FEBRUARY 2020
KOBE1978BRYANT - 2020
86 ofYears
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Contents Sports
In Every Issue 08
18 30 34 50 60
Letter from the Editor
10
Masthead
44
Fantasy Sports
76
12
Industry Insider: Sports Betting Tracker
In Focus
12 Kobe Bryant
Business
62 Key Business Trends to Watch in 2020
Health & Fitness
The Legend 18 NFL Super Bowl 30 XFL Everything You Need To Know 34 NBA Playoff Seeding Prediction F45 Team 86 Scorecast
61
Training
64 68 70 72
NFL XFL NBA MLB Olympic Games EPL UFC Golf Horse Racing
Manliness 78 Fashion 83 Griller’s
Corner 84 Tailgate Essentials
Travel
56
Magic in Miami
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
EDITOR’S LETTER
MICK MCCABE
editor-in-chief CONTACT EMAIL: MICHAEL@ SPORTSBETMAGAZINE.COM @SPORTSBETMAG @SPORTSBETMAGAZINE
It is with great sadness that we tribute our 4th anniversary issue to the late great Kobe Bryant. For me personally, Kobe was truly one of my greatest inspirations in not just sport, but life. His commitment and dedication to excellence was admired by many from all over the world. Moving from Australia to California in 2009 Kobe gave me my love for Basketball. You couldn’t miss a minute he played, it truly felt like he would hit a walkoff basket winner every single night. The mamba mentality inspires me everyday and will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life. Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful second act. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. Inside the Issue - What a time to be alive. The Sports betting market has taken the United States by storm over the past two years after PASPA was deemed unconstitutional paving the way for a legal regulated market. Just earlier this year Fox sports signed and announced there historic deal with The Stars group to become the first sports media and wagering partners, whilst the Walt Disney Company purchased a stake in Draftkings. Who would of thought? Consistent month after month growth of legal sportsbet wagering has seen other States storm the ballot to legalize. So what will 2020 and the new decade have install for Sports betting? If the numbers over the past two years are anything to go by, we can expect rapid growth as more States continue the push to legalize betting and eliminate the illegal market. 2020 promises to be one of the most exciting on the calendar. We start with Super Bowl 54 and the Quarterback matchup of the new generation as Patrick Mahomes leads the Kansas City Chiefs up against Jimmy Garropolo and the San Francisco 49ers in Miami. We dive deep into the Matchup and bring you every possible statistic you need in order to come out on top this Super Bowl Sunday. Of course 2020 is an Olympic year, we take you backstage with the Olympic committee to find out all the new events and what sports to get excited for in Tokyo. The debut of the XFL is just around the corner, with exciting new rules and a truly fast paced format the league will be very sports betting friendly. The NBA continues to be the battle of LA, with the Lebron James led Lakers dominating the league, but there Staples center rivals will not go away. We hope you enjoy the issue and SportsBet Magazine will continue to be your ultimate resource for always coming out on top. Welcome to the issue and to SportsBet Magazine.
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KOBE BRYANT THE LEGACY LEGENDS LIVE FOREVER
It started with a simple sentence a couple of decades ago. “I… have decided to skip college and take my talents to the NBA.” From there — and after some relatively humble beginnings coming off the bench and missing key shots in the playoffs — Kobe Bryant would go on to be one of the legends of the NBA. A legendary career on and off the court that was tragically cut short this past week. He’s the only NBA player to have a 20-year career with one team. Kobe’s raw statistics are otherworldly: Five championships, two Finals MVPs, one regular season MVP, third on the all-time career scoring list, 15 All-NBA teams, 18-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, and the list goes on and on. However, those stats do not define Kobe — we will remember him more as one of the game’s ultimate competitors, a guy as driven as anyone who has ever laced up shoes and walked onto a court. He talked about that and his legacy over the
course of short retirement. Kobe talked about a lot of things, but it all started with chasing his dream — and inspiring a generation of players to do the same.
“IT’S EASIER SAID TH AN DONE BECAUSE I THINK WE ALL H AVE DREAMS,” KOBE SAID. “BUT ONCE YOU GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO M AKE THOSE DREAMS A REALIT Y, YOU HIT OBSTACLES. AND I THINK UNFORTUN ATELY BECAUSE OF PRESSURE OR AN XIE T Y OR RESPONSIBILITIES, THINGS, WH ATEVER, YOU KIND OF GIVE UP ON THOSE DREAMS AND SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE YOU LOSE TH AT IM AGIN ATION. I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TH AT YOU NEVER LOSE TH AT. YOU H AVE TO KEEP TH AT. TH AT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. I NEVER GAVE UP MY DREAM.” And he inspired others not to give up their dreams. “The coolest thing is the messages I receive from the players,”. “They say thank you for the inspiration, thank you for the lessons, for the mentality. Those things honestly mean the most to me, that respect from the peers, there’s nothing in the world that beats that.” For a guy with such an intense, burning competitiveness, he was
amazingly at peace with his decision to walk away from the game after his final season. He had realized it was time, and knew he didn’t want to be traded and don another jersey to make a run at a sixth ring as a third or fourth option. He wanted to be a Laker for life. There will be no comeback as a player — in the NBA or Europe — and no stint as a coach. Kobe battled back in his final season so that he could walk off the court one final time and do it on his terms. Injuries were not going to be the last word on his story. His final appearance at Staples Center was against Utah, Kobe received the moment he wanted, walking off the court when he wanted to leave. But it was much more than just a final game on a farewell tour, his final stand in front of Laker nation and the basketball world apptimize everything that Kobe was about. Kobe willed his team to victory one final time and put up an incredible 60 points for one last salute. His work ethic and mamba mentality shined bright that night, allowing everyone to share the dream with him and believe that with work comes rewards and dreams do come true.
“I mean, how many players can say they’ve played 20 years and actually have seen the game go through three, four generations, you know what I mean? It’s not sad at all.” From when he entered the league, Kobe understood what it took to become a great player. He was driven, but he also studied film on the greats, he reached out to them and learned from them. He challenged those around him and pushed them to challenge him. When Kobe saw in others what he knew was in himself, he instantly respected it. “Dirk and I have always had a great relationship because we’re both extremely competitive. Also both extremely loyal to our teams,” Bryant said the last time he faced Dirk Nowitzki at Staples Center. “I’ll tell you a story about Dirk. He was up for free agency, and I knew what his response was going to be. But out of respect, everybody’s looking around at all these free agents, I felt I’d shoot you a text, if you want to come to L.A. He goes, I would love to play with you, but Dallas is my home. This is my team. I’m not leaving here. So he and I think a lot alike in that regard.” Kobe’s game evolved over the course of his career, from the high-flying No. 8 playing next to Shaquille O’Neal, the kid who won a dunk contest and used his athleticism to get buckets, to the fundamentally impeccable, high-IQ No. 24 that could read the play and be a step ahead of everyone else on the court. He was pushed hard by the other greats in the game along that path. “(The Spurs) pushed me to really fine tune and sharpen my game. I’m sad those matchups aren’t going to happen (anymore).” So what did Kobe see as his career defining moment?
The 2010 NBA Finals against Boston. “It was really big,” Kobe said. “We were part of the history of rivalry — and there was no way we could go down in history as being remembered as the team that lost twice to the Celtics (Boston had beaten Kobe’s Lakers in 2008). All the history that’s gone on (between these franchises) and there’s no way, no way. “So even above and beyond winning a fifth championship, it was disappointing the memory of this organization and the rivalry that’s been there for decades. That was more important…. You know it was still a very beautiful thing to be a part of it. But the pressure, and understanding what this Finals meant, especially 2010 because you can’t lose twice to these guys. I don’t care how many Hall of Famers they have, it just can’t happen. There’s no excuse.” Through the arc of his career Kobe evolved into the unquestioned leader, not just of the Lakers but one of the veteran voices in the NBA other players looked up to. He had help with that from other legends of the game. “(Bill Russell) has been an unbelievable mentor.,” Kobe said. “Especially from the standpoint of leadership and understanding group/team dynamics. Some of the experiences he’s been through, and how he’s been able to manage some of the teams he’s been on, and some of the difficulties he might have faced. He’s been an invaluable ear and voice for me.” Like his game, Kobe’s leadership style evolved. “(A leadership voice) just comes with
time and it comes with age. When you first come into the league you’re trying to figure out what’s what — what is the right thing to say, what is the wrong thing to say. Trying to avoid conflict and controversy. Then as you age you realize that no matter what you say there’s always going to be conflict, there’s always going to be controversy so the best thing to do is just be yourself. Then if there’s going to be conflict or controversy created it’s going to be created from the person that you truly are.” Father Time wins every race against man, and he won against Kobe. Eventually. But Bryant was not going to take the hint of torn Achilles or knee surgeries to leave the game, he was going to overcome those and walk off the court. It wasn’t the physical that made Kobe realize it was time to walk away — “you can always figure the physical out” — it was the mental side. “Sitting in meditation for me, my mind starts drifting, and it always drifted to basketball. Always. And it doesn’t do that anymore. It does that sometimes, it doesn’t do that all the time. That was the first indicator that this game was not something I can obsess over much longer.” Kobe wasn't leaving the game as one of those curmudgeonly old “get off my lawn” guys, he’s not a player with disdain for the younger generation. “When we first came in, it’s always the younger generation that comes in and it’s just like the elder statesman says this younger generation has no idea what they’re doing. They’re going to absolutely kill the game. The game, when we
played, was pure and all this kind of stuff. Hey, man, that’s always the case. When we came in, we were just young kids that wanted to play, and (Allen Iverson) was aggressive. It was a newer generation, newer culture, but I think where the game ended up, it ended up in a beautiful place.” That did not mean Kobe would go quietly. Even down to his final game the flashes of a young Kobe were there for all to witness, one last time. His old swagger, he was demanding respect and igniting the flame to show us all that anything is possible.
GONE, NEVER FORGOT TEN. M AMBA OUT.
LAKER FOR LIFE •
20 SEASONS IN THE NBA, ALL WITH THE LAKERS
•
FOURTH-LEADING SCORER IN NBA HISTORY (33,643 POINTS)
•
FIVE-TIME NBA CHAMPION, TWICE NAMED FINALS MVP
•
18-TIME ALL-STAR
•
11-TIME ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM
•
NINE-TIME NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
•
TWO-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST
•
YOUNGEST PLAYER IN NBA HISTORY AT THE TIME OF HIS DEBUT IN 1996
DEAR BASKETBALL,
From the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks And shooting imaginary Game-winning shots In the Great Western Forum I knew one thing was real: I fell in love with you. A love so deep I gave you my all — From my mind & body To my spirit & soul. As a six-year-old boy Deeply in love with you I never saw the end of the tunnel. I only saw myself Running out of one. And so I ran. I ran up and down every court After every loose ball for you. You asked for my hustle I gave you my heart Because it came with so much more. I played through the sweat and hurt Not because challenge called me But because YOU called me. I did everything for YOU Because that’s what you do When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel. You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream And I’ll always love you for it. But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer. This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding My mind can handle the grind But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye. And that’s OK. I’m ready to let you go. I want you to know now So we both can savor every moment we have left together. The good and the bad. We have given each other All that we have. And we both know, no matter what I do next I’ll always be that kid With the rolled up socks Garbage can in the corner :05 seconds on the clock Ball in my hands. 5…4…3…2…1 Love you always, Kobe
T O G U I D E
SUPER BOWL LIV
WHETHER YOUR FOCUS IS ON THE APPETIZERS SERVED AT A SUPER BOWL PARTY OR YOUR 2020 SUPER BOWL POOL, IF YOU’RE READING THIS, YOU CARE ABOUT THIS FOOTBALL GAME FOR SOME REASON OR ANOTHER. THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR, PITTING THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AGAINST THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, IS FINALLY HERE, SO, GET YOUR BEER, CHIPS AND BUFFALO WINGS READY BECAUSE WE’VE GOT EVERYTHING ELSE COVERED. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SUPER BOWL LIV.
WHEN IS THE SUPER BOWL 2020?
Mark your calendars! Super Bowl 54 (LIV) is Feb. 2, 2020.
WH AT TIME DOES THE SUPER BOWL 2020 START? Be sure to tune in at 6:30 p.m. EST to catch the action from the kick off.
WHO’S PL AYING IN THE 2020 SUPER BOWL? On Jan. 19, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Tennessee Titans while the San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers, meaning Kansas City and San Francisco will go head-to-head in the big game—the first time the two teams have gone against one another during a Super Bowl. The Chiefs currently have three previous Super Bowl wins under their belt while the 49ers have five.
WHO IS SINGING THE N ATION AL ANTHEM AT THE SUPER BOWL? Grammy-nominated singer Demi Lovato will be belting out the high notes in honor of the big event. Along with Lovato, sound artist and performer Christine Sun Kim will be signing the National Anthem,
WHO’S PERFORMING AT THE SUPER BOWL H ALF TIME SHOW 2020?
Jennifer Lopez will be joining Shakira on stage for what’s expected to be an explosive halftime show. Both singers took to Instagram back in September to make the official announcement. “Going to set the world on [fire],” J.Lo wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of both performers with the Pepsi Halftime show logo. The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer shared an identical photo along with the caption, “It doesn’t get any bigger than this! So excited about getting on that #SuperBowlLIV #PepsiHalftime stage!”
HOW TO WATCH AND LIVE STREAM THE SUPER BOWL 2020 ONLINE FREE? Sports fans can pull up the Fox Sports app on their mobile devices to live stream the big game. FuboTV is another provider that will have the game streaming, and can be used via desktop, mobile and smart TVs.
according to the National Association of the Deaf.
WH AT CH ANNEL IS THE SUPER BOWL ON? The game will be airing on FOX and you don’t want to miss it!
WHO WON THE SUPER BOWL 2019? With a final score of 13-3, the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams during the 2019 game, marking the Patriots’ sixth overall Super Bowl win.
WHERE IS THE SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR? The Super Bowl will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. This year marks the 11th time Florida has hosted a Super Bowl.
WH AT ARE THE SUPER BOWL ODDS FOR 2020? As of this writing, the Super Bowl opening odds list the Chiefs as a 1.5-point favorite. The over-under for total points is 52.5, and the moneyline is near even for the Niners and -120 for the Chiefs.
WHO H AS WON THE MOST SUPER BOWL RINGS? Quarterback Tom Brady is currently in the lead for most Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2015, 2017 and 2018. Right behind him is Charles Haley, with five rings total—two with the San Francisco 49ers and three with the Dallas Cowboys. As for most Super Bowl wins overall, the New England Patriots and The Pittsburgh Steelers are tied with six championships each.
TEAM RANKED STATS
SPORTSBET MAGAZINE TEAM RANKED STATS DEFENSE
SPORTSBET MAGAZINE TEAM RANKED STATS OFFENSE
SPORTSBET MAGAZINE TEAM RANKED STATS DEFENSE
SPORTSBET MAGAZINE TEAM RANKED STATS OFFENSE
SUPER BOWL PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS WHEN: SUNDAY, FEB. 2 AT 6:30 P.M. ET ON FOX WHERE: HARD ROCK STADIUM, MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA VEGAS LINE: KC -1.5 (O/U 52.5) SPORTSBET MAGAZINE SCORECAST: KC, 65.9% (BY 5.2 POINTS) Chiefs coach Andy Reid has the seventh most regular season wins by a coach in NFL history (207) but is still trying to win his first Super Bowl. His 2004 Philadelphia Eagles lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX, and Reid hasn't returned since. A win would erase any doubt about his Hall of Fame qualifications and secure his place as one of the best coaches in league history. But to do so, Reid will need to beat perhaps the one NFL coach, the 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, who rivals him as an offensive schemer and play caller.
SAN FRANCISCO 49 E R S WHY THEY CAN WIN: The 49ers have been in just about every type of game imaginable this season, winning blowouts and nail-biters along the way. But they've never been on the wrong end of a blowout. Even when they aren't at the top of their game, the 49ers find a way to be in it until the final seconds. With an explosive offense, suffocating defense and solid special teams, the Niners play complementary football as well as any team in the league and are unafraid of the big stage despite their relative youth. They are the best unit in the National Football League.
HOW THEY CAN LOSE: There simply aren't many weaknesses on this team, but there are a few matchups that have been exploited at times. Offenses that have the ability to attack the side of the field opposite cornerback Richard Sherman has been a challenge at times, and teams with mobile quarterbacks have given the defense fits, too. (Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had 53 rushing yards in each of his postseason games this year.).
THE 49ERS WIN IF ... They continue to do what they've done most of the year: control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That allows the pass-rush to create havoc for Mahomes, and the running game led by Raheem
Mostert can dictate the tempo and set up explosive pass plays for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
SEASON
SUPER BOWL OPPONENT
RESULT
REGUL AR SEASON RECORD
HEAD COACH
HOW M ANY TIMES H AVE THE 49ERS BEEN TO THE SUPER BOWL?
1981
BENGALS
W, 26-21
13-3
BILL WALSH
1984
DOLPHINS
W, 38-16
15-1
BILL WALSH
The 49ers have appeared in six Super Bowls and have won five. To the right are all of their appearances, including their latest, which also happens to mark their only loss in the big game.
1988
BENGALS
W, 20-16
10-6
BILL WALSH
1989
BRONCOS
W, 55-10
14-2
GEORGE SEIFERT
1994
CHARGERS
W, 49-26
13-3
GEORGE SEIFERT
2012
RAVENS
L, 34-31
11-4-1
JIM HARBAUGH
San Francisco has had many chances to increase its number of Super Bowl appearances. The 49ers have lost in the NFC championship game nine times.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS WHY THEY CAN WIN: The Chiefs have reason to believe they’ll win in every game they’re quarterbacked by Mahomes. They’re 27-8 with him as their starting quarterback. The eight losses were by a total of 36 points, and Mahomes as a starter has never lost a game by more than seven points. Patrick Mahomes is the best Quarterback in the National Football League.
HOW THEY CAN LOSE: For a team with as many great offensive skill players as the Chiefs have, they struggle at times in the red zone. They scored a TD on just 54% of their trips inside the opponents’ 20 during the regular season. A failure to finish drives in the Super Bowl would most likely prove costly, especially against a defense as good as the 49ers.
