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00:00But, of course, we begin with a piece of news that certainly our thoughts and prayers are with all of the people in Tallahassee at Florida State University.
00:08For those of you who are unaware, yesterday, tragedy once again has struck.
00:13Two people were killed and five wounded in a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee.
00:18Naturally, this is not a sports story, but given the fact that we cover a lot of sports at FSU, basketball, football, baseball, et cetera,
00:24certainly wanted to mention this at the top of the show, and I'm sure coverage everywhere that you could possibly find it continuing here for the distant future would be my guess.
00:35All right, let's get to some sports stories here.
00:36We'll start in New York.
00:38A new bill could be heading our way, and it could max the amount of money that you can bet on sports in the state of New York.
00:44How about this?
00:45A $5,000 daily betting cap could enter, and it's up for vote.
00:49It also includes maximum of five deposits per day, which means if you go broke four times, you can only do it one more time and make it a fifth.
00:59Also, banning ads on promo boosts, bonus bets, and no sweat offers.
01:03And also, how about this?
01:04No ads in between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. or during live games.
01:09So New York seems to be taking responsible gambling pretty seriously.
01:12We'll see if a bill comes to pass.
01:14Meanwhile, it doesn't look like we'll have any clarity where Aaron Rodgers may or may not play in 2025.
01:19He said he's taking his time.
01:21He went on the Pat McAfee show and essentially has said that the draft is inconsequential for what he wants to do, may retire, may stay playing.
01:28He said that he also went to New York and met with the new general manager and essentially said that he didn't need to fly there because they could have just told him on the phone that he didn't need to come.
01:39They told him that they were moving on, and you saw the quote there.
01:42He also said that, are you sure you want to play football?
01:44He said yes, and then he said that they're going in another direction.
01:47Which direction Aaron Rodgers chooses to go is really anybody's guess at this point, folks.
01:52The draft is next week.
01:53Doesn't seem like he's going to sign before then, but there is part of what Aaron Rodgers said.
01:58Yet again, this is courtesy of the Pat McAfee show.
02:01Rodgers still TBD on 2025.
02:03That's the bottom line.
02:04Also, TBD is Dame Lillard on whether or not he'll play in game two for the Milwaukee Bucks.
02:08Seems like he's making some good progress here, but he's definitely out for game one, although it seems like that this blood-thinning medication that he's taking is working right now.
02:19And right now, we'll see if Lillard can play in game two that will come up next week for Milwaukee against Indiana.
02:25Sacramento Kings are finalizing a deal to hire longtime NBA executive Scott Perry as their new GM.
02:29He was with the Kings in 2017.
02:32He also was with the Detroit Pistons, so Perry could be joining the Kings in the not-too-distant future.
02:37Look for that announcement coming later today or tomorrow.
02:40In Major League Baseball, the home run leader is a little bit of a surprise, to say the least.
02:44His name is Tyler Soderstrom.
02:45He hit his ninth home run yesterday as the A's beat the White Sox 8-0.
02:50Lawrence Butler, J.J. Bladet, Brent Rooker also homered.
02:53And the A's are playing good baseball.
02:55They've won four out of five, and they're only one game under .500 this season.
02:59So even despite the move from Oakland to Sacramento, things seem to be going well.
03:04And that has Barkatze, their manager, in a good mood.
03:07It was a great win.
03:08You know, these guys have obviously worked really hard.
03:11And, you know, I think we've grinded through a few series.
03:14But to come in here and get a sweep was really good for the group and, you know, before we head into Milwaukee.
03:23I don't know if we ask you about Soderstrom every day.
03:25But another home run today, just hoping to say about his continued success here.
03:29Yeah, I mean, a home run off a lefty that's a tough lefty just shows, you know, he's continuing to stay with his approach.
03:35And, you know, when you're hitting the ball hard, it sometimes gets frustrating.
03:39But when they, you know, obviously go over the fence, it's boring.
03:42So he continues to be good, staying disciplined in his zone and taking good at-bats.
03:47Good at-bats for Riley Green as well.
03:49He was in a slump with the Tigers.
03:51He breaks out of it.
03:52He hit three hits, two RBIs.
03:53The Tigers beat the Royals 6-1.
03:56That was the final.
