If there was ever a day for Amazon Prime announcer Al Michaels to avoid mentioning sports betting lines for a ‘Thursday Night Football’ game, it would have been Oct. 23.
Hours after the NBA was rocked by a massive sports betting scandal, Michaels was on air discussing the gambling implications of a field goal attempt in the final minutes of the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Minnesota Vikings game.
‘You know, occasionally, a game like this, you think it is over, but it’s not quite over,’ Michaels said, seemingly referencing the game’s over/under line. ‘You know what I mean? I’ll be punished again – what can I tell you? It’s close to being over. I don’t want to call it ‘over’ with three minutes to go.’
The pregame over/under line for the Chargers’ win on Oct. 23 was set at 44.5 points. Michaels started referring to the line in the final three minutes of the game as the Chargers played out their final drive with 44 total points on the board.
‘Sometimes you never know when that half will destroy you,’ Michaels said, referencing the 0.5 points still necessary at that point of the game for an ‘over’ bet to hit.
When Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt moments later, Michaels returned to referencing the betting line.
‘Meanwhile, you have a 45-yard attempt, which will draw a little interest,’ he said.
Dicker knocked down the 45-yarder, leading to Michaels’ final betting-related comment of the night:
‘And there it is,’ he said as the ball sailed through the uprights. ‘Now you can say it is ‘over.”