THE CHIEFS WIN IF ... They rely on Mahomes to carry them. He hasn’t let the Chiefs down yet. If the Chiefs play to his many
strengths, they’ll claim their first Lombardi trophy in 50 years.
HOW M ANY TIMES H AVE THE CHIEFS BEEN TO THE SUPER BOWL? The Chiefs have appeared in two Super Bowls and have come away victorious just once. Below are the details of both of their appearances.
H ANK STRAM Kansas City has had other chances to increase its number of Super Bowl appearances. The Chiefs have lost in the AFC championship game twice, including last season’s defeat at the hands of New England.
IMPORTANT STATISTIC Mahomes has been the Chiefs’ leading rusher in both 2019 playoff games. There will be plenty of time
SEASON
SUPER BOWL OPPONENT
RESULT
REGUL AR SEASON RECORD
HEAD COACH
1966
PACKERS
L, 35-10
11-2-1
HANK STRAM
1969
VIKINGS
W, 23-7
11-3
HANK STRAM
to celebrate and project Mahomes’ passing performance, but his ability to convert first downs and touchdowns via the run has made the Chiefs’ offense nearly unstoppable. He is the fourth quarterback in NFL history to rush for at least 50 yards in consecutive playoff games. This is something the 49ers have struggled to contain all season.
MAJOR QUESTIONS DOES THE CHIEFS’ DEFENSE H AVE ONE MORE BIG GAME IN IT? At this point, it’s fair to assume Mahomes and this Chiefs offense are capable of spectacular things, even against the 49ers’ fearsome defense. But can Steve Spagnuolo’s group, which held NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry to 69 yards in the AFC Championship Game, find an answer to the 49ers’ multidimensional run game? San Francisco tore apart Green Bay on the ground Sunday. If the Chiefs are to deliver Andy Reid his first Super Bowl title, they’ll have
to find a way to keep the 49ers from controlling the game on the ground and force Garoppolo to try to beat them with his arm.
IS THE 49ERS’ DEFENSE GOOD ENOUGH TO STOP -- OR AT LEAST LIMIT -M AHOMES? San Francisco took away Dalvin Cook and the Vikings’ run game in the divisional round. It neutralized Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ passing game in the NFC Championship Game. San Francisco’s defense is loaded up front with first-round picks playing at a high level. Nick Bosa might be one of the few edge rushers in the league who can run down Mahomes from behind when he scrambles. But can the Niners’ front continue its smothering ways against the 2018 NFL MVP and the blistering speed of the Chiefs’ offense? It will be the toughest test to date.
X FACTOR: RAHEEM MOSTERT It might seem odd to classify the
49ers’ running back in this category after his outrageous performance in the NFC Championship Game. But the 49ers are in the Super Bowl for two reasons: their dominant defensive front and their NFC-best running game. Unless veteran tailback Tevin Coleman can return from what looked like a serious arm injury, Mostert will take the lead role in an area of the game that is critically important to the 49ers’ success.
THE ALL IMPORTANT M ATCHUPS Strength meets strength in this matchup on both sides of the ball. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ prolific passing attack will try to crack a 49ers pass defense that ranked second in DVOA and yielded the fewest passing YPG (169.9) with the fifth-most sacks (48) this season. The Chiefs porous run defense will have to try and stop a Niners rushing attack that’s produced at least 112 yards on the ground in 8 straight games. Raheem Mostert is averaging 5.96 YPC during that span and dominated the Packers for 220 yards
and 4 TDs at a 7.6 YPC clip. The 49ers may be without Tevin Coleman (arm), leaving Matt Breida to share backfield work with Mostert. When the Niners offense is forced to obvious passing situations, Jimmy Garoppolo has struggled. Trading for Emmanuel Sanders and getting George Kittle back from injury has sparked that pass offense, but Jimmy G simply hasn’t been asked to do much over the Niners’ last two wins. He’s still relatively inexperienced and unproven in the playoffs, while Mahomes has been unbelievable with 11 TDs, zero INT over four playoff games and he’s only taken two sacks this postseason. When the Chiefs are unable to protect Mahomes to free up their wide receivers down the field, their offense can struggle. Mahomes could be held in check by a team that can rush four and keep him in the pocket and the 49ers have been one of the best teams in recent memory in terms of getting pressure with four linemen. San Francisco will look to prevent downfield shots with consistent pressure and could do just that against a KC line that ranked 28th in adjusted sack rate (8.6%) this season. While his detractors may point to previous playoff defeats, Andy Reid has been masterful in terms of countering against defensive game plans. Both the Texans and Titans stifled Mahomes and company over the previous two rounds before the Chiefs offense erupted. As good as the 49ers secondary may be, they don’t have a conventional answer for Tyreek Hill. San Francisco’s slot cornerback Jimmie Ward is a natural safety with decent speed (4.47 40-yard dash time). Yet does he have the quickness to contain the fastest player in the
NFL? Ward will likely get help with a creative scheme, but the Chiefs have plenty of speedy weapons in Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, and Sammy Watkins.
BETTING TRENDS A N D S TAT S
The Chiefs are now a league-best 10-4-1 ATS when listed as favorites. They’ve covered the spread by an average of 9.8 PPG during their current eight-game winning streak. Kansas City’s defense has been the biggest difference from last year. The Chiefs rank sixth in red zone TD percentage (50.82%) and tenth in opponents third-down conversion rate (36.87%). And while KC is 29th in YPC allowed (4.9), the Chiefs are middle of the pack in rush attempts allowed per game (25.7) because of their potent offense. San Francisco is great on third down (44.81% conversion rate) but struggles to convert red zone opportunities in TDs (53.7% is 21st in NFL). The Niners are 5-0 ATS when listed as underdogs this year and 6-2 ATS on the road. The crowd in Miami could be slightly partial toward the Chiefs, since most bets may come in on the flashier team. San Francisco is just 2-5 ATS when facing an opponent that is on equal rest. The Chiefs are 6-2 ATS on the road or at neutral sites. They’re 9-41 ATS following a win. Underdogs have had quite a run in recent Super Bowls, covering the spread in 10 of the last 13 years. The Patriots (-3) were the last favorite to cover the spread against Atlanta in 2017 and of course that required a miraculous comeback to prevail in OT.
PREDICTION As impressive as the 49ers were in the conference finals, Kansas City was even better. Green Bay entered as an underwhelming No. 2 seed in the NFC, while Tennessee had outplayed its No. 6 AFC status. The Chiefs swarmed to peerless Titans RB Derrick Henry and achieved the impossible, slowing him down. They can take a page from that playbook against the run-oriented San Francisco 49ers. Though the Niners did not need to throw, can an offense that attempted eight passes (against the Packers) be trusted? Meanwhile, the Chiefs can lay claim to the most dangerous offense in recent memory, really, a dozen TDs in two playoff games? For record the QB matchup is not a close call. This is K.C. coach Andy Reid’s time to complete his eventual case for Hall of Fame recognition.
SCORECAST The Data is in! Our computer simulated genius, 5 years in the making, testing, twisting and perfecting it is with great pride and confidence we introduce you to our Scorecast Super Bowl selections. Tried and tested algorithms combined with the most in depth weekly filters leaves nothing to chance. Human emotions eliminated prepare to test drive the best data driven analysis in sports. After 10,000 Score Simulations... SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS - 27 KANSAS CIT Y CHIEFS - 32 BEST BE T MONEY LINE- KANSAS CIT Y CHIEFS MONEY LINE -115 BEST BE T AT THE SPREAD KANSAS CIT Y CHIEFS -1 BEST BE T OVER/UNDER 54.5- OVER BEST PROP BE T - PATRICK M AHOMES MVP +110
SUPER BOWL ODDS & MARKETS SUPER BOWL ODDS TEAM
MONEYLINE ODDS
SPREAD
TOTAL
KANSAS CIT Y CHIEFS
-120
-1.5 (-110)
54.5 (-110)
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
EVEN
+1.5 (-110)
54.5 (-110)
SUPERBOWL MVP PATRICK M AHOMES
+110
JIMMY GAROPPOLO
+290
RAHEEM MOSTERT
+450
NICK BOSA
+900
GEORGE KIT TLE
+1000
TRAVIS KELCE
+2000
T YREEK HILL
+2000
DEEBO SAMUEL
+28000
DAMIEN WILLI AMS
+3000
RICH ARD SHERM AN
+5000
SAMMY WATKINS
+5000
EMM ANUEL SANDERS
+6600
M AT T BREIDA
+6600
TEVIN COLEM AN
+6600
MECOLE H ARDM AN
+8000
DARWIN THOMPSON
+10000
DEM ARCUS ROBINSON
+10000
PATRICK MAHOMES PASSING YARDS
JIMMY GAROPPOLO PASSING YARDS
OVER 305.5 YARDS
-135
OVER 239.5 YARDS
-120
UNDER 305.5 YARDS
+105
UNDER 239.5 YARDS
-110
EMMANUAL SANDERS RECEIVING YARDS
TRAVIS KELCE RECEIVING YARDS
DAMIEN WILLIAMS TOTAL RUSHIN YDS
OVER 44.5 YARDS
-120
OVER 77.5 YARDS
-120
OVER 51.5 YARDS
-115
UNDER 44.5 YARDS
-110
UNDER 77.5 YARDS
-110
UNDER 51.5 YARDS
-115
TYREEK HILL RECEIVING YARDS
GEORGE KITTLE RECEIVING YARDS
RAHEEM MOSTERT TOTAL RUSHING YDS
OVER 70.5 YARDS
-115
OVER 79.5 YARDS
-120
OVER 69.5 YARDS
-115
UNDER 70.5 YARDS
-115
UNDER 79.5 YARDS
-110
UNDER 69.5 YARDS
-115
ANYTIME TOUCH DOWN SCORER DAMIEN WILLI AMS
-160
TRAVIS KELCE
-150
T YREEK HILL
-150
RAHEEM MOSTERT
-130
GEORGE KIT TLE
EVEN
DEEBO SAMUEL
+140
EMM ANUEL SANDERS
+140
TEVIN COLEM AN
+140
M AT T BREIDA
+160
SAMMY WATKINS
+175
KENDRICK BOURNE
+250
DARWIN THOMPSON
+325
MECOLE H ARDM AN
+325
DEM ARCUS ROBINSON
+400
PATRICK M AHOMES
+400
XFL FOOTBALL EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW The XFL is a brand new, fan-first league that’s reimagining the game of football and offering fans an opportunity to experience more action, access and fun. In the wake of the failure of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), and with the recent shutdown of the Arena Football League, a familiar face has returned to the professional football scene to try and fill the void. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chairman Vince McMahon has resurrected the XFL just in time for the new year. The league will kick off once again in February 2020 the week following Super Bowl LIV. How fitting that the XFL is launching at the exact same time as the AAF did last year. Ahead of the league's relaunch, here's everything you need to know about the rebooted XFL.
WH AT DOES XFL STAND FOR? In all honesty, this has never been defined. When McMahon announced the launch of the first XFL back in 1999, the assumption was that XFL stood for "Xtreme Football League" based on the league's ties to the WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation). But McMahon stated that this was not the case. And while the F and L were obvious (football league), there was no true meaning for the "X".
McMahon did joke in an interview at the time that, "if the NFL stood for the 'No-Fun-League,' the XFL stands for the 'Xtra-Fun-League.'"
WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THE XFL? The league is owned by Vince McMahon through his company Alpha Entertainment, which he personally funded. McMahon is best known for his ownership of WWE, the most successful professional wrestling promotion in North America. The original XFL was co-owned by both WWE and NBC (which broadcast the games along with UPN and The National Network — now known as Paramount Network) and included tie-ins, gimmicks, and interpromotional campaigns between the network, the league, and WWE. But the 2020 XFL will have no ties to WWE whatsoever and will operate as a stand-alone football league. Alpha Entertainment is independent of WWE. For this XFL, McMahon tapped football legend Oliver Luck (Andrew Luck's father) to be the XFL commissioner. Luck has worked as a head coach, athletic director, general manager, and administrator at both the pro and college levels since retiring from his playing career in 1986. McMahon has given most, if not all, of the football
operations to Luck. He oversaw the XFL draft in October and played a significant role in hiring the league's head coaches and other team staffers. In the previous incarnation of the XFL, McMahon was handson with everything from the operations, to even the football broadcasts themselves. This time around, McMahon will focus on the business side with Luck on board as commissioner.
HOW M ANY TEAMS ARE IN THE XFL? Like the first incarnation of the XFL, this version will have eight teams spread across two conferences. The Eastern Conference will be led by the DC Defenders, New York Guardians, St. Louis BattleHawks, and Tampa Bay Vipers. And in the Western Conference, the league has the Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, and Seattle Dragons. This is the second time that the league has set up shop in both New York (Hitmen) and Los Angeles (Xtreme, 2001 champions) and the second time they've fielded a Florida team (Orlando Rage), but this will be their first go-round in the football-rich state of Texas, as well as Seattle and Washington, DC.
The XFL also will give St. Louis its first football team since the NFL's Rams returned to Los Angeles in 2016. Each team will have a 52-man active roster during the regular season, but only 46 will be allowed to dress on game day.
HOW DOES THE LEAGUE SCHEDULE ITS GAMES? The XFL will play a 10-week regular season from Feb. 8 to April 12. The league will play doubleheaders on Saturdays and Sundays — except for two Thursday night games in Weeks 9 and 10 — with the games largely airing in the mid-afternoon and early evening. Each team will play their three conference rivals twice in a home-and-home format along with four games against the opposite conference — two home games and two away games. Once the regular season concludes, the XFL will have a two-week playoff. The top two teams from each conference will meet in
conference championship games to be played on April 18 (Eastern) and 19 (Western). The conference champions will play for the 2020 XFL Championship on April 26. In all, there will be 12 weeks of football that will be played straight through with no bye weeks.
HOW CAN I WATCH XFL GAMES? The league will air its games on cable, satellite, streaming, and network television through ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, FOX, and ABC. This also means that the games will be available on the Fox Sports GO and ESPN+ apps.
ARE THERE ANY RULE CH ANGES? One thing that made the original XFL stand out was the fact that they didn't have a coin toss to decide who gets the ball. Instead, they had one player from each team race to midfield where the ball was sitting on a kicking tee. And whichever
player got to the ball first will get the opening kickoff for his team. While this will not be a part of the 2020 relaunch, there are plenty of new rules. Kickoffs will be different once again. The kicker will once again kick off from his own 35-yard line, but the rest of the kicking unit will line up at the opposite 35. The receiving team will have 10 players lined up on their own 30, and no players other than the kicker and designated kick returner are allowed to move until the return team touches the ball or the ball is not touched for three seconds. The league is hoping to reduce, if not eliminate, touchbacks. In the event that there is a touchback, the offense will start at their own 35-yard line. Punting will also be different, and fans won't be able to see returners blown up, as in the league's original form. Instead, to encourage big returns and teams to
go for it on fourth down, all players on the punting team will not be able to release from the line of scrimmage until the ball is punted. Additionally, punts that go out of bounds or into the end zone will be spotted at the 35-yard line or where they go out of bounds, whichever is more advantageous to the return team. The XFL will use a continuous game clock that will only stop on timeouts, change of possession, and during the final two minutes of the second and fourth quarters. This rule is similar to what the Arena Football League had. The play clock will be 25 seconds, which will be among the shorter play clocks at any level of pro football. The league has also talked about the possibility of eliminating halftime. The original XFL did away with PATs. In 2001, teams instead would get one point if they ran the PAT into the end zone and two points for a passing score. This time around, a team will earn one point if they convert the attempt from the two-yard line, two points from the five-yard line, and three points from 10 yards out. Overtime will also be something to watch. Similar to hockey, overtime would be a fiveround "shootout" where each team will have five chances to score from the five-yard line. Each touchdown scored will be worth a point. The league will also consider passes behind the line of scrimmage as lateral passes, meaning that there could be more than one forward pass on a single play. There will also be two additional officials on top of what we already see. There will be a ball judge whose sole responsibility will be to spot the ball after each play. And just like the AAF, the XFL will also employ the sky judge.
HOW WILL PL AYERS BE COMPENSATED? Each player will get a base salary and health insurance, and they will be eligible for bonuses. But the pay scales will differ between quarterbacks and everyone else. Quarterbacks will receive a base salary of $125,000 and can reportedly make more than the NFL rookie minimum of $495,000. However, the rest of the players will earn $27,000 before bonuses. Players who dress for the 46-man game day roster will receive a bonus of $1,600 per game, and every player will earn an extra $2,200 for each game that their team wins. That means that if a player starts all 10 games and wins five, he would make $55,000. There will also be bonuses for the teams that make the playoffs in April. Each head coach will earn a $500,000 salary.
WHO ARE THE XFL HEAD COACHES? The head coaches for the eight teams are well known in the game and have centuries of combined experience. They've all spent time on the sidelines in either the NFL, college level, or other pro leagues such as NFL Europe, the CFL, and the USFL. In the Eastern Conference, former New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride will return to the Big Apple to coach. NFL and college offensive coordinator and quarterbacks guru Pep Hamilton will take over in DC. Meanwhile, Former Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman will lead the Vipers, and longtime Cincinnati Bengals assistant Jonathan Hayes will get his first head coaching job in St. Louis. The Western Conference also will be filled with notable names, headlined
by Bob Stoops. The ex-Sooners coach was the first coach brought in and will lead the flagship Dallas Renegades franchise. Across the state will be college legend June Jones in Houston, while longtime Green Bay Packers assistant Winston Moss will oversee the Wildcats. Finally, former Washington Redskins head coach Jim Zorn will head the Seattle Dragons.
