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Show Pog 2 Tiiuriiioy. November 5. 1 979 1 Spoftstaculof .. Betting in sports could ruin it all for you and me By John Peterson A recent trip to Reno provided two disappointments. The first, a short-terdowner, was Weber States loss The to new Big Sky Conference member Nevada-Renother, quite a bit more serious, is the expansion of m o. Harrahs. One of the biggest gambling establishments in the world, Harrahs is taking a hunk of expensive Reno real estate to enlarge their sports betting facility. I believe Id rather see the Ayatollah use that land to establish a day camp. Betting on sports is so common we dont think much about it; but its an activity that has dangerous n dollar facility in Reno is not potential. A even the tip of what is an ugly, treacherous iceberg. The book at Harrahs will be regulated, taxed, and watched. The majority of the betting across the nation multi-millio- isnt. Utah State against Nebraska, for example, was the biggest mismatch since Christians against lions. But spot the Ags three or four touchdowns, and suddenly its an attractive bet for people. The idea isnt new-y- ou do the same thing with handicaps when you golf on Saturday or bowl on Wednesday. But the megabuck figures make things different from your friendly games. With a spread, it doesnt make any difference who actually wins or loses a game. The important thing is to win by more than you should-- or not lose by as much. Thats a sad substitute to rah-ra- h and the Gipper. Its also a soft spot for an athlete. A guy trying to fix a game doesnt tell a player his team has to lose-on- ly not win by a certain margin. The kid isnt really hurting his teams chances, and there will-o- f course-- be something in it for him. It can be made to appear like a situation for everyone. Until someone finds out. Am I overstating a shadowy possibility? The NFL d doesnt think so. They have a large and task force that theyve hired away from law enforcement agencies to watch out for gambling influence. So does the NBA. And wheres Willie Mays-ask- ed to leave baseball because his job takes him into contact with suspicious characters. The NCAA continually warns college athletes and then holds its administrators about the dangers-an- d g breath. College basketball survived big scandals in the SOs and 60s. In these financially troubled times they might not get through a third incident. Many schools would almost appreciate an opportunity to dump an expensive athletic program. Its not a hypothetical danger. The state of Nevada, where sports gambling is legal, wont allow odds to be posted or bets to be taken on the two universities within the state. You figure out why. Is it widespread? Take a look at the advertisements that support the football and basketball preview no-Io- This isnt my school vs. yours for a buck. This isnt a coupel of quarters in the office World Series pool. Im talking-with- out getting into the morals of gambling in a big business. Make that BIG any way-ab- out business. Recently I heard an FBI agent talk about gambling and sports. It was significant that he was from the Bureaus Organized Crime Division. According to the Feds, the number of dollars passing through the hands of your friendly neighborhood bookie are now in the a B. billions each year. Thats billions-wi- th Most of that amount, the said, will ultimately find its way into the organized crime structure of the nation. Theyre the wonderful folks who bring you drugs, prostitution, gang wars, higher taxes, and other goodies. The Utes against the Aggies for a milkshake is one thing; the potentially explosive problem with a billion-dollbusiness is quite another. With so much at stake the danger is always present that somebody will try and fix some outcomes. The results could only be disasterous for sports. The main culprit in all this, and the spot where the problem will come, is in the point spread. Thats a little equalizer the books have come up with to increase betting action among the suckers. ar seems like well-traine- point-shavin- magazines. The overwhelming majority are the systems designed to help you-f- or a price-be- at spread. Nobody pays $ioo a week for information unless hes planning on using that somewhere other than in conversation around the water cooler. Some magazines, under pressure from collegiate publicists, are getting away from the betting angle. State is Others are getting worse. Some schoob-Web- er often one of them-a- re ignored by some publications because school policy was not to respond with information to tout sheets. But the good guys are losing ground. The point spread is promoted on network television and even by United Press International, where it is picked up by newspapers across the land. Who cares which team wins --did they beat the spread? But its a big city problem-- it doesnt affect anyone around here. Right? Wrong! A few years ago Weber State beat Northern Arizona by eight points in a basketball game. One of the wire services got the score wrong, and the winning margin was listed as six points. I spent all night and much of the next day answering calls, most with those funny Jersey accents. Weber was supposed to win by 7, and that one basket meant the difference between making money and losing it to, apparently, a lot of people. should have been of interest to only Now Weber-NAa few people, and only in this area. But it was on