The surest bet

 Pete Rozelle could have told 'em, if he weren't six feet under. Alex Karras and Paul Hornung, too, considering they were Calvin Ridley in another time.

Calvin Ridley, see, bet on pro football while he was taking a mental health break from football last fall. Even bet on his own team, the Atlanta Falcons.

Karras and Hornung?

They put money down on the NFL, too, 59 years ago. 

Rozelle, the NFL commissioner then, suspended them both indefinitely -- partly for even associating with gamblers and "known hoodlums."

Of course, that was six decades ago. Nowadays the league Rozelle built into America's obsession does its own associating with gamblers and hoodlums.

They do deals with them. Movie stars do ads for them. And those ads run during NFL games, with the NFL's blessing.

And so of course another Karras/Hornung episode happened. It was as predictable as sunrise, a 100 percent lock anywhere along the Strip you wanted to place a bet.

Today's commissioner, Roger Goodell, landed on Ridley with both feet, suspending him for an entire season. Naturally he doesn't see the glaring contradiction in this, although it likely has Pete Rozelle spinning like a cyclotron in his grave. How can you willingly climb in bed with gamblers, then go all Kenesaw Mountain Landis when you find one of your own under the covers?

It's a very good question. And it's doubtful Goodell has an answer that makes any kind of sense.

He did the right thing here, but he has zero credibility to do so. You can't actively promote gambling on your product -- the NFL actually has sponsorships with THREE online betting sites -- and elicit anything but laughter when you try to discipline one of your employees for it. Hell, Ridley placed his bets using exactly the sort of mobile app that's a feature of the online sites with whom the NFL does business.

But, hey. You let one of your franchises move to Vegas, you're gonna do Vegas things. Just don't expect anyone to take you seriously when you start talking about the evils of gambling.

"There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL's success -- and to the reputation associated with our league -- than upholding the integrity of the game," Goodell wrote, without a trace of irony, in notifying Ridley of his suspension. "Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL."

Gee, Rog. And you haven't?