WHO ARE SOME NOTABLE PL AYERS TO WATCH FOR? The XFL has drafted players who were stars at the collegiate level and have varying ranks of pro experience between the NFL, AAF, CFL, and the Arena Football League. Before the draft, the league assigned eight recognizable quarterbacks to each team, all of whom are all projected to be the starters for their respective franchises. There were also quite a few notable running backs that were selected as well. There are many players who will be familiar to fans across the country. TEAM
ODDS
Dallas Renegades
+300
New York Guardians
+400
Los Angeles Wildcats
+500
Tampa Bay Vipers
+500
Houston Roughnecks
+750
D.C. Defenders
+800
St. Louis BattleHawks
+900
Seattle Dragons
+1000
XFL BE T TING WHY THE RENEGADES ARE THE FAVORITE Although most XFL teams will roster former NFL players or college stars who couldn’t make the cut in the big leagues, the Renegades sport something that most teams don’t have and that’s a quarterback with NFL experience. Landry Jones was selected by the Renegades as one of their top picks in the inaugural XFL draft and he’s got history with the Oklahoma Sooners along with NFL stops in Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Oakland. He had his most success professionally with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the backup to Ben Roethlisberger and owns two wins over the Cleveland Browns, for whatever that’s worth. Dallas also has two running backs who played in the NFL in Cameron Artis-Payne and Lance Dunbar, whom Dallas Cowboys fans may be familiar with. Dunbar played for Jerry Jones from 2012 to 2016. Essentially they have the most established and experienced roster, however with training camps still in full effect and with no data on the implemented rule changes its really difficult to get a full understanding of how season 1 will play out.
MIDSEASON NBA PLAYOFF SEEDING PREDICTIONS EASTERN CONFERENCE EAST NO. 8: BROOKLYN NE TS Cryptic Kyrie Irving is back, and he's pleading with the Brooklyn Nets front office to go get...something. While Uncle Drew says the mystery need is "transparent" and "glaring," we're struggling to identify a specific target. The Nets are outside the top 10 on defense and top 20 on offense, so sure, they could use a two-way boost. But really, what could take this team over the top is a healthy Kevin Durant, and the Nets don't expect him back before next season. After inking an injured KD last summer, Brooklyn knew it would be playing this season with house money. The Nets shouldn't feel any pressure to have a dramatic trade deadline one way or the other,
though minor wheeling and dealing might make sense. Unless they're desperate to keep their lottery-protected pick away from the Atlanta Hawks, the Nets should play this out. They have enough talent to snag a postseason spot even without KD, and they can use the next three months to help determine which other pieces can be long-term complements to their dynamic duo. There will be rough patches, but not enough to spoil their playoff push.
EAST NO. 7: ORL ANDO M AGIC After snapping a six-year playoff drought last season, the Magic should have just enough to make it 2-of-2 under head coach Steve Clifford. Orlando is almost perfectly "just ok." It nearly plays breakeven
basketball, finishing one point worse than its opponents per 100 possessions. The offense is a mess, but the defense is stingy enough to keep this club in most games. The roster is mediocre. No one comes within arm's reach of superstardom. Jonathan Isaac has a fascinating future, but he's shelved indefinitely by a knee injury and lacks an offensive niche. Markelle Fultz can be fun to watch, but consistency is not his strong suit. The veterans are mostly fine, but their contracts are costly enough that you could talk yourself into trading any of them. Sooner than later, the Magic might decide their core is problematically short on growth potential and a fire sale (or something close to it) is a necessary step forward. For now, though, they're still able to paint a firstround exit as a valuable learning
experience, and they have the personnel to lock up their spot.
EAST NO. 6: INDI AN A PACERS Compared to expectations, the Pacers have been incredible. The hope was they wouldn't completely collapse without an injured Victor Oladipo. Instead, they've fared even better than the last two seasons when he was starting his All-Star ascension and changing their fortune in the process. With Oladipo nearing his return, some might expect the Circle City's finest to sprint through the stretch run and into a top-four seed. Obviously, we don't share that viewpoint. A healthy Oladipo is no doubt a difference-maker. But an Oladipo that hasn't played in a calendar year? Is he noticeably better than what the Pacers already have in their rotation? He could actually be worse, considering he'll be scraping off rust while likely taking touches away from breakout ballers like T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon and Aaron Holiday. The immediate flight plan for Oladipo's return starts with turbulence, but the hope is the Pacers eventually soar even higher. This is the kind of team that could peak in the postseason, which makes it a tricky playoff matchup but also a group unlikely to positively change its performance before that.
EAST NO. 5: BOSTON CELTICS The Celtics are scuffling. They're already trapped in their second three-game losing streak of 2020, and they couldn't even handle the Phoenix Suns at home on a night when they got a mind-numbing 11 triples out of Marcus Smart. Boston thinks experiencing adversity now could prove beneficial
down the road, and maybe that's true in certain areas. But playoff seeding isn't one of them. The Shamrocks are failing to separate in the logjam behind the Milwaukee Bucks, and they'll pay for that later as they have the toughest remaining schedule of all the clubs jostling for the East's silver medal. The Celtics need an upgrade at center, but addressing it in a meaningful manner would require the subtraction of a key contributor. Knowing both those things are true, this won't be an easy march toward the uncertainty that is the NBA trade deadline. Names are sure to swirl through the rumor mill, and that only ups the anxiety around what's already a tense time of year. Maybe the C's get more comfortable once swap season is finished, but this feels like a club that's still figuring itself out. There are five different cooks in this kitchen, and it isn't always easy to tell who's handling head-chef duty.
EAST NO. 4: MI AMI HEAT The Heat are hard to pin down because they're both better than expected and still looking for more. They appear to be one player away from being really dangerous and they are on the lookout. The problem in Miami however maybe the lack of funds to afford a difference-maker. Jrue Holiday and Danilo Gallinari may not even be available. If they are, a team that faces severe limitations in trading a draft pick and has made Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro off-limits, per reports, seems unlikely to emerge as the highest bidder. The Heat have one of the easiest remaining schedules, but most other trends are working against them. They have a bottom-third defense since the start of December, and their point differential paints them as worse than their
record. The deadline could be a lose-lose scenario, too, since the lack of reinforcements might be deflating but major change could be disruptive.
EAST NO. 3: PHIL ADELPHI A 76ERS The 76ers entered this season with one of the most talented rosters in the conference. Three months of so-so play hasn't changed that, even if we're confused as ever about the ultimate ceiling for the Joel EmbiidBen Simmons duo. Talent alone only gets you so far, as the Sixers themselves can attest. On paper, they have no reason to be stuck in the East's sixth spot. They might be starved for shooting, but their isolation offense and suffocating defensive length should be enough to get by. This won't read as rocket science (because it isn't), but talent still matters—a ton. And Philly has so much of it that this squad stands as the likeliest to embark on a furious stretch run. The Sixers have an obvious takeoff point: fixing their 20th-ranked offense, which was eighth just last season. This starts and stops with shooting. Getting Josh Richardson and Al Horford up to their career conversion rates would help, then a supplemental move for a sniping specialist arguably the easiest player type to integrate could be the final boost. Give this group a functional offense and its ceiling will skyrocket. They miss J J Reddick.
EAST NO. 2: TORONTO RAPTORS Never count out the Raptors. The offseason losses of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green could have sunk this ship. It steamed out
to a 15-4 start instead. The in-season losses of...well, basically everyone, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka have all missed at least 10 games! That alone could have knocked this group back, but it has won twice as many games as it has lost and played even better than that.
teams," Kyrie Irving said. Some teams in this position might ease up on the pedal down the stretch. That's not Giannis Antetokounmpo's style. He's as fiery a competitor as you'll find, and he'll keep his club running through the tape and into its second first-place finish in as many years.
What can stop Toronto now? As shrewd as president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is, talks of a fire sale have all but silenced, and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Raptors are actually looking to upgrade the roster. They've played one of the trickier schedules to date, but it'll soften up ahead.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
This is the Association's secondbest defense, and the offense is a stone's throw from the top 10, a gap easily covered by relief from the injury bug. They have experience, championship pedigree and coaching creativity all on their side, and their ability to plug in young players whenever needed foreshadows a smooth transition for any deadline additions. Toronto, in other words, is not only here to stay, but it's also poised to climb the ladder.
EAST NO. 1: MILWAUKEE BUCKS If the Bucks have a rival, it won't come from within their conference. Their gargantuan plus-12.0 net rating is double that of their closest conference peer (Celtics, plus-6.0). The gap between them and second place in the standings (eight games) is wider than what separates the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers from the sixth-seeded Houston Rockets out West (7.5). "I feel like they've taken this dominative approach where they're just coming in and smashing
WEST NO. 8: SAN ANTONIO SPURS The Spurs don't make any sense. They play 1990s offense (more midrange shots than anyone, secondfewest threes) but nothing resembling hard-nosed '90s defense (23rd in efficiency). In 2020 alone, they have double-digit wins over the Bucks and Celtics, plus losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks. The roster is just as confusing. They're almost halfway split between a youth movement and a team looking to win now. Their return for the Kawhi Leonard trade looks entirely uninspiring, and yet, the chief member of it is their leader in points, assists and minutes (DeMar DeRozan). They could be buyers or sellers, and it's unclear what they'd chase in either pursuit. This spot feels like it should go to someone else. The red-hot Grizzlies would be a fascinating addition to the playoff field. The New Orleans Pelicans are picking up steam ahead of Zion Williamson's return. The Portland Trail Blazers have Damian Lillard and the ammunition to make more win-now moves. The Minnesota Timberwolves have KarlAnthony Towns and an All-Star point guard in their sights. But the Grizzlies and Pelicans lack experience. The Blazers haven't had a rhythm all season. The Wolves have no obvious ways to get a D'Angelo Russell deal done.
Somehow, someway, the Spurs seem like they'll figure out how to secure an absurd 23rd consecutive trip to the postseason.
WEST NO. 7: OKL AHOM A CIT Y THUNDER From a macro view, the Thunder are still transitioning from one chapter to the next. The starstudded days of yesteryear are gone, but OKC hasn't yet handed the castle's keys over to the youngsters. Head coach Billy Donovan has improbably struck a balance that allows his inexperienced players to find their footing while the veterans presumed placeholders before the season started help steer the West's most surprising playoff ship. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is blooming before our eyes. Danilo Gallinari remains one of the best scorers no one ever talks about. And Chris Paul is piloting things as only a Point God can, as Michael McCabe per Sportsbet Magazine explained: "He has been sensational for the Thunder in a variety of ways beyond the ridiculous clutch play and general shepherding of the team. Paul is effectively an extra assistant coach, and is said to be invested and connected with his teammates and the coaching staff. He has embraced a mentorship role and played the part of good citizen." OKC can't be blinded by its play. Short-term buying makes no sense at this stage of the post-Russell Westbrook rebuild, and selective selling—looking at you, Gallo— helps fatten the asset collection. But the Thunder will stop short of selfdestructing, and they have enough of a cushion built up to withstand a subtraction or two.
WEST NO. 6: DENVER NUGGE TS Breathing room doesn't exist in the
middle of a traffic jam. The Nuggets might be clinging to the West's third seed for now, but a fall need not be steep to qualify as calamitous when things are this tight. That's the worry with Denver point guard Jamal Murray, second-best in points, assists and threes and now sitting out for the "foreseeable future" with an ankle injury. It's a concern for a club facing the thirdtoughest remaining schedule. Oh, and let's note that the numbers already thought the Nuggets were playing over their heads. It's not all doom and gloom for Denver, of course. Even after a slow start, super-skilled center Nikola Jokic has played his way into MVP consideration. This offense is lethal around him (fourth in efficiency since the start of December), and this defense has at least one stopper for most matchups. But look at the standings. A really good team is going to end up in the sixth spot. Given the minuscule margin for error, Murray's absence, the rise in
competition and the absence of a second star all feel damaging enough to trap Denver at No. 6.
WEST NO. 5: HOUSTON ROCKE TS No matter the opponent, the Rockets will always have a (bearded) puncher's chance. Their offense can bury opponents under a barrage of threes and freebies, and if James Harden gets rolling, it's hard to even put a realistic cap on his production. "I'm pretty sure if he put his mind to it, he could score 100," DeMar DeRozan said to the San Antonio Express-News' after their defeat at the hands of a Harden explosion.. Russell Westbrook's takeover ability is somewhat similar, though on a much smaller scale. Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker can all look like game-changers on the right night, too. But Houston still gets a little too Beard-or-bust at times, and if Harden is anything other than awesome, it can't always pick
up the slack elsewhere. This group has finished fourth or better in the West each of the last three seasons. This time around, it will suffer a small step back due to the adjustment period with Westbrook, the nearly two months it played without Gordon and the ongoing defensive issues along the perimeter that won't be easily solved at the deadline.
WEST NO. 4: DALL AS M AVERICKS You never want to ask for too much, too soon from a young player, but Luka Doncic is the exception. He hasn't even celebrated his 21st birthday yet, and he's already appearing on the short list of elites. His 30.1 player efficiency rating leads everyone not named Antetokounmpo or Harden. He trails only those two, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis in win shares. Doncic is this season's third-best scorer and distributor, and he's top20 on the glass.
"He's a great young talent," LeBron James said in November. "I love his game, his ability to not only create shots for himself, but you guys know I love the fact that he can get great looks for his teammates. ... He just plays the game the right way." The Mavs are asking a ton of Doncic, but he's delivering. There's no reason to think that will change. Dallas could make a major move at the deadline (size, spacing, shotcreating and perimeter defense could all be targeted), but it might opt to play this out and determine exactly where Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and Co. land on the Western Conference hierarchy. As you can guess, we think they'll be pleased with the answer.
WEST NO. 3: UTAH JAZZ Last season's Jazz weren't even a .500 team before the calendar flipped, and they still emerged as a No. 5 seed with the league's No. 2 defense. This year's version didn't take nearly as long to find its footing, and it has the chance to grow into something much greater. Donovan Mitchell has never looked better as a scorer, shooter and tablesetter. Rudy Gobert is as ferocious as ever on the defensive interior, and he's never left a bigger imprint on the glass. Bojan Bogdanovic has been everything the Jazz wanted and more; who had him down for 21.3 points and 3.0 triples per game? He's the No. 2 option so many expected Mike Conley to be. Speaking of Conley, the newcomer seemed like a fish out of water before a nagging hamstring injury cost him more than a month. But the possibilities surrounding his re-acclimation only raise the ceiling higher. He was a per-game supplier of 21.1 points and 6.4 assists just last season; he could easily provide a bigger lift than anyone who changes jerseys at the deadline will. In 2020 alone, the Jazz are 8-1 with
a gargantuan plus-11.7 net rating. Push the starting point back to Dec. 11 and they're 16-2 with a plus-10.4 net rating. A generous schedule explains some of that success, but this looks more like an elite team forming its identity. As Conley grows more ingrained in it, the good times will keep rolling in Salt Lake City.
WEST NO. 2: LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS Have the Clippers flexed their championship muscle yet? Sure, they've had championship moments, two wins over a certain other Staples Center resident come to mind. But doesn't it seem like we've yet to see their best? They're fifth on offense and sixth on defense, which would be a badge of honor for most teams but feels a tad "blah" for this roster. Maybe it's just a matter of getting healthy and pushing past the point of load management, but some see this group is an imperfect fit around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. "They need another playmaker," a Western Conference executive told Sportsbet Magazine at a recent press conference. "Patrick Beverley isn't a point guard. ... They need more size, and they're not getting a lot out of their bench outside of Lou [Williams] and [Montrezl Harrell]. They may be able to beat the Lakers in a series, but will they get that far?" Maybe we're glass-full optimists, but we have a hard time finding flaws with this roster. At the very least, it's built to dominate in the regular season. Leonard and George can take over games on a nightly basis, and when one or both are unavailable, Williams and Harrell can carry the scoring load. They'll win an incredible amount of games
down the stretch, and that's without even knowing if they'll land an impact piece at the deadline.
WEST NO. 1: LOS ANGELES L AKERS The Lakers either sit atop the NBA ladder with the Bucks or have the 1B rung all to themselves. The LeBron James-Anthony Davis connection is just as ridiculous as we all thought it would be, and when the King has carried the torch alone, he's shown the crown fits him better than anyone else. "This is the best LeBron James has been in the regular season since Miami," Michael McCabe wrote. "A top 3 player of all-time is playing as well as he has at any point of his career and sprinting away with the West." The Lakers have yet to conquer the Clippers, yet they're running away with the Battle for LA. The Purple and Gold possess the West's only winning percentage north of .700 (.810) and have nearly a 1.5-point cushion on the conference field in net rating (plus-8.4, next is Dallas' plus-7.0). Oh, reinforcements might be coming, too, either internally, externally or both. They haven't seen the best of Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green's shooting rates are down considerably from last season, and they're sorting out their other sniping specialists. They could help themselves at the deadline (playmaking, perimeter defense and shooting are all on the wish list), and they might still nab a free agent (Darren Collison) or buyout recipient. L.A. is great and poised to get greater. It's not relinquishing control of the conference.
BIGGEST SURPRISES OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE 2019-20 NBA SEASON
LeBron James’s defense, Pascal Siakam’s star turn, Ja Morant’s rookie season and Miami’s surge up the East are just some of the biggest surprises so far this season. Here’s what else caught our eye over the first half of the regular season as we now cross the 41 game threshold of the regular season.
LUKA DONCIC, MVP C A N D I D AT E
One full season of Luka Doncic was enough to silence any possible critics that the 19-year-old rookie may not live up to the hype
surrounding him coming into the league. After averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game on his way to Rookie of the Year, there were very few - if any doubters remaining. He had plenty of clutch, awing moments of dominance showcasing his ability as a scorer and playmaker that foreshadowed he one day, down the road, could potentially be one of the best players in the entire league. I don’t think anyone dared to expect that “one day down the road” to be his second season in the league as a
20-year-old. Doncic was special in the first half of the 2019-20 season and I don’t foresee that changing in the second half of the season. He’s nearly averaging a triple-double at 28.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game and he’s shattered a number of triple-double records through the start of his sophomore campaign. His 12 triple-doubles are the most in the league. He’s one of two players to rank in the top-five in the NBA in points and assists per game.
He has the Mavericks performing way ahead of schedule, getting out to a convincing 27-15 record behind the play of their phenom guard. Doncic hasn’t just been an All-Star calibre player this season, he’s been a legitimate MVP candidate. There probably aren’t many people that could say they saw him becoming a perennial top-10 player in the NBA in Year 2 of his career, but that time is upon us. There has been a lot of interesting and intriguing storylines throughout the first half of this season, but none to me are more jaw-dropping than just how good Doncic has already become.
