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00:00Jason Tatum of the Boston Celtics underwent Achilles surgery.
00:04Not only is he out for the remainder of the playoffs,
00:07but there is some serious doubt as to whether or not he'll suit up for the Celtics even next season.
00:12Remember, the NBA season begins late October again this year.
00:15If he misses a full year, that certainly puts his future and the Celtics future in doubt.
00:20Their immediate future is trying to get a win against the New York Knicks.
00:23They're down 3-1 in the series.
00:26Tatum has been the best player on the floor, at least on the Celtics side.
00:31Maybe Brunson on the Knicks side, but bad news for the Celtics moving forward, no question.
00:35All right, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be headed toward a seven-game series, right?
00:42I mean, this has got to go seven.
00:44The Thunder did not cover last night the 10.5 points, but they did beat the Nuggets 112-105.
00:49So now they're up 3-2 and headed back to the Mile High City where Denver's going to win,
00:53and then we're going to have a game seven, right?
00:54SGA, Shea Gilgis-Alexander, 31.7 assists.
00:57Nikola Jokic, a monster game, 44 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists.
01:02In fact, Jokic hit a three-point shot to tie it with a minute 30 left, but it was Oklahoma City all from there.
01:09Here's Shea Gilgis-Alexander after the game on getting a win in Game 5.
01:14Yeah, we had no choice.
01:17The game obviously wasn't going our way, and we always say, like, the answer is never, like, a hero play or anything out of the ordinary.
01:26It's being who we are.
01:27It's trusting each other.
01:28We're playing with all five on both ends, and whatever the problem is, we can fix it with the collective effort and not a single effort.
01:35And that's all we tried to focus on when it wasn't going our way.
01:38We did enough to get a W.
01:42What's been, you know, with the last couple fourth quarters down the stretch, and if you guys are in the same position on Thursday,
01:48what do you guys have to do to get to the finish line?
01:52Better communicate, I think, all around, offense and defense, get to our spots and execute.
01:57You know, I felt like we got some good shots at the end.
01:59I just felt our defense wasn't up to par, you know, so especially closing minutes of the game.
02:06So I think it just comes down to a little bit better execution and, you know, not giving up wide open shots,
02:14just kind of putting out contests, making them have to do something else or whatever, work for it at least, you know what I'm saying?
02:18So I think we could just do better in that regard.
02:24The Indiana Pacers, meanwhile, are one series away from the NBA Finals as they await the winner of Boston and New York.
02:32They did it last night.
02:33Indiana goes to Cleveland as a big dog, wins outright, 114-105.
02:39They're back in the Eastern Conference Finals again this season, breaking up for Rick Carlisle and company.
02:43They've been great.
02:44Tyrese Halliburton, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists.
02:48Donovan Mitchell, 35 points on just 8 for 25 from the field and made a lot of free throws but didn't come through there in the clutch.
02:56Boy, it would seem like Cleveland had a clear path to get to the Finals, didn't get it done.
03:00Here's Rick Carlisle on going on the road and taking care of business.
03:04You know, winning a closeout game on the road is extremely difficult.
03:09Cleveland threw a hellacious game at us.
03:11You know, we were down 19 and, you know, Ty's run of shot making in the second quarter got us back into it.
03:20And then, you know, we just had a lot of guys that played extremely hard and we just said, hey, let's hang in this thing, try to wear them down and see if we can outlast them.
03:32And essentially, you know, that's what happened.
03:36You know, Toppin made some great plays at the end of the third.
03:40You know, Nimhard was clutch again.
03:43Ty was great.
03:44Pascal was great.
03:44And Miles had a couple of huge rebounds at the end.
03:48So, really thrilled for our guys.
03:53And, you know, we'll see what happens next.
03:56I mean, I just feel like for us, we've had a lot of positives, a lot of, but, you know, I told you during the year we're going to be judged off this.
04:10We're going to be a lot of talk.
04:13It's what comes with it.