03:57Randy Rosarino's time in Seattle is off to a good start again this season.
04:01Game-tying home run in the ninth inning and then a two-run double in the 10th.
04:04Flair for the dramatic.
04:05He's always had it.
04:05The Mariners beat the Reds 11-7 in 10 innings.
04:09But the error is really the story.
04:11Eli De La Cruz made his fifth and his sixth error.
04:14Francona, Terry Francona, the manager of the Reds, didn't single out De La Cruz but said that mistakes were made in the game.
04:19Well, I mean, we made a lot of mistakes.
04:22I thought we played with a lot of heart, which is good.
04:26We just made too many mistakes to win a game like that today.
04:31The four errors, major concern going forward or did you flush this?
04:36Well, I mean, for today, it didn't help us.
04:40You know, there were some plays that weren't errors that didn't get made.
04:42Like, you know, it made it really tough on Singer early on.
04:46He didn't have his best fastball today.
04:48And we prolonged that inning.
04:50It probably cost him an inning, too.
04:52So there's a lot more that goes into it than just the errors that are on the board.
04:56Yankees beat the Rays' final 6-3.
05:00Ben Rice was the big winner in yesterday's game.
05:04For those of you who played anything with him in DFS, Ben Rice, 4-5, two RBIs, having a nice year, too.
05:09Batting over .300, OPS over 1,000.
05:12Bullpen also did their job.
05:14Jazz Chisholm Jr. argued a ball and strike in this game and was thrown out.
05:18But needless to say, Ben Rice thinks that his start is legit.
05:21A little weird, you know, being on the visiting side today, but I was glad we were able to come out with a win.
05:29Did it feel like early on, like, did it feel like you guys were lucky to only be down 3-1?
05:33Or what was the kind of feeling there in the dugout when your pitchers were sharing a bunch of their guys early?
05:38Yeah, I think that's, no, I don't think we felt that way at all.
05:40I think it was just on to the next, on to the next inning, right?
05:43Just next pitch.
05:43Keep winning pitches.
05:45Bullpen did a great job tonight.
05:47Keeping us in it the whole way.
05:48And, yeah, just kept putting us in a position to put some runs up.
05:54Rangers sweep the Angels.
05:56They win 5-3 behind Kumar Rocker on the mound for Texas.
05:59Also, Bruce Bochy, the manager, he won his 2,183rd game, tying Dusty Baker for 7th all-time.
06:07The story in Philadelphia right now is Christopher Sanchez.
06:11What a great start to the season he has had.
06:12And yesterday, he threw 7 innings and struck out 12 in a win against the San Francisco Giants.
06:1911 of his strikeouts on change-ups.
06:21He's been as good as advertised going into the season.
06:24And Rob Thompson, almost speechless with the performance.
06:28Yeah, it was as good as you're going to get, I think.
06:30I mean, or as good as I've seen.
06:32I mean, a lot of swing and miss.
06:35It was just diving into the ground.
06:38He gave up the home run on a slider.
06:40And he hadn't thrown the slider in about four innings.
06:43So, yeah, he was really good today.
06:46And we needed that.
06:48What was he doing different with his change-up?
06:52I think he just had it.
06:54You know, it was just one of those days where it was just coming out of his hand properly.
06:57And he had confidence in it.
06:59And he kept throwing it.
07:00Gunnar Henderson's first home run is a big one for the Orioles.
07:04They beat the Guardians 6-2.
07:06Cleveland's lost 3-4.
07:08And also, in Miami yesterday, the Diamondbacks complete the sweep.
07:11Pavin Smith, homers in back-to-back games.
07:13Josh Naylor also homered as well.
07:15The Diamondbacks beat the Marlins 6-4.
07:17They've won five games in a row.
07:19As I mentioned, the NFL draft is coming up next week.
07:21A lot of smokescreens going on right now.
07:24Cleveland Browns throwing a few different smokescreens out there, so to speak.
07:27Their general manager, Andrew Berry,
07:30saying that Travis Hunter is a unicorn due to his versatility,
07:33actually compared him to Shohei Ohtani.
07:36Saying that he can play both ways,
07:38says you get a unicorn if you use them both ways.
07:40Here's Berry on the potential of drafting Travis Hunter.