LEBRON’S DEFENSE
There’s a case to be made that if anything is surprising about LeBron James it would be the fact that in his 17th season he’s leading the NBA in assists per game, something he’s never done. And yet... he’s always been a brilliant passer, he’s put up gaudy assist numbers before and on a team without much else in the form of half-court playmakers, he was always going to be the focal point of the Lakers’ offense. The bigger surprise is on the other end of the floor because defensively, he’s been incredible. That has not always been the case. In fact, his effort on the defensive end in the regular season is something that’s been called into question for years dating back to his time with the Miami Heat. And given the load, he carries offensively and the need to preserve energy for the postseason, it’s never really been much of a controversy. James has always been able to dial it up defensively when called upon to do so and as such, the regular season hasn’t really mattered all too much when it comes to talking D. This is the hardest that LeBron has defended in the regular season in years. It’s evident watching
the Lakers and it’s evident in the numbers. James ranks first in the entire league in Defensive Real PlusMinus and his on-court/off-court impact on that end is even greater than teammate Anthony Davis who might go on to win Defensive Player of the Year. The four-time MVP is engaged on both ends and a major reason why the Lakers are threatening to run away with the Western Conference. After much of 2018/19 on the sidelines with injury, the hope for Laker nation is he can sustain this level of play on both ends on the floor for the entire season in his 17th year.
THE RISE OF THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
A young roster. A new coach. A new era. In trading Mike Conley and drafting Ja Morant with the No. 2 overall pick over the offseason, I was completely under the impression that the Memphis Grizzlies were in complete rebuild mode for the foreseeable future. Sure, they had drafted the 20-yearold Morant to pair with the 20-yearold Jaren Jackson Jr. but in my eyes, it was a duo to be feared in three-to-five years’ time. Fast forward three months from opening night and Memphis is holding serve as the West’s No. 8 seed. I’m not sure anyone would have thought that the Grizzlies would be in a prime position as a playoff contender midway through the season. Credit goes to first-year head coach Taylor Jenkins as well as Morant, who has all but closed his case for
Rookie of the Year with averages of 17.9 points and 7.0 assists per game and a number of jaw-dropping highlights. With Ja leading the way, it’s been Jackson, Jonas Valanciunas, Jae Crowder and the Canadian duo of Dillon Brooks and rookie Brandon Clarke that have each played a big role in Memphis being where it is right now. Ultimately, it might not result in a playoff spot this year, but this Grizzlies team is much further ahead of schedule than I initially thought.
THE TORONTO RAPTORS WERE GOOD EVEN WITHOUT KEY P L AY E R S
How can you go past the Toronto Raptors? The Raptors currently sit third in the Eastern Conference. That’s not a surprise, I think most people coming into the season expected Toronto to still be a good regular-season team. The surprise is that they’ve done it with the majority of their key players missing significant time due to injury. The Raptors have had 12 players missed a combined 147 games this season - the most sixthmost in the NBA. The teams ahead of them - Golden State, Washington, Portland, Detroit and New Orleans all have one thing in common, they’re all missing stars who’ll be out for the season. What Nick Nurse has done with a makeshift lineup on a night to night basis is incredible. Coach Nurse could be well on his way to winning coach of the year.
NBA BETTING - CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
TEAM
POINTSBE T
FANDUEL
POINTSBE T ENTERING REG. SEASON
LAKERS
275
300
500
BUCKS
300
320
500
CLIPPERS
340
300
300
ROCKETS
900
1500
900
CELTICS
1200
2000
2400
SIXERS
1200
1200
650
NUGGETS
1800
2000
2000
HEAT
2500
3000
6000
JAZZ
2500
2000
1200
MAVERICKS
2500
3000
8000
RAPTORS
4000
4000
4000
PACERS
6600
6000
4000
THUNDER
10000
25000
25000
NETS
15000
10000
2000
BLAZERS
20000
10000
3300
MAGIC
25000
25000
15000
SPURS
25000
15000
8000
GRIZZLIES
50000
20000
40000
KINGS
50000
25000
15000
PELICANS
50000
25000
6600
TIMBERWOLVES
50000
25000
25000
BULLS
100000
50000
25000
CAVALIERS
100000
80000
50000
HAWKS
100000
50000
20000
HORNETS
100000
80000
50000
KNICKS
100000
80000
50000
PISTONS
100000
50000
20000
SUNS
100000
25000
40000
WARRIORS
100000
50000
1200
WIZARDS
100000
50000
40000
NBA DFS TIPS
FANTASY SPORTS 5 E XPE RT T IP S TO B U I LD ING A W IN NING FA NTA S Y BAS KE T BAL L LINE U P DAILY FANTASY BASKETBALL IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING TRENDS IN THE FANTASY SPORTS WORLD, PAYING OUT MILLIONS IN PRIZES EACH NIGHT. IT’S FUN, ADDICTIVE BUT REALLY REALLY HARD! THE AVERAGE PLAYER WHO MAY DRAFT HIS LINEUP ON HIS LUNCH BREAK, OR IN THE LINE AT THE BANK DOESN’T HAVE THE TIME OR THE RESOURCES OF THE PROFESSIONAL PLAYER. HERE’S OUR EXPERT TOP 5 TIPS TO CASH IN ON THAT WINNING LINEUP AND TURN THAT LUCK AROUND.
#1) DEFENSE VS. POSITION STATS DvP stats are the easiest way to get a quick understanding of matchups. DraftKings & Fanduel actually show defense vs. position figures next to a player’s name in the draft lobby, but there are a number of places where you can find these stats. Essentially, defense vs. position stats show you the stats allowed by each team against one of the five positions on the floor (PG, SG, SF, PF, C). DvP stats allow you to identify which teams struggle against each position, and from there you can try to exploit the matchups to find both value and studs to target. The important thing to realize with DvP stats is that they don’t necessarily make a bad player better, but they can push
a mediocre player into an aboveaverage game and they can really help star players post high-ceiling games.
You can use sites like NBA.com to find each team’s pace, which is the number of offensive possessions a team averages per 48 minutes of play. Essentially, the higher a team’s pace is, the better they tend to be for daily fantasy purposes. The theory behind it is simple; higher paced teams have more offensive possessions thus more opportunities for fantasy points.
can also use the spread for insight into your daily fantasy basketball play. Games with double digit spreads tend to be a bit riskier, since the chance of a blowout could leave one of your players on the bench for the majority of the 4th quarter. Playing time is crucial in daily fantasy basketball and you don’t want to get two-thirds of a game out of one of your top players. On the same note, games that are really close on the spread are expected to be more back-andforth and that could lead to a player getting more time on the court than his typical allotment.
#3) VEGAS LINES
#4) MINUTES
Vegas Lines for over/unders are usually going to tell you some stats very similar to pace of play, but you
Minutes are king in daily fantasy basketball, don’t ever ignore that. Sometimes it’s difficult to target
#2) PACE OF PL AY
a bad player in line to see a lot of minutes, but what you have to remember is that playing time in basketball leads to constant opportunities for rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. It seems almost too simple, but you want to try and find guys who will be over that 30 minutes played mark at all costs. If you’re just starting out, look at player game logs in the draft lobbies and check recent minutes. If a guy looks to be getting ample playing time, he’s usually a solid daily fantasy hoops option when you combine some of the other factors discussed above.
#5) FOLLOW WWW. SPORTSBE TM AGAZINE.COM With live data feeds and up to the minute statistics there is no better free tool available than Sportsbet Magazine. Check out our team statistics page to see who defends the 3 point line the best, who averages the most second chance points and who has the best defense at each position. We have it all! Don't select your lineup on salary, select in on true statistics available and updated to the minute for free. See samples of how easy it is below. GAME EXAMPLE DENVER NUGGE TS VS GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Take the game example to the right, Denver ranks 6th in points allowed per game so you're probably thinking Golden State won't have one of there record nights. However a deeper look tells us Denver rank 27th at defending the 3 ball in a matchup against the Warriors who rank 2nd in 3 point percentage. Im automatically starting Klay Thompson or Stephen Curry in this matchup.
DENVER NUGGE TS DEFENSIVE STATS
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS OFFENSIVE STATS
MARCH MADNESS DEFINING EARLY VALUE The 2019-20 men's college basketball season does not need March for madness. The madness started in November, and has continued throughout the season. The season began with the top two teams playing each other on the same night, and same floor, as the preseason No. 3 and 4 teams playing against each other. Both lower-ranked teams won that night. In the first seven weeks, five different teams ranked at No. 1 lost. The first was when No. 2 Kentucky beat top-ranked Michigan State on that opening night, and the last was when top-ranked Kansas lost at No.18 Villanova on December 21. The Gonzaga Bulldogs moved up to No. 1 on December 23 only to be replaced by Baylor last week.
Gonzaga seemed to be the only stability during an otherwise unstable season that's just over halfway through the regular schedule. That is until voters in the Associated Press poll moved Baylor into the top spot last week, just ahead of Gonzaga, which did not even lose last week. Also this week, Duke fell by five spots after a loss to Clemson, Oregon dropped four spots, Butler fell from fifth to 13th, Kentucky fell five spots after a buzzer-beating loss at South Carolina and Auburn went from fourth to 16th. For those of you who were wrapped up in college football, and perhaps those watching the NFL playoffs
and other sports, here's a quick snippet of what you've missed so far: NOV. 12, 2019 | Evansville knocked off top-ranked Kentucky, 67-64 NOV. 20, 2019 | Memphis freshman James Wiseman was told by the NCAA he must sit out 12 games and pay $11,500 to a charity of his choice. This was after the NCAA found out his family received that same amount of money in moving expenses NOV. 27, 2019 | Stephen F. Austin went to Duke and beat the No. 1 Blue Devils, 85-83, in overtime DEC. 2, 2019 | Michigan became the first team to in the top-25 era
to go from unranked to No. 4 in one week—after the Wolverines defeated No. 6 North Carolina and No. 8 Gonzaga to win the Battle 4 Atlantis DEC. 10, 2019 | Texas Tech won on the road at No. 1 Louisville, 70-57 DEC. 19, 2019 | Wiseman withdrew from Memphis, and is expected to be the top pick in the next NBA Draft DEC. 21, 2019 | No. 1 Kansas lost at No. 18 Villanova, 56-55 JAN. 10, 2020 | Clemson beat defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill for the first time in 60 tries JAN. 13, 2020 | Auburn is the only undefeated power conference team with a 15-0 record and ranked No. 4 JAN. 14, 2020 | Clemson defeated Duke, marking a rare back-to-back feat of wins over Duke and UNC for the first time since 1990 JAN. 15, JAN. 17, 2020 | Auburn loses back-to-back games against Alabama and Florida JAN. 17, 2020 | North Carolina has a second four-game losing streak, and the Tar Heels are 8-9 overall and 1-5 in the ACC, tied for last place with Wake Forest JAN. 17, 2020 | San Diego State is the only remaining undefeated team at 18-0 and ranked No. 4.
COLLEGE BASKE TBALL 2019/20 TOP 20 RANKINGS VS BE T TING ODDS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Baylor - 12/1 Gonzaga - 10/1 Kansas - 7/1 San Diego State - 40/1 Florida State - 40/1 Louisville - 16/1 Dayton - 12/1 Duke - 10/1
9. Villanova - 30/1 10. Seton Hall - 14/1 11. Michigan State - 12/1 12. Oregon - 20/1 13. Butler - 30/1 14. West Virginia - 16/1 15. Kentucky - 20/1 16. Auburn - 20/1 17. Maryland - 40/1 18. Texas Tech - 40/1 19. Iowa - 50/1 20. Memphis - 50/1
IS IT GONZ AGA’S TURN TO BE N ATION AL CH AMPION? A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the Zags were a Cinderella story. Ancient history. They’ve been ranked No. 1. They’ve been in the national championship game and nearly won it. They’ve shown up in 21 consecutive NCAA brackets, and own more tournament victories this century than any team in the Pac-12 or Big East, more than anyone in the Big Ten except Michigan State and Wisconsin, and more than anyone in the ACC except Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse. There is only one thing left to do, and in 2020 they have the balance, the talent and no obvious behemoth in their way. This is their best chance yet.
UPSE T FIN AL FOUR CH ANCES Consider the latest rankings from the NCAA. At the top is San Diego State, with its 13-0 record and 11 double-digit victories, including a 28-point thrashing of the Utah team that upset Kentucky. The Aztecs have won only six NCAA tournament games in their history, and never seen an Elite Eight. Baylor is in the top 10, and the Bears haven’t been in a Final Four since 1950. Dayton is up there, and the Flyers’ only Final Four was 53 years ago.
EARLY VALUE As we can tell from the above
Ranking Vs Odds comparison there is plenty of value based on betting handle heading into the later half of the season. Kansas who are on top of markets and early favorites currently sit at 7/1, while the unbeaten San Diego State ranked 4th are 40/1. The 2020 March Madness appears to be missing a generational talent or breakout superstar as we get closer to the tournament. This has kept betting lines safe and I think we are yet to uncover that star power just yet, but make no mistake that superstar is among the pack waiting for his big moment. The consistency of Gonzaga is hard to overlook at 10/1, but this might be the closest and hottest March Madness tournament for a decade. The hype of the Lonzo Ball’s and Zion Williamson’s are not stealing headlines, but that is what is keeping it all so close and even more exciting as we try to discover the next NBA superstar.
ASTROS SIGNSTEALING SCANDAL
Current Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers, who spent parts of three seasons with the Astros, went on the record to say his former team had a tech-fueled sign-stealing scheme in 2017. Shortly after the article came out, MLB launched an investigation. Commissioner Rob Manfred released his findings on Jan. 13, and the league punished the Astros for electronically stealing signs during their World Series title run in 2017 and in part of the 2018 season. Houston was fined $5 million and lost first- and secondround draft picks in 2020 and 2021. Manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were handed one-year suspensions from the league before they were both fired by the Astros. Below are more things to know about the Astros sign-stealing scandal and MLB's sanctions against the team.
WH AT EXACTLY DID THE ASTROS DO? The Astros used a camera positioned in center field to steal signs during games. Team personnel would watch the feed in a hallway between the clubhouse and dugout, and would relay what was coming by hitting a garbage can.
WHY WAS THIS A BIG DEAL? Because it's against the rules -- and not just in the "unwritten" sense, like old-school sign-stealing. Baseball took explicit steps to ban this kind of behavior heading into the 2019 season, limiting the amount of livefeed access available to teams, and not permitting in-house cameras between the foul poles.
WH AT WERE HOUSTON'S PEN ALTIES? There were five major penalties for the Astros from Manfred. · Manager A.J. Hinch suspended for one year. Hinch was then fired by the Astros.
· GM Jeff Luhnow suspended for one year. Luhnow was then fired by the Astros. · Former assistant GM Brandon Taubman suspended one year. · Astros forfeit their first- and second- round draft picks the next two years. · Astros fined $5 million, the maximum allowed under MLB's constitution.
WH AT H APPENS TO THE PL AYERS INVOLVED? MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred decided that he would not serve out any discipline to the players involved in the Astros sign-stealing scheme, and instead, he penalized the Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch. After the Red Sox were found guilty of using Apple Watches to sign steal in 2017, Manfred released a memo that warned teams that the general manager and manager would be held responsible for any such sign-stealing allegations, and he has since stuck to that. Luhnow and Hinch each received a oneyear suspension from the league, and following the announcement of their punishment, Astros owner Jim Crane dismissed the pair from the organization. Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was the only non-player mentioned by name in the report's summary, still awaits his punishment from the league as Boston is currently under investigation for a sign-stealing scheme of their own from the 2018 championship season. A day after Luhnow and Hinch's firings, the Red Sox announced that they were parting ways with Cora.
DON'T OTHER TEAMS DO THIS? It stands to reason that every team tries stealing signs. That's part of the game. The issue is how signs are being stolen and that the Astros took things too far in their pursuit
of an advantage. Even so, it should be noted the Astros are not the only team to cross the line. The Red Sox have since been wrapped up in a different sign-stealing scandal, this one involving the use of their replay review room during their 2018 World Series title campaign. There have undoubtedly been other instances over the years where teams have stolen signs using technology that either went undetected or unreported. The Astros may be the latest team busted, but they won't be the last.
FROM A BE T TING ASPECT? Let's be clear whether or not thisofficially impacted the outcome or result of the World Series does not matter. The Houston Astros cheated. It's truly ironic and honesty fitting that Major League Baseball has the first major scandal since the legalization of Sports betting in the United States. After all the MLB were pushing hard on sports betting operators to charge an integrity fee. As its stands operators may have to impose their own set of integrity fees in order to regulate Baseball on the MLB’s behalf. We often talk about Match Fixing and cheating in Sport with gambling and sports betting the focus. The truth is that operators and Sports books actually help regulate leagues, with full access to data and betting trends and information leagues can identify betting trends to monitor corruption and cheating. This has worked really well in Australia particularly in the Thoroughbred racing industry, Sports Book operators can identify account holders with irregular bets and submit to racing associations for further investigation. And no, if you bet the Dodgers unfortunately you are not getting your money back. Mattress Mack however might have some answering to do...
