'I literally can't stop.' The descent of a modern sports fan

[underpants]

5. It's ever present and ESPN being directly involved is absurd

I don’t gamble on games. 21 sure but I’m just bad at picking games.

ESPN has the ability to influence bets. Point spreads aren’t completely dependent on the strength of teams, it moves depending on how money is being bet. Everyone pays a % (“the vig”) so a bookmaker just wants as equal an amount as possible on both sides of the bet. Notre Dame spreads are always skewed to try to lure money in against the Domers. There’s a set amount of people who will never bet against ND so the spread has to be set to draw in everyone else.