07:44I think it's, and I'm going to use a crossword now,
07:46it's a little bit like Ohtani, right?
07:48Where, you know, when he's playing one side,
07:50he's an outstanding player.
07:52If he's a pitcher, he's a hitter, he's an outstanding player.
07:54Where, you obviously get a unicorn if you use them both ways.
07:57How would he do you use this?
07:59Andrew?
08:01Yeah, I guess without getting too much into the specific planning,
08:03because, you know, he's not here.
08:06Like, you know, we have a decision.
08:07But, you know, that's something that's also unique.
08:09And it's something that, like I said,
08:12every team across the league would have to figure out.
08:15Trinavius White re-signs a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.
08:18It's where he started.
08:19He played on the Rams and Ravens last season.
08:22And also, Ryan Ramczyk retires from the New Orleans Saints
08:25after playing there for seven years.
08:27Justin Thomas leads at the RBC Heritage Open.
08:30Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid.
08:32Pretty significant sports wagering story coming out yesterday.
08:36Potentially new legislature in the state of New York
08:38that could change the way that people bet on sports.
08:40Let's get into it with Sam McQuillen of Legal Sports Report.
08:44Sam, thanks for coming on the show here on this Friday.
08:46And, you know, I did see, you know, you obviously post on social media.
08:50And I know that there's an article up over at Legal Sports Report.
08:53But, I mean, I think there's a pretty significant story.
08:55Because if this does happen, a couple of things will change
08:58in our world of sports betting.
09:00First of all, you have the big state of New York
09:03basically saying we're not going to allow people
09:06to lose all their money betting on sports.
09:08There's going to be a limit to what you can do.
09:10And then the second part of this is that if this does go through,
09:13it could mean some limitations for other states
09:16around the country as well.
09:18Yeah, New York is always a trendsetter.
09:20When you talk about any kind of legislation,
09:22and it's the biggest market in the legal sports betting world.
09:26So it's no surprise we're focusing a lot of attention
09:28on a new bill that was just filed on Wednesday
09:31that could be the most aggressive restrictions
09:34we've seen so far on sports betting apps.
09:37This legislation introduced by Assemblymember Robert Carroll
09:40would cap the daily betting,
09:42the amount you're able to bet at $5,000 per user.
09:46So once you bet $5,000, you have to wait a whole 24 hours.
09:49And you could only do five deposits a day.
09:52It would also institute a ban on ads
09:54that promote any bonus bets, odds boost, and no sweat offers,
09:57which, as we know, are really central components
10:00of the sports betting marketing plan.
10:02It would also ban advertising between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.
10:06and during live sporting events,
10:07which we know is a huge time for sportsbooks
10:10to try to get users to sign up.
10:12And when most sportsbook ads actually run,
10:14the bill has just been referred to the Racing and Wagering Committee,
10:18which has historically supported industry-backed proposals.
10:21This obviously is not a proposal
10:23that the industry is in favor of,
10:25and it means it will face probably a lot of resistance in the legislature.
10:29But I'm not sure this bill really goes anywhere
10:32in terms of actually getting passed and implemented.
10:35But the fact that it was just introduced
10:37is a very important thing to note.
10:39It is the nation's largest betting market,
10:42and it mirrors a lot of similar proposals
10:44that we've seen on a federal level.
10:46New York has generated over $3 billion in tax revenue
10:49since launching sports betting in 2022.
10:52They have the highest tax rate in the nation.
10:53It's been a very tough market for books
10:55to pretty much break even on,
10:57but you can't really leave the market
10:59because then you're going to be ceding it to other players.
11:02Critics warn that it could drive high-stakes bettors
11:04to offshore sportsbooks,
11:06where they don't have these kind of penalties or limits,
11:08or even to New Jersey,
11:10which obviously was a huge market
11:12when sports betting first launched.
11:13It was a state that basically got
11:15the sports betting ban overturned.
11:17But then once New York launched,
11:19lost a lot of money.
11:20So it's going to be an interesting one to watch.
11:23Again, I don't really think it goes anywhere,
11:25but you never know what kind of language
11:27could get included somewhere down the line,
11:29if there's some proposal.
