Starting Bankroll – $1,009.55 (Yesterday’s Bets)
Excessive Stoppage Time
We have a worldwide pandemic happening within the soccer world and it needs to be stopped.
Excessive stoppage time amounts being given around the world in soccer are ruining the sport. Teams are literally being given heaps of extra time in matches, directly affecting the sports betting world.
Now, I know what you’re going to say…
Everyone, including myself, kept bickering about how little extra time was given despite huge delays.
And you’re right, I did complain about that, and kudos to soccer for finally listening and doing something about it. However, there’s been a true overcompensation going on, like an American male small penis kind of overcompensation.
On the first day of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Argentina faced Morocco. At the end of 90 minutes, Morocco had a 2-1 lead. Then, 14 extra minutes were added on despite brief stoppages in the second half totaling barely 1-2 minutes. The Argentinians went on to score in the 16th minute of stoppage time—yes, nearly two minutes after an already excessive 14 minutes of added time, the referee gave two more additional minutes.
Now in the end after a 2 hour essentially VAR review the goal did in fact not count, but still…
Where are they getting these minutes?
The France vs. Brazil soccer match that took place in the quarterfinals last night in Paris was very interesting. Sixteen added minutes were given just after Brazil took a 1-0 lead on the home nation. Sure, there were a few injuries and substitutions in that second half, but not enough to add essentially another 18% of match time.
In the end, the added time didn’t matter, and Brazil was able to keep Marta’s dream alive. If you want some background on what happened with Marta in this 2024 Summer Olympics, you can find it here in a nice article written by ESPN.
How about one more example, one that is close to my heart?
The Caledonian Braves, located in the Scottish Lowland League, faced Albion Rovers yesterday and led 1-0 after 90 minutes of play. There should have been 3 minutes of stoppage time; it was even conveyed to Braves Manager Ricky Waddell this way, but that is not what occurred.
Well over the stoppage time, not only were the Rovers given extra time, but a soft free kick was given in this “bonus” stoppage time. Wouldn’t you know it, Albion scored to take a 1-1 draw.
This is close to my heart as a minority owner of the Caledonian Braves… more to come on that later. But within just a few hours, it has shown me that something needs to change so we can have more fluent and consistent stoppage time in soccer.
This excessive stoppage time is ruining soccer, and for those of us trying to navigate the waters of the sports betting world, it is hurting our pocketbooks… sometimes.
Day #3 Recap
This was a profitable day, going 2-1 and pocketing a small profit. If you read yesterday’s post, there may have been some confusion, but I was glad to catch it in the end, even though it resulted in a small loss.
Spain vs. Colombia Over 2.5 (-115)
- I accidentally posted a bet on Spain (Team Total Goals) instead of the correct wager. To rectify this, I had to cash out the initial bet for $8.90 and place my bet on the Over 3.5 goals in the match at -115. So, before the match even started I lost $1.80.
- When the match did start, I thought it would be an easy win as Morocco scored early. Despite nearly 6 minutes of excessive stoppage time at the end of the first half, it was still 1-0 at halftime.
- Needing three more goals in the second half, things looked promising when Morocco scored again in the 52nd minute, giving us a glimmer of hope at 2-0.
- Spain finally put something together in the 79th minute, scoring a goal to make it 2-1, which made things interesting.
- As the 90 minutes came to an end, I thought there was no amount of excessive stoppage time that would give us a chance for another goal. I was wrong. Ten minutes were added, and in the 97th minute, Spain tied it up 2-2, and somehow, someway, we cashed our bet.
Jurickson Profar Over 1.5 HRR (-120)
- Let’s talk about this guy and the Padres.
- In his last two games against the Colorado Rockies, he’s gone 0-7. Tonight, he faced Tanner Gordon, who has a 6.75 ERA, but against the Padres he only allowed 1 run.
- Profar, who has hit in around 75% of his games this season, couldn’t even get the ball out of the infield tonight, including two strikeouts.
- The Padres, however, managed to squeeze past the Rockies 3-2, getting just enough out of their five hits.
J.D. Martinez Over 1.5 HRR (-105)
- This looked like it might be the easiest winner of the night after Martinez singled in his first at-bat and then Pete Alonso walked, putting him at second. But Jesse Winkler couldn’t drive him home, and what seemed easy turned into a nail-biter.
- In the third inning, Martinez reached base via catcher’s interference, but it was with two outs, and he was left stranded.
- In the sixth, he grounded out to third base.
- It looked like he would get only one more opportunity. In fact he got two but with the Mets scrapping together some baserunners late in the seventh, Martinez stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded.
- Boom. Grand Slam. Never a doubt.
Alternate 2+ RBI Parlay (+18587)
- These are essentially lotto tickets hence why we only put down .001% of our bankroll.
- William Contreras went 1-3 and the only time he had a hit was with no one on base.
- Jose Miranda went 0-3 with a walk.
- Teoscar Hernandez went 3-4 but did so with really no one on base
- 0-3 on the parlay. $1 lost.
Day #3 Profit/Loss: +6.94
What I learned:
Excessive Stoppage Time: At the end of the day, I don’t think the amount of stoppage time given is bad for the game, especially from a sports bettor’s perspective. What I’m learning is that things tend to balance out. Yesterday, we took a bad beat with Torres being pulled from the Yankees game, but today, we won a bet because of ten excessive stoppage time minutes. I’m on the fence about whether I’m for or against it, but one thing’s for sure – it makes soccer/football exciting.
MLB Hitters: I need to dig deeper into strikeout percentages. I lazily analyzed Profar’s performance against the Rockies and saw a bad pitcher on the mound, which led me to think he could hit his 1.5 HAA. Although he has a 75% hit rate in games this season, he also has a 46% strikeout rate. I need to do a better job of reading up on those stats.
$200 ➡️ $200K Challenge
Other than watching my bets today the one goal that I am going to complete is to map out this challenge – here.
Day #4 Bets
#1) MLB Bet – Sam Frelick Over 1.5 HRR (+100)
#2) CFL Bet – Toronto Argonauts +4
#3) MLB Bet – Nathaniel Lowe Over 1.5 HRR (+120)
Parlay Bet of the Day: 2+ RBI’s
Alex Verdugo (+750) | Andy Pages (+700) | Pete Alonso (+425)
Today I am going to be enjoying some MLS Leagues Cup today with my STL SC team hosting Juarez from Liga MX. With STL SC having already made it out of the group stage for the first time in this tournament we can just sit back, crack a beer, and enjoy the match!
