By David Payne Purdum
NFL quarterbacks, coaches and even a Yankees broadcaster were among those blacklisted by the NCAA for being associated with gambling for a 10-year stretch ending in 2005.
Ex-Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon and former New York Jets pass rusher Mark Gastineau were on the 2001 list. So were former NFL head coaches Hank Stram and Bum Phillips, right next to prominent pick-sellers like Jim Feist and Stu Feiner. Bob Gamere is the former Yankee broadcaster who turned tout and made the list.
(Update: Yikes, I had no idea the full Bob Gamere story. A former play-by-play announcer for the Yankees and Boston sportscaster, Gamere was convicted on child porn charges. He is serving five years in jail and will be under probation of lifetime supervision.)
The list of touts was compiled in the mid-1990s, according to NCAA media relations associate director Stacey Osburn, and wasn’t updated often. It was posted on the NCAA’s website annualy though, before being taken down for good in 2005.
Anyone on the list was banned was from contact with an NCAA athlete or coach because of their gambling connections.
At least two members on the 2001 NCAA blacklist don’t exist. They were part of a 2001 scandal involving two men representing both a handicapping service and an offshore sportsbook.
According to Dec. 3, 2001 release from the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice, Duane Pede and Jeff D’Ambrosia operated four handicapping services: Jeff Allen Sports, Mike Wynn Sports, Razor Sharp Sports or Dan Pastorini Sports.
The DOJ proved that two of the handicappers—Mike Wynn and Sam Sharp—were fictional characters dreamt up by Pede and D’Ambrosia. Pastorini, a former NFL quarterback, who once married to Farrah Fawcett, was said to have only been the face of the operation and did not make any picks or obtain the inside info that was used to market his service.
Pede and D’Ambrosia pleaded guilty to tax and gambling charges.
Other former NFL players to make the blacklist: Randy White, John Brodie, Craig Morton, Drew Pearson and Jack Snow.
A name savvy industry insiders might notice missing from the NCAA’s blacklist is the biggest insider of the all, Billy Walters. The Las Vegas business man and the most revered sports bettor ever isn’t on the extremely long and thorough list.
Here is the 2001 NCAA Blacklist:
The blacklisted names are: Scott Alexander, Jeff
llen, Ken Angland, Mike Anthony, Hub Arkush,
Richie Baccellieri, Dr. Ron Bash, Howard Battle,
Bob Blumenfield, Richard Bomze, Nick Borg, John
Brodie, William J. Caesar, Johnny Carr, Chip
Chirimbes, Jay Cohen, Dave Cokin, Al Corbo, Dana
Corbo, Bill Cosas, Russ Culver, L. R. Dalton,
Buzz Daly, Barry Daniels, Johnny DeMarco, Kevin
Duffy, Duke, Larry Ellis, Stu Feiner, Jim Feist,
Trace Fields, Steve Fulton, Bob Gamere, Mark
Gastineau, Bob Gregorka, Larry Grossman, Lewis
Gruppo, Mike H., Lou “Diamond” Haeick, Mark
Hlady, Jim Hurley, Rob Johnson, Mark Jones,
Frank Kennedy, Kevin Kennedy, Mike Lee, Chris
Leone, Dan Lewis, Frank Losover, Joe Lupo, Mike
MaGuire, Ramon Makhoul, Dave Malinsky, Nick
Mancini, Tony Marino, Mark Marion, Gus Maron,
Rick Mastumoto, Jimmy “The Wizard” Maven, Jack
Maxwell, Jim McMahon, Vinny “Doc” Messina,
Jeffrey Metz, Mike “The Mechanic”, Danny Monaco,
Gordon Monte, Hank Morello, Craig Morton, Marc
Nelson, Larry Ness, Mort Olshan, Dan Pastorini,
Drew Pearson, Bum Phillips, Alex Powers, Vincent
Reo, Jon Rogers, Will “The Winner” Rogers, Wayne
Root, Frank Roselli, Frank Rosenthal, Robert
Ross, Eric Roth, Gary Scott, Sam Sharp, Barry
Silva, Jack Snow, Tom Somach, Jimmy Spats, Scott
Spreitzer, Don Stank, Mel Stewart, Hank Stram,
Kelso Sturgeon, John Sturtz, Sal Vaccaro, Dr.