11:31And New York is one of those states
11:32we've talked about a lot
11:33where they're considering other gaming changes,
11:35especially with online sports betting.
11:36So you don't know what will kind of be a concession
11:38and what will make it down the line there.
11:40But it's definitely something
11:41we're going to keep watching
11:42and see if other states, you know,
11:44have any similar proposals down the line.
11:45Yeah, I mean, we haven't really heard,
11:48you know, the term max bets anywhere
11:50since sports betting has become legal.
11:52I mean, some do have some restrictions
11:54based on games,
11:55some smaller college basketball games,
11:56football games as well.
11:57But I mean, there's a definitive line
11:59in the sand here
12:00if they choose to pass this through.
12:02All right, so sport event contracts,
12:04prediction markets,
12:06the story of the year for us here
12:07when we talk, Sam,
12:08and everyone over at Legal Sports Report,
12:10some states say, okay, no problem.
12:12Other states say,
12:13you got to pay your taxes like everybody else.
12:16So in this case,
12:17our latest story is the state saying no go,
12:19got to pay taxes,
12:20got to be like the rest
12:21of the sports gaming operators.
12:22I guess we'll just have to see what happens here.
12:25Yeah, it's a similar story when we were,
12:27you know, when I was on the show last year
12:28talking about daily fantasy sports
12:30and sort of the parlay products that they had
12:33that a lot of states said for sports betting.
12:34Now we're doing the same thing
12:36with these prediction markets,
12:37which companies like Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com
12:40have been basically using
12:43to try to skirt sports betting laws
12:44off for a very similar product.
12:46Tennessee is just the latest state
12:47to get involved in this,
12:49but they're actually the first one
12:50to ask the federal regulator
12:53to step in and shut down
12:56these sports prediction markets,
12:57which puts new pressure
12:59on the markets themselves.
13:00The Commodity Futures Trading Commission
13:02has been basically trying to figure out
13:05how they regulate this.
13:07It's under a new regime
13:08under President Trump.
13:09So it's been a while
13:10since they really have gotten
13:12all their ducks in a row.
13:13Meanwhile, you know,
13:15you've had nine states now
13:16take some action against them.
13:17A lot of them have sent cease and desist,
13:19arguing that what these companies are offering
13:21is actually real money wagers
13:23and they're doing it in 50 states
13:25without sports betting licenses,
13:26without protections,
13:28without any of the taxes
13:29that we just talked about briefly.
13:31So you have the industry watching it
13:33to see if this can continue.
13:34And they're not,
13:36they're frankly,
13:36they're not subject to the same regulations
13:38on both fronts.
13:39So, you know,
13:41now momentum is basically building
13:43against these companies
13:44all while we wait the CFTC
13:46to intervene here.
13:48We've had the federal court case
13:50in Nevada
13:50where the state
13:52just sent a cease and desist letter
13:53telling them to get out of the state.
13:55A judge overruled that
13:57saying they can keep going
13:58until the CFTC
13:59really chimes in here.
14:01But meanwhile,
14:01they've handled a lot of money
14:02and they keep expanding.
14:03We had $500 million
14:05just on Kalshi
14:06was wagered on March Madness.
14:09And then they just launched
14:11MLB markets this week as well.
14:12So they're expanding
14:13basically while the CFTC
14:15is trying to figure out
14:16how to do things.
14:17And meanwhile,
14:17states are pushing back
14:18telling them,
14:19you know,
14:19if you're not licensed
14:20to do sports betting in the state,
14:21we want you to not offer
14:23this product.
14:23So we'll see,
14:25you know,
14:25this is going to be a story
14:25we keep watching here,
14:26but we'll see when it all
14:27comes to a head.
14:28We'll see if anything,
14:29you know,
14:30actually happens
14:31as a result of this.
14:32I would imagine
14:32there'll be a lot more lawsuits
14:33and eventually
14:34it's all going to be decided
14:35in a court.
14:36But this is a very interesting
14:38development in this process
14:41that, again,
14:41only started in January
14:42is when they first started
14:43offering these sort of
14:44sports prediction markets,
14:45which are very similar
14:46to sports betting,
14:47but they say don't want
14:48to be regulated
14:49as sports betting.
