Is Anybody taking XFL action?

[bgeorgia]

I am hearing yes and no. can anyone give me a firm answer or is it still up in the air?
thanks
bg

[thegreek]

Yes I believe there will be some #s going up.

[ShiftySheik]

I heard that the XFL will promote betting on the games. Maybe not right away but eventually all the books will take action.

[Dingle]

Brian,

We at Betinternet.com are looking at putting up lines. Maybe a future book as well.

The limits wont be too high too start off with, while we gauge the leagues validity.

Anyone have any opinions on whether Vince is going to spice it up.

Dingle

[The Guesser]

Vinnie Mac WILL "spice it up". He considers the XFL just another form of "Sports Entertainment", aimed at the exact same demographic as the WWF. The League will be FIXED and SCRIPTED. Winners will be predetermined, but how it happens is up to the participants to arrive at, just like a match between The Rock and HHH. They both know Hunter's gonna win on a particular night, but they can be as creative and entertaining as possible in arriving at the final destination.

[bgeorgia]

this sounds good. thanks!

bg

[Jeff]

If in fact "the guesser" is right, then the books would be absolutely crazy to take action on it....even with low limits.

Is the league definetly going to be scripted?

[bgeorgia]

I have to disagree with the guesser. from what i have been told, this will not be similar to the wrestling scripted entertainment.
the games will be played within the league rules and the winners will be given a winnners bonus. with salaries in the 50k range the small bonueses will be an added incentive.
the entertainment value will come with the rules of the league. they will be much different than the nfl.

GO XFL!

[The Prophet]

I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I consider myself somewhat an authority on pro wrestling. The behind the scenes working of this pseudo-sport have always fascinated me, and I find the way that matches, promotions, etc, are put together more interesting than the sport itself.

Anyway, the take among most of the pro wrestling insider types I know is that the XFL is going to be legit on the field. Vinny Mac will definitely go overboard on the image development and marketing of the individual players, but there's no plan to pre-determine the "on field" action. Vinny Mac is aware of the importance of public perception that the games are on the up and up. That's one of the reasons that Jesse Ventura was hired--to cross market the league to the wrestling crowd.

From what I've heard and read, Vince will be going out of his way to keep the two entites separate--to the extent that you probably won't see any XFL players on "Raw", nor superstars like "The Rock" showing up at XFL broadcasts. Now, I wouldn't be surprised to see a washed up football player discovered in the XFL groomed as a wrestler, but this will only occur after his football career is over.

Vinny Mac may be a lot of things, but he's a pretty savvy businessman. He's already got the "sports entertainment" industry just about cornered in the US, and he's got no real incentive to extend that franchise to the XFL. He's certainly smart enough to realize that the biggest financial upside from the XFL will be to create a legit, entertaining and competitive football league to feed talent to the NFL much like the CFL and Arena Leagues have done in recent years.

BTW, if you want to check out the XFL from the "wrestling insider" perspective I'd recommend the Pro Wrestling Torch website at www.prowrestlingtorch.com. This is the online version of one of the best insider wrestling newsletters, and if there's anything in the XFL that isn't legit they'll catch it first.

THE PROPHET

[Hartley]

Pro wrestling is scripted ?

[Hartley]

Actually, I think Guesser is wrong. The league hired some CFL players, Arena players and a few others. I doubt they would play rigged football. There is also no indication that the league is fixed.

But what I do know is that the cheerleaders have already been hired and are going to be encouraged to sleep with the players and report on their "performance". Also, there will be someone on the sidelines (kind of like the bald headed short, moustached guy in wrestling - can't recall his name), who will question the players about their play calling when they return to the sidelines. The players MUST respond. It's in their contracts.

I see no problem with a sportsbook putting lines up on a game (although I would advise them not to have $11,000 limits), but I'm declaring this right now -

"If a guy is running for a TD but someone from the other team comes on to the field and hits him with a chair, inevitably causing a fumble, I will not bet on any future games."

[Ronbets]

The league will need gambling and credibility to survive. The betting limits will be paltry.

The League has installed some wide open macho rules. For example the punt will be an exciting part of the game. No fair catches. After 25 yards the kick is a live ball, similar to a kickoff(10yds). Punting team can't leave line of scrimmage until ball is in the air. HANDICAP SPEED!!

[The Guesser]

I've subscribed to The Torch for years and also dig the inside of "The Sport". My judgement is based on studying Vince McMahon and his views of the world and his market. The man IS a genius in the world of scripted entertainment and he's marketing the XFL the same way, to the same demo. As far as ex CFLers adding legitamacy, do you guys know how many ex CFLers and College players, and even some ex NFL scrubs, occupy the scripted world of Pro Wrestling? Many, including Lex Lugar, Dusty Rhodes, Goldberg, Hackaw Jin Duggan, Jim The Anvil Neidhardt, Elix Skipper, and on and on occupy and thrive in that world. Even Olympic Gold Medal Winner in "real" wrestling, Kurt Angle stars in that world. Does Their presence ensure the events aren't "Rigged"? Of course not. They do what they do for a paycheck, just as the XFL players will. None of this is a Put down of Pro Wrestling, as I'm one of the Bigger fans on the planet of it, but I wouldn't bet more than a soda on it. Same with The XFL. Caveat Empetor, or however that's spelled!!

[Hartley]

OK Guesser let's say it is rigged (although I doubt it will be). Would that really matter? As long as there is no indication of who the winner is ahead of time, you still have a 50-50 shot. Think of it like betting on Jai Alai.

[OLD MAN]

scotty(LVSC)told me the XFL is cooperating
with them concerning making lines on the games. they have a nice web site- www.xfl.com(shows what all the uniforms will
look like for all the teams).NBC probably
wants lines on the games so more people will
watch it.