he the most successful UK basketball coach in the history of the sport here, he is also recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for his time coaching the Kingston Kings in the late 80s, early 90s.
Basketball might have been his jam, but he certainly knew how to butter up every other sport with a thoughtful and balanced voice of a true journalist.

Like many UK sports fans I was shocked when his role on Sky Sports was continually relegated. From watching him as the main host to being shuttered to the sidelines, or even worse reporting from empty bars under the auspices that he was the man on the street.
Several times Kevin would text me asking if I could send some fans down to the bar in focus that week as it was ‘dead-ass’. Of course I did, as I couldn’t stand the thought of such a respectable man being disrespected.
I wasn’t alone in this feeling, as all you had to do was pop onto social media to see a flurry of hashtags wondering where Kevin was.

When Kev was eventually replaced by different flavours willing to trek out to Osterley, fans across the UK felt like a family member was missing from the dinner table.
I pushed the Hippodrome to bring him down for appearances during Sunday nights, convincing them that his presence would spur on the fans that came down to watch the games.
Boy was I right!
Upon entering the theatre in the casino, all eyes turned to the big man, as did the whispers. Then the chants came ‘Kev! Kev! Kev’, he waved to the fans and happily acknowledged the genuine love in the room.
Not only that Kevin took a picture with everyone who asked. EVERY SINGLE ONE.
He would sit and talk with fans for hours about everything and anything.
Occasionally he would look up to the scores, but never took his focus off the most important person in the room, the person talking with him.

Once Kevin was eventually led out to pasture by Sky, I made it my mission to get him back on the telly.
Not only was Kev a British sporting icon, but sports fans really missed him on their screens.
UK television commissioners were less enthused however, citing a lack of ‘passion for American sports’ Kevin’s age, and alternatively suggesting younger, female presenters whose only media experience came from reality TV.
Undeterred, I continued pitching the show until we got some solid interest to develop a program in September 2017.
Sadly Kevin Cadle passed on October 16, 2017.

In November 2017 we hosted ‘Kev-Giving’ at the casino, honouring Kevin and giving thanks to him for all that he gave to us as British sports fans.
His family said a few words, some fans shed tears, and the casino raised money for his family in this time of need.

It’s been three years since his passing, and every year as the NFL season starts I think about him and what life would like here if we still had him in our lives.
He brought smiles to all UK sports fans, and enriched our viewing experiences with class, dignity and a huge beaming smile.

I miss my friend, and I’m angry with the way he was treated by the British entertainment industry.
But I also know that Kevin wouldn’t want me to be angry, he would want us all to remember the joy he brought us every time the camera light flicked on.
He will always be ‘Ma Man’, and we will always be his.

‘Never accept good over best’-Kevin Michael Cadle

-Wade McElwain is a comedian, TV producer and host of NFL in London live. 

 

Jaguars Leave London?

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The Jacksonville Jaguars contract with the NFL quietly ended this week, with many UK NFL fans wondering if this is the end of an era for the Jags in London.
The Jags have been playing regular season games in the capital since 2013, solidifying a new fan base, and fostering a reputation as the first potential UK franchise.
But then 2020 came along.

Will the Jaguars sign a new contract, or is this the end of the Florida/ UK NFL experiment? Let’s take a look at some of the factors involved in this.

Jacksonville

When the NFL first started hosting the Jaguars in London, their team was in a very different state of affairs. The stadium was a mess, the city was reeling from economic hardships, and the fan base was one of the lowest in the league.
Shad Khan injected much needed funds and energy into the franchise, and used international expansion as a way to not only drum up press, but also explore the potential of a European operation.
As the Jaguars continued to play London games, dissension was building at home. The new stadium with its shimmering pools was drawing bigger crowds, and the Jags themselves began to reach the NFL playoffs.
When the team announced that they would be playing two home games in London in 2020, local press and ardent fans rebelled, signalling that they wanted their home team home.
While the London games represented 11% of home ticket revenue, Jacksonville locals lobbied state and city government officials to help out.
They listened too, with plans to revitalise the downtown around the stadium, bringing in over $2 billion in salaries and over 10000 new jobs.
Urban Jacksonville would be a new ‘Shi Tpa Town’, so why would locals want to lose that momentum?

Khan

Shad Khan may be the 4th richest NFL owner, 66th richest person in America, but like many over the past few years, he’s taken a hit to his back pocket. He even recently has had to sell his 300 foot yacht the Kismet , which can be yours for a cool $166 million.
With xenophobia rampaging across America, you can see why he might just want to keep his nose down and focus on his franchise during an election year, and Trump-Mania spreading across Florida.
The impending noose of Brexit  is threatening to choke out international business opportunities, which has left many multinational companies to adopt a ‘wait and see’ policy when it comes to moving to the UK.
Wait til the dust has settled and see what kind of deals a desperate UK government is willing to offer.