a lot of cards. Those two points loomed huge in the shadowy fringe of sports in America that night. When and if the whole thing blows up, the Jimmy-the-Gree- k types will find other lines of work. Theyll or fix greyhound races by giving the racehorses drug dogs too much water. Theyll sell stock in tapioca mines, or other like ventures. But theyll find another way to turn a buck. The book at Harrahs will have to close, because there wont be anything left to bet on. But they can move in a few slots and never miss a beat. Even the sucker on the street will find a way to blow the food money on something. Theres all kinds of schemes that wifi come along. The only losers will be people who like sports; the players and potential players, the coaches, the fans. When gambling has ruined sports and everyone who was responsible has moved on to something else without even fi backward glance, well still be here. And well be wishing we hadnt sat quietly by while the creeps of the world took it away from us. . long-distan- U by Guy Yocum year, he earned the punting chores with no real opposition. He became a tempermental football player. At times, he would kick high, majestic spirals that turned lazily a couple of times before returning to earth. They would hang in the air for what seemed an yesterday that Danny Marrelli was playing football, and yet the memory of him is dimmed because his career came to an unsettling finish before it every really began. Marrelli attended Weber State about five years ago, after his real glory days were already over. In his prime, he could just kick hell out of a football, and everyone, particularly the pro scouts, knew it. But while all were pursuing Marrelli, he was chasing a dead end to what could have been an outstanding pro football career. A native Utahn, Marrelli was an exceptional athlete. Standing just over six feet and weighing about 180 pounds, he had all the physical tools youth, good looks, and an excess of natural It only eternity. At other times however, he would inexplicably make a feeble boot of 30 yards or so. Chris Hineline, a former teammate of Marrellis, recalls one incident. We were playing Utah State;and on one fourth down Marrelli was forced to punt from our own 20 yard line. He really let one go, and Louie Giamona, who was leading the nation in rushing at the time, caught the punt on their 20 yard line. Giamona was a heck of a runner, and he got by everybody on our team. Marrelli finally made the tackle himself at about the same place he had punted the ball from. On the way to the sidelines, Hineline continued, Marrelli took off his helmet and threw it over our bench and onto the track, where it bounced against the retaining wall. Hineline said it wasnt the only such incident. ' Lonely Duty Punting is a lonely duty, and Marrelli would sometimes get too caught up in the game. Hineline believes that might have hurt him. In any event, after Marrelli left'Weber, his career seemed to be over. But the Cleveland Browns, who had lieard of Marrellis past exploits, drafted him. Marrelli was in camp just a short time before he injured himself The Browns gave him a one way ticket doing home. ability. First Love was superb. The Montreal Expos offered Marrelli a lucrative bonus to sign with them, but he turned it down because football was his first love. How he could kick! He earned mention in Sports Illustrated for kicking a field goal in excess of 60 yards while still in high school. He was a unanimous selection. Upon graduation, his future seemed As a baseball player, he all-sta- te bright. Marrelli was sent countless offers by big universities, all promising him the best if he would attend their institutions. The University of Utah claimed him though , since they offered him as good a scholarship as any and because it was close to home. For a time Marrelli did very well there. He earned mention in Playboy magazine as a player to watch among western teams. Only Marv Bateman shone brighter as a Utah kicker. He was deadly accurate on conversion attempts, and his punting average was close to 45 yards a game. It seemed nothing could stop him. Or could it? The next year, his mysterious demise began. He flunked out of school and became ineligible to play any more football at Utah. Seeing what a great kicker he had been, Weber State quickly accepted him, and hoped for the best. Downfall Continues At Weber, Marrelli's downfall continued. He missed often, glasses peditfipg anfwllice. r. "01 i' iC t Kl - .(a it m .. sit-up- s. DANNY MARRELLI WAS a premier kicker for Utah and then Weber State, but his bright future was dimmed during and after his college career. (Photo V(9,f.vyflb(gtp1,pjip(t9)ffppth)i ,u,n tlJJ bl r i tl ImsO iruit)i.rAuliil ittAj il aaru-uviij- ) t Marrelli hasnt played football for several years now. For a time, he worked at different places in Salt Lake, never sticking to one job for very long. The last I lieard, he was doing okay, laying linoleum. Only Marrelli could possibly explain why he passed up the fame and financial security of playing professional sports. But what a terrible shame it is that so many were denied the pleasure of seeing this special athlete perform. Hie name Danny Marrelli is synonomous with triumph and tragedy. Ill always choose to remember the former, and on occasion I remind myself that .talent. olortoe8ntr guarantee eceespt it l ti iMiinn lull H jIiimi wine etqmtli jnHtti SI iC li |