Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00But we would be remiss if we did not start off today's show with one of the more compelling,
00:09exciting and exhilarating, I don't know if I described it right, last night's game between
00:14the Yankees and Cleveland Guardians was absolutely one for the ages.
00:19A back and forth game that these two teams went toe to toe, heavyweight fight, use all
00:24the analogies you want, but in the end it was the Cleveland Guardians coming out on
00:29top, something that has never happened before in the history of baseball.
00:32Two outs, bottom of the ninth, American League Championship Series, player hits a home run
00:37and then a two run home run by David Frye to end up winning the game.
00:42Yankees got to Emanuel Class A in this game.
00:45It was Aaron Judge with the big shot and then they took the lead.
00:47I mean, you had it all in one game last night.
00:51I don't know that the playoffs will be able to top it.
00:54And if you were watching the broadcasters, by the way, after the game, including former
00:58big league pitcher Ron Darling, who played on the 86 Mets, he said it was the very best
01:02game that he's ever been a part of.
01:05So yes, unfortunately, if you missed last night's game, you missed a piece of history.
01:09David Frye had the walk off shot in that one, a two run shot to win the game and said basically
01:15after the game, he was rounding the bases and didn't know what was happening.
01:20At that point, I blacked out.
01:21No clue.
01:22I just remember being like halfway down the first baseline, looking back at the dugout
01:26and then I'm looking at Sandy.
01:27I'm like, all right, I got to just make sure I touch all four bases and get home and celebrate.
01:32I guess it was my second at bat off of Weaver was no good at all.
01:37And I was just like, I just told God, I was like, hey man, take this like it's a tough
01:41matchup.
01:42Just try to have fun and you take the bat and got behind in the count and just got a
01:48pitch up in the zone and luckily it went out.
01:51It was like, it was amazement.
01:53It was so much excitement.
01:54But then it was just like, oh yeah, of course, John Kinsey hit it like game tying Homer against
01:59a guy throwing 98 and he throws a change up and he hits it for a Homer like nobody does
02:04that.
02:05But we had like voters said, like, that's why he's in coming into the game.
02:08It's like, all right, here you go, big boy, like hit a two run Homer and he did like so
02:11cool.
02:12Yeah.
02:13John Kinsey, Noel, a name that we may never hear again and no one's ever heard of before,
02:18but he's always going to have a postseason hero on his internet baseball card, his regular
02:24baseball card forever.
02:25And boy, we have seen a significant shift in the series.
02:28The Yankees were minus 800 to win the series going into the game down to minus 300.
02:32Also just slight favorites tonight on the road, Louise heel against Gavin Williams should
02:38be a lot of compelling baseball tonight, eight Oh eight Eastern between the Yankees and guardians.
02:43Meanwhile, the other series that's going on in New York doesn't seem to be much of one.
02:47The Dodgers are now in dominating boat.
02:49Shohei Ohtani ended up hitting a home run yesterday, Buki Betts hit a couple of home
02:54runs and the Dodgers are now one win away.
02:56They can close it out at city field.
02:58Also Max Muncy is having a heck of a postseason.
03:01He's the only player since Reggie Jackson to reach bay safely 11 straight times.
03:06Jackson did it 12 times in the 77, 78 season.
03:10They're getting the pitching, they're getting the timely hitting.
03:13And I suppose even if LA was to lose tonight in city field, there's still overwhelming
03:17favorites right now to win the series.
03:20And just basically for those of you who are unfamiliar, just need to win one of the, of
03:23the next three games.
03:25But basically the pressure now all on Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonzo, those hitters are
03:30talking about even after the game that team executed and executed in LA, the Mets did
03:35not.
03:36I mean, they, they've executed and we haven't, you know yes, I come up with bases loaded
03:42and didn't come through today.
03:46We have people on base multiple times only to come through.
03:50So yeah, to your point you got to execute when, when people are on base and help your
03:57pitching staff.
03:59So you know, we just got to continue to grind, grind our bats and have some timely hitting.
04:06I mean, just having our backs against the walls pretty consistently throughout the year.
04:10I mean, it's taught us a lot about our character and who we are in our identity as a team.
04:15I mean, we're a super resilient bunch and we've had to, we've had to pretty much answer
04:22the bell all year.
04:24And it's no different now.
