The fix is in...

  The board here has kindly provided some proven examples.  In the future, don't let common sense overrule your irrational thoughts.

I was just watching a show where former Dallas Cowboys HC Jimmy Johnson openly admitted that he told his staff not to fall in love with the players he received in the Hershal Walker trade because in the deal if he got rid of them he would receive draft picks instead... so what he did was NOT start them, even though they were clearly better than the players he was starting. His plan was to tank the entire season to maximize his future draft options.

This may not be in the same room as fixing a specific game... BUT it clearly shows that teams don't always care about trying to win each and every game.

Of course there are also situations like last season when the Colts yanked all starters mid-game vs the Jets and then lost. The following week, The Bengals gave away a game to the Jets also which eventually gave the Jets a free pass into the playoffs.

To say there is absolutely NO hanky panky going on with the outcome of games is foolish thinking. Too many games have had questional results affected by calls and non-calls. Even the video review has not prevented the perversion of outcomes.

Remember that Steelers game when they intercepted a ball on the last play and returned it for a TD... It was called a TD... then reversed by video replay officials... ONLY to have officials admit just shortly afterwards that it was indeed a touchdown.

That game cost gamblers MILLIONS of dollars and Las Vegas said they would have had to pay out a small fortune in wagers on Pittsburgh. Instead... Las Vegas MADE those millions of dollars. They don't give a shit because once the game is officially ended with a certain score it CANT be changed even a minute later. Those replay officials clearly sided with LV and I'm sure they got something special out of that outcome which they clearly corrupted.

dl36, the examples of Arizona State and Tulane point shaving in college basketball were well documented and should be known by any gambler over 30 years old.  And the Toledo football example is a more recent example.  And those were just some of the ones that made national news. 

Explaining this to a "gambler" is similar to you explaining how the pointspread works.  Once again, common sense dictates that professional athletes are less far likely to cheat than college players, as the risks far outweigh the benefits.