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USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports Pete Rose has launched a sports betting podcast.

“I know how it looks, and people will criticize,’’ Rose told USA TODAY Sports, “but it’s not gambling. It’s handicapping. I’m a handicapper. … Remember, it’s handicapping. That’s all. That goes on everywhere. All I’m doing is lending my expertise to people who want to bet. …. I watch two or three baseball games a day. And it’s not just baseball. I watch all sports. I love sports. I know I can help people who want to wager on sports.”

Rose, of course, has been banned from Major League Baseball since 1989 after … wait for it … betting on baseball. As a result, MLB’s all-time hits leader is ineligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nightengale reports Rose’s podcast, “Pete Rose’s Daily Picks,” launched on Thursday. According to MSN, Rose will do his podcast “six days a week for Quake Media with five daily episodes lasting 15 to 20 minutes, and the other an hour.”

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Quake Media CEO Doug Rosenberg released a statement regarding Rose’s podcast:

“We are excited to partner with a living legend in the incomparable Pete Rose, and for the opportunity to launch Quake’s first sports podcast, Pete Rose’s Daily Picks. Rose is undeniably one of the most iconic athletes and polarizing personalities in sports, and it’s exciting to have him back behind a microphone for Quake. We are nearing our one-year anniversary, and we are thrilled to expand into the sports space, where there is a voracious appetite for sports betting content.”

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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.