04:26I mean, it's no different in the playoffs that yeah, like losing the way we have at
04:30home.
04:31Like, is that fun?
04:32Is that great?
04:33No, it's, it's not like we just, we need to be better.
04:36But I think that over the course of this series, like there's, there's a lot of opportunities
04:43to learn from and we have to, have to apply those lessons tomorrow and moving forward.
04:50And Pete Alonso is right.
04:51I mean, the Mets have been up against it, although I don't know that I necessarily agree
04:55in one game being down to your last at bat versus now having to win every game, the rest
05:00of the series.
05:01Not sure that that's going to happen, but if it does, it's got to start tonight, 5.08
05:04Eastern.
05:05Jack Flaherty starts for the Dodgers.
05:06He's been fantastic against David Peterson.
05:08You can see that LA is up to 138 on the Moneyline at the FanDuel Sportsbook, total of seven
05:14and a half.
05:15All right.
05:16Well, if baseball wasn't exciting for you, I'm sorry.
05:18Football was a lot worse.
05:19One of the most dreadful games you could ever ask for on Thursday Night Football occurred
05:23last night.
05:24The New Orleans Saints should have just taken a knee from the beginning of the end of the
05:29game.
05:30What a complete waste of time it was for everybody.
05:32But in the end, the Broncos win the game 33 to 10.
05:35If you bet the under, you just wanted to throw something, I guess, probably at your
05:38screen at the end of the game, because, you know, certainly this one was over at the half.
05:43Bo Nix wasn't great, but Javante Williams did a nice job on the ground.
05:46He scored a couple of touchdowns.
05:48The Saints just have way too many injuries on the offensive line and on their offense
05:52to score points.
05:53And Sean Payton went back home and talked about the emotions of winning in New Orleans.
05:57It meant a lot.
05:59I think, fortunately, and I say this respectfully, I mean, it was just two days of prep and we're
06:05here and so not a lot of sleep.
06:07And so it kind of, I think, it keeps your mind off of it because there's so many things
06:17you have to get done.
06:19And my big concern was just not having enough rest.
06:22And so I slept today for a while and then came over here early just to kind of get,
06:28you know, get started going through the game plan again.
06:33But it meant a lot because, you know, there were a lot of moments here and you get a chance
06:41to see old players that are, you know, that are here.
06:44And then to be with this team and this ownership group, it's the reason you miss it, you know,
06:54the one year out and you miss relationships and you miss making memories.
07:02Great, great career for Sean Payton in New Orleans.
07:04Meanwhile, by the way, one of the more bizarre things that has happened in the NFL this season,
07:07Denver Broncos 3-0 on the road, haven't won a game at home.
07:11Historically speaking, Broncos, one of the best teams in the history of the NFL at mile high.
07:16Can't win there, but can win on the road.
07:18Go figure.
07:18All right, the Saints aren't going to win a lot of games, let's be honest, the rest of the season.
07:21They've lost Rahid Shaheed for the season.
07:23He's probably their second best wide receiver next to Chris Olave.
07:26Olave, of course, had a concussion.
07:27He didn't play in the game as well.
07:28Enough about the Saints.
07:29Let's move on.
07:30The Giants' rookie wide receiver, Malik Nabors, has cleared concussion protocol.
07:34They played the Eagles this week, so good news there.
07:36Looks like Nabors will be back.
07:37Also good news for fans of the Cleveland Browns, maybe not for this season, but for the future.
07:41They finally got a stadium approved.
07:43They're moving ahead for a dome stadium in the suburbs,
07:47and so the Cleveland Browns will have a roof on that stadium.
07:51No more snow in the dog pound in the month of December and into January.
07:55At least that's what we think will happen.
07:57Very big surprise from the world of college basketball.
08:00Great coach, Tony Bennett, of the University of Virginia,
08:03with just a couple of weeks before the season began, has decided to retire.
08:07And that begins immediately, 16th season with Virginia.
08:12And they've been a fantastic team, maybe not as much in the tournament over the years,
08:16but certainly he's had his great moments.
08:18Bennett has retired.
08:19Five-star quarterback, Jared Curtis, has decommitted from Georgia,
08:23one of the best in the country.
08:24Also in college football last night, Marshall beat Georgia State 35-20.
08:28They covered the 8.5.