04:15And we didn't capitalize.
04:18So, now we've got to use this as motivation.
04:26Everybody's going to write us off.
04:27Everybody in here.
04:28I mean, it's not personal.
04:31So, what are we going to do about it next year?
04:35And, yeah.
04:39One of the more disappointing outcomes of the playoffs has to be Cleveland's season ending like this.
04:44Meanwhile, in the National Hockey League, the Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1.
04:48As expected.
04:49And they're now up 3-1 in the series.
04:51They scored one goal in each period.
04:54Mikko Ratnan did not score a goal, but he did have an assist.
04:57Stars are minus 1250 to win the series.
05:00And now officially the favorites to win the Stanley Cup out of the West.
05:04Plus 260.
05:05Here's Peter DeBoer on the win last night.
05:08It just seemed like another really good third period.
05:11There's a chance you guys could sit back in a 2-1 lead.
05:13It just looked like you were very aggressive coming out of the locker room.
05:17Yeah, good third period like the other night.
05:18I think, you know, listen, it's a good formula when you're playing from in front against that team as opposed to behind.
05:26They're a tough team to play from behind against.
05:28So, you know, but I liked how we handled having the lead all night.
05:32You know, we kept our foot on the gas.
05:34Huge power play goal.
05:36Big kill at the end there too.
05:39And, you know, I thought our 5-on-6 was excellent.
05:44You know, when you think about we hold the record for giving up.
05:50How many goals did we give up in that one game?
05:55Yeah, three in a minute.
05:57So we're 5-on-6 in NHL history we had late in the season.
06:02So we've obviously fixed that.
06:05All right.
06:05So now the big story in Major League Baseball has nothing to do with any of the games yesterday.
06:11ESPN first reported the announcement from Major League Baseball and the Commissioner Rob Manfred,
06:17which essentially made Pete Rose and the players on the Chicago White Sox that had been banned for life from Major League Baseball,
06:25eligible officially for the Hall of Fame.
06:28Now, one thing to be perfectly clear on, Major League Baseball doing this has nothing to do with the Hall of Fame's decision.
06:37All this did is made simply these players eligible as part of the Hall of Fame's rules.
06:42So essentially what the commissioner did was said since Pete Rose has passed away
06:48and all the players in that Black Sox scandal passed away,
06:51they can't be ineligible because they're no longer alive.
06:55So that's really the main explanation that you need to understand.
06:58Pete Rose could get voted into the Hall of Fame by one of those veterans committees in two years.
07:04We'll see if that ends up happening.
07:06All right.
07:06Now to the Dodgers.
07:07Rookie Rookie Sasaki is going on the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement.
07:11So bad news for them.
07:13Good news for the Detroit Tigers.
07:14How about getting this performance from Javi Baez, who's like found himself again in baseball,
07:20two three-run home runs to beat the Boston Red Sox 10-9.
07:24The Tigers are on a roll.
07:26Here's A.J. Hinch on the reclamation of Baez.
07:31You know, I am so happy for that guy.
07:35I don't know if he's going to tell you how important it is to him.
07:38I don't know if he's going to tell you how much it means to him, but I know it does.
07:46And our whole team explodes, not just because we win and not just how we win,
07:53but the fact that Javi's right in the middle of it is so awesome for this team and for Javi himself.
08:00Mariners beat the Yankees last night, 2-1.
08:04J.P. Crawford, an extra inning single in the 11th inning.
08:07Good pitching performance from Brian Wu of the Mariners.
08:10So the Marlins led last night late, but gave it up.
08:14The Cubs come all the way back down 4-2 in the ninth to win 5-4.
08:18Nico Horner, Justin Turner had big hits in the ninth inning as the Cubs end up getting the win.
08:23And the Cardinals, who were winners of nine in a row, were rained out, but they're playing two games today.
08:27So we'll see if they get that winning streak.
08:30Welcome back to Newswire here on SportsGrid.