Covid

Did you know that there was an a virus epidemic going on? No, it’s true. Although not much in the news, apparently some nasty bug has been disrupting our way of life.
Businesses hate surprises, and Covid 19 is one of the biggest viral-reveals we have had in our lifetime.
Like Brexit, no one wants to make long term plans when infections and rolling shut downs continue to affect and infect our way of life.
Until we have a vaccine or this nasty sucker under control, all UK-US sports matches will be put on hold.
Can you imagine if they had gone ahead with the London games, and had to postpone at the last minute?
It would be a logistical nightmare.

Tottenham

With the NFL and Tottenham stadium agreeing to a 10 year NFL deal, it doesn’t really make sense to negotiate separate matches with Wembley. If the league is all in this together, then maybe spreading out the games and structure doesn’t really fly in the face of the new normal.
The Spurs have spent a lot of time and money on the new stadium, and fan reaction has been wholly behind the new digs in favour of crusty old Wembley.
Tottenham have a massive vested interest in developing and hosting the games there, so the Jags could save a lot of time and money on working with the league as bubbles and lockdowns become part of the new NFL dynamic.

In the end Shad Khan might just want to take some time off and reflect on the London experiment. Covid has provided a timely opportunity to gauge the want of international expansion, with the need for keeping the home fans happy.
We (should) have NFL games in London in 2021, but with the way 2020 has been going, we need to learn to expect the worst.
That’s what Jets fans do.

 

TNF-Bucs vs Bears

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Thursday Night Football (TNF) is back for week 5, with an exciting matchup between Tom Brady and the Bucs versus Nick Foles and the Bears. This game could be very good, if Chicago bothers to deliver their a-game.

Most Thursday night football games have been a massive bore, and the hatred of these games is well documented by the players. These games are even tougher to watch in the UK, where the games start at 1:30am and finish around the time the tube opens. Unless you are a total diehard fan, a cokehead or a shift worker, these can be difficult to watch when you have a ‘life’.
Of course, it’s the age of Covid 19, who has the time to have a life?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is 3-1 to start the season, despite an early beating by the Saints. In week 4, TB12 and crew looked human, as Justin Herbert was able to march down the field with ease, hitting numerous receivers & making the Bucs D look pedestrian. This is no easy feat, as the Bucs boast one of the best defensive lines in the league.
Brady was also on fire, throwing for 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers. Most of this action came in the second half, when the Bucs were able to catch their breath and mount an attack, even without Chris Godwin.
Chicago’s D will pose a new challenge for TB12, but after seeing what Philip Rivers was able to do last week against the Bears, Brady should have no problem picking holes in a secondary that got gashed in mid field passes.
OJ Howard will be out again, which means that pitiful Rob Gronkowski should be able to see more touches in this one. Gronk has been dropped by numerous fantasy teams, so the faith in the big man has waned over the past few weeks.
Both teams have only had 4 days to prepare, but you would have to give the edge to Tom & Bruce for being able to pull it together for this one.

Chicago Bears

The Bears are 3-1, but are they really. Pundits were quick to jump on the Bears as imposters, as the first 3 wins came from Mitch Trubisky rallies in the second half.
Nick Foles has done what Foles does. He is able to muster a comeback, but put him in a starting role, and he is inconsistent and awkward.
Perhaps the Bears should look at starting Mitch, then bringing in Foles in when the game starts to go awry. At least this way opposing defensives would have to prepare for two different quarterbacks, which is some advantage.
The Bucs have the best run D in the league right now, so Montgomery will be facing loads of walls in this one. Hopefully the Bears stop trying to use Cordarelle Patterson in a RB role up the middle. It has not worked once this season, and he ends up getting smashed into a wall of opposition. They have yet to effectively use him in a slant or option role, and should explore that before the dude gets busted.
Foles looked ineffective last week against the Colts, and missed on numerous easy passes.
If he can’t find room in a defence that was ripped apart by Justin Herbert last week, we will quickly find ourselves in a new quarterback controversy.

Prediction

The Bucs will establish themselves quickly, with Mike Evans swamping the hapless Bears with his size and speed. The Bears will continue to go 3 and out in their initial drives until they finally get some scores in the second half. By then, it will be too late.

Bucs 30 Bears 20