MLB TIMELINE OF MAJOR OFFSEASON MOVES
JAN. 14, 2020 3B JOSH DONALDSON SIGNS WITH TWINS FOUR YEARS, $84 MILLION, WITH AN $8 MILLION BUYOUT OF A 2024 TEAM OPTION
UP TO $10 MILLION
JAN. 8, 2020
3B TODD FRAZIER SIGNS WITH RANGERS ONE YEAR, $3.5 MILLION, WITH A $1.5 MILLION BUYOUT OF A 2021 TEAM OPTION
CARDIN ALS TRADE 1B/DH JOSÉ M ARTÍNEZ AND OF RANDY AROZ AREN A TO RAYS FOR PROSPECTS CARDINALS RECEIVE P MATTHEW LIBERATORE AND C EDGARDO RODRIGUEZ; TEAMS ALSO SWAP 2020 COMPETITIVE BALANCE DRAFT PICKS
JAN. 12, 2020
JAN. 7, 2020
P ALEX WOOD SIGNS WITH DODGERS ONE YEAR, $4 MILLION, WITH INCENTIVES THAT COULD BE WORTH
C ROBINSON CHIRINOS SIGNS WITH RANGERS ONE YEAR, $5.75 MILLION, WITH A
JAN. 12, 2020
$1 MILLION BUYOUT OF A 2021 TEAM OPTION
JAN. 7, 2020 P JIMMY NELSON SIGNS WITH DODGERS ONE YEAR, $1.25 MILLION, WITH INCENTIVES THAT COULD REACH $13 MILLION OVER TWO YEARS
JAN. 7 2020 P STEVE CISHEK SIGNS WITH WHITE SOX ONE YEAR, $5.25 MILLION, WITH $750,000 BUYOUT OF 2021 OPTION
JAN. 6, 2020 OF SHOGO AKIYAMA SIGNS WITH REDS THREE YEARS, $21 MILLION
JAN. 6, 2020 1B ERIC TH AMES AND P DANIEL HUDSON SIGN WITH N ATION ALS ONE YEAR, $4 MILLION FOR THAMES; TWO YEARS, $11 MILLION FOR HUDSON
JAN. 6, 2020 SS JOSÉ IGLESI AS SIGNS WITH ORIOLES ONE YEAR, $3 MILLION, WITH A TEAM OPTION FOR 2021
JAN. 4, 2020 IF STARLIN CASTRO AND IF ASDRÚBAL CABRERA SIGN WITH N ATION ALS TWO YEARS, $12.5 MILLION FOR CASTRO; ONE YEAR, $2.5 MILLION FOR CABRERA
JAN. 2, 2020 C JASON CASTRO SIGNS WITH ANGELS ONE YEAR, $6.85 MILLION
JAN. 2, 2020 P WILL H ARRIS SIGNS WITH N ATION ALS THREE YEARS, $24 MILLION
DEC. 31, 2019 P HOMER BAILEY AND P RICH HILL SIGN WITH T WINS ONE YEAR, $7 MILLION FOR BAILEY; ONE YEAR, $3 MILLION FOR HILL
DEC. 28, 2019
TEAM OPTION
DEC. 24, 2019 P DELLIN BETANCES SIGNS WITH METS ONE YEAR, $10.5 MILLION, WITH A 2021 PLAYER OPTION ($3 MILLION BUYOUT)
DEC. 24, 2019 OF KOLE CALHOUN SIGNS WITH D-BACKS TWO YEARS, $14 MILLION, WITH A $2 MILLION BUYOUT OF A 2022 TEAM OPTION
DEC. 23, 2019 3B/1B TRAVIS SH AW SIGNS WITH BLUE JAYS ONE YEAR, $4 MILLION
DEC. 22, 2019 P HYUN-JIN RYU AGREES WITH BLUE JAYS FOUR YEARS, $80 MILLION
DEC. 21, 2019 P DALL AS KEUCHEL SIGNS WITH WHITE SOX THREE YEARS, $55.5 MILLION, WITH FOURTH-YEAR OPTION
DEC. 21, 2019 2B JON ATH AN SCHOOP AND 1B C.J. CRON SIGN WITH TIGERS ONE YEAR, $6.1 MILLION FOR EACH
DEC. 19, 2019 P JULIO TEHERAN SIGNS WITH ANGELS ONE YEAR, $9 MILLION
DEC. 19, 2019
OF COREY DICKERSON AND C FRANCISCO CERVELLI SIGN WITH M ARLINS TWO YEARS, $17.5 MILLION FOR DICKERSON; ONE YEAR, $2 MILLION FOR CERVELLI
P GIO GONZ ALEZ SIGNS WITH WHITE SOX ONE YEAR, $4.5 MILLION, WITH A $500,000 BUYOUT OF A $7 MILLION TEAM OPTION
DEC. 25, 2019
DEC. 19, 2019
DH EDWIN ENCARN ACIÓN SIGNS WITH WHITE SOX ONE YEAR, $12 MILLION, WITH A 2021
3B M AIKEL FRANCO SIGNS WITH ROYALS ONE YEAR, $2.95 MILLION
DEC. 19, 2019 • THE BREWERS ADD AN ENTIRE INFIELD • 1B JUSTIN SMOAK SIGNS FOR ONE YEAR, $4 MILLION, WITH A $1 MILLION BUYOUT OF 2021 TEAM OPTION • 2B/IF ERIC SOGARD SIGNS FOR ONE YEAR, $4.5 MILLION • 1B/3B RYON HEALY SIGNS FOR ONE YEAR, TERMS UNKNOWN
DEC. 17, 2019 P KWANG-HYUN KIM SIGNS WITH CARDIN ALS TWO YEARS, $8 MILLION
DEC. 17, 2019 P SHUN YAM AGUCHI SIGNS WITH BLUE JAYS TWO YEARS, $6 MILLION
DEC. 16, 2019 P WADE MILEY SIGNS WITH REDS TWO YEARS, $15 MILLION, WITH A TEAM OPTION FOR 2022
DEC. 16, 2019 OF AVISAÍL GARCÍ A SIGNS WITH BREWERS TWO YEARS, $20 MILLION
DEC. 16, 2019 C LUKE M AILE SIGNS WITH PIRATES ONE YEAR, TERMS NOT DISCLOSED
DEC. 15, 2019 P M ADISON BUMGARNER SIGNS WITH D-BACKS FIVE YEARS, $85 MILLION
DEC. 15, 2019 INDIANS TRADE P COREY KLUBER TO RANGERS FOR P EMMANUEL CLASE AND OF DELINO DESHIELDS, JR.
DEC. 13, 2019 P BRE T T ANDERSON SIGNS WITH BREWERS ONE YEAR, $5 MILLION
DEC. 13, 2019
DEC. 11, 2019
DH/OF YOSHITOMO TSUTSUGO SIGNS WITH RAYS TWO YEARS, $12 MILLION
P BLAKE TREINEN SIGNS WITH DODGERS ONE YEAR, $10 MILLION
DEC. 12, 2019 C AUSTIN ROMINE SIGNS WITH TIGERS ONE YEAR, $4.1 MILLION
DEC. 12, 2019 P YIMI GARCÍA SIGNS WITH MARLINS ONE YEAR, TERMS NOT DISCLOSED
DEC. 12, 2019 P MARTÍN PÉREZ SIGNS WITH RED SOX ONE YEAR, $6 MILLION, PLUS A $6.25 MILLION CLUB OPTION FOR 2021
DEC. 12, 2019 IF JOSÉ PERAZA SIGNS WITH RED SOX ONE YEAR, $3 MILLION
DEC. 12, 2019
DEC. 10, 2019 P GERRIT COLE SIGNS WITH YANKEES NINE YEARS, $324 MILLION, WITH A PLAYER OPT-OUT AFTER 2024
DEC. 10, 2019 SS DIDI GREGORIUS SIGNS WITH PHILLIES ONE YEAR, $14 MILLION
DEC. 10, 2019 RANGERS TRADE OF NOM AR M AZ ARA TO WHITE SOX RANGERS RECEIVE MINOR LEAGUE OUTFIELDER STEELE WALKER
DEC. 10, 2019
OF BRETT GARDNER RETURNS TO YANKEES ONE YEAR, $10 MILLION, PLUS A $10 MILLION OPTION FOR 2021 WITH A $2.5 MILLION BUYOUT
GI ANTS ACQUIRE IF Z ACK COZ ART AND IF WILL WILSON FROM ANGELS FOR P GARRE T T WILLI AMS; GI ANTS SIGN P KEVIN GAUSM AN TO A ONEYEAR, $9 MILLION DEAL
DEC. 11, 2019
DEC. 9, 2019
3B ANTHONY RENDON SIGNS WITH ANGELS SEVEN YEARS, $245 MILLION
DEC. 11, 2019 P MICH AEL WACH A AND P RICK PORCELLO SIGN WITH ME TS ONE YEAR, $3 MILLION FOR WACHA; ONE YEAR, $10 MILLION FOR PORCELLO
DEC. 11, 2019 P TANNER ROARK SIGNS WITH BLUE JAYS TWO YEARS, $24 MILLION
DEC. 11, 2019 P JOSH LINDBLOM SIGNS WITH BREWERS THREE YEARS, $9.2 MILLION (WITH INCENTIVES THAT COULD TOP $18 MILLION)
P JUNIOR GUERRA SIGNS WITH D-BACKS ONE YEAR, $2.55 MILLION, WITH A TEAM OPTION FOR 2021
DEC. 9, 2019 P JOELY RODRIGUEZ SIGNS WITH RANGERS TWO YEARS, $5.5 MILLION, PLUS A TEAM OPTION FOR 2022
DEC. 9, 2019 P STEPHEN STRASBURG RE TURNS TO THE N ATION ALS SEVEN YEARS, $245 MILLION
DEC 6., 2019 P JORDAN LYLES SIGNS WITH RANGERS TWO YEARS, $16 MILLION
DEC. 6, 2019 PADRES TRADE OF HUNTER RENFROE AND 2B PROSPECT XAVIER EDWARDS FOR OF TOMMY
PH AM AND IF/P PROSPECT JAKE CRONENWORTH
DEC. 6, 2019 1B/2B HOWIE KENDRICK RE TURNS TO N ATION ALS ONE YEAR, $6.25 MILLION WITH A 2021 MUTUAL OPTION
DEC. 6, 2019 P MICHAEL PINEDA RETURNS TO TWINS TWO YEARS, $20 MILLION
DEC. 6, 2019 C ALEX AVIL A SIGNS WITH T WINS ONE YEAR, $4.25 MILLION
DEC. 5, 2019 OF JAKE M ARISNICK TRADED FROM ASTROS TO ME TS ASTROS RECEIVE TWO MINOR LEAGUE PROSPECTS
DEC. 5, 2019 C OM AR N ARVÁEZ TRADED FROM M ARINERS TO BREWERS MARINERS RECEIVE MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER ADAM HILL AND A COMPETITIVE BALANCE PICK
DEC. 4, 2019 PHILLIES SIGN P Z ACK WHEELER FIVE YEARS, $118 MILLION
DEC. 4, 2019 ORIOLES TRADE P DYL AN BUNDY TO ANGELS ORIOLES RECEIVE FOUR MINOR LEAGUE PITCHING PROSPECTS
DEC. 4, 2019 BRAVES SIGN P COLE H AMELS ONE YEAR, $18 MILLION
DEC. 2, 2019 M ARLINS TRADE FOR 2B JON ATH AN VILL AR AND CL AIM 1B JESÚS AGUIL AR OFF WAIVERS ORIOLES RECEIVE PITCHING PROSPECT EASTON LUCAS FOR VILLAR
DEC. 2, 2019 2B/3B MIKE MOUSTAKAS SIGNS WITH REDS FOUR YEARS, $64 MILLION
MLB WORLD SERIES ODDS 2020 TEAM
ODDS
NEW YORK YANKEES
+350
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
+600
HOUSTON ASTROS
+700
ATLANTA BRAVES
+1000
NEW YORK METS
+1400
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
+1400
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
+1400
C TRAVIS D’ARNAUD SIGNS WITH BRAVES TWO YEARS, $16 MILLION
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
+1600
CHICAGO CUBS
+2000
NOV. 22, 2019
CLEVELAND INDIANS
+2000
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
+2000
MINNESOTA TWINS
+2000
NOV. 21, 2019
TAMPA BAY RAYS
+2000
C YASM ANI GRANDAL SIGNS WITH WHITE SOX FOUR YEARS, $73 MILLION
BOSTON RED SOX
+2500
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
+2500
SAN DIEGO PADRES
+2500
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
+2800
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
+2800
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
+3300
CINCINNATI REDS
+3300
TEXAS RANGERS
+5000
COLORADO ROCKIES
+10000
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
+10000
SEATTLE MARINERS
+10000
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
+10000
PITTSBURGH PIRATES
+15000
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
+25000
DETROIT TIGERS
+25000
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
+25000
MIAMI MARLINS
+25000
NOV. 27, 2019 P DREW POMERANZ SIGNS WITH PADRES FOUR YEARS, $34 MILLION
NOV. 25, 2019 C MIKE ZUNINO SIGNS WITH RAYS ONE YEAR, $4.5 MILLION, WITH A 2021 TEAM OPTION
NOV. 24, 2019
1B JOSÉ ABREU SIGNS EXTENSION WITH WHITE SOX THREE YEARS, $50 MILLION
NOV. 13, 2019 P WILL SMITH SIGNS WITH BRAVES THREE YEARS, $40 MILLION, WITH TEAM OPTION FOR 2023
NOV. 12, 2019 P ADAM WAINWRIGHT RE TURNS TO CARDIN ALS ONE YEAR, $5 MILLION
NOV. 4, 2019 BRAVES RE TAIN OF NICK M ARKAKIS AND C T YLER FLOWERS ONE YEAR, $4 MILLION (PLUS $2 MILLION BUYOUT OF PREVIOUS OPTION) FOR EACH
NOV. 3, 2019 P AROLDIS CH APM AN SIGNS EXTENSION WITH YANKEES ONE YEAR, $18 MILLION ADDED TO EXISTING TWO YEARS, $30 MILLION
SPORTSBET MAGAINZE
TRAVEL TO MIAMI W H E R E T O S TAY
EDEN ROC MI AMI BEACH
WWW.EDENROCHOTELMI AMI.COM Miami Beach sizzles with a palpable energy. It’s the music, the sunshine, the flavors and aromas that transport the cosmopolitan city reality to the exhilarating beachfront scene. Vibrant and welcoming with stellar service, Eden Roc Miami Beach encompasses that transition from city to seaside for those savvy
travelers seeking a modern beach oasis retreat, the WOW factor of luxurious pampering, plush rooms and suites, oversized balconies highlighting a dramatic tower boasting astounding views of city skyline or ocean splendor. From the heart of the city of Miami, Eden Roc offers the best of both, with beachfront cabanas and 3 dazzling pools, award winning dining, and inspired resort ambience to recharge and rejuvenate.
Sleep in sumptuous pleasure in spacious rooms with high end amenities. Bathe in refined luxury. Recalibrate with cozy seating, HDTV flat screen with movie menu, WiFi, while cocooned in your plush robe and slippers. The balcony views are seductive and relaxation is complete. Contemporary sophistication in design and decor, Miami Beach style has a color palette that resonates with a captivating rejuvenating vibe. It’s
W H E R E T O P L AY
Outside the magic of Super Bowl Sunday Miami boasts one of the best nightlife scenes in the world. You can fight it all you want, but nothing will change Miami's identity as a party city. As long as it's pumping out great nightclubs like candy, the 305 will be known as one of the world's best places to dance the night away. Honestly, it's something Miami should be proud of, one of its defining features. Everywhere else, things close at 2 a.m. Miamians don't even leave the house till 1 in the morning. inescapable, and the Spa, Fitness and Wellness Center extends the sense of well being, the lifestyle focus on tension relief, anti-aging, renewing after-sun care, and enhanced energy with personalized menus. Time to indulge the senses with fresh, healthful Malibu Farm dining. Renowned for signature farm to table cuisine, organic and locally sourced whenever possible, Malibu Farm SoCal enthusiastically meets SoFlo. Guests will discover Chef Helene Henderson’s menu designed to awaken the palate with innovative culinary creations, nuanced seasonings and pairings. Eden Roc is at the forefront of this evolution in mindful dining from appetizers and light snacks to colorful salads and memorable mains, and Miami is all in. Unforgettable Nobu Miami at Eden Roc is artful Asian cuisine at its finest, a favorite of international travelers and locals alike. And the allure of Eden Roc mixologists at the Lobby Bar and Beachfront, takes refreshments to a dynamic new level with infusions, Caribbean, Mexican, and South American
influences. This is the place to end the day of work or touring... priceless. Eden Roc Miami Beach is distinctive Miami. The enchanting meeting of city and beach, pressure and pleasure, creates a casual chic retreat for business travelers and tourists, weekend romantic rendezvous, destination weddings, and girlfriend getaways.
Whether you're looking to get down and dirty, go all night and into the next day, or Instagram yourself looking better than everyone else, Miami has the perfect party scene for you and your friends. Here are our top favorite night clubs, and though these only scratch the surface, they're definitely the mustsee attractions.
E11EVEN
DO NOT SIT ON THE FURNITURE
423 16TH ST., MI AMI BEACH 510-551-5067 DONOTSITONTHEFURNITURE.COM Founded and headed by the internationally renowned DJ Behrouz and his wife, this bohemian house hangout is a far cry from the ostentation of its South Beach neighbors. It's an intimate, dimly lit room full of organic accents, and it features one of (allegedly) three disco-ball sharks in the world. Behrouz and his wife moved to SoBe from San Francisco, and here they offer a bit of that friendly, everyonewelcome atmosphere of the West Coast. Heavily influenced by Burning Man culture, the club hosts some marathon nights that begin with light yoga and meditation in the backyard. The place is lined with golden cassette tapes, and the one rule is simple to follow: Do not sit on the couches and chairs. Get up and dance whenever possible. The music is gonna make you move anyway. Might as well give in to your best debauched self.
BASEMENT
2901 COLLINS AVE., MI AMI BEACH 786-257-4548 BASEMENTMI AMI.COM Where else can you drink, dance, party, bowl, and ice-skate? Basement is so dank that Drake once rented out the whole place to skate with Rihanna during Miami Music Week. It's a rather intimate space with room for dancing, although it can get cramped, so make sure you get there early enough to avoid the long line. Dubbed one of Miami's most exclusive clubs, this adult playground is not to be missed.
29 NE 11TH ST., MI AMI 305-829-2911 11MI AMI.COM Since it opened in February 2014, this bacchanalian wonderland has never closed. It's a 24/7/365 party palace, a veritable feast for the senses. E11even doesn't like to be called a strip club, but, yes, the female dancers are topless. They don't take off their bottoms, though, and they do perform athletic feats. Offering performances by Cirque du Soleil-caliber aerial ballerinas and dancers, E11even prefers the term “cabaret.� It's also a bona fide megaclub with a two-tier dance floor, a lavish selection of champagne rooms, and a massive stage and DJ booth where grade-A talent comes to play. Drake, Rae Sremmurd, Marshmello, Diplo, and others have made E11even their favorite spot in town. The rooftop has its own bar and restaurant for when you want to watch the sun rise. It's never too late or too early to party at E11even.
