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SPORTS TALK: People just never learn sometimes, isn’t that right Tom Wilson?

So we have a new NAFTA. We're calling it the USMCA now. I think USCAM sounds better but what do I know?

Anyway, Ezra Klein of Vox was a little fuzzy on why the U.S. and Canada got two letters and Mexico just one. Less than 10 minutes later – and after probably either being told about what the acronym stands for or did a quick search – he came to the realization that the A stands for Agreement. United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is the full title. Fake News!!! Still, United States-Canada-Mexico works much better. Again, what do I know?

Anyway, on to less confusing stuff for the journalists among us:

 

Oh, look… repeat offender alert

Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals just can't seem to stay away from dangerous head shots while delivering hits. Looks like someone needs to go to the naughty corner of the press box for a while until he learns. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals just can't seem to stay away from dangerous head shots while delivering hits. Looks like someone needs to go to the naughty corner of the press box for a while until he learns. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

There are those players who just keep on getting themselves in trouble at least once a season in the National Hockey League. Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals is one of those players.

Wilson is once again facing a lengthy ban from the league after his blindside cheap shot on St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist on Sept. 29. Sundqvist never saw it coming and only knew he had been smoked after Wilson caught him in the trolley tracks and delivered a hit to the head. Wilson was given a match penalty (intent to injure) and because it's not the first time he's done something like this.

Honestly, stuff like this needs be to legislated hard. Wilson didn't have to go head-hunting because he could have easily gone shoulder-to-shoulder, which is legal. The days of players lining up unsuspecting opponents and scrambling their brains are over and people like Wilson don't seem to realize that.

Maybe he will now thanks to the NHL handing him a 20-game suspension and since it's without pay, he'll fork over more than $1 million in salary. I've always said the way to a player's heart is by lifting a few Benjamins from their wallets.

 

But did it have I.D.?

So a horse walked into a bar and … I'll finish this one.

Yes, a horse just happened to mosey on into a sports bar in Chantilly, France on Oct. 1. No, this isn't a bad joke. And there's video evidence.

The horse apparently got away from the famed Chateau de Chantilly, which is one of the most famous training grounds for thoroughbreds in Europe, and made a dash into the bar, hind legs kicking in the air. Naturally the patrons and staff made a run for it because, well, what else do you do when you see a runaway horse doing a bucking bronco impression and you're in the line of fire? You ever been kicked by a horse? I haven't but I'm willing to wager it doesn't tickle.

The horse's trainer, Jean-Marie Beguignem, told the Ouest-France newspaper that he lost control of the animal as he led it from the stable to the race course. He also said the horse had a penchant for running away.

Here's the punchline: the sports bar the horse ran into hosted an off-track betting parlour. Guess the horse found out the bookmaker was cutting him down odds-wise. Amirite?

 

And finally…

Good Idea: Making a big wager to win big money.

Bad Idea: Making a big wager to win $1.60.

I kid you not. This actually happened.

Some big spender laid down a bet at the sportsbook joint at the Southpoint Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. No big deal because it happens all the time. This guy, though, thought it was worth the $1,579.65 he staked on the Alabama Crimson Tide football team to beat Louisiana-Lafayette University on Sept. 29.

Now, 'Bama is a sure-fire winner on many occasions and the odds are almost always in the team's favour. This game was one of those sure-fire, lock-of-the-century, five-star specials that make sports bettors salivate. Alabama was a -99,000 odds-on favourite to win the game. If you know how odds are calculated on what's known as the money line, you will know that if you wager $1,579.65 with odds of -99,000, you will win a total of $1.60 on your original wager.

You know this guy went home and bragged to all of his buddies about how he won big in Vegas.

 

Until next time, folks…