Sam Weiss, Jack Welsh, John Wells, Ken White,
Randy White, Joe Wiz, Bruce Wright, Mike Wynn
and Igor Zaslavsky.
The blacklisted companies are: ABC Islands,
Atlas International, Banner Sports, Belize
International, Bet Worldwide, Bettorsworld,
Bookmaker Sports, Buzz Daly’s Players Guide to
Sports Books, Casablanca, Carib Sports Book,
Caribi, Chris Leone Sports, Commisa & Sons,
Sports Consultants, The Committee of
Handicapping Experts, Consensus Sports, Costa
Rica International Sports (CRIS) Sportsbook, Dan
Pastorini Sports, Dave’s Sports, Davler Sports,
Diamond Sports Book, Doc’s, Don Best Sports,
Executive Sports Network, Football Betting
Guide, Game of the Month, Game Plan Magazine,
Game-Time Sports Inc., Inside Player’s College
Football Guide, Insiders’Football Betting Guide,
Insiders’ Basketball Betting Guide, Insiders’
Baseball Betting Guide, Gold Medal Sports, Gold
Sheet, Gordon Bell Sports, Guardian Guaranty
Corp., Grand Central Sports, Hank Morello
Sports, Heritage Worldwide Sports, Hollywood,
Horizon Sports, Insiders Football Betting Guide,
Intertops.com, Iombet, J&G Update, Jaguar Sports
International, Jazz Casino and Sportsbook, Jeff
Allen Sports, Jim Feist’s National Sports
Service Inc., K&B Sports Inc., Kevin Kennedy’s
Hotline, Las Vegas Sporting News (LVSN), Legend
Sports, Loose Lines, M&L Enterprises, M&K
Sports, Majestic Sportsbook International,
Majestic 1 Bet Sportsbook. Media Sports, Metro
Sports Inc., Metzsbets Strategies, Mike Wynn
Sports, Mr. Lucky Sports, National Gaming
Monitor, National Sports Advisors, National
Sports Services, Northcoast, Olympic, Omni
Sportsbook, O.T.M. Sports, Pak-Man Picks,
Pelican Sports, Perfecto, Pick 7 Sports,
Pinnacle Sports Worldwide, Play to Win Sports,
Players Club International, Players Guide
Magazine, Players Guide Web Page, Players
Choice, Players Network, Point Spread,
Private Players Club, Probability Sports, Razor
Sharp Sports, Regency Sports, Rio International,
Rob Johnson Lock Line, Royal Sports, SBG Global,
Schedules USA, Scoreboard Inc., Sideline Sports,
Skybook Sportsbook and Casino, Sling Blade
Sports, Soothsayer Newsletter, Southeastern
Sports Blowout, Spot Play Sports Inc., Sports
Advisors Inc., Sportsbet.com, Sports Bet
America, Sports Desk, Sports Entertainment
Group, Sports Exchange, Sportsline, Sports
Market, Sports Palace, Sports Phone America,
Sports Promotions, Sports Reporter, Sterling
Race and Sports Book, Steve Fulton’s Game Day
Sports, Straight Talk Sports, Super Phone,
Supreme Sports, Sycamore Sports, Telestats Inc.,
Tattle Tales, Top Consensus, Trends Weekly,
Vegas Insider, Vision Sports, Wild Card Sports,
Will Rogers Private Service, Windsor Group, WIT
Sports, World Sports Exchange (WSEX) and
Worldwide Tele-Sports (WWTS). Other companies
are listed simply by their web addresses.
Source: MajorWagers.com, atstalk.com