WHAT’S NEW
TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES
T H E T O K Y O 2020 S U M M E R O LY M P I C GAMES IS DUE TO C O M M E N C E O N J U LY 24 T H . T H E T O K Y O GAMES WILL BE THE FIRST OF ITS KIND W E LC O M I N G 6 N E W AND RETURNING SPORTS. CHECK OUT WHICH MADE THE CUT TO SPICE U P T H E O LY M P I C S . KARATE Fittingly, karate, a martial art that originated in Okinawa during the Ryukyu Dynasty, makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo, joining judo, taekwondo and wrestling. It consists of two disciplines for both men and women: kata (forms) and kumite (sparring). In kata, the athletes demonstrate a series of offensive and defensive movements against a virtual opponent and are evaluated on strength, speed, rhythm, balance and power, among other things, using a points system. In kumite, two weight-matched competitors face off in an 8 by 8 meter area for 3 minutes. They're awarded points when they land strikes, kicks or punches with good form, power and control on the target area of their opponent's body. The person with the most points at the end of the match or the first person to amass an eight-point lead is declared the winner.
SKATEBOARDING Once a sport relegated to the streets of southern California and mostly
niche competitions, skateboarding is making its Olympic debut. Men's and women's Olympic skateboarding will consist of two events: park and street. The street course is designed to replicate street skating, with stairs, ramps and rails that riders can use to put together a series of tricks. Athletes skate individually on three timed runs and are scored on things like the difficulty of their tricks, speed, height and originality. Only their highest-scoring run is taken into consideration for overall rankings. The park event takes place on more of a bowl-shaped course, in the sense that it looks hollowed out. Riders use the inclines within the course to build momentum and perform tricks. They're judged on difficulty and originality, among other things.
SPORT CLIMBING In the Olympics, men's and women's sport climbing will consist of three disciplines: speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing. In speed climbing, two athletes secure themselves to ropes and race each other on a fixed route to the top of a 15-meter high wall. Bouldering involves climbers, without safety ropes, individually trying to ascend as many fixed routes on a 4-meter high wall as they can within 4 minutes. And in lead climbing, athletes will try to climb as high as they can on a 15-meter high wall within 6 minutes, again using safety ropes. If two people reach the same height, the person who did it fastest wins. Although climbers compete in these three events separately in world cup competition, each Olympic athlete will have to participate in each one. Final rankings will be determined by combined scores.
SURFING Surfing makes its Olympic debut next year when women and men shortboard competitors hit Shidashita Beach on Japan's Pacific coast. Four athletes compete at a time, with each heat lasting 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the quality of the waves. During that time each wave can only have one rider. Instead of being judged on how many waves they catch, the athletes are judged on the difficulty of the maneuvers they perform, with masterful execution on large waves bringing the highest scores. An athlete's two highest scores count, with the two surfers at the top of the rankings moving on to the next round.
SPORTS RE TURNING TO THE SUMMER O LY M P I C S I N 2020 BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL After being absent from the last two Summer Olympics, men's baseball and women's softball return to the summer Olympic Games. Though baseball not being wildly popular around the world, only six countries will compete. In both sports, two teams alternate between batting and fielding when the fielding team secures three "outs." Each round of hitting and fielding makes up what's called an "inning" and each game consists of nine innings. The team with the most runs after nine innings wins. Tied scores are resolved through extra innings. Baseball and softball are both played in roughly the same manner with a few differences: Softball is played with a larger ball on a small field and the pitcher throws
underhand from flat ground (not a mound). Softball bats also tend to be shorter, lighter and smaller in diameter. Here is the full list of sports, and the number of events within each sport: aquatics (49), archery (5), athletics (48), badminton (5), baseball/softball (2), basketball (4), boxing (13), canoeing (16), cycling (22), equestrian (6), fencing (12), field hockey (2), football (2), golf (2), gymnastics (18), handball (2), judo (15), karate (8), pentathlon (2), rowing (14), rugby (2), sailing (10), shooting (15), skateboarding (4), sport climbing (2), surfing (2), table tennis (5), taekwondo (8), tennis (5), triathlon (3), volleyball (4), weightlifting (14) and wrestling (18).
OFF TRACK CONTROVERSIES AHEAD OF THE O LY M P I C S CONCERNS ABOUT COSTS Olympics detractors point to rising costs as a serious concern; back in
2013, Tokyo suggested a budget of around $7 billion. That ballooned at one point to an estimated $30 billion, with organizers winnowing it down to nearer $25 billion for now. For reference, Russia ended up spending $51 billion on the Sochi games, the highest known expenditure for an Olympics. That said, future summer games are looking at budgets below $10 billion, thanks to new regulations.
WEATHER QUESTIONS Aside from the costs, there are some concerns about weather: Tokyo has seen increasingly high summer temperatures in the past few years, which means outdoor events like the marathon could be impacted. On the one-year-to-go mark this summer, the city also experienced a torrential downpour. Back in 1964, the Tokyo Olympics were actually held in October to avoid these climate issues.
USA GYMNASTICS USA Gymnastics has been roiled
by allegations of sexual assault against the team’s former doctor Larry Nassar in the past few years, with star gymnasts including Aly Raisman and Simone Biles speaking out about abuse and urging their governing body to take steps towards change. Nassar pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault of a minor and was sentenced in 2018 to up to 175 years in Michigan state prison, but Raisman and others have remained vocal in her criticisms of the organizations for which he worked.
QUESTIONS ABOUT RUSSIA Russia will most likely not compete as a nation at the 2020 Olympics, after the World Anti-Doping Agency recommended in November that the country receive a four-year ban from international competition for not cooperating with doping investigations. In January, WADA shared their suspicions that Russia had tampered with its athletes’ data before presenting it for inspection to the agency. Russia has had
a fraught history with doping allegations; it has been stripped of 43 Olympic medals over the years. Although Russia said in December that it would appeal the WADA decision, if the potential ban is upheld, Russian athletes who have not been found guilty of doping would still be allowed to compete individually. The setup would be reminiscent of the 2018 Olympics, when a select number of Russian athletes were cleared to compete at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as OAR — the neutral “Olympic Athletes Russian” delegation.
DOPING Russia isn’t the only country facing concerns about doping among its athletes. The use of substances to enhance athletic performance has long been a fixture in modern competition, and recently superstars like Lance Armstrong have had their legacies reconsidered in light of new information about doping. Swimming has been in focus in particular lately: in October, U.S. swimmer and prior Olympic medalist Conor Dwyer announced
his retirement following a 20-month ban due to the discovery of his testosterone use. Australia’s Shayna Jack failed a drug test in July, although she contends she ingested the banned substance unknowingly. China’s Sun Yang has been a flashpoint of the doping controversy for years: he first tested positive for banned substances in 2014, and is under investigation for smashing a vial of his blood to avoid testing in 2016. At this summer’s world championships, where he dominated in his events, several fellow competitors voiced their objections to his continued appearance in the sport.
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS The longtime head of Japan’s Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, stepped down this summer after a French investigation into the choice of Tokyo as the host city for 2020 uncovered potential corruption and the use of bribes in securing votes back in 2013. Takeda has maintained his innocence, but recused himself from his Olympic roles in the face of the controversy.
WATER TEMPERATURE AND CLARITY Like in Rio in 2016, there are some concerns about the quality of the water in Tokyo Bay, which will be home to sailing events and open-water distance swimming events. In 2017, trace amounts of E. coli bacteria — 20 times the safe standard — were found in the Bay, leading to an increased focus on decontamination. And at a test event in summer 2019, the water temperature itself led athletes to admit to being overheated during their long-distance swims. In October, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that surveys of water quality and temperature in the Odaiba Marine Park showed that their attempts to improve water quality were “effective,” by using a series of underwater screens that reduced the presence of coliforms. Surveys of water temperature also suggested the temperatures on the same summer dates in 2019 were within the target.
LIVERPOOL’S PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD ATTEMPTS: HOW MANY COULD THEY BREAK THIS SEASON? Unbeaten runs, most points, earliest title win – which Premier League records could fall to Jurgen Klopp’s side? They’re 22 matches into the season at time of print and Liverpool’s quest for their first league title in 30 years is going quite well, to say the least. Manchester United are the only team to take points off the Reds - a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the autumn - but besides that, Liverpool have won every single Premier League match so far. This could turn out to be a record-breaking campaign in many different ways - so how many records are up for grabs?
FEWEST GOALS CONCEDED AND MOST GOALS SCORED CURRENT RECORD: 15 GOALS CONCEDED (CHELSEA, 2004/05), 106 GOALS SCORED (M ANCHESTER CIT Y (2017/18) Helped of course by coining the phrase “park the bus”, Jose Mourinho built a sturdy defencefirst reputation in his first season in England. Jose’s Chelsea conceded just 15 goals all season - an astonishing record that smashed Arsenal’s classic back four, who let 19 goals in when they won the league in 1991.
so, Guardiola became the recordholder for consecutive wins in La Liga, the Bundesliga and Premier League. Not bad. Ahead of their game away to Wolves this week, Liverpool are 12 games into their winning run. Should they beat their next seven opponents, they’ll take that title from City - look out for the Bournemouth match in March for that one (if they haven’t dropped points by then, of course).
MOST ASSISTS IN ONE SEASON
given how celebrated it became at the Etihad when the Citizens achieved the feat. Liverpool are averaging 2.9 points a game - that’s what happens when you drop points in one match all season. The maximum they can still amass is 112 points, so Klopp’s side will have to drop points in at least four matches not to reach the threedigit mark. Seems inevitable right now, let alone achievable.
EARLIEST EVER TITLE WIN
CURRENT RECORD: 20 (THIERRY HENRY, 2002-03)
CURRENT RECORD: APRIL 14 2001 (M ANCHESTER UNITED, 2000/01)
At the other end of the pitch, Pep Guardiola’s free-scoring City Centurions - get used to seeing them on the list - racked up a whopping 106 goals in 2017/18. That’s 2.7 a game, stats fans, including the three that they scored in the 4-3 defeat to Klopp’s Liverpool that season. Liverpool have scored 52 goals and let in 14 since the start of the season. If they manage not to let in one more goal all season deeply unlikely, but not actually impossible, given the presence of Virgil van Dijk - the Reds will eclipse Chelsea’s 15-year record. On a current rate of 2.3 goals a game, they’ll have their work cut out to beat City’s record too, but with most of their clashes against top six sides at home over the coming months, they could get pretty close.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been a revelation for his boyhood club since bursting through as a youngster and establishing himself as Liverpool's first-choice right-back. One of the primary sources of creativity in the side, Alexander-Arnold racked up 12 assists in the league last year and he’s already on nine for this campaign.
Liverpool are 16 points clear of second with a game in hand - so, effectively 19 on current form - and 19 points is the biggest margin that the league has ever been won by (City's Centurions again, as if we had to tell you).
MOST CONSECUTIVE WINS
CURRENT RECORD: 100 (M ANCHESTER CIT Y, 2017/18)
CURRENT RECORD: 18 (M ANCHESTER CIT Y, 2017) En route to their record-breaking title, Manchester City broke Chelsea’s record of consecutive wins, recording 18 victories on the trot and putting acres of space between themselves and the chasing pack before Christmas. In doing
Trent’s got a long way to go to beat Thierry Henry’s 17-year record for goal set-ups, but he also has competition. Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne has been in robotic form this season and already has 14. This one’s perhaps off the cards - for this season at least - but it ain't over till the strawberry blonde midfielder sings.
MOST POINTS AM ASSED
The rivalry between City and Liverpool has blown up in recent years. Fuelled by hostile European ties, a straight knock-out fight for the title and a few controversial refereeing decisions - on both sides - Reds fans would love to take this particular record from their rivals,
Another record that City side were chasing though was the earliest ever title win, before local rivals Manchester United beat them in 2018 and delayed their title party by a week. The dynamics of when the Reds could lift their first Premier League are complex - but if they keep winning at the current speed, the title could be decided away to Everton on March 7. That’s a whole month earlier than the current holders, and it doesn’t take into account that City keep dropping points. In fact, it was only this weekend just gone that City managed to amass the same amount of points (48) that Liverpool had midway through December.
MOST M AJOR TROPHIES COLLECTED IN ONE SEASON CURRENT RECORD: 3 (VARIOUS) Sorry City fans - the Community
Shield is more of a whacking, great shiny dishplate than a trophy. The City class of ‘19 called themselves ‘Fourmidables’ but the maximum number of major trophies that an English club has won in one season, currently stands at three. City managed the domestic treble of course, and neighbours Manchester United did their own treble in 1999. After winning the Champions League in 2007/08, United won the Club World Cup the season after, so 'only' lifted three trophies in 2008/09 - the League Cup and Premier League being the other two. Liverpool, of course, are also holders of that record, having lifted the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup in the 2000/01 season. With a Club World Cup already under their belts, the league title on track and the Reds still going strong in the FA Cup and Champions League, could Jurgen Klopp lift four major trophies this season and become the true Fourmidables?
FIRST GERM AN M AN AGER TO WIN A M AJOR ENGLISH TROPHY CURRENT RECORD: N/A Us English have a fractious relationship with the Germans when it comes to football. There are goals that weren’t goals, 5-1s, shootout despair and the small matter of an epic World Cup final in 1966. But for all their tactical genius, ruthless efficiency and vorsprung durch technik, Germany has never produced a manager to win either a league title, an FA Cup or a League Cup on our shores. Stuttgartborn Jurgen Klopp could become the first from his nation to lift an English league title and he’s not alone - Sadio Mané could become the first Senegalese player to win the Premier League, Naby Keita the first Guinean, Dejan Lovren the first Croatian and Mohamed Salah the first Egyptian.
MOST CONSECUTIVE HOME GAMES UNDEFEATED CURRENT RECORD: 86 (CHELSEA, 2004-08) In 2008, Liverpool stopped one of the great unbeaten runs of English football history. Chelsea managed an unbelievable 86 matches stretching over four years without losing a single match at Stamford Bridge, but it all came crashing down with deflected Xabi Alonso winner. Now, Liverpool are looking to beat that record themselves however, they still have a long way to go. They’re 53 matches into their unbeaten home run, so they’re looking at another year before they’re challenging Chelsea for that particular record. And to think, it could’ve all ended if Riyad Mahrez had buried that penalty at Anfield last season…
MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES UNDEFEATED CURRENT RECORD: 49 (ARSEN AL 2003-04) It seems like at the start of every season, we have the same conversations about whether any current side is capable of going an entire season unbeaten. This year’s no different, but Liverpool could actually overtake Arsenal’s Invincibles without winning the league title. Avoid defeat at Wolves and the Reds will need to see out just nine more matches until they match Arsene Wenger’s crowning achievement. Matchday 49, however, sees Klopp’s men take the short trip to Manchester for another reunion with Pep Guardiola. Get ready for a hell of a narrative on Sky Sports in a few weeks’ time.
PREMIER LEAGUE BE T TING TALKING POINTS LIVERPOOL IS UNDEFEATED IN OVER A YEAR It has been more than a year since Liverpool last fell to defeat in Premier League action, a 2-1 road loss to Manchester City back on January 3, 2019. The club has been unbeatable in league play ever since, going 37-5-0 in 42 contests, including clean-sheet victories in each of their past six contests. The Reds’ dominance now leaves them with a wide 14-point lead over the second-place Citizens on the EPL table with just 16 match days remaining, and sporting +450 odds of going undefeated in league action this season. While a hectic European schedule has the potential to wear down the club and prevent them from smashing the Premier League record for points in a season, set by Manchester City with its 100-point campaign two years ago, it is likely to take a total collapse by
Liverpool to deny them in their bid for their first Premier League title in 30 years. M ANCHESTER CIT Y TURNS FOCUS TO EUROPE Indeed, the defending EPL champion Citizens are currently the only club given any chance of overtaking the Reds. Manchester City has climbed into second place on the table during a three-match win streak, and sits second on the Premier League championship odds at +1800, well ahead of Leicester City, who trail at +15000. After edging out Liverpool by one point to claim the EPL title last season, City has struggled at times during the first half of the campaign. The club posted wins in just three of six matches during a run that started in early November, and which also featured a lopsided 3-1 loss at Anfield. While the two clubs will meet again on April 4 at Etihad Stadium, City has a mountain to climb to close the 14-point gap between themselves and a Liverpool squad that shows no signs of slowing down. That likely means a greater focus on the UEFA Champions League for City, which enters the knockout stage alongside Liverpool as +400 favorites on those futures. THE FOXES ARE STRUGGLING TO KEEP PACE Harsh reality is also sinking in for the Foxes, who now trail Liverpool by 16 points on the Premier League table following last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Southampton. Ninth-place finishers in each of the past two seasons, Leicester City has been one of the surprises in the first half of the current EPL campaign. Powered by an eight-match win streak starting in mid-October, the Foxes sport an impressive 14-3-5 record, and short -700 odds of finishing above the line for the first time since their unlikely championship win four years ago.
