You have $190 billion last year bet illegally in the U.S. on the major sports leagues and the NCAA. I think what it's all about is money, and in the end, [the leagues] want a piece of the action. And if they wanted that, they should've negotiated with me a long time ago. | | | | Adam Henrique sends the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012.
(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “You have $190 billion last year bet illegally in the U.S. on the major sports leagues and the NCAA. I think what it's all about is money, and in the end, [the leagues] want a piece of the action. And if they wanted that, they should've negotiated with me a long time ago.”
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| | rantnrave:// All eyes on the SUPREME COURT as it hears CHRISTIE v. NCAA. It's NEW JERSEY's latest attempt to fight a federal law banning sports betting. If NJ wins, sports gambling could come out of the shadows (and LAS VEGAS), with every state able to then decide whether it wants to get into the game. NJ wants to allow sports gambling at racetracks and casinos. The NCAA and sports leagues are fighting it, mostly because of their long-held problems with gambling. The NBA, though, wants legal gambling but under federal regulation. Commissioner ADAM SILVER has the league set up to take advantage if that happens. Then again, maybe the NFL secretly hopes it loses. Every league probably has some kind of plan in place if, and when, gambling becomes legal. Their objections could be as much about opportunity, not morality or principle. Will there be mass implications if NJ wins? Yeah -- it's going to be a whole lot easier to bet. Get ready for gambling content. But gambling is an inherent part of sports at this point. Fantasy football. Daily fantasy sports. Bets between friends. Point spreads. Pick 'ems. NFL analysts picking games every Sunday morning. MARCH MADNESS pools. Two teams in Vegas. Would legalized betting help ratings and increase engagement with the sports? Would the NFL be where it is if it didn't benefit from that already? Leagues rightfully worry about the integrity of competition. Wouldn't it be better if gambling was out in the open and regulated? Aren't pro athletes already too rich to put themselves into positions that could compromise games? NFL players make millions -- they're not broke college kids point-shaving because they don't get paid. If you're into reading tea leaves, SCOTUS justices seemed to be open to NJ's arguments during Monday's oral hearings, though I'd warn you against reading too much into that. Might be better off reading SCOTUSBLOG for now... KOBE scoring 81. VINCE CARTER dunking over FREDERIC WEIS. LIL' PENNY. THE MALICE AT THE PALACE. DIRK NOWITZKI. The NBA is built on stars, dynasties, and big moments. It’s created its own culture, with stories you need to hear. SportsSET: "The Dunks, Stars, and Rivalries That Made a League: NBA Oral Histories"... SUNIL GULATI isn't running for another term as US SOCCER president. Time to hit the reset button. The power structure that failed the USMNT ahead of the 2018 WORLD CUP will soon be gone. We're about to see what the next generation of US Soccer is going to look like... BILL SIMMONS is starting RINGER FILMS. Give me more of this... GRONK smash. Gronk suspended for a game. Did he deserve worse if the NFL wants to show it takes head injuries seriously, especially from cheap shots?... LAVAR took UCLA's BALL and went home... The free stuff college football players can take... HER HOOP STATS... The UFC won't be happy, even if it is funny. | | | - Mike Vorkunov, curator |
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 | REDEF |
| Kobe scoring 81. Vince Carter dunking over Frederic Weis. Lil' Penny. The NBA is built on stars, dynasties, and big moments. It’s created its own culture, with stories you need to hear. | | |
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 | GQ |
| You might be wondering: Why would anyone actually do this? Meet the guys who actually did-to varying degrees of success. | | |
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 | ESPN |
| Should the Supreme Court expand legalized sports gambling to New Jersey (and beyond), the NBA is prepared to move quickly and take advantage of a potentially massive revenue stream. | | |
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 | The Atlantic |
| One Marine learned that you can’t outpace your demons or suicidal thoughts. But it doesn’t hurt to try. | | |
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 | 30 for 30 Podcasts |
| When the Tribune Company bought the Chicago Cubs in 1981, its executives saw nighttime baseball as a way to turn around the club’s fortunes. The only problem? Scores of Wrigleyville residents were ready to fight against it. This is the story of the decades-long wait to bring lights to Wrigley Field, and a battle pitting a giant media conglomerate against a scrappy neighborhood. | | |
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 | CBSSports.com |
| Sometimes, it is tough to separate art vs. artist. Here's how to do it in regards to the Hall. | | |
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 | Deadspin |
| On Thanksgiving Weekend, at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Nike staged a tribute to itself, its founder, and the fruits of more than 40 years of giving away shit to college sports programs. It was the Phil Knight 80 Invitational, an invitation-only, dual-bracket basketball tournament that featured some of the nation’s top programs. It was couched as a celebration of the Nike founder’s 80th birthday. | | |
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 | Tito Football |
| Laurie Cunningham is recognised as the first black player to professionally represent England at any level. One of England's greats, Real Madrid paid a club record fee for his signing, and he also played for teams such as Manchester United, Leicester City & Marseille. Laurie was a self-styled London soul boy; he loved dancing and music, and was a regular in an iconic scene of London's history. | | |
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 | Men in Blazers |
| Rog talks with former Premier League, Champions League and Euro 2016 referee Mark Clattenburg about the psychology of officiating, mentally coping with errors in-game, dealing with abuse from coaches, and life as English football's first "Rock Star Referee." | | |
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 | The Undefeated |
| Malcolm X used to snidely refer to Martin Luther King Jr. as "Reverend Dr. Chicken Wing" because he thought King's nonviolent response to racism was soft and an insult to the black people who Malcolm felt had a right to physically defend themselves against the violence perpetuated against them. | | |
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| | | ricky the dragon steamboat |
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 | The Nation |
| NFL owners have offered $89 million to stop player protest, but there are strings. | | |
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 | WBUR |
| Jim Herrington spent his last few dollars trying to photograph a 100-year-old Italian climber who scaled granite walls with hemp rope and fought the Nazis during World War II. | | |
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| ESPN |
| Fans saw Brent Sopel as a journeyman defenseman with shaggy hair and a wide smile that was often minus a few teeth. But he was quietly struggling with a learning disorder and alcoholism. The former Blackhawk found solace in helping others with dyslexia. | | |
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 | SB Nation |
| NBA players take us inside the delightful game within the game that happens when someone shoots a corner three in front of the enemy’s bench. | | |
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 | Outside Online |
| Our writer spent a week riding bikes with the founder of Clif Bar to learn about the next great innovations in the performance fuel space. | | |
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 | The Players' Tribune |
| This disease won’t keep me from achieving my dream. | | |
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 | BBC Sport |
| The eyes of the sporting world will be on the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday (Dec 5) for its decision on whether Russia will be at the 2018 Winter Games. | | |
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 | FanGraphs |
| Free agency, as we know it -- as major-league players know it -- is under duress. The current post is related to one I published yesterday on stresses facing the middle-tier player in free agency. But the issue is really larger and more fundamental in scope than that. | | |
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 | SCOTUSblog |
| The 10th Amendment is at the heart of an important Supreme Court case next week, in which New Jersey and a group of horse-owners will argue that a federal law that bars virtually all states from legalizing sports betting violates the Constitution. | | |
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 | Sports Illustrated |
| Gravely ill with cancer, Jim Valvano is fighting for his life the same way he coached basketball, by learning all he can, talking up a storm and insisting on the last shot. | | |
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 | YouTube |
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