08:33Great to have Pat Evans in the house from Legal Sports Report.
08:35We'll dive into the latest on sports betting in Oklahoma.
08:38We'll see if there's any future there.
08:40We'll start off today's show with North Carolina.
08:42Pat, great to have you back here.
08:43Okay, so tax rates.
08:45You know, this has been a percolating story throughout the year.
08:47Not quite as big as these prediction markets.
08:49By the way, don't stop getting emails from these people with prediction markets.
08:53About this stuff.
08:54You're getting them.
08:54I'm getting them now, too, by the way.
08:56I'll show you one.
08:57Let's go on North Carolina here.
08:59Do you think that there is a chance that this state ends up hiking their sports betting tax rate?
09:04It certainly seems like it's in the cards.
09:06There's certainly a decent chance that it gets hiked because, you know, it has already passed the Senate.
09:12In the Senate's proposed budget, they take it from 18% to almost double that.
09:19And, you know, that's a significant amount for these sports books.
09:24But we haven't seen the House proposal.
09:26We haven't seen, you know, any indication that the appetite's there.
09:31But, you know, if the Senate passed it so easily, the appetite might be there in the House.
09:35Now, what is happening is, of course, the sports books are sending, you know, notices to their users to say, hey, reach out to the lawmakers.
09:42Tell them you don't want this because this is going to lead to worse odds and fewer promos and the like.
09:48And so that's not great for the users to see that.
09:52And then Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, has weighed in and said this is not a good policy.
10:00You shouldn't do this.
10:01So we'll see.
10:03This is by far the furthest one of these tax hikes has gotten this year, even though we, to your point, have been talking at length about them.
10:10You know, up in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine said, let's double our tax rate from 20% to 40%.
10:16Lawmakers said, no, let's not do that.
10:18We did that two years ago to go from 10% to 20%.
10:21And that was premature.
10:23So let's not go even further.
10:25Similarly, in Maryland, Governor Wes Moore said, let's double our tax rate from 15% to 30%.
10:30In his proposed budget, lawmakers again said, nope, let's not do that.
10:34So it's been, you know, certainly a topic of, yeah, the year in terms of the sports betting policy.
10:42In Louisiana, a bill was recently introduced to also raise taxes, nearly doubling again.
10:49And both this North Carolina one and the Louisiana one would be kind of helping the university athletic departments in the state.
10:57So there is at least some good reason to do that, I suppose.
11:01But yeah, to your question of, is this possible?
11:04It is.
11:04It has passed the Senate.
11:05Now we just have to see what happens in the House.
11:08Now let's get to Oklahoma here because, you know, there was some real optimism, I thought, about a month ago that maybe this would be on the ballot later in the year and then 2026 would come.
11:17Maybe they would have sports betting and get Texas' act in order going, too, because, you know, they border each other.
11:23But I guess not so much.
11:24Yeah, I think just like Hawaii, you know, entering this year, Hawaii and Oklahoma were both kind of states that were written off.
11:31They weren't real possibilities.
11:33Well, Hawaii, you know, got, of course, got to the conference committee, passing both the House and Senate, and were just a little bit different.
11:41And in conference committee, it just kind of fell apart.
11:44So that was the end of that Cinderella story.
11:46This one is kind of similar.
11:47I mean, entering the year, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and the tribes, their tautentious relationship kind of made it say, made us all think, you know, there's no way this is going to get done.
11:58Well, two different bills passed the House rather easily, got to the Senate, made it further than it ever has before any sports betting bill, passing a Senate committee, and it got to the Senate floor.
12:11And there was hope because one bill was just a straight enacting bill that would have created the framework, put it in action.
12:18But Stitt, Governor Stitt, had promised to veto any bill.
12:22And I don't think there was, and I don't think anybody thinks there was support in the Senate or House to fully overturn that because there are plenty of governor allies.
12:31The other bill, had that been vetoed, would have sent it to the ballot, and all Stitt could do is, you know, try to put the referendum date at a weird time.