08:29Virginia Tech covered their 8.5-point spread against Boston College, 42-21.
08:35Tonight in college football, BYU is at home against Oklahoma State.
08:39FSU is at Duke and Nevada, 3.5-point home underdogs against Fresno State.
08:45Matthew Waters is with us from LegalSportsReport.com
08:47as we get ready for a big weekend of football and an earnings report coming out
08:52from one of the companies that's not named FanDuel or DraftKings.
08:54So that's good.
08:55Want to tap into some other news today here on the show.
08:58Matt, thanks for coming on.
08:59Good to catch up.
09:00Always happy to be here, sir.
09:01Thanks for having me.
09:03All right.
09:03So that coveted third place ranking, so to speak, in the sports betting universe.
09:09We know FanDuel and DraftKings have alternated one, two for a long time.
09:13We know FanDuel has more or less captured more of that share over the last year or so.
09:20Three seemingly up for grabs.
09:21ESPN Bet thinks that they're going to have it.
09:23BetMGM has, you know, danced around three, four.
09:27They had an earnings report, Matt.
09:28I know you were on the call.
09:29So what did you learn?
09:31Yeah, you know, BetMGM is really happy with the way things are going now, Craig.
09:35If you remember, the story for BetMGM this year has kind of been a down one.
09:40They didn't expect to still be investing so much in the company.
09:43And they had to make those investments because when you think about BetMGM,
09:47remember that it's owned by MGM Resorts in the U.S.
09:50And a company called Entain in the U.K.
09:52And Entain came in with their European and, you know, British betting background.
09:58And they thought that would translate to the U.S.
10:00And it just didn't.
10:01And they let it go a little too long, essentially, is what their interim CEO said at one point this year.
10:08Now they have a new CEO.
10:09And Gavin Isaacs, the guy is an industry veteran.
10:12And if you're looking for somebody to right your ship, he is certainly one of the pilots you want on it.
10:19And so, basically, what BetMGM is seeing is it's seeing stability in the U.S.
10:25They don't see that market share slipping anymore.
10:28They claim 22% of iGaming market share for the third quarter and 8% of sports betting market share for the third quarter,
10:35giving them a 15% blended market share.
10:38And they're happy with that.
10:39Basically, this year, they want to hit their numbers.
10:41And then they'll start growing next year.
10:45And if you remember, Craig, back in August, Nevada's single wallet was added to BetMGM,
10:51meaning that when you go to Nevada, if you had an account from Pennsylvania or another state, it will already work in Nevada.
10:59And the flip side of that is if you go to Nevada and you sign up a new account, if you go back to a jurisdiction that has BetMGM in it,
11:06you can continue to use that same account, that app, really trying to just create less friction for people.
11:13And they couldn't give specifics.
11:16It hasn't been live that long, but they said, look, we're excited by the opportunity.
11:20We'll put it that way.
11:23As for profitability, you know, they still don't know where they're exactly going to be on that next year.
11:29One of the trends that we've been talking about, Craig, is that it has been cheaper recently for these companies to acquire new customers,
11:37whether it be on the iGaming side or the sports betting side.
11:41BetMGM plans to spend $750 million all told on customer acquisition this year.
11:46And so really, it just comes down to, you know, will the math change and will it be too expensive next year?
11:54And so some of that $750 million won't be spent and dropped to the bottom line, or are the metrics going to stay great?
12:01And should BetMGM really be looking at maybe bumping that up to an $850 or more?
12:06We know that FanDuel has been very aggressive in customer acquisition, and they've said that there's no time, there's no reason to stop.
12:14It's still hitting all their math.
12:16And BetMGM has improved its product, Craig.
12:20We know that these products are getting closer and closer to what the DraftKings and FanDuels are.
12:24And BetMGM now has more markets for all of the major sports that's leading to a higher hold.
12:32It's leading to more legs per parlay.
12:34It's doing all those things that kind of bump your bottom line up.
12:38So all told from BetMGM over at Entain, everybody is happy with what they're seeing.
12:45Everybody is happy with the way that BetMGM is turning the corner.
12:50And now that they see the bleeding stop, so to say, they're ready to see where they can take that momentum and how far it can go.
12:59Well said. And of course, I think all of these companies outside of the top two are pretty much unknowns, to be honest, moving forward.
