Betting Nation

How much sports gambling is going on out there? Odds are you have no idea.

Updated: July 28, 2003, 12:21 PM ET
By Peter Keating | ESPN The Magazine
You may not know much about LaBrandon Toefield. Maybe you've never even heard of the bruising running back from LSU whom the Jacksonville Jaguars picked in the fourth round of April's NFL draft. But three groups will be watching intensely to see how his rookie year goes: his family, his friends and the people betting that he blows up the NFL this season.

That's right. Training camps are just opening, and oddsmakers have already made Toefield a 50-1 shot for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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Peter Keating

Peter Keating is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, where he covers investigative and statistical subjects. He started writing "The Biz," a column looking at sports business from the fan's point of view, in 1999. He also coordinates the Magazine's annual "Ultimate Standings" project, which ranks all pro franchises according to how much they give back to fans. His work on concussions in football has earned awards from the Deadline Club, the New York Press Club and the Center for the Study of Sport in Society.

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