12:42So maybe to draw fewer voters or the like, but apparently the appetite to get it on the Senate floor was not there by the time the session ran out.
12:52So, you know, the session ended without any action, and then another Cinderella story in the sports betting world fell apart.
13:01And it was, to your point, something that kind of grew all of excitement there in hopes that it would pass.
13:11But, of course, the session ended, and it didn't pass.
13:15Yeah, fair enough.
13:15All right, so now let's get to north of the border here in Alberta.
13:19What could the latest be there?
13:21Yeah, so this is, you know, kind of the one bright spot right now, aside from Missouri, you know, which will launch later this year.
13:28In sports betting launches.
13:31I mean, Alberta will launch at some point soon, whether it's later this year or early next year, that is the question.
13:38You know, last year we had the minister who kind of leads that regulatory area say, you know, we can launch sports betting in a similar model to Ontario.
13:48So completely open sports betting and online casino commercial market by the end of 2024.
13:54Well, 2024 came and went.
13:56Nothing happened.
13:57And finally, Dale Nally did introduce some legislation to the Alberta Parliament, and that did get through.
14:05And it is still pretty fairly open.
14:07It does create the agency that will oversee and license the market.
14:13So that, you know, agency has to now figure out the fine details of the industry and then, you know, solicit applications, get them, work through those, figure it all out.
14:27And then we can go ahead and launch.
14:29Again, you know, this is kind of a wait and see, obviously, of how long that's going to take, but it is certainly longer than the 2024 timeline that he initially put on it.
14:40We'll see, you know, if it does end up anything remotely like the wide open market, the revenues coming in now from there.
14:50I think there's more than 40, nearly 50 operators of online sports betting and casino.
14:55So huge.
14:57And operators seem to be pretty excited about Alberta.
15:00You know, they've long said that, you know, Ontario has the best regulatory framework out there.
15:05A lot of sports betting company executives have said this.
15:09Well, now they're excited because Alberta is going to model it after that.
15:14And they're saying that the, you know, the demographics are great.
15:18Well, it is, you know, a tiny fraction of the size of Ontario.
15:22It is the highest GDP per capita province and the highest spending GDP per capita on gambling at the casinos in the state.
15:34So there's a lot of optimism from operators out there that this could be a pretty, you know, rewarding state to be active in.
15:42All right.
15:43And then finally, we get to the latest on the sweepstakes bills across the country here.
15:48Prediction markets, sweepstakes.
15:50It seems like these states that don't have legalized sports betting are trying to find other ways to get people to engage.
15:57Yeah.
15:57So, I mean, this is to your point.
15:59The prediction markets are the big one right now.
16:01Um, but sweepstakes was the last one.
16:05And it is these companies finding these gray market loopholes, uh, through the laws to offer some sort of betting.
16:13And for lack of a better term, uh, this one is dual currency basically.
16:18And you, you use fake money to, you know, bet and win whatever, play your games.
16:23And then you can exchange it for real money and draw it out.
16:27So a lot of regulators have said, no, you can't do this.
16:30A lot of legislators have come back and said, Hey, let's figure this out.
16:33Let's tighten those laws and really, you know, better control our gambling industry.
16:39A lot of states have let that, those kind of fall to the side.
16:44Mississippi was the first state to see it pass a chamber, but then it got caught up in the online gambling or sports betting expansion discussion.
16:51And it died in a conference committee, um, Florida, your, your state had a, a pretty decent push, um, but it fell apart.
16:59But there's a couple of still active like New York, um, there's a couple others that are active that I can't think of right now, but you know, it, it, the appetite's not fully there.
17:09I think to, to concentrate on it, um, rather than, you know, other more important issues, probably.
17:17All right, Pat, great stuff.
17:18As always appreciate you coming on the show.
17:20We'll chat again next week.
17:21Thanks for coming on.
17:22Thanks as always, Craig.
17:23Thanks.
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