ODDS TO WIN THE PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM
ODDS
LIVERPOOL
-3300
M ANCHESTER CIT Y
+1800
LEICESTER CIT Y
+15000
CHELSEA
+50000
M ANCHESTER UNITED
+100000
TOT TENH AM HOTSPUR
+100000
ARSEN AL
+150000
EVERTON
+150000
WOLVERH AMPTON
+150000
CRYSTAL PAL ACE
+350000
SHEFFIELD UNITED
+350000
ASTON VILL A
+450000
BOURNEMOUTH
+450000
BRIGHTON
+450000
BURNLEY
+450000
NEWCASTLE UNITED
+450000
NORWICH CIT Y
+450000
SOUTH AMPTON
+450000
WATFORD
+450000
WEST H AM
+450000
CONOR MCGREGOR DESTROYS DONALD CERRONE IN 40 SECONDS ON UFC RETURN
CONOR MCGREGOR CAME BACK WITH A BIG BANG. McGregor stopped Donald Cerrone with a head kick and punches 40 seconds into the first round at UFC 246 on Saturday night, announcing his return to mixed martial arts with his first victory since 2016. The Irish former two-division champion came out of a threeyear stretch of relative inactivity and outside-the-cage troubles with a performance that echoed his greatest fights during his unparalleled rise. After bloodying Cerrone’s nose with his first punch, McGregor (22-4) then floored Cerrone (36-14) only 20 seconds into the bout with a perfectly placed left kick to the head. He mercilessly finished on the ground to the delight of a sellout crowd of 19,040 at T-Mobile Arena. “I feel really good, and I came out of here unscathed,” McGregor said. “I’m in shape. We’ve got work to do to get back to where I was.” McGregor’s hand hadn’t been raised in victory since November 2016, when he stopped lightweight Eddie Alvarez to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two championship belts simultaneously. With his fame and fortune multiplying, McGregor fought only his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in 2017, and he lost a one-sided UFC bout to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in late 2018. After a year spent out of competition and in repeated trouble with the law, McGregor got back into training and vowed to return to elite form. This dramatic victory over Cerrone indicated he’s well on his way, and McGregor has vowed to fight multiple times in 2020. Welterweight champion Kamaru
Usman and veteran brawler Jorge Masvidal watched UFC 246 from cageside. Either man could be McGregor’s next opponent. “Any one of these mouthy fools can get it,” McGregor yelled into the microphone. “Every single one of them can get it. It does not matter. I’m back and I’m ready.” Cerrone is the most successful fighter in UFC history with 23 victories, a mark that reflects both his durability and commitment to an uncommonly busy schedule. Cerrone, who also holds the UFC record with 16 stoppage wins, had fought a remarkable 11 times since McGregor’s win over Alvarez, and he was in the cage for the 15th time since he lost his only UFC title shot in December 2015. But Cerrone’s last two fights were stopped when he took too much damage, and he couldn’t block McGregor’s decisive kick or recover from the punishment on the ground. “I’d never seen anything like that,” Cerrone said. “He busted my nose, it started bleeding, and he stepped back and head-kicked me. Oh, man. This happened this fast?” Although many observers have scoffed, the 31-year-old McGregor believes he can reclaim the fearsome form he showed during his meteoric rise to unprecedented MMA success. He won 15 consecutive fights during a five-year run from low-profile shows in Dublin to the world’s biggest MMA events, stopping five straight elite UFC opponents with punches on the way up. McGregor walked to the cage at UFC 246 with the Irish flag wrapped around his shoulders. The bearded fighters touched gloves beforehand in an extension of this bout’s unfailing sportsmanship, not always a hallmark of McGregor’s previous bouts.
After the referee stopped it, McGregor peeled away briefly to celebrate, but quickly returned to comfort his disoriented opponent. When Cerrone’s grandmother, Jerry, entered the cage after the fight to hug her grandson, McGregor also hugged Jerry and got a kiss on the cheek. Even after his prolonged absence or maybe because of it McGregor’s return is expected to be a huge seller on pay-per-view. The UFC said it made more than $11 million in ticket sales at T-Mobile Arena for the fourth-biggest gate total in the promotion’s history. An eager sellout Vegas crowd showed up in person, with celebrities including Matthew McConaughey, Jeremy Renner and Dave Bautista, along with NFL stars Tom Brady, Christian McCaffrey, Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett and Jon Gruden.
BE T TING ODDS TO BE CONOR MCGREGOR’S NEXT OPPONENT Jorge Masvidal -200 Khabib Nurmagomdov +300 Justin Gaethje +600 Kamaru Usman +900 Nate Diaz +1000 Floyd Mayweather +1200 Tony Ferguson +1400 BE T TING VALUE Considering UFC president Dana White said that Nurmagomedov is next for McGregor, there seems to be betting value in him at +300 odds. Even though McGregor himself said he’s not interested in Nurmagomedov at this time, the UFC ultimately makes the final call, so if White wants Nurmagomedov to fight McGregor next, he will get his way. Of course, Nurmagomedov still has to get by Ferguson at UFC 249.
BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR THE 2020 PGA TOUR SEASON As we say goodbye to what turned out to be an epic year of golf in 2019, it’s time to look ahead to the new year. With Tiger Woods's return to form and a PGA Tour stocked with both established and young up-and-coming stars, the excitement surrounding the game couldn’t be greater. Here are five bold predictions for the 2020 PGA Tour season: TIGER WINS FOUR TIMES Coming off a year in which Tiger Woods returned to glory at Augusta and then tied Sam Snead’s all-time wins mark of 82, the expectation level surrounding Tiger may be a bit inflated. Expect Woods to once again pick and choose his way through the PGA Tour schedule according to how his body is feeling and where he feels the most comfortable. Even so, Woods will come up short of
adding to his major title total of 15 in 2020, but he will easily set the all-time wins mark–by adding four more titles to his total and bringing him to 86. After sitting out the Arnold Palmer Invitational a year ago, Tiger returns to Bay Hill to win for a ninth time. He’ll also be victorious at Jack’s place at The Memorial, The Northern Trust at TPC Boston and the Tour Championship. RORY GOES BACK-TO-BACK As good as 2019 was for Rory McIlroy, 2020 will be the year of Rory. The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year will be looking to build on a season in which he won three times and racked up 14 top-10 finishes. The one thing missing was a major championship. In fact, Rory has been stuck on four major titles
since the 2014 PGA Championship, something Brooks Koepka reminded him of this fall. That all changes in 2020. After compiling five career top-10s at Augusta National, McIlroy finally breaks through and completes the career grand slam at The Masters. The Northern Irishman has a tendency to win in bunches, so look out if he hits his stride. Expect him to add another major title to his mantle at the PGA Championship in May. This year the PGA visits TPC Harding Park, outside of San Francisco–a course where McIlroy captured the WGC Match Play title in 2015. PHIL COMES UP SHORT, AGAIN The narrative has already been written. On the weekend of his 50th birthday, Phil Mickelson will be
playing in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, the site of his most infamous Open collapse. It was 14 years ago when Mickelson, holding a one-stroke lead on the 72nd hole, stepped to the 18th tee, just over 400 yards away from an elusive U.S. Open victory. After slicing his tee shot off a hospitality tent, Lefty made a complete mess of the hole, ultimately making double bogey and handing the title to Australian Geoff Ogilvy. In all, Mickelson has finished runnerup at the U.S. Open six times. This year, the Open returns to the suburbs of Manhattan and Winged Foot for the first time since the catastrophe. The script is set up for Mickelson's redemption, but it's hard to see it actually come to fruition. Since winning the AT&T Pebble Beach last February, Mickelson has looked lost. He’s compiled just one top-20 finish over the past 10 months (at The Masters, no less) and has missed eight cuts. Unless Phil’s game has a complete rejuvenation in 2020, his U.S. Open pain will continue. ROYAL ST. GEORGE’S PRODUCES ANOTHER FIRST-TIME MAJOR WINNER England’s most historic Open Championship venue hasn’t hosted the tournament since 2011, when it last produced one of his multitude of first-time Open winners. Darren Clarke last hoisted the Claret Jug at Royal St. George's, capturing the emotions of the golf world by winning the British at age 42. Players like Ben Curtis and Sandy Lyle have also been victorious at the storied course. In July, that trend of first timers will continue, as Tony Finau will capture the first major title of his career on the southeast coast of England. The
30-year-old is primed to win a major, having six top-10 finishes in majors, including a third-place finish a year ago at Royal Portrush. Finau’s game sets up perfectly for links golf in England and Scotland, and the American’s years of grinding it out on mini tours will finally pay off on the major stage. DUSTIN JOHNSON RE TURNS TO DOMIN ANCE As Koepka and Rory battled it out for PGA Tour supremacy in 2019, former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson took a back seat. DJ found the winner's circle in 2019 at the WGC Mexico Championship and was runner-up at both the Masters and PGA Championship, but the second half of the year was a disappointment. He disappeared from the world No. 1 conversation after failing to notch a single top-10 finish since the PGA in May. In September, we received some clarity on what may have been plaguing him. Johnson underwent knee surgery in the fall and sat out three months prior to joining the USA's Presidents Cup team in Australia. Rested and presumably healthy, Johnson will storm back onto the scene in 2020, looking to reclaim the No. 1 ranking that Koepka currently holds. Entering 2020, there are three players on tour who can completely dominate for extended periods of time: McIlroy, Koepka and Johnson. He won’t say it publicly, but the idea of being left out of that discussion and turning into the forgotten man in 2019 didn’t sit well with D.J. Look for Johnson to rejoin that conversation by winning multiple times and contending at all four majors in the year ahead.
ODDS TO WIN THE 2020 MASTERS (4/9/20) GOLFER
ODDS
BROOKS KOEPKA
9/1
RORY MCILROY
10/1
TIGER WOODS
12/1
JON RAHM
14/1
DUSTIN JOHNSON
18/1
JUSTIN ROSE
18/1
RICKIE FOWLER
18/1
JUSTIN THOM AS
18/1
JORDAN SPIE TH
20/1
Z ANDER SCH AUFFELE
20/1
PATRICK CANTL AY
20/1
TOMMY FLEE T WOOD
30/1
JASON DAY
40/1
BRYSON DECH AMBEAU
40/1
TONY FIN AU
40/1
ADAM SCOT T
40/1
FRANCESCO MOLIN ARI
50/1
HIDEKI M ATSUYAM A
50/1
BUBBA WATSON
50/1
PHIL MICKELSON
50/1
KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE BETTING BOB BAFFERT UNLEASHES HIS 2020 PROSPECT IN STYLE. The story of a Las Vegas insider’s early $500 Kentucky Derby future wager on Justify returning $150,000 won’t repeat itself if Nadal is the next late-debuting winner for the Bob Baffert barn destined for glory in May. William Hill U.S. opened the son of Blame, unveiled Sunday with a flashy victory at Santa Anita Park, at 20-1 on its latest 2020 Kentucky Derbyodds sheet distributed last Monday afternoon. Later that night live prices via the William Hill app noted Nadal had dropped all the way to 12-1 and taken some serious early bets after the impressive debut win. Only Derby prep winners Tiz the Law (8-1), Independence Hall (10-1) and Maxfield (10-1) are listed at shorter odds to win the Derby than Nadal. His price is on par with these fellow 12-1 shots: Dennis’ Moment, Storm the Court and Thousand Words. So the value if there was any to be had is gone on this Bob Baffert trainee. In the coming months, we’ll see if it was money well spent for
those bettors quick to play. Nadal, a $700,000 auction purchase as a 2-year-old, went 6 1/2 furlongs on debut, rushing up the rail under apprentice jockey J.C. Diaz to take control before the turn. After cutting swift opening fractions of 21.88 and 44.91 seconds, he felt the whip once in the stretch.
win, also training Thousand Words, American Pharoah Stakes winner Eight Rings (15-1), Sham Stakes winner Authentic (16-1) and Bob Hope winner High Velocity (25-1).
The rather large Nadal appeared to burst home from there, stopping the clock in 1:15.82.
In terms of other changes to the board, Enforceable dropped from 125-1 to 30-1 this week on the heels of his Lecomte Stakes victory. Blackberry Wine, an impressive allowance winner on the undercard, opened at 75-1. Those two are likely to meet in Fair Grounds’ Risen Star.
Nadal will have allowance options, but he’s more than likely bound for stakes off this effort, facing a twoturn test in his next start. Baffert is looking loaded in search of a record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby
Liam’s Lucky Charm, the Floridabred winner of Tampa Bay Downs’ Pasco Stakes, is also on to deeper waters along the Derby trail. You can get him at 100-1 with the next race spot to be decided.
KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE ODDS FROM US RACING ALPH A SI XT Y SI X
200/1
+20000
DAPPER
200/1
+20000
AMERICAN BUT TERFLY
80/1
+8000
DENNIS MOMENT
12/1
+1200
AMERICAN THEOREM
50/1
+5000
EDELM AN
150/1
+15000
AMERICANUS
200/1
+20000
EIGHT RINGS
15/1
+1500
ANCIENT WARRIOR
55/1
+5500
ENFORCEABLE
30/1
+3000
ANNEAU D’OR
25/1
+2500
FAMISHED
100/1
+10000
ANSWER IN
50/1
+5000
FAST ENOUGH
150/1
+15000
AS SEEN ON T V
100/1
+10000
FIN ALIST
200/1
+20000
ASH AAR
150/1
+15000
FLUTE M AKER
175/1
+17500
AUTHENTIC
14/1
+1400
FORT MCHENRY
175/1
+17500
AZUL COAST
66/1
+6600
FORZ A DI ORO
175/1
+17500
BAM BAM AGAIN
175/1
+17500
GARTH
66/1
+660
BANK ON SHEA
150/1
+15000
GIN AND PLUTONIC
150/1
+15000
BASIN
66/1
+6600
GINOBILI
175/1
+17500
BELL AVI A
80/1
+8000
GLORY ROAD
150/1
+15000
BIG RE TURNS
175/1
+17500
GOLD STREE T
150/1
+15000
BL AME THE CAKE
200/1
+20000
GOUVERNEUR MORRIS
33/1
+3300
BLUEGRASS FAITH
200/1
+20000
GOZILL A
150/1
+15000
BRONN
100/1
+10000
GREAT POWER
80/1
+8000
BY YOUR SIDE
40/1
+4000
GREEN LIGHT GO
33/1
+3300
CAPTAIN BOMBASTIC
175/1
+17500
H ALO AGAIN
150/1
+15000
CEZ ANNE
33/1
+3300
H ARRIS BAY
200/1
+20000
CH ANCE IT
50/1
+5000
HIGH VELOCIT Y
40/1
+4000
CHESTERTOWN
33/1
+3300
HONOR A P
16/1
+1600
CIT Y M AN
33/1
+3300
IBERICO
200/1
+20000
CLEON JONES
175/1
+17500
INDEPENDENCE H ALL
16/1
+1600
COLLUSION ILLUSION
80/1
+8000
JACK THE UMPIRE
150/1
+15000
COMPLEXIFIER
200/1
+20000
JUGGERN AUT
175/1
+17500
COST BASIS
100/1
+10000
LE TMENO
80/1
+8000
KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE ODDS FROM US RACING LONG WEEKEND
175/1
+17500
SILVER STATE
50/1
+5000
LYNN'S M AP
100/1
+10000
SIRIUVSHIMSELFALOT
200/1
+20000
M AVEN
33/1
+3300
SISKIN
33/1
+3300
M AXFIELD
16/1
+1600
SM ASH FACTOR
200/1
+20000
M AXIMILL ANO
125/1
+12500
SOME THING SUPER
175/1
+17500
MERU
100/1
+10000
SOME THINGTOTELLYOU
175/1
+17500
MICKELSON
175/1
+17500
SONNEM AN
150/1
+15000
MOH AWK
50/1
+5000
SOUTH BEND
66/1
+6600
MOON ACHIE
200/1
+20000
SPYCRAF T
200/1
+20000
MR. MONOMOY
80/1
+8000
SQUARE DEAL
200/1
+20000
N ADAL
16/1
+1600
STORM THE COURT
25/1
+2500
NECKER ISL AND
66/1
+6600
STRUCTOR
25/1
+2500
NIGHT TIME
175/1
+17500
SURVEILL ANCE
200/1
+20000
NUCKY
66/1
+6600
TAP BACK
150/1
+15000
OUR COUNTRY
150/1
+15000
TAP IT TO WIN
80/1
+8000
PH ANTOM BOSS
50/1
+5000
TH ANKS MR. EIDSON
200/1
+20000
PICKENS
200/1
+20000
THOUSAND WORDS
18/1
+1800
PRINCE JAMES
150/1
+15000
THREE JOKERS
150/1
+15000
PRINCE OF PH ARAOHS
66/1
+6600
THREE TECHNIQUE
33/1
+3300
RACE DRIVER
175/1
+17500
TIZ THE L AW
12/1
+1200
RELENTLESS DANCER
90/1
+9000
TIZ AM AGICI AN
12/1
+1200
ROWDY YATES
150/1
+15000
TOLEDO
66/1
+6600
SCABBARD
50/1
+5000
TOOK CH ARGE
150/1
+15000
SCHRODINGER
150/1
+15000
TUMBLING SKY
150/1
+15000
SCORING
150/1
+15000
VIOL ATOR
200/1
+20000
SH ARED SENSE
175/1
+17500
WELLS BAYOU
200/1
+20000
SH ASH ASH AKEMEUP
150/1
+15000
WHEAT KING
175/1
+17500
SHOPLIF TED
40/1
+4000
WRECKING CREW
100/1
+10000
SILVER PROSPECTOR
33/1
+3300
YOU SHOULD TALK
40/1
+4000
INDUSTRY INSIDER
LEGAL SPORTS B E T T I N G S TAT E B Y S TAT E M O V E M E N T TRACKER
bill law would have to be approved by the voters of the state, and California lawmakers are aiming to have this on the ballot in November.
sports betting cannot be legalized in Illinois until 18 months after sports betting is officially launched.
ILLINOIS
CALIFORNI A
The state of Illinois legalized sports betting during the summer of 2019, but they are just now getting things going. Illinois has started to lay out the application process for those locations that are interested in obtaining a license. Casinos will have the first crack at a license, but major sports stadiums can apply for a license as well. Mobile
The Maryland General Assembly convened earlier this month, and the topic of sports betting will be on the docket. The General Assembly must decide whether or not the option to create a constitutional amendment will be included on the ballot in November. This constitutional amendment would legalize sports betting throughout the state. A vote is needed from both
California is one of several states that have been trying to gain traction to legalize sports betting, and they took some big steps in the last month. There was a preliminary meeting on sports betting held by state lawmakers earlier this month, and a bill is expected to be formally introduced soon. Any sports betting
M ARYL AND
Legal Sports Betting in the U.S. ME
WA VT
ND
MT
MN
OR
NY WI
SD
ID
NE CO
CA
OH
IN
IL
WV VA KY
MO
KS
NC TN OK
AZ
NJ
MD
CT
DE
DC
PA IA
UT
MA
RI
MI
WY
NV
NH
NM
SC
AR MS
TX
AL
GA
Authorized Sports Betting, Not Yet Operational (6 states + DC) Active 2020 Sports Betting Legislation/ Ballot (12 states) No 2020 Sports Betting Bills (18 States)
LA FL
AK
HI
Legal landscape as of January 15, 2020
LEARN MORE
AmericanGaming.org
Live, Legal SingleGame Sports Betting (14 states)
houses in the General Assembly, but both sides feel that this bill will be passed. Maryland tried to get a sports betting law passed in 2018, but it gained little traction before being tabled.
