Attn all mods/covers mgmnt.....how is this possible?

Just because you can't beat somebody, it doesn't make them a cheat.  I've been close more than once, even took home swag when there were weekly prizes, and I respect the fact that I didn't do well enough.  Excuses and accusations are a sign of weakness.  Same thing happens on stock market boards when people lose money.  Besides, if you think that something like these contests are fixed, I'd bet that you are wrong.  Here's a free tip - Yankees to miss the playoffs, Cleveland to get in.

I have no skin in this conversation but if I may point out maybe a reason, just a thought as I've seen this issue on other sites. Each page we visit on the internet creates a cache in our browser history and sometimes, just sometimes, the browser chooses the older cache to go to. With that being said. When you look at their profile and see the last date they entered (you mentioned August 1st), could it be possible your browser is using a cached version of that one page to continue showing August 1st?? Please note, I have no skin in this conversation and on no sides and not defending anyone. I'm just a person who always thinks outside the box. 

I got a question. What difference does it make if or when a person is online or not? What does that have to do with the prices of oranges in China?

@zillagod

 How do you even know when the person was last online? I dont see that option available here.

@zillagod

 When I click on your name here in the forum, near the top I see

Last Activity: 24 August 2025

@DeaconBlues2525

 Ok, thanks for that. Now, I still wonder what that really has to do with anything. 

@zillagod

 If I cared enough, I could sniff what goes out on the physical line when we make a pick to see if it contains our username. If that were the case and someone could hack the Internet handshaking protocol, one might be able to make picks from a program. I am pretty sure that is not happening.

@DeaconBlues2525

 Well, I was thinking that last activity might refer to last post and not when a pick was made. But then again, I really dont care, just curious. I mean, free contest. I am sure Covers is out to get everyone with free contests, LMAO.

@zillagod

 Wait a minute. Yesterday was Aug 23 and your account said your last activity was Aug 24. That was at around 10 pm Eastern time.

@DeaconBlues2525

 Hurry @zillagod, hide the Delorean in the garage!!! 

When this baby hits 88 mph... you're gonna see some serious winners!

@DeaconBlues2525

 You I am following right now, great picks man.

And yes Mollydog is usually in top of every contest. Notice I joined covers in 2006. I have seen MANY strange things in my time but will stay quiet for now as most nobody cares. GLTA ~

@Pullmyfinger14

 the mollydog discusssion has been complained about before .The one I remember had to do w/lines nobody seemed to be able get except molly. It was awhile back .                            

@cheeser

 it actually makes perfect sense if you follow line moves. get a good line service and take advantage of the lag between real time odds and the contest odds. when the don best screen first came out you could do this for real money but not so much anymore. in fact all of the onshore books will boot you almost instantly if they suspect you of being a steam player. i find what he is doing commendable. 

@tossthecoin

Thanks. I give it my best shot without spending too much time on it.

This whole molly issue seems to be causing a lot of grief. I see accusations of molly cheating and of Covers being in on it. I even see people saying they may leave the site because of it. Being the type of person who loves everyone, I want to bring this to an end. Therefore, I will explain exactly what is happening.

The following questions were brought up by the original poster.

1. How is it possible to make picks while offline/not logged in?

I believe you cannot without some excellent hacking skills and as I will outline later in this post, it would be unnecessary. Also, to be able to do this, Covers would need to be sending your username across the wire on each pick. If it is stored in a context variable (which it probably is), it would become very difficult.

2. How is it possible to make picks past the time deadline?

It is not. Picks just don't show up to others immediately. Try it yourself. Immediately after picking, go to the leaderboard. You probably won't see your picks immediately.

3. Can you/somebody check to see anyone's history when they were logged in and not logged in?

No need for the reasons I just pointed out.

I will address your next concern.

Contestant "mollydog" who has been known to get the best lines possible 98% of the time.

There is an explanation of this. There is a bug that I reported in the Help Forum on June 25. It allows one to get any line that has been current in the past during the 15-minute window that the previous line is good for. That is how molly does it, but don't single out molly. He is not alone in leveraging this bug. If you see someone near the top regularly, you can watch to see when they make their pick and if it is not the current line (or was current 15 minutes ago), they are leveraging the bug, especially if they get Monday's line on Thursday. I will not name anyone. Some might not even know they are doing it. I used to check as soon as I got up for line movements and assumed if I got the old line, it was less than 15 minutes old. Now I am sure some of those lines were stale and I now refresh the page first thing in the morning. I encourage everyone to monitor me. I am careful not to make a stale pick.

Is this cheating? I don't know, is a coach who notices the refs are not calling holding and tells their players to hold cheating? Most would say no. Occasionally I notice that Covers is not updating their lines and I grab some good lines that are current. Maybe that is cheating. I would say don't judge them, but I do hope Covers fixes the bug.

People are saying Covers is in on it. Occam’s Razor says the simplest answer is often the correct one. My guess is a programmer chose between keeping a table of the most recent line so it could be checked and just accepting anything for 15 minutes and chose the easier path. As for my report of the bug, it got no replies. So, it may have been pushed down by other posts and Covers never saw it or they may have felt that there was little interest from the contestants due to no replies. I kind of don't care because I enjoy the challenge of trying to beat someone who is getting much better lines than me, but I really do think it would be awesome to know who can continue to be near the top after the bug were fixed.