13:06But good to hear that they are having a positive call.
13:09Speaking of positive calls, the commissioner had one when he met with the media head of the upcoming NBA season on sports betting.
13:15You never know how these things are going to go, Matt, but there are significant partnerships with the sports betting operators and the NBA.
13:22And although Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, had said in the past that there was some concern with player props,
13:28didn't seem like there were any concerns going into this season, unless I read it wrong.
13:32You tell me. No, you know what?
13:34Look, obviously, the John Tay Porter issue, when he touched on that, he said that was a cardinal sin.
13:39And you just hope that those are really, really limited issues.
13:42Right. But you can't just look at the bad.
13:44You have to look at the good. And this is kind of what Adam Silver's been saying all along.
13:49Ten years ago, in November of 2014, he wrote this op ed for The New York Times that said why sports betting should be legal.
13:58And basically, he was the only one in professional sports at that time saying that they should legalize it.
14:05The tune from every other sport was, well, it's going to impact the integrity.
14:10We don't know how we're going to deal with it, all this kind of stuff.
14:12And Adam Silver was much more rational.
14:15And he said, look, the Internet's a thing, people, and they can bet online already if they want to.
14:21So why wouldn't we want to have it regulated?
14:23And why wouldn't we at least want to have our eyes on what we can have our eyes on to kind of take care of this and make sure everything's going the right way?
14:32And, you know, he still said that he would prefer a federal regulation for selfish reasons.
14:38It seems he said that it would simply be easier for the NBA at that point to not have to deal with the state by state changes.
14:45But obviously, he said that he could see the appeal for the states to keep it state by state so they can they can compete on tax rate and all that kind of stuff.
14:55The other thing that I thought was really interesting to see him say when he had this interview with the Associated Press,
15:01he said that it's never really been about revenue for the NBA.
15:04And if you remember a little thing called the integrity fee, Craig, the integrity fee was something that these leagues were trying to get tacked on to like every bet placed in a state so they could get a little bit of revenue.
15:16And that fell out of favor pretty quickly.
15:19And obviously, we know that these leagues have signed big deals with these sports books to be official partners and this and that.
15:27But he said the biggest deal to them has been the engagement.
15:30And, you know, when you think about other states, you think about Missouri and how the professional teams are leaving the call in Missouri to get sports betting legalized.
15:38They see the same thing. They just want to be able to engage with their fans on another level.
15:44And and Adam Silver says, that's great. Now, I thought this was an interesting quote, though.
15:50He wasn't really for or against sports betting in this.
15:53He says, I put it in the category of other things in society.
15:56I wouldn't criminalize them, but on the other hand, you have to heavily regulate them because if there's not guardrails, people will run afoul and create issues, problems for themselves, potentially for their families or for operations like us, which I think is totally fair.
16:11So interesting to see where he stands 10 years on from this.
16:16But, man, he was it was it was ground shaking when he came out of this 10 years ago.
16:21Craig, I was just new to the gambling industry. People couldn't believe that he would come out in an op ed and say it that bluntly.
16:27Yeah, and he apparently was right. All right. So the NBA starts next week.
16:32Let's get to the very latest on Bali. They've been in the news this week for apparently, you know, their sponsorship is ending with these are ascends with Diamond Sports.
16:40It looks like FanDuel is taking over there. So that was part of Bali's early news this week.
16:44Now we have news that their sports book is opening in a new state. Where is it?
16:49It's Tennessee, Craig, and it's one of those states that you wonder why more sports books aren't in it because there's no license cap in Tennessee.
16:59Anybody can go and get a license as long as they qualify. So this is Bali Bet's 10th state.
17:05If you remember, Craig, Bali Bet scrapped the billions they spent on their own technology and they decided to go with Camby to provide their technology for them.
17:15And they've been slowly moving into states now ever since they've made that change.
17:20It's cheaper for them on the long run. The smaller companies, the fixed costs are sometimes cheaper than having to maintain the overall structure of a sports book and everything that goes into running one.
17:31So the thing is, Craig, we won't know how Bali Bet does in Tennessee. They don't break out revenue or handle or anything like that.
17:38They simply tax handle. They're the only state in the country to do that.
17:42Yeah, well, great stuff as always, Matt, and have a great weekend. Thanks for coming on.
17:46Thanks, sir. Take care.