14:50It only started in January
14:51and we're only a couple
14:52months into the year
14:52and already it's rapidly expanding.
14:54We have now nine states
14:56taking some kind of action
14:57against them.
14:58Now, finally,
14:59this is a story
14:59I know that just popped on here
15:01about ESPN Bet.
15:02I know that, Sam,
15:02you mentioned we're going
15:03to talk about this
15:03here on social media.
15:05Okay, so I'm not positive here
15:07how this is going to work.
15:08I'm going to require
15:09a little bit of an explanation here.
15:11So they're calling it Mint Club,
15:13which essentially
15:14is some sort of way
15:15to link media
15:17or your app
15:18with sports betting.
15:20I'm going to need
15:20a little bit more here
15:21in terms of info here
15:23how this works.
15:25Yeah,
15:25Penn Entertainment
15:26has been one of those companies
15:27we've talked about
15:27for a long time.
15:29When are they going to
15:29actually make progress
15:30in sports betting?
15:31They have this partnership
15:32with ESPN,
15:33the ESPN sports betting app.
15:35So the latest thing
15:35they've done here
15:36is launch this new feature
15:37called Mint Club,
15:39which is only available
15:40to those who link
15:41their ESPN
15:42and ESPN Bet apps,
15:44which was, again,
15:45one of those core,
15:46you know,
15:47selling points
15:48that they pushed out
15:49when they first did
15:50this ESPN deal.
15:51It will allow users
15:52to track their bets
15:54in the ESPN app
15:55as well as ESPN Bet app.
15:57So if you go to the ESPN app
15:58to check your scores,
15:59to check how,
16:00you know,
16:00certain players are doing,
16:01you have all the bets
16:02that you placed in ESPN
16:03in there as well.
16:05It's kind of similar
16:05to what other apps have done.
16:07But again,
16:08you can only do this
16:09if you link both apps,
16:10which is a really
16:11big thing that ESPN
16:13wants to push here.
16:14The last time
16:14they talked about
16:15account linking,
16:16which they only launched
16:16in November,
16:17you had only about
16:18230,000 people had done it,
16:20which is less than 1%
16:22of ESPN users.
16:24So this is another move
16:25to try to promote people
16:26who use the ESPN app,
16:28people who use ESPN's
16:30core assets to download
16:31this app,
16:31to link them together
16:32so they can promote
16:33more of that personalization,
16:36you know,
16:36take more into account
16:37of the teams you like,
16:38the sports you like,
16:39and try to feed you
16:40offers there.
16:41It's coming a little
16:41late in the game.
16:42Penn is obviously
16:43under a lot of pressure.
16:44They've paid
16:44one and a half billion dollars
16:46to use ESPN.
16:47It's about a year
16:48and a half later,
16:49and we're just talking
16:50about this now,
16:51but in their case,
16:52it's better late than never.
16:53They want to promote the app.
16:54They're trying to retool it.
16:55They just hired a bunch
16:56of execs from FanDuel,
16:57a bunch of execs
16:58from Disney as well.
16:59So they're really trying
17:00to push this out
17:01and get ahead of it,
17:02and that's all
17:02while they're in a proxy fight,
17:03and the proxy fight
17:04is centered around
17:05their online sports betting failures
17:06and how much money
17:07they've wasted.
17:08So they're really trying
17:09to finally turn it around here,
17:11and Mint Club
17:12is just the latest
17:13kind of offering
17:14that is unique
17:15because of their ESPN partnership.
17:17We'll see how many people adopt it.
17:18They announce earnings
17:18in about a month,
17:20so they're going to hope
17:21to get that 230,000 number
17:23much, much higher.
17:24You don't want to have
17:251% of your users linked,
17:26so we'll see, you know,
17:28how it's working out
17:28for them in a few months.
17:30Yep, I would agree,
17:31and by the way,
17:31no offense to ESPN Bet,
17:33but if this was
17:34such a fantastic idea
17:35that's revolutionary
17:36and it's going to be
17:37a great idea,
17:37then why didn't they do it
17:39six months ago?
17:41That would be my question.
17:42Anyway, Sam,
17:43have a great rest
17:43of your weekend.
17:44I will talk to you next week.
17:45Thanks again.
17:46Yep, thanks a lot, Craig.