In summary, I would not call molly or the others cheaters anymore than that football coach and there is no reason to assume Covers is fixing any contest.

I apologize for any typos. The chemo has left me unable to feel my fingers, but they DID get rid of the Cancer.

On a lighter note, here are my standings in the ESPN College pickem. I am in the top 1.4%, but I like the Covers contest better. Root for me there. I would love to see a Covers contestant win one of those major contests.

FRAUD 

[Quote: Originally Posted by DeaconBlues2525]@tossthecoin Thanks. I give it my best shot without spending too much time on it. This whole molly issue seems to be causing a lot of grief. I see accusations of molly cheating and of Covers being in on it. I even see people saying they may leave the site because of it. Being the type of person who loves everyone, I want to bring this to an end. Therefore, I will explain exactly what is happening. The following questions were brought up by the original poster. 1. How is it possible to make picks while offline/not logged in? I believe you cannot without some excellent hacking skills and as I will outline later in this post, it would be unnecessary. Also, to be able to do this, Covers would need to be sending your username across the wire on each pick. If it is stored in a context variable (which it probably is), it would become very difficult. 2. How is it possible to make picks past the time deadline? It is not. Picks just don't show up to others immediately. Try it yourself. Immediately after picking, go to the leaderboard. You probably won't see your picks immediately. 3. Can you/somebody check to see anyone's history when they were logged in and not logged in? No need for the reasons I just pointed out. I will address your next concern. Contestant "mollydog" who has been known to get the best lines possible 98% of the time. There is an explanation of this. There is a bug that I reported in the Help Forum on June 25. It allows one to get any line that has been current in the past during the 15-minute window that the previous line is good for. That is how molly does it, but don't single out molly. He is not alone in leveraging this bug. If you see someone near the top regularly, you can watch to see when they make their pick and if it is not the current line (or was current 15 minutes ago), they are leveraging the bug, especially if they get Monday's line on Thursday. I will not name anyone. Some might not even know they are doing it. I used to check as soon as I got up for line movements and assumed if I got the old line, it was less than 15 minutes old. Now I am sure some of those lines were stale and I now refresh the page first thing in the morning. I encourage everyone to monitor me. I am careful not to make a stale pick. Is this cheating? I don't know, is a coach who notices the refs are not calling holding and tells their players to hold cheating? Most would say no. Occasionally I notice that Covers is not updating their lines and I grab some good lines that are current. Maybe that is cheating. I would say don't judge them, but I do hope Covers fixes the bug. People are saying Covers is in on it. Occam’s Razor says the simplest answer is often the correct one. My guess is a programmer chose between keeping a table of the most recent line so it could be checked and just accepting anything for 15 minutes and chose the easier path. As for my report of the bug, it got no replies. So, it may have been pushed down by other posts and Covers never saw it or they may have felt that there was little interest from the contestants due to no replies. I kind of don't care because I enjoy the challenge of trying to beat someone who is getting much better lines than me, but I really do think it would be awesome to know who can continue to be near the top after the bug were fixed. In summary, I would not call molly or the others cheaters anymore than that football coach and there is no reason to assume Covers is fixing any contest. Quote]

well said may they keep you of the penalty box…  MD I don’t buy what you’re selling at all. Just curious how many contests have you won through the years, and maybe the cash amounts? I’m certain it’s staggering…. 

DeaconBlues,

Well written. I get a kick of the “Mollydog works for Covers” conspiracy.

I’ve always respected your record and selections, now I have a greater respect for the person. Your cancer free mention in your post literally just made my day. I lost both my parents in their 50s and I pray it never rears its ugly head for you again. 

JJ, no matter what I do, I’m always going to have a few doubters. I’ve had a great run on this site and have, knock on wood, never once lost $1 at any of my rare casino/sportsbook visits. I can only hope my streak doesn’t run dry. That said, Wishing you the very best of luck. Let’s go….

Regarding the best lines 98% of the time, I grab some early when the offshore lines jump and wait on others where I am fading Joe Public. I feel the percentage where I gain line value is more like 80%, but that matters over hundreds of selections. Ultimately, you still have to pick the winning side. Look at my MLB and NFL records this year, they’re flat out awful. I always challenge myself to be more consistent and help everyone watching gain an advantage. I still have a lot of work to do here.

Noted some sites that I frequent below to monitor line movement real-time and hopefully get ahead of the casinos and books.

Offshore line movements shown real-time: freeplays.com relay line moves is real time. 
Line movements and bets tracking, by book or casino: WagerTalk.com/odds
Handicapper free picks: freeplays.com and randrtotals.com are two of my faves for free picks. Some of the cappers listed NEVER give a winning play, some occasionally. Knowing each of their records and history helps me with deciding my leans and picks. 

Again, I hope my crazy efforts help win some of you $$$. Good luck…

DeaconBlues, keep up the tremendous work. 

Mollydog