BCB After Dark: Wanna bet?

Welcome back to BCB After Dark, the coolest spot on the hottest night for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the heat and into the cool. We’re so glad you stopped by. Let us know if there is anything we can do for you. There are still a few tables left in the front. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

The Cubs were off tonight. And so am I.

Last time, I asked you which current Cubs player makes you most optimistic for the future? The winner, with 33 percent of the vote, was the rookie Christopher Morel. In second place is also a rookie, Seiya Suzuki, with 22 percent. Nico Hoerner came in third with 19 percent.

Here’s the part where I write about jazz and movies. You’re free to skip ahead to the baseball question at the end. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Tonight we have Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander playing a tune of the most famous man ever from that island, Bob Marley. It’s also one of my favorite songs of all-time, “No Woman, No Cry.” Marley’s version from the Live! album was a song that me and my friends in high school sang along with at pretty much every party we went to.

Alexander also sticks some “Get Up, Stand Up” in here as well.

I’m on vacation this week, so I’m not going to have time to write a movie essay. But I thought I’d steal this question from Twitter and you all can have at it.

I’ll go first. I’m not saying these are the best films from these years, but they’re my favorites:

1971: The French Connection

1981: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains

1991: Silence of the Lambs; although this one was tough. So was 1971, honestly.

2001: Mulholland Drive

2011: Moneyball

2021: Ask me in ten years.

As you read this, I’m probably stopped for the night in Reno, Nevada. Of course, there’s a lot of gambling in Nevada. Maybe you’ve heard. And maybe you’ve heard that MLB would now really like you to gamble on baseball after the entire topic being verboten for decades. The Cubs are putting in a sportsbook right at Wrigley Field, in case you haven’t heard.

So tonight’s question is: Do you gamble on baseball? And by gamble, I mean money. I don’t generally don’t mean that you place a bet on who is going to by the next round while you’re at a bar, but if you do that regularly and it adds up to hundreds of dollars, maybe we’ll count that.

I’m giving you four categories. The first is just “never, or almost never.” If you just bet among your friends, vote “Just with my friends.” This would include low-to-medium stakes fantasy baseball.

The other two categories deal with betting with sportsbooks, whether online or in-person. “Occasionally” means you will put down a bet with a book a few times a year, but you don’t make a regular habit of it. (This is also for those of you living in places where it’s still not legal, but you bet when you visit a different state.) “Regularly” just means that betting on baseball is part of your enjoyment of the sport. Maybe you don’t bet every day, but you probably put down some money a few times a month at least.

If you’re in a fantasy baseball group with your friends and you’re playing for several thousand dollars a year, then maybe you should vote “Regularly.”

So do you bet on baseball?

In case you were wondering, no. I won’t be putting down a bet on baseball while I’m in Reno. And it’s not yet legal in California.

Thank you again so much for stopping by. I’m trying to drive safely, so you do as well. If you checked anything, we can get that now. Tip your waitstaff. And stop by again tomorrow night for another edition of BCB After Dark.