M AINE It appears that sports betting fans in the state of Maine will have to wait a little bit longer to place a legal bet. Governor Janet Mills recently vetoed a bill that would have legalized sports betting in Maine, which will force the state lawmakers to create a new bill if they wish to get the topic started again. There was hope that Mills would sign the bill into law, allowing Maine to be one of several states ready to launch sports betting in 2020.
MICHIGAN It took almost five years for Michigan to legalize sports betting, but they were finally able to pass a law in 2019. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed sports betting into law, and now Michigan is in the process of receiving applications to launch sports betting. Professional sports leagues will have to approve for their data to be used by sportsbooks in Michigan after a bill was recently passed adding that requirement.
NEW H AMPSHIRE New Hampshire is now the 14th state to have legalized sports betting in the United States. Governor Chris Sununu placed the first legal bet in the state, when he bet on the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Sununu eventually lost his bet, but sports betting fans in New England now have another state where they can legally bet on sports. New Hampshire has agreed to a deal
with DraftKings that will provide them the availability to offer mobile/ online sports betting.
TENNESSEE It appears that Tennessee is getting closer to the launch of their sports betting industry. State lawmakers believe that the state will be ready to begin accepting applications for a sports betting license by the end of January, with an anticipated start date of early March. All sports betting in Tennessee will be done via mobile, as the state does not have any casinos.
VERMONT Senators Richard Sears and Michael Sirotkin are working towards getting sports betting legalized in the state of Vermont. The two senators pre-filed bill S.213, which would legalize mobile wagering in the state of Vermont. Vermont does not have any casinos currently in operation, and mobile sports betting is the only option. The bill will be discussed by other state lawmakers in the coming weeks, in hopes that the bill will eventually reach the Governor’s desk.
BREAKING HEADLINES IN SPORTS BE TTING Here is a look at some of the biggest news stories from the sports betting industry as we being 2020 and the US decade of Sports Betting.
DRAF TKINGS BECOMES PUBLIC COMPANY DraftKings announced that they would become a publicly-traded company. This huge announcement makes DraftKings the first and only vertically-integrated sports betting company.
DRAF TKINGS ANNOUNCES HUGE LOSS DURING MERGER STATEMENT: While announcing their merger with SBTech, it was revealed that DraftKings lost over $114 million during the first nine months of 2019. Revenue went up for DraftKings during those months, but costs of revenue increased by a much quicker rate.
VERIZON EXPANDING SPORTS BE T TING: Verizon plans to continue to grow in their sports betting venture by opening up in five more states through their deal with MGM Resorts International. Verizon broke into the sports betting industry in 2019 through its Yahoo Sports mobile app, but they are looking for more.
THE SPORTS VIDEO GROUP WELCOMES SPARX Sparx Technology will be a new mobile integrator/sponsor for The Sports Video Group. Sparx is known for creating interactive TV media, but they will be using their platform to make betting predictions as a part of this new deal.
FASHION: BUSINESS CASUAL GENTS’ STYLE REDEFINED FOR 2020 Whichever way you look at it, you are a brand and your clothes are your most important marketing materials. Hence, it’s worth considering what kind of message you’re sending with the clothes you choose to wear. Outside the office, you’re free to do pretty much anything you like. Keep things simple or make a statement – you’re not necessarily out to impress or influence. Nevertheless, it’s an entirely different story where business attire is concerned. But what does ‘dressing to impress’ mean from a 2020 perspective? How has the whole business attire issue evolved and shifted over recent years? THE RISE OF BUSINESS CASUAL In a nutshell, the new rules for dressing for success points almost entirely to business casual, though this in its own right creates a number of challenges. One of these challenges is making a statement and leaving a lasting impression when at the same time looking effortless. It’s the classic case of looking absolutely impeccable, though giving the impression you’ve made no real effort at all. Instead, it’s your natural charm, character and charisma that makes you
look and feel the part – not the tie collection you retired five years ago. SIMPLICIT Y IN SUITS Ask any business attire expert and they’ll tell you the same – every man needs a solid dark suit. That accompanied by a medium grey or navy suit for younger wearers, but a solid dark suit is the gent’s closest equivalent of a ‘little black dress’ for all occasions. Coupled with sensible shoes, a statement-making watch and good grooming, there’s not a great deal else you need. On that note, good grooming remains exponentially more important than the way you dress for business. Nothing can undo the appeal of a fabulous suit quite like ungroomed hair or a five o’clock shadow. Ties remain optional, though are fast falling out of favour where business casual is concerned. Too stuffy, to date and too formal…even in relatively formal situations. A QUESTION OF CUFFLINKS… Style-conscious men in droves have stopped wearing ties, opting for a slightly less formal overall look. How do you achieve a polished, professional and personal look without a tie? You finish your suit with a pair of captivating cufflinks in
either Gold or Silver.Cufflinks are a small detail that nonetheless carries a powerful message about the wearer’s flair and sophistication. They are by no means considered mandatory or even the norm, which is precisely why they carry such appeal.You don’t need them and nor are they expected, and that’s why they make such an impact when you wear them…and wear them well. Particularly if you opt for custom made, bespoke cufflinks – quite the conversation starter as an added bonus. COMFORT AND PRACTICALIT Y Above all else, dressing for success in 2020 is as much about comfort and practicality as it is keeping up appearances. If you’re not comfortable in your attire, it’s easily noticeable.At which point, it becomes apparent to those around you that you’ve made far too much effort. You’ve dressed in a manner that’s not ‘you’ in an attempt to impress, rather than showing any real personality. Of course, there will always be times when a superstiff suit and immaculately knotted tie is the only way to go. Elsewhere, business casual is the way to dress for success in 2020, and it’s far more enjoyable too.
BUSINESS
FINGER ON THE PULSE
5 KEY BUSINESS TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2020 From social apps to machine learning, a handful of buzzing innovations with no signs of slowing down.If you are an entrepreneur, you know how competitive the business world can be. In order to stay on top, you need to have your finger on the pulse of modern technology and keep up with the latest innovations. With that in mind, here are five unique trends that are expected to drive business growth in the coming year and beyond. 1. CAPTURING THE YOUTH DEMOGRAPHIC Older readers may remember a time before the internet, but for younger generations, it’s an essential part of everything they do. And as they age and make up more of the consumer market, companies must do their best to relate by moving their marketing to a digital platform. Take TikTok, the mobile-centric video platform that has experienced crazy growth in the past few years. With 500 million active users worldwide, it ranks ninth in that category among social-networking sites, ahead of LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat. YouTube has also made digital marketing more accessible to this audience. According to a recent VidMob survey, “59 percent of Gen Z respondents said they use their YouTube app a lot more than they did a year prior,” showing that this market is just getting started. 2. GOING GREEN IS PICKING UP STEAM More people are adopting a green lifestyle. Beyond Meat, maker of plant-based proteins, has increased its stock prices by more than three times since its IPO launch. But for consumers, the eco-conscious lifestyle doesn’t stop at vegetarian diets and organic hygiene products. Lunya, a popular women’s-clothing maker, constructs its products from natural fabrics and fibers, and its
sleepwear and intimates lines use Pima cotton for durability and comfort. Using natural materials lowers the carbon footprint of their business, as well as that of the individual consumer. According to Small Business Trends, when it comes to tapping new consumers in an already-crowded green market, “The answer may lie in supplying consumers with details -- and authenticity.” It’s not enough to be green anymore; you have to help the customer understand what making eco-friendly choices means for you and them. 3. M ACHINE LEARNING AND AI ADVANCES The artificial-intelligence industry is continuing to grow and will have a significant impact on the world economy in the coming years. Even smaller uses of AI and algorithms can improve the user experience in nearly all industries. Spotify, for one, uses artificial intelligence to make the listening experience more personal by creating customized sessions for each user. AI is also transforming customer service. As Omer Khan, founder and CEO of VividTech quoted, “Today’s chatbots and virtual assistants are able to handle more customer service tasks than ever before to better facilitate the customer journey. As they utilize machine learning to better respond to customer requests, these interactions become even more efficient.” Through the smart use of technology, business and consumers will all benefit. 4. E-COMMERCE WILL CONTINUE TO DOMIN ATE In the coming four years, global e-commerce is expected to reach around $5 trillion, as reported by Statista, causing many retailers to move investments from brickand-mortar storefronts to online stores. Fashion Nova has utilized the power of online shopping with
only a small handful of physical locations, leveraging social media to generate hundreds of millions in sales. They even created a state-ofthe-art warehouse that can ship out orders faster. As more specialized retailers appear on the market, there seems to be no limit to what can be sold online. 5. ALL-ENCOMPASSING DIGITAL PL ATFORMS WILL KEEP RISING As companies look to provide more services and options to their customers, demand has risen for allin-one platforms to handle financial transactions, security and banking needs. Consumers and business owners alike appreciate the ability to accomplish more than one of their goals with a particular vendor, and these comprehensive systems are gaining popularity. We’ve seen companies and products like Cyfe and Tableau (who had a massive IPO) create central businessintelligence platforms with APIs and integrations that continue to push the tech pace. Another example is Prime Trust, which offers one-stop shopping for business owners by providing financial services and infrastructure solutions, saving them time and creating a more convenient experience for customers, which is the ultimate goal. As the demand for diverse payment methods grows, these types of full-service banking and financial platforms will be necessary for even small businesses or storefronts. Customers want contactless credit options and the ability to pay with crypto currency or their phone. They also demand high security and instant, 24-hour access to funds. Having experts to guide your business through this ever-changing financial maze will be crucial moving forward. Competition for new customers is always fierce, and adapting to the changing consumer market can be crucial for the success of any business. It is essential to know what your customers are demanding and where they are spending their dollars. To help your business make the right decisions for the year ahead and beyond, seize on these trends that are likely to influence business growth into the coming years.
HEALTH is your
WEALTH
F45
TRAINING COMBINING THE INDUSTRY TRENDS OF GROUP TRAINING AND FUNCTION AL FITNESS, F45 DELIVERS PREMIUM TEAM TRAINING IN A BOUTIQUE STUDIO ENVIRONMENT. F45 Training is a team-based, functional training facility that places a huge emphasis on the ‘three key factors’ of motivation, innovation and results. At F45 (the F stands for functional), no program is ever repeated, making every workout a unique experience. The creators of F45 describe each studio as an ‘ecosystem that develops incredible physiques and strong camaraderie’, thanks in part to initiatives like the live DJ sets on Saturdays. The system must be working, because F45 is the fastest growing network of fitness studios in the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. With group training and functional workouts available at almost every
facility these days, what makes F45 different? Its creators identified an opportunity to deliver premium team training services in a boutique studio environment. The workouts feature no power lifting or technical lifting, and the facilities are highly systemised, feature integrated technology in the form of video workout demonstrations and strive to be female-friendly. F45 offers 10 customised training systems, 10 unique circuit movement patterns, 15 different timing modules, over 1,000 exercises, and workouts that change every day. The aim is that clients remain motivated and challenged, and hence achieve great results. The workout training systems are individually branded and patented, each having unique identities. Licensees of F45 studios receive all of these training systems, timing modules, video workouts and F45-branded DJ playlists. While some group training models shy away from the term, the creators of F45 proudly declare it to be a cult that has to be experienced to be believed. Along with the growing band of devotees, celebrities including Ricky Martin, Mark Wahlberg, Joel Madden and Nicole Richie have also taken them up on their offer. BECOME A PART OF THE TEAM AT HT TPS://F45TRAINING.COM
TEAM TRAINING, LIFE CH ANGING.
NEW JERSEY SPORTS BAR GUIDE HOBOKEN With the introduction of online and mobile betting in New Jersey, there's no longer any need for long SportsBook lines and standing room only for live betting action. We can finally legally place a bet from anywhere in the State and that means finding the best Sports Bars to enjoy our favorite events! We start in Hoboken.
THE DUBLINER {96 RIVER STREE T} FOR AN OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE The third level of The Dubliner is an outdoor roof deck with a huge screen, thus creating the essential downtown spot for football observance. Add some Corona buckets and soak up the autumn sun — and you’ll be in Sunday Funday heaven.
TOP SPORTS BARS HOBOKEN
THE BRASS RAIL {135 WASHINGTON STREE T} FOR A PL ACE TO ENJOY WINE {ON TAP!} AND FOOTBALL Yep, this pretty much seals the deal. Wine on tap > beer on tap.
THE SHEPHERD AND THE KNUCKLEHEAD {1313 WILLOW AVENUE} FOR CRAF T BEER UPTOWN Voted by NJ.COM #1 CRAFT BEER BAR IN NEW JERSEY The craft beer list at The Shep is extensive and impressive which goes hand in hand with a giant layout of TVs, everywhere. This uptown spot is quickly going to become a staple on football Sundays. BL ACK BEAR BAR & GRILL {205 WASHINGTON STREE T} FOR A WALL OF TELEVISIONS Great bar food and any sports fan’s dream — their giant wall of televisions is sure to keep you satisfied {even if you’re trying to watch several games at once}. No need to bring your phone to watch the second one, Black Bear is playing every. single. game. {PS: Another fave wing spot!}
And Brass Rail actually has both — plus a kickass menu {that currently includes lobster mac and cheese}. Mic drop. WICKED WOLF {120 SIN ATRA DRIVE} FOR A PART Y ATMOSPHERE Not into commercials during the games? The Wolf knows, and hires a DJ to spin beats whenever there’s a break in the action. That plus a few brews on tap, and it’s pretty much a party. It’s usually packed — creating a Sunday Funday to the max.
TAILGATE PARTY ESSENTIALS TAILGATE SEASON IS UPON US, WHICH CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING: IT’S FOOTBALL TIME! WHE THER YOU’RE PL ANNING A SM ALL, OLD SCHOOL SE T-UP FROM THE BACK OF YOUR TRUNK OR AN ALL-DAY PARKING LOT EXTRAVAGANZ A WITH A BIG GROUP, YOU’LL NEED THE GOODS TO M AKE SURE YOUR PREGAME PART Y RUNS SMOOTHLY. BELOW, WE’VE ROUNDED UP THE NEWEST TOOLS AND GADGE TS FOR TAILGATING YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED. IT’S TIME TO FOR YOUR TAILGATE TO TURN IT UP!
CLEVERM ADE
JAVASOK
Clevermade’s collapsible cooler keeps beverages cold for 36 hours and holds up to 50 cans + ice! Clevermade also snaps flat, making it easy to store anywhere you go. WWW.CLEVERM ADE.COM
Keep drinks cold and hands dry with JavaSok! This sleeve works well with all kinds of cold and frozen drinks as well. WWW.JAVASOK.COM
PRIMO
Stay hydrated with Glasstic! Glasstic's special design allows you to enjoy the perks of a glass water bottle without the worry of shattering or breaking it. WWW.GL ASSTICWATERBOT TLE.COM
Grill the best grub at the tailgate with Primo! With its one of a kind design, Primo grill outperforms all others. WWW.PRIMOGRILL.COM
GL ASSTIC
SPORTICULTURE Spruce up your Tailgate party with flower arrangements, customizable to support your favorite NFL team! SPORTICULTURE.COM
TAILGATER T WO-PERSON FOLDING ALUMINUM CH AIR Don’t fight over the one chair at your tailgate bash. This folding chair is designed for two adults and has two drink holders in the armrest, plus a shoulder strap for easy carrying. WWW.EVERY WHERECH AIR.COM
SMELLY PROOF Bring all your favorite Superbowl snacks to the tailgate in Smelly Proof’s ultra sturdy bags! SMELLYPROOF.COM
GRILLERS' CORNER GAME DAY GRILLING TIPS
Grab your team’s jersey and fire up the grill—it’s football season, and no game day is complete without a full spread of grilled meat and vegetables. Whether you’re rusty on your grill skills or looking to impress your buddies with some new tricks, our grill hacks will punch up your game day experience by saving you time and effort while punching up the flavor of your favorite game day foods.
HOT DOGS
Spiral cut your hot dogs using a skewer and a knife so that they grill evenly throughout. And rather than have a slew of condiments scattered across your tailgate table, use a muffin tin to separate and place condiments. Bonus – this also cuts down on the number of dishes you have to clean and the amount of waste from your tailgate. Got an empty six-pack? (Sure you do) Use this to hold and carry condiment bottles, napkins, and other essentials. Don’t forget the bottle opener.
RIBS
Turn your grill into a smoker by placing a tin foil pouch filled with wood chips on top of one of your burners. Spraying apple juice on your meat as it grills or smokes
will enhance the flavor appearance, and tenderness of the finished product.
BURGERS
For those of you who don’t use pre-formed patties for burger, A) good for you, and B) hiding a single ice cube in the patty is a great way to ensure that the inside of the burger stays moist while cooking. This trick works best if you are forming the patties immediately before placing them on the grill—that way, the ice cube doesn’t melt and soak the whole burger. To retain that moisture as well as heat, allow the meat to rest for ten minutes under a loose tent of aluminum foil.
POST-GAME CLEANUP
While your grill is still hot, scrub it with the cut side of a freshly halved onion. Not only will the oils in the onion get rid of most of the residue left over on the grill, but they’ll also season the grill and add flavor for the next time it’s used. Using these grill hacks, your tailgate or game-viewing party will crush the opposition and be a success— whether or not your team actually wins you’ll still be talk of the town.
SCORECAST SPORTSBET EXCLUSIVE! GE T DAILY SCORE SIMUL ATIONS FROM OUR EXPERTS SENT TO YOUR INBOX DAILY FREE TO SIGN UP WWW.SPORTSBE TM AGAZINE.COM
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