The entire article was brief, straightforward and, yet, extremely bold. Silver was the first acting commissioner of a major U.S. sports league to come out in support of legalized sports betting. In 437 words, he pivoted the NBA’s long-held public opposition to sports betting and ignited a discussion about a taboo subject for all professional leagues. “I think it was ground-breaking,” Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said of Silver’s op-ed in an email to ESPN. “Leagues for decades were hypocritical about gaming, pretending it doesn’t exist. Adam ended that hypocrisy.”
Tag: Betting
Behind the scenes, though, the leagues …
Behind the scenes, though, the leagues were studying the issue, preparing for the day when more states would offer sports betting. Former NBA commissioner David Stern believes Silver’s op-ed had an enormous impact on the other leagues’ approaches to the issue and was very influential overall in the movement toward expanded legal sports betting. “It indicated that the horse was about to leave the barn and it would be smart to jump on your own horse and follow along,” Stern said. “And they did.” “It was critical,” added Cuban. “Prior, those in favor of gaming expected pro sports to fight back. With the hypocrisy gone, the legal steps could move forward.”
Leonsis was on the forefront of the …
Leonsis was on the forefront of the league’s shift on betting and was one of the owners Silver consulted with on the op-ed. “My notion was what are we afraid of, when we know all this money is being spent offshore [with bookmakers] in an unregulated, untaxed and unmindful way?” Leonsis said in a phone interview Tuesday. Today, the professional leagues’ opposition to sports betting has vanished. Their focus now is on how to monetize the growing regulated industry through data and fees based on the amount wagered on the games.
Saints open up as 5.5-point road favorites over Buccaneers
The New Orleans Saints are poised for a get-right road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game in which they’re favored by 5.5 points.
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The New Orleans Saints are looking ahead to their rematch with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this time with Drew Brees in at quarterback. His understudy, Teddy Bridgewater, turned in the best game of his year when the Buccaneers visited last time; now Brees will get his turn on the road.
Per the latest odds from BetMGM, the Saints are favored by 5.5 points at Raymond James Stadium. With an over/under set at 51.5, that implies a final score in the neighborhood of Saints 29, Buccaneers 23. That’s hardly a blowout, suggesting more of a competitive atmosphere — which is what the Saints are used to in Tampa Bay, having trailed most of the game in last year’s visit. They lost the 2017 regular season finale a year earlier on a last-second Chris Godwin touchdown catch.
It’ll be fascinating to see how the Saints respond to getting punched in the mouth by the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, the first game in a four-week series against NFC South division rivals. While the Buccaneers have been nearly as sorry as Atlanta (their 3-6 record speaks for itself), they’ve had the opportunity to regroup during their bye week and play better football. They took the Seattle Seahawks to overtime and beat the Arizona Cardinals in a frantic fourth quarter on Sunday.
Still, this should be a get-right game for New Orleans. Their defensive line has quieted down in recent weeks after a hot start to the season. Starting defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and edge rusher Marcus Davenport have combined played a combined 287 snaps over their last four games, but that’s turned into just eight total tackles (two solo), no tackles for loss, no sacks, and one quarterback hit.
They’ll be playing essentially the same offensive line they bullied in their last meeting, a game where Rankins logged his first sack since last year’s Achilles injury and where Davenport put up the best day of his season (two sacks, three hits, and a forced fumble). The Saints defense will go as far as the monsters up front can take it (especially with top cornerback Marshon Lattimore on the mend), but all of those former first-round picks have lost their